World of Greyhawk: Company of the Grey Chain

The huge square box creaks open to Khessa's crowbar, and as the front of it falls to the ground, a few things happen simultaiously.

First, a shattering sound comes from inside the box, as though triggered to happen as soon as it was opened. A moment later 5 portals open from the ground all around and swarms of snarling rotten Dretches come out looking for fresh blood. 

Secondly, Khessa sees in the left corner of the box a chest that begins to glow with blue light. It emits a psychic energy that overwhelms you all with powerful visions. 

Finally, a figure moves forward from the right corner of the box. A giant snake with the face of a horrible woman, she whispers "You I do not recognize, but I could have sworn I heard someone before I am dying to meet again." For those who would recognize it, that serpentine tone is that of Explicitica Defilus. She begins to chant a magical spell. Initiative:

Group 1: Avery, Khessa, Theldrin, Xanrym

Group 2: Explicitica Defilus

Group 3: Coriana, Syllen

Group 4: Visions of the Forgotten King

Group 5: Dretches

Group 1 is up

Round 1: Xanrym

Quote from drumdigby>>

First, a shattering sound comes from inside the box

Xanrym jumps with a start when the sound rings out.  Too late, he realizes that he should have silenced the cargo hold before Khessa started her work.  His initial thoughts are on the Broken Crown and Nithrissa, but then he sees why the crate was so large...

Finally, a figure moves forward from the right corner of the box. A giant snake with the face of a horrible woman, she whispers "You I do not recognize, but I could have sworn I heard someone before I am dying to meet again." For those who would recognize it, that serpentine tone is that of Explicitica Defilus. She begins to chant a magical spell. Initiative: 

Xanrym's brain freezes at the sound of the voice -- Explictica Deflilus!  Here?!  How?

But Xanrym only hesitates a moment before springing into action.  He remembers that the naga is a powerful spellcaster, and even though it may make things more difficult for Syllen and Khessa at first, he decides to silence the alarms and the naga.  Better to fight the naga without magic than subject The Company to whatever spell the naga would throw at them!  He just hopes that Avery and Khessa can keep the naga penned in the area of silence, reducing her to her (still-potent!) attacks.  

But first, Xanrym cannot help but answer the naga's challenge.  He moves to the the doorway of the brig and says, "You're right about one thing, you vulgar viper!  You will be dying!  Since you won't stay dead, you stupid serpent, we'll gladly kill you again!"

Then, to the rest of The Company: "It's the naga from the Rushmoors!  Avery, Khessa, keep her penned in!  War Wizard, do what you can, and then I'll silence her foul sorcery."  Then he starts playing his drum as he begins to cast a spell in time to the rhythm, moving back toward Seraphel in the brig.

Xanrym has grown in power as a spellcaster since The Company last faced Explictica Deflilus, but he's also more experienced.  He centers the spell just over 20-ft away from himself and uses the walls of the cargo hold to block the Area of Effect and prevent the spell from affecting most of the brig (room 14) so that he can Theldrin can continue to cast spells from there.  

Movement: Move to the doorway to see the scene and say his piece before moving back to the west of the brig (room 14) next to Seraphel.  He wants to leave the door clear in case Theldrin wants to join him in this room and leave it to Khessa to cut off the naga from chasing them into the brig.
Bonus Action: Use Unsettling Words against the naga.
  The naga must subtract 7 (in game log) from the next saving throw she makes before the start of Xanrym's next turn.  <= That will presumably be whatever spell Theldrin decides to cast.
Action: Ready a spell (LVL 2 slot) Silence, 20-foot sphere centered on a point on the port wall just behind the naga.
  Trigger: Immediately after Theldrin casts his own spell.
  For the duration, no sound can be created within or pass through the area of effect.
  Any creature or object entirely inside the sphere is immune to thunder damage, and creatures are deafened while entirely inside it.
  Casting a spell that includes a verbal component is impossible there.
Free Action: Talking

Concentration: Silence round 1 of 600

(OOC: FYI - I moved Xanrym's token, and I drew the AoE for Silence in purple.  The red circle is a 20-ft radius circle and shows the bounds of the AoE if it were not blocked by the walls.  FYI - I also edited this post without realizing that I had rolled for Unsettling Words.  Since I didn't record the initial roll, I just decided to make the roll on the character sheet / in the game log.) 

Round 1

Khessa hadn't expected such a sudden turn of events, but her determination to recover the bones, boosted by the scholar's clarifications, leads her to act quickly.

While Xanrym is still speaking, the blonde arcane warrior intones words of power, activating a a useful protection, among other things, against fiends. She then draws her magical Greatsword and goes to engage the naga, placing herself between the monster and Theldrin.

[[OOC: Action: Protection from Evil and Good - enemy attacks will have Disadvantage. Movement: to get in melee with the naga ]]

(OOC: Is Theldrin able to move to where he can see the Naga without incurring an AoO from the Dretch?  It looks like it's in another room behind a closed door?)

Quote from werelemur >>

(OOC: Is Theldrin able to move to where he can see the Naga without incurring an AoO from the Dretch?  It looks like it's in another room behind a closed door?)

(OOC: FWIW, I assumed that the crate had basically collapsed so that there are currently no "walls," and we can see and reach the naga from all directions.  Of course, no crate walls also means that we have no cover from the naga, and she can target anyone.  If some of the crate walls still stand, then I probably need to change Xanrym's movement for round 1 so that he can get line-of-sight, and the Silence AoE would be different.

The DM didn't mention the need for anyone to make a saving throw vs. the dretches' fetid cloud yet, so I figured that it would only come into play after the demons take their turn.  At that point, I imagine that everyone will be within 10-ft of at least one of the three swarms of dretches.

I wasn't sure whether the door to room-15 is currently open.  If the door is open, then a sliver of the Silence AoE should also extend into that room.)

We'll say that the crate did collapse, so no walls. Theldrin and Avery are still up.

"Remember this spell?" Theldrin says quietly as he aims a Lightning Bolt at the Naga, lining it up with Dretch 3 and 4 as well, and using Sculpt Spells to protect Khessa and Syllen.  He then steps around the corner, moving into the room with Xanrym.

Lightning Damage: 29
Dex 15 Save for half

(OOC: @drumdigby - Don't forget that the naga needs to make a DC 22 DEX saving throw for Lightning Bolt because of  Xanrym's Unsettling Words.)

Quote from werelemur >>

Lightning Damage: 21
Dex 15 Save for half

Quote from Ben_Evolent >>

Round 1: Xanrym

Bonus Action: Use Unsettling Words against the naga.
  The naga must subtract 7 (in game log) from the next saving throw she makes before the start of Xanrym's next turn.  <= That will presumably be whatever spell Theldrin decides to cast.

(OOC: @drumdigby FYI - I also attached a 10-ft aura around dretch swarms 2 - 4 on the map so that it's easier to track their fetid clouds.  The aura should move with the dretch tokens.  I didn't add one to dretch swarm 1 yet since it's a little more complicated to determine that AoE if the cloud acts like a spell, and the AoE does not move around corners.)

(Thank you for that! Which reminds me that Avery will need to make a DC 12 CON Save at the start of his turn or be Poisoned)

Naga Dex Save 18

Avery saves against the Dretches Poison and takes a swipe into Explicita.

Glaring at Theldrin’s spell, Explicitica mouths something that you can’t hear and makes two bites at Avery then one at Khessa.

Bite against Avery Attack: 19 Damage: 10 Piercing and 15 Poison

Bite against Avery Attack: 27 Damage: 8 Piercing and 24 Poison

Bite against Khessa Attack: 15 Damage: 6 Piercing and 15 Poison

Coriana and Syllen are up, you’ll need to make DC 12 CON Saves or be Poisoned.

Turn 1:

Con Save: 19

(OOC: Avery is not resistant to Poison? Also I think Theldrin's spell hit Dretches 3 and 4.)

Syllen will have Nav fly next to Avery.

BA: Starry Form: Chalice

Action: lvl 2 Cure Wounds via Nav on Avery

Heal from Cure Wounds: 19

Heal from Starry Form: 12

Total Heal: 31

[[ OOC: It's not very important, since Explicitica missed Khessa anyway, but let's keep in mind that if she's an Aberration, Celestial, Elemental, Fey, Fiend or Undead she has Disadvantage in attacking our arcane warrior. ]]

Quote from drumdigby >>

Bite against Avery Attack: 19 Damage: 10 Piercing and 15 Poison
Bite against Avery Attack: 27 Damage: 8 Piercing and 24 Poison 

(OOC: Remember that Avery wears Adamantine Splint: any critical hit against him becomes a normal hit.  Therefore, the second attack would only do
5 Piercing and 9 Poison damage.  Starting the fight with 11 THP from Syllen's blessing, Avery should be back to his max HP after Syllen's Cure Wounds.)

Quote from JehanO >>

(OOC: Avery is not resistant to Poison? Also I think Theldrin's spell hit Dretches 3 and 4.) 

(OOC: AFAIK, no, he's not.  He has the Necklace of Adaptation, but that only helps with saving throws vs. the poisoned condition.  It provides no benefit against poison damage.)

Turn 1: DC 14 Con Save vs. poison (Game Log)

Coriana summons a tentacle behind the Swarm of fiends in front of her, then directs it to attack while she attacks from the front.

Tentacle: Attack: 13 Damage: 10 cold.

Scimitar: Attack: 10 Damage: 6
Scimitar: Attack: 21 Damage: 8
Scimitar(Off Hand): Attack: 24 Damage: 10

Coriana's damage was radiant.

Dretch 3 Dex Save: 8

Dretch 4 Dex Save: 8

From before, one swarm of dretches was able to dodge the lightning bolt. Additinally, it seems the group of them are resistant to that kind of damage. Moreover, while they also seem resistant to the cold damage, Coriana’s radiant damage seems to work, with multiple dretches damage disintegrating at her sword.

You all feel a psionic pulse emanate from the bones of the Forgotten King. Each of you just make a DC 15 WIS Save or take 9 Psionic damage. Those who fail the save hear a deep commanding voice echo through their minds:

“This evil creature has mastered me, but fear not warriors. For with her silenced, only you can answer the riddle to wrest control of my undying thoughts, and together we will end her.

They buried I before the king,

Though outlived both crown and throne.

I bound the hands of friend and foe,

Yet no chain of iron was known.

Spoken once in torchlit halls,

Before the banners; red,

I held the kingdom fast for years

Now every lord was dead.

The traitor broke me for a crown.

The faithful died to keep me whole.

Now only ruins speak my words,

And none recall the binding role.

What is your answer?”