Rel
Liquid Awesome
The party were protected by a batch of newly brewed Mist Milk as they entered the fog that clung to the lake below. As they reached the bottom of the giant sinkhole they could vaguely make out the shore of the island in the lake. Disturbing shapes moved in the Mist but nothing they could discern very well. They began to ascend.
Climbing out of the Mist they found themselves at one end of a stone bridge that spanned the roaring waterfall that plunged from the lake off the side of the plateau and into the abyss below. At the far side, waiting for them, were a trio of the Dragon-centaurs, similar to those that they had fought by the river. The party did not keep them waiting long.
As they approached they could see that these were not misshapen like those they had battled earlier. They stood tall and proud, wielding mighty halberds. The PC's charged forth to the attack.
As they fought on the narrow part of the bridge, any false step could spell death as there was little chance of being able to recover from the raging torrent of water below. The party tried everything in their power to send their foes over the edge but to no avail.
As they fought the guards, the third "Dracotaur" stood back hurling elemental assaults at them. Wind, ice, acid and lightning lashed them as they felled the guards and then closed with this Sorcerer. It made a last ditch effort to retreat into the cave behind it but was laid low by Eshik and Astavian's blades.
The group caught their breath and readied themselves to enter the foreboding lair. They crossed the threshold and smelled the coppery scent of blood filling the air. Four large pits dominated the center of the room, each filled to the edge with what could only be the accumulated blood of hundreds if not thousands of creatures. Near the furthest pit they saw the slumped and lifeless body of Perren near a stone table. On the table rested the Seal of the High Priest that Perren had stolen from Astavian's pack.
The Paladin took a step toward the object of his quest when light and pain exploded among them. From his perch above the entranceway the enormous blue Dragon blasted them with a blast of lightning that was unlike any force they'd ever encountered. It was close to killing them outright.
The party desperately scrambled back into the mouth of the entranceway, gasping in pain as Mialain shakily called out a prayer to Melora for healing. Their respite was short lived as the Dragon leapt to the ground and turned to bring its claws and jaws to bear upon them. Astavian, the primary recipient of Mialain's healing, leapt to the fore and confronted the beast, trying to parry the mighty blows with his sword. Staring into the enormous jaws of this beast his fate seemed sealed.
A disturbing, gravely voice echoed into the minds of the party. Speaking Draconic it said, "His name...is Baelthrax."
Astavian pieced together every shred of confidence he could muster and called out in Draconic, "BAELTHRAX! In the name of Ryukaar the Righteous I challenge you to answer for your evil deeds!" He leapt forward and sank his blade into the creature's leg. It hissed and burned, eliciting a growl of pain from the huge creature. But it too recovered from this momentary setback.
"Your bones will crack and your blood be added to that in my pits, whelp!"
It's claws and jaws were no less fearsome as it struck back, nearly bringing Astavian to his knees. But the rest of the party leapt to attack as well, each in turn invoking the name of Baelthrax with their attacks. This seemed to make their attacks more accurate and vastly increase the damage inflicted when they struck.
The Dragon was a proud and arrogant creature, but it knew when to call in help as well. With a booming call, laced with Sorcerous magic it summoned aid.
"RISE UP my creations and serve your MASTER!"
Large, horrific forms stirred in the blood vats and began to claw their way out. The PC's could see that these were more like the deformed versions of the Dracotaurs that they had encountered by the river. Black skin with few scales clung to their bodies that had not yet formed properly. They lumbered forward to the attack.
Zanne knew that the fight hung in the ballance. Without more time for Mialain to heal them they would surely fall to the combined might of the Dragon and his minions. She called out to the dark forces of the Far Realm and the Hunger that dwelled there. Using all her strength she bent that Hunger to her will, creating a black, consuming wall in front of them. It didn't stretch the entire width of the large cavern but it should slow their attackers.
Eshik dove beneath the Dragon's legs and came up stabbing along its flank, calling out the name of Baelthrax with some trepidation. His blades carved through the creature's scales more easily than he'd have thought possible and he understood the power of knowing the Dragon's name.
Mialain continued to split her efforts between firing arrows at the Dragon and calling out healing prayers for her allies. They were back from the brink of death now but still vulnerable to the deadly attacks of the Dragon.
The Dracotaur minions began to make their way around the edges of the wall of void that Zanne had erected but she was ready for them and hurled an attack the nearest deformed creature. The blast of fire shot through the newly formed flesh as the beast cringed, wailed and died.
Seeing his minions were not going to cause as much damage as he'd hoped, Baelthrax crouched and prepared to launch himself into the air. But Astavian was ready and sprang onto the Dragon's haunch and then back, slashing at its neck with his blessed sword. Baelthrax roared in frustration but got into the air anyway, out of reach of Eshik at least.
It clung briefly to the ceiling, writhing and lashing about with its wings. This was enough to dislodge the annoying Paladin who fell to the cavern floor with a crash. Meanwhile, with their primary target out of reach, Eshik, Zanne and Mialain made quick work of the remaining Dracotaur minions. Eshik felled the last of them and turned back toward the Dragon only to find himself utterly engulfed with another blast of lightning, this one nearly as devastating as the last. His scales charred and he fell to the ground twitching.
Baelthrax landed and pierced the body of the fallen Dragonborn with claws the size of scimitars, roaring a triumphant roar of challenge. Astavian answered by charging back at his foe, slashing open a gaping wound in its side, and standing above the fallen body of his friend. Mialain Consecrated the Ground where Astavian and Eshik were in a desperate attempt to heal the both of them. Astavian felt some of his strength returning but Eshik was beyond help. Zanne stepped forward and unleashed the power of her Howl of Doom, hurling the heavily wounded Dragon away from her friends and through the wall of soul devouring blackness.
All fell silent.
They stood gasping for breath, barely keeping their feet, and heard the sound of scraping metal. Zanne banished the Hungry darkness and they saw the lifeless body of the great blue Dragon. Smoke rose from its skull where the Seal of the High Priest had buried itself...
*******
More to come in this, the most intense and epic session of the campaign thus far. But wanted to hit some of the highlights thus far.
The "Dracotaurs" guards had stats based off of Ogres but I added a Tail Slap ability they could use against anybody who tried to flank them. This pushed the target 2 squares and I figured it would be scary stuff on the bridge. Both times it was used the PC in question was lucky enough to either have room before reaching the edge or else make the save in order to fall prone rather than go over the edge. I note that the PC's also used every single trick the could muster that did forced movement that would force a guard over the edge and the Dracotaurs made their save every time. I guess it's better to be lucky than good.
The Dracotaur spellcaster was based on a Dragonborn Elementalist. It is also noteworthy that "Sorcery" is pretty much unknown in the world as it stands right now (we're not using any PHB2 classes for PC's). Zanne identified that this was a strange and chaotic form of magic.
Ok now the Dragon: This thing was a modified version of an Elder Blue Dragon. I know, it's CRAZY throwing a level 20 Solo against a party of 7th level characters. I'm a bastard for doing it. It's just not fair!
I did it anyway, but with some modifications.
I cut the Dragon's hit points in half so it ONLY had 480. See how nice I am? But the big factor was that when they invoked the Dragon's True Name then it was Vulnearable 20 to those attack AND they were +10 to hit. So that gave it an effective AC of 26 (still not that easy to hit) and their attacks were doing lots of damage to it. They were doing around 150 HP per round for a couple of rounds in there.
Unfortunately for the PC's the Dragon could also crank out some damage. And it did. Notably on the two breath weapon attacks. The first one did ONE point shy of max damage, hitting for 52 points of damage. The second did only 48 points of damage. "Luckily" it could only hit three targets at a time. And it missed Zanne on the first attack IIRC by rolling a natural 1 to hit, thus only dealing 26 points of damage. Happy Day!
Anyway, it was that second breath weapon that killed Eshik by 2 Hit Points. And Mialain would have moved the Consecrated Ground onto him on her next turn so he'd probably have been fine if I hadn't rolled so damn well on my d12's. Ah well, them's the breaks.
Would I recommend throwing modified opponents that are 13 levels higher than the party at them on a regular basis? No. But there are some pretty specific story reasons why I did in this case and I don't regret doing it. The players have really learned to work well as a team and I think that this incredibly nasty fight shows that. I'm constantly amazed at the sorts of challenges they are able to overcome and this was a notable example. Kudos guys!
Climbing out of the Mist they found themselves at one end of a stone bridge that spanned the roaring waterfall that plunged from the lake off the side of the plateau and into the abyss below. At the far side, waiting for them, were a trio of the Dragon-centaurs, similar to those that they had fought by the river. The party did not keep them waiting long.
As they approached they could see that these were not misshapen like those they had battled earlier. They stood tall and proud, wielding mighty halberds. The PC's charged forth to the attack.
As they fought on the narrow part of the bridge, any false step could spell death as there was little chance of being able to recover from the raging torrent of water below. The party tried everything in their power to send their foes over the edge but to no avail.
As they fought the guards, the third "Dracotaur" stood back hurling elemental assaults at them. Wind, ice, acid and lightning lashed them as they felled the guards and then closed with this Sorcerer. It made a last ditch effort to retreat into the cave behind it but was laid low by Eshik and Astavian's blades.
The group caught their breath and readied themselves to enter the foreboding lair. They crossed the threshold and smelled the coppery scent of blood filling the air. Four large pits dominated the center of the room, each filled to the edge with what could only be the accumulated blood of hundreds if not thousands of creatures. Near the furthest pit they saw the slumped and lifeless body of Perren near a stone table. On the table rested the Seal of the High Priest that Perren had stolen from Astavian's pack.
The Paladin took a step toward the object of his quest when light and pain exploded among them. From his perch above the entranceway the enormous blue Dragon blasted them with a blast of lightning that was unlike any force they'd ever encountered. It was close to killing them outright.
The party desperately scrambled back into the mouth of the entranceway, gasping in pain as Mialain shakily called out a prayer to Melora for healing. Their respite was short lived as the Dragon leapt to the ground and turned to bring its claws and jaws to bear upon them. Astavian, the primary recipient of Mialain's healing, leapt to the fore and confronted the beast, trying to parry the mighty blows with his sword. Staring into the enormous jaws of this beast his fate seemed sealed.
A disturbing, gravely voice echoed into the minds of the party. Speaking Draconic it said, "His name...is Baelthrax."
Astavian pieced together every shred of confidence he could muster and called out in Draconic, "BAELTHRAX! In the name of Ryukaar the Righteous I challenge you to answer for your evil deeds!" He leapt forward and sank his blade into the creature's leg. It hissed and burned, eliciting a growl of pain from the huge creature. But it too recovered from this momentary setback.
"Your bones will crack and your blood be added to that in my pits, whelp!"
It's claws and jaws were no less fearsome as it struck back, nearly bringing Astavian to his knees. But the rest of the party leapt to attack as well, each in turn invoking the name of Baelthrax with their attacks. This seemed to make their attacks more accurate and vastly increase the damage inflicted when they struck.
The Dragon was a proud and arrogant creature, but it knew when to call in help as well. With a booming call, laced with Sorcerous magic it summoned aid.
"RISE UP my creations and serve your MASTER!"
Large, horrific forms stirred in the blood vats and began to claw their way out. The PC's could see that these were more like the deformed versions of the Dracotaurs that they had encountered by the river. Black skin with few scales clung to their bodies that had not yet formed properly. They lumbered forward to the attack.
Zanne knew that the fight hung in the ballance. Without more time for Mialain to heal them they would surely fall to the combined might of the Dragon and his minions. She called out to the dark forces of the Far Realm and the Hunger that dwelled there. Using all her strength she bent that Hunger to her will, creating a black, consuming wall in front of them. It didn't stretch the entire width of the large cavern but it should slow their attackers.
Eshik dove beneath the Dragon's legs and came up stabbing along its flank, calling out the name of Baelthrax with some trepidation. His blades carved through the creature's scales more easily than he'd have thought possible and he understood the power of knowing the Dragon's name.
Mialain continued to split her efforts between firing arrows at the Dragon and calling out healing prayers for her allies. They were back from the brink of death now but still vulnerable to the deadly attacks of the Dragon.
The Dracotaur minions began to make their way around the edges of the wall of void that Zanne had erected but she was ready for them and hurled an attack the nearest deformed creature. The blast of fire shot through the newly formed flesh as the beast cringed, wailed and died.
Seeing his minions were not going to cause as much damage as he'd hoped, Baelthrax crouched and prepared to launch himself into the air. But Astavian was ready and sprang onto the Dragon's haunch and then back, slashing at its neck with his blessed sword. Baelthrax roared in frustration but got into the air anyway, out of reach of Eshik at least.
It clung briefly to the ceiling, writhing and lashing about with its wings. This was enough to dislodge the annoying Paladin who fell to the cavern floor with a crash. Meanwhile, with their primary target out of reach, Eshik, Zanne and Mialain made quick work of the remaining Dracotaur minions. Eshik felled the last of them and turned back toward the Dragon only to find himself utterly engulfed with another blast of lightning, this one nearly as devastating as the last. His scales charred and he fell to the ground twitching.
Baelthrax landed and pierced the body of the fallen Dragonborn with claws the size of scimitars, roaring a triumphant roar of challenge. Astavian answered by charging back at his foe, slashing open a gaping wound in its side, and standing above the fallen body of his friend. Mialain Consecrated the Ground where Astavian and Eshik were in a desperate attempt to heal the both of them. Astavian felt some of his strength returning but Eshik was beyond help. Zanne stepped forward and unleashed the power of her Howl of Doom, hurling the heavily wounded Dragon away from her friends and through the wall of soul devouring blackness.
All fell silent.
They stood gasping for breath, barely keeping their feet, and heard the sound of scraping metal. Zanne banished the Hungry darkness and they saw the lifeless body of the great blue Dragon. Smoke rose from its skull where the Seal of the High Priest had buried itself...
*******
More to come in this, the most intense and epic session of the campaign thus far. But wanted to hit some of the highlights thus far.
The "Dracotaurs" guards had stats based off of Ogres but I added a Tail Slap ability they could use against anybody who tried to flank them. This pushed the target 2 squares and I figured it would be scary stuff on the bridge. Both times it was used the PC in question was lucky enough to either have room before reaching the edge or else make the save in order to fall prone rather than go over the edge. I note that the PC's also used every single trick the could muster that did forced movement that would force a guard over the edge and the Dracotaurs made their save every time. I guess it's better to be lucky than good.
The Dracotaur spellcaster was based on a Dragonborn Elementalist. It is also noteworthy that "Sorcery" is pretty much unknown in the world as it stands right now (we're not using any PHB2 classes for PC's). Zanne identified that this was a strange and chaotic form of magic.
Ok now the Dragon: This thing was a modified version of an Elder Blue Dragon. I know, it's CRAZY throwing a level 20 Solo against a party of 7th level characters. I'm a bastard for doing it. It's just not fair!
I did it anyway, but with some modifications.
I cut the Dragon's hit points in half so it ONLY had 480. See how nice I am? But the big factor was that when they invoked the Dragon's True Name then it was Vulnearable 20 to those attack AND they were +10 to hit. So that gave it an effective AC of 26 (still not that easy to hit) and their attacks were doing lots of damage to it. They were doing around 150 HP per round for a couple of rounds in there.
Unfortunately for the PC's the Dragon could also crank out some damage. And it did. Notably on the two breath weapon attacks. The first one did ONE point shy of max damage, hitting for 52 points of damage. The second did only 48 points of damage. "Luckily" it could only hit three targets at a time. And it missed Zanne on the first attack IIRC by rolling a natural 1 to hit, thus only dealing 26 points of damage. Happy Day!
Anyway, it was that second breath weapon that killed Eshik by 2 Hit Points. And Mialain would have moved the Consecrated Ground onto him on her next turn so he'd probably have been fine if I hadn't rolled so damn well on my d12's. Ah well, them's the breaks.
Would I recommend throwing modified opponents that are 13 levels higher than the party at them on a regular basis? No. But there are some pretty specific story reasons why I did in this case and I don't regret doing it. The players have really learned to work well as a team and I think that this incredibly nasty fight shows that. I'm constantly amazed at the sorts of challenges they are able to overcome and this was a notable example. Kudos guys!
