Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh
Session #090: Underwater Dark Squad.
Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here).
Daktari (played by Haggis) Male Human Uthgardt Sky Pony Barbarian Lvl 8
New Tricks (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 8
Nicholai Barbaros Kostyiev (played by George) Male Dhampir Cleric of Twilight Lvl 8
Ramshambo (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue/Fighter Lvl 7/1
Vincenzo (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 8
NPCs
Inverna Nightbreeze (played by George) Female Wood Elf Fighter Lvl 8 (Sidekick) RETIRED
Garumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 5 RIP*
Tarbin Tul (played by goonalan) Male Human Bard RETIRED
Ubmo (played by Goonalan) Supreme Being Lvl 1
*Trapped in the Land of the Bad Dead Ancestors.
Servants/Familiars
Gerald (Bat/Giant Bat) servant/mount of New Tricks
Owly (Owl) Vinnie’s familiar
The Dark Squad’s to-do list-
- Warn Ashby & investigate Salt Cave, the Soggy's are coming!
- Vinnie needs to be back for the next Saltmarsh Council meeting on the 1st Kythorn (June).
- Awaiting new answers to new questions from the priests at Fallowstone Holy, info will be sent to Saltmarsh for around the 10th of Kythorn (June).
- 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 Cemetary).
- Nightshade is in the Deep Dreadwood?
- Blackedge and the Goblin Stair?
- To join the Pact of the Wild Flame you need to find the hidden weapons left to fight Ashardalon, these are in a dragon-in-flight shaped barrow in Farrow Woods.
- 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.
This is session 90, and it was glorious... for them. The players that is. The bastards. Although, tbh I bloody loved it too. It's great to be back with the Dark Squad, but- shush, don't let the players hear me saying this.
So, we're back in Ashby- and Daktari (& Newt) have had a dream/premonition- the Soggy's (sahuagin) are coming, the pair (in their shared vision) saw a sahuagin baron lead his troops ashore, to pillage Ashby, only- here they are, the Dark Squad to the rescue.
I'm happy to inform the players, they're ahead of schedule, I had planned for the visioned event to take place in around five days from now (I have a calendar of disasters planned, or something similar). So, they're ahead of the game, for now.
Therefore, after another half-an-hour (or more) reviewing (again, but we've been away from the DS for a month nearly) the rules for underwater action/combat, and figuring out what each of the PCs are doing should they (when they) head beneath the waves. Well, it takes a while, for info-
All the PCs have at least one Potion of Water Breathing.
Daktari is going to get a Freedom of Movement spell courtesy of his pal, Vinnie.
New Tricks has a Helm of Underwater Action.
Nicky has nothing else to contribute, note Nicky- in his plate armour, is a Bottom Walker and also incredibly slow, but he doesn't intend to get involved with the hitting of things (combat). He has however got a trick up his sleeve- which we will get to see in this session.
Ramshambow is wearing a suit of +1 Mariner's Studded Leather armour, so that's handy.
While Vinnie is either going to be plodding around like Nicky (but he's not weighed down with heavy armour et al) or else- well, Wildshape may come in handy.
As you can see from the above I've been distributing magic items that are going to come in handy here, there's a plan.
Last bit of news before the get-go.
We forgot all about Ubmo, the Supreme Being, so- he's not in play this session. My bad, but y'know- fun happened anyway. I forgive me, and the players didn't remind me either.
Therefore, 7.30 AM the next day, and the Squad- with Ludwig Clamzucker, Ashby's Priest of the Sea (Poseidon & Umberlee), make the journey by jolly boat to Salt Cave. Remember the PCs are in search of Bobby & Trevor Hopscotch. Ludwig who has also been having bad dreams sent the pair of Ashby fisherman to this spot two days ago- the priest also saw Soggy's in his dreams, and they were in Salt Cave.
So, this is a rescue mission... maybe.
And this session is mostly in pictures, and one or two of them in technicolour, I'm going to do a little less writing than previous (I hope) because life post-Covid (can I say that yet?) is busier, real-world.
The Dark Squad are water walking (we had a discussion about how that works what with the waves etc.) but save for a few Acrobatics or Dex checks, we're moving quickly now- we want to get to the action.
Ram is, as usual, sent ahead, into Salt Cave. Ludwig and his boat are just off the screen, he's waiting there for the Dark Squad.
Ram's in, and the water's much calmer in here, although the rogue can't see a way out of the high ceilinged central cavern.
But then there's a small beach, and it slopes up into caverns proper, and there's light to the north, but not a sound, save the sea and the drip of the cave.
Note, the Dark Squad are being very very cautious here.
The investigations begin- Nicky & Vinnie find tracks- webbed and clawed tracks, and there's been a confrontation here, bloody... two bodies were dragged away to the west.
And moments later Ram finds the remains of Bobby Hopscotch, the poor fellow has been slashed and cut repeatedly by blades, and then... consumed, or at least his lower half has.
Nicky, Vinnie and Ram are certain now- they are very definitely looking for Soggys here.
The passage continues on, illuminated by cavern fungus here and there, alas there's no picture of the pool at the end of this winding route.
The pool looks deep.
It's time for the Water Breathing Potions (et al), as the Dark Squad begin their underwater adventure.
Forty feet down and in through the roof of a cavern that is another thirty or so feet deep, and full of sea water, there's just the waving fronds of kelps and other aquatic plants.
Note, there's nothing to the south or west of the chamber that Ram swims down into- there's nowhere to go except up a stepped passage to the north, or else into a cave to the east.
Not all maps are perfect.
The Dark Squad explore both directions, Newt heading into the cavern to the east- Ram keeps an eye on the warlock's progress. While Nicky, slowly (he's a Bottom Walker, remember) clambers up the stepped shelves kicking up clouds of silt as he goes- to the north. There he discovers the remnants of ancient stonework- and after a '19' on his History check, he notes the style is dwarven.
But still, there are no enemies to be seen.
Note, the PCs entered Salt Cave at 7.50 PM (real world time) they get here an hour later- I did say they were taking things real slow, real cautious.
Ram gathers the guys and then scouts ahead, down the main passage, there's a constructed stone archway leading into the side of the ravine, this place is very definitely an ancient dwarven redoubt, of some sort.
Note, at this point we've also had a discussion about how to communicate underwater, more than fifteen feet away and the PCs have to mime and gesticulate their 'messages' (on camera, on Discord), which the watching PCs then have to translate. Charades, if you like.
Nicky (George) is very good at charades.
Ram finds a statue, it's a dwarf- it looks a lot like Ub. Surprise! There's another one in an alcove to the south, found by Nicky. The short section of ancient passages is thoroughly searched but, there's nothing untoward or interesting to be found. The place is a ruin, and mostly collapsed- this was a much larger complex.
But... we go on, or else.
Back in the lower cavern (on this map) Newt thought he saw some stairs leading up and out of the chamber, eventually he convinces his colleagues to head back to take a look, here it is-
The stairs head up, east and then north.
Up, with Ram leading the way, into an air-filled cavern, and out of the water. See those glimmers and twinkles on the floor, they're gems. The place is carpeted with gold, and with spilled-opened chests that have unleashed very many shiny (and valuable) items. At the far end of the cavern (not shown) the gold must be several feet deep.
There is whooping.
Although Ram only just cracks a smile-
“We're going to have to carry all of this.” He sulks.
But then Ram heads a little further in to the cavern, wading through gold, and... triggers a Glyph (of Warding) which unleashes a thundering blast (8d8 thunder damage)- several of the PCs fail their saves, some of them even after expending Inspiration Points to re-roll. See the picture above- check out the blood drops.
Ram somehow manages to avoid all hurt.
The sound of the blast echoes in the chamber, Newt and Nicky are both bleeding from their ears and nose, somewhat deafened.
Worse still the treasure is revealed to be an illusion, winking out of existence after the trap is spent, although soon after investigations continue. Newt & Nicky confirm that the trap was a Glyph of Warding, and not ancient- this trap is new. Newt and Nicky's Arcana checks were '19' & '20' respectively.
But there's nothing else to be found here, and so Nicky fires up one of his healing powers and over the course of the next minute or so manages to pretty much get all of the PCs back up to just about full hit points.
And then, back down into the water...
But the Dark Squad are no-longer alone here, two swarms of baby sharks come swimming down and are quickly biting Daktari and Nicky.
A moment later and the first of the sahuagin arrive, this fellow is quite a sight- wearing a shell and coral version of plate armour, and with a clam-shell shield, wielding a longblade that curves and undulates like a wave. A sahuagin blademaster.
The first sahuagin blademaster cuts and slices at Newt, and the warlock is bloodied and beyond in seconds (down from nearly full to approx. 12 hit points- one of the hits was a Crit), Vinnie also gets sliced- but the druid doesn't get cut as often, or as deeply, as the warlock.
Suddenly there is bubbled screaming.
But then... Newt hits both of the revealed sahuagin with his Hold Person spell, and... two failed saves.
Note, one of the baby shark swarms has also been repeatedly Eldritch Blasted (by Newt again) and sent swarming away from the rest of the Squad (he's using his Repelling Blasts here).
Also note the circle shown is another one of Nicky's life-saving powers, each PC gains 1d6+8 Temp HP at the end of their turn (if they're in the circle).
Vinnie conjures a Hunter Shark which rips into one of the two paralysed Soggys, and remember hits are Crits for paralysed folk.
At this point we also had a discussion about the nature of the Hunter Shark that Vinnie has summoned, I asked the question because sahuagin (as you probably know) have an affinity for sharks. But, from the text of the spell-
You Summon Fey spirits that take the form of Beasts and appear in unoccupied spaces that you can see within range.
So, it looks like a shark but it really isn't.
Note Vinnie and Newt are keeping out of the way.
Oh! But this is how the Hunter Shark sees the world, it's Blindsight (in Fantasy Grounds Unity) paints the world blue/purple (I'm colour blind, help me here).
The bastards (the players) have tamed my two very tough sahuagin in seconds, so... here's two more- another sahuagin blademaster (that's three) and a high priestess.
The two already in situ sahuagin blademasters both fail their saving throws again- and so they're both still paralysed.
Players = Bastards.
The newly arrived sahuagin blademaster tries to communicate (telepathically) with the hunter shark which is ravaging his paralysed colleague.
That doesn't work.
The high priestess- she targets her wild gesticulating at, well... who is missing from the picture below-
That's right- it's Daktari who, even after expending an Inspiration Point for a re-roll, fails his Charisma saving throw, and he's Banished.
A hush falls.
The tank has gone bye-bye.
But look at the above image again, at Newt- and those arrows are the targets of his next spell/warlock power, and of course- all three sahuagin fail their saving throws, and now the two new arrivals are Blinded, as is one of the already paralysed blademasters.
But here's the thing- can you see that innocuous looking vertical line that seems to split the image in two? Got it? It's in the middle of Nicky's healing circle (or whatever it's called).
Well, everything to the left of the line is- well normal (underwater etc.), while everything to the right of the line- well, the water has gone away.
Nicky, I said he had a trick up his sleeve, has just cast Control Water and managed to drain the entire area to the right of the aforementioned line.
Nicky, as already stated, is a Bottom Walker in his platemail. The paralysed (and blind) sahuagin blademaster is less fortunate- he drops from over twenty feet and hits the deck hard. The baby shark swarms are also suffering, they tend to very heavily favour the aquatic, they're out of their element and drowning in air (is that right?).
Check out the Wall of Water.
Vinnie swims down and climbs out of the water and into the air- and then unleashes D&D's most devastating spell- Produce Flame. The targeted swarm of baby sharks is mostly flopping around and dying, now it's also a little burnt. The second baby shark swarm however manages to flip itself back into the blue, alas it's only got one hit point left.
The sahuagin?
Oh, they're getting taken apart- although slowly, the blademasters have 120+ hit points each, the high priest something similar.
But Ram's stabbing up the priestess.
And... she fails her concentration check and BLINK- Daktari is back in the room.
Note, FGU does all of the concentration checks automatically, so... BASTARDS!
Daktari takes down the high priestess, the hunter shark finishes off one of the blademasters, both of the baby shark swarms have been blasted (or just plain drowned).
The sahuagin blademaster that was paralysed and blinded, and then dropped twenty plus feet onto its backside when Nicky removed the water from the cavern, has now thrown off the paralysis and managed to dive back into the briny. It is however wounded, and still blind.
The last sahuagin blademaster, also blind, is hacking and screaming (bubbling?) at the hunter shark that is trying to tear him to pieces.
Ram and Daktari double team one of the blind sahuagin blademasters, this after Newt Eldritch Blasts the creature and smashes it into the far wall.
The hunter shark is getting hacked apart- the sahuagin hits hard, but it's still biting the foe.
Note, except for the sahuagin blademaster that threw off the paralysis (leaving it still blind) my bad guys have failed every saving throw, so far...
But then, at bloody last, the sahuagin that the hunter shark was eating regains its sight, and it's off- up through a narrow passage to the north west and back into the main passage. Note the small five foot circle (next to the shark) is Nicky's Spiritual Weapon, he's been clobbering stuff from afar.
The chase is on!
Note, Ram and Daktari have now accounted for the other sahuagin blademaster, like I say... the chase is on.
And after expending all Move/Actions Ram, Daktari and the Hunter Shark catch up with the last enemy.
But none of the PCs have anything left with which to make an attack.
The sahuagin flees again- and it's fast, eighty feet/turn, and all of the opportunity attacks generated are... misses.
There is cursing.
The image on the left shows Daktari and the Hunter Shark, now joined by Newt, left in the wake of the fleeing sahuagin. Image on the right connects to the north edge of the left image- yes, I know it's the wrong way around but use your imagination.
Ram catches up with the last sahuagin...
But he's out of actions, again.
As do many/all of his friends, they're all just waiting for the blademaster to flee again, and...
I'd be a fool to disappoint them.
The sahuagin tempts fate and flees, and keep in mind it's on approx. ten hit points and so hanging around to fight these two murderous bastards (Ram & Dak) and their shark, well- that's not really an option.
The sahuagin blademaster doesn't get far.
There is cheering- so, uncouth.
That however is the end of the session, the bastards done me, stitched me up like a kipper.
Stay safe and well you lovely people.
Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan.
