DND Blog

A place to keep DND session recaps, from various campaigns.

The Eighty-Eighth Session

August 5, 2023, Campaign: As the ground quakes, evil wakes

We kill a whole lot of Yuan-Ti, and recover our stuff. Vurguron and Jerry nearly die.

Table of Contents

  1. Last session
  2. The real fight
  3. The Bone Serpent
  4. Next Up

Last session

In session 87:

The party convened at breakfast where Ryltar explain Salris's departure from the party for the time being. The party set out to teleport to the Kulahar tribe village, where they dug up the "borrowed" items, using said item(s). There they returned the item(s) to the cairns.
They set off Northwest to the Yuan-ti city. Day 1: uneventful with the night within Percival's Palace Day 2: the party ran into a digging crew shoveling dirt onto a cart. A small group of Yuan-ti were guarding 4 villagers turned slaves as well as a familiar Werebear, Fernard. The party initiated the skirmish sifting the slavers with Lightning Arrow, Come of Cold and Fireball. Fernard joining in the fight in his hybrid form. The party was successful in freeing the villagers and slaying the guards. The party took an extra day to see to the villagers health within Percival's playhouse. Fernard recounted the story: the Yuan-ti came upon the city some time after the party last left. Took those who submitted as slaves, killed those who resisted. Fernard doesn't know who got away, who fled or who fell he was one of the first to be captured.The now slaves were brought back to the city where some were sent in but most, including Fernard were sent to dig up dirt to fill in the hole the party had dug the last time they tried to storm the city. This started a couple of days before the party rescued them now.
Everyone took rest in Percival's penthouse that night. In the morning, acting speaker Fernard leads the villagers home. The party continues towards the city. As the party nears the city, with constant Pass without a trace (x4), the party sneaks up to the hole entrance being guarded by two Malisons. Looking past them, towards the city, the party sees the constant pillar of smoke rising up from the exhaust. Much planning was made until a sizeable plume of smoke rose into the sky. The party acted, Percival casting Mass Suggestion to convince the guards to help them dig the walk and keep on walking. All that stood in there way was a corpse on the floor of the tunnel and two days of repacked soil. A Polymorphed Ryltar-Badger made quick work of the soil coming upon the stone ceiling. With that the guards left to start their (24 mile) walk. Percival casting Stone Shape via the Cli Lyre making a trap door out of the exposed stone. Lifting the door, the tunnel instantly fills with heavy incense, Jerry gets poisoned. The party looks into an ongoing ritual; chatting Yuan-ti in ceremonial attire, censors spewing incense, and the blood pool roiling. And we left off with Ryltar dropping a Otilukes Freezing Sphere in the room, and Jerry closing the trapdoor. Next session: initiative!

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The ice ball deals 46 damage.

Percival uses a Lesser Restoration to cure Jerry's poison.

Jerry pops open the trap door again, and Ryltar has another Otiluke's Freezing Sphere prepped to cast. With a 27 to hit, someone inside hits him with Percival's Storm Boomerang, taking some bludgeoning and thunder damage. He drops the freezing sphere, dealing 37 cold. He then walks back from the trap door mouth, and Jerry drops it.

Percival grabs Jerry and teleports down into one side of the room. The abomination nearby bites Jerry, grappling and restraining her, adding 11 piercing and 5 poison damage. And 17 boomerang. She stabs him with her Slayer of the Unnatural for 25.

Ryltar grabs Vurguron and teleports in. Vurguron attacks a shield-wielder, but they all bounce off his armor. He kills three in reply, and moves up to the shield-wielder.

The Yuan-Ti Mind Whisperer, who wears a yellow pharaoh's hat, Banishes Ryltar.

The ice on the blood pool in the middle of the room goes THUD, and jumps upwards.

Percival casts Tasha's Hideous Laughter on the Yuan-Ti Abomination holding Jerry, incapacitating it. Jerry falls out of its arms.

The next abomination uses Salris' Whip of Wounding against Vurguron, trying to constrict him, and it just bounces off his armor. He looks at it pityingly, so it bites him in the face.

On the other side of the room, Jerry deals two slices against the laughing abomination, dealing 58 damage, cutting it in half, but _not_ killing it. halving its health.

Ryltar finds himself in the Plane of Snakes.

Vurguron attacks the Whip Abomination, and deals a little damage. The Mind Whisperer attacks him; he Shields against the flaming sword.

THUD.

The laughing abomination ceases laughing, but remains prone. Percival casts Tasha's Hideous Laughter again, and the abomination rolls back over, dropping Jerry.

Two abominations attack Vurguron, and miss all the attacks. Another attacks Jerry, succeeding.

Two more attacks against Vurguron, and one successfully crits against him, inflicting a Wound upon him.

Jerry attacks the formerly-laughing abomination, and just barely kills him with another 40-some damage. The adjacent Yuan-Ti pureblood attacks her, breaking her concentration on Hunter's Mark and dealing 8 slashing.

Vurguron is surrounded by the Whip Abomination, the Shield Malison, and the Mind Whisperer. He kills the Mind Whisperer, bringing Ryltar back.

The green-tailed Nightmare Speaker that was atop the dias now appears in the stairwell behind Percival. He feels a tingling in the back of his neck, and begins to worry whether he left the oven on in his mansion. He takes no damage from it. Then the three Yuan-Ti Priests come around the cornerr, and he gets hit with 23 force damage from several Eldritch Blasts.

CRACK

The blood pool breaks open, and a Yuan-Ti Anathema, with six heads, unfurls from under the ice, roaring from six throats. The remaining Yuan-Ti cheer.

The real fight

The caped guy hits Jerry for 16 slashing, then the big Abomination stands up and attacks and misses, the boomerang hits, and then another miss.

Whip Abomination attacks Vurguron with whip and bite and constrict, landing each, and restraining him.

Jerry kills the laughing malison, then the adjacent Pureblood, then attacks the caped Malison for a few more damage. She flanks the Whip Abomination.

Ryltar Cone of Colds the Whip Abomination, the Shield Malison, and the Anathema, for 16 Cold. If any flames in the room had survived the initial Otiluke's Freezing Sphere, they are now extinguished.

Vurguron becomes Frightened by Yuan-Ti, but attacks the flanked Whip Abomination, missing and hitting, damaging it, then drinking his Potion of Superior Healing.

The Green Nightmare Speaker tries to Spectral Fangs Jerry, and fails.

The Yuan-Ti Priests enter, and all attack Ryltar, dealing him some damage.

The Anathema slithers towards Jerry, dealing 16 with its claws, missing with claws, constricting for 20 bludgeoning and 8 acid, downing Jerry. Then it makes a Flurry of Bites with six bites on Vurguron, who Shields, avoiding 8d6 + 5d6. It continues screaming, trying to clear out those who have soiled its sanctuary. It inhales with chests, and as a bonus action, utters a single word.

Ryltar subtly Counterspells at fifth level at 24, blocking its Divine Word, grabbing his holy symbol of Denier to unwind the seventh-level evocation. It would've killed Jerry for sure.

Ryltar sees that the green Nightmare Speaker has his wand.

Percival casts Heal Wounds on Jerry, bringing her back to life has fear of snakes, so he can't get closer to Jerry. Instead, he casts Hold Creature on the Anathema, which fails and is now held paralyzed. But Percival is still Frightened.

The caped Malison attacks Vurguron but loses. Then it moves to Jerry, bites once, then dents its fangs on the Heartbreaker armor. She has one death save remaining.

The Whip Abomination attacks Vurguron, who is frightened, and constricts, and loses. It swings the whip and misses.

Jerry rolls a death save and passes.

Ryltar gets Frightened by the Anathema, and has a Cone of Cold line covering all 8 Yuan-Ti in the room. He spends all his remaining spellcaster points to create a 5th level slot. The two Malisons die, Shield and Cape, and the Whip Abomination. The Whip of Wounding, the Scabbard of Road Less Taken, and the Sentinel Shield clatter to the floor.

Vurguron runs up to Jerry and administers a healing potion, bringing her to 10.

The green Nightmare Speaker tries to Spectral Fangs Jerry and misses the first and second attacks, because she's prone.

The three Yuan-Ti Priests attack Ryltar for 15, Percival for 5. Percival replies with Fireball against the Nightmare Speaker and Priests, downing the Nightmare Speaker. The Wand of the Ice Lord clatters to the floor. Across the room, Ryltar hears a pin drop.

Jerry stands up, chugs a Potion of Supreme Healing for 10d4 + 20 = 41 and grabs the Whip of Wounding.

Ryltar casts Cone of Cold again with his ice staff, dealing some less damage. Then he Shadow Steps to the wand, and picks it up. A pleasing chill rushes over his body - and then he realizes he isn't attuned to it.

Vurguron casts Melf's Minute Meteors and fires off two meteors, hitting the three priests twice, dealing a little damage. He is no longer frightened by snakes. They reply with Eldritch Blasts against Ryltar and Jerry and Vurguron, doing a little damage.

The Anathema is still held, despite advantage. He Fireballs against it, but it resisted.

Jerry pops Hunter's Mark on the Anathema and autocrits against its restrained form, for 6d10+12d6+12 = 80.

Ryltar teleports back to the shooting-gallery point, then uses his ice staff's last charge to Cone of Cold the Anathema and the priests for 18, killing one priest.

Vurguron goes over to the Anathema, and uses his Shadow Blade for 21 on the first hit, and shaves its neck of heads on the second attack. He then runs over to the two priests and attacks it significantly. They try to bite and fail, then one succeeds in constricting. The other bites with advantage and connects, downing Vurguron on the first strike. Then it constricts him, giving him two failed death saves.

Percival then attacks the snakes, doing Tasha's Hideous Laughter on the Priest which is slightly less damaged. Jerry runs up to the two Priests and kills one. Ryltar runs up and feeds Vurguron a healing potion for 7. Vurguron stands up, Blurs, and then heals.

The remaining Priest tries to attack, and gets Shield in the way. Percival Viciously Mocks the Priest, giving it disadvantage on its next attack.

Jerry kills the last priest. The room is clear.

So we killed Sev while we were here.

No sign of Percival's Vest of Many Things. We realize that they're all wearing ceremonail guards.

We go into the entrance hall, and discover there's a pile of fresh humanoid corpses. They were sacrifices, soldiers of West Haven. They don't have regular markers of identity, and have been stripped. Jerry writes down the descriptions of the couple dozen bodies.

As Jerry and Ryltar write, Vurguron and Percival go around the corner into the sacrificial room, where the chanting table sings quietly to itself, and find a bunch more corpses. They go into the small storeroom there, and steal 330 gold.

Percival find the oracle pool, which the priests use to contact their serpent. He looks in, and sees nothing. Jerry and Ryltar catch up, and examine the stone pot that used to hold an air elemental: it's empty.

The prison contains no prisoners; the portal there is a sort of local portal network that we're not going to investigate.

There's a locked stone door leading into a small room; Jerry smashes the door open. Jerry takes 14 lightning damage, when a big snake made out of bone zaps her with lightning.

The Bone Serpent

Vurguron downs two healing potions. Ryltar does Psychic Lance against it; it is not wise and takes 18 psychic and is incapacitated for a turn. Jerry smashes it for 29 smashing. Vurguron kills it the rest of the way.

In this room is so much shiny stuff. A shield made from the shell of a tortoise. Armor, armaments, weapons. It's all mundane stuff, except the shield, which Ryltar grabs. It's got an aura of transmutation magic, he says. It's a shield of loudening; even when it's stowed. It's a shield of 10x volume.

We come to another store-room and find crates with magical items in them, finally recovering the rest of our stuff, except the consumables. Everything. In the armor of the traitorous West Haven captain, Ryltar finds a spell scroll of Teleportation Circle to a specific circle, which is a circle he doesn't know.

Next Up