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We D&D- Tyranny of Dragons Part 2: The Rise of Tiamat #24b Strike Team 1 Part 2 A Ton of Undead.
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<blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 7567867" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p style="text-align: center"><strong>We D&D.</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Lost Mine of Phandelver Session #14b The Black Spider.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Myrium the Blessed (played by Sandy) Female Human Cleric of Lathander Lvl 4</strong></p><p><strong>Shagga, Son of Dorf (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Paladin of Kord Lvl 4</strong></p><p><strong>Gaukus Grom (played by Pete) Male Dragonborn Sorcerer Lvl 4</strong></p><p><strong>Elvis Pickersgilly (played by Jackie) Male Forest Gnome Rogue Lvl 4</strong></p><p></p><p>And so the finale, this is a continuation of the narrative from Session #14, which turned out to be a titanic effort- we ended up playing for 6.5 hours (with a two hour break for food, drink and excited shouting). The last write-up ended with the Blessed Avengers having fought their way through the lesser bad guys (bugbears aplenty, and a drow/doppelganger), now they’re in a rush to get to the end.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]112982[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Myrium (human cleric) leads the Avengers in to a flagged stone corridor, two sets of stairs lead up in to a massive chamber ahead, peeking over the top of the last flight and best-guess the area ahead is an ancient dwarven temple, at least that’s what Elvis (gnome rogue) thinks. There’s a door to the north in the passage also, but after listening at it for a brief while Elvis is convinced that there’s nothing moving about within the chamber beyond, also its locked.</p><p></p><p>Elvis reports back and is then sent ahead again, more info is needed- the gnome sneaks up the stairs and has a proper look- the temple is indeed dedicated to some ancient dwarven deity, the northern wall is home to a massive stone statue (with gemstone eyes!) of some fat brooding dwarf. The temple is a huge high-ceilinged chamber, with great stone pillars- here and there it has been made in to a HQ cum bedchamber, with a desk, bedrolls et al.</p><p></p><p>Of greater concern to the sneaky gnome are the temple’s present inhabitants, there are plenty of them- in the north end of the chamber, before the great statue a male drow holds court, seated on a camp stool and flanked either side by a pair of hefty bugbears. The drow seems to be playing fetch with a pair of monstrous giant spiders, the arachnids scurrying to wrestle each other for the skeletal leg of some ancient fallen warrior. Standing before the drow, in the centre of the chamber is a most unholy sight- a vaguely humanoid creature although hunched and crouched, and scaled and clawed like some aberrant lizard figure. Most frightening is the creature’s visage- one great eye accounts for three-quarters of its face, the rest is a snarling maw filled with fanged-teeth.</p><p></p><p>Standing next to the terrible creature, playing every now and then with a twig-like wand, is Pip- son of Phandalin’s Innkeepers, the gnome rogue has seen enough- he sneaks back and reports his findings.</p><p></p><p>DM’s note- and so we’re ready for it, the finale- the guys after some great rolls from Elvis have all the info they need, and a surprise round to work their magic- they are all however low on spells and powers, and all except for Shagga (half-orc paladin) at least a little bit injured (they’ve been at the Healing Potions again).</p><p></p><p>Oh and they’ve finally figured out that the strange creature in the centre of the chamber is Cecil, and that Cecil is a nothic (good Monster Knowledge check by Gaukus (dragonborn sorcerer)).</p><p></p><p>And so, after a brief chat from Myrium to outline objectives- and to ensure that all of the Blessed Avengers understand that Pip needs to be kept alive and well (and obviously rescued), it begins…</p><p></p><p>Oddly with Shagga- the fool rolled a ‘20’ on his Initiative and then didn’t know what to do with it, until… the half-orc paladin of Kord strides in to the chamber, sword drawn- straight to a gawping Pip and then slams the hilt of his blade in to the young child’s skull- knocking the lad unconscious. Shagga grabs Pip as he falls, slings him over his shoulder and marches straight back out of the chamber again and dumps the unconscious young human on the stairs- “Rescue complete!” Shagga grunts at his companions.</p><p></p><p>However the rest of the Blessed Avengers are already in action, as is Kevin the spectator, the eye-monster whizzes in to the chamber and then gets some elevation, fires a Wounding Ray in to Cecil and leaves the creature screaming. Myrium follows up with a Sacred Flame, and then conjures her Spiritual Weapon- both attacks directed against Cecil, both of them alas misses.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile Elvis has positioned himself in the shadows at the base of one of the huge stone pillars, bow at the ready- he fires, and almost manages to assassinate the Black Spider (for it is he) at his first attempt, the screaming drow leader is down to 7 HP. Alas, too late the gnome spots the danger from above, a third giant spider fires down a sticky web and leaves poor Elvis Restrained and effectively stuck to the pillar. The gnome takes to screaming…</p><p></p><p>Gaukus is much less sneaky- the dragon sorcerer strides in to the chamber and unleashes a Shatter spell on the drow, bugbears and giant spiders arrayed before the great statue- and the Black Spider is down, and unconscious.</p><p></p><p>DM Interlude- but I’m not going to let that happen.</p><p></p><p>Chaos ensues- one of the bugbears grabs the fallen drow and drags him to a safe-ish spot, behind the north-west pillar, once there the large goblinoid grabs out one of the dark elf’s potions of Healing and feeds it to the fiend.</p><p></p><p>The Black Spider will be back up and in business very soon.</p><p></p><p>The second bugbear screams and charges in to Gaukus, the dragonborn’s Mage Armour and Shield combo fail him again, alas, a Crit and Gaukus is very quickly reduced to 5 HP.</p><p></p><p>Kevin the spectator fires his Paralysis Ray and leaves Cecil rooted to the spot, he follows up with his Wounding Ray and the nothic is fighting for his life, after also taking a hit from Myrium’s Spiritual Weapon. The priestess meanwhile rushes to Gaukus’ side and swings hard at the bugbear threatening the dragonborn- another hit.</p><p></p><p>Elvis is stuck to the pillar, and no matter what he tries he can’t get free. Shagga is fighting two giant spiders, and even with his Vow of Enmity is missing by a mile (two attacks in a row with advantage, both misses- with his bonuses he only needs to roll something like an ‘8’- highest ‘6’ in four dice rolls).</p><p></p><p>Gaukus unleashes a Thunderwave, a giant spider and a bugbear suffer, Myrium manages to keep all of the attackers away from the sorcerer. However there’s a fourth giant spider that has yet to join the action, the arachnid shoots a web from its ceiling top perch and manages to Restrain Kevin the spectator, the eye monster is effectively tethered to the ceiling.</p><p></p><p>The spider that webbed Elvis descends the pillar it is on and attempts to sink its fangs in to the Restrained gnome rogue- and misses (with Advantage, of course).</p><p></p><p>The Black Spider suddenly dodges out from behind a pillar- screams for his allies to kill the adventurers and then dodges back in to hiding- this after quaffing another potion of Healing and firing up his Mage Armour. The second bugbear, who helped the drow back to life, also emerges from behind the pillar- the furious goblinoid charges in to Gaukus and smashes the dragonborn down.</p><p></p><p>So, Gaukus is unconscious, Elvis is almost bloodied and is also Restrained- Kevin has taken no damage but is also Restrained. Myrium is nearly bloodied, and almost out of spells (as is Gaukus), while Shagga doesn’t have a scratch on him. As to the bad guys then they’re all still in play- some healthier than others, the nothic is paralyzed, there are four giant spiders, two bugbears and the Black Spider- it could go either way.</p><p></p><p>Shagga slices a giant spider- and hits at last, Kevin fires his Wounding Ray in to the same arachnid, Myrium directs her Spiritual Weapon to smash the beast and the first enemy falls- hurrah! In the same instant Myrium preserves life and Gaukus opens his eyes, the sorcerer quickly gets to his feet grabs out his scroll of Lightning Bolt and reads it- the magic fizzles and fades (failed check to cast the spell- the cursing sorcerer uses his Inspiration Point to repeat the roll- and fails again).</p><p></p><p>There’s an awful lot of cursing going on- a Lightning Bolt would have definitely tipped the fight in favour of the good guys.</p><p></p><p>Cecil, badly injured and mostly forgotten about, at last manages to shake the paralysis off- the nothic is about to make his break for freedom, he’s not hanging around.</p><p></p><p>Elvis, still Restrained, spins out a dagger and catches another of the spiders- it too is critically wounded.</p><p></p><p>The giant spider that has Kevin webbed and Restrained descends from the ceiling and in to the action. Meantime the giant spider menacing the Restrained Elvis at last gets through the gnome’s defences and bites the rogue, Elvis is on 9 HP- the Poison stings.</p><p></p><p>At which point the Black Spider steps out from behind his pillar and fires a clutch of Magic Missiles in to Kevin, Magic Missile isn’t (my reading) subject to the spectator’s Spell Reflection, the drow (for which read DM) is a smart feller. Although if he was nastier he’d be firing the Magic Missiles at Myrium or Gaukus.</p><p></p><p>Shagga, with a Divine Smite (last spell) cuts down one of the giant spiders- only two of them left. Kevin blasts Cecil with his Wounding Ray and kills the fiend, just as the nothic was about to escape, for good measure the spectator paralyzes one of the two spiders still standing.</p><p></p><p>Elvis is no-longer trying to escape the webs, he contents himself with throwing daggers and screaming for one of his colleagues to come and rescue him- note his colleagues are mostly ignoring him, or else have worries of their own.</p><p></p><p>Gaukus unleashes his last spell- another Thunderwave, and then rolls 4 damage, the giant spider and bugbear within the compass of his mighty magic barely notice…</p><p></p><p>The last giant spider still in action (the other one is paralyzed) gets to Myrium and bites the priestess, and now she’s in pain and screaming (down to 10 HP), all PCs except Shagga have 10 HP or less.</p><p></p><p>However it is at this point that the DM figures that enough is enough, the Black Spider casts Invisibility on himself and begins to creep around the outside of the chamber making for the nearest exit, he’s keen to survive this encounter- and the DM likes the idea of a drow recurring villain.</p><p></p><p>Shagga and Kevin double team the paralyzed giant spider- and kill it.</p><p></p><p>Which just leaves one giant spider, and two bugbears in the fight.</p><p></p><p>Then Myrium smashes one of the bugbears down.</p><p></p><p>Then Elvis spins out another dagger in to the last giant spider.</p><p></p><p>Then Gaukus hits the same giant spider with a Fire Bolt- it expires.</p><p></p><p>At which point the bugbear that the players abandoned back in the guard room walks past the recumbent body of Pip on the stairs and straight in to the fight, this is what he sees.</p><p></p><p>A Restrained Kevin covered in webs and effectively tethered to the ceiling; Shagga & Myrium facing down a bugbear (the creature is actually uninjured- hasn’t taken even one hit), while Gaukus scurries around looking for a better angle to let loose his Fire Bolts. However nearest to the large goblinoid is Elvis, the gnome is wrapped in webs and Restrained- what comes next?</p><p></p><p>The newly arrived bugbear grabs out its Morningstar and smashes the gnome unconscious.</p><p></p><p>Shagga and Kevin combine again to take down the bugbear already in the fight, Shagga with a Crit- just when it was needed, the pair then turn to start screaming threats at the newly arrived bugbear. The large goblinoid is now having second thoughts, it runs- but not before Myrium clonks it with her Spiritual Weapon, and then with her last spell fires a Cure Wounds in to the recumbent Elvis.</p><p></p><p>And… the fight is won.</p><p></p><p>Although about a minute later it’s Gaukus that says- “Erm… What happened to the Black Spider?” At which point there’s a lot of activity and frenzied running about a bit.</p><p></p><p>Over the course of the next five minutes (and after a hefty number of varied skill checks) the PCs determine that the Black Spider has obviously done a runner, possibly teleporting away (Gaukus’ suggestion), or else turning invisible and sneaking off (Elvis’ suggestion). Either way the drow is gone.</p><p></p><p>To say they are infuriated would be putting it mildly, Myrium enters what can only be described as a swear-fury, the air is blue for a good 2-3 minutes.</p><p></p><p>That however is the end of the session, or at least the bit around the table, after 6.5 hours of gaming real life has to be engaged with again.</p><p></p><p>And so over the course of the next few days, and mostly via e-mail the PCs finish off the narrative/adventure such as it is, the following events take place-</p><p></p><p>a) Nundro Rockseeker is found safe(-ish) and well, he’s reunited with his brother Gundren.</p><p></p><p>b) Pip Stonehill, the young lad, awakes to tears and upset- his special friend (Cecil) is gone (the guys had the good sense to clear the body away). A good five years of psychological counselling will see him right. His parents however are overjoyed to have their son back- the PCs have free food and lodge for as long as they like at the Stonehill Tavern. Note in the interest of full disclosure this is how it played out- Cecil the nothic followed the PCs back to Phandalin, and to the Stonehill Tavern, there he kept hidden and sent out his thoughts to find a responsive victim, which turned out to be young Pip. Cecil eventually broke in to the attic of the Tavern and from there kept up his whispering campaign on Pip, sharing the young lad’s hidden secrets, talking to him and eventually persuading him that he can help him to become a great wizard (Pip’s dream). From there it was a short step (taken over a tenday while the adventurers were out adventuring in Thundertree etc.) to persuade Pip to venture in to Wave Echo Cave, the last location garnered from the thoughts of Gundren Rockseeker… Just a bit of backstory to explain how and why Pip ended up in the finale.</p><p></p><p>c) The Black Spider had some treasure hidden, the PCs help themselves to it, and also recover a few more items from Wave Echo Cave after another nose around the place to see if they’ve missed anything.</p><p></p><p>d) The Blessed Avengers are all level 5.</p><p></p><p>e) Elvis later returns to the dwarven temple in Wave Echo Cave on his own and attempts to recover the gemstones from the eyes of the great statue there- alas things go badly, the gemstones are trapped. The gnome escapes with his life- just, courtesy of an Inspiration Point and some quick thinking, alas the temple itself is buried under a thousand tons of rock and rubble (the aforementioned trap causes the ceiling to collapse). Elvis decides not to tell anyone about his close call here, he’s also extremely pissed to discover that the one gemstone he manages to recover is in fact made of glass.</p><p></p><p>f) Gundren and Nundro bury their brother Tharden in a touching ceremony presided over by Sister Garaele & Myrium the Blessed.</p><p></p><p>g) The inhabitants of Phandalin, and in particular the various faction leaders, are overjoyed with the outcome, particularly when the Rockseekers start taking on workers to explore the mines further, and to try to get the forge running. The PCs are rewarded with a 10% share of any future finds.</p><p></p><p>h) Alas the re-opening of Wave Echo Cave doesn’t go entirely to plan, the flameskull is back- or else it has never been away, it rejuvenates- three miners are killed in the encounter. Later the PCs return, this time armed with the knowledge necessary to take the creature down (holy water sprinkled on its remains once reduced to 0 HP). The adventurers battle hard and win the day.</p><p></p><p>And that was the Lost Mine of Phandelver, we loved it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 7567867, member: 16069"] [CENTER][B]We D&D.[/B][/CENTER] [B]Lost Mine of Phandelver Session #14b The Black Spider. Myrium the Blessed (played by Sandy) Female Human Cleric of Lathander Lvl 4 Shagga, Son of Dorf (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Paladin of Kord Lvl 4 Gaukus Grom (played by Pete) Male Dragonborn Sorcerer Lvl 4 Elvis Pickersgilly (played by Jackie) Male Forest Gnome Rogue Lvl 4[/B] And so the finale, this is a continuation of the narrative from Session #14, which turned out to be a titanic effort- we ended up playing for 6.5 hours (with a two hour break for food, drink and excited shouting). The last write-up ended with the Blessed Avengers having fought their way through the lesser bad guys (bugbears aplenty, and a drow/doppelganger), now they’re in a rush to get to the end. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full"]112982[/ATTACH][/CENTER] Myrium (human cleric) leads the Avengers in to a flagged stone corridor, two sets of stairs lead up in to a massive chamber ahead, peeking over the top of the last flight and best-guess the area ahead is an ancient dwarven temple, at least that’s what Elvis (gnome rogue) thinks. There’s a door to the north in the passage also, but after listening at it for a brief while Elvis is convinced that there’s nothing moving about within the chamber beyond, also its locked. Elvis reports back and is then sent ahead again, more info is needed- the gnome sneaks up the stairs and has a proper look- the temple is indeed dedicated to some ancient dwarven deity, the northern wall is home to a massive stone statue (with gemstone eyes!) of some fat brooding dwarf. The temple is a huge high-ceilinged chamber, with great stone pillars- here and there it has been made in to a HQ cum bedchamber, with a desk, bedrolls et al. Of greater concern to the sneaky gnome are the temple’s present inhabitants, there are plenty of them- in the north end of the chamber, before the great statue a male drow holds court, seated on a camp stool and flanked either side by a pair of hefty bugbears. The drow seems to be playing fetch with a pair of monstrous giant spiders, the arachnids scurrying to wrestle each other for the skeletal leg of some ancient fallen warrior. Standing before the drow, in the centre of the chamber is a most unholy sight- a vaguely humanoid creature although hunched and crouched, and scaled and clawed like some aberrant lizard figure. Most frightening is the creature’s visage- one great eye accounts for three-quarters of its face, the rest is a snarling maw filled with fanged-teeth. Standing next to the terrible creature, playing every now and then with a twig-like wand, is Pip- son of Phandalin’s Innkeepers, the gnome rogue has seen enough- he sneaks back and reports his findings. DM’s note- and so we’re ready for it, the finale- the guys after some great rolls from Elvis have all the info they need, and a surprise round to work their magic- they are all however low on spells and powers, and all except for Shagga (half-orc paladin) at least a little bit injured (they’ve been at the Healing Potions again). Oh and they’ve finally figured out that the strange creature in the centre of the chamber is Cecil, and that Cecil is a nothic (good Monster Knowledge check by Gaukus (dragonborn sorcerer)). And so, after a brief chat from Myrium to outline objectives- and to ensure that all of the Blessed Avengers understand that Pip needs to be kept alive and well (and obviously rescued), it begins… Oddly with Shagga- the fool rolled a ‘20’ on his Initiative and then didn’t know what to do with it, until… the half-orc paladin of Kord strides in to the chamber, sword drawn- straight to a gawping Pip and then slams the hilt of his blade in to the young child’s skull- knocking the lad unconscious. Shagga grabs Pip as he falls, slings him over his shoulder and marches straight back out of the chamber again and dumps the unconscious young human on the stairs- “Rescue complete!” Shagga grunts at his companions. However the rest of the Blessed Avengers are already in action, as is Kevin the spectator, the eye-monster whizzes in to the chamber and then gets some elevation, fires a Wounding Ray in to Cecil and leaves the creature screaming. Myrium follows up with a Sacred Flame, and then conjures her Spiritual Weapon- both attacks directed against Cecil, both of them alas misses. Meanwhile Elvis has positioned himself in the shadows at the base of one of the huge stone pillars, bow at the ready- he fires, and almost manages to assassinate the Black Spider (for it is he) at his first attempt, the screaming drow leader is down to 7 HP. Alas, too late the gnome spots the danger from above, a third giant spider fires down a sticky web and leaves poor Elvis Restrained and effectively stuck to the pillar. The gnome takes to screaming… Gaukus is much less sneaky- the dragon sorcerer strides in to the chamber and unleashes a Shatter spell on the drow, bugbears and giant spiders arrayed before the great statue- and the Black Spider is down, and unconscious. DM Interlude- but I’m not going to let that happen. Chaos ensues- one of the bugbears grabs the fallen drow and drags him to a safe-ish spot, behind the north-west pillar, once there the large goblinoid grabs out one of the dark elf’s potions of Healing and feeds it to the fiend. The Black Spider will be back up and in business very soon. The second bugbear screams and charges in to Gaukus, the dragonborn’s Mage Armour and Shield combo fail him again, alas, a Crit and Gaukus is very quickly reduced to 5 HP. Kevin the spectator fires his Paralysis Ray and leaves Cecil rooted to the spot, he follows up with his Wounding Ray and the nothic is fighting for his life, after also taking a hit from Myrium’s Spiritual Weapon. The priestess meanwhile rushes to Gaukus’ side and swings hard at the bugbear threatening the dragonborn- another hit. Elvis is stuck to the pillar, and no matter what he tries he can’t get free. Shagga is fighting two giant spiders, and even with his Vow of Enmity is missing by a mile (two attacks in a row with advantage, both misses- with his bonuses he only needs to roll something like an ‘8’- highest ‘6’ in four dice rolls). Gaukus unleashes a Thunderwave, a giant spider and a bugbear suffer, Myrium manages to keep all of the attackers away from the sorcerer. However there’s a fourth giant spider that has yet to join the action, the arachnid shoots a web from its ceiling top perch and manages to Restrain Kevin the spectator, the eye monster is effectively tethered to the ceiling. The spider that webbed Elvis descends the pillar it is on and attempts to sink its fangs in to the Restrained gnome rogue- and misses (with Advantage, of course). The Black Spider suddenly dodges out from behind a pillar- screams for his allies to kill the adventurers and then dodges back in to hiding- this after quaffing another potion of Healing and firing up his Mage Armour. The second bugbear, who helped the drow back to life, also emerges from behind the pillar- the furious goblinoid charges in to Gaukus and smashes the dragonborn down. So, Gaukus is unconscious, Elvis is almost bloodied and is also Restrained- Kevin has taken no damage but is also Restrained. Myrium is nearly bloodied, and almost out of spells (as is Gaukus), while Shagga doesn’t have a scratch on him. As to the bad guys then they’re all still in play- some healthier than others, the nothic is paralyzed, there are four giant spiders, two bugbears and the Black Spider- it could go either way. Shagga slices a giant spider- and hits at last, Kevin fires his Wounding Ray in to the same arachnid, Myrium directs her Spiritual Weapon to smash the beast and the first enemy falls- hurrah! In the same instant Myrium preserves life and Gaukus opens his eyes, the sorcerer quickly gets to his feet grabs out his scroll of Lightning Bolt and reads it- the magic fizzles and fades (failed check to cast the spell- the cursing sorcerer uses his Inspiration Point to repeat the roll- and fails again). There’s an awful lot of cursing going on- a Lightning Bolt would have definitely tipped the fight in favour of the good guys. Cecil, badly injured and mostly forgotten about, at last manages to shake the paralysis off- the nothic is about to make his break for freedom, he’s not hanging around. Elvis, still Restrained, spins out a dagger and catches another of the spiders- it too is critically wounded. The giant spider that has Kevin webbed and Restrained descends from the ceiling and in to the action. Meantime the giant spider menacing the Restrained Elvis at last gets through the gnome’s defences and bites the rogue, Elvis is on 9 HP- the Poison stings. At which point the Black Spider steps out from behind his pillar and fires a clutch of Magic Missiles in to Kevin, Magic Missile isn’t (my reading) subject to the spectator’s Spell Reflection, the drow (for which read DM) is a smart feller. Although if he was nastier he’d be firing the Magic Missiles at Myrium or Gaukus. Shagga, with a Divine Smite (last spell) cuts down one of the giant spiders- only two of them left. Kevin blasts Cecil with his Wounding Ray and kills the fiend, just as the nothic was about to escape, for good measure the spectator paralyzes one of the two spiders still standing. Elvis is no-longer trying to escape the webs, he contents himself with throwing daggers and screaming for one of his colleagues to come and rescue him- note his colleagues are mostly ignoring him, or else have worries of their own. Gaukus unleashes his last spell- another Thunderwave, and then rolls 4 damage, the giant spider and bugbear within the compass of his mighty magic barely notice… The last giant spider still in action (the other one is paralyzed) gets to Myrium and bites the priestess, and now she’s in pain and screaming (down to 10 HP), all PCs except Shagga have 10 HP or less. However it is at this point that the DM figures that enough is enough, the Black Spider casts Invisibility on himself and begins to creep around the outside of the chamber making for the nearest exit, he’s keen to survive this encounter- and the DM likes the idea of a drow recurring villain. Shagga and Kevin double team the paralyzed giant spider- and kill it. Which just leaves one giant spider, and two bugbears in the fight. Then Myrium smashes one of the bugbears down. Then Elvis spins out another dagger in to the last giant spider. Then Gaukus hits the same giant spider with a Fire Bolt- it expires. At which point the bugbear that the players abandoned back in the guard room walks past the recumbent body of Pip on the stairs and straight in to the fight, this is what he sees. A Restrained Kevin covered in webs and effectively tethered to the ceiling; Shagga & Myrium facing down a bugbear (the creature is actually uninjured- hasn’t taken even one hit), while Gaukus scurries around looking for a better angle to let loose his Fire Bolts. However nearest to the large goblinoid is Elvis, the gnome is wrapped in webs and Restrained- what comes next? The newly arrived bugbear grabs out its Morningstar and smashes the gnome unconscious. Shagga and Kevin combine again to take down the bugbear already in the fight, Shagga with a Crit- just when it was needed, the pair then turn to start screaming threats at the newly arrived bugbear. The large goblinoid is now having second thoughts, it runs- but not before Myrium clonks it with her Spiritual Weapon, and then with her last spell fires a Cure Wounds in to the recumbent Elvis. And… the fight is won. Although about a minute later it’s Gaukus that says- “Erm… What happened to the Black Spider?” At which point there’s a lot of activity and frenzied running about a bit. Over the course of the next five minutes (and after a hefty number of varied skill checks) the PCs determine that the Black Spider has obviously done a runner, possibly teleporting away (Gaukus’ suggestion), or else turning invisible and sneaking off (Elvis’ suggestion). Either way the drow is gone. To say they are infuriated would be putting it mildly, Myrium enters what can only be described as a swear-fury, the air is blue for a good 2-3 minutes. That however is the end of the session, or at least the bit around the table, after 6.5 hours of gaming real life has to be engaged with again. And so over the course of the next few days, and mostly via e-mail the PCs finish off the narrative/adventure such as it is, the following events take place- a) Nundro Rockseeker is found safe(-ish) and well, he’s reunited with his brother Gundren. b) Pip Stonehill, the young lad, awakes to tears and upset- his special friend (Cecil) is gone (the guys had the good sense to clear the body away). A good five years of psychological counselling will see him right. His parents however are overjoyed to have their son back- the PCs have free food and lodge for as long as they like at the Stonehill Tavern. Note in the interest of full disclosure this is how it played out- Cecil the nothic followed the PCs back to Phandalin, and to the Stonehill Tavern, there he kept hidden and sent out his thoughts to find a responsive victim, which turned out to be young Pip. Cecil eventually broke in to the attic of the Tavern and from there kept up his whispering campaign on Pip, sharing the young lad’s hidden secrets, talking to him and eventually persuading him that he can help him to become a great wizard (Pip’s dream). From there it was a short step (taken over a tenday while the adventurers were out adventuring in Thundertree etc.) to persuade Pip to venture in to Wave Echo Cave, the last location garnered from the thoughts of Gundren Rockseeker… Just a bit of backstory to explain how and why Pip ended up in the finale. c) The Black Spider had some treasure hidden, the PCs help themselves to it, and also recover a few more items from Wave Echo Cave after another nose around the place to see if they’ve missed anything. d) The Blessed Avengers are all level 5. e) Elvis later returns to the dwarven temple in Wave Echo Cave on his own and attempts to recover the gemstones from the eyes of the great statue there- alas things go badly, the gemstones are trapped. The gnome escapes with his life- just, courtesy of an Inspiration Point and some quick thinking, alas the temple itself is buried under a thousand tons of rock and rubble (the aforementioned trap causes the ceiling to collapse). Elvis decides not to tell anyone about his close call here, he’s also extremely pissed to discover that the one gemstone he manages to recover is in fact made of glass. f) Gundren and Nundro bury their brother Tharden in a touching ceremony presided over by Sister Garaele & Myrium the Blessed. g) The inhabitants of Phandalin, and in particular the various faction leaders, are overjoyed with the outcome, particularly when the Rockseekers start taking on workers to explore the mines further, and to try to get the forge running. The PCs are rewarded with a 10% share of any future finds. h) Alas the re-opening of Wave Echo Cave doesn’t go entirely to plan, the flameskull is back- or else it has never been away, it rejuvenates- three miners are killed in the encounter. Later the PCs return, this time armed with the knowledge necessary to take the creature down (holy water sprinkled on its remains once reduced to 0 HP). The adventurers battle hard and win the day. And that was the Lost Mine of Phandelver, we loved it. [/QUOTE]
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