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[CAMPAIGN] Out of the Abyss [SPOILERS]
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<blockquote data-quote="Celtavian" data-source="post: 7015067" data-attributes="member: 5834"><p><strong>The Giggling God of the Upright Hyenas</strong></p><p></p><p>The heroes laid the fallen cleric to rest. Now they had no healer.</p><p></p><p>The heroes were well past civilization or what counts for civilization in the Underdark. This was uncharted territory save for the mad wizards like Vizeran that wandered such places secretly. Jharzzle's extraordinary Underdark guide abilities were tested as he traversed territory he had never traveled. He kept the trail following the directions Vizeran listed on his map.</p><p></p><p>Apothicas sensing a need did a sending with his amulet to a priestess of Shar, she came through the darkness to his location utilizing shadow magic known only to her sect. The others were uneasy with this new drow priestess, but Tytus tolerated her because she was not a follower of Lolth. She joined their cause knowing that Apothicas's loyalty to Shar was unwavering. He must have some plan to gain power and sow the dark evil of their goddess.</p><p></p><p>Many days after leaving the maze, traveling in the dark coldness of endless stone tunnels and caverns, giggling echoed far ahead. At first a soft echo, but growing louder as they moved forward. Jharzzle and Apothicas scouted forward a hundred feet. A few miles later, a vast horde of gnolls and ghouls moved down the tunnels like a moving carpet. They fell back, but too late. Their Lord's eyes saw better in the dark than they. He followed their return.</p><p></p><p>Apothicas quickly came up with the excellent idea of using the <em>Daern's Instant Fortress</em>. It acted as a bulwark against the coming horde. Before the heroes could rush into the protective walls, a gnoll of immense size and demonic fury wielding a three-headed flail appeared in their midst. It unleashed it's fury on them. This was no common demon of The Abyss, Darcain revealed, "Behold, Yeenoghu, Demon Lord of the Abyss."</p><p></p><p>The battle ensued. The heroes threw all of their might against Yeenoghu. Tytus and Darcain fell, but not without unleashing the twin powers of Hell and Seveltarm against the Demon Lord. Jharzzle swore the oath of Eilistraee making Yeenoghu its enemy. Apothicas erected a <em>wall of force</em> to keep Yeenoghu's oncoming horde at bay. The endless gnolls and ghouls could not penetrate. The newly arrived priestess proved her worth summoning a shadow self that moved about the battlefield providing blessings both from her and her shadow. With Darcain barely saved by a reviving spell from the priestess and Tytus fallen, Yeenoghu's assault turned to the fortress where Jharzzle hid within. He was so weakened that a smite from Apothicas felled the Demon Lord's physical form, weaker in the mortal realm than it would have been in the Abyss. Yeenoghu's body was but a vessel, it's demonic soul departed home to take up once again rule of its abyssal realm. The horde of gnolls and ghouls fled in madness seeking their Lord fall.</p><p></p><p>The heroes recovered. They took blood from Yeenoghu's corpose. Jharzzle tracked the path of Yeenoghu chancing upon the needed number of timmask's mushrooms in one of Yeenoghu's mighty footprints. Now they had a demon lord's blood, timmask mushrooms from a powerful demon's footprint, and a goristro heart. They were making progress.</p><p></p><p>********</p><p></p><p><strong>DM's Notes:</strong> The battle went well in my mind's eye. Every player contributed substantially. Yeenoghu brought multiple players to the brink of death. Their was some effective tactical maneuvering. This is what I look for in epic battles. </p><p></p><p>I'm more and more abandoning my 3E/<em>Pathfinder</em> mindset of a static world with races requiring a specific set of statistics to make them seem real. I'm embracing what I consider 5E's cinematic vision of D&D. I'm building encounters with a visual idea of what they will look like when all the parts are moving. I'm building monsters with a cinematic visual idea of what they should be able to do. For example, if I want a monster to be able to physically dominate a fight with magic unable to impede this ability, then I build them in a way that accomplishes this forcing the PCs to use alternative means to defeat them, sometimes just brute force. I also increase their ability to hit and save to a level that ensures there will be sufficient damage output and defense against the PCs to seriously injure them. I do not want PCs walking away from fights with demon lords feeling unscathed no matter how powerful their magic items or effective their tactics. Some creatures should be so powerful that facing them is near suicide. What makes heroes heroes is they often face suicidal battles and somehow win. That's why they rise to become epic heroes. I feel it is up to the DM to create that suicidal battle where the PCs have to throw everything they have into it and still have no surety of victory. You want them to feel like they're in the battle of their lives risking everything to succeed and save the world, kingdom, village, or whatever they're trying to accomplish. What makes stories so compelling are the stakes and the lack of surety that the heroes will survive. A good DM wanting to give their players the thrill of playing a role in an epic, heroic story should do their best to create these types of battles to provide the amazing experience of a pulse-pounding, near-death battle with everything on the line.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Celtavian, post: 7015067, member: 5834"] [b]The Giggling God of the Upright Hyenas[/b] The heroes laid the fallen cleric to rest. Now they had no healer. The heroes were well past civilization or what counts for civilization in the Underdark. This was uncharted territory save for the mad wizards like Vizeran that wandered such places secretly. Jharzzle's extraordinary Underdark guide abilities were tested as he traversed territory he had never traveled. He kept the trail following the directions Vizeran listed on his map. Apothicas sensing a need did a sending with his amulet to a priestess of Shar, she came through the darkness to his location utilizing shadow magic known only to her sect. The others were uneasy with this new drow priestess, but Tytus tolerated her because she was not a follower of Lolth. She joined their cause knowing that Apothicas's loyalty to Shar was unwavering. He must have some plan to gain power and sow the dark evil of their goddess. Many days after leaving the maze, traveling in the dark coldness of endless stone tunnels and caverns, giggling echoed far ahead. At first a soft echo, but growing louder as they moved forward. Jharzzle and Apothicas scouted forward a hundred feet. A few miles later, a vast horde of gnolls and ghouls moved down the tunnels like a moving carpet. They fell back, but too late. Their Lord's eyes saw better in the dark than they. He followed their return. Apothicas quickly came up with the excellent idea of using the [i]Daern's Instant Fortress[/i]. It acted as a bulwark against the coming horde. Before the heroes could rush into the protective walls, a gnoll of immense size and demonic fury wielding a three-headed flail appeared in their midst. It unleashed it's fury on them. This was no common demon of The Abyss, Darcain revealed, "Behold, Yeenoghu, Demon Lord of the Abyss." The battle ensued. The heroes threw all of their might against Yeenoghu. Tytus and Darcain fell, but not without unleashing the twin powers of Hell and Seveltarm against the Demon Lord. Jharzzle swore the oath of Eilistraee making Yeenoghu its enemy. Apothicas erected a [i]wall of force[/i] to keep Yeenoghu's oncoming horde at bay. The endless gnolls and ghouls could not penetrate. The newly arrived priestess proved her worth summoning a shadow self that moved about the battlefield providing blessings both from her and her shadow. With Darcain barely saved by a reviving spell from the priestess and Tytus fallen, Yeenoghu's assault turned to the fortress where Jharzzle hid within. He was so weakened that a smite from Apothicas felled the Demon Lord's physical form, weaker in the mortal realm than it would have been in the Abyss. Yeenoghu's body was but a vessel, it's demonic soul departed home to take up once again rule of its abyssal realm. The horde of gnolls and ghouls fled in madness seeking their Lord fall. The heroes recovered. They took blood from Yeenoghu's corpose. Jharzzle tracked the path of Yeenoghu chancing upon the needed number of timmask's mushrooms in one of Yeenoghu's mighty footprints. Now they had a demon lord's blood, timmask mushrooms from a powerful demon's footprint, and a goristro heart. They were making progress. ******** [B]DM's Notes:[/B] The battle went well in my mind's eye. Every player contributed substantially. Yeenoghu brought multiple players to the brink of death. Their was some effective tactical maneuvering. This is what I look for in epic battles. I'm more and more abandoning my 3E/[i]Pathfinder[/i] mindset of a static world with races requiring a specific set of statistics to make them seem real. I'm embracing what I consider 5E's cinematic vision of D&D. I'm building encounters with a visual idea of what they will look like when all the parts are moving. I'm building monsters with a cinematic visual idea of what they should be able to do. For example, if I want a monster to be able to physically dominate a fight with magic unable to impede this ability, then I build them in a way that accomplishes this forcing the PCs to use alternative means to defeat them, sometimes just brute force. I also increase their ability to hit and save to a level that ensures there will be sufficient damage output and defense against the PCs to seriously injure them. I do not want PCs walking away from fights with demon lords feeling unscathed no matter how powerful their magic items or effective their tactics. Some creatures should be so powerful that facing them is near suicide. What makes heroes heroes is they often face suicidal battles and somehow win. That's why they rise to become epic heroes. I feel it is up to the DM to create that suicidal battle where the PCs have to throw everything they have into it and still have no surety of victory. You want them to feel like they're in the battle of their lives risking everything to succeed and save the world, kingdom, village, or whatever they're trying to accomplish. What makes stories so compelling are the stakes and the lack of surety that the heroes will survive. A good DM wanting to give their players the thrill of playing a role in an epic, heroic story should do their best to create these types of battles to provide the amazing experience of a pulse-pounding, near-death battle with everything on the line. [/QUOTE]
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[CAMPAIGN] Out of the Abyss [SPOILERS]
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