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Message: <blockquote data-quote="THEMNGMNT" data-source="post: 8141090" data-attributes="member: 6809274">110th session. Player characters are on the cusp of 20th level. We opened mid-combat in a cliffside fortress where the Cult of Tiamat was performing a ceremony to ritually murder an ancient silver dragon and use her power to free Tiamat from the Nine Hells. The PCs disrupted the ritual, slaying a trio of blue abishai and an ancient blue dragon. The elf arcane trickster rogue brought down the ancient blue almost single-handedly with a quiver full of arrows of dragon slaying. However, a horde of a hundred white abishai were converging on the PCs' position. The half-elf bard (who is now the Open Lord of Waterdeep) polymorphed into a CR18 Walking Statue of Waterdeep, picked up the dragon's corpse, and hurled it down in front of the abishai. "This is your god!" he roared. The abishai turned and fled. It was an awesome scene that showcased just how epic 19th level characters can be.The silver dragon was still trapped in a magical slumber. And, oh yeah, she's the mother of the human beast master ranger. This is the first time he's met his mother. It's also the first time the PCs have encountered a good dragon. We roleplayed a quiet moment that dramatized the magnitude of the moment. After casting several spells to free the dragon, they realized the only way to do so was to go into the dragon's dream. One by one, the PCs touched the dragon, slumped unconscious, and awakened inside her dream.The dream was a vision of the silver dragon's cliffside fortress transported to the first layer of Hell and surrounded by a sea of fire. The dragon was bound by shackles themed around dragon breath. The PCs needed to use their wits and abilities to figure out how to break the shackles. And that's when Tiamat showed up.There was a palpable change in the players' energy when I said her name. It was a bit of a "Holy s--t!" moment. I've positioned Tiamat as the boss villain and so the players know a fight with her is on the horizon. But they weren't expecting her to appear now (even if it's only a dream version). Behind the screen, I wanted an opportunity to use Tiamat in a fight before the climax so I could see how she plays.Next session: Tiamat rolls for initiative!</blockquote>

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