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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 9526524" data-attributes="member: 16069">Dark Squad in the Secrets of SaltmarshSession #152a: Better/Worse- it’s all relative.Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here).Daktari/Dak (played by Haggis) Male Human Uthgardt Sky Pony Barbarian Lvl 9Fellowyn Silverstream (played by George) Male Eladrin Wizard Bladesinger Lvl 9New Tricks/Newt (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 9Ramshambo/Ram (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue/Fighter Lvl 7/2Vincenzo/Vinnie (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 9DEAD PCs<s>Nicholai Barbaros Kostyiev/Nicky (played by George) Male Dhampir Cleric of Twilight Lvl 8 </s>RIPNPCs<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> EXPLODEDUbdug (played by Goonalan) Supreme Being Lvl 2 (When we remember)*Trapped in the Land of the Bad Dead Ancestors.Servants/FamiliarsGerald (Bat/Giant Bat) servant/mount of New TricksOwly (Owl) Vinnie’s familiarArchimedes (very scruffy & old, Owl) Fellowyn’s familiar.The Dark Squad’s to-do list (to be updated, when we find the time)-<ol> <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>This is session 152a, and the Dark Squad are still in the Witch’s Tor, they still have a beacon to light here.They have a plan, however.Don’t knock it- it’s there first one.And it seems to be very mostly working.That can’t be right.Here goes…[ATTACH=full]388283[/ATTACH]Both of the ritual braziers depicted (left and right) are swathed in flames- Walls of Fire, conjured by Vinnie and Newt respectively. They need to stay lit for the rest of the ceremony to work.All entrances to the north of the set of rooms depicted above have been sealed off with a Wall of Stone, made permanent- Fellowyn’s handiwork.There are lots of Star Spawn trying (and doing not so bad, so far) to kill the Squad.There’s even a member of the Star Spawn community inside one of the ritual braziers- blasted through the Wall of Fire there by Newt, the brazier on the right. The Star Spawn survived this ordeal (only just) and… well, the last time the PCs tried to complete the ritual here a similar Star Spawn sacrificed its life to extinguish the flame in this same brazier.So, that’s the number one problem atm.Problem two is there’s another Star Spawn ceiling scuttler (who are really not nice) in with the Squad, somewhere- it rolled a ‘20’ on its stealth check last turn, the PCs saw it briefly before it disappeared into the shadows on the ceiling… somewhere.Problem three is the next stage of the ritual, the Dark Squad have divined (with help from Gerald, Newt’s bat familiar) is to deposit the magical size-changing (bag of holding- style) chest that the Squad found on the Empress of the Sea in Chult on the pedestal. The pedestal, alas, is way to the south of their present position. Fellowyn has this item in his pack.Problems, problems, problems.So, we begin with a hero.[ATTACH=full]388284[/ATTACH]Ram dives through the Wall of Fire and into the eastern brazier, kills the little screaming Star Spawn there and then…Dives back out again.[ATTACH=full]388285[/ATTACH]Alas the shock of it all, the rogue is down to maybe a dozen-or-so hit points, is enough to send him over the edge. Ram fails his save, and… here’s Were-Ram.He’s not happy, his fur is singed to buggery.Moments later there’s yet another unhappy customer.[ATTACH=full]388286[/ATTACH]The ceiling crawling Star Spawn shows up next. Fully charged and on the rampage.[ATTACH=full]388287[/ATTACH]Six attacks later and Daktari is down and dying and Ram, sorry- Were-Ram, is down to maybe three (at most) hit points.There’s a lot of noise around the VTT, mostly one word repeated- it’s not a pleasant word that is being repeated- like profanity hiccups.Oh, and the Star Spawn ceiling scuttler, after laying low the PCs, scuttles off again, back into the shadows- Stealth 20+. Although the PCs see the creature head south, out of the chamber.This fact turns out to be very important later.[ATTACH=full]388288[/ATTACH]The Moonboar gets to Were-Ram with a healing potion and force feeds it to the lycanthrope rogue, and then a Healing Word for Daktari.There, not so bad.There’s a lot of chatter going on here- courtesy of the fact that they have their Rary’s Headsets on, I allow it- but the air waves (while the fight is going on) are buzzing.I love it when they’re scrambling.The question being explored (mostly, there are lots) is- are we screwed already? Is this it?The answer, of course, is no.Not yet.[ATTACH=full]388289[/ATTACH]Fellowyn divides the room. With a Wall of Force this time, and in truth no-one knew this was coming. George, playing Fellowyn, had not shared this tactic with the masses.There is joy.The Wall of Force neatly cuts off all the Dark Squad’s enemies, all of them- the hard to spot Star Spawn ceiling scuttler went south, they are safe.Safe to heal.More chatter- how long does the Wall of Force last? Someone fetches the answer- an hour.An hour to heal up- joy is unconfined.Or at least for a very short while.The DM asks- how long does a Wall of Fire last?I’ll save you the suspense- it’s a minute.So, the DM helpfully points out- “it occurs to Newt and Vinnie that their Walls of Fire will both cease to be in just three turns from now.”That’s eighteen seconds.The profanity hiccups return, only they’re clearly contagious- now everyone has them.New plan- same as the old plan except the Squad have three turns (or maybe more, see the plan) to-<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Heal Daktari and Were-Ram, as much as possible.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Get stuff (oil and torches) ready to throw into the braziers to keep the fires burning.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Kill all the bad people.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Then get the chest onto the pedestal (dependent on point 2 above).</li> </ol>It sounds easy when you say it like that.The above plan is drawn up while the PCs (still in initiative) take it in turns to force feed potions of healing (and the like) into Daktari and then Ram.The pair have never been so popular.[ATTACH=full]388290[/ATTACH]Fellowyn drops the Wall of Force, note several members of the Squad have readied actions at this point too, and Dak & Ram are back in business.It goes bonkers for a short while.[ATTACH=full]388291[/ATTACH]In the western room Daktari, Were-Ram, Newt and a now enlarged (slapping machine- like a spinning top with added slaps) Ub-Pam are in action and keeping the now identified Star Spawn Hulk at bay.While in the eastern room the now fully charged (again) Star Spawn ceiling scuttler lets loose on Fellowyn, more remarkably the Wizard is bladesinging, and with a Shield spell is AC something-like-27.Fellowyn, I think, saves the day, but is still reduced from just about full to maybe 15 or so hit points. He soaks up all six attacks.[ATTACH=full]388292[/ATTACH]Daktari goes all in- Power Attack, Reckless, Raging, blah, blah, blah. He hits hard.[ATTACH=full]388293[/ATTACH]The Star Spawn Hulk keeps on giving too. Newt survives a Crit, and the subsequent concentration check.[ATTACH=full]388295[/ATTACH]Were-Ram has the last laugh.And then…[ATTACH=full]388296[/ATTACH]It’s a pile on, the remainder of the Star Spawn are mopped up, the ceiling scuttler proves to be tough but it fails to recharge its super-attack power and can’t get into hiding again- having rolled miserably last time too.When the fighting stops- all enemies deceased, the PCs have six seconds to get ready to feed whatever they have in the way of fuel into the braziers to keep them alight when the Walls of Fire go out.[ATTACH=full]388299[/ATTACH]Meantime, a newly Hasted Fellowyn is off and running- off to deposit the chest onto the pedestal here. Gerald has been fluttering around the pedestal for the last minute or so, while the chaos has been unfolding.And then…[ATTACH=full]388301[/ATTACH]Both braziers are kept burning- a mixture of oil, fire and torches, flung into the mix just as the Walls of Fire are about to go out. The ritual goes on.Some of the players, at this point, are getting giggly- a bit light-headed.They’re doing it.Although…So, after Fellowyn put the magic-shrinking-expanding chest on the pedestal, it disappears, and a new drawing appears on the far wall, as previous- the next part of the ritual is… to open the dragon sarcophagus.The sarcophagus that looks exactly like the one that the Dark Squad opened at pretty much the beginning of their adventures, which unleashed Ashardalon upon the world (and started their quest).That sarcophagus.The one that Newt wanted/tried to open when they first discovered it here, on their first trip through the tor.Newt was obviously persuaded to cease and desist in his first effort to open the dragon sarcophagus, not because of the honeyed words of his boon companions, it was down to the fact that his strength is appalling, and he had made a half-a-dozen rolls, broke his crowbar twice (broken- Mended- broken again), and… well, for all of his efforts he’d made not a mark on the thing.Well, opening it is the next stage of the ritual.[ATTACH=full]388302[/ATTACH]Crazy-legs Fellowyn, still Hasted, finds the spot.And the fires in the braziers are still burning, and will continue to burn unaided for minutes- at least, and so-[ATTACH=full]388305[/ATTACH]Here come the rest of the Squad.Note, the sarcophagus is held shut by six metal hasps- DC 18 Strength to open each, and well- they’re on it.Fellowyn gets the first one done, moments later the huffing Daktari springs another.Soon after, because DC 18 isn’t easy to roll, it gets to this-[ATTACH=full]388306[/ATTACH]They’re all on it.So, let’s just take a moment- gaze at the above image and imagine the following conversation, oh and keep in mind that Newt is aiding Fellowyn (still Hasted- two actions every turn) and has even given the ancient Drow (formerly Eladrin) use of his (now fixed again) crowbar. Newt generally doesn’t share anything- except his opinions.So, the talk-“I told you Vincenzo! I told you we had to open the thing! Apocalypse or no- the future lies within. [To Fellowyn] Now heave, you decrepit spell-mumbling old fool!” Newt mostly shouts and screams.“Eh. What! Why the hell are we doing this- I thought you said that a very bad thing happened the last time you opened one of these?” Fellowyn, not present for the first sarcophagus opening, is unsure.“I have a bad feeling about zis! A tres tres bad feeling.” The Moonboar snorts and grunts, and frets.“Just get it done.” Ram hisses as he strains.And this goes on for a while, and because we’ve just been doing exciting things (combat et al) then we’re still initiative, and so we stay in initiative- the PCs taking it in turns to roll to spring a hasp and making sometimes fevered conversation.But Ram is not big on conversation, and the Moonboar is riffing on the ‘I have a bad feeling about zis’ motif, and pretty hard.And so, for humour we have to rely on Newt and Fellowyn.“YES! PULL! PULL! You tiresome ancient elven fool! Let us welcome with open arms the glorious terror that will emerge from within. Let us embrace the end times…”Newt screams in Fellowyn’s ear- remember Newt is aiding Fellowyn in this endeavor, I envisage the seven-foot-tall puma-like Newt gripping the ancient skinny mage around his waist (like in ‘The Enormous Turnip’), and pulling with all his (little) might.Fellowyn strains, heaves, and then cottons on to what Newt has just said…“What? I mean- what did you say? Embrace the what now? Glorious whatdidyasay! Are we…”SPUNG!And another hasp flies off.So, I said it takes a time to get this done- in point of fact of the six hasps on the sarcophagi Fellowyn, Daktari and then Ub-Pam account for the first three. In pretty much the first two turns of trying.The last three come off one at a time- one every turn, and always it’s the combo of Fellowyn & Newt that manage it.By the time we get to the last hasp.“YES! BRING THE ENDTIMES! BRING THE DARKNESS! UNMAKE IT ALL! UNMAKE IT ALL! MAKE IT ALL GO AWAY!”Newt has reached rapture.While Fellowyn…“Look, all I’m saying is when we get a chance can we PLEASE have a chat about the fact that we seem to sharing breakfast every morning with… [Fellowyn nods behind him to indicate the still straining/screaming Newt] I mean, are we absolutely certain he’s not the actual enemy we SHOULD be defeating?”A grunting Moonboar snorts a brief reply.“He iz jus excitable, it ‘appens a lot at zuch times, mon ami. You get used to it. Event-too-ally.”Fellowyn splutters and-SPUNG!The last hasp is off.Now, just before this happened, I asked the players to tell me what they thought would happen next- the results, a 50/50 split, either a gateway into/to space/Tao (or similar), or- Ashardalon is coming back.So, let me take a moment to confuse the players- if they read this. Both answers are sort-of right.However, what happens next- as the last hasp flies off and ricochets past a gurning Newt’s ecstatic head, is...Nothing.Save there’s a tiny thudding sound and the lid of the sarcophagus seems to settle further down into/onto its coffin/plinth.Then, when Newt has stopped shouting, in the silence that follows there’s a sound- a gentle hiss.Ram spots it, the thin seal between the lid and the base, air is being sucked into this space.“Wait!” He shouts and then, because he’s a very smart lad, he grabs out his immovable rod.[ATTACH=full]388307[/ATTACH]“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttt!” That’s time slowing down.Only it doesn’t because, as in the image above, Newt dodges back- fires up a Belphegor Blast and before Ram has finished his warning the lid of the sarcophagus is, or else a section of it is, obliterated.The warlock will have his climax.As it were.Then, everything happens at once- at a million miles an hour, but really/painfully slowly.Reality (the Dark Squad included) is stretched and sucked head-first into the newly opened void.Into the yawping sarcophagus.Everything except for Ram- who is left clutching on to his immovable rod, watching the stone of the floor, the walls, the ceiling and all of his friends, all of it/them- shape and bend, and then hurtle into the sarcophagus.Ram, who is being stretched beyond- well, beyond reality, profanity hiccups once, and then presses the button again on his immovable rod.He too plunges into the void.Stay safe and well you lovely people.Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan.</blockquote>

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