Paul Farquhar
Legend
Rincewind? Is that you?Expeditious Retreat?
D&D 5E You get one spell vs. a demon lord... which one?
Eltab
Lord of the Hidden Layer
(Voice from The Heavens)
"You forgot his amulet. He hid it over there"
divinely glowing version of Bigby's Pointing Finger appears
If he failed the save that would actually be awesome. "You know (enemy you hate the most) is attacking your home right now, and has just started raiding your treasures!"
I did a double take when I saw that, because I have a sorcerer that uses Twinned wish to cast simulacrum on party members, but did no think of using it offensively.
However, re-reading the spell (emphasis mine):
So in the case of a fiend, it would not work, alas.
EDIT: typo
Bihlbo
Explorer
Spoilers follow for Out of the Abyss. Only one major change was made from the module, so stop reading if you don't want to spoil it. The spell I chose was antipathy.
The party:
Mezik the duergar cavalier
Shepherd the half orc ranger/cleric
Tarak the half orc monk (player couldn't make it, but he factors in)
Val'Or the drow sorcerer/cleric
Wren the elf rogue
Zeek the svirfneblin evoker
Basidia had sent the party into the mind of Araumycos to prevent Zuggtmoy from succeeding in marrying the great fungal forest to consume all life. The adventurers make their way into the ceremony to see Zuggtmoy surrounded by her many chaimberlains. Some preparatory spells were cast, then Wren launches an arrow into the side of the fungal queen.
Zuggtmoy responds by teleporting herself and 8 chaimberlains next to the party. Mezik was ready, and swiftly destroys the closest chaimberlain using the flaming warhammer of Themberchaud, then turns his attention to their queen and declares that she will not enslave the miconid people. Shepherd and Val'Or summon spiritual guardians, which together kill another chaimberlain as Wren sinks another arrow deep into Zuggtmoy. The queen responds by attempting to dispel Val'Or's guardians, but Zeek counters her spell, then destroys another chaimberlain with blight magic. The remaining chaimberlains step through each other and quickly surround the party, ready to close in to attack.
Mezik raises the Shield of Feldrun that he took from Eldeth after murdering her in her sleep. His voice raises as well, crying out, "Great Laduguer, taskmaster and liberator of slaves! This demon has fooled her followers and seeks to enslave them. Show her for what she really is, and free them as you freed your own people!" Laduguer casts antipathy on Zuggtmoy
The air around Zuggtmoy wavers like water in a pond, and black halo slowly envelops her form. The beautiful, colorful fungal growth that seems to dress and adorn her form is all stripped away within this black aura, revealing a spindly, spiked demonic form, devoid of the miconic life she usually carries with her. The chaimberlains all immediately shudder, their stiff, fleshy forms ripple as if soft waves of force are coming from Zuggtmoy. Their expressionless, faceless forms continue to be inscrutable, but they each lean away from the fungal queen and seem to shorten slightly, as if shunning her.
18 chaimberlains suddenly fade in the same way Tarak had when he was defeated in battle. "They returned to their true bodies, wherever they be," said Zeek as he directs his earth elemental to meet one of the few chaimberlains who remain to fight.
Zuggtmoy lands a clean blow on Shepherd, infecting him with a fungal growth. Mezik hurls the wormsmith's hammer at Zuggtmoy, leaving a flaming arc around her head that briefly appears like dragon wings, then he leads his steeder to leap to her head, where he hammers down blow after blow. The demon lord winces as Val'Or's guardians cut deep, and Wren takes advantage to sink another magical arrow in an open wound. Zeek raises his orb, made from the eye of a vrok, calling a fireball to destroy the protective fungal creatures Zuggtmoy was using to block attacks.
Zuggtmoy cries out, "No! You were the distraction!" Her attacks seem to miss anyone but Mezik, who shrugs off her poisonous blows. He shouts out, "We are no distraction! We are Destiny's Edge!!" as he lands a fatal blow. (The teenage players named the group. Sorry for the cringe.)
Zuggtmoy wails as her body crumbles, leaving the remaining chaimberlains in agony as they flee this plane to return to their bodies. Out of Zuggtmoy an ooze begins to form, rapidly growing as it consumes what is left of her. The horrible, gibbering mouths billow out faerzress and the party's sanity is tested far more than ever before.
Zeek's finger of death bites into Jubilex's rippling form as it spills out ooze that covers Mezik. Shepherd's spiritual longsword can't seem to hit, but his sentient sword Chillrend sings as she spills demonic ooze. Val'Or's guardians continue to rip and tear, but he falls as Jubilex slams into him, and drags his unconscious body into its murky center.
Jubilex grows, hurling more slapping attacks at Mezik and Shepherd. Zeek's elemental clears the ooze from Mezik, who demands, "Next time be faster with aid, wizard!" as he hammers into the numerous eyes of the demon lord. "Val'Or! No!" cries Wren as Hoperender slices off a rippling pseudopod. Inside, she can just make out that his planar form is fading, returning him to his own body.
Shepherd calls on a blessing from the enigmatic Jimjar, causing a duplicate of himself to draw Jubilex's attention, but it's no use. Zeek's fireball was a greater threat, as the demon lord hurled a gout of acid at the flying gnome. He slumped there in mid-air as Mezik retaliates with an unwavering strike, followed by more deadly blows that would have obliterated any lesser being. An acidic pseudopod bounces off of his shield, but Wren is not so lucky.
Just then, all but Mezik falls as a seeping and invisible poisonous gas fills their lungs out of nowhere. Shepherd makes his final stand and cries out, "Mezik! We must return! Our bodies are being destroyed!" as he fades from the mind of Araumycos. Mezik grabs the bodies of the gnome and elf. As he fades back to reality he turns and says, "Next time we will not be so weak."
Back in the verdant fungal grove, Basidia and the giant fungal beasts that accompanied the miconid scouting party lay killed, as the bodies of the party are slumped at the feet of a gargantuan fungal dragon, as it slides Tarak's limp body down its massive throat. Shepherd, limping and looking sick, says to the duergar, "We've little chance to escape!" as he heals Wren back to consciousness. Mezik reaches down with Jimjar's glove, sacrificing some of his own life to heal Val'Or. "Priest, keep them alive while I hold this off!" and he raises his hammer to strike.
The fungal dragon kicks the cavalier and bites Wren as she stands and darts behind a nearby zirkwood. Val'Or says, "Zeek can get us out of here," gesturing to his old friend, as his magic holds the dragon in place. Mezik's sacrificial healing brings Zeek back to the fray as he says, "Get us out of here! Use your magics for something useful for once!"
"Where is Tarak?" says the groggy gnome.
"He's been swallowed," Shepherd replies.
"There's no saving him, get us to Gracklstugh!" Mezik demands.
Zeek shakes his head. "We can't leave him behind, someone must save him."
Thinking back to when Tarak attacked Mezik to stop him from enslaving a kenku months ago, Mezik says, "I'll not risk our lives to save a betrayer."
Wren's meek voice pipes up, "I'll do it," as she steps into the mushroom.
The fungal dragon attempts to back up, but Mezik's blow stops it quick. Undaunted, it cranes its neck around and unleashes another horrible breath of poisonous vapors. Mezik, accustomed to the black smog of his home city, ignores it; of the rest of the party, only Wren inside the dragon's belly is spared. She falls out of a mushroom cap nearby, her arms wrapped around Tarak. Covered in bile and blood she looks up at Mezik and says, "My stride worked, I wasn't sure. Can we still leave?"
Mezik looks down at her in awe. "By Deep Duerra, you did it. I have never seen something so heroic." Thinking quickly, he looks at the dragon and at his fallen allies nearby. The dragon struck him hard as he fled to Zeek and healed him again. "Now, wizard! Use your magics and get us out of here, we are all here."
Zeek casts his spell, and the party falls into a heap at the Leaky Mug. Tappy Foamstrap, not missing a beat, asks, "8 mugs, right? I'll set your rooms up right away!" A flurry of work begins, saving Tarak and reviving the party.
Wren turns to the duergar. "Mezik, what you said back there about Laddy-something... it's not like you to fight to free slaves."
"You may think. When Basidia told me his people would be enslaved by that demon, I saw them as my own people once were before Moradin betrayed us," Mezik explains. "Laduguer freed his people from slavery at the hands of the ilithids. I asked he do the same now. Who knows, maybe the miconids will know of that miracle and serve Laduguer now. It would be better to see them toil and strive than to dance. Maybe they'll even build cities instead of sleeping in filth."
Wren nods, then darts here eyes up to his. "I... think Jimjar spoke to me inside the dragon's belly, Mezik. He gave me hope."
"No, I'm sure that was Deep Duerra, queen of conquest. When you came out you had her countenance." Mezik then demands with a scowl, "Pray to her tonight."
Val'Or rises from his pack and says, "We still don't have what we need. My mission from the gods requires still more work to fulfill, but we are close. We still know nothing of the Lord of Indulgence, and we'll need to find a beholder again."
"I've killed Baphomet and now Zuggtmoy as well," Mezik brags. "My people will be saved, and will shower me with riches beyond even the great Themberchaud. He will even open his horde to me when he learns of my service to him."
Zeek darts to his stash to check something. "Good, the alip is still stored here. Good, good. Not many names left to get!"
Shepherd shakes his head. "This place is as strange as it is awful. I can't wait to get home."
The party:
Mezik the duergar cavalier
Shepherd the half orc ranger/cleric
Tarak the half orc monk (player couldn't make it, but he factors in)
Val'Or the drow sorcerer/cleric
Wren the elf rogue
Zeek the svirfneblin evoker
Basidia had sent the party into the mind of Araumycos to prevent Zuggtmoy from succeeding in marrying the great fungal forest to consume all life. The adventurers make their way into the ceremony to see Zuggtmoy surrounded by her many chaimberlains. Some preparatory spells were cast, then Wren launches an arrow into the side of the fungal queen.
Zuggtmoy responds by teleporting herself and 8 chaimberlains next to the party. Mezik was ready, and swiftly destroys the closest chaimberlain using the flaming warhammer of Themberchaud, then turns his attention to their queen and declares that she will not enslave the miconid people. Shepherd and Val'Or summon spiritual guardians, which together kill another chaimberlain as Wren sinks another arrow deep into Zuggtmoy. The queen responds by attempting to dispel Val'Or's guardians, but Zeek counters her spell, then destroys another chaimberlain with blight magic. The remaining chaimberlains step through each other and quickly surround the party, ready to close in to attack.
Mezik raises the Shield of Feldrun that he took from Eldeth after murdering her in her sleep. His voice raises as well, crying out, "Great Laduguer, taskmaster and liberator of slaves! This demon has fooled her followers and seeks to enslave them. Show her for what she really is, and free them as you freed your own people!" Laduguer casts antipathy on Zuggtmoy
The air around Zuggtmoy wavers like water in a pond, and black halo slowly envelops her form. The beautiful, colorful fungal growth that seems to dress and adorn her form is all stripped away within this black aura, revealing a spindly, spiked demonic form, devoid of the miconic life she usually carries with her. The chaimberlains all immediately shudder, their stiff, fleshy forms ripple as if soft waves of force are coming from Zuggtmoy. Their expressionless, faceless forms continue to be inscrutable, but they each lean away from the fungal queen and seem to shorten slightly, as if shunning her.
18 chaimberlains suddenly fade in the same way Tarak had when he was defeated in battle. "They returned to their true bodies, wherever they be," said Zeek as he directs his earth elemental to meet one of the few chaimberlains who remain to fight.
Zuggtmoy lands a clean blow on Shepherd, infecting him with a fungal growth. Mezik hurls the wormsmith's hammer at Zuggtmoy, leaving a flaming arc around her head that briefly appears like dragon wings, then he leads his steeder to leap to her head, where he hammers down blow after blow. The demon lord winces as Val'Or's guardians cut deep, and Wren takes advantage to sink another magical arrow in an open wound. Zeek raises his orb, made from the eye of a vrok, calling a fireball to destroy the protective fungal creatures Zuggtmoy was using to block attacks.
Zuggtmoy cries out, "No! You were the distraction!" Her attacks seem to miss anyone but Mezik, who shrugs off her poisonous blows. He shouts out, "We are no distraction! We are Destiny's Edge!!" as he lands a fatal blow. (The teenage players named the group. Sorry for the cringe.)
Zuggtmoy wails as her body crumbles, leaving the remaining chaimberlains in agony as they flee this plane to return to their bodies. Out of Zuggtmoy an ooze begins to form, rapidly growing as it consumes what is left of her. The horrible, gibbering mouths billow out faerzress and the party's sanity is tested far more than ever before.
Zeek's finger of death bites into Jubilex's rippling form as it spills out ooze that covers Mezik. Shepherd's spiritual longsword can't seem to hit, but his sentient sword Chillrend sings as she spills demonic ooze. Val'Or's guardians continue to rip and tear, but he falls as Jubilex slams into him, and drags his unconscious body into its murky center.
Jubilex grows, hurling more slapping attacks at Mezik and Shepherd. Zeek's elemental clears the ooze from Mezik, who demands, "Next time be faster with aid, wizard!" as he hammers into the numerous eyes of the demon lord. "Val'Or! No!" cries Wren as Hoperender slices off a rippling pseudopod. Inside, she can just make out that his planar form is fading, returning him to his own body.
Shepherd calls on a blessing from the enigmatic Jimjar, causing a duplicate of himself to draw Jubilex's attention, but it's no use. Zeek's fireball was a greater threat, as the demon lord hurled a gout of acid at the flying gnome. He slumped there in mid-air as Mezik retaliates with an unwavering strike, followed by more deadly blows that would have obliterated any lesser being. An acidic pseudopod bounces off of his shield, but Wren is not so lucky.
Just then, all but Mezik falls as a seeping and invisible poisonous gas fills their lungs out of nowhere. Shepherd makes his final stand and cries out, "Mezik! We must return! Our bodies are being destroyed!" as he fades from the mind of Araumycos. Mezik grabs the bodies of the gnome and elf. As he fades back to reality he turns and says, "Next time we will not be so weak."
Back in the verdant fungal grove, Basidia and the giant fungal beasts that accompanied the miconid scouting party lay killed, as the bodies of the party are slumped at the feet of a gargantuan fungal dragon, as it slides Tarak's limp body down its massive throat. Shepherd, limping and looking sick, says to the duergar, "We've little chance to escape!" as he heals Wren back to consciousness. Mezik reaches down with Jimjar's glove, sacrificing some of his own life to heal Val'Or. "Priest, keep them alive while I hold this off!" and he raises his hammer to strike.
The fungal dragon kicks the cavalier and bites Wren as she stands and darts behind a nearby zirkwood. Val'Or says, "Zeek can get us out of here," gesturing to his old friend, as his magic holds the dragon in place. Mezik's sacrificial healing brings Zeek back to the fray as he says, "Get us out of here! Use your magics for something useful for once!"
"Where is Tarak?" says the groggy gnome.
"He's been swallowed," Shepherd replies.
"There's no saving him, get us to Gracklstugh!" Mezik demands.
Zeek shakes his head. "We can't leave him behind, someone must save him."
Thinking back to when Tarak attacked Mezik to stop him from enslaving a kenku months ago, Mezik says, "I'll not risk our lives to save a betrayer."
Wren's meek voice pipes up, "I'll do it," as she steps into the mushroom.
The fungal dragon attempts to back up, but Mezik's blow stops it quick. Undaunted, it cranes its neck around and unleashes another horrible breath of poisonous vapors. Mezik, accustomed to the black smog of his home city, ignores it; of the rest of the party, only Wren inside the dragon's belly is spared. She falls out of a mushroom cap nearby, her arms wrapped around Tarak. Covered in bile and blood she looks up at Mezik and says, "My stride worked, I wasn't sure. Can we still leave?"
Mezik looks down at her in awe. "By Deep Duerra, you did it. I have never seen something so heroic." Thinking quickly, he looks at the dragon and at his fallen allies nearby. The dragon struck him hard as he fled to Zeek and healed him again. "Now, wizard! Use your magics and get us out of here, we are all here."
Zeek casts his spell, and the party falls into a heap at the Leaky Mug. Tappy Foamstrap, not missing a beat, asks, "8 mugs, right? I'll set your rooms up right away!" A flurry of work begins, saving Tarak and reviving the party.
Wren turns to the duergar. "Mezik, what you said back there about Laddy-something... it's not like you to fight to free slaves."
"You may think. When Basidia told me his people would be enslaved by that demon, I saw them as my own people once were before Moradin betrayed us," Mezik explains. "Laduguer freed his people from slavery at the hands of the ilithids. I asked he do the same now. Who knows, maybe the miconids will know of that miracle and serve Laduguer now. It would be better to see them toil and strive than to dance. Maybe they'll even build cities instead of sleeping in filth."
Wren nods, then darts here eyes up to his. "I... think Jimjar spoke to me inside the dragon's belly, Mezik. He gave me hope."
"No, I'm sure that was Deep Duerra, queen of conquest. When you came out you had her countenance." Mezik then demands with a scowl, "Pray to her tonight."
Val'Or rises from his pack and says, "We still don't have what we need. My mission from the gods requires still more work to fulfill, but we are close. We still know nothing of the Lord of Indulgence, and we'll need to find a beholder again."
"I've killed Baphomet and now Zuggtmoy as well," Mezik brags. "My people will be saved, and will shower me with riches beyond even the great Themberchaud. He will even open his horde to me when he learns of my service to him."
Zeek darts to his stash to check something. "Good, the alip is still stored here. Good, good. Not many names left to get!"
Shepherd shakes his head. "This place is as strange as it is awful. I can't wait to get home."
Bihlbo
Explorer
One of the best sessions yet. DM knew the wish was probably going to turn the battle in our favor somehow, so he prepared Jubilex to fight us. He knew that fleeing chaimberlains would flee to their bodies unless Zuggy kept them motivated to stay, but he didn't anticipate her being their source of fear. That ancient fungus dragon would have killed us all for sure. I thought Mezik was going to finally meet his end, but he continues to be a juggernaut. Great group of players, very smart and engaging.
About halfway through, Wren's player texted Tarak's player that we all died and were making new characters. I didn't know she was messing with him, so I told the truth when he freaked out and texted me. But I let him think Tarak was dead until the game was over and I shared the session notes with him. He was equally freaked to learn Wren saved him. And I wasn't mincing words when Mezik told her that was heroic. She was the only one willing to risk us all getting killed to save him, and when she and Mezik were the only survivors we thought all was lost. But when a dwarven fighter with Shield Master faces a dragon, poison breath is not what worries him. Much epic.
Thanks again for your help, forum!
About halfway through, Wren's player texted Tarak's player that we all died and were making new characters. I didn't know she was messing with him, so I told the truth when he freaked out and texted me. But I let him think Tarak was dead until the game was over and I shared the session notes with him. He was equally freaked to learn Wren saved him. And I wasn't mincing words when Mezik told her that was heroic. She was the only one willing to risk us all getting killed to save him, and when she and Mezik were the only survivors we thought all was lost. But when a dwarven fighter with Shield Master faces a dragon, poison breath is not what worries him. Much epic.
Thanks again for your help, forum!
Last edited:
MonsterEnvy
Legend
Actually Demon Lords are immune to non magic damage.
DemoMonkey
Hero
A policy that has led to a happy and productive internet life has been to disregard any statement that begins with "Actually".
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