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Message: <blockquote data-quote="lykkenthrope" data-source="post: 9452573" data-attributes="member: 7045440">Session 9:CRUEL PIGS PARTY DO NOT READ UPON PAIN OF TOADStarted this session with our two missing dreams that were retconned to having happened during the long rest.Groms Dream: Grom starts off his dream as a very young half-orc. He sees his mother, who before this dream he had completely forgotten what she looked like, sounded like, given that she had died when he was so small. His mother affectionally calls Grom her “Great Warrior” they same phrase the voice in his head calls him.There was a heart filling montage of his mother and father teaching how to wield and axe and throw knives. In his dream he is getting ready to be inspected by a “Gruff Wolfman”.Grom performs an adorable demonstration with tiny axe for Inquisitor Guthwulf and he is tested for magical ability and acuity. The presentation went well, looking at the scene from the 3rd person in the dream, Grom noticed Ragesian soldiers coming up behind his parents as they watched. Guthwulf told little Grom that he passed, but that the “the loss of talent is such a pity” and then Guthwulf took out a long dagger and stabbed little Grom in the chest.Grom saw his child form crumple and his mother rush forward. She immediately knelt down and her hands glowed, stabilizing and healing her child. Guthwulf began to laugh and was very pleased in finally flushing Ushnar out of hiding, “did she really think she could steal from them and get away with it”: Groms mother, makes a parlay with Guthwulf to go peacefully if Grom and his dad could leave. As Grom’s father is walking away with an unconscious Grom in her arms and a fair distance away, Ushnar begins to channel her energy, cracks of light appear on her face, she takes an aggressive stance, summons a portal for her family to run through and begins to fight the surrounding Ragesian soldiers.Right as Grom’s father reaches the portal, he makes eye contact with his wife. Ushnar, seeing them at safety, stops fighting and dreaming Grom sees her get cut down by a soldier. A smile crosses her lips, better be free in death, than whatever Guthwulf wanted with her.As she died, the light started escaping from the cracks on her face. IT warped into white, grey, black, and red smoke and took the form of giant shadow beast and came flying towards Grom’s father. The portal quickly getting smaller, Grom’s dad stepped through and was on a side alley in Dassen, little Grom stirred in his arms and awoke, dreaming Grom snapped into his young self’s body and the last thing he saw before awaking was the shadow beast coming through the portal and enveloping him.Reshis Dream: [SPOILER="DM Note, Game Spoilers"]Reshi’s PC is someone I am still trying engage story/lore wise. He liked the mechanics of dnd, but wanted to play a dragonborn draconic background sorcerer for mechanical/battle reasons and not due to a “character”. There wasn’t much written about Dragonborn in the world, except they exist, so I took a lot of creative license to connect them somewhat to Synna, Trilla, and the Taranesti, hopefully he'll enjoy the plot hooks and background I gave him[/SPOILER]Reshi falls into a deep slumber and he’s back in his village high in mountain range within Ragesia. (think Kung Fu Panda vibes). It is a small community, almost entirely of Dragonborn, thriving and harmonious. A familiar, older, gold scaled hand rest on Reshi’s shoulder, his grandfather the village elder. Reshi follows his grandfather to a sacred location where there are motifs of the creation of the world, the 4 legendary beasts, the rise and fall of the dragons, and then a newer addition the fall of Synna and the loss of her daughter trilla (the last of the true dragons) to Coaltounge.Reshi’s grandfather recounts that battle to him, as the future village leader and keeper of the stories, he needs to learn them by heart. Reshi remembers getting angry, his father had left on an ill-begotten child fantasy adventure trying to find the truth of what happened to Synna and Trilla. Something about still feeling the power of their linage in this realm, that they couldn’t be gone. No matter what Ragesia said. Reshi’s father is presumed dead by this point (well over 20 years missing).The dream swirls and Reshi is in the middle of the village Ragesia soldiers had flown in on Wyvern to deliver the news of the impending Scourge. That all magically inclined Dragonborn would need to surrender to Ragesia for inspection at the base of the mountain in 6 months time. Reshi’s grandfather tried to stand up to the soldiers and Reshi knew in his memory this is when he died, but in the dream the staff he got from Menash appeared in his hand (looks like a Maypole, with metal wraps weaving down the pole from the ornate top) and before he had stood back as to not insight more violence for his people, he rushed forward to save his grandfather. The wraps on the staff sprang to life and turned the staff into a magical shield.The world exploded into vibrant color and there was his grandfather, whole with wings of dragon in an ethereal type plane. His grandfather commended him for finding the strength to stand up and fight and make a difference, his people need him. Grandfather added as he started to fade away that the Synna did not die in vain, his father was right, her daughter is out there, find her, find her.When Reshi awoke he was attuned to his staff and equal to his proficiency modifier, he could activate the staff on a successful nonmagical hit from an enemy –but before damage is rolled—and take half damage.Now the real start of Session 9: Unbeknownst to our heroes, the farmhouse was slowly being surrounded by Ragesian forces. A still angry Sorian was outside trying to find a chicken for Crystin to cook for dinner. Eventually he found one and called Ze inside. Ze had been patrolling the inner wall of the farm house fence.Ze felt uneasy, but unsure why. It was too quiet. So she was much slower in returning to the farmhouse. While everyone inside was getting settled either reading a book or helping in the kitchen, Ze finally got to the steps of backdoor to the farmhouse and was ambushed by a Ragesian Goblin and two skeletons.Torrent and Haddin rushed out the back to see what the commotion was as Vic ran with Crystin upstairs. Vic remembered seeing windows on the second floor and wanted to try and see what was happening from a better vantage point.Looking out the front window, Sorian saw a Ragesia solider and an Inquisitor on the hill on the other side of the road. Already angry from his dealings with Haddin, he raged and went running out the front door where he was then too ambushed by a Goblin.Grom joined him and Frenzied Rage for the first time in his life.When Grom entered his Frenzy he felt power surge through him and not just from the rage. The voice in his head filled him with two dueling powers: a golden-white lawful power to ensure that justice and order prevailed and a black-red more chaotic power to ensure that the righteous could be defended.[SPOILER="DM Note, Game Spoilers"]Grom is inhabited by the Trillith Propriety.  I had it planned that whenever he Frenzied Rage for the first time, this would activate/unlock his trillith boon.  I gave him the smaller saving throw advantage of “Rectitude” against creatures trying to grapple you. And a larger boon called: Arms of the Righteousness: Having a Strength of atleast 16, you can wield a heavy or 2-handed weapons in 1 hand and use two weapon fighting with such weapons.[/SPOILER]Sorian, Grom, and Reshi made quick work of the Ragesian solider, the goblin rogues, and the skeletons.Though, in the back they were having a bit more trouble.Haddin tried to dominate Ze so he could control her to fight more recklessly, but she put on her inquisitor mask and channeled her magic for the first time in 5 years and instinctively counterspelled the attempt to control her. Never again she thought. She was never going to let people have control of her fate. [SPOILER="DM Note: Mechanics"]Ze is on level with the rest of the heroes (lvl3) Shadowdancer Rogue but they really wanted the former inquisitor background. So we met in a cool middle that Ze could have access the inquisitor spell list (up to level 3) and one channel divinity per long rest with the caveat that she had to put on her old inquisitor mask to cast the magic AND to ensure balance: using the spells would give her 1pt of exhaustion and the CD would give her 2pts! [/SPOILER]The reality of what Ze did hit her literally like a ton of breaks, she was zapped of her strength, even walking was difficult. She then realized, to her horror, she did this in clear view of Haddin and Torrent. She quickly ripped the mask off her face, but she knew based off their looks of horror that it was too late.  They knew.  However, with the Goblin and skeletons pressing down on them, none could take the time to truly process what just occurred.Ze, exhausted and scared, hobbled inside, leaving her shadow outside to help with the fight. Haddin stonewalled the door to prevent the enemies from coming in that way, since Crystin was still inside.Vic and Crystin upstairs, were monitoring what was occurring in the front from the window. Unfortunately a well placed Silence kept Vic from being able to help at a distance.Back outfront, the barbarians and sorcerer finally took Smiley down and, though hurting, are now refocusing to face down Inquisitor Boreus. We ended here, so there will be a small session 10 next week.</blockquote>

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