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Message: <blockquote data-quote="aartvb" data-source="post: 9553998" data-attributes="member: 7035557">Happy new year everyone! Here the summary of my first D&D session of 2025!Session 51 (8-1-2025): The Chains of Ashima-ShimtuThe group hears the female voice say: "The zombies will attack you shortly. If you kill that lunatic downstairs, you’ll gain your freedom!"They decide to head to the basement to defeat the old man and ensure their safety from the zombies.  They attack the man.During the fight, Aurelius stands in front of two golden mirrors. Two golden doppelgangers of Aurelius appear. BenDER also stands next to a golden mirror, and a golden doppelganger of BenDER appears. The doppelgangers attack Aurelius and BenDER. Aurelius goes down. Zuna destroys several golden mirrors.  After some time, the party finally manages to defeat the old man. However, during the fight, Aurelius has died. Shortly after his death, Ravarel runs to Aurelius, places a ring on him, and then takes the ring back. The group doesn’t know what the ring does, but it traps Aurelius’s soul within it. They take the enchanted brass knuckles (+1) from the godhand. Morthos swears to avenge Aurelius' death.The mysterious voice tells the group to come upstairs, and they comply. Ravarel carries Aurelius’s belongings, and whatever Ravarel can’t carry, BenDER takes with him.  When they reach the next room, they see a naked demon woman hanging from chains, her body pierced with hooks. She speaks about herself in the third person. Her name is Ashima-Shimtu. She explains that when Triegenes, the founder of the Clergy (a religion), defeated the Demonocracy, many demons were killed—but not her. She made a deal to survive by betraying other demons. She was then hung above this pit filled with holy water. The essences of other demons were also stored in this vault.Five hundred years ago, two people came to this island. Ashima-Shimtu gave them a ritual that could give belief a physical form. This ritual was used to summon an avatar of the goddess Srasama, who was later killed by the Clergy. The Clergy wanted to know the ritual as well, but Ashima-Shimtu refused to reveal it.  She seems to know personal details about the characters.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Zuna: The woman who embraces chaos and loves poultry and eggs.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">BEN: The entity that sometimes pretends to be purely factual, but harbors feelings inside.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Ravarel: The man driven by a quest for vengeance against another man.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Morthos: The man driven by a quest for vengeance for a goddess.  </li> </ul>Ashima-Shimtu claims that through meditation, she has improved her morality. She offers the characters free teleportation to anywhere they choose. All they need to do is jump into the pit and name their destination. The group debates whether they trust the demon and, if so, where they should go.  BenDER sends his bird upward. It sees that Ottavia has died from the zombies. Luc and Bree are nowhere to be seen. Eventually, the group decides to teleport to Vendricce. They jump into the pit of water and name a Vekeshi temple in Vendricce as their destination.  501 A.O.V., Winter, Day 16They wake up, washed ashore near the temple in Vendricce.  <code class="bbCodeInline">Note: Interestingly, the group still isn't sure if Luc is to be trusted or not. Their behavior made Luc think they were on to him (destroying the lanterns, mentioning Caius Bergeron to Bree, etc.), but that was actually a miscalculation of Luc. I am planning on changing the dialog at the Vendricce train depot to make sure they understand why Luc thought they knew they were on to him.</code><code class="bbCodeInline">Note: Aurelius died! But I think his player understands that it was a consequence of his own actions. He shouldn't have 'summoned' a second golden doppelganger before really finding out what the doppelganger was all about. Also his teammates should have tried to stabilize or heal him. He died simply by rolling bad on his death saves.</code></blockquote>

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