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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Blue" data-source="post: 8666774" data-attributes="member: 20564">Session #40 of my Masks of the Imperium D&D 5e campaign.  The party the previous session just had a massive ambush they set up to take down a big bad, only to find out that one of their party was missing from the ambush.They managed to deal with the evil Duke Warlock who had made a pact and was housing an Oinoloth inside him, started investigating the missing character (written out because the player wasn't able to attend three sessions), and were whisked via a magical line-of-sight mirror gateway to: The Moon.For those not following around at home, the world is the body of a murdered god, and the moon is literally her decapitated skull.  Both big enough and now old enough that they aren't quite noticeable as such.This session was the last he was gone.  They ended up on much more of a railroad then I normally run on a mission to rescue their friend, just so I can ensure that he shows up at the right point.  They discovered a minor High Elven House, fled hundred of years ago during the "subtle civil war".  And a strange Oracular figure they had been finding out about.  They were welcomed, fed, and given enough time for a short rest, at which point their host announced that The Oracle said that if the bell chimed that he would have desperate need of his companions.  That Notum (the missing High Elf Rogue PC) was trying to capture a being with literal memories of some of his nigh-destroyed House that might know where survivors are, something called a Flayer of Minds.So, having just had an all out battle verse a BBEG where they expended many resources and consumables, and a short test, they set out.  Unknown to the party, Notum had been told by The Oracle that he might be followed by the party, and he carefully marked every trap in a way they would find.  Still, between loud noises trying to solve the entry puzzle and the Eladrin Bard who couldn't keep her hands off a bookcase that was marked trapped, they still triggered a skeletal defender of the lair and alerted the master of the house.So the 8th level party is freaking out having to go against a rogue Mind Flayer, something they have never encountered but the players are quite familiar with from previous editions.  What they don't realize is that their information is centuries out of date.  They aren't going against a Mind Flayer.  They are going against an Alhoon, a mind flayer lich.Heh.And his pet.Double heh.Do you know you can infect a Beholder with a Mindflayer tadpole.  You get something called a Mindwitness.Now, the short rest game back wildshape to the Moon Druid, so that he's low on spells isn't as huge a deal.  And when fighting the BBEG, the bard had been leading the crowd at the arena in the exorcism charts to purge the Oinoloth from the Duke's body, so she still has most of her spells left.  And while the paladin is out of spell slots for smites, he does have a Mace of Disruption which will do quite nicely against the undead Alhoon.  The Twilight Cleric got her Channel Divinities back and is buffing everyone, and the missing character is full up.  Still, I expect that there will be more than a little fear of death as each successive bit of "oh no" is revealed.So we ended the session mid-battle, and when we start next session we will have the missing player who's rogue has been lining up the "perfect shot" - he'll go at the top of round with a guaranteed crit.  Dramatic entrance, and something different then having to be saved which is how he had been introduced into the campaign.After this battle they'll level up.  And then - adventures on the Moon.</blockquote>

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