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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 7892309" data-attributes="member: 16069">We D&D.Session #50 The Rise of Tiamat #09a Death to the Brothers of the First Light.Brothers of the First Light.Lummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 10Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 10Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 10Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 10&Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 10Secondary PCs.Left at 8th Level- we’ll get them back if (and when) they’re needed later on.Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 8Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 8Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 8This is session #50 of our game, but only session #09a of The Rise of Tiamat scenario.The Brothers of the First Light are back in Waterdeep, taking part in various downtime activities while awaiting tomorrow’s second meeting of the Council of Waterdeep. Cult of the Dragon activity has stepped up on the Sword Coast however, the PCs spotted several burnt-out settlements while travelling in the Flying Lighthouse from the Sea of Moving Ice back to the City of Splendours.The PCs downtime activities however have been interrupted (in the last session), Lux (Human Warlock) has learned from Talis the White (Dragon Cult boss, last seen in the Hunting Lodge near Parnast) that the Cult plans to strike in Waterdeep. Furthermore, Watt (Human Bard) has infiltrated the aforementioned Cult group, and then in an effort to counter the Cult’s planned attack, has led his comrades in to their lair in the city’s sewers.So far it has been a slaughter- twenty Cultists are dead already, and the PCs have not taken a single hit. There’s a method to my madness… I promise, not much method- but a little.The Brothers of the First Light burst in on the Cult leaders (actually a Mage, a Priest, a Thug and a few more low level mooks- a little less subpar (oxymoron?) than some of the previous combat encounters).And so, we begin…[ATTACH=full]117445[/ATTACH]Sgt Bobby (Human Fighter) smashes the door open and charges head first in to a high-ceilinged chamber, the place was obviously once the tomb of a well-off family, arrayed before the Fighter in various stages of ‘ready’ are a dozen or so Dragon Cultists.And when I say ‘ready’ I mean several of them have readied actions.A Cult Fanatic shapes and chants and Sgt B’s limbs begin to seize- Hold Person, and he fails his save, but Sgt B is Indomitable, and makes his second save- the lucky bugger.A pair of Dragonclaws lurch forward and slash at the sturdy Fighter, Sgt B takes a hit (actually a low roll Crit) but not enough to hold the big man back, a Guiding Bolt- fired by the Cult Priest at the back of the chamber alas (for me) flies wide of the target.Seconds later (after an Action Surge) both Dragonclaws lie screaming and dying from their wounds on the dirty floor of the former crypt.Then Lummins (Half-Elf Cleric) steps in and launches his Fireball, or at least he would if it weren’t for the Cult Mage at the back, watching for a spellcaster’s arrival- the foul fellow Counterspells Lummins’ effort, and the magic fades.The Priest of Lathander isn’t happy, an Inspiration Point later and he repeats the trick, only with a much-enhanced Fireball this time- Flame ON! Another two Dragonclaws, a Cult Fanatic, and a Cultist are all incinerated. More or less all of the other bad guys are left bloodied or worse, except for the Mage, who has a little extra (Fire) protection.During the chaos Hotlips (Halfling Rogue) sneaks in to the chamber, keeping low and in the shadows, she situates herself and then attempts to assassinate the problem-Mage… and misses, and so she too spends her Inspiration Point for a re-roll, and shoots a crossbow bolt clean through the Cultist bad guy’s throat.The Mage is dead, he didn’t last long.Bugger, you’re thinking… but I’m not.I’m biding my time.The badly wounded Cultist Thug staggers forward and attempts to block Sgt B and Lummins’ progress in to the chamber- slamming his mace (even with Lummins’ Warding Flare) in to the face of the Priest of Lathander.A Cult Fanatic fires up her Spiritual Weapon, a shimmering spectral curved dagger- which stabs Lummins in the back, for good measure the Cultist closes with the Priest, trying to Inflict Wounds with her touch. Lummins however keeps the evil woman at bay.Watt rushes forward and fires a much enhanced Thunderwave in to the Cultist’s frontline- the Thug menacing Lummins is killed, as is another low level mook.There’s only the Cult Priest, and two babbling Fanatics left standing.Lux hits the Fanatic menacing Lummins with an Eldritch Blast, the other Fanatic spots a sneaking Hotlips and sends his Spiritual Weapon out to seek the Halfling, and then when that misses goes in search of the little menace with an Inflict Wounds spell at the ready. Hotlips avoids both attacks.The Cultists Priest rushes the Brothers- screaming for Tiamat to kill them all, and moments later the evil Priest (and the PCs) are surrounded by a horde of wispy spectral Dragons, the Priest’s Spiritual Guardians. The evil fellow then casts a Sanctuary spell on himself- although he continues to shout foul and dire threats at Sgt B and Lummins.Sgt B is the first (and the last) to feel the necrotic drain of the cackling Dragon Priest’s Spiritual Guardians- he’s not happy, and so as usual- he cuts the Priest’s head off (Bugger!) after easily passing the Sanctuary induced saving throw.Seconds later the burly Fighter almost ends one of the two remaining Cult Fanatics- not good, Lummins spears the fellow also- the Cultist survives on 1 HP.Not for long- Hotlips steps behind the fellow and skewers the Fanatic with her rapier- dead!The last Fanatic flees, or at least attempts to- Watt puts an arrow in the fool’s back.The fight is won- although only for a little while…The Brothers set about searching the chamber, and the bodies of the fallen, unaware (of course) that their old enemy the Red Wizard, Rath Modar, is floating approx. twenty feet above them- Invisible (actually Greater Invisibility, and with a few other buffs), and in telepathic contact with his hand-picked Dragon Cult Assassination Squad.Yes, that’s right- this is the first of the Cult Strikes Back attacks- try saying that when you’ve had a few.So, I wind down the fight, and let the PCs drop out of ‘paying attention’ mode (it doesn’t take long- someone digs out the take-away menu- Pete), and then Teleport in the aforementioned Dragon Cult Assassination Squad- taking all of the Brothers (and Players) by surprise.Achieved!This is a Deadly Encounter, and with a Young Blue Dragon (Maxed HP), a Half-Blue Dragon Gladiator (Maxed HP) and a Dragonfang (guess what- Maxed HP). So, I’m going for it… strap in.[ATTACH=full]117446[/ATTACH]The Young Blue Dragon (code name “Electric Boogaloo”, young Dragons these days, no sense of tradition) suddenly appears in more or less the centre of the chamber, it immediately unleashes its electric death breath on Lummins and Watt. The Priest of Lathander takes the full force of the storm and is almost down and out (Save = ‘2’), the Bard is hurting also, but not too bad.The Half-Blue Dragon Gladiator (code name “Blue Fury) appears beyond the Dragon- next to the Rogue, he Shield Bashes Hotlips down to her knees and then stabs the Halfling twice (and she’s bloodied).This is going well- and believe me when I tell you that by now the Players around the table are screaming very rude things at me (some of them- and ‘no’ not the ladies, it’s Pete with 90% of the screeching and profanities).The Dragonfang (code name “Light Sabre”) suddenly appears, sword already drawn and sheathed in Lightning, she slices at Sgt B and manages to miss the burly Fighter twice (with Advantage).Pete’s a little less screechy now.The Brothers are at last in action, although not before Electric Boogaloo attempts to kill Lux- the Dragon, swats at the Warlock, like a cat with a ball of wool- the first Claw attack is a Crit- although the Dragon pays the price, Lux’s Hellish Rebuke burns (for 30+ Fire damage). The Dragon’s second Claw attack is too slow- the Warlock ducks in time, but then comes the Bite, and Lightning sparks and burns- Lux is bloodied in an instant.I think I may have been grinning at this point in the game- it’s the kind of thing I’d do.That is until…Watt unleashes a Mass Cure Wounds (and rolls really high, something like 26 HP) healing all of his comrades, the Bard then scurries for cover (grabbing his bow out en route) while screaming naughty words at Sgt B (his Bardic Inspiration, which is mostly brought to us today by the letter ‘F’).Hotlips dives back to her feet and then scurries in to a more advantageous position (i.e. with Sneak Attack), then strikes- and cuts Light Sabre (the Dragonfang) deep.Lux (now with only one Warlock power left) attempts to Banish the Dragon- Electric Boogaloo and Blue Fury- the Gladiator, neither it seems is for shifting, they both make their saves, and Lux is just about spent- down to her Cantrips.Again- there is much in the way of screaming and swearing around the table.Sgt B slices in to Light Sabre (and rolls about as low as you can get for Hazirawn’s damage) and then rolls a ‘1’ for his next attack.We turn the swear-o-meter up to ‘11’.At which point Blue Fury (Half-Blue Dragon Gladiator) unleashes her Lightning Breath, which Hotlips Evades neatly- exposing Sgt B who takes the full force of the attack in the face.Pete has a sweargasm.Light Sabre attacks Sgt B twice more with her lightning enhanced blade, and misses both times, again… Just for info Sgt B is now AC 18 (I think) now he has Hazirawn (his two-hander).It’s all too much for Pete.Lummins, without telling anyone at the table his plan, mutters a few words and an instant later Electric Boogaloo and Light Sabre are snatched away to an alternate plane for a very short while- they’re Banished.This was rather a surprise to everyone because for all of the sessions up until a few weeks back Lummins has had a limited palette with regard to his Cleric (Priest of Light = Fire) spell choices, his mantra thus far has been to select spells using the following criteria-a) It burns, or hurts.b) It heals.c) It’s Bless.A couple of sessions back Rob (who plays Lummins) changed up his spell selections, actually he didn’t do that- he just decreased slightly the number of hurty or healy spells and picked some others he was interested in- like Banishment.What I’m trying to tell you is that no-one knew that Lummins was going to pull this stunt.Shock and awe were the Player’s reactions.Except from me of course.The bastard.Suddenly Blue Fury (the Half-Blue Dragon Gladiator) is on his own with the Brothers of the First Light, and there’s a lot more grinning around the table.It’s like a conference for Cheshire Cats.Note Rath Modar has a watching brief, he’s not getting involved atm, that’d sky-rocket the level of this Encounter.Watt keeps dishing out his Bardic Inspiration (swearing at his colleagues) and firing arrows at the remaining Half-Blue Dragon Gladiator- Blue Fury.Lux, now free of the Dragon, follows Watt’s lead and finds somewhere safe to hide and hit Blue Fury with her Eldritch Blasts.While Sgt B and Hotlips get to work double-teaming the lone remaining enemy- seconds later Blue Fury is bloodied, but not done for- taking another hit from Hazirawn just to manoeuvre in to the best spot possible to unleash his newly recharged Lightning breath- with the same result.Hotlips, at the last moment, scurries out of the way of the electrical storm and leaves Sgt B (Save = ‘1’) to face the full Lightning fury.I swear I was laughing so much it bloody hurt.Pete, as usual, failed to see the funny side.And so it goes for a little while longer, that is until the inevitable happens- Sgt B decapitates Blue Fury with Hazirawn, at which point the Brothers have about thirty seconds (Lummins advises) until the Dragon and Dragongfang are back in the room.The Brothers heal and cast other spells, get in to position- ready to attack.Who am I kidding- Hotlips goes in to hiding; Lux & Lummins exit the room, Watt turns Invisible while Sgt Bobby stands in the centre of the chamber swearing very loudly and making threats (some of which are biologically impossible).The Banished duo reappear, and it all begins again- Lux fires Eldritch Blasts in to the Dragon, Lummins fires Scorching Rays (mostly in to the Dragonfang), while Watt sheds his Invisibility and starts up with his bow, also targeting Light Sabre.Meantime Sgt B and Hotlips get in to their tag-team work-out on Electric Boogaloo.The just returned bad guys are taking a beating, although Light Sabre manages to hurt Sgt B a bit (at last), Electric Boogaloo however is having no luck (long story short- I rolled ‘1’, ’2’ & ‘3’ for my first three attack rolls).We’re going to the last here though, the Cult Assassins are in no retreat, no surrender mode.They’re both however bloodied very quickly (and remember they were all Maxed HP at the start- that’s 224 for Electric Boogaloo).Lummins eventually incinerates Light Sabre (with about his eighth Scorching Ray- we went on a while, although the Priest was max-enhancing every spell).The Priest of Lathander however almost pays the price, Electric Boogaloo launches its Lightning breath and again Lummins takes the full effect (Save = ‘1’ therefore 58 Lightning damage), Watt is also back to bloodied in an instant.But its not enough- the Brothers keep hammering away at the Dragon, and before the creature can inflict any more damage, Lux (eventually) kills it dead with yet another brace of Eldritch Blasts.And then there’s a moment of happy silence- the aftermath, the Brothers are spent- but victorious.It’s post-coital.Well, almost.Then the Fireball goes off in the midst of the Brothers of the First Light, and Rath Modar departs (teleporting away).Lummins is down and dying (Save = ‘3’, every time he rolled a save the results were terrible), Watt is only just conscious- although the Bard is quickly to the Priest of Lathander with a Cure.The fight is (really) over.Although the Players and PCs are on edge for a good while after, there’s quite a lot of hectic running about- seeking their attacker.After a frantic, and often noisy debate, it is finally surmised by the Brothers that the Fireball came from above them (correct) but that no-one saw anybody there (at any point during the fight), and furthermore no-one knows where the caster has gone. Most likely they have departed.So, not much to work on.Great- big tick for me.The rest of the time spent in the Cult hideout in the sewers is underwhelming, there’s a little treasure to be had, however the PCs also locate a stack of paperwork, it seems the Dragon Cult is keen on an audit trail.The paperwork is actually a ruse, but Shh… the Players didn’t know this- you’ll see.The Brothers are certain that the paperwork (which is going to take a while to get through- it’s all encrypted) will reveal the nature of the imminent attack on Waterdeep that they have just thwarted.So, they’re the heroes- again, that’s nice.And yet…The PCs are left with the uneasy feeling that they’ve been set up (prescient of them) and that the higher ups in the Dragon Cult are perhaps now on to them.Who just dropped a Fireball on them?Who just teleported (possibly) the big bad guys in, and themselves out?The Players are fretting.Did we just get targeted?Lux is also concerned that Talis the White (the Cult leader from the Hunting Lodge that told her that an attack in Waterdeep was imminent) may have set her up.The bitch!What’s worse several of the PCs are at this point remembering that it was indeed Lux that sent them on this mission. The Players know (because Sandy = Lux told them) that it was one of the Warlock’s ‘informers’ that had provided the information.Several of the other PCs (who am I kidding- it was just Sgt B = Pete) want answers- there’s a bit of argy-bargy for a while, Lux eventually comes clean about where she got her info from (Talis the White) and the recriminations (although only low-level carping) begin.The rest of the session, well that’s just a lot of chatter, which of course is for next time…</blockquote>

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