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Story Hour
The Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh #136 Into the Mere of the Dead Men.
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<blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 9273299" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p style="text-align: center"><strong><span style="font-size: 26px">Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh</span></strong></p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 22px">Session #127: Love Will Tear Us Apart (Again).</span></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 18px">Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here).</span></strong></p><p>Daktari/Dak (played by Haggis) Male Human Uthgardt Sky Pony Barbarian Lvl 9</p><p>Fellowyn Silverstream (played by George) Male Eladrin Wizard Bladesinger Lvl 9</p><p>New Tricks/Newt (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 9</p><p>Ramshambo/Ram (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue/Fighter Lvl 7/2</p><p>Vincenzo/Vinnie (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 9</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 18px">DEAD PCs</span></strong></p><p><s>Nicholai Barbaros Kostyiev/Nicky (played by George) Male Dhampir Cleric of Twilight Lvl 8 </s>RIP</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 18px">NPCs</span></strong></p><p><s>Inverna Nightbreeze (played by George) Female Wood Elf Fighter Lvl 8 (Sidekick) </s>RETIRED</p><p><s>Garumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 5 </s>RIP*</p><p><s>Tarbin Tul (played by goonalan) Male Human Bard </s>RETIRED</p><p><s>Ubmo (played by Goonalan) Supreme Being Lvl 1</s> EXPLODED</p><p>Ubdug (played by Goonalan) Supreme Being Lvl 2 (When we remember)</p><p>*Trapped in the Land of the Bad Dead Ancestors.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 18px">Servants/Familiars</span></strong></p><p>Gerald (Bat/Giant Bat) servant/mount of New Tricks</p><p>Owly (Owl) Vinnie’s familiar</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 18px">The Dark Squad’s to-do list-</span></strong></p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">An extraordinary meeting of the Saltmarsh Town Council, the Dark Squad are going to get hired to end the smuggling menace (see below), scheduled for 10th Flamerule.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">The smuggler's ship will be turning up sometime between the 14th and 17th of Flamerule, the Dark Squad (and particularly Ram) are keen to meet the vessel, particularly Ram- why, because as the rogue said- “I'm getting a boat.”</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Find the other four Symbols of Ub, one was left in Deepbridge (Duergar fortress in the Underdark). The others need to be found, they belonged to- Rambles 'Shambles' Bowspirit (halfling killer from Lowhill), Antonio De La Crane (posh kid druid alchemist) & Giggles (crazy wood elf). All of these folk lived in the Saltmarsh region, the Dark Squad have found the De La Crane Manse (in the Dreadwood) and the De La Crane Crypt (in Saltmarsh Cemetery).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Nightshade is in the Deep Dreadwood- except she's not there anymore, but a big red dragon is?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Blackedge and the Goblin Stair?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">To join the Pact of the Wild Flame prepare the Witch's Tor for the coming of the starfall, the Witch's Tor is in the Drowned Forest, in the Mere of the Dead Men.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">To join the Pact of the Wild Flame track down the last member of the Pact, a wild elf adventurer called Giggles- and finally put her spirit to rest, and also recover her maze button. Location unknown. SEE 2. ABOVE.</li> </ol><p>This is session 127, and we are back, back on it.</p><p></p><p>Here we go… 2… 3… 4…</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348145[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Remember this, the Blevins warehouse- the town of Saltmarsh is under attack, or else a very big bad dude is in the process of summoning something. The big bad dude, with tentacle sideburns- remember him, has nipped back inside the building, that’s why he isn’t in the image above.</strong></p><p></p><p>The reason for his retreat is, well, so far he has tried and failed three times to unleash various flavours of nasty magic, the nasty magic in question being a trio of 4th level spells, which I will not name here. However, every time he tries to unleash the hurt- either Vinnie Dispels the Magic a moment later- before it really gets going, or else Fellowyn Counterspells it straight away, and that’s the end of that.</p><p></p><p>So, my big bad guy is as frustrated as heck- I share his pain.</p><p></p><p>A little later on, actually about ninety minutes later, the PCs (Fellowyn) remember that they need to Monster Knowledge check this guy- it turns out the foul fellow is a Kraken Priest, this new information, when it comes to light, puts the cat amongst the pigeons.</p><p></p><p>Kraken Priest + Summoning Spell/Ritual = Kraken.</p><p></p><p>Again, not good, but… the PCs don’t figure this out for another hour-and-a-half and so until then- ignorance is bliss.</p><p></p><p>In the image above Newt is whizzing around on his newly acquired Flying Broom (& blasting, of course), he loves this by the way- the broom is his new fave toy. Daktari is in the thick of things, doling out insults to the half-orc Talos worshipping berserkers, who reply in kind. Note both sides in this exchange speak cod Russian.</p><p></p><p>Random Half-Orc: “I am attacking yew! Yew dead now!”</p><p></p><p>Daktari: “Tank yew for yor attacks on me. Yor attacks on me are important to me- a customer representative of me- called Shatterspike (Dak’s fave magical blade, he has a few), will be wid yew shortly. Please continue to hit me sum more.”</p><p></p><p>Daktari is only happy when he is surrounded.</p><p></p><p>The rest of the gang are trying to stay out of too much trouble- Fellowyn blocking the progress of the half-orc berserkers, Ram nipping in for the kill, and Vinnie- well, as it turns out the druid has already expended his wildshapes for the day. Vinnie is therefore reduced to using his Staff of Birdcalling (Ka-Kaaa, that’s the noise it makes when it hits an enemy) in conjunction with Shillelagh to bonk a few folk on the head for approx. six points of damage a time. Not optimum but…</p><p></p><p>The repeated ‘Ka-Kaa’ makes us laugh.</p><p></p><p>The half-orc berserker’s, just for info, don’t hit hard- but they do hit a lot (they’re Reckless, all of the time) and they have approx. 100 HP each, just a little less actually.</p><p></p><p>Oh, and the half-orc berserker to the north is in the water- Vinnie hit a mob of them with a Confusion spell earlier which caused several of them to stand around drooling for a while, and this poor sap to run off the dock and into the briny.</p><p></p><p>He’s not a great swimmer as it turns out, a ‘1’ a little later and this particular half-orc sinks beneath the waves- never to be seen again.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348146[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Half-orc berserkers are made to suffer, and this goes on for a while- say another forty or so more minutes.</strong></p><p></p><p>Until…</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348147[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>The top half of the warehouse suddenly explodes- bits of wood and stone rain down upon the good guys and the bad guys alike.</strong></p><p></p><p>For almost no damage whatsoever.</p><p></p><p>That was a DC 15-ish save for half damage, 3d8 bludgeoning from the flying debris and my damage roll on FGU- ‘1’, ‘1’ & a ‘2’.</p><p></p><p>Earlier the big bad Kraken Priest sent a tidal wave out of the docks and into the rolling melee down below. That was 3d6 bludgeoning damage with the same save as above- I rolled ‘5’ damage in total that time.</p><p></p><p>So, that didn’t work, either.</p><p></p><p>But now the Kraken Priest has summoned a waterspout to pick him up (shattering the top of the warehouse in the process) and to whisk him away to freedom.</p><p></p><p>At least that was my plan.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348148[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>That’s the Kraken Priest atop his waterspout top left of the above image, only he’s sixty feet further away from the warehouse now- but there’s no map for where he’s at.</strong></p><p></p><p>It’s at this point that George (Fellowyn) remembers about last session’s write up and the need for a Monster Knowledge check.</p><p></p><p>This guy is a Kraken Priest, Fellowyn lets the other PCs know, and soon after the screaming starts.</p><p></p><p>But only briefly.</p><p></p><p>Fellowyn casts a spherical Wall of Force around the escaping Kraken Priest and… we spend the next thirty or so minutes working out how moveable versus immobile the spherical Wall of Force is. At the end of the half hour internet search the ruling by the DM is as follows- Fellowyn can hold the Wall of Force in situ (atop the sixty or so foot high waterspout) but only if he expends his Action every turn to do so. Not doing this will result in the Wall of Force descending (not rapidly) into the ocean- gravity takes effect, sorta.</p><p></p><p>The solution is agreeable to all.</p><p></p><p>Wall of Force is broken but… I can style this one out, I (your glorious DM) am still confident.</p><p></p><p>We go back to the fracas on the docks.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348149[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>A few things have changed here, but not much- the Kraken Priest is still doing his best impression of the boy in the bubble. Although the waterspout he summoned earlier has now moved over to thrash at Newt on his flying broom. But my damage rolls are terrible again.</strong></p><p></p><p>Ram and the gang are cleaning up the half-orc berserkers nicely, notice the chat window- that’s a 46 damage Crit hit with Sneak from the rogue.</p><p></p><p>Note Ubdug, the Supreme Being, has climbed atop a dockside crane (it’s only a very small crane- about 6 feet high) and is pummelling the half-orc to his south in the head with his tiny Modron fists while screaming-</p><p></p><p>“I willlll protectttt yewwww Rammmm!”</p><p></p><p>Best grating Dalek voice please.</p><p></p><p>Ubdug even manages to get a laugh or two out of a few of the PCs- they’re softening.</p><p></p><p>The Modron even lands a few hits, and keep in mind the Supreme Being is +3 to hit with his little fists.</p><p></p><p>All is fairly well with the world.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348150[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Here we all are again- the last berserker standing is just about to become recumbent; the Kraken Priest is…</strong></p><p></p><p>It’s at this point that Fellowyn decides to allow his spherical Wall of Force prison to descend into the briny, the plan is Newt is going to blast the sphere and its contents back to the shore.</p><p></p><p>Remember the force bubble and its furious contents are sixty feet away from the docks.</p><p></p><p>The Wall of Force prison descends, touches the ocean and…</p><p></p><p>Bloooooooooooooop!</p><p></p><p>Is gone… beneath the waves.</p><p></p><p>The particularly perceptive pair (Ram and Fellowyn) are convinced that something large and very possibly tentacular just plucked the sphere from the surface and dragged it down below.</p><p></p><p>Either way- the Kraken Priest, and his prison, are gone.</p><p></p><p>See- styled it out.</p><p></p><p>Newt is furious, although only for a short while- his broom has improved his mood considerably.</p><p></p><p>The fighting is finally over, and thirty or so seconds later and the sound of the howling wind and surging waves has finally gone away- now that the Kraken Priest and his sixty-foot-tall waterspout have departed.</p><p></p><p>In the newfound silence several PCs begin to hear… the sound of screaming, the noise seems to be coming from the Saltmarsh docks area.</p><p></p><p>Oh dear.</p><p></p><p>Just in time for our first break of the session.</p><p></p><p>We’re back…</p><p></p><p>Just to say, Vinnie is almost out of spells here, Newt is out; Fellowyn and Daktari have taken a beating, in fact everyone is sporting cuts and bruises aplenty.</p><p></p><p>Nice!</p><p></p><p>The druid casts some Healing Vitality-thingy, I’m sorry I don’t remember the names of all of the spells- I never really had a lot of time for the Player’s Handbook. I never play D&D, just GM. Anyway, the ten round dash back to the docks involves ten rounds of healing (coincidence, I think no), and some of them need it.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348151[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>The docks- nice ain’t it.</strong></p><p></p><p>A tide of humanity is fleeing the docks, running for their lives.</p><p></p><p>I used to do crowd scenes on Fantasy Grounds but these days I don’t bother much because a ton more tokens tends to slow things down, and get in the way on the screen.</p><p></p><p>The Dark Squad head on, pushing their way onto the docks proper.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348152[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Right at the bottom, can you see it? That’s a Water Elemental tossing around a couple of dock workers like rag dolls.</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348153[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>The Dark Squad close in, Ram and Newt manage to get a few shots off- even Daktari throws a javelin or two en route to the fracas.</strong></p><p></p><p>Daktari also declares the following as he rushes into combat-</p><p></p><p>“I apply shower gel now; it is bath time!”</p><p></p><p>The fighting starts, but what do you know…</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348154[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>There are more than enough Water Elementals to go around.</strong></p><p></p><p>Daktari keeps up his monologue about the regenerative powers of Water Elementals with regard to hair care.</p><p></p><p>The Elementals use their Whelm ability- engulfing and attempting to drown the PCs as often as it recharges, and I’ve made it so it recharges a lot.</p><p></p><p>“It is refreshing wishy-washy, I feel almost spiritually cleansed- withiny and withouty”</p><p></p><p>Daktari declares after escaping again from the watery clutches of one of the pair of Water Elementals targeting him.</p><p></p><p>Ubdug fares less well, the Whelm attack is taking its toll- Vinnie (in the picture above) is hurt some more, and much less adept at escaping the Water Elemental’s clutches.</p><p></p><p>Note, Ram is back on the shore- plugging away with his bow.</p><p></p><p>We get to here-</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348155[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Daktari, still fighting- but taking some good hits though, his hair however is looking even more fantastic. Fellowyn has taken evasive action- he ran away. Truth be told so has Vinnie, or else made a tactical retreat- to Ram. The Water Elemental, that was previously hosing the druid, lumbers after the screaming Vinnie.</strong></p><p></p><p>Newt, still on his broom, still blasting away.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348156[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Fellowyn doesn’t get too far away when this fellow turns up- actually the creature suddenly steps out of a wave that lashes over the dock just in front of the ancient Wizard, blocking his path. Fellowyn quickly identifies the creature- a Water Elemental Myrmidon, a warrior champion of his kind, if you like.</strong></p><p></p><p>The Master of Blade & Song (his self-applied title, he says this a lot) runs back the way he came.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348157[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Vinnie also leaves Ram to his fate.</strong></p><p></p><p>There’s a lot of retreating going on these days with the Dark Squad.</p><p></p><p>The druid is very much aware that he’s not made for the toe-to-toe melee.</p><p></p><p>Ram’s taking hits too.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348158[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>There’s Fellowyn, having Misty Stepped away from the Myrmidon he’s looking for somewhere safe to operate from.</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348159[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Here’s where it started (in the last hour of the session) to get really good.</strong></p><p></p><p>Vinnie and Ram have been Whelmed again- the druid is hurt real bad, he’s down below ten hit points. As Jim said at the time- Vinnie hasn’t been this badly hurt since he was sixth level.</p><p></p><p>But that’s not the good stuff.</p><p></p><p>Ubdug, the Supreme Being regenerates next to Ram, and finally… at last, he opens up.</p><p></p><p>Just to note, when Ubdug (and before him Ubmo) regenerate they reappear in a space next to their ‘master’, for Ubmo that was Vinnie, for Ubdug that’s Ram. It takes an entire turn to regenerate, Ubdug can do nothing else, so… he chats.</p><p></p><p>“What is it alllll for Rammmmm?”</p><p></p><p>Remember grating Dalek-voice.</p><p></p><p>“Why are we here? Rammmmmmmm.”</p><p></p><p>“I cannot fathom the depths of this existence, Rammmmmm.”</p><p></p><p>“It seems at times to be so tawdry, Rammmm.”</p><p></p><p>“So… Fleeting.”</p><p></p><p>“Rammmmmm?”</p><p></p><p>“To what end?”</p><p></p><p>“Rammmmmm?”</p><p></p><p>“If it wasn’t for the special connection that we share…”</p><p></p><p>“Rammmmmm?”</p><p></p><p>“I don’t know what I would do.”</p><p></p><p>That kind of thing, only there’s also a little Sartre, a quote from L’Etranger (Camus) and a brief discourse on the positive aspects of nihilism.</p><p></p><p>While this is going on.</p><p></p><p>And believe me it goes on- every turn from hereon in until the end of the session, and even at odd moments in between the other PCs turns.</p><p></p><p>To make clear, prior to this Ubdug has always expressed himself in the same few stock phrases- “I am the Supreme Being, I will save you Ram!”, variants on that kind of thing.</p><p></p><p>This is…</p><p></p><p>Heartfelt.</p><p></p><p>Erudite.</p><p></p><p>Funny as…</p><p></p><p>Particularly because Ram, played by my brother Kev, is easily the least talkative member of the Dark Squad, and mostly untroubled by deep thoughts. Ram 99% of the time is ‘yes’, ‘no’, and ‘let’s stop talking about it and just get it done’, that kind of thing.</p><p></p><p>So, Ram (and Kev, bless him) has to dig deep.</p><p></p><p>There’s a point a little later on in which Ubdug asks-</p><p></p><p>“Shall we hold hands?”</p><p></p><p>“Rammmmmm?”</p><p></p><p>To which a much-subdued Ram responds, “I would if I could Ubdug, but”, the rogue indicates the flashing blades he wields- one in each hand, and then just shrugs.</p><p></p><p>“You are in my heart.”</p><p></p><p>“Rammmmmm?”</p><p></p><p>Ubdug responds.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348160[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Keep in mind the pair are fighting for their lives, and just one hit is enough to make Ubdug go away, at least for a short while.</strong></p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348161[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>George (playing Fellowyn), so juvenile.</strong></p><p></p><p>The fight rolls on, and it would be fair to say that the Dark Squad these days, since we have been back, are not having things their own way.</p><p></p><p>So, time for our second five-minute break of the session.</p><p></p><p>And then…</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348162[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>The Dark Squad’s situation has changed slightly. It’s not an improvement.</strong></p><p></p><p>The funny bit here is almost all of the players were so zoomed in to their particular bit of the fight that… well, I think it was Newt who put it best.</p><p></p><p>“Oh-oh!”</p><p></p><p>A moment later and the other three players scroll out to discover the new additions to the dockside fracas for themselves.</p><p></p><p>The tentacles are enormous, it’s a Kraken.</p><p></p><p>The Kraken.</p><p></p><p>Mr. Kraken, if it likes- frankly it can pick its own moniker.</p><p></p><p>But oddly the tentacles slowly, almost sinuously arise from the depths- no rush.</p><p></p><p>There follows much in the way of panicked conversation between the PCs, and a few Monster Knowledge checks about the aforesaid Kraken. I guess the guys must be shouting this stuff to each other.</p><p></p><p>There’s also a lot of fighting still going on.</p><p></p><p>And so, over the next few turns the tentacles sway, and flex, and unfurl, and stretch, and… they don’t bother anyone else. Much.</p><p></p><p>The fighting goes on some more.</p><p></p><p>Then, at last, the tentacles take to questing.</p><p></p><p>Searching.</p><p></p><p>One great tentacular monstrosity hovers, briefly, over Ram & Ubdug, it seems to be- at least for a moment or two, intent on crushing the pair- who are still discussing mortality, ethics and the meaning of phrases like ‘the greater good’. While trying to fight off a Water Elemental.</p><p></p><p>But then the huge tentacle changes its mind and slithers off and as if walking on tippy-toes makes its way to Vinnie, but… stops short- no, that’s not the one.</p><p></p><p>A different tentacle does something similar with Fellowyn, goes to snap, and wrap, itself around the ancient Eladrin but then… stops short.</p><p></p><p>A different tentacle, the same- but with Daktari.</p><p></p><p>Then they find the object of their quest.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348163[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>And their writhing dance is sex on suckered stalks, they curl, and furl, they seethe, and coil- this roiling demonstration of… whatever it is that’s going on here, it leaves not a mark on the Kraken’s object of desire- Newt.</strong></p><p></p><p>The tentacles caress, but not quite touch, the cat on the broomstick, who is… unnerved.</p><p></p><p>No bad thing.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348164[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>George, you really should grow up, it’s not the playground.</strong></p><p></p><p>Good work.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348165[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>We get to here.</strong></p><p></p><p>Newt is trying to escape the nearly-caresses of the ginormous tentacles, and still flying around blasting away at the watery enemies below.</p><p></p><p>Ubdug and Ram (with a tiny bit of help from Vinnie- Produce Flame, on repeat) have managed to take down the Water Elemental that was menacing them.</p><p></p><p>Here’s a thing.</p><p></p><p>Since their romance started neither of the pair have taken a hit.</p><p></p><p>They however have been hitting hard.</p><p></p><p>That’s why the Water Elemental Myrmidon has had to come over to deal with them.</p><p></p><p>Down south Fellowyn and Daktari (but 99% Daktari) have taken down one of the Water Elementals and left the other only just hanging on to life.</p><p></p><p>It’s at that point that the Kraken Priest is deposited by yet another one of the massive tentacles, on a nearby pier.</p><p></p><p>Sans Wall of Force, of course.</p><p></p><p>Here’s Johnny!</p><p></p><p>Just a few more pictures, but that was pretty much the final action of the piece, except, well… read on (and admire the lovely piccies- good work this week, guys- particularly you George).</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348166[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Ubdug and Ram, the toughest test of their love yet.</strong></p><p></p><p>And…</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348167[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>The largest tentacle yet, this great protrusion of rubbery flesh rises easily over a hundred feet out of the ocean, it is covered with eyes.</strong></p><p></p><p>It lashes out, unfurls and with the lightest of touches taps Newt, just once, on the top of his furry head.</p><p></p><p>Newt has a thought.</p><p></p><p>Just one.</p><p></p><p>It is this.</p><p></p><p>[Sigh]-[PoP!]</p><p></p><p>And then the Warlock, his broom and his crazy jibber-jabber are gone.</p><p></p><p>Disappeared.</p><p></p><p>And that’s the end of the session.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]348168[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Here’s the big picture, note Ram and Ubdug are situated beneath, and therefore unseen, in the shadow of the large eye tentacle.</strong></p><p></p><p>And that’s what we got up to last Tuesday night, I had a great time.</p><p></p><p>Stay safe and well you lovely people.</p><p></p><p>Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 9273299, member: 16069"] [CENTER][B][SIZE=7]Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh[/SIZE][/B][/CENTER] [B][SIZE=6]Session #127: Love Will Tear Us Apart (Again).[/SIZE] [SIZE=5]Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here).[/SIZE][/B] Daktari/Dak (played by Haggis) Male Human Uthgardt Sky Pony Barbarian Lvl 9 Fellowyn Silverstream (played by George) Male Eladrin Wizard Bladesinger Lvl 9 New Tricks/Newt (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 9 Ramshambo/Ram (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue/Fighter Lvl 7/2 Vincenzo/Vinnie (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 9 [B][SIZE=5]DEAD PCs[/SIZE][/B] [S]Nicholai Barbaros Kostyiev/Nicky (played by George) Male Dhampir Cleric of Twilight Lvl 8 [/S]RIP [B][SIZE=5]NPCs[/SIZE][/B] [S]Inverna Nightbreeze (played by George) Female Wood Elf Fighter Lvl 8 (Sidekick) [/S]RETIRED [S]Garumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 5 [/S]RIP* [S]Tarbin Tul (played by goonalan) Male Human Bard [/S]RETIRED [S]Ubmo (played by Goonalan) Supreme Being Lvl 1[/S] EXPLODED Ubdug (played by Goonalan) Supreme Being Lvl 2 (When we remember) *Trapped in the Land of the Bad Dead Ancestors. [B][SIZE=5]Servants/Familiars[/SIZE][/B] Gerald (Bat/Giant Bat) servant/mount of New Tricks Owly (Owl) Vinnie’s familiar [B][SIZE=5]The Dark Squad’s to-do list-[/SIZE][/B] [LIST=1] [*]An extraordinary meeting of the Saltmarsh Town Council, the Dark Squad are going to get hired to end the smuggling menace (see below), scheduled for 10th Flamerule. [*]The smuggler's ship will be turning up sometime between the 14th and 17th of Flamerule, the Dark Squad (and particularly Ram) are keen to meet the vessel, particularly Ram- why, because as the rogue said- “I'm getting a boat.” [*]Find the other four Symbols of Ub, one was left in Deepbridge (Duergar fortress in the Underdark). The others need to be found, they belonged to- Rambles 'Shambles' Bowspirit (halfling killer from Lowhill), Antonio De La Crane (posh kid druid alchemist) & Giggles (crazy wood elf). All of these folk lived in the Saltmarsh region, the Dark Squad have found the De La Crane Manse (in the Dreadwood) and the De La Crane Crypt (in Saltmarsh Cemetery). [*]Nightshade is in the Deep Dreadwood- except she's not there anymore, but a big red dragon is? [*]Blackedge and the Goblin Stair? [*]To join the Pact of the Wild Flame prepare the Witch's Tor for the coming of the starfall, the Witch's Tor is in the Drowned Forest, in the Mere of the Dead Men. [*]To join the Pact of the Wild Flame track down the last member of the Pact, a wild elf adventurer called Giggles- and finally put her spirit to rest, and also recover her maze button. Location unknown. SEE 2. ABOVE. [/LIST] This is session 127, and we are back, back on it. Here we go… 2… 3… 4… [ATTACH type="full"]348145[/ATTACH] [B]Remember this, the Blevins warehouse- the town of Saltmarsh is under attack, or else a very big bad dude is in the process of summoning something. The big bad dude, with tentacle sideburns- remember him, has nipped back inside the building, that’s why he isn’t in the image above.[/B] The reason for his retreat is, well, so far he has tried and failed three times to unleash various flavours of nasty magic, the nasty magic in question being a trio of 4th level spells, which I will not name here. However, every time he tries to unleash the hurt- either Vinnie Dispels the Magic a moment later- before it really gets going, or else Fellowyn Counterspells it straight away, and that’s the end of that. So, my big bad guy is as frustrated as heck- I share his pain. A little later on, actually about ninety minutes later, the PCs (Fellowyn) remember that they need to Monster Knowledge check this guy- it turns out the foul fellow is a Kraken Priest, this new information, when it comes to light, puts the cat amongst the pigeons. Kraken Priest + Summoning Spell/Ritual = Kraken. Again, not good, but… the PCs don’t figure this out for another hour-and-a-half and so until then- ignorance is bliss. In the image above Newt is whizzing around on his newly acquired Flying Broom (& blasting, of course), he loves this by the way- the broom is his new fave toy. Daktari is in the thick of things, doling out insults to the half-orc Talos worshipping berserkers, who reply in kind. Note both sides in this exchange speak cod Russian. Random Half-Orc: “I am attacking yew! Yew dead now!” Daktari: “Tank yew for yor attacks on me. Yor attacks on me are important to me- a customer representative of me- called Shatterspike (Dak’s fave magical blade, he has a few), will be wid yew shortly. Please continue to hit me sum more.” Daktari is only happy when he is surrounded. The rest of the gang are trying to stay out of too much trouble- Fellowyn blocking the progress of the half-orc berserkers, Ram nipping in for the kill, and Vinnie- well, as it turns out the druid has already expended his wildshapes for the day. Vinnie is therefore reduced to using his Staff of Birdcalling (Ka-Kaaa, that’s the noise it makes when it hits an enemy) in conjunction with Shillelagh to bonk a few folk on the head for approx. six points of damage a time. Not optimum but… The repeated ‘Ka-Kaa’ makes us laugh. The half-orc berserker’s, just for info, don’t hit hard- but they do hit a lot (they’re Reckless, all of the time) and they have approx. 100 HP each, just a little less actually. Oh, and the half-orc berserker to the north is in the water- Vinnie hit a mob of them with a Confusion spell earlier which caused several of them to stand around drooling for a while, and this poor sap to run off the dock and into the briny. He’s not a great swimmer as it turns out, a ‘1’ a little later and this particular half-orc sinks beneath the waves- never to be seen again. [ATTACH type="full"]348146[/ATTACH] [B]Half-orc berserkers are made to suffer, and this goes on for a while- say another forty or so more minutes.[/B] Until… [ATTACH type="full"]348147[/ATTACH] [B]The top half of the warehouse suddenly explodes- bits of wood and stone rain down upon the good guys and the bad guys alike.[/B] For almost no damage whatsoever. That was a DC 15-ish save for half damage, 3d8 bludgeoning from the flying debris and my damage roll on FGU- ‘1’, ‘1’ & a ‘2’. Earlier the big bad Kraken Priest sent a tidal wave out of the docks and into the rolling melee down below. That was 3d6 bludgeoning damage with the same save as above- I rolled ‘5’ damage in total that time. So, that didn’t work, either. But now the Kraken Priest has summoned a waterspout to pick him up (shattering the top of the warehouse in the process) and to whisk him away to freedom. At least that was my plan. [ATTACH type="full"]348148[/ATTACH] [B]That’s the Kraken Priest atop his waterspout top left of the above image, only he’s sixty feet further away from the warehouse now- but there’s no map for where he’s at.[/B] It’s at this point that George (Fellowyn) remembers about last session’s write up and the need for a Monster Knowledge check. This guy is a Kraken Priest, Fellowyn lets the other PCs know, and soon after the screaming starts. But only briefly. Fellowyn casts a spherical Wall of Force around the escaping Kraken Priest and… we spend the next thirty or so minutes working out how moveable versus immobile the spherical Wall of Force is. At the end of the half hour internet search the ruling by the DM is as follows- Fellowyn can hold the Wall of Force in situ (atop the sixty or so foot high waterspout) but only if he expends his Action every turn to do so. Not doing this will result in the Wall of Force descending (not rapidly) into the ocean- gravity takes effect, sorta. The solution is agreeable to all. Wall of Force is broken but… I can style this one out, I (your glorious DM) am still confident. We go back to the fracas on the docks. [ATTACH type="full"]348149[/ATTACH] [B]A few things have changed here, but not much- the Kraken Priest is still doing his best impression of the boy in the bubble. Although the waterspout he summoned earlier has now moved over to thrash at Newt on his flying broom. But my damage rolls are terrible again.[/B] Ram and the gang are cleaning up the half-orc berserkers nicely, notice the chat window- that’s a 46 damage Crit hit with Sneak from the rogue. Note Ubdug, the Supreme Being, has climbed atop a dockside crane (it’s only a very small crane- about 6 feet high) and is pummelling the half-orc to his south in the head with his tiny Modron fists while screaming- “I willlll protectttt yewwww Rammmm!” Best grating Dalek voice please. Ubdug even manages to get a laugh or two out of a few of the PCs- they’re softening. The Modron even lands a few hits, and keep in mind the Supreme Being is +3 to hit with his little fists. All is fairly well with the world. [ATTACH type="full"]348150[/ATTACH] [B]Here we all are again- the last berserker standing is just about to become recumbent; the Kraken Priest is…[/B] It’s at this point that Fellowyn decides to allow his spherical Wall of Force prison to descend into the briny, the plan is Newt is going to blast the sphere and its contents back to the shore. Remember the force bubble and its furious contents are sixty feet away from the docks. The Wall of Force prison descends, touches the ocean and… Bloooooooooooooop! Is gone… beneath the waves. The particularly perceptive pair (Ram and Fellowyn) are convinced that something large and very possibly tentacular just plucked the sphere from the surface and dragged it down below. Either way- the Kraken Priest, and his prison, are gone. See- styled it out. Newt is furious, although only for a short while- his broom has improved his mood considerably. The fighting is finally over, and thirty or so seconds later and the sound of the howling wind and surging waves has finally gone away- now that the Kraken Priest and his sixty-foot-tall waterspout have departed. In the newfound silence several PCs begin to hear… the sound of screaming, the noise seems to be coming from the Saltmarsh docks area. Oh dear. Just in time for our first break of the session. We’re back… Just to say, Vinnie is almost out of spells here, Newt is out; Fellowyn and Daktari have taken a beating, in fact everyone is sporting cuts and bruises aplenty. Nice! The druid casts some Healing Vitality-thingy, I’m sorry I don’t remember the names of all of the spells- I never really had a lot of time for the Player’s Handbook. I never play D&D, just GM. Anyway, the ten round dash back to the docks involves ten rounds of healing (coincidence, I think no), and some of them need it. [ATTACH type="full"]348151[/ATTACH] [B]The docks- nice ain’t it.[/B] A tide of humanity is fleeing the docks, running for their lives. I used to do crowd scenes on Fantasy Grounds but these days I don’t bother much because a ton more tokens tends to slow things down, and get in the way on the screen. The Dark Squad head on, pushing their way onto the docks proper. [ATTACH type="full"]348152[/ATTACH] [B]Right at the bottom, can you see it? That’s a Water Elemental tossing around a couple of dock workers like rag dolls.[/B] [ATTACH type="full"]348153[/ATTACH] [B]The Dark Squad close in, Ram and Newt manage to get a few shots off- even Daktari throws a javelin or two en route to the fracas.[/B] Daktari also declares the following as he rushes into combat- “I apply shower gel now; it is bath time!” The fighting starts, but what do you know… [ATTACH type="full"]348154[/ATTACH] [B]There are more than enough Water Elementals to go around.[/B] Daktari keeps up his monologue about the regenerative powers of Water Elementals with regard to hair care. The Elementals use their Whelm ability- engulfing and attempting to drown the PCs as often as it recharges, and I’ve made it so it recharges a lot. “It is refreshing wishy-washy, I feel almost spiritually cleansed- withiny and withouty” Daktari declares after escaping again from the watery clutches of one of the pair of Water Elementals targeting him. Ubdug fares less well, the Whelm attack is taking its toll- Vinnie (in the picture above) is hurt some more, and much less adept at escaping the Water Elemental’s clutches. Note, Ram is back on the shore- plugging away with his bow. We get to here- [ATTACH type="full"]348155[/ATTACH] [B]Daktari, still fighting- but taking some good hits though, his hair however is looking even more fantastic. Fellowyn has taken evasive action- he ran away. Truth be told so has Vinnie, or else made a tactical retreat- to Ram. The Water Elemental, that was previously hosing the druid, lumbers after the screaming Vinnie.[/B] Newt, still on his broom, still blasting away. [ATTACH type="full"]348156[/ATTACH] [B]Fellowyn doesn’t get too far away when this fellow turns up- actually the creature suddenly steps out of a wave that lashes over the dock just in front of the ancient Wizard, blocking his path. Fellowyn quickly identifies the creature- a Water Elemental Myrmidon, a warrior champion of his kind, if you like.[/B] The Master of Blade & Song (his self-applied title, he says this a lot) runs back the way he came. [ATTACH type="full"]348157[/ATTACH] [B]Vinnie also leaves Ram to his fate.[/B] There’s a lot of retreating going on these days with the Dark Squad. The druid is very much aware that he’s not made for the toe-to-toe melee. Ram’s taking hits too. [ATTACH type="full"]348158[/ATTACH] [B]There’s Fellowyn, having Misty Stepped away from the Myrmidon he’s looking for somewhere safe to operate from.[/B] [ATTACH type="full"]348159[/ATTACH] [B]Here’s where it started (in the last hour of the session) to get really good.[/B] Vinnie and Ram have been Whelmed again- the druid is hurt real bad, he’s down below ten hit points. As Jim said at the time- Vinnie hasn’t been this badly hurt since he was sixth level. But that’s not the good stuff. Ubdug, the Supreme Being regenerates next to Ram, and finally… at last, he opens up. Just to note, when Ubdug (and before him Ubmo) regenerate they reappear in a space next to their ‘master’, for Ubmo that was Vinnie, for Ubdug that’s Ram. It takes an entire turn to regenerate, Ubdug can do nothing else, so… he chats. “What is it alllll for Rammmmm?” Remember grating Dalek-voice. “Why are we here? Rammmmmmmm.” “I cannot fathom the depths of this existence, Rammmmmm.” “It seems at times to be so tawdry, Rammmm.” “So… Fleeting.” “Rammmmmm?” “To what end?” “Rammmmmm?” “If it wasn’t for the special connection that we share…” “Rammmmmm?” “I don’t know what I would do.” That kind of thing, only there’s also a little Sartre, a quote from L’Etranger (Camus) and a brief discourse on the positive aspects of nihilism. While this is going on. And believe me it goes on- every turn from hereon in until the end of the session, and even at odd moments in between the other PCs turns. To make clear, prior to this Ubdug has always expressed himself in the same few stock phrases- “I am the Supreme Being, I will save you Ram!”, variants on that kind of thing. This is… Heartfelt. Erudite. Funny as… Particularly because Ram, played by my brother Kev, is easily the least talkative member of the Dark Squad, and mostly untroubled by deep thoughts. Ram 99% of the time is ‘yes’, ‘no’, and ‘let’s stop talking about it and just get it done’, that kind of thing. So, Ram (and Kev, bless him) has to dig deep. There’s a point a little later on in which Ubdug asks- “Shall we hold hands?” “Rammmmmm?” To which a much-subdued Ram responds, “I would if I could Ubdug, but”, the rogue indicates the flashing blades he wields- one in each hand, and then just shrugs. “You are in my heart.” “Rammmmmm?” Ubdug responds. [ATTACH type="full"]348160[/ATTACH] [B]Keep in mind the pair are fighting for their lives, and just one hit is enough to make Ubdug go away, at least for a short while.[/B] [ATTACH type="full"]348161[/ATTACH] [B]George (playing Fellowyn), so juvenile.[/B] The fight rolls on, and it would be fair to say that the Dark Squad these days, since we have been back, are not having things their own way. So, time for our second five-minute break of the session. And then… [ATTACH type="full"]348162[/ATTACH] [B]The Dark Squad’s situation has changed slightly. It’s not an improvement.[/B] The funny bit here is almost all of the players were so zoomed in to their particular bit of the fight that… well, I think it was Newt who put it best. “Oh-oh!” A moment later and the other three players scroll out to discover the new additions to the dockside fracas for themselves. The tentacles are enormous, it’s a Kraken. The Kraken. Mr. Kraken, if it likes- frankly it can pick its own moniker. But oddly the tentacles slowly, almost sinuously arise from the depths- no rush. There follows much in the way of panicked conversation between the PCs, and a few Monster Knowledge checks about the aforesaid Kraken. I guess the guys must be shouting this stuff to each other. There’s also a lot of fighting still going on. And so, over the next few turns the tentacles sway, and flex, and unfurl, and stretch, and… they don’t bother anyone else. Much. The fighting goes on some more. Then, at last, the tentacles take to questing. Searching. One great tentacular monstrosity hovers, briefly, over Ram & Ubdug, it seems to be- at least for a moment or two, intent on crushing the pair- who are still discussing mortality, ethics and the meaning of phrases like ‘the greater good’. While trying to fight off a Water Elemental. But then the huge tentacle changes its mind and slithers off and as if walking on tippy-toes makes its way to Vinnie, but… stops short- no, that’s not the one. A different tentacle does something similar with Fellowyn, goes to snap, and wrap, itself around the ancient Eladrin but then… stops short. A different tentacle, the same- but with Daktari. Then they find the object of their quest. [ATTACH type="full"]348163[/ATTACH] [B]And their writhing dance is sex on suckered stalks, they curl, and furl, they seethe, and coil- this roiling demonstration of… whatever it is that’s going on here, it leaves not a mark on the Kraken’s object of desire- Newt.[/B] The tentacles caress, but not quite touch, the cat on the broomstick, who is… unnerved. No bad thing. [ATTACH type="full"]348164[/ATTACH] [B]George, you really should grow up, it’s not the playground.[/B] Good work. [ATTACH type="full"]348165[/ATTACH] [B]We get to here.[/B] Newt is trying to escape the nearly-caresses of the ginormous tentacles, and still flying around blasting away at the watery enemies below. Ubdug and Ram (with a tiny bit of help from Vinnie- Produce Flame, on repeat) have managed to take down the Water Elemental that was menacing them. Here’s a thing. Since their romance started neither of the pair have taken a hit. They however have been hitting hard. That’s why the Water Elemental Myrmidon has had to come over to deal with them. Down south Fellowyn and Daktari (but 99% Daktari) have taken down one of the Water Elementals and left the other only just hanging on to life. It’s at that point that the Kraken Priest is deposited by yet another one of the massive tentacles, on a nearby pier. Sans Wall of Force, of course. Here’s Johnny! Just a few more pictures, but that was pretty much the final action of the piece, except, well… read on (and admire the lovely piccies- good work this week, guys- particularly you George). [ATTACH type="full"]348166[/ATTACH] [B]Ubdug and Ram, the toughest test of their love yet.[/B] And… [ATTACH type="full"]348167[/ATTACH] [B]The largest tentacle yet, this great protrusion of rubbery flesh rises easily over a hundred feet out of the ocean, it is covered with eyes.[/B] It lashes out, unfurls and with the lightest of touches taps Newt, just once, on the top of his furry head. Newt has a thought. Just one. It is this. [Sigh]-[PoP!] And then the Warlock, his broom and his crazy jibber-jabber are gone. Disappeared. And that’s the end of the session. [ATTACH type="full"]348168[/ATTACH] [B]Here’s the big picture, note Ram and Ubdug are situated beneath, and therefore unseen, in the shadow of the large eye tentacle.[/B] And that’s what we got up to last Tuesday night, I had a great time. Stay safe and well you lovely people. Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan. [/QUOTE]
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The Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh #136 Into the Mere of the Dead Men.
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