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Raiders of the Overreach
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 8621288" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 55: THE CALLER OF THE DROWNED</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Cramer Appleknocker, gnome cleric 19</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Jhasspok, lizardman 3/barbarian 3/fighter 13</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Khari Hammerslammer, dwarf fighter 18/psychic warrior 1</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Marlo Pendragon, human sorcerer 19</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Utred "Buckets" Butterflinger, dwarf barbarian 19</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 27 April 2022</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>"And what exactly are we to do with these?" asked Utred, looking at the pair of starfish the mermaid Diviner had just handed to him. Other merfolk were distributing them to the other heroes as well, two to each. Each of the heroes was currently under the effects of a <em>water breathing</em> spell, allowing them to breathe and speak freely beneath the ocean.</p><p></p><p>"Place them directly on your skin," the Diviner replied. "They will provide you with protection against the crushing pressure of the lower depths." She further explained the depth adaptation starfish were a type of living magic item developed by the wizards among the merfolk tribe. "But do not take them out of the water," she warned the heroes. "We will need them back before you return to the surface."</p><p></p><p>"And we need these why?" asked Cramer, although he had a sneaking suspicion he already knew the reason. He loosened his robes and armor enough to place a starfish on each shoulder. Tightening his garments back up, his oversized shoulders made him look somewhat fiercer than his three-and-a-half-foot frame normally did. Utred plopped his on either side of his neck, where they'd be out of the way. Khari's starfish ended up on his forearms, where they gave the appearance of some exotic, undersea bracers.</p><p></p><p>"The Gate of Rylethek lies upon a ledge about 3,700 feet down from here," said the diviner, pointing down over the edge of the continental shelf by which the heroes stood. "Without proper protection you would be crushed to death before reaching your destination."</p><p></p><p>"I don't have skin," Jhasspok pointed out, holding a starfish in each hand. Marlo noticed the hungry look in the lizardfolks' eye.</p><p></p><p>"Don't eat them, Jhasspok!" she chided. "They should work attached to your scales just as well as on skin." She took them from him and spun him about, placing them high up on his back beneath his <em>slave-light cloak</em>. With any luck, he couldn't reach them on his own; she didn't trust the foolish reptile not to try to pry them off and take a bite if he got hungry enough. Jhasspok shrugged each shoulder in turn, trying to see if they would hinder his movements any, while Marlo applied her own starfish in a more traditional place.</p><p></p><p>"I fear your...toad will need to stay up here with us," the Diviner added, looking with mild distaste at Truffles's numerous tentacles swaying in the ocean currents. "We do not have any starfish scaled to his size." Marlo nodded her understanding and passed Truffles over to the Diviner, who hurriedly passed him on to one of the other merfolk attendants.</p><p></p><p>"It'll be dark that far down," Cramer mused. "The dwarves both have darkvision, as does Marlo with her <em>robe of eyes</em>, but Jhasspok and I will need a way to see in the dark."</p><p></p><p>"We have our cloaks," reminded Jhasspok, activating his own so it appeared to burst in harmless flame. He was surprised the gnome cleric would have forgotten something so basic.</p><p></p><p>"We don't want to attract the attention of every predator down there," the gnome chided. He turned to the merfolk. "Would any of your wizards be able to supply the lizard and I with a <em>darkvision</em> spell?" Two merfolk wizards swam forward and cast the requested spells upon the gnome and the lizardfolk. "Thank you, Food Man," Jhasspok said, deactivating the light from his cloak. The merman scowled in confusion while the other four heroes just shook their heads in disbelief. Still, at least Jhasspok had stopped laughing at the very sight of creatures with the upper torsos of humans and the lower bodies of fish, or "food" by the lizardfolk's way of thinking.</p><p></p><p>"Straight down there, huh?" asked Cramer, looking over the ledge down into darkness. "Okay, guys, buff spells." He cast a <em>magic circle against evil</em> spell on himself, following it up with <em>longstrider</em>, <em>moment of prescience</em>, and <em>spell turning</em>. Marlo cast a <em>magic circle against evil</em> spell upon herself, a <em>Rary's telepathic bond</em> spell on the whole group, and then a <em>stoneskin</em> on each of the others - she had a <em>brooch of petrified flesh</em> that performed the same function for her.</p><p></p><p>And then, as one, the group stepped over the edge of the continental shelf and dropped down into the darkness below.</p><p></p><p>The slope was fairly steep, but not too steep to make it too difficult to maneuver. Marlo kept leaping forward off into open water and letting her <em>boots of levitation</em> lower her down at a steady rate until she met back up with the descending cliff face. The dwarves, neither one particularly appreciating an aquatic environment, kept their faces to the cliff and scrambled down backwards, eager to get to the bottom and a solid floor once again. Cramer sat at his accustomed spot atop Utred's backpack, only facing behind the dwarf so he could get a better view of what lay before them. Jhasspok, of course, was in his element, his strong crocodilian tail sweeping back and forth as he happily swam ahead of the rest of the group, staying just close enough to the cliff wall to keep his friends in sight so they wouldn't get separated.</p><p></p><p>The magical vision provided by Marlo's <em>robe of eyes</em> granted her a view of twice the distance that of what her male companions could see, so she was the only one to see the crystal obelisk rising up from the seabed floor when they finally got to the bottom of the cliff. Disturbingly, the obelisk was ringed with literally dozens of undead bodies, each standing relatively motionlessly - their limbs and hair occasionally swaying in the ocean currents, but that was about it - as they stared in rapt attention at the crystal shaft before them. Marlo estimated the obelisk rose up from the seabed for a good 50 feet before tapering to a point for the last 10 feet.</p><p></p><p>After describing what she saw over the telepathic link, Marlo centered a <em>sunburst</em> spell at the top of the obelisk. A flash of brilliant light momentarily lit up each of the undead forms ringing the obelisk, then their bodies were disintegrated by the power of the sorceress's magical light. Darkness once again overtook the scene. Unseen even by Marlo's enhanced vision, the guardian of the Gate of Rylethek scampered out of the circle of the Writhing Gate beyond the crystal obelisk and slid over the edge of yet another cliff ledge leading further down in darkness.</p><p></p><p><Surely those zombies weren't guarding the Writhing Gate,> interjected Khari. <They weren't much of a defense.></p><p></p><p><I doubt it,> Marlo agreed, walking forward past the upthrust shaft of crystal. She could see the Writhing Gate just ahead, the ring of ten dead tentacles lying motionless against the seabed floor. <There's the Gate, though - and it looks like a pile of coins and gems heaped up in the middle of it!></p><p></p><p><Kind of suspicious,> pointed out Utred.</p><p></p><p><Illusion?> suggested Cramer, looking over to Marlo, whose magical vision didn't include <em>true seeing </em>but which enhanced her visual acuity to such an extent she was often able to tell the difference between illusory items and the real thing.</p><p></p><p><Looks legitimate,> she said.</p><p></p><p><I'll check it out!> offered Jhasspok, swimming forward and circling the Writhing Gate in a counterclockwise direction, the others moving slower behind him as they walked along the ocean floor. Then Utred activated his <em>winged boots</em> and used them to "fly" forward underwater. Cramer followed suit, casting a <em>fly</em> spell on himself and darting forward, leaving only Marlo and Khari walking upon the ocean floor. As Jhasspok got to the far side of the Writhing Gate he could see over the edge of the cliff, and there he saw an unusual sight: an enormous form, built like a squid but much, much larger than any squid the lizardfolk had ever seen. It clung motionlessly to the side of the cliff by the tips of several of its many tentacles, while a few others swayed around in a practiced fashion.</p><p></p><p>And then memories flooded into Jhasspok's brain: this was a kraken - in fact, this was his good friend Rylethek, who had looked after Jhasspok every time the lizardfolk went fishing underwater for the drow of the Overreach back in his fisher-slave days. Then a sudden worried thought crossed Jhasspok's mind: his friends were probably going to think his good friend Rylethek was dangerous! He'd have to make sure nobody did anything stupid, like attack the kraken for no good reason - you never could tell with these silly mammals!</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok spun around, battleaxe in hand in case he had to fight off his friends from the surface - and was immediately encompassed by an enormous hand composed of mystical force. Jhasspok struggled to free himself from the <em>Bigby's grasping hand</em> spell, to no avail.</p><p></p><p><Jhasspok's just fallen victim to a <em>charm monster</em> spell!> Marlo warned the others over the link, after making sure her <em>Bigby's grasping hand</em> spell was keeping him from attacking them. <There's a kraken on the other side of the ledge!></p><p></p><p><Kraken?> asked Khari as he raced forward, activating his <em>offensive prescience</em> psionic ability now that combat seemed imminent. <What's a kraken?> The dwarf had spent most of his life in the Underdark and had never heard of such a beast.</p><p></p><p>Neither had Utred for that matter, but whatever it was it had taken out Jhasspok with a single spell - although that was easily fixed. Flying forward by the power of his <em>winged boots</em>, the dwarven barbarian snagged Cramer as he passed and dragged him along for the ride. As soon as they got within ten feet of the struggling lizardfolk, Cramer's <em>magic circle against evil</em> spell temporarily blocked the kraken's <em>charm monster</em> spell, leaving Jhasspok's mind - such as it was - free of outside influence. Cramer made the effect permanent by casting a <em>protection from evil</em> spell on the lizardfolk. <He's good!> Cramer announced over the link and Marlo allowed the giant, magical hand to open up and release Jhasspok from its grasp, then redirected it to try to grab one of the kraken's tentacles.</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok took off like a shot, battleaxe raised to deliver a crippling blow to the kraken perched over the edge of the lower cliff-side. But one of the kraken's many tentacles darted out, wrapping around the lizardfolk's waist and extending down to encompass his legs and tail. But that didn't matter to Jhasspok, for he now had a tentacle in his immediate reach and he brought his axe-blade down to cut into the kraken's flesh. Rylethek reacted by crushing the lizardfolk in his grasp, tightening its grip on him until Jhasspok hissed in pain.</p><p></p><p>Marlo levitated 30 feet or so up above the seabed floor, until she could see the kraken crushing Jhasspok. Then she cast a <em>disintegrate</em> spell at the aquatic monster, hoping if the spell didn't outright kill the beast it would at least deal him a considerable amount of damage. She was very much surprised to see the spell bounce right off the creature and come right back at her. <em>I hope I haven't just killed myself!</em> she thought miserably as the <em>disintegrate</em> spell started ripping apart her body. But though it was a close call, she managed to tough it through the spell, gasping at how closely she'd come to fatally falling victim to her own spellcasting. She vowed to stick to spells that couldn't be "bounced" back her own way for the rest of this fight, not sure how many such spells the kraken's <em>spell turning</em> spell would be able to affect.</p><p></p><p>Hearing Marlo's cries of pain over the telepathic link, Utred grabbed up Cramer again and flew up to the sorceress, releasing the cleric to cast a <em>quickened cure critical wounds</em> spell upon her. After having tended to the worst of Marlo's wounds, Cramer cast a <em>divine power</em> spell upon himself, increasing his own combat power.</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok gritted his teeth against the pain of feeling his lower half getting crushed and put all of his effort into cutting into the tentacle that was trying to squish him like a bug. Again and again his blade cut deep into the thing's rubbery flesh, but there seemed to be something preventing his weapon from dealing its normal amount of damage - and sure enough there was, for the kraken had had time to cast a <em>stoneskin</em> spell upon himself after having seen his sea zombies taken out in a flash of blinding light from Marlo's <em>sunburst</em> spell. But each of Jhasspok's axe-strikes whittled away that much more protection from the kraken's hide and eventually they would overcome it entirely.</p><p></p><p>The lizardfolk felt himself being dragged laterally through the ocean as the tentacle grasping him was repositioned to the kraken's side. This was so Rylethek could send forth a blast of freezing energy from a <em>cone of cold</em> spell without catching his own tentacles in the area of effect. The other four heroes were all caught in the blast, to varying effect. Marlo responded almost immediately by summoning an elder water elemental to attack the kraken from behind, its watery fists pounding into the giant cephalopod's hardened shell. Khari, meanwhile, sank into the ocean bed using the power of his <em>earthglide warhammer</em> and only popped back up when he was past the creature's tentacles. Then he swung his weapon directly into the kraken's mouth. Utred swam directly at the kraken as well, barely avoiding a constricting tentacle and bringing his <em>Elderwood greenflame greataxe</em> slicing into its flesh.</p><p></p><p>Cramer decided to cast a summoning spell of his own, calling forth a fiendish dire shark. The great fish snapped at a passing tentacle but didn't manage to deal much in the way of damage, its razor-sharp teeth not even piercing the creature's rubbery flesh.</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok continued his barrage of weapon strikes, noticing the moment when he finally overpowered the kraken's <em>stoneskin</em> spell, for each swing of his battleaxe now penetrated deeper into the creature's flesh. Rylethek responded by casting forth a <em>mass suggestion</em> spell that those attacking him drop their weapons and immediately surrender to him; he was less than pleased to see none of his attackers paid any heed to his mental command.</p><p></p><p>Marlo, still hesitant to cast any spells directly upon the kraken until she knew for certain they wouldn't bounce back to affect her, used her <em>staff of transmutation</em> to cast a <em>mass enlarge person</em> spell upon the group, doubling everyone's size. Jhasspok screamed aloud at the transformation, for that only meant the tentacle imprisoning his legs and tail gripped him that much more tightly - but it also meant all five heroes could deal out more damage with their larger frames and double-sized weapons. Khari's warhammer now crashed down upon the kraken with more force behind the blow, as Utred used his greataxe to sever the tip of a rather unusual-looking tentacle indeed; this one had some sort of band of metal around it. (Unbeknownst to the dwarven barbarian, this was actually a <em>ring of spell turning</em>; Marlo would be perfectly safe casting spells against the kraken now, had she only realized it.)</p><p></p><p>Enjoying his new size but still slightly irritated he was still smaller than his companions, Cramer cast a <em>righteous might</em> spell upon himself and finally reached the same height as Utred, the raging dwarven barbarian he occasionally used as a riding mount. The gnome gripped his mace in his hand, ready to dish out a bit of physical damage to their enemy himself.</p><p></p><p>Rylethek sent a <em>mind blast</em> rippling out at all five heroes, hoping to at least prevent Jhasspok's continued attacks from dealing him any further damage. He failed in that regard - Jhasspok continued his axe-strikes as if nothing had happened, and even snapped at the kraken's torn flesh with his muzzle of sharp teeth - but both dwarves froze up immediately, so the attack had at least had some benefit to the kraken.</p><p></p><p>As the elder water elemental and the fiendish dire shark continued attacking the kraken, Marlo took a chance and cast a spell at it. She knew from Cramer that a <em>spell turning</em> spell had a limit as to how much spell energy it could redirect back at the caster before being used up - in that fashion, it was much like a <em>stoneskin</em> spell - and she knew the power of the <em>disintegrate</em> spell she'd cast at Rylethek earlier should have used up over half of its potential power. So she reasoned if she threw a <em>maximized disintegrate</em> spell at it, even at worst less than half of the spell's energy would be sent back at her, with the majority affecting the kraken as anticipated. And she was fairly certain she could handle a portion of her spell's effects if it came down to that.... Steeling herself for the possibility of a sudden influx of pain, she cast the spell - and was amazed and relived to find none of the spell's energy bounced back her way. But then she was disappointed to see the damn kraken had managed to shrug off the worst of the spell's effects in any case. Still, she'd at least learned its <em>spell turning</em> effect was no more, so she hurriedly informed the others about her findings; Cramer would be interested to know it was now safe to target the beast with direct-fire spells.</p><p></p><p>As indeed he was. Once he'd been notified it was now safe to do so, the gnome cleric wasted no time firing off a <em>harm</em> spell that greatly weakened the kraken. And then Jhasspok finished it off, getting in a flurry of axe-strikes close to the creature's eye as it mistakenly moved the lizardfolk within range with its tentacle. As it died its muscles relaxed, releasing Jhasspok from its rubbery grasp. The lizardfolk staggered out from the constricting tentacle, standing awkwardly on his feet with legs that didn't seem to want to support him for a moment.</p><p></p><p>As for Rylethek, his spirit was shunted back into the crystal obelisk where the real body of Saint Rylethek - in his true illithid form - was preserved in stasis. The crystal not only kept the mind flayer's body alive without needing sustenance, it also allowed him to use a <em>magic jar</em> effect to project his consciousness into the bodies of those nearby. Cursing the loss of the body of the fearsome kraken, an opportunity that had been too good to pass up when the massive cephalopod entered the range of effect of the obelisk's <em>magic jar</em> abilities, Saint Rylethek focused his attention on the only member of the surface folk not currently protected by either a <em>protection from evil</em> spell or a <em>magic circle against evil</em> spell, both of which prevented such body-dominating magic from taking effect. Khari Hammerslammer's dwarven form was certainly not as powerful a body as that of a kraken, but beggars couldn't be choosers and it would have to do.</p><p></p><p><Guys!> Khari called out to his friends as he felt a presence in his mind, trying to take over. <I'm under psionic attack!></p><p></p><p>It didn't take a genius to figure out from which direction a psionic attack would be coming, given the presence of a 60-foot-tall obelisk of crystal rising up like an antenna from the seabed floor. Two castings of a <em>maximized disintegration</em> spell later and Marlo had blasted a hole in the side of the column, revealing the body of the illithid held within.</p><p></p><p><Stop - you don't know what--!> began Saint Rylethek, telepathically pleading for his life before his body imploded from the water pressure all around him now that his crystalline protection had been blasted asunder.</p><p></p><p><You okay?> Cramer asked Khari, who had felt the psionic assault stop at the same moment the illithid's body had been crushed to a bloody pulp.</p><p></p><p><Yeah, I'm fine,> he told the gnome cleric. <And so is all of this treasure! It's real, isn't it, Marlo? Tell me it's real!></p><p></p><p><It's real all right,> Marlo assured him, pulling out the <em>bag of holding</em> so they could start transferring the kraken's treasure hoard into its extradimensional space. Utred, in the meantime, had removed the Null Axe from his back but then was faced with a dilemma: if he removed the outer wrapping which kept its powers at bay, then as soon as he started wielding it all magical effects upon him would be temporarily negated - which would include not only the <em>water breathing</em> spell that allowed him to breathe but also the two depth adaptation starfish on the sides of his beefy neck that were preventing him from suffering a quick and violent death like Saint Rylethek had just experienced. And yet the Null Axe was needed to chop each of the ten tentacles that made up the Writhing Gate at their root, permanently deactivating the link to the Far Realm. However, a few moments of serious thought revealed a solution: Utred pulled the special wrapping from the Null Axe and then wrapped it around the weapon's shaft so he could pick it up without actually touching it. The special anti-magic properties of the wrapping prevented the Null Axe from undoing any of his own ongoing magical effects. He started chopping away at each of the tentacles in turn and by the time he was done the others had finished stuffing the kraken's treasure into the <em>bag of holding</em> for transport back to the surface. Marlo folded it back up and returned it to her belt pouch.</p><p></p><p><Alright, back up we go!> announced Cramer. Jhasspok was off like a shot, his powerful tail propelling him forward and up the side of the cliff. Utred and Cramer each still had their magical means of flying, and the barbarian pulled his fellow dwarf along as Khari climbed up the side of the cliff. Marlo used her <em>boots of levitation</em> to rise directly upwards and Jhasspok was more than happy to give her a gentle push closer to the cliff face as they rose in elevation above the seabed floor.</p><p></p><p><I'll bet Truffles will be glad to see me again,> Marlo said over the link.</p><p></p><p><I'll just bet the little fellow's enjoyed having a few moments not having to worry about Jhasspok making a meal of him,> Khari added. Jhasspok glared at Khari with a look of betrayal. <em>How did he know?</em> Jhasspok wondered to himself. <em>I'll bet I can eat the toad when we're both underwater, so he won't be able to start on fire like the last time</em>.</p><p></p><p><Jhasspok!> scolded Marlo. <You're not eating Truffles!> Then, seeing the look of fear and incomprehension on the lizardfolk's face, she added, <The <em>Rary's telepathic bond</em> spell is still in effect - and you're thinking loud enough for all of us to hear!></p><p></p><p><Sorry, Marlo,> Jhasspok thought to the sorceress over the link, a note of dejection in his mental "voice." Stupid magic! Always messing up his plans!</p><p></p><p><I heard that, too, Jhasspok.></p><p></p><p><Sorry, Marlo,> Jhasspok repeated.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>It was great getting back into the game after a two-month hiatus. (One of our players was recovering from surgery.) Logan used a kraken toy that came with a "Pirates of the Caribbean" Lego-like playset he had when he was a kid as the kraken, which he had advanced to double its normal Hit Dice to make it a worthy foe against a quintet of 19th-level PCs. I also fished out (no pun intended) a shark toy that we use for Huge sharks in D&D when Dan decided he'd have Cramer summon a fiendish dire shark. (The silly thing was useless the whole adventure, though, not once making a successful bite attack against the kraken.)</p><p></p><p>The sea zombies surrounding the crystal obelisk were just there for "window dressing" - they weren't intended to be a threat to us, but in-game they were attracted by the psionic energies of the obelisk and were a handy food source for the kraken. These were "the drowned" in the adventure's title.</p><p></p><p>And now we're down to the last three adventures in this campaign, which means this will end up consisting of 58 adventures overall, pretty close to Logan's earlier 60-adventure "Durnhill Conscripts" campaign. After that, Dan will be running us through a campaign, the first one he'll have run in about 40 years.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 8621288, member: 508"] [B]ADVENTURE 55: THE CALLER OF THE DROWNED[/B] PC Roster: [INDENT]Cramer Appleknocker, gnome cleric 19[/INDENT] [INDENT] Jhasspok, lizardman 3/barbarian 3/fighter 13[/INDENT] [INDENT] Khari Hammerslammer, dwarf fighter 18/psychic warrior 1[/INDENT] [INDENT] Marlo Pendragon, human sorcerer 19[/INDENT] [INDENT] Utred "Buckets" Butterflinger, dwarf barbarian 19[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 27 April 2022 - - - "And what exactly are we to do with these?" asked Utred, looking at the pair of starfish the mermaid Diviner had just handed to him. Other merfolk were distributing them to the other heroes as well, two to each. Each of the heroes was currently under the effects of a [I]water breathing[/I] spell, allowing them to breathe and speak freely beneath the ocean. "Place them directly on your skin," the Diviner replied. "They will provide you with protection against the crushing pressure of the lower depths." She further explained the depth adaptation starfish were a type of living magic item developed by the wizards among the merfolk tribe. "But do not take them out of the water," she warned the heroes. "We will need them back before you return to the surface." "And we need these why?" asked Cramer, although he had a sneaking suspicion he already knew the reason. He loosened his robes and armor enough to place a starfish on each shoulder. Tightening his garments back up, his oversized shoulders made him look somewhat fiercer than his three-and-a-half-foot frame normally did. Utred plopped his on either side of his neck, where they'd be out of the way. Khari's starfish ended up on his forearms, where they gave the appearance of some exotic, undersea bracers. "The Gate of Rylethek lies upon a ledge about 3,700 feet down from here," said the diviner, pointing down over the edge of the continental shelf by which the heroes stood. "Without proper protection you would be crushed to death before reaching your destination." "I don't have skin," Jhasspok pointed out, holding a starfish in each hand. Marlo noticed the hungry look in the lizardfolks' eye. "Don't eat them, Jhasspok!" she chided. "They should work attached to your scales just as well as on skin." She took them from him and spun him about, placing them high up on his back beneath his [I]slave-light cloak[/I]. With any luck, he couldn't reach them on his own; she didn't trust the foolish reptile not to try to pry them off and take a bite if he got hungry enough. Jhasspok shrugged each shoulder in turn, trying to see if they would hinder his movements any, while Marlo applied her own starfish in a more traditional place. "I fear your...toad will need to stay up here with us," the Diviner added, looking with mild distaste at Truffles's numerous tentacles swaying in the ocean currents. "We do not have any starfish scaled to his size." Marlo nodded her understanding and passed Truffles over to the Diviner, who hurriedly passed him on to one of the other merfolk attendants. "It'll be dark that far down," Cramer mused. "The dwarves both have darkvision, as does Marlo with her [I]robe of eyes[/I], but Jhasspok and I will need a way to see in the dark." "We have our cloaks," reminded Jhasspok, activating his own so it appeared to burst in harmless flame. He was surprised the gnome cleric would have forgotten something so basic. "We don't want to attract the attention of every predator down there," the gnome chided. He turned to the merfolk. "Would any of your wizards be able to supply the lizard and I with a [I]darkvision[/I] spell?" Two merfolk wizards swam forward and cast the requested spells upon the gnome and the lizardfolk. "Thank you, Food Man," Jhasspok said, deactivating the light from his cloak. The merman scowled in confusion while the other four heroes just shook their heads in disbelief. Still, at least Jhasspok had stopped laughing at the very sight of creatures with the upper torsos of humans and the lower bodies of fish, or "food" by the lizardfolk's way of thinking. "Straight down there, huh?" asked Cramer, looking over the ledge down into darkness. "Okay, guys, buff spells." He cast a [I]magic circle against evil[/I] spell on himself, following it up with [I]longstrider[/I], [I]moment of prescience[/I], and [I]spell turning[/I]. Marlo cast a [I]magic circle against evil[/I] spell upon herself, a [I]Rary's telepathic bond[/I] spell on the whole group, and then a [I]stoneskin[/I] on each of the others - she had a [I]brooch of petrified flesh[/I] that performed the same function for her. And then, as one, the group stepped over the edge of the continental shelf and dropped down into the darkness below. The slope was fairly steep, but not too steep to make it too difficult to maneuver. Marlo kept leaping forward off into open water and letting her [I]boots of levitation[/I] lower her down at a steady rate until she met back up with the descending cliff face. The dwarves, neither one particularly appreciating an aquatic environment, kept their faces to the cliff and scrambled down backwards, eager to get to the bottom and a solid floor once again. Cramer sat at his accustomed spot atop Utred's backpack, only facing behind the dwarf so he could get a better view of what lay before them. Jhasspok, of course, was in his element, his strong crocodilian tail sweeping back and forth as he happily swam ahead of the rest of the group, staying just close enough to the cliff wall to keep his friends in sight so they wouldn't get separated. The magical vision provided by Marlo's [I]robe of eyes[/I] granted her a view of twice the distance that of what her male companions could see, so she was the only one to see the crystal obelisk rising up from the seabed floor when they finally got to the bottom of the cliff. Disturbingly, the obelisk was ringed with literally dozens of undead bodies, each standing relatively motionlessly - their limbs and hair occasionally swaying in the ocean currents, but that was about it - as they stared in rapt attention at the crystal shaft before them. Marlo estimated the obelisk rose up from the seabed for a good 50 feet before tapering to a point for the last 10 feet. After describing what she saw over the telepathic link, Marlo centered a [I]sunburst[/I] spell at the top of the obelisk. A flash of brilliant light momentarily lit up each of the undead forms ringing the obelisk, then their bodies were disintegrated by the power of the sorceress's magical light. Darkness once again overtook the scene. Unseen even by Marlo's enhanced vision, the guardian of the Gate of Rylethek scampered out of the circle of the Writhing Gate beyond the crystal obelisk and slid over the edge of yet another cliff ledge leading further down in darkness. <Surely those zombies weren't guarding the Writhing Gate,> interjected Khari. <They weren't much of a defense.> <I doubt it,> Marlo agreed, walking forward past the upthrust shaft of crystal. She could see the Writhing Gate just ahead, the ring of ten dead tentacles lying motionless against the seabed floor. <There's the Gate, though - and it looks like a pile of coins and gems heaped up in the middle of it!> <Kind of suspicious,> pointed out Utred. <Illusion?> suggested Cramer, looking over to Marlo, whose magical vision didn't include [I]true seeing [/I]but which enhanced her visual acuity to such an extent she was often able to tell the difference between illusory items and the real thing. <Looks legitimate,> she said. <I'll check it out!> offered Jhasspok, swimming forward and circling the Writhing Gate in a counterclockwise direction, the others moving slower behind him as they walked along the ocean floor. Then Utred activated his [I]winged boots[/I] and used them to "fly" forward underwater. Cramer followed suit, casting a [I]fly[/I] spell on himself and darting forward, leaving only Marlo and Khari walking upon the ocean floor. As Jhasspok got to the far side of the Writhing Gate he could see over the edge of the cliff, and there he saw an unusual sight: an enormous form, built like a squid but much, much larger than any squid the lizardfolk had ever seen. It clung motionlessly to the side of the cliff by the tips of several of its many tentacles, while a few others swayed around in a practiced fashion. And then memories flooded into Jhasspok's brain: this was a kraken - in fact, this was his good friend Rylethek, who had looked after Jhasspok every time the lizardfolk went fishing underwater for the drow of the Overreach back in his fisher-slave days. Then a sudden worried thought crossed Jhasspok's mind: his friends were probably going to think his good friend Rylethek was dangerous! He'd have to make sure nobody did anything stupid, like attack the kraken for no good reason - you never could tell with these silly mammals! Jhasspok spun around, battleaxe in hand in case he had to fight off his friends from the surface - and was immediately encompassed by an enormous hand composed of mystical force. Jhasspok struggled to free himself from the [I]Bigby's grasping hand[/I] spell, to no avail. <Jhasspok's just fallen victim to a [I]charm monster[/I] spell!> Marlo warned the others over the link, after making sure her [I]Bigby's grasping hand[/I] spell was keeping him from attacking them. <There's a kraken on the other side of the ledge!> <Kraken?> asked Khari as he raced forward, activating his [I]offensive prescience[/I] psionic ability now that combat seemed imminent. <What's a kraken?> The dwarf had spent most of his life in the Underdark and had never heard of such a beast. Neither had Utred for that matter, but whatever it was it had taken out Jhasspok with a single spell - although that was easily fixed. Flying forward by the power of his [I]winged boots[/I], the dwarven barbarian snagged Cramer as he passed and dragged him along for the ride. As soon as they got within ten feet of the struggling lizardfolk, Cramer's [I]magic circle against evil[/I] spell temporarily blocked the kraken's [I]charm monster[/I] spell, leaving Jhasspok's mind - such as it was - free of outside influence. Cramer made the effect permanent by casting a [I]protection from evil[/I] spell on the lizardfolk. <He's good!> Cramer announced over the link and Marlo allowed the giant, magical hand to open up and release Jhasspok from its grasp, then redirected it to try to grab one of the kraken's tentacles. Jhasspok took off like a shot, battleaxe raised to deliver a crippling blow to the kraken perched over the edge of the lower cliff-side. But one of the kraken's many tentacles darted out, wrapping around the lizardfolk's waist and extending down to encompass his legs and tail. But that didn't matter to Jhasspok, for he now had a tentacle in his immediate reach and he brought his axe-blade down to cut into the kraken's flesh. Rylethek reacted by crushing the lizardfolk in his grasp, tightening its grip on him until Jhasspok hissed in pain. Marlo levitated 30 feet or so up above the seabed floor, until she could see the kraken crushing Jhasspok. Then she cast a [I]disintegrate[/I] spell at the aquatic monster, hoping if the spell didn't outright kill the beast it would at least deal him a considerable amount of damage. She was very much surprised to see the spell bounce right off the creature and come right back at her. [I]I hope I haven't just killed myself![/I] she thought miserably as the [I]disintegrate[/I] spell started ripping apart her body. But though it was a close call, she managed to tough it through the spell, gasping at how closely she'd come to fatally falling victim to her own spellcasting. She vowed to stick to spells that couldn't be "bounced" back her own way for the rest of this fight, not sure how many such spells the kraken's [I]spell turning[/I] spell would be able to affect. Hearing Marlo's cries of pain over the telepathic link, Utred grabbed up Cramer again and flew up to the sorceress, releasing the cleric to cast a [I]quickened cure critical wounds[/I] spell upon her. After having tended to the worst of Marlo's wounds, Cramer cast a [I]divine power[/I] spell upon himself, increasing his own combat power. Jhasspok gritted his teeth against the pain of feeling his lower half getting crushed and put all of his effort into cutting into the tentacle that was trying to squish him like a bug. Again and again his blade cut deep into the thing's rubbery flesh, but there seemed to be something preventing his weapon from dealing its normal amount of damage - and sure enough there was, for the kraken had had time to cast a [I]stoneskin[/I] spell upon himself after having seen his sea zombies taken out in a flash of blinding light from Marlo's [I]sunburst[/I] spell. But each of Jhasspok's axe-strikes whittled away that much more protection from the kraken's hide and eventually they would overcome it entirely. The lizardfolk felt himself being dragged laterally through the ocean as the tentacle grasping him was repositioned to the kraken's side. This was so Rylethek could send forth a blast of freezing energy from a [I]cone of cold[/I] spell without catching his own tentacles in the area of effect. The other four heroes were all caught in the blast, to varying effect. Marlo responded almost immediately by summoning an elder water elemental to attack the kraken from behind, its watery fists pounding into the giant cephalopod's hardened shell. Khari, meanwhile, sank into the ocean bed using the power of his [I]earthglide warhammer[/I] and only popped back up when he was past the creature's tentacles. Then he swung his weapon directly into the kraken's mouth. Utred swam directly at the kraken as well, barely avoiding a constricting tentacle and bringing his [I]Elderwood greenflame greataxe[/I] slicing into its flesh. Cramer decided to cast a summoning spell of his own, calling forth a fiendish dire shark. The great fish snapped at a passing tentacle but didn't manage to deal much in the way of damage, its razor-sharp teeth not even piercing the creature's rubbery flesh. Jhasspok continued his barrage of weapon strikes, noticing the moment when he finally overpowered the kraken's [I]stoneskin[/I] spell, for each swing of his battleaxe now penetrated deeper into the creature's flesh. Rylethek responded by casting forth a [I]mass suggestion[/I] spell that those attacking him drop their weapons and immediately surrender to him; he was less than pleased to see none of his attackers paid any heed to his mental command. Marlo, still hesitant to cast any spells directly upon the kraken until she knew for certain they wouldn't bounce back to affect her, used her [I]staff of transmutation[/I] to cast a [I]mass enlarge person[/I] spell upon the group, doubling everyone's size. Jhasspok screamed aloud at the transformation, for that only meant the tentacle imprisoning his legs and tail gripped him that much more tightly - but it also meant all five heroes could deal out more damage with their larger frames and double-sized weapons. Khari's warhammer now crashed down upon the kraken with more force behind the blow, as Utred used his greataxe to sever the tip of a rather unusual-looking tentacle indeed; this one had some sort of band of metal around it. (Unbeknownst to the dwarven barbarian, this was actually a [I]ring of spell turning[/I]; Marlo would be perfectly safe casting spells against the kraken now, had she only realized it.) Enjoying his new size but still slightly irritated he was still smaller than his companions, Cramer cast a [I]righteous might[/I] spell upon himself and finally reached the same height as Utred, the raging dwarven barbarian he occasionally used as a riding mount. The gnome gripped his mace in his hand, ready to dish out a bit of physical damage to their enemy himself. Rylethek sent a [I]mind blast[/I] rippling out at all five heroes, hoping to at least prevent Jhasspok's continued attacks from dealing him any further damage. He failed in that regard - Jhasspok continued his axe-strikes as if nothing had happened, and even snapped at the kraken's torn flesh with his muzzle of sharp teeth - but both dwarves froze up immediately, so the attack had at least had some benefit to the kraken. As the elder water elemental and the fiendish dire shark continued attacking the kraken, Marlo took a chance and cast a spell at it. She knew from Cramer that a [I]spell turning[/I] spell had a limit as to how much spell energy it could redirect back at the caster before being used up - in that fashion, it was much like a [I]stoneskin[/I] spell - and she knew the power of the [I]disintegrate[/I] spell she'd cast at Rylethek earlier should have used up over half of its potential power. So she reasoned if she threw a [I]maximized disintegrate[/I] spell at it, even at worst less than half of the spell's energy would be sent back at her, with the majority affecting the kraken as anticipated. And she was fairly certain she could handle a portion of her spell's effects if it came down to that.... Steeling herself for the possibility of a sudden influx of pain, she cast the spell - and was amazed and relived to find none of the spell's energy bounced back her way. But then she was disappointed to see the damn kraken had managed to shrug off the worst of the spell's effects in any case. Still, she'd at least learned its [I]spell turning[/I] effect was no more, so she hurriedly informed the others about her findings; Cramer would be interested to know it was now safe to target the beast with direct-fire spells. As indeed he was. Once he'd been notified it was now safe to do so, the gnome cleric wasted no time firing off a [I]harm[/I] spell that greatly weakened the kraken. And then Jhasspok finished it off, getting in a flurry of axe-strikes close to the creature's eye as it mistakenly moved the lizardfolk within range with its tentacle. As it died its muscles relaxed, releasing Jhasspok from its rubbery grasp. The lizardfolk staggered out from the constricting tentacle, standing awkwardly on his feet with legs that didn't seem to want to support him for a moment. As for Rylethek, his spirit was shunted back into the crystal obelisk where the real body of Saint Rylethek - in his true illithid form - was preserved in stasis. The crystal not only kept the mind flayer's body alive without needing sustenance, it also allowed him to use a [I]magic jar[/I] effect to project his consciousness into the bodies of those nearby. Cursing the loss of the body of the fearsome kraken, an opportunity that had been too good to pass up when the massive cephalopod entered the range of effect of the obelisk's [I]magic jar[/I] abilities, Saint Rylethek focused his attention on the only member of the surface folk not currently protected by either a [I]protection from evil[/I] spell or a [I]magic circle against evil[/I] spell, both of which prevented such body-dominating magic from taking effect. Khari Hammerslammer's dwarven form was certainly not as powerful a body as that of a kraken, but beggars couldn't be choosers and it would have to do. <Guys!> Khari called out to his friends as he felt a presence in his mind, trying to take over. <I'm under psionic attack!> It didn't take a genius to figure out from which direction a psionic attack would be coming, given the presence of a 60-foot-tall obelisk of crystal rising up like an antenna from the seabed floor. Two castings of a [I]maximized disintegration[/I] spell later and Marlo had blasted a hole in the side of the column, revealing the body of the illithid held within. <Stop - you don't know what--!> began Saint Rylethek, telepathically pleading for his life before his body imploded from the water pressure all around him now that his crystalline protection had been blasted asunder. <You okay?> Cramer asked Khari, who had felt the psionic assault stop at the same moment the illithid's body had been crushed to a bloody pulp. <Yeah, I'm fine,> he told the gnome cleric. <And so is all of this treasure! It's real, isn't it, Marlo? Tell me it's real!> <It's real all right,> Marlo assured him, pulling out the [I]bag of holding[/I] so they could start transferring the kraken's treasure hoard into its extradimensional space. Utred, in the meantime, had removed the Null Axe from his back but then was faced with a dilemma: if he removed the outer wrapping which kept its powers at bay, then as soon as he started wielding it all magical effects upon him would be temporarily negated - which would include not only the [I]water breathing[/I] spell that allowed him to breathe but also the two depth adaptation starfish on the sides of his beefy neck that were preventing him from suffering a quick and violent death like Saint Rylethek had just experienced. And yet the Null Axe was needed to chop each of the ten tentacles that made up the Writhing Gate at their root, permanently deactivating the link to the Far Realm. However, a few moments of serious thought revealed a solution: Utred pulled the special wrapping from the Null Axe and then wrapped it around the weapon's shaft so he could pick it up without actually touching it. The special anti-magic properties of the wrapping prevented the Null Axe from undoing any of his own ongoing magical effects. He started chopping away at each of the tentacles in turn and by the time he was done the others had finished stuffing the kraken's treasure into the [I]bag of holding[/I] for transport back to the surface. Marlo folded it back up and returned it to her belt pouch. <Alright, back up we go!> announced Cramer. Jhasspok was off like a shot, his powerful tail propelling him forward and up the side of the cliff. Utred and Cramer each still had their magical means of flying, and the barbarian pulled his fellow dwarf along as Khari climbed up the side of the cliff. Marlo used her [I]boots of levitation[/I] to rise directly upwards and Jhasspok was more than happy to give her a gentle push closer to the cliff face as they rose in elevation above the seabed floor. <I'll bet Truffles will be glad to see me again,> Marlo said over the link. <I'll just bet the little fellow's enjoyed having a few moments not having to worry about Jhasspok making a meal of him,> Khari added. Jhasspok glared at Khari with a look of betrayal. [I]How did he know?[/I] Jhasspok wondered to himself. [I]I'll bet I can eat the toad when we're both underwater, so he won't be able to start on fire like the last time[/I]. <Jhasspok!> scolded Marlo. <You're not eating Truffles!> Then, seeing the look of fear and incomprehension on the lizardfolk's face, she added, <The [I]Rary's telepathic bond[/I] spell is still in effect - and you're thinking loud enough for all of us to hear!> <Sorry, Marlo,> Jhasspok thought to the sorceress over the link, a note of dejection in his mental "voice." Stupid magic! Always messing up his plans! <I heard that, too, Jhasspok.> <Sorry, Marlo,> Jhasspok repeated. - - - It was great getting back into the game after a two-month hiatus. (One of our players was recovering from surgery.) Logan used a kraken toy that came with a "Pirates of the Caribbean" Lego-like playset he had when he was a kid as the kraken, which he had advanced to double its normal Hit Dice to make it a worthy foe against a quintet of 19th-level PCs. I also fished out (no pun intended) a shark toy that we use for Huge sharks in D&D when Dan decided he'd have Cramer summon a fiendish dire shark. (The silly thing was useless the whole adventure, though, not once making a successful bite attack against the kraken.) The sea zombies surrounding the crystal obelisk were just there for "window dressing" - they weren't intended to be a threat to us, but in-game they were attracted by the psionic energies of the obelisk and were a handy food source for the kraken. These were "the drowned" in the adventure's title. And now we're down to the last three adventures in this campaign, which means this will end up consisting of 58 adventures overall, pretty close to Logan's earlier 60-adventure "Durnhill Conscripts" campaign. After that, Dan will be running us through a campaign, the first one he'll have run in about 40 years. [/QUOTE]
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