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Message: <blockquote data-quote="THEMNGMNT" data-source="post: 8585834" data-attributes="member: 6809274">17th session of Monte Cook's 3E Banewarrens campaign run with Shadow of the Demon Lord on Owlbear Rodeo.Five player characters at Level 3:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Dwarf Fighter/Warrior. Heir to a lost kingdom. His trinket is half of a treasure map.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Elf Wizard/Magician. Outcast from elven lands, raised in Ptolus, keeper of a dark secret. His magical traditions are Arcana, Teleportation, Chaos, and Fey.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Goblin Oracle/Magician. Responsible for the destruction of his tribe. Specialized in the Fire and Forbidden magic traditions.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Changeling Spellbinder/Magician. Created by House Vladaam to replace a child they kidnapped and held in servitude. Naturally, she wants revenge. Celestial and Battle traditions.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Human Paladin/Priest. Cleric of Lothian, the primary god of Ptolus. His magical traditions are Life, Theurgy, and Battle. His wife was murdered by undead and now he seeks answers.</li> </ul>Characters are nearly finished exploring the first map of the Outer Vaults. This session started with them being ambushed by Szethea the gorgon, a Pactlord of the Quaan that had been trapped inside the Banewarrens for weeks. I used the gorgon stats from the core rulebook. That's an end level boss so I toned it down. Worked great for a tough fight. I compared the stats to the 4E medusa from the Monster Vault and they were functionally identical. That's interesting information I'll keep in mind moving forward, because there are a lot of great 4E monsters but the bestiary for SotDL is somewhat thin. (Obviously there's a difference in many of the numbers.)The downside to this battle was that all the players were so scared of being turned to stone that they kept their eyes averted for the entire fight. That led to a lot of whiffing. And it also meant I didn't get a chance to turn anyone to stone [sad DM emoji]. Halfway through the fight the players considered fleeing. Their only exit was through a frost trap that could freeze them solid. They decided to stand and fight. Eventually they knocked the gorgon unconscious. They threw a bag over her head, bound her hands, and waited for her to wake up. They questioned her and got some intel on the Pactlords. Then they dragged her into the frost trap and put her on ice, literally.In the gorgon's possession was a fragment of the staff of shards, which is a major magic item from the adventure. More on that next time...Next session: The players finish their exploration of this level and ascend deeper into the Outer Vaults.</blockquote>

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