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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jefe Bergenstein" data-source="post: 6540269" data-attributes="member: 31506">So to follow up, ran the fight this weekend. The original setup consisted of 4 zombies, a 7th level shapechanger rogue disguised to look like a zombie, and an 8th level sorcerer/cleric with a willing sacrificial victim who was to serve as the demon's host. The cleric was performing a ritual, and if not disrupted by the end of the 2nd round of combat, the demon's essence would flood into the poor mortal, and the Barlgura burst out of him on the 4th round of the fight. This would also open a portal to the a sublayer of the abyss in the temple, as well as the town square of their village. Dretch would subsequently flood into the town. Party consisted of a 3rd level oath of the ancients paladin, 3rd level infernal warlock, 3rd level thief rogue, an imp, and a 4th level cleric of life.The zombies were able to tie down movement by bottlenecking and grappling at a choke point to effectively prevent two of the party members from reaching the cleric and the disguised rogue got a nasty sneak attack off on the party's rogue. Despite their best efforts, they were unable to disrupt the ritual in time, and the cultist began his transformation. The party wisely ignored the zombies in the fight, and a lucky crit smite from the paladin sent the enemy rogue scurrying to the abyss for safety. The ritual finished, the cleric/sorcerer joined the fray for a few rounds, casting swift blade ward and some nasty spells until he was taken to half hit points then decided to sit in a resilent sphere and take notes. Everyone but the warlock was dropped to 0 at least one, and the rogue was almost killed by zombies that continued to attack her while down until the paladin turned them. The barl'gura was pretty devastating, and downed the paladin, who was yo-yo'd up by the cleric (who was then downed by the demon). The rogue fed people healing potions with her fast hands, and they managed to prevail. The fight would have been super deadly for their level if played straight, but they had a few things going for them. The cult leader spent the first 2 rounds bringing in a reinforcement that didnt show up until the 4th. Both NPC's didnt fight to the death, and bailed at around 1/2 to 1/3 HP. Also, because the barlgura burst onto the  scene mid fight, he lsot the element of surprise he would have otherwise have with invisibility, and his and the party's placement was poor for his entangle. Had he ambushed the party, it would have been much worse for them. With the demon dead (the barlgura effectively was an aspect of an ape demon lord) the portals were closing. Realizing they needed to act fast, the party ran through the closing portal INTO the abyss, vaulted over the pile of dretch that were logjammed trying to get through the poral (CE creatures are just poor at waiting in line in an orderly fashion), and through the portal in the Abyss that lead back to town where they split up to rescue NPC's from burning buildings, stop dretch from slaughtering the horses in the stable, and aid the temple and town guard in chasing off a babau. Everyone felt pretty badass to say the least and a good time was had by all.</blockquote>

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