You Don’t Have To Leave Wolfy Behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' Your Companions Level Up With You!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="THEMNGMNT" data-source="post: 8503379" data-attributes="member: 6809274">33rd session in my Dragon Heist/Deck of Many Things mashup. 7th level half-orc fighter, halfling rogue, and half-elf evoker wizard/grave cleric.In the last session, all of the characters had been brought to 0 hit points by a CR13 dire troll who was an enforcer for the Xanathar's Guild. In this session, they woke up in the Xanathar's fish bowl. Of course, they didn't know that's where they were -- it took the entire session to realize that they had literally become fish food.This is the premise behind a great little AL adventure called "Underworld Speculation" and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to weave it into this campaign organically.The characters awoke in a dark cave. There was a pool of water with a submerged tunnel leading out. They were at half hit points but with the benefits of a long rest. All of their gear was gone. Forever.(I'm actually going to have their gear show up again in an entirely different campaign with a different set of players -- different except for one guy, who'll immediately grok what happened when I do the reveal.)In the cave was a glowing orb that communicated with them telepathically. It gave them a few ambiguous cues about where they were and what it is. This orb contains the soul of a wizard that ties into other parts of the plot. I'm likely to make it a permanent, powerful magic item. But for now it's kind of dopey and sounds like HAL 9000.The wizard cast alter self and began to explore the network of submerged tunnels leading out of the cave. Eventually he emerged from the tunnels into what seemed like a tropical ocean. There was a castle with a portcullis, a kelp forest, and a whale-sized fish with the same colors as a goldfish circling ominously overhead. Around this time, the wizard's player began to realize he was trapped inside a goldfish bowl and was only 1 inch high.He swam over to the glass and cast thunderwave and magic missile. The glass cracked. The bowl shattered. The world titled and then tumbled.The characters found themselves on the floor of a massive room. They trekked out of the wreckage of the fish bowl and began to explore. They found a second, much larger fish bowl. Odd. They saw a silvery mirror engraved with runes. And they discovered a treasure chest -- the rogue was small enough to climb through the keyhole.I ended the session by show showing the players the cover of Xanathar's Guide to Everything, which depicts the beholder gazing into the fish bowl.Next session: The Xanathar's Lair! I've been rereading this chapter from Dragon Heist and it's a wonderfully weird place filled with stuff I would not have come up with. Should be lots of fun!</blockquote>

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