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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 7557311" data-attributes="member: 16069">We D&D.Lost Mine of Phandelver Session #12 Pip.Myrium the Blessed (played by Sandy) Female Human Cleric of Lathander Lvl 4Shagga, Son of Dorf (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Paladin of Kord Lvl 4Gaukus Grom (played by Pete) Male Dragonborn Sorcerer Lvl 4Elvis Pickersgilly (played by Jackie) Male Forest Gnome Rogue Lvl 4And so here we go again, Wave Echo Cave and the Blessed Avengers have decided that they need to head north east, towards the sound of well… the Wave Echo, and so after securing their new-found base- a long-abandoned storeroom, the adventurer’s find another passage which heads north.Elvis (gnome rogue), as always, leads the way- in to what appears to be a massive cavern, with a pair of ancient great stone tables ahead. The rogue heads east, scurrying cautiously on to a raised area- there’s another table here, like a high table in a feast hall- there’s also another passage leading north, which is good to know, the place however seems to be long deserted.That is until Elvis heads west, there’s another raised section- and crouched up there four more ghouls, the gnome can hear the quartet crunching on ancient bones. The rogue observes the undead terrors for a short while and then heads back to his companions (with four Stealth checks in total- the lowest 17 adjusted, nice work).Soon after a plan is formulated- Myrium (human cleric) and Shagga (half-orc paladin) hang back, neither is particularly stealthy. Gaukus (dragonborn sorcerer) moves forward with Elvis to the western stairs, and then finds a place to Hide himself.[ATTACH=full]112962[/ATTACH]Then Elvis gets to work- the plan begins with an assassination attempt on the nearest ghoul, which results in a wild shot (advantage ‘2’ & ‘4’), the gnome has to act up his disappointment in order to get the ghoul’s attention.Seconds later Elvis departs at speed, the four ghouls racing after the gnome rogue- down the stairs and straight in to Gaukus’ range, the sorcerer’s Shatter spell kills one of the quartet, leaves another only just clinging on to undeath- the last two ghouls are also wounded. At which point the waiting Myrium comes striding forward and blasts a ghoul with her Sacred Flame, Shagga races past the priestess of Lathander and buries his longsword in the same creature- killing it.Just two ghouls left alive, or so the Blessed Avengers believe, that is until a fifth ghoul scampers down the stairs- which foxes the adventurers for a short while, where did the bugger come from?Elvis, from Hiding, launches another arrow- this time deadly accurate (a Crit) and another ghoul falls, meantime Myrium and Shagga are going toe-to-toe with the undead, while Gaukus snipes with his Fire Bolt, remarkably the sorcerer never misses.However, the adventurers don’t have things all their own way- there were seven ghouls in the upper section, four spotted by Elvis, and three more out of sight. The last two ghouls come skittering down the rough stone of the western ledge and straight at Shagga- the half-orc paladin is clawed badly (one a Crit) but manages to avoid the undead foe’s paralyzing poison.Shagga cuts another down (with yet another Crit).Myrium has to fire up her Spiritual Weapon, Gaukus emerges from hiding and unleashes his icy Breath Weapon- the three ghouls left standing barely notice. Shagga soaks up another Crit- the paladin is wavering, down to six hit points.Myrium’s Spiritual Weapon is deadly accurate (yet another Crit), and another ghoul falls; Gaukus takes down the second to last with yet another Fire Bolt (he hasn’t missed once in five attacks).The last ghoul attempts to flee, it doesn’t get far- Shagga cuts it down, and the battle is won.That was a lot tougher than the guys thought it would be, forty-five minutes of knife edge stuff- I got in 5-6 hits with the ghouls but every time the PCs made their save, if I could have paralyzed just one of them… if only…Shagga has taken a beating, the Blessed Avengers withdraw from the chamber, briefly, and fire up the healing- they’ve not got a lot left, although they all still have at least one potion of Healing left.Then back in to the massive chamber for a thorough search.At which point your beneficent DM wonders whether this wouldn’t be a good time to have a roll on the Wandering Monster Table, after all the battle was hardly a silent affair- with Fire Bolts, a Shatter spell and plenty of screaming.What do you know- the Wandering Monster Table conjures up a lone ghoul.And so, the Blessed Avengers split up and complete their search of the chamber, Myrium heads up on to the eastern raised section, and there- hiding behind the table is the aforementioned lone ghoul.[ATTACH=full]112963[/ATTACH]A chance to redeem myself, a surprise attack and… (‘4’ & ‘4’). What is it with surprise attacks and advantage? The priestess begins screaming for her comrades in arms- while all the time hammering the undead beast with her mace. It takes a couple of rounds for the other Blessed Avengers to get to her, but the DMs dice are broken- no hits. Gaukus finds the target with another Fire Bolt, Myrium connects again with her mace (with a Crit) and the ghoul is shot in the back by Elvis. It dies.The battle, such as it was, is won- and the players are feeling pretty good about themselves, they keep winning.The DM however is content, he knows what comes next (if the guy’s head north), and he’s also aware that the players are almost through their reserves of everything- spells, powers etc.True to form the Blessed Avengers head north, as per usual with Elvis leading the way, only this time the passage is much shorter, and the chamber beyond- which is soon illuminated and investigated contains a blast furnace and smelter. However, of greater import are the scattered remains of maybe half-a-dozen dwarves, particularly when the zombies begin to drag themselves to their feet, there are eight of them, seconds later battle is joined.Only zombies- the players are supremely confident; how does it go- Mwa-ha-ha, they’re about to get a lesson.The zombies shuffle closer as the Blessed Avengers move back to the entrance of the chamber in order to present a solid front. Elvis gets in a shot with his bow (a Crit, when will it end) and the first zombie falls.[ATTACH=full]112964[/ATTACH]Myrium presents her holy symbol and sends five of the shuffling undead shambling back the way they came- leaving only a single zombie in the fight. The priestess is slammed but with Shagga now in action the lone zombie doesn’t last long, the half-orc paladin decapitates the foul creature.At which point a fiery skull (human-sized, a flameskull) flies up from within the depths of the blast furnace.“Death to the intruders!” The flameskull screams and then fires two arcing fiery blasts at Shagga and Myrium- the front line, alas both bursts are off target… and we pause play.“What the hell is that?” Is the consensus in game, and we switch to a brief round of Monster Knowledge checks. Alas the Blessed Avenger’s rolls are mostly low, Shagga sums up their collective knowledge- “Flameskull, dead wizard- fires… well, fire!”“You don’t say.” Elvis replies with a smirk.“Take it down!” Myrium screams.Elvis fires his bow, the arrow thunks in to the flameskull and leaves not a mark, the rogue skitters behind the blast furnace- in cover and out of sight of the monstrosity. Myrium conjures her Spiritual Weapon and sends it flying up to menace the flameskull, and… and… nothing much works.In reply the flameskull belches forth a pea-sized red pellet which unerringly lances down and in to the midst of the Blessed Avengers, it explodes- a Fireball, which is big enough to engulf all of the adventurers, including the hidden Elvis.DMs Interlude- Fireball = 8d6 Fire, I roll 27 damage- only one of the PCs makes their save.Seconds later Elvis (on 8 hit points- he made his save), still screaming and stumbling all the way flees the chamber. A moment later from the billowing smoke of the corridor follows Gaukus (on 1 hit point), his clothes still on fire in places.Staggering after the pair comes Shagga (also on 1 hit point), the half-orc paladin has to use his Inspiration Point to generate an extra action to grab up the unconscious Myrium and hoist her on to his shoulder.The flameskull, of course, gives chase- at least for a short while, to the end of the passageway in to the great feast hall, it arrives just in time to see Shagga, still carrying the unconscious Myrium, disappear in to the southern corridor of the chamber.“EXTERMINATE!” (Delivered in best Dalek voice) The flameskull’s screams echo after the Blessed Avengers, all the way back to the storeroom they discovered earlier.Although Shagga doesn’t make it there for a while- Myrium suddenly convulses, begins to shudder and shake (having just failed her second Death Save), the half-orc stops running long enough to fire his last spell in to the dying priestess- Cure Wounds (he’s out of Lay on Hands).Myrium lives.Later the burnt and broken Blessed Avengers brood and bicker in the storeroom.That was very close.DMs Interlude- the players were very quiet for a while, we had a break here- for drinks and pizza, but the fare was accompanied by lots of glum looks with grunts for replies- they take this stuff to heart it seems. I think I’m off a few Christmas card lists.The Blessed Avengers take an extended rest, after first using up whatever healing spells and powers they have left (save a few potions, they’re trying to preserve these). They have a long chat about things and come to the following conclusion- let’s try the mines, let’s go the other way.During their downtime they also dream up an audacious plan to deal with the flameskull, the scheme involves Shagga Misty Stepping on to the top of the blast furnace, Elvis following him up using his Boots of Striding and Springing. Atop the furnace the pair aim to attack the flameskull with all they have got (and using their magic weapons) as and when it emerges from its lair.Obviously, the entire plan hinges on the flameskull having retreated back in to the depths of the blast furnace, and even if it works- can they do enough damage before the flameskull lets loose with another fireball (or worse)? Can the flameskull generate more than one fireball? How long does it take to recharge? The Blessed Avengers have lots of questions, and no answers.Nobody’s happy with the plan, including Shagga- and he came up with 90% of it.The next day, after an uninterrupted Extended Rest, the Blessed Avengers head west, in to a low-ceilinged mine, they’ve not gone far- with Elvis scouting ahead, as usual, when the rogue brings the column to a halt. He’s seen something ahead, but what was it?“It was a goblin, or maybe a halfling, or even… a gnome.”A few seconds later, with all the adventurers watching, a small humanoid darts out of a tunnel ahead and races off, further west- away from the watching Blessed Avengers.“That was…” Elvis starts.“A small human child.” Gaukus adds, and frowns.“The kid from the Stonehill Inn that spoke to you, Gaukus.” Myrium finishes, to stares from her companions.DMs Interlude- the guys are correct, it is the kid from the Stonehill Inn, unfortunately they cannot remember the name of the child (Pip).Myrium is reduced to shouting, “Young boy”, as she rushes after Pip, the rest of the Blessed Avengers in tow- what the hell is going on here, is the consensus.The sneaky DM choses this moment, as Gaukus, last in the line of adventurers to pass, to let loose the mine’s premier scavenger, an Ochre Jelly- pressed tight against the ceiling- the ooze forms a club-like pseudopod and attempts to batter (and acid burn) the dragonborn.[ATTACH=full]112965[/ATTACH]I roll a ‘2’ & ‘4’ (with advantage), that’s not a hit (why does this seem to happen every time I get advantage on one of these buggers?). Gaukus doesn’t even notice the attack. The sorcerer runs off leaving the embarrassed ooze forlornly swinging back and forth from the cavern ceiling.DMs Interlude- this was another long session, I was aiming to stop at the Extended Rest, then after the ochre jelly fight, but the guys just wanted to keep on going, they were desperate to find out why the Stonehill kid (Pip) is in Wave Echo Cave.The Blessed Avengers manage to locate half-a-dozen dead ends in the mine, alas the Wandering Monster Table fails to play ball- no encounters. Eventually the team locate a passage to the north, they follow it with Elvis (as always) leading the way.In to a larger, high-ceilinged natural cavern- three quarters of the chamber is open water- fresh and clear by the look of it, to the north east an exit from the cavern- steps up to flagged stone floors, and standing in the exit is Pip Stonehill.The Blessed Avengers are cautious, also temporarily at a loss- they have lots of questions- the first of which is whether the child is some sort of illusion, or else a magical conjuration- however there’s nothing to indicate this.[ATTACH=full]112966[/ATTACH]“Young boy, you need to come with us- you need to leave this place.” Gaukus offers, with a little more cajoling from Myrium.If only one of them could remember Pip’s name.Pip grins, as if he has heard a joke- he has, Cecil the nothic is sharing his thoughts and keeping the young lad amused.“I’m going to be a wizard!” Pip states, beaming with pride, and then adds, “the black elf is going to teach me.”Which causes all manner of consternation in the ranks of the Blessed Avengers, Myrium and Shagga move closer in an attempt to grab the lad (although without scaring the child).Pip has other ideas, the young lad scurries out of sight, racing along the stone flagged northern passage.The Blessed Avengers move forward at speed, in pursuit- there’s also lots of chatter, and lots of questions- mostly WTF variants.“Wait. You must come with us! It’s not safe.” Gaukus chides.“Please don’t run away- please, stop and talk to us.” Myrium whines.“Halt!” Is about as helpful as Shagga gets.While Elvis arrives at the point much more speedily- “Bugger me, the drow’s already ‘ere. This is messed up.”The adventurers filter in to the northern corridor- Pip waits at the end of it, maybe thirty or forty feet ahead of the party. There’s also a door across from where the Blessed Avengers stand- Shagga moves directly to it and wrenches it open- within a well-lit barracks chamber, with four bugbears warming themselves at a flaming brazier, a fifth bugbear sits on his bunk.[ATTACH=full]112967[/ATTACH]The large goblinoids go for their weapons, as do the adventurers…At which point a sing-song whispering voice- a voice known to the adventurers, sounds in their collective heads- “I said that I was right behind you, it seemed I misspoke- or else you dawdled. Now, I am ahead of you.”That however is the end of the twelfth session, which the players loved and hated in equal measure.DMs Interlude- you know when you’ve got it right as a DM, all week I had to suffer a series of ridiculous e-mails as all of the players had questions, suggestions, rules adjudications et al. I wish the buggers would talk more to each other (collectively- they seem to do this as couples) rather than just spamming my inbox with their every enquiry.Funny story- Rob (Shagga) and his wife to be Sandy (Myrium) were discussing the Pip situation with Rob’s aged mother earwigging (listening in) in another room, she thought their (sometimes heated) discussion was about a real-life situation (somehow)- young child, voices in his head, dungeon full of monsters (!) needing to be rescued etc. She wanted to know all of the details… in the end Rob had to tell her about our game, it was an odd conversation- she couldn’t quite understand why anyone would play such a ‘dark’ and ‘disturbing’ game. D&D = Dark & Disturbing, that could work.Anyway, more of this next time.</blockquote>

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