Announcing this a bit late, because it seems like whenever I post early we have to reschedule our game. Luckily everything should be good, so come join us at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty for our homebrew campaign of Sacrament as we're about to go live right now
Ash is confronting her former fiancee, Cornelius, in the Reaver Military Ball. She demands that Cornelius needs to make up for what his wife’s father did, as he’s the man who killed Ash and her parents. She also reveals that she’s married to Fidget, much to Cornelius’s shock and dismay. Ricky notices that his cousin, Misty, and Uncle Henri are in the crowd watching… even his mother, Elizabeth, enters… and while normally her entrance is the center of attention, all eyes are still on Ash and Cornelius. He refers to her as Promethea, but she makes it clear that she goes by Ash now.
The Warlord, after the drama slows, stands up to address the crowd. He makes clear that he doesn’t condone the actions seen before him. This ball is meant not only as a gathering for active military, but as a memorial for those lost in combat. Just as he’s beginning to give a speech, the Ziggurat is suddenly rocked by explosions. Looking out of a window, Crush sees that his vision is coming true… the Eye of Chao has taken over the moon once again, the stars beginning to dim as a literal wave of undead is flowing over the walls of the city. As Crush shouts that they’re under attack, several of the party goers stand up, illusions disappearing as they reveal their true forms… a mixture of Depraved Gloom assassins, Larlock’s necromancer, the mutated Brutes, fire elementals and even flaming skeletons. Ricky hesitates, but realizes this is the best chance he’ll get to reach the temple… especially since the Ziggurat itself is being attacked, and the temple risks being lost forever. He runs out, trusting his allies and the military members to remain safe as he makes his way to the temple.
Crush, who was watching Baby Kane, gives Kane to Professor Fletcher before rushing forward to Kill a mummy and throw a chair at a necromancer. Azure summons her full astral self, using it to inflict Necrotic damage against a brute while Ash casts Blight to destroy it. Elizabeth sees that Ricky has run off, and uses her own bardic skills to allow the Grimveils to hurry into the hallway and help Ricky in his mission. However, they’re slowed down when they see that a group of Reavers have set up a barricade in the hallway, with strict orders not to let any Non-Reavers past… while Ricky attempts to remain hidden, Crush willingly runs staight toward the Reaver guards, intent on becoming a distraction to let his allies continue toward the Lost Temple.
With Crush providing a distraction, Ash looks for an alternate path forward… hearing sounds coming from a nearby door. She uses message to inform Ricky about the alternate paths, although Ricky replies that he’s considering just talking to the Reavers instead. Azure notices that there’s a faintly glowing glyph on the floor, which Kanick recognizes as an anti-magic barrier… anyone who steps on it won’t be able to cast magic for a brief period. Ricky realizes their best bet is just to talk to them… holding up his Grimveil amulet, using it to appear as though he’s an authority figure, commanding the Reavers to let them through. He manages to convince them, and they’re allowed further in, and told to take shelter in the barracks… but the path they need to go is guarded and they’re not allowed past.
Once in the barracks, Crush sees that there’s no other way out through the barracks… so to keep suspicion off of them, he immediately starts barking orders at the Reaver soldiers, his intimidation skills convincing them that he has more authority than he actually does. Using the exiting soldiers as cover, they speak again to the guard who was blocking their way… Ricky again relies on his Grimveil pendant as a sign of authority, and convinces the guard to let them pass. He’s uncertain, but he’s convinced to let them through. As they’re jogging forward, they can hear a voice shouting in draconic, looking for Ash. As they pass a window they see a Dracolich ridden by Larlock battling Facein, the Tiavet Black Dragon allied to Elizabeth. Another massive stone rocks the Ziggurat… collapsing the stairs they’re about to climb. Frustrated, the nearest door is a large, very secure door… Ricky knows from his visions from the Nightmother that it’s a viable alternate path, but he doesn’t know exactly where it leads.
Ricky is unable to pick the lock, but fortunately Fidget catches up with them and is able to pick it instead. Heading inside, they realize this is the treasury of the Ziggurat. The room is heavily trapped… including flame traps and also more anti-magic traps. They proceed forward carefully, until Ash mentions that some members of the party are wearing formal clothing with no proper armor… the focus shifts to finding armor within the treasury… finding armor for Kanick is fairly easy, as the armor present is clearly made for Reavers. However, they notice that a statue of Sovereign seems to be watching them as they approach some locked doors… realizing it’s watching anyone who comes too close to any treasures, Ricky steps close to it, hover-handing over some gold to keep the Statue paying attention to him as Fidget picks the lock. Inside, they spot some armor that’s too heavy for Ash or Fidget, but what really draws their attention is a pair of golden gauntlets.
Approaching them, they hear a voice coming out from them… and they realize this is the Female Warlord that was murdered by Azmira. She introduces herself as Dia, explaining that she willingly allowed her soul to be trapped in armor just like Azmira, rather than proceed to the afterlife. When she learns that her sister is being worn by the Ancient Reaver, who she knows as K’saathra, she says it’s her duty to stop her sister, agreeing to travel with the party (and help stabilize Fidget), although she warns she can’t be removed without triggering a trap. The party prepares… Fidget snatching up Dia and hurrying out, only to find that sand is beginning to fill the entire treasury. They rush out, stumbling through another anti-magic trap, but soon they get free and proceed up the Ziggurat, only to find that Neo has been climbing up the Ziggurat from the exterior, along with Kalea, battling undead on their way up the tower.
They reach a temple at the top of the Ziggurat, where a large statue of Sovereign is waiting. They begin looking for hidden doorways, hoping to find the Lost Temple of the Nightmother. However, this draws Dia’s attention, the former Warlord wanting to know why they’re potentially desecrating this sacred place. Ricky briefly attempts to deceive her, but soon sees that’s not the right direction… with Crush’s help, he explains his true goal… to find the tears of the Nightmother in the Temple that Sovereign still keeps in the Ziggurat. They make clear that their goal isn’t to harm Sovereign, but rather, to learn what happened and help heal the rift between Sovereign and the Nightmother. Hesitantly, Dia agrees to this and offers advice… there is a puzzle in this room to open the way forward, and it has something to do with symbols on Sovereign’s statue and the murals that surround it.
The murals depict points in Sovereign’s life, correlating to symbols on the statue. His early life as the son of a Siren, represented by a fish… his youth trained by his father, which is shown by a Sword… his Manhood as a leader, his extended hand matching the symbol of a hand in the same position… then his death at the hands of the Nightmother, his heart ripped out and accompanying a symbol of a bleeding heart. And finally his ascension to Godhood, shown by the image of a glowing human figure. Setting the symbols to match the story, which causes a doorway to open up behind the statue.
Just as it opens, however, they hear a fist slamming on the door leading into the temple of Sovereign. Crush hurries to barricade the door as Ricky, Neo, and Kalea hurry to get the tears of the Nightmother, as the door bursts open and they see K’Saathra, the Ancient Reaver, wearing the armor of Azmira… it’s not clear how he got here at this time, but he recognizes the party and immediately attacks them. While they struggle against this empowered foe, the other three continue further into the temple, hoping to unlock the secrets of what really happened on that fateful day when the Nightmother betrayed Sovereign...
Something kind of weird happened last week... DND Beyond was glitching for me, and I couldn't post anywhere on the forums, let alone on this page. So, as a result, I couldn't post the usual summary for Rise of Tiamat. However, this week we won't be playing RoT, but at the very least I thought I should post the summary that I couldn't post last week:
Making their way to the Council of Waterdeep, the Chainbreakers finally meet Lady Laeral Silverhand, the elderly human magic user who has recently been given the title of Open Lord of Waterdeep. She quickly asserts herself in her new leadership position, asking for a summary of the Chainbreakers’ quest to capture Varram the White. His live capture is seen as a major success, although Delaan Winterfloe, the Tortle representative for the Emerald Enclave, wonders aloud if keeping Varram alive is more of a liability than an asset.
One note of particular interest is the vision Dahlia briefly glimpsed in Diderius’s pool of Seeing… when questioned about it, Dahlia stepped forward to cast Major Image, showing everyone present exactly what she saw. The councilmembers recognize the man in the vision holding the White Dragon Mask as Severin, a man they know to be the leader of the Cult of Tiamat. He can also be heard speaking to Rath Modar, a voice that only a few members of the Lords’ Alliance recognize… There’s some confusion, as Modar had willingly helped the Chainbreakers after Dahlia’s impassioned plea on Skyreach Castle, which leads them to wonder why he’s still with the Cult of Tiamat, instead of abandoning them to assist the Council of Waterdeep like his student, Azbara Jos. Delaan, who was aware of the situation before seeing the vision, had talked to Jos about it, but the two have no solid answer… only theories that the cult has some leverage to maintain control over Modar.
Marshall Ravengard of the Lords’ Alliance implies that Modar is clearly a liability and needs to be eliminated, but Dahlia maintains that, although his methods are cruel, his motivation of freeing the people of Thay is still noble, and Modar should be approached as a potential ally. She proves persuasive, and Ravengard agrees to at least attempt to communicate with Modar if the opportunity arises, but makes no promises to hold back if it comes to blows. Less impressed is King Melandrach of the High Forest… he notes that the Chainbreakers have failed to stop the Red Wizard, despite their claims to the contrary in the past, and they have also failed to capture the White Dragon Mask, which was the primary purpose of their journey to capture Varram… the Wyrmspeaker himself was ultimately less important than his mask, which is a key component needed for the spell to summon Tiamat.
As the Chainbreakers try to explain themselves he changes the subject, introducing an Elven Woman who has seemed to join the Council… Dahlia realizes this must be the Dragon that Melandrach had mentioned during the last session, with Melandrach admitting being impressed at her ability to figure out who it is, introducing her as Otaaryliakaarnos, although the woman herself says it’s perfectly fine to just call her Elia, if it’s easier. Elia drops her disguises, shifting into her true form as an Ancient Silver Dragon. She explains that she’s been sent as a representative of the Council of Dragons… a group of Metallic Dragons alerted by the sound of the Draakhorn. When she mentions the Draakhorn, Thorn interjects to state that, with Elia’s help, the Zhentarim have translated the coded message being sent through the Draakhorn… “Worship the Queen of Dragons. Bow to her at the Well of Dragons or suffer her wrath”. Elia confirms that the Metallic Dragons are planning to assault the Chromatic Dragons and reclaim the Well of Dragons, and she was sent to invite representatives of the Humanoid races to their own council, and the Chainbreakers were chosen as the ideal representatives of the humanoids after they killed Glazhael the Cloudchaser.
The party is excited for the opportunity to visit the council of dragons… although there’s some concern about letting Loki near a dragon’s hoard. However, Delaan speaks up, asking instead for focus to be placed on the South Wood, where rumors of a potential Wyrmspeaker and a glut of green dragon attacks has ravished the Elven villages scattered throughout the woods. King Melandrach scoffs at this concept… he’s already sent his armies into the South Wood, and since their increased presence the dragon attacks have ceased. Suspecting he has something to hide, G’houl and Dahlia ask him for more details while paying close attention to everything they know about Melandrach… realizing through their combined insight that it’s primarily his Elven Pride leading to his objection… he doesn’t want non-elves entering Elven lands to solve Elven problems.
Delaan mentions that it was Prince Alagarthas, Melandrach’s own son, who sought the help of the Emerald Enclave in researching this issue. Antares also flexes the authority he carries as a stallion of the Silveroak Herd… as the son of the herd-leader, he is able to represent them, with the Silveroaks having ties to the South Wood, and Antares dead set on investigating this further. Melandrach is willing to recognize Antares’ position, but still feels that Elia and the Council of Dragons is much more important than a potential wild goose chase in the South Woods. Dahlia speaks up, begging Melandrach to think beyond just the Elves… to see the other societies not as opponents, but as true allies who would benefit from working together. Sildar Hallwinter, who rarely speaks at these meetings, speaks up as well… acknowledging that he’s not as high ranking as the others, and is there more as a representative for the enlisted soldiers, but he speaks on how, if he had listened to his own son more, perhaps he wouldn’t have the leg injury that prevents him from joining directly in combat. With his help, Melandrach acquiesces, agreeing to assist with the investigation into the Southwood, but still feels that the Council of Dragons is more important.
The Chainbreakers come to a decision… knowing that the Council of Dragons will be a (hopefully) peaceful negotiation, then Katniss, with Their great knowledge of draconic history, along with Dahlia, a skilled negotiator, and Loki… who mostly just wants the opportunity to gain access to a Dragon’s hoard, choose to separate and join Elia with the council of Dragons, with Elia helpfully volunteering to fly them to the council meeting on her back. Antares instead wants to travel to the Southwood personally and fight back against the cult directly while G’houl, who has never been particularly skilled with social encounters, feels more comfortable at using his Wizarding skills for the likely combat they’ll face if their suspicions prove true.
With the party splitting, Dahlia, Loki, and Katniss are approached by Thorn, who notices that they could use some help on their journey, and volunteers the services of Harle. Despite hesitating about Harle in the past, the group still, for the most part, trusts Thorn and accept Harle’s help on her recommendation. Katniss notices, however, that Thorn is being assisted by Noohan and Sevik… a pair of wood elf craftsmen, one of whom was born mute, but also with the inexplicable gift of True Sight. They had both been employed by the Zhentarim to provide security, especially after the assassination attempt against Thorn that relied on illusion magic… Sevik hired for his true sight, and Noohan as Sevik’s interpreter. Katniss can insight that the brothers don’t exactly look happy with the arrangement… speaking to them privately and learning from Noohan that, while they would both rather focus on their crafting, the Zhentarim simply offered them too much money and they felt compelled to work with them… although Katniss can also tell that, although he doesn’t say anything, both brothers are more scared of the Zhentarim than anything.
Katniss doesn’t know the situation as well as the others, so she slyly lets Dahlia know about the brothers’ situation and encourages her to talk to them while Katniss distracts Thorn. Using the Message Cantrip to speak entirely silently, Dahlia learns that the brothers aren’t happy working with the Zhentarim… the pay is good, but as skilled craftsmen who came to Waterdeep to seek careers this guard duty is completely out of their wheelhouse. They’re not even certain how the Zhentarim even know that Sevik has Truesight, triggering Dahlia to remember that she had mentioned Sevik’s unique powers to Jamna, the Gnomish spy and Zhentarim member she traveled with earlier. Feeling responsible for the brothers getting themselves caught up in this situation, Dahlia volunteers to help them escape. The brothers are happy for the help, but they do admit they’re willing to continue assisting at least until after this conflict with the Cult of Tiamat is resolved… although they’re still afraid that they’ll be forced to work for the Zhentarim for the rest of their lives. Dahlia promises she’ll talk to Thorn in the future and make sure they can pursue their dreams without fear of the criminal organization.
Dahlia also pressures Thorn to join them in visiting with her brother, Droop, who Thorn neglected to invite to Dahlia’s party the other day. Thorn has Droop assigned to watch the Mirror of Conversation used to communicate over long distances with the Nimbus. However, this leaves Droop with considerable freetime, and there’s evidence of Droop taking on a variety of hobbies, none of which he seems particularly skilled with. Droop is happy to meet with the Chainbreakers again, since they had always been kind to him, and had rescued him from bandits when they first met. The party also learns that he had been in regular communication with Armpit over the past few days, and the two seem to be on friendly terms. At Dahlia’s insistence, Thorn begrudgingly shows the bare minimum of affection for her brother, telling him hesitantly that she’s proud of him. While Thorn barely sounds sincere, this show of sisterly affection is enough to get Droop crying as Dahlia forces everyone into a group hug.
Satisfied with their meeting, the Chainbreakers (and Harle) meet with Elia in the Courtyard of Castle Waterdeep. A small crowd has gathered to witness their flight. Elia reverts to her true form, and offers the Chainbreakers the honor of riding on her back… leaving the Nimbus free to ferry Antares and G’houl for their own mission. The Chainbreakers aren’t fully comfortable riding bare-back on a Dragon miles above the ground, and they ask politely if they would be allowed to build some kind of rudimentary rope system to secure themselves to Elia… rather than be offended, Elia seems excited and curious to see what they craft, with Katniss taking the lead in tying to together the various ropes owned by party members to create harnesses to prevent anyone from falling off of Elia’s back. Once secured, Elia takes off to the sky, hurtling past Griffin-riders who had gathered to witness the event.
Elia is incredibly fast, traveling easily over vast distances that would take days on the Nimbus. Her flight takes her to the Star Mountains, where she knows a small cave is available to rest in for the night. Once arrived Dahlia chooses to take her broom of flying out to search the area, while Katniss plans on hunting for food, as Elia seems to have forgotten about any kind of creature comforts for her humanoid guests. As a silver dragon, she’s perfectly comfortable in the snowy peaks of the tall mountains, and didn’t think about whether or not the others would be uncomfortable. Still, she’s incredibly curious about humanoids, and she’s excited to follow Katniss and witness how Humanoids hunt. Despite her massive size, she’s surprisingly skilled at moving stealthily while Katniss finds a small pack of goats grazing in the mountains. Katniss easily bags an older goat, revealing a new spell They had discovered while adventuring away from the party that allows Them to quickly butcher the goat and prepare it to take back, while Elia simply snatches a few goats to eat raw.
Meanwhile, Loki is still having difficulty getting along with Harle… not because she distrusts him for being a Zhentarim member, but mostly because she feels competitive with his Disguise Self spell versus her natural shapeshifting. Harle tries to break the ice by offering to play a game of chance, the two of them betting some gold on a game of cards. Loki attempts to cheat, but Harle has incredibly keen perception and notices her slyly tossing a card up her sleeve. When he confronts her about it Loki gets frustrated, throws the cards all over the floor then quickly snatches the gold and hides in her tent. The others return to find Harle picking up cards before Katniss prepares dinner. They all speak more with Elia, who talks about her fascination with humanoids… she’s amazed at their skill at inventing and how they create so much while being so small and weak. She even admits that Dragons don’t create new songs… simply repeating the same music that was created centuries ago. This inspires Dahlia to play a song for Elia, much to her delight. During this time, Katniss treats the goat hide to create a waterskin, giving it to Harle as a sign of acceptance, in spite of Loki’s tantrum.
With Elia watching over them, the Chainbreakers get some rest and prepare for their meeting with the Council of Metallic Dragons.
It's been a few weeks since our last stream! Between technical issues where one player had to completely replace her PC and another player needing to be out of town for a weekend, we've had to delay our games. But we're back tonight with our Homebrew Campaign of Sacrament, and we'll be streaming at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty tonight at 6pm PST. Even if you did catch our last stream, it could be worth it for you to read the summary as a reminder for where everyone is at the end of the last session and the start of today's:
The Grimveils are in the temple of Sovereign, battling K’saathra the Ancient Reaver, wearing the armor of Azmira, trying to defeat him while Ricky searches for the lost Temple of the Nightmother. Kanick lays into K’saathra, landing a critical hit on his opponent, but K’saathra, especially with Azmira’s help, is a devastating opponent. He has a killer aura power that unleashes unblockable psychic and necrotic damage, and is able to knock his enemies prone, taking advantage to evade Crush’s Sentinel feat and rush Ash, nearly knocking her unconscious. Fidget steps out, revealing that he’s allowed Dia, the spirit of the armor he’s wearing, to possess his body so that she can unleash her full strength against Azmira. This allows Fidget to make multiple attacks, and his attacks knock K’saathra prone. Crush calls for help, since Ash is nearly knocked out. Kalea and Neo both hurry back to help, leaving Ricky alone to face what appears to be a path of pure, overwhelming darkness. Azure baits K’saathra to take an opportunity attack against her, which he thankfully misses, thanks to still suffering from Ricky’s Synaptic Static spell, as well as being knocked prone by Fidget. With Ash’s escape, she traps him with a Black Tentacle attack.
Ricky is still polymorphed into an owl as he flies into the darkness… there he sees a wolf made of starlight… Bo, the stalwart ally of the Nightmother. He invites Ricky to continue, allowing him to enter the Lost Temple. Inside he finds a truly magnificent statue of the Nightmother… pristine and leaking tears… Ricky takes out one of the heart-shaped bottles he had purchased on the Day of Love. During the chaos, Aylis and Alex arrive, having followed Ash… only to find themselves caught up in the battle. Meanwhile, Azmira, trapped in the Black Tentacles with K’saathra, throws his blood at the statue of Sovereign in the room… chanting in Tiavet and beseeching Sovereign, invoking him to appear… he possesses the statue, appearing as an avatar and proclaiming his intent to kill the Night Children in his temple. Even with a literal God appearing before them, Crush focuses on killing K’saathra, slicing off the Ancient Reaver’s head. He holds up K’saathra’s head, looking into Sovereign’s eyes and saying, “Hail to the Nightmother”, hoping to keep Sovereign’s attention on himself and away from his allies.
The party is hesitant to fight a literal God… Ash attempts to speak to Sovereign, hoping to Persuade Sovereign to instead prioritize protecting the city from the Undead… but despite her desperate plea, Sovereign ignores her. Neo reveals he’s been a werewolf this entire time, transforming and attacking Sovereign, telling everyone to run while he distracts him. Sovereign is implacable… easily throwing Neo across the room, smashing pillars as he does so. He casually slaps aside Ash and Fidget, knocking them both unconscious… this triggers Ash’s Phoenix Spark, which keeps her conscious… but also damages Fidget in the process, nearly killing him. Ricky asks Bo for help, and the spiritual wolf tells him that there’s an escape in the temple itself… Ricky uses Sending to contact Crush and telling him to bring everyone to the temple… Crush shouts to everyone to follow Ricky to escape before hurrying, scooping up Fidget’s unconscious body to help him escape and get him closer to the healers. However, Azure does the most to get others to safety… tapping into her Step of the Wind combined with her Feline Agility to move at insane speeds, combining it with her astral arms to carry allies to safety.
However, during this, Alex sees the way Sovereign has assaulted those already injured, ignored reasonable pleas for help… acting more like a brute than the noble warrior she was raised to revere. In a rage, she attacks him, as she experiences her first blood rage in battle against her own God. Reavers are their most dangerous during their first Blood Rage, making them nearly unstoppable as their cursed blood drastically transforms their bodies… it’s common for Reavers to destroy entire villages during their First Bloodrage, but for female Reavers it’s even more intense, their power nearly unparalleled. Everyone else has ran through the halls, making their way to the Lost Temple, but they have no way to rescue Alex… with her Blood Rage taking her over, she can’t be stopped. Aylis doesn’t want to leave her behind, but Neo scoops him up in his arms… using his increased strength as a Werewolf to carry the young Elf further toward the temple, and away from Alex. The Grimveils are hesitant to leave… although they know there’s no way to stop Alex… even if they had attempted to pull her way, her Blood Rage would make her just as deadly against them.
As everyone is trying to escape, they need to wrestle with Aylis to keep him from running back into the fray. In the end, Azure is carrying him with her astral arms as suddenly Alex manages to catch up with them… attacking Azure to try and get to Aylis. However, in her rage she focuses on shoving Aylis through the portal before she changes her focus to demolishing the pillars supporting the roof… as the walls are collapsing she turns and quickly kisses Aylis before the temple comes crashing down… using the last of her sanity to rescue the young man she loves and destroy the portal so that Sovereign can’t follow them to wherever this portal leads.
Once through, they find themselves in a dark, and cold cave. Crush is able to tell this is more than just the coolness of a dark cave… wherever they are, it’s very cold. Aylis is inconsolable, and the others focus on dealing with the cold… they’re all wearing the formal-wear they had worn to the Military Ball, and nobody has their equipment with them. They don’t even have Kanick’s Genie Bag. Ricky casts Tiny Hut to provide some comfort, although Aylis needs to be convinced to enter. The Reavers in particular are struggling with the cold… their bodies reacting to it more intensely than the others, even more than the reptilian Tortles. Ricky summons his breakfast as everyone takes a short rest and discusses what happened, wondering if they should even attempt to contact their allies.
As they’re finishing their rest, the Grimveils hear the sound of a child giggling, and a glint of light deeper into the cave they find themselves in. Following it, they find it leads them outside, seeing that they’re in a mountainous region covered with snow. The Night sky is clear, and Ricky summons his Familiar Roads feature using the letters sent by their allies as a focus… the sense of direction it grants him causes him to realize exactly where they are… they’re as far North as the world allows, at a place sometimes called the Throat of the World, finding themselves in the Glacial Wastes. Looking out, they realize that the lights are Pyreflies… wondering how they got here since, as far as they know, they’re native to the deserts of Tiavet. Ricky realizes that the Pyreflies are leading them in the same direction that his Familiar Roads feature is guiding him. The Grimveils resolve to follow the path at least until it gets too cold to continue… traveling for a few hours in the punishing cold, they notice the stars begin to get covered by heavy clouds as the snow picks up… and as they search for a place to rest for the night Ash spots a nearby cave… just in time as there’s a loud cracking sound followed by an avalanche of snow. Everyone rushes inside, but Aylis is following behind… Crush needs to rush back and pick him up, while Azure struggles against the cold, but ultimately her monk training gets her into the cave safely just before the entrance is blocked by tons of snow.
We're finally going to be able to play Rise of Tiamat again tonight! Come join us as some new faces join with the Chainbreakers as the venture into the woods in search of a dangerous draconic attack. We'll be going live soon at 6:30PM PST at our home of twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. In case you need a refresher, here's what happened in our last session:
The Chainbreakers continue their flight with Elia, making their way to the home of Protanther, the Ancient Gold Dragon who once held the title of King of Justice. Making their way toward his stronghold, they find a lush valley surrounded by a tall, snowy mountain range. They realize that Protanther’s home is built into a dormant volcano, the Gold Dragon’s innate magical presence giving him direct influence over the lands he claims as his home. In the center of his valley is a large shallow pond of pure shining blue water, surrounded by fields tended to by Kobolds in colorful clothing, with Giant Lizards kept as beasts of burden, and large burrows leading into below-ground structures serving as the homes for the Kobolds.
Elia leaves the party in the care of an older Kobold named Chirring, who serves as a host for Protanther’s guests. As he leads them to a massive cave entrance they see that the ground leading in is paved with partially melted shields of a wide variety of styles and sizes… a warning to would-be thieves of what Protanther has done to previous infiltrators. In that same vein, as they’re led further inside to a large dining room, the walls are decorated with weapons literally melted into the stone walls in mosaic, flowing patterns. However, the dining room has a massive feast prepared, with meals served on golden plates, fine wines poured by Kobold servants into large golden goblets. Loki is trembling and sweating as the fights the urge to swipe the gold items, but between the signs of what has happened to previous thieves and her allies literally restraining her, she manages to maintain her composure as the Chainbreakers approach the feast and find that the other Dragons of the council have brought along their own entourages who are free to enjoy the feast and mingle with one-another.
At first they greet a Bronze Dragonborn in priestly robes. He’s eager to meet other visitors, proselytizing on the Glory of Bahamut, eager to share his faith. They also meet a small group of female kobolds in elaborate dresses designed more like Humanoid servants who seem snarky and unimpressed with the new visitors, and finally meet a pair of Lizardfolk who are extremely relaxed and eager to speak about the mysteries of the universe… or just chill and eat the free food. They realize these are the servants and disciples of the ancient dragons they’ve come to treat with… Nymurrh, the Bronze Dragon who lives to spread the wisdom of Bahamut, Tazmikella, the Copper Dragon who particularly loves treasures and the lifestyle of humanoids, and Ileuthra, the Brass Dragon who is known to travel the planes. However, their mingling is cut short as Chirring approaches and tells them it’s time to meet with the Council of Dragons.
Led deeper into Protanther’s stronghold, they find that they’re led by a cadre of Kobolds disabling dozens of traps to make their passage safely… although a second cadre follows them closely behind, re-setting all the disabled traps. They are introduced as the Chainbreakers as they find themselves in Protanther’s hoard… a massive glowing orb of fire floats at the top of the high-ceilinged chamber. Piles of gold and riches surround them in the uncomfortably hot space deep below the dormant volcano Protanther calls home. Slowly they are introduced to the Draconic council… Nymurrh, Tazmikella, Ileuthra, Otaaryliakaarnos, and finally their host… the majestic Ancient Gold Dragon, Protanther.
The King of Gold Dragons is the first to speak, and isn’t shy about his claim that Humanoids are not to be trusted, citing the many atrocities committed by Humanity, not only against dragons, but even against their fellow people. Dahlia interjects, speaking on behalf of humanity, assuring that the threat they face is too great and that the good people outweigh the bad, and although she’s persuasive enough for Protanther to hold his tongue, for now, he instead invites his fellow dragons to voice their misgivings, with the Chainbreakers empowered to speak on behalf on the Kingdoms and organizations involved in the Council of Waterdeep.
Tazmikella is the first to speak, as she wishes to know if the Chainbreakers are, indeed, the ones who killed the young green dragon Chutha, or as he’s better known by humanoids… Venomfang. When they confirm that the they are, she explains that Chutha robbed one of her hoards, stealing a collection of coins and, most imporatntly… a rare and valuable Broom of Flying. Dahlia instantly realizes that her beloved Broom of Flying is the one Tazmikella speaks of… and although she’s had the broom modified enough that Tazmikella wouldn’t recognize it easily, she willingly relinquishes the broom back into Tazmikella’s hands. The Copper Dragon is shocked at how easily Dahlia returns it, and the earnestness for which she apologizes and speaks forlornly about how she’ll miss flying with it… recognizing the conviction of the Chainbreakers through Dahlia, Tazmikella admits that the best thing about owning great treasures is the opportunity to gift them to others, and officially gives the broom as a gift to Dahlia and seems swayed to side with humanity.
Next to speak is Nymurrh, who has no demands to make. Rather, he maintains that, as the Children of Bahamut, it is the duty of Metallic Dragons to guide and protect the weaker creatures. Rather than make demands of the Chainbreakers, he spends his time imploring his fellow dragons to appeal to their greater calling. Protanther seems used to his preaching and remains unimpressed, turning to Ileuthra, who he assumes will also blindly support the humanoids. However, Ileuthra has a demand… he knows that the dragon masks made from Tiamat’s scales are too dangerous to allow to exist in the material plane… to get his support, the Chainbreakers must agree to relinquish all the Dragon Masks to his care, so that he can hide them across the planes themselves and prevent them ever rejoining again. However, Katniss explains that the masks can be destroyed using the Forge of Spells, but Ileuthra remains adamant… he claims that Tiamat cannot create more masks when the originals still exist, and although he admits it may take many lifetimes, if destroyed she may find a way to recreate them. This is enough to convince the Chainbreakers, who then agree to his demands.
Annoyed, Protanther also assumes that Otaaryliakaarnos, who had brought the Chainbreakers in the first place, will similarly have no demands, but the Silver Dragon admits she does have a grievance. In years long past, her niece, who was named after Otaaryliakaarnos herself, was killed by Dwarves in a Dragon Moot. Katniss doesn’t know much about these events, other than it’s seen as a great honor among dwarves to participate. The Silver Dragon knows that her niece’s scales were turned into armor… she demands that the armor be returned to her, and that the Dwarves deliver a formal apology on behalf of all Dwarfkind for the cruelty of the Dragonmoots. The party is easily swayed on this issue, and promise on behalf of Ambassador Brawnanvil that the remains will be returned and the Dwarves will apologize.
Finally, Protanther himself is the last to speak. He still remains unswayed, emotionally, but on a purely practical level he is willing to work with the humanoids if they can promise something to him… in ages past, The Elves of the High Forest attempted to tame and enslave Dragons using Elven magic. However, the spell failed, and only served to drive the dragons subjected to it mad… this became known as the Dracorage Mythal, a time of untold destruction which permanently tarnished the reputation of dragons among the common folk, and which led to the deaths of hundreds of innocent dragons… and far more innocent humanoids. He demands a public apology for the Dracorage Mythal by the current King of the Elves… King Melandrach, a member of the Council of Waterdeep. Melandrach himself has been the most obstinate and unsupportive member of the council, and the Chainbreakers very quickly agree to promise a formal apology from the haughty King.
With their demands met the council doesn’t hesitate… each promising not only their service, but the service of their fellow Metallic Dragons. The pact is sealed with the dragons filling the air above them with elemental breath weapons before retreating out of the chambers. Chirring then guides the Chainbreakers outside, offering them chambers to sleep in within the Kobold Village before their return to Waterdeep. Dahlia in particular is interested in speaking to Chirring… compared to the chromatic dragons they had seen before, who treat their Kobold servants as slaves, Chirring and the other Kobolds living under Protanther’s care seem to live fruitful and happy lives, with Chirring speaking of Protanther more as a protector than as a ruler. In particular she asks about the gold rings he wears as piercings in his horns, which Chirring explains are given as gifts from Protanther in commemoration for a century of service… Chirring himself has 9 rings, as, when given the opportunity, the normally short-lived Kobolds can survive centuries thanks to their Draconic blood.
The Chainbreakers are led to a large underground chamber built to Medium-sized creature proportions. It’s well stocked with creature comforts. As they begin to settle down for the night, they’re visited by one of Tazmikella’s Kobold servants, who brings to them a gift… a small wooden case which holds 3 Arrows of Dragon Slaying. They’re a bit shocked, wondering why a dragon would own such a thing, with the Kobold explaining matter-of-factly that a dragon would keep such a thing quite obviously to avoid letting someone else have them. When they ask why the dragon wouldn’t destroy them instead, she states that it’s for moments exactly such as this. Thanking her for the gift, the Chainbreakers sit down to enjoy a few drinks and leftovers brought over from the feast and prepare to return to Waterdeep with news of their successful trial by the Council of Dragons… and to inform them of the promises they’ve given on behalf of the Council of Waterdeep.
We're going live! Come join us at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty right now! We're playing our homebrew campaign of Sacrament! If you missed our last session, here's everything that happened:
The Grimveils find themselves stuck in a cave, the entrance sealed by an avalanche. In the snowy North, they have no supplies with them, relying on Ricky casting Tiny Hut to provide some degree of comfort, especially for the Tortles and Reavers, who are particularly sensitive to the cold. Everyone looks through their packs to figure out what supplies they have… they notice that their Grimveil Pendants are glowing oddly… the light flickering and spinning like a compass at the North Pole. They discuss who to contact first, determining they should try and use Ash’s construct, Hermes, to contact the other group of Grimveils and try to coordinate the two groups meeting in the middle, hopefully with supplies. They also discuss how to continue… they at first intend to dig their way out through the snow, but Kalea can sense that it wasn’t just snowfall… there’s a powerful storm raging that would freeze anyone trying to travel, especially this group. They determine their best bet is to get some rest, and prepare to travel deeper into the cave the next morning.
However, as they’re discussing this and examining their Pendants, Aylis asks for more information about the pendants… revealing that he had been in communication with Corrio, and he had constructed new Pendants along with Alex… although they customized them to have some of each others’ blood in their pendants… however, doing so allows him to see that Alex is still alive. This gives him some relief, as everyone else prepares for bed… including some fighting over the supplies Ricky is carrying, since he’s the only one who still has his complete inventory, since he carries a Bag of Holding. Still, the conflict is quickly resolved, and the comfort of the Tiny Hut protects the Grimveils through the night.
With morning, they shred the blanket Ricky pulled out of his Bag of Holding to quickly create makeshift clothing to protect the others from the cold. They travel deeper into the caves, following the cool breeze that indicates the direction of a potential exit. They encounter a few dark mantles, and they even find evidence of an ancient campground and a lost note detailing a group of lost adventurers who had come here in search of an artifact. They continue further and find a roper, with Ricky using Fairy Fire to turn it into a target to be attacked by nearby Black Mantles and Stirges. Taking advantage of the distraction, they hurry further inside, only to find a pile of skeletons deep in the cave.
Crush throws a rock, determining that the skeletons don’t animate when disturbed. However, continuing closer, they see a large underground structure. They see that it’s covered with carvings depicting ancient battles, with more recent words carved into empty spots in the stone, warning not to continue further or face “the beast”… claiming that the artifact led whoever wrote this final message to their death. Looking further, Azure investigates the pile of skeletons, seeing that some are dessicated, partially mummified corpses… most old, although some look as recent as 20 years ago. They see the bodies are sitting at the bottom of a tall staircase that leads somewhere further into the structure they had found.
Ash examines a particular body more intently, seeing that it seems to have been struck dead in the back by a large blade. However, most striking is the body’s sharp, shark-like teeth… the teeth of a Reaver. The body seems ancient, as much as 1000 years old. Seeing no other direction, they continue further, climbing the stairs. They proceed stealthily, hoping to take advantage of Ash’s Pass Without Trace, but unfortunately the stairs are so tall that it fades before they reach the top. Things take a turn, however, when they come across a collapsed section of the stairway… Crush attempts to climb over, but fails dramatically, tumbling down the hole… made even worse because Ricky is riding on his back. This proves helpful, however, as the fall is deep enough that it actually gives Ricky time to cast Polymorph, transforming Crush into a Giant Eagle, giving them the opportunity to continue further.
With their return, however, Kane gets confused… not understanding where Crush went. When Ricky finally drops the Polymorph on Crush, a delighted Kane shouts out “Oh Yeah!”, happy to see him again… although the sound seems to alert something further up the stairs. Abandoning stealth, the party proceeds forward cautiously, finding at the top of the stairs a high-ceilinged room, a hole in the roof letting in snow. However, more concerning are massive piles of skeletons, some taller than Crush, many of which are clearly Reavers. Small torches are lit around the room, and in the center of the room is a massive white haired, bearded figure sitting in a large throne. As they approach the figure seems to ignore them… until Kanick steps into view, and suddenly the massive figure stands at his full massive height and rushes forward, stabbing his massive blade into Kanick’s chest, using it like a spear to lift Kanick and slam him into the ground… Crush attempts to retaliate with a Sentinel swing, but even a powerful swing from Crush doesn’t break through this foe’s armor. He continues to stab into Kanick, who struggles to even remain conscious. Azure bursts forward, summoning her complete Astral Self, increasing her armor and unleashing even more attacks, summoning necrotic energy to harm their huge foe, who seems to have a particular hatred for Reavers. When he’s stabbed by Fidget, the giant figure speaks… revealing his own shark-like Reaver teeth, promising that the “child” will be spared… with Fidget hiding in the piles of bones to avoid further attacks.
Ricky conjures a Synaptic Static attack in the air, well above his friends’ height to keep them safe, the pyschic burst weakening their opponent. Crush takes advantage of the disorienting effects, grappling his foe and pulling him into difficult terrain created by Kalea, pulling his blade out of Kanick’s chest in the process. Slamming him with his Greataxe, using his Raging Storm to knock the larger foe prone, insulting him and getting this Ancient Reaver’s attention. Neo transforms into a werewolf, intent on ending this opponent as quickly as possible. Kanick seems to recognize the figure as Xander… an Ancient Reaver who betrayed Sovereign and refused to join him in his crusade against the Nightmother.
The party continues to battle Xander, who seems unfazed by the damage dealt to him by the Grimveils. However, as he’s swinging his blade, Ricky notices that Xander is wearing a variety of pendants… including a symbol of the Nightmother, and even more shockingly… a Grimveil pendant. Ricky suddenly jumps forward, showing off his own necklaces of both. This gets Xander to relent… the party sheathing their weapons as well. As Xander begins to speak more calmly, he explains he has sworn to protect this place from all Reavers. However, the more they speak to him, the more they realize he bears a striking resemblance to their deceased friend, Duncan. Ricky immediately calls him Uncle Duncan and tries to hug him, but he explains he’s not Duncan. Crush guesses that he might be Xander Grimveil, with Xander admitting he took on the name symbollically, which eventually became a family name. As one of the original Reavers, he had human children before converting into a Reaver, and he knows that Duncan was the last of his line, and the two even knew one another. It was the Grimveils who created the Eternal Storm that separated Tiavet from the rest of the world. He also explains he couldn’t join Sovereign’s genocide against the Night Children, and even though he was labeled a heretic, he still prays for Sovereign’s redemption… with the Grimveils now seeing their temporary opponent as a powerful ally… both realizing they have much to learn from one another.
We've had an unplanned hiatus of about a month thanks to the host of our games who actually streams them having a major computer failure. Thankfully we've gotten the bugs figured out and we should be back to normal. So come join us tonight at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty at 6:30 PM PST, where I'll be DM'ing my friends through more Rise of Tiamat. However, in case you missed our last session, or if you just need a refresher after all this time, here's everything that happened last time:
As G’houl and Antares are preparing to investigate the dragon attacks in the South Wood, they find that the other groups in the Council of Waterdeep have arranged to bring a few allies along with them… the first is Yauna Jasperwell, introduced by Sildar Hallwinter of the Lords’ Alliance. Yauna, like Dahlia, is from the country of Esleah… she was a family friend of the Tricklegrove family and she was asked, by Dahlia’s Mother, to travel to the Sword Coast and help protect Dahlia. Yauna is a human woman in heavy armor and carrying a large shield, with an upbeat, if a bit naive personality. She’s eager to meet up with Dahlia, but for now is willing to travel with and protect G’houl, who she’s aware of from the letters Dahlia had sent back home. Second, Thorn introduces a young female goblin as her cousin… a young woman introduced as Z, although she tactfully avoids using her full name of “Ceesz” (pronounced “Cheese”). The Goblin is a trained assassin, and seems not particularly interested in her new allies, but is willing to work with them to accomplish the goals of the Zhentarim. Perhaps the strangest new ally, however, is Hazirawn… the sentient blade the party had taken from the body of Rezmir, the Black Dragon Wyrmspeaker. Hazirawn is a jet-black Greatsword enchanted with powerful necrotic magics. After G’houl determined that the sword is not actually cursed, merely sentient, Antares has opted to wield the deadly weapon, and while Hazirawn has no means of directly manipulating its wielder, it speaks constantly in Antares’s mind, encouraging him to conquer others, enact vengeance and destroy all who oppose them… while Antares is mostly just happy to have someone to chat with.
Their meeting with their new allies doesn’t last long, as they’re soon on their way atop the Nimbus, flying toward the South Wood. They were told to visit a settlement known as Altand where survivors of the dragon attacks have gathered. They meet with refugees in the settlement, with Yauna in particular feeling compelled to use her Paladin powers to heal some of the injured who are waiting for treatment. As she mingles with the people she learns from the victims some information about the attacks… they always come at night, with a green dragon assaulting small villages accompanied by humans in ceremonial garb she recognizes as Cult of Tiamat wardrobe. The dragon uses its poisonous breath to kill villagers by the dozen, and those that survive or avoid the dragon are slaughtered by the human followers. However, there is some confusion on whether or not the dragon has a rider… some refugees claim to have seen an armored human, others say it looked like a robed elf, and others didn’t see any rider at all… although there are few who were close to the attacking dragon who survived in the first place, so it was only ever witnessed from a distance in chaotic conditions.
Meanwhile, G’houl wants to take some time to set up Alarm spells in locations that seem like a potential entry point for a creature the size of a dragon. Antares helps him with this, since Antares is more experienced with survival, while Z accompanies them mostly out of boredom. In a particularly large clearing, Z gets bored as G’houl is ritual casting his alarm and begins to investigate the area for anything of interest and finds something shocking… obscured by brush, an area of soft earth is marked by a massive clawed footprint… and standing in front of it are remnants of a humanoid’s boot prints. With Antares’ help they’re able to determine that these footprints couldn’t be more than a few days old, possibly as few as one. Their curiosity piqued, G’houl makes certain his Alarm will create an audible sound if any creature humanoid or larger enters the clearing.
Reuniting, the group is directed to speak to Warden Galin… the De Facto leader of this settlement, who is known to have survived direct contact with the Dragon. Galin is a tall, wirey thin Wood Elf with heavy bags under his eyes and clear signs of a man under immense stress, although he forces a friendly smile when meeting with the Chainbreakers. Antares’s position as a member of the Emerald Enclave carries significant weight, especially among the forest people of the South Wood. Galin says that the increased military activity of the Elven Kingdom has done more than enough to quell the dragon attacks, and doesn’t feel that further investigation is necessary. He also states that the dragon has no rider, and the claims of it carrying one are just flights of fancy. As they’re speaking G’houl gets the impression there’s something Galin isn’t telling them, and perhaps most damning of all… Antares looks Galin head-to-toe, and is able to perceive that his boots perfectly match the size and shape of the footprints they had found in the clearing near the Dragon print. Their suspicions raised, the Chainbreakers leave Galin for now, although Z chooses to stealthily hide herself in his house and continue to observe the Warden to see if there’s anything else to be learned.
Moving stealthily, Z is subtle enough to be able to search through Galin’s possessions while in the single-room home with him, but finds nothing but a few stray coins. However, she is able to observe him crying once he’s left alone, and looking out through his window very clearly in the direction of the clearing they had discovered earlier. She remains long enough to observe another visitor coming to meet with the Warden, who quickly wipes his eyes, speaking with a Centaur hunter as they discuss which nearby settlements and isolated homes have been heard from lately, and discussing what kind of security they are known to have. Getting bored once again, Z sneaks out to reconvene with the Chainbreakers, who had been shown a place to stay for the night… a large tree that has been grown in such a way that all its upper branches spread out into a natural floor, with cloth walls as cots and bedrolls are set up for the refugees inside.
Joining with them, Z reveals all she has seen, and the group resolves to keep an eye on Galin. Antares wants to provide some extra security for the settlement, volunteering to patrol the streets as night falls… while doing so, he helps G’houls familiar, Dusk the winged Black Cat, to hide near Galin’s home and watch the single door. Hours pass, and although things seem peaceful, late into the night, Galin sheepishly sneaks out of his own home, wrapped in a heavy cloak. The Chainbreakers follow him at a distance as they see him clearly moving in the direction of the clearing they had discovered earlier.
As they’re moving in his direction, the night air is filled with the screeching sound of G’houl’s Alarm spell. Soon Galin comes running back toward the village, running face-first into Antares. Galin is clearly panicking, not realizing the source of the sound. However, when the Chainbreakers express interest in investigating it further, he tries to discourage them… but they’re quickly able to overwhelm him, persuading him to show them where he was, with Galin nervously guiding them back to the clearing. Galin continues to try to encourage everyone to just leave it be and go back to Altan, when Antares reaches over his shoulder to grip the handle of his greatsword Hazirawn.
Galin begins to panic as Antares hears Hazirawn in his mind once again, encouraging him to punish this man for lying to him, telling Antares to cut down Galin to send a message to all who would opppose him… but rather than draw the sword, Antares taps into one of the spells stored in the evil sword… casting Detect Thoughts on Galin. Through the spell he learns that Galin regularly meets with the Green Dragon in this clearing, along with its rider… pale Elven man with dark hair wearing elaborate purple robes. Galin regularly shares with them information about nearby villages and hamlets… guiding them to any location not protected by the Elven Military. Through the nature of the spell, Galin is fully aware that Antares knows everything, and although he panics at first he surrenders… coming clean about everything. After his wife died he made a deal with the Green Dragon, Chuth… if he would spare the people of Altand, he would share intel with him and his rider… a man by the name of Neronvain.
The name is familiar to Antares, but he can’t quite place it… luckily, Z, although she easily gets bored with technicalities, has dealt with enough political intrigue to recognize the name Neronvain as the disgraced son of King Melandrach… over 100 years ago, Neronvain was stripped of his title and banished from Elven society, and has long been thought dead… although exactly what crime he performed isn’t well known. Antares remembers him for this reason… Neronvain is often used as a cautionary tale, and he has been accused of everything from slave-trading, to robbery, and a plethora of much simpler transgressions parents might claim to condition good behavior from their children. Galin is watching the sky nervously this whole time, explaining that he’s required to come to this clearing each night at Midnight sharp, and although Chuth does not arrive most nights, he still needs to be here just in case, as Chuth will destroy Altand if Galin misses even a single meeting. They realize that it’s past midnight, so they go to Galin’s home to speak in private.
Galin is clearly wracked with guilt, knowing that protecting those closest to him meant sacrificing innocent people elsewhere in the South Wood. Despite his intense guilt, the Chainbreakers are sympathetic to his plight, seeing that he was put in a horrendous situation, manipulated through fear and sorrow by the Cult of Tiamat. He explains that, at times, Neronvain appears before him soaking wet as though he had been submerged underwater, even on days with no rain. He also mentions that Neronvain sometimes wears an elaborate mask resembling a green dragon, affirming their suspicion that he’s the Green Wyrmspeaker Chuth also always flies away directly South East… he knows that there are caverns and underground lakes in that direction, and believes that Chuth must have taken up residence somewhere over there, although he admits he doesn’t know exactly where they might be.
G’houl gets an idea based on Galin’s story… with Galin guiding Chuth and Neronvain by providing them with intel on nearby settlements, they could potentially empty a small village of citizens, then work with the Elven Military to set up an ambush to capture the Cultists and their dragon ally. Galin thinks this sounds brilliant, but admits he doesn’t know how long it will be until Neronvain will visit again… it could be weeks before the Green Dragon comes back to him for more intel, and there’s no telling what damage they could do in that time, with Galin falling into sorrow once again as he realizes there are more yet who could die from his decision to work with the Cult. Yauna speaks up, trying to comfort him… despite her often air-headed actions and chipper attitude, deep down she is a True Paladin… a beacon of hope in a dark and dangerous world, and she helps to inspire Galin, instead of wallowing in misery, to instead focus that energy into making right what went wrong. This bolsters the guilt-ridden Warden, and he resolves to set up the false village… planning to direct Neronvain and Chuth toward it, but at the same time, the Chainbreakers are still encouraged to seek out Chuth’s lair… if they can’t find it, then they can return to Altand and wait for Neronvain to show himself again and set up an ambush.
G’houl is feeling a bit apprehensive, especially because he knows about Dahlia’s intent to capture the souls of at least one of the Wyrmspeakers in order to turn Zariel against Tiamat… the Archduchess of Avernus willingly helping the Draconic Goddess to escape her realm if only to avoid dealing with her. He casts Sending to contact Dahlia, creating some confusion by also informing her about Yauna’s presence… something that shocks Dahlia, as she knows how clingy and excitable Yauna is. The two of them have some trouble communicating… Dahlia has been drinking following the successful meeting with the Council of Dragons. The two of them go back and forth, as neither has had to cast many spells through the day and are free to waste a few spell slots on Sendings until Dahlia understands what’s happening… she wants G’houl to avoid killing Neronvain if he can, with her still hoping to be present at his death… although she also admits she wouldn’t shed a tear if the cruel former Prince dies on his own. G’houl also contacts Delaan Winterfloe, the representative of the Emerald Enclave, to ask his advice on what to do next… Winterfloe warns that, just because someone calls himself Neronvain, doesn’t necessarily mean he’s the disgraced son of Melandrach… still, although he views Melandrach in a gentler light than the Chainbreakers, who he has always been antagonistic towards, he warns that killing his son could upset him. Whether he’s truly Neronvain or not, he recommends bringing the potential Wyrmspeaker in alive, if possible.
The Chainbreakers resolve to kill the Green Dragon at all costs, and at least attempt to bring in Neronvain alive, but no one of them is adamant about his survival. After returning to the refugee area the party gets some sleep before heading out early the next morning. By the time they’re awake they learn that Galin has already left to help the nearby village of Pasroy to empty out in order to protect them from future dragon attacks. The Chainbreakers leave on their own, heading deeper into the misty forest of the South Wood. Antares takes the lead, although his innate knowledge of survival fails him in the heavy mists, and in the obscuring greyness he doesn’t realize that he’s led the party into an area choked with spider webs. A group of Ettin and Giant Spiders burst out of the woods to ambush the party, letting G’houl and Antares see Yauna and Z in action. They both prove competent fighters… Yauna’s heavy armor and shield make her difficult to attack, while Z avoids attacks using her potent stealth skills. Antares can hear the mad cackling of Hazirawn, the necrotic powers of the evil sword adding even more potent damage to every attack, to the delight of the cruel spirit possessing the deadly blade. The poisonous bites of the Ettins and Giant Spiders are draining, but ultimately the Chainbreakers prevail with relatively little damage. Still, there’s a long day ahead for the Chainbreakers as they correct course and return to the correct path, continuing on their journey to take on the Cultists and the Green Dragon that have brought so much destruction to the innocent people of the South Wood.
We'll be streaming our Homebrew Campaign of Sacrament soon at 6:30 PM PST... apologies for not announcing our stream sooner, but we only just now were certain we'd be able to stream tonight. Come join us at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty as we're nearing the finale of our 2-year long campaign. In case you missed our last session, or if you just need a refresher, here's where we left our heroes nearly a month ago:
The Grimveils are getting to know Xander, the Ancient Reaver who originally founded the Grimveils. He uses a horn to signal to wolves, who says will deliver a message to the other Grimveils who are also here in the frozen north. As they make their way into the caves to try and warm up, Ricky takes some to investigate the large stone throne that Xander was sitting in… noticing that drawings from children are tucked into a back corner, and he chooses to add a drawing of his own of “Officer Peepee”.
Going further into the caves, they find an area that’s a bit warmer, and where nutritious sweet mushrooms can be found. Xander remains behind, while the Grimveils are instructed to continue further to reconnect with their allies. Moving deeper into the caves, they hear a mysterious giggling in the distance. Following the sounds, they find an area that looks to be carved into the stone with small lanterns lit. They follow deeper… to their surprise, they find a door leading outside that, surprisingly, is as warm as a summer day. Stepping outside, they find a small village… large statues of the Nightmother standing unhidden.
Moving further inside, they find that the other Grimveils are already here, waiting in the safety of the hidden village. There’s an emotional reunion, with the main Party explaining what happened in Tiavet. They even see that Griffons, long thought to be extinct, fly overhead. They learn that this place is hidden from divination magics… even preventing messages from being sent in or out, explaining why the two groups of Grimveils have had difficulty communicating. They realize that this is the ideal location for Ricky’s ceremony with the tears of the Nightmother he recovered from the Lost Temple of the Nightmother. They are told to speak to Lyra… the Headmother of the hidden village. Finding her teaching children, she dismisses her students to speak to the Grimveils directly.
Lyra recognizes the energy of Ricky, and the rare vial he carries. However, she reacts with sorrow… knowing that this is a sign that great conflict is coming soon. Ricky asks about Peeter, his teacher, with Lyra explaining that Peeter had willingly asked to become moon touched… driving himself mad as a means to hide himself from the Depraved Gloom. The group introduces themselves, and she explains that the ritual will be dangerous, as the sorrow is so potent it could kill an individual… but the more of those close to him join him in this ritual, the more the sorrow will be diluted… although to perform the ritual itself, Ricky must be forcefully held below the water… his very life put in danger in order to reveal the secrets left behind. They also learn that Lyra has been here for centuries… arriving here along with Xander… although it’s more accurate to say her pregnant mother did. Between the magics of the hidden village, and her lycanthropy she has survived all this time to watch over the Sanctuary.
Speaking more with Lyra, they learn that she actually raised both Duncan and his twin brother. However, Duncan’s daughter was captured by the Depraved Gloom, and forcefully transformed into a Hag… all the good in her drained from her body and devoured, leaving behind a hateful creature that killed her mother, and in his attempt to fight against her he was tricked into killing his own brother. She also explains that the Griffons are desired because their blood is an important ingredient for a ceremony the Depraved Gloom intend to perform.
With knowledge shared, there’s nothing to do but prepare for the ritual. Neo knows that Ricky might not survive the process, and encourages him to give farewells to those he cares about… just in case. Azure thanks him for teaching her how to cook, and even Ash gives him an Ash and tells him if she’s conquered death, then he’ll be fine. Ricky heads to speak to the rest of the Grimveils, expressing how grateful he is for everything they did, and making sure everyone knows how much he really cares for them. Making their way to the pool for the ritual, Ricky takes an extra moment to tell Crush how he understands now how Crash was able to die with a smile on her face. The two Brothers embrace and Ricky is led into the water as the ritual begins.
Ricky goes through the ritual, drinking the tears of the Nightmother… struggling to swallow them if only from the intense sorrow that overwhelms him. Ricky’s eyes turn black, and his body drains of color. Lyra herself seems to dissipate into the water as Ricky enters a vision… seeing nothing but blackness, his body overwhelmed with sorrow. But slowly the blackness gets overtaken by visions of a large glowing orb… spreading out, dissipating into individual stars that swirl and twist in the grand form of the cosmos, until the stars take the form of a woman… her hair flowing like long, twisting and turning galaxies. The focus shifts to a single start… from there, to a single planet… blue, with clouds hovering in its atmosphere. The Primordial Gods appear, all watched over by Aurona… the true name of the Nightmother. The being that represents the vastness of space far beyond the planet.
She is seen spending time with the God of the sun, Sol… but when Sol grows distant her focus shifts to the individuals. Hearing their music… the song that emanates from all living beings. She takes particular interest in one individual with a hauntingly discordant and chaotic song… Sovereign, when he was a man. The two enter a whirlwind romance, but over time they seem to grow distant… and the God Sol watches jealously. Soon he sees a sight, the planet sitting in the center of a large chamber… the Gods surrounding it like a wartable. Sol speaks angrily, admonishing Aurona for showing her love to a Mortal… a creature that will one day die, a creature that cannot understand what it means to be a God. All the Gods agree… Sol with anger, Hearth with sympathy, but Amor alone remains at her side, but is dismissed by the other Gods. It is made clear that Aurona must abandon her lover, and as the Gods leave her Sol alone remains behind… demanding Aurona take him back, believing they belong together as a matter of course. Still, Aurona can’t love Sol again, accusing him of caring more about being worshipped than caring for his followers. He warns that if Aurona doesn’t kills Sovereign, then he himself will do so… and he promises to do so on the dawn of their wedding, and make it very, very painful. Aurona rejects him, and as she slinks into the darkness she hears the voice of Chao… the Goddess of Chaos who wasn’t allowed to meet with the other Gods. She knows a secret, but will only reveal it if Aurona promises not to tell anyone. Agreeing to her conditions, Chao says she knows that Aurona is planning to marry Sovereign… and also knows that, on that very dawn, Sol plans to rend Sovereign’s soul from his body… and give it to Chao to toy with as she wishes. Chao tells her that her only chance to protect Sovereign’s soul from an eternity of torture would be to rip Sovereign’s very heart from his chest… killing his body to protect his soul. And with Aurona’s promise… she realize she can never tell anyone what Chao told her.
On the night of her wedding, Aurona lowers herself to the mortal plane, joining Sovereign on the night before a New Moon in the very temple the Grimveils found the tears, in a time when it was well-maintained and built in preparation of their wedding. Even as a mortal, Sovereign was a great leader who had built his grand Ziggurat. The mortal and Goddess holding one another, making love one last time before Aurona sorrowfully realizes that soon the sun will rise… she cannot walk the Mortal Plane while the sun shines. In this last moment, she plunges her hand into his chest, tearing out his heart… and here Ricky sees what hadn’t been seen before: Aurona digging her fingers into her own chest, ripping out her own heart… it glows with ethereal light. He places her own heart into his chest… taking his own heart into her chest… leaving him with her own heart overflowing with hatred for herself and what she had done. The hatred the Reavers carry in their souls is not Sovereign’s hatred… even in that moment he still loved her deeply… the hatred is Aurona’s own.
Ricky then sees a vision of the Nightmother before him… now speaking directly to him. He sees her weeping and moves forward in the ethereal space, cupping her face to comfort her. She laments that she promised Chao she would never tell… not realizing at the time how damning that promise would prove to be. But Ricky lets her know that he never promised Chao anything… and Sovereign needs to know the truth. He encourages her… letting her know that she doesn’t need to hate herself… telling her that, even now that he knows the truth… he loves her. He would give her his own heart if it would help her heal from this… he encourages her, and his allies speak up, helping him to convey strength to his Goddess… to help her realize she can speak to Sovereign. With the truth learned, Ricky realizes his constitution is being tested… struggling just to survive… tapping into his innate Luck, he manages to survive, waking up, coughing up water.
As Ricky recovers, they realize that Lyra is missing. Another of the Nightchildren approaches, explaining that Lyra had lived all these years protecting this hidden village, waiting until the secret of the Nightmother could finally be revealed. With her duty complete, she is finally free to rest… although that now means the magics that protect the village are falling away. With the village no longer protected, the Grimveils must now enact their ongoing plan… arrange a meeting between Sovereign and the Nightmother on grounds consecrated by Peace, and watched over by Hearth, who holds Sovereign’s blade so it can’t be used. The Night Children know that there is a location called the Frozen Pond protected by Peace which can be reached in half a day’s time… if flown by Griffon. Xander comes to speak to them, revealing that he has a magically frozen piece of the pond which Ricky can use to guide them. The Night Children prepare cold weather supplies, with the Grimveils now on a quest to quell the conflict between the Gods before the lost village is discovered by the Reavers… or before Ash is found by Larlock… or the Depraved Gloom tracks them.
Last week we couldn't stream because of technical problems with some of our players, whose internet wasn't working at all. This week, one of our players lost her voice and she's unable to speak enough to play the game. Just thought I'd let everyone know just in case
It's been nearly two months since we were last able to stream... we went through technical problems, illnesses, and severe weather preventing us from streaming this whole time, but we're finally back! We'll be streaming tonight at 5:30 PM PST with our homebrew campaign of Sacrament! I know it's been a long time, so even if you did manage to see our last stream, you should read the summary for what happened last time:
With the magic hiding the Night Children dispelled, the Grimveils must quickly travel to the frozen lake blessed by the Goddess of Peace… the Night Children will need protection, and there aren’t enough Griffons for every member of the Grimveils. As well, Ash knows that her former Patron will be searching for her, and it’s not clear how soon the powerful Larlock can find her here in the frozen North. As they’re preparing, Corrio notes that he’s been hearing a singing in the wind, but he’s the only one who hears it. They’re not certain if it’s some kind of Siren, or possibly a fey… it may even be the Nightmother herself. Suspecting that the Nightmother is calling to him, the fact that he’s been researching Duncan’s notes this entire time means he’s the most qualified to assist them in this upcoming conflict.
With their plan in place, they have to decide who should go on the journey to meet with the Gods Sovereign and the Nightmother to resolve their conflict. Although Neo seems like an obvious choice, he needs to help the remaining Nightchildren, as the last qualified Priest of the Nightmother. They also know that Ash must travel with them, to avoid Larlock finding the Nightchildren… however, despite his reservations, Fidget is left to travel with the Nightchildren so he can protect their son, Kane. Azure travels along with Kanick, who is known as a reliable warrior, along with Corrio as an expert in lore, and finally Kalea as a liaison who can contact Hearth.
With their groups planned, a trio of Silver Griffons are provided… Vex, Torque, and Noodle. With the Grimveils prepared, they take off into the sky… Ricky’s skills as a College of Stars Bard uses the shard of magically frozen ice he was given to guide them forward toward their destination. However, as they proceed further a fireball erupts in the sky around them… while Depraved Gloom assassins chase them on the back of flying demonic creatures. Crush manages to fell one quickly, while Ricky focuses on keeping his flight path true. The creatures have poisonous stingers on their tails, which they use to try and kill the Griffons. The small cadre of Depraved Gloom are more dangerous for their potential to knock riders off of Griffons, but thankfully the Grimveils support one another and manage to stay on their rides.
However, after Ash chooses to cast Fly on herself and Kanick, and in the process lets their Griffon, Vex, fly freely… however, this leaves Vex unguarded, and the last Depraved Gloom assassin throws a magical net at the defenseless Griffin, trapping him and causing him to plunge to the ground. Luckily, Ricky had already cast Enhance Ability on his Griffon, Noodle, giving Noodle Advantage on Strength to catch Vex and prevent him from falling toward some kind of strange glow on the ground, with Ricky the first to realize that the Depraved Gloom aren’t after the Grimveils… they’re trying to capture the Griffons. With some luck they manage to fight off the last of the Depraved Gloom, but they’re hit by a burst of energy from the ground… although the damage isn’t great, it does cause those unable to dodge the attack to bleed. In particular, Crush’s Griffon, Torque, who had been poisoned by one of the flying demons bleeds profusely, as the venom induces hemophilia.
The group makes an emergency landing on a nearby mountain to tend to Torque’s injuries. Looking back to where the attack had come from, they see distant figures vanishing in magical light. Ash realizes that the Depraved Gloom had gotten what they wanted… the blood of a silver griffon, a key ingredient in the ritual she knows the Hags of the Depraved Gloom are preparing to ascend someone to Godhood… Ricky takes the time to cast Regenerate on Torque, healing him back to full before he realizes that they’re actually within walking distance of their destination.
Seeing how close they are, the Grimveils choose to continue by foot. As they march across the clifftop, they come across tall crystals of ice. Musical chimes can be heard in the air, with barely audible singing mixed within. As they pass the ice crystals, they see visions of peaceful moments in their past… Crush and his sister playing on the beach as children, a young Azure listening intently to an exciting story from her Uncle Duncan, while Ash remembers her life as Promethea celebrating a holiday with her family. Even Corrio sees a vision of himself as a child, spending time with his mother before she died. Even as they walk the crystals reflect themselves from their childhood… young and carefree. Ricky is the last to notice his own vision as he was too distracted by everyone else’s… remembering spending time with his Mother, listening to her sing while he doodled drawings and they shared hot cocoa on a cold winter night. They even see that Corrio has a vision of the time when he first joined with the Grimveils… before his personality had been altered by magic. Corrio is getting choked up, remembering what it was like before… embarrassedly getting angry at himself just for acknowledging his past pain.
Ricky tries to comfort Corrio, who angrily rejects the signs of affection. As Corrio tries to avoid his feelings everyone can see another vision of Corrio… remembering a moment when he freed a bird that his father kept as practically a decoration… his mother promising that she’ll make sure he isn’t punished for it. Corrio is irritated, feeling like he’s being targeted by whatever is guiding these visions. Ricky helps to comfort him, and although Ricky helps to keep him calm, Corrio’s stubbornness still resists opening up… although Ricky can tell that the former Cleric wishes he could cry. Crush comments that, in many ways, it takes more strength to be honest enough with yourself to cry.
As they approach a frozen lake, they can’t help but notice that the ice subtley cracks under Corrio’s feet, while the much heavier Tortles don’t have the same effect. Continuing further, Ash talks to Corrio about death, and what she learned from her father when she met him during her resurrection… that a person can change, and there’s strength in trusting those around you. Corrio looks and sees a reflection, for the first time seeing his father’s stern, uncaring face… for the first time, realizing that he looks just like his father now. As Ash and Ricky comfort him, he starts to hear a gentle, loving voice… she tells him that everything will be okay, and assures him that everything that happened wasn’t his fault. As the voice speaks to Corrio, acknowledging that he’s been broken, his soul scarred… but if he opens himself up, if he allows those who care about him to be there for him, he can heal. With each step the cracks produced below his feet lessen. With Corrio struggling, the others step forward to comfort him… but surprisingly, it’s Ash who starts hugging him. The sudden show of affection from the normally cold and indifferent Elf overwhelms him, and finally Corrio starts to cry.
Collapsing to the ground of the frozen lake, the ice no long cracks beneath him. Looking down, he sees not his own reflection, but the sight of his mother. The voice assuring him that, although his Mother may have been a warrior by trade, she knew Peace and cherished it. As the reflection begins to rise out of the ice it becomes warm, comforting light… filling Corrio’s body… the curse that had ripped out the kindness and warmth from his soul finally cured. Corrio is once again the shy, loving Cleric they had met months ago. Pulling Corrio into a tight group hug, the voice thanks the Grimveils for bringing Corrio here to help her cure him. Before them appears a tall, gentle woman, with skin like crystal and a long, flowing robe of ice… the Goddess Peace, who welcomes Corrio as her newest Cleric.
We're nearing the end of our homebrew campaign of Sacrament! I'm not going to say that tonight is the finale, but we're definitely getting into the weeds tonight! So come join us at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty tonight at 5:30 PM PST. Things are getting crazy, so if you need a reminder of what happened last week, read on:
The Grimveils stand on the frozen pond speaking to the Goddess Peace, who bears a striking resemblance to the Nightmother. With her guidance, Corrio and Kalea prepare the area to allow the Nightmother and Sovereign to meet and, hopefully, the truth of their falling out will end their centuries-long rivalry. While Crush meditates, Corrio and Kalea perform a ceremony, the ice of Peace’s domain glowing. Once the land is prepared, then the Grimveils must summon Sovereign… which they know can be done by letting a Reaver touch the Pendant of the Nightmother that Ricky wears. With some hesitation, Kanick reaches down to touch it, and the massive figure of Sovereign crashes down onto the frozen, cracking the magically enhanced frozen water of the lake.
When Sovereign arrives, Corrio and Kalea must complete their ritual with him present before the Nightmother can be summoned. Knowing they can’t hope to truly defeat Sovereign… instead, they must prevent the God from killing Ricky, or interrupting the ceremony. Kanick runs, carrying Ricky out of the God’s range while Azure attempts to stun him… as a former mortal, Sovereign still has pressure points that can be targeted with her stunning strikes. However, his Godly constitution is too great for her to overcome, while Crush attempts to tear away the God’s sword… barely able to even lift it, and although he holds it enough to prevent one attack from the God, he’s able to yank it back out of Crush’s arms… stomping through them, damaging the lake as Corrio and Kalea struggle to complete their ritual.
Despite his misgivings of facing off against his own God, Kanick does his best to protect Ricky. Sovereign doesn’t hesitate to attack, damaging Kanick enough to activate his Reaver rage. Because the party had prepared rags soaked in Kanick’s blood that will cause him to view them as family there’s only one target for his rage… Sovereign himself. As Kanick unleashes his violent attacks, Kalea completes part of the ceremony, summoning the spirit of Water, which floods the icy arena with mystically conjured water… and just as the water appears, the frozen lake cracks, flooding with the outpouring water. Azure rushes forward, knocking Sovereign into the water. Ricky dives in after… casting magic to show Sovereign the sight of the Nightmother giving her heart to Sovereign… Crush dives in as well, helping Ricky to convince Sovereign to stop his rampage and listen to them. This slows down Sovereign enough for Kalea and Corrio to finally complete their ritual… conjuring the Goddess Hearth, who restrains Sovereign, and allows the Nightmother to appear and speak to him, briefly putting Kanick to sleep to end his rage. Even restrained by Hearth, Sovereign struggles, until Hearth reveals she’s carrying his blade, and threatens to kill him if he continues to enact violence in this sacred place blessed by Peace.
The Grimveils band together to convince Sovereign to drink the tears of the Nightmother… allowing him to see the memories that had been hidden from him all these years. He looks upon the Nightmother, calling her by her true name, Aurona… as she reveals to him the scar of his heart, which she still carries in her chest, just as he has hers within his. The hatred he has felt for her all these years her own self-hatred for betraying her beloved to prevent his very soul from being wiped from existence. With tears in their eyes they embrace, and a burst of light erupts outward, the stars themselves swirling and dancing in response. Even unconscious, Kanick weeps as his connection to Sovereign allows him to experience everything that happened. With the two reconciled, Hearth returns Sovereign’s sword to him, and the great and powerful sword morphs… its blade dulling, the handle melding into a single circlet, which he places upon his beloved’s head… Ricky’s pendant, which was made from a portion of Sovereign’s blade, slips from his neck, falling to the ground. The Nightmother tells Ricky that he’s no longer bound to the promise he made, and now if he wears the necklace it will be by his own design, and not because it can’t be removed.
As the sun begins to rise, Sovereign flies away… a dark spot briefly visible on the surface of the sun as Hearth notes that he has gone to punch Sol in the face. As the sun rises the Grimveils have only a few moments to speak with the Nightmother before she exits… and Ash whispers a request to her, forcing the Goddess to kneel before her to speak to her face-to-face. The Nightmother is shocked by her request, but although the others don’t hear what she was asking, she is given a magical mirror of some kind. With the feud between the Gods resolved, the Grimveils set their Griffons free, telling them to return home as they resolve to being confronted by Larlock. Ash has a plan… revealing that the mirror she asked for is intended as a “wedding gift” for Larlock… one that she describes as a lovely cage to house a “pet”.
Last week we finished our homebrew campaign of Sacrament! It's pretty crazy to complete a two and a half year long streamed game, and we're planning to make our next series easier to keep up with. For tonight, though, we're finally going back to Rise of Tiamat. We'll be going live at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty tonight at 6pm PST. It's been a LONG time since our last RoT stream, so even if you caught that stream you should probably read on to get a reminder of what happened:
After defeating the Ettercaps and their Giant Spiders, the Chainbreakers hear a woman’s howl followed by the sound of a tree crashing. Without hesitation, Yauna and Antares rush toward the sound to find an elderly gnomish woman trapped under a tree. As they work together to lift the tree off of her, however, they learn that it’s an Awakened Tree that was only pretending to pin the old woman down. She reveals her name is Jamantha, and she’s a member of the Emerald Enclave who was testing their character to see if they would hesitate when a seemingly innocent person was in peril. Although Ceesz remains suspicious of the strange woman throughout their interaction, Antares is eager to speak to a fellow Enclave member.
Jamantha reveals that she was investigating the Green Dragon, Chuth, who had used his mastery over the creatures of the woods to force the innocent beasts to serve as his spies. However, she weaves for them garlands made of enchanted flowers that will hide them from Chuth’s spies, and will provide some degree of protection while they’re within the South Wood. She also provides for them an enchanted twig that will point them in the direction of Chuth’s cave, but she admits she lacks the strength to accompany them. She warns that the shortest path leads through an area of the forest held by Ettercaps… it’s possible to walk around and avoid the spider-like abominations, but doing so would mean they would arrive at Chuth’s lair closer to nightfall… when they believe the nocturnal Dragon is most likely to be awake. The Chainbreakers opt to risk the Ettercaps, proceeding stealthily through the web-choked forest.
The path through the Ettercap’s hunting grounds is slow and steady as they avoid the hungry creatures, a task made difficult as the Ettercaps and their Giant Spider companions can sense movement in their intricate net of webbing that covers the forest so thickly that it chokes trees to death. However, despite a few close calls, they manage to avoid the eight-legged threats and emerge into healthier woods, following the magical twigs direction as it points them toward a sharp cliff face with a powerful waterfall spilling down it… the waterfall itself nearly hiding a large cave entrance before filling a large natural basin that, presumably, feeds into the underground rivers that run throughout the South Wood. Going over their plans, Ceesz reminds them that her training as an Assassin in the Zhentarim has given her a reliable false identity as a high ranking member of the Cult of Tiamat by the name of Cheddar. G’houl also owns a Cultist robe to disguise himself, and knows enough about the Cult of Tiamat to know that Antares and Yauna can reliably pass as hired mercenaries.
With “Cheddar” in the lead, they make their way into the cave to find the entrance watched by a group of elves, one of whom wears dented armor of the High Forest Kingdom. They greet Ceesz subserviently, but still ask questions and seem to be testing her. However, Ceesz relies on her disguise to intimidate them for “wasting her time”, and with Antares backing her up they relent and allow her and her companions into the cave. Once inside they find the large natural cave to be filled with stalactites, while torches have been set up at regular intervals to accommodate for the lack of natural light. Making their way inside, they find a large chamber that seems to be empty of others, although they notice a high platform carved into the stone with more elves watching them. Hearing thudding sounds and angry voices in a similar direction, they follow a short tunnel until they find the source of the noises.
Through the tunnel they spot a group of Ettin… dim-witted but powerful giants whose most striking feature is the fact that they each possess two heads. The Ettins are arguing in Giant, and a horrid smell emanates from the large room they occupy. With their two heads the Ettins are extremely perceptive, and they notice Ceesz entering… thinking her to be an authority figure of some kind, they demand she resolve their conflict… two of the 3 Ettins are arguing about whose turn it is to clean the pile of shit in the corner of the room. Seeing that they could easily be manipulated, she tells them to go outside and fight it out, with Antares sweetening the deal by promising that whoever wins won’t have to clean for a month. This is an unusual request, but with Antares’s help Ceesz manages to convince the Ettin’s to abandon their post in order to step out and remove them as potential obstacles during their infiltration.
Exploring deeper, the Chainbreakers discover that the Ettins were guarding a small sloped pathway that leads up to the platform they saw earlier. Moving upstairs, they can see that the Elves that had watched them enter are clearly prisoners, although surprisingly they’ve been given bows and arrows. Yauna steps forward, explaining that the group is here to rescue them… with G’houl backing her up, they see that this is their chance for rescue, with them admitting that they have been working with the dragon out of fear that it would kill them if they disobeyed… even the guards at the entrance were compelled to obey the dragon lest their fellow prisoners suffer for their disobedience. They learn that the dragon would enter a large pool in the cavern to go wherever it does to rest, but the prisoners don’t know exactly where the dragon goes. The prisoners do not know, however, that the Wyrmspeaker leading this sect of the cult is Neronvain, disgraced son of King Melandrach… one captured noble admits that he resembles Neronvain, but as the deposed Prince hasn’t been seen in over a century, he’s not fully confident of his identity. Once they learn all they can from the prisoners, G’houl volunteers to cast Teleportation Circle in order to send them safely to Waterdeep… the guards watching the front are brought back, and Yauna writes a letter for them to deliver to those in Castle Waterdeep, where she requests lodging be provided for the prisoners and requests that they not be questioned too deeply, as the Chainbreakers themselves don’t want to risk faulty information reaching King Melandrach, just in case the man they seek isn’t actually Prince Neronvain.
With the prisoners sent safely to Waterdeep, Antares notices a statue that has clearly been in this cave for far longer than the cultists occupied it. It’s the statue of a tall, beautiful woman holding a stone basin that he recognizes as Eldath, the Goddess of Waterfalls. Out of respect, Antares offers a prayer to the Goddess and releases some of his chaotic magical energy toward the statue. He is rewarded with a vision of the Goddess who blesses him and his allies with the effects of the Bless spell. With Eldath’s blessing the Chainbreakers then have to decide what to do next… do they probe deeper into the cave and risk confronting the cultists, or explore the dark pool in the hopes of finding the Dragon first?
The dragon is their top priority, but there’s no way to know exactly where the area beneath the pool leads. Luckily, G’houl has taken the time to learn Water Breathing and is able to cast it as a ritual… unfortunately, the time spent doing so is enough for the Ettins to return… and although they’re fairly dim-witted, they at least are able to realize that the prisoners they were guarding have gone missing. In a rage, the Ettins attack… fortunately for the Chainbreakers, they have the high ground and are able to fight back easily against the enraged giants, but the skirmish draws the attention of the remaining cultists… stepping out to investigate, a cult member notices the missing prisoners and the dead Ettins, calling out to his fellow cultists that there has been a betrayal. In a last-ditch effort, G’houl uses the spell Far Step to get close enough to cast Suggestion on the Cultist, telling him to state that it was a false alarm and act as though everything is fine. Unfortunately, the cultist resists G’houl’s magical influence, and now the Chainbreakers must face all the remaining cultists within the cave
We're playing Rise of Tiamat in a few minutes! Come join us at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty tonight at 6:30 PM PST. As always, if you missed our last session, or if you just want a refresher, here's what happened:
With their ruse falling apart, the Chainbreakers find themselves in combat against the entire collection of cultists hiding in the Green Dragon Chuth’s lair. Fortunately, the cultists had a bottleneck in a thin hallway, and as they’re rushing together in a dense line to attack the interlopers they end up gathered close enough for G’houl to be able to clear them out with a well-placed Fireball from his Staff of Fire. However, G’houl is all alone in the middle of the cave, with the rest of his allies still on a high platform, and although G’houl was able to clear out the majority of the weaker cultists, more powerful members are still on their way to attack him.
To get down to the lower level, Yauna uses her shield to surf down the rough walls of the cave… not skillfully enough to completely avoid fall damage, but enough to get to G’houl’s side more quickly. Antares, meanwhile, takes advantage of his unparalleled speed to rush down to one of the Ettins the party had defeated earlier, taking from her the magic-looking belt she was wearing as a sash. However, by the time he reaches G’houl he realizes he’s at risk of losing his Rage… in order to keep it up, he slashes himself with Hazirawn… unfortunately, he didn’t realize just how powerful the sentient blade truly is, dealing intense wounding damage to himself… but ultimately it accomplished the goal of maintaining his rage, defending him from attacks and increasing his ability to defeat his foes.
Ceesz, however, struggled to keep up with her allies… moving more slowly and stealthily, she had difficulty getting in range of foes with her shortbow before they could be defeated by her allies. Still, she finds herself in an ideal position after a loud roar is heard in the caves… and soon the Green Dragon Chuth and his rider, the deposed Elven prince Neronvain, erupted out of the dark pool near the back of the cave system. Unfortunately for G’houl, he had moved to this position to stay out of range of more attacks, and found himself alone as the Green Dragon unleashed a blast of poisonous breath directly at him… barely maintaining consciousness. However, in this moment Ceesz proved herself potentially the deadliest member of the Chainbreakers… her stealth expertise keeping her hidden even from a Dragon’s blindsight. Darting out from between Stalagmites, she lands a critical sneak attack against the dragon, draining its health viciously with a single attack before vanishing. G’houl as well teleported away from the dragon before casting greater invisibility on himself.
With Ceesz hidden and G’houl out of range, Chuth and Neronvain shift their focus to Yauna and Antares. The two had been cutting down cult members, but Yauna struggles with her movement options… fortunately for her, Antares was able to carry her on his back, acting as a steed for the heavily armored paladin. They rush toward the dragon, attacking as best they can while Neronvain moves off of Chuth’s back to get protective cover from high ground. The Chainbreakers begin to run low on health, putting them in danger against the massive, angry dragon… only for Ceesz to spring out of cover once again, this time successfully landing the infinitesimally rare double natural 20, which dealt some additional damage… and suddenly the massive dragon went from the aggressor to going on the run, using his Legendary Actions to beat his wings and dash for the door. The Chainbreakers do their best to cut down the fleeing dragon… with G’houl slashing with Steel Wind Strike, Yauna throwing her javelin, but ultimately Antares manages a high jump to get onto Chuth’s back… slashing with the dark blade Hazirawn, digging it into the base of the dragon’s spine and dashing across the creature’s back… the dragon Chuth crashing to the ground as his body is split open and the mighty dragon falls dead.
Neronvain finds himself abandoned, yelling angrily at Chuth for running away. But when Chuth dies, he realizes that he’s outnumbered and dives into the water, hoping to escape back into the cave systems. However, he’s unaware that G’houl, who is still under the effects of Greater Invisibility, is hot on his tail. G’houl manages to keep up with Neronvain, and casts Frost Fingers… not only to harm the fleeing elf, but also freezing the water around him, trapping him in an alcove. When Ceesz catches up and lands another attack, although she doesn’t manage a third critical hit it’s still enough for Neronvain to drop his weapon and surrender.
Neronvain attempts to play coy, but the insightful G’houl can tell that the cultist is terrified for his life and just trying to act confident while he looks for a potential escape. Not trusting him in the slightest, the Chainbreakers take the time to restrain and even gag neronvain, hog tying him to Antares’ back. After taking a short rest they continue to explore the caves, eventually taking off Neronvain’s gag to ask him for information. He seems only willing to guide them if they’ll listen to his ramblings about his father and the pointlessness of using their wealth and power to help citizens instead of just making their already lavish lifestyle even more decadent.
Despite guiding the Chainbreakers further into the cave system, Neronvain quite pointedly does not warn them about actual traps, but when discovered he will explain how to get past them. He guides them into his personal chambers, which are covered with stolen tapestries and with a trapped wooden chest that contains little wealth, but does have a scroll of fear. The Chainbreakers continue to press Neronvain, trying to figure out why, exactly, he was banished from the High Forest and stripped of his title… however, the manipulative elf is cagey with his answers, seeming to enjoy the mythologizing about him that has come up with people like Antares, who has only heard of Neronvain as a cautionary tale about what people need to avoid becoming. However, after some careful pressuring by Yauna, they get him to slip and reveal that what ultimately got him banished was participating in slave trading.
Despite the lack of help from Neronvain, the Chainbreakers manage to discover the secret passageway that leads to Chuth’s sleeping quarters, where the beginnings of a dragon’s hoard are found, since Chuth most likely has his true hoard hidden somewhere else. Digging through the hoard, they find that it’s mostly copper coins, as the treasure mostly comes from the low-income villages that live in the South Wood. However, they do manage to find a rare Dwarven Thrower… a powerful magical weapon, albeit one that can only be used by Dwarves. The Chainbreakers are ready for G’houl to teleport them all back to Waterdeep, but G’houl reminds them all that they’re here not simply to capture Neronvain, but to secure the Green Dragon Mask.
Mockingly, Neronvain explains that, following Rezmir’s death (which he assumes was done by Antares, as he’s wielding her sword), the leader of the cult, Severin, collected all of the Dragon Masks from the Wyrmspeakers to protect them, as they’re required for the ceremony to summon Tiamat. The group is hesitant to trust Neronvain’s claims, but despite his dishonest nature they’re able to Insight that he’s telling the truth… if anything, he seems to enjoy that they’re unable to achieve their goal. Still, content that the Green Dragon is killed and the Green Wyrmspeaker is in custody, they send Armpit a message asking him to fly the Nimbus back to Waterdeep as G’houl draws another Teleportation Circle and takes everyone back to Castle Waterdeep.
With our homebrew Campaign of Sacrament complete, this thread will now focus exclusively on our Rise of Tiamat campaign. We'll be streaming live tonight at 6:30 PM PST at our usual home of twitch.tv/afterdisbooty, but for the first time we'll also be streaming on the Hazel's Emporium Youtube Page. So come join us as we dive into the latter half of the events of Rise of Tiamat and see what awaits our heroes, but just in case you need a reminder of what happened last time, read on:
With Neronvain in tow the Chainbreakers arrive in the teleportation circle of Castle Waterdeep, where they’re met by Delaan Winterfloe of the Emerald Enclave and Alagarthas, the Elven Prince who had requested their aid in the South Wood to begin with. Stunned to see his older brother, he quickly leaves to get their father while Neronvain is put into proper restraints and brought to a waiting room where the Chainbreakers can watch over him while King Melandrach is summoned. While they wait, they explain that the Cult of Tiamat has gone out of their way to gather the Dragon Masks, especially after Rezmir’s Black Dragon Mask was taken.
After their wait, Melandrach arrives in full regalia, along with Prince Alagarthas. While he maintains almost supernatural composure, Antares is able to see the tiniest hints of emotions in the centuries-old monarch… for a man like Melandrach, even those hints of true emotion are deeply telling. Neronvain continues to play coy, acting smugly as he gives excuses and taunts to his father. After being a voice of conflict regularly second-guessing the Chainbreakers, in this moment he thanks them for their service and promises the full support of himself and the Elven Kingdom of the High Forest. As for Neronvain… he admits that, in his weakness, he spared his son for his crimes a century ago… crimes that, if anyone else had committed them, would have them put to death. Antares alone is able to see the slightest hint of moisture in the stern King’s eyes as he condemns Neronvain to death.
Alagarthas immediately speaks up… although it’s clear from their interactions that he’s not close to his estranged brother, he’s still shocked to hear he’ll be put to death. Yauna and Antares speak up as well… although they don’t try to talk Melandrach out of one day executing Neronvain, they implore him to delay until after the conflict with the Cult of Tiamat is complete, as Neronvain still knows information that may prove vital. Melandrach admits there is wisdom in their words and agrees to a stay of execution. He thanks them again for their work before his guards take Neronvain and march him to a cell. Alagarthas remains behind to speak more with the Chainbreakers… giving them time to explain some of what happened in the South Wood, and promising to personally take care of the refugees they had sent to the castle only a few hours earlier. After he leaves, they then debrief fully with Delaan, who makes certain that the people of the South Wood will be informed of what happened, and they also explain the extenuating circumstances that led Galin to work with the Cult of Tiamat for fear not only for his life, but the lives of those he knew personally. They also share with him the location of Chuth’s lair so that the stolen treasures can be recovered.
With their work complete, the Chainbreakers are free to do as they wish, although they’re informed that a meeting of Council of Waterdeep is scheduled for the next morning. While Antares goes back to the Bloody Knuckle fighting arena to blow off some steam, G’houl returns to the Yawning Portal to begin transcribing some of the spell scrolls they had found into his spellbook, Ceesz finds informants within the Zhentarim to report on the incident and finds a generous reward from Thorn waiting for her, and Yauna gets directions to the Lords’ Alliance training grounds where she can also turn in a full report. She meets with Skilled, the elderly tiefling who serves as quartermaster to turn in her report. During the process Skilled asks where she’s staying, and she admits she doesn’t know… he offers her room and board in the barracks, but also mentions she might prefer to stay in the Yawning Portal, casually mentioning that this is where Dahlia normally stays, which is all the motivation Yauna needs to immediately rush to the famous tavern.
Yauna arrives at the Yawning Portal around the same time as Antares and Ceesz, the three of them entering together. Yauna is instantly fascinated with the tavern, especially the titular portal itself that leads into the dangerous Undermountain… a labyrinth popular for adventurers seeking their fortune. Antares also gets for her “Jungle Juice”, his favorite concoction he convinced the barkeep Durnan to make for him which is an unsavory mix of every alcohol her offers all poured into a single cup. While Antares sips his happily Yauna ends up vomiting directly into the portal, to the entertainment of everyone around until eventually a sympathetic dwarf buys her proper ale to wash out the flavor.
G’houl remains in his room, focused on his spellbook, but he does send Dusk to spy on the others as they chat about everything going on. Yauna, who had briefly flirted with G’houl, asks to learn more about him and is stunned to learn that he’s dating Dahlia. She explains that Dahlia, as a Baroness, is being pursued by suitors of high standing in her home country. Antares can’t answer all of Yauna’s questions… all he knows is that the two of them are in a relationship and seem to be quite serious. As the sun begins to set, they realize that the other members of the Chainbreakers are expected to return to Waterdeep soon.
Here the focus shifts back to the previous night, when the other group were returning to Waterdeep, escorted on the back of the Silver Dragon Elia. They stopped in the same cave in the Star Mounts that they had stopped in previously, although this time they brought along a mass of food and spices in order to cook some curry to share with Elia, who has shown herself to be fascinated by humanoid cooking. The group sits and talks, sharing stories about life while enjoying the excellently prepared meal. With some prodding, they learn that, like Dahlia, Elia had once been in love with a wizard, although she laments that he died of old age many years ago. Happily sharing stories through the night before they all go to bed and head out early the next day to make their way back to Waterdeep. After arriving back in Waterdeep they’re greeted by Remalia Haventree of the Harpers and Ontharr Frume of the Silver Gauntlet, who are impressed that they were able to convince every member of the Metallic Dragon Council to join their cause. They’re also told that G’houl and Antares have succeeded in their journey to the South Wood, and they had even managed to kill a green dragon. Happy to know that their friends returned safely, they begin to make their way toward the Yawning Portal to rest before the next meeting of the Council of Waterdeep.
It's been about a month since our last session of Rise of Tiamat, but we're back tonight for more! Come join us tonight at 6pm PST at Twitch or Youtube as I DM my friends through their ongoing conflict with the Cult of Tiamat. In case you missed our last session, or if you just need a reminder, here's what happened last time:
Antares, Yauna, and Ceesz are having drinks in the Yawning Portal, while G’houl is busy in his room transcribing spells. Soon, however, Dahlia, Katniss, Loki, and Harle step in, the group excited to meet up with Antares, and also curious to meet Ceesz. Yauna, however, is hiding from Dahlia at first, embarrassed that she had flirted with G’houl earlier, not knowing that he was in a relationship with Dahlia. Still, they eventually meet, with Dahlia recognizing the excitable and awkward Paladin, whose presence is a reminder to her of the duties waiting for her as a Baroness in her home country of Esleah. However, her focus shifts to romance when G’houl joins the group propertly to spend time with his friends.
As everyone is enjoying their drinks and reconnecting, the Chainbreakers are visited by Thorn, the Goblin representative of the Zhentarim in the Council of Waterdeep. She is attempting to get Antares to sign over his claim for the body of Chuth, the Green Dragon… although Antares dealt the fatal blow, she maintains that Ceesz was the deciding factor in the battle, and thus she should be the one to lay claim to the spoils of war (and, vicariously, so will the Zhentarim). Antares has had enough to drink that he’s perfectly willing to sign it over, but G’houl and Dahlia both insist on reading through the contract she provided first… while G’houl does agree that Ceesz was the “MVP” in the conflict, they convince Thorn to reserve enough scales from the dragon’s body to create a set of armor for Antares. Satisfied with the negotiation, Thorn stays long enough to share a drink with the Chainbreakers, but has to leave early, informing them all that the Council of Waterdeep will be meeting very early the next morning, and they’re all expected to arrive and speak.
Dahlia and G’houl are the first to leave, looking to have a romantic night alone in G’houl’s room. Katniss guides the drunk Antares out to the stables (his preferred place to sleep) before joining Loki for their own romantic night alone in Loki’s room. This leaves Yauna and the two Zhentarim rogues, Harle and Ceesz, end up all alone. The rogues consider ditching the excitable paladin to spend the night practicing their thievery, but they decide to spend some time with her, hoping to help her find some romance of her own. Ceesz casually recommends a brothel, but Yauna flatly refuses… instead they head out for a bit, just wandering the city and looking for potential partners.
With the Rogues’ help, Yauna is introduced to an attractive Gnomish woman named Xamyra. Yauna is a bit awkward, but the two of them bond as they take some time to return to the Yawning Portal and sharing a few drinks. Yauna learns that Xamyra is an inventor, and is overall a hard worker who Yauna can relate to. It’s only a short date, but she invites Yauna to visit her at her workshop, known as the Big Sprocket, hoping to go out again later.
The next morning the group meets with the Council of Waterdeep first thing in the morning. It’s a particularly large group attending the meeting, and the Council is impressed with their work, for the most part. The concessions made to the Council of Dragons is seen as reasonable, although it’s clear that if it were not for Neronvain’s recent capture, King Melandrach would have been very upset at being ordered to apologize for the Elven Kingdom’s sins with the Dracorage Mythal, which attempted to enslave dragons but served to only drive them mad. Ambassador Brawnanvil, however, is unafraid to express his disappointment at being requested to apologize for the Dragonmoots that killed Elia’s niece… although the dragons believe the Dragonmoots to be simply Dwarven cruelty in search of vain glory, for the Dwarven people it is actually a solemn duty undertaken only when a dragon becomes a danger to itself and others… apparently Elia’s niece was driven mad at the time of her death, but he does willingly offer to return the ceremonial armor made from her scales. Finally, the last objection is from Thunderspells, who feels it is foolish to attempt to hide the dragon masks rather than simply destroy them… he believes that the Brass Dragon Ileuthra thinks on too large of a scale, and although Tiamat may eventually recreate the dragon masks if they are destroyed, the kingdoms of Man will have plenty of time to prepare for such an eventuality… however, even scattered across the planes, an individual with the skill and knowledge could reacquire them at any time.
The killing of Chuth and capture of Neronvain receives far less controversy, as the party f succeeded in stripping a powerful asset from from the Cult of Tiamat… although the knowledge that Severin has already gathered the remaining dragon masks made the ultimately goal of taking the green dragon mask a failure. Still, at this point Thorn speaks up, revealing that the Zhentarim have made contact with a member of the Cult who still has in his possession the Blue Dragon Mask… a person who is trying to escape the cult with his life. He is located at Xonthal’s Tower, and he is offering the Dragon Mask as reward for anyone who can rescue him.
This seems to be the Chainbreakers’ mission, but Lady Silverhand mentions that she had received a ltter as well, this time from an ambassador to the country of Thay. The Thayans are interested in capturing Rath Modar and the students he fled with from Thay, including Azbara Jos. They are particularly interested in meeting with the group who took Skyreach Castle, which the Thayans know is the last place Modar was seen alive… although the letter does not indicate that they know the names of the individuals who took the castle, or that Azbara Jos is already in custody at Waterdeep. The Chainbreakers are hesitant to work with the Thayans… although their Red Wizards would be a powerful boon to the upcoming conflict, the morality of working with Szass Tam… a powerful lich who has literally enslaved an entire country, weighs heavy on their conscience. At Dahlia’s request, Azbara Jos himself is brought to the council to speak on the matter… Jos opposes working with them, not the least of which because one of their demands is his own return. But he knows that the Red Wizards of Thay would not hesitate to use mind reading and other trickery to learn knowledge the Chainbreakers would rather keep secret, but perhaps more than that… he also knows that any help sent would simply be more slaves but in harms way for Tam’s benefit, and no one else’s. The Chainbreakers decide to decline the offer to visit Thay… for now, at least, however, they realize this may prove to be the opening they need to eventually travel to Thay and face Tam directly, fulfilling their promise to Jos and Modar to help them rid the world of the diabolical lich once and for all.
With that decision made, the group is told to prepare for the adventure in Xonthal’s Tower. According to Thorn, this job will require stealth and will be best fulfilled by a small strike force, and believes that a group of four should take on the task. Immediately Katniss, Loki, and Dahlia volunteer, although there is a debate between G’houl and Harle… as a wizard, G’houl could learn untold secrets from the tower, but as a Rogue, Harle would be better prepared for sneaking in, and could potentially communicate with the Zhentarim agent who helped send the message in the first place. Ultimately, Harle promises to steal some useful books for G’houl, while G’houl plans to stay behind and continue his own research to prepare for the upcoming conflict.
Bad News: We won't be able to stream tonight. Still, I'll leave up the summary of our last session for people to read
After accepting their assignment to infiltrate Xonthal’s Tower, the Chainbreakers have some time to prepare for the journey. Zhentarim agent Harle is taken aside by Thorn, who has a specific assignment for him… she wants him to make sure that every single cultist in Xonthal’s tower is killed, and to make certain he brings something from the tower as proof that he entered in order to establish his claim to the location. Harle is all too happy to agree, and as he’s returning to catch up with the Chainbreakers he’s met by G’houl, who offers Harle a few of his magic items and potions for Harle’s protection.
While Harle and G’houl discuss their plans, Dahlia heads up to Azbara Jos’s cell to speak to him, finding that Yauna is already there, having pledged to protect Jos after it became clear that the Thayans are looking for him. Yauna is weeping openly after hearing about the plight of the Thayan people from Jos. Dahlia wants to talk to Jos about his teacher, Rath Modar, who seems to still be allied with the Cult of Tiamat. She wants to know if Jos has any ideas why Modar is still working with the Cult of Tiamat despite seemingly betraying them at Skyreach Castle. Jos believes that, despite everything, Modar is willing to do anything to have the power to defeat Szass Tam… and Modar won’t hesitate to harm others to accomplish his goals.
After speaking with Jos, Dahlia wants to take some time to look up information on Green Hags, hoping to learn more about Granny Greenskin, hoping it will help her to give a gift to her Fairy Godmother. She’s allowed to access the library of Castle Waterdeep, where it’s quite easy to find information about Green Hags… although everything she reads doesn’t seem to accurately describe Granny Greenskin… looking further, she struggles to find anything that seems to accurately describe the Hag. Looking through some of the incomplete research inside the library, Dahlia finds a journal by a halfling explorer named Griffin Hawe, which details his journeys into the feywild where he has documented many things that aren’t well known on the material plane… although she can’t find anything specific at this time, she’s allowed to rent the journal to research at her own pace later.
Disappointed, but not surprised, Dahlia catches up with her allies as they’re purchasing supplies from the Waterdeep Army Surplus to take advantage of the generally lower prices… although Loki can’t resist toying with the rude Clerk… asking him pointless questions, and buying a completely pointless Climbing Kit (seeing as she already owns slippers of spider climbing) deliberately overpaying for it to force him to give her change. He tries to get back at her for picking on him in the past… paying her the remaining change with a jar full of copper pieces that she had used to purchase something earlier. However, Loki turns it on him by throwing off his counting, and in frustration he just gives her the entire jar, which ultimately ends up giving Loki an extra 100 pieces of copper.
With their shopping complete, the Chainbreakers climb up Mount Waterdeep to meet up with Captain Armpit and the Nimbus, showing Harle the artificially created floating island they use to travel. Armpit also reveals that he’s modified the bath tub Dahlia bought for the Nimbus… he found that it got cold too easily, so he connected it to the heating system that powers the Nimbus… accidentally inventing a hot tub in the process. During the flight toward Xonthal’s Tower, Katniss gathers medicinal herbs that Antares had planted on the Nimbus, while Dahlia tries to read more of Hawe’s journal, but the sloppy hand-writing and clinical language are difficult for her to decipher accurately.
Surprisingly, they see another vehicle flying during their travel… a large patchwork balloon carrying a small shed and led through the air by a griffin on a bridle. The large balloon is kept inflated by an enchanted glass jar releasing bursts of wind. Once flagged down they find the rider to be a Dwarven woman in a tall hat and extravagant jacket known as Janeth Steelbraid, and the structure is her traveling magic item shop, Steelbraid’s Shop of Mystical Wonder. Her prices are a bit high, but she’s willing to give a discount for purchases made with precious stones instead of gold. Unfortunately, Loki, who normally collects gems, recently exchanged her collection for coin, and most items are out of the Chainbreakers’ budget. Dhalia, however, manages to Persuade Steelbraid to give her a slight discount on a Ring of Evasion, after explaining what the party is doing and imploring her aid in resisting the Cult of Tiamat. Pleased with the sale, Steelbraid has to leave as she’s traveling a different direction in her travels although her Griffin, Mcelroy (or as she calls him, just Mac), seemed to enjoy the opportunity to rest.
Before continuing their journey, Dhalia takes some time to cast Message to contact Rath Modar. She doesn’t have much to say to him, but instead prioritizes asking his permission to contact him using the Dream spell later that night. Modar consents, telling her that he’ll be asleep at night fall and won’t resist her attempts to contact him.
Continuing their journey, the Chainbreakers arrive outside of Xonthal’s Tower in the mid-afternoon. The village surrounds what appears to be a 3 story tower, which has a large hedge maze surrounding it in a circle, with the town itself seeming to radiate outward in a large circle from the tower in the center, lights glowing in the tower windows. To avoid potentially being seen, the Nimbus touches down several miles away from the small village, with Katniss leading the way safely through heavy marshes to approach the village, which is also called Xonthal’s Tower. Near the outskirts of town the Chainbreakers notice that most of the buildings in the remote village seem to be empty, many of them showing decades of neglect. Harle notices a message carved into a tree directing Zhentarim agents to a safe house… the letters “S + H” Carved into a tree with a heart around them, the point of the heart pointing down toward a small stone that has the number 11 written on its underside in blue paint. Although the stone itself means nothing in Thieve’s Cant, Harle reasons that “Blue 11” is meant to be a hint.
Once in the village, the Chainbreakers stealthily seek out a tavern. They find a location directly south from the tower known as “The Six”… a large tavern and inn that looks as though only a small portion of it has been properly maintained for decades. Inside they get some simple food and cheap beer from the bartender, Eleanor Cornwallis, who is happy to chat with travelers. She explains that, 100 years ago, the Wizard Xonthal suddenly banished all of his students from his tower and shortly after went missing himself. However, the lights in Xonthal’s Tower suddenly lit up again about a year ago… however, no one has been seen leaving the tower. She believes that Xonthal himself must have returned, and is hopeful that the town will recover, since it had mostly fallen to ruin since his disappearance. When the Chainbreakers ask for more information about the hedge maze, she warns them very explicitly to not even attempt to enter, but if they still have more questions she directs them toward a half-elf farmer visiting the bar.
Dhalia buys a beer to give as a gift to open up conversation with the half-elf farmer, a seemingly young woman named Elizabeth Wheatflow, although she’s actually 70 years old. She’s hesitant to talk about the tower or especially the hedge maze, but with some persuading Dhalia is able to convince her to open up… Elizabeth’s Elven father was a student of Xonthal’s, who remained in the village after being banished from his tower where he met and fell in love with a human woman. However, her father could never quite give up on the tower… every few years he would brave the Maze in an attempt to reach the tower, but always returned empty handed… until, of course, he pushed himself too far and never returned. Dhalia instantly sympathizes, as her father’s own death still weighs so heavily upon her, and she hopes that the light in Xonthal’s Tower might be proof that Elizabeth’s father is still alive, Elizabeth herself is convinced that it’s likely just some adventurer who managed to figure out the maze, although she assumes whoever it was is now trapped in the tower. She also has seen a few more passing adventurers attempt to reach the tower ever since it lit up, assuming they all died in the process… she actually has seen a group with a hobgoblin sneak into the maze, but it was several months ago.
With night fast approaching, the Chainbreakers decide to rent rooms to pass the time and have somewhere to return to, just in case their first exploration of the maze goes poorly. Katniss and Loki decide to take advantage of the brief break for a romantic tryst in private, while Harle and Dhalia share a room, if only to help keep an eye on one another. Preparing for bed, Dhalia takes some time to cast Dream to speak with Rath Modar. For their meeting she conjures a large open field under bright star light, hoping to create a comforting environment for her meeting. Modar himself manifests in his full ceremonial red robes, stoic and cold, as usual. Dhalia wants to know why Modar still allies with the Cult of Tiamat, and reiterates the promise she made to help him and Azbara Jos to take down the lich Szass Tam in Thay. Modar explains why he’s still assisting the Cult of Tiamat despite seeming to agree with Dhalia in the past… he intends to test Dhalia and the Chainbreakers’ resolve. If they cannot stop the Cult of Tiamat at its strongest, then they’ll stand no chance against Tam, who has an entire country of enslaved people and the Undead protecting him. He promises he’ll give no quarter, and asks none in return. Seeing the intense resolve in Modar’s eyes, Dhalia reluctantly agrees to his terms, promising she won’t hesitate in battle against him, and to prove that her friends will have the strength to one day take on Tam. Modar then simply waits for her to dispel the Dream spell, but she has one last thing to do… ask him how he feels about Azbara Jos. Modar had raised Jos since he was a child… but only did so after killing Jos’s actual parents on Tam’s orders. Despite their complicated history, Jos himself has acknowledged that he sees Modar as a father… despite being the one who took Jos into the Red Wizards, he’s also the one who organized their escape from Thay… he is as much responsible for Jos’s life of slavery as he is for his current freedom. Modar visibly hesitates for the first time in this discussion, but states bluntly that Jos is a fool and an idealist… but admitting that he feels some relief that Jos is not directly involved in this conflict. Dhalia sees that, in his own way, Modar seems to care for Jos at least as much as Jos cares for Modar, and with Modar declaring that he will not accept further communication Dhalia agrees, ending the spell and preparing to continue their journey into Xonthal’s Tower, where the blue Dragon Mask awaits them.
Because some players have gotten new work schedules on top of some bad weather, we were forced to cancel our usual Friday session of Rise of Tiamat. Thankfully, we'll be able to stream tonight instead! Come join me as I DM my friends as they explore the deadly enchanted Hedgemaze surrounding Xonthal's tower, tonight at 6pm PST on Twitch or Youtube.
I also would normally share a summary of what happened last time, but I already did! So just scroll up a little and you can read the summary that was originally posted on Friday.
We couldn't stream Rise of Tiamat last week, so we'll be streaming tonight instead! You can find us on Twitch and Youtube tonight at 6pm PST. Going forward, we'll be streaming Rise of Tiamat on Mondays, since this works better for some of our players' work schedules. As always, however, read on in case you need a reminder of what happened last time
Dhalia awakes from her dream with tears in her eyes… shattered that Rath Modar has chosen to remain with the Cult of Tiamat… as much to use the power of Tiamat to free the people of Thay as he is using them to test the Chainbreakers… knowing if they have the power to stop Tiamat herself, then they may have the power necessary to kill Szass Tam and free the enslaved citizens of Thay. The group reconvenes and she informs them of what she had learned, and also explains that she intends to stay true to her promise to Rath Modar to show him no mercy in their upcoming battle to prove that they won’t hesitate against Tam. Harle understands Modar’s logic fully, Katniss begrudgingly admits his logic is sound, and Loki doesn’t even fully remember who Rath Modar is.
Wanting to take advantage of the dark of night to avoid being seen by any cultists in Xonthal’s Tower. Wanting to find out the meaning of the “Blue Eleven” hint they saw earlier, Katniss figures that, treating Xonthal’s tower as the center of a clock, They lead the Chainbreakers to vaguely where the 11 would be on a clock face, and They notice an isolated, abandoned building with a distinct blue door. Harle notices Thieves Cant markings carved onto a portion of the building denoting it as a safe house. Harle uses a signature knock to let the occupant know he’s a member of the Zhentarim, and the two share a coded conversation before the door is opened and they see the Hobgoblin spy they were told to meet… a middle aged Hobgoblin with red skin, black hair, and a distinct divot-like scar on his lower lip that he rests a pipe in who goes by the name Norbon. Dahlia, Katniss, and Harle all have such high passive perception that they notice he’s wearing bandages under his clothing, and Katniss is able to identify by smell that it isn’t tobacco in his pipe, and is instead a medicinal herb he’s most likely smoking to ease the pain.
Norbon lets them know about the state of Xonthal’s Tower… The tower is occupied by a sect of the Cult of Tiamat originally known as the “Cult of the Dragon”, and they’re largely unfaithful to Tiamat, instead they’re interested in researching the creation of Dragon Liches. There’s a key within the tower itself… while holding it anyone can pass safely through the hedge maze, but otherwise it subjects anyone who enters to a series of unpredictable challenges that the Cultists were only able to get through by sacrificing many of their own members. Norbon himself was escorted through with the key, so he doesn’t have first hand experience… instead he can only share what he’s heard from the other cultists… He believes that the maze itself is a living thing, and the only advice he can give is that the Sundial is the key to getting through the maze. He also warns that Xonthal had managed to enslave several genies and elementals that still guard the maze and tower. As he talks the Chainbreakes show concern for Norbon’s injuries… he seems mostly irritated at their desire to actually help him, explaining that he was seen delivering Iskander’s letter to a Zhentarim agent… although the cultists didn’t know the details of what he was doing, seeing him doing something so suspicious got him stabbed in the chest and unceremoniously tossed outside of the tower… he only barely managed to survive and could at least exit the maze without being subjected to its tortures. He explains that the cultists all know each other, and there is no code phrase or symbol that could be shown to fake authority to get access… if anyone shows up that they’re not expecting, they’ll be killed on sight. When asked about the cultists inside, he says that they’re mostly humans and although they’re likely to have someone on watch 24/7, they are likely to be asleep at night.
Dhalia shares some of her expensive bourbon with Norbon, which he takes without hesitation, chugging it with little appreciation for its quality, and he doesn’t give the bottle back. Seeing how injured he is, Dhalia decides to let him keep it. Loki attempts to cast Cure Wounds on Norbon, but it has little effect… his wounds are already treated, so while he does have a lingering injury, mechanically he is at full health. The Chainbreakers make the decision to brave the Maze in the dead of night, hoping to catch the cultists sleeping. Norbon lets them know he won’t be in the safe house when they return… he only stayed near Xonthal’s Tower to share this intel with whoever the Zhentarim send to recover Iskander. As he’s preparing to leave Harle stealthily casts Message, asking Norbon how many cultists are inside… Norbon explains it’s a bit over a dozen, and intuits that Harle must be planning to kill them all in order to claim the tower for the Zhentarim.
Because of Norbon’s blunt, straightforward attitude they are still within the hour duration of Katniss’s Pass Without Trace spell, using the stealth bonus to enter the maze, confident they cannot be seen by anyone inside the tower. As they pass under an archway into the maze, looking up they realize that the stars in the sky are different. It doesn’t even look as though it’s simply a different location on the same planet… they’re most likely in demiplane of some kind. Following a winding, but otherwise straightforward path, they eventually reach a large golden sundial in the center of 8 diverging pathways. They see that the sundial looks brand new, as if it hasn’t been sitting out in the open for over a century. The Sundial itself, despite the low light, casts a distinct shadow pointing to the North path, while the Chainbreakers’ own shadows are directly beneath themselves. There is debate on whether the shadow is indicating which direction to go, or if it’s a trap meant to ensnare anyone who proceeds too confidently. Katniss uses Their familiar, the Raven Onix, sending him flying into the air to see if he can find some hint of a correct path. Seeing through Onix’s eyes, Katniss sees that, as Onix’s perspective rises up, the tower seems to sink below the horizon, and looking around the land itself has completely become a single, massive maze that extends all the way to the horizon in all directions, with no sign of which path is the correct one.
Onix returns, and the Chainbreakers realize they are no closer to solving this riddle. Seeing as the maze is made by a massive hedge, Katniss decides to test further… casting Speak with Plants, They attempt to ask the maze itself for guidance. To Katniss’s shock, the Maze’s voice is overwhelming, like millions of voices shouting in unison. The maze speaks in short, commanding phrases. It proclaims that this is the test. When Katniss asks for guidance or a hint of some kind, They manage to be persuasive enough to convince the Maze to give some hint… telling Them that the Shadow will be their guide. Satisfied with the answer, Katniss dismisses the spell, as the sensation of communicating with the living maze was oppressive and distracting. Trusting the words of the maze, they march to the Northern path, following the shadow cast by the Sundial.
This leads them on another winding path with no forks or other paths until they seemingly find themselves back at the same Sundial they had just left. However, it is now casting two separate shadows… one pointing North, the other pointing East. They wonder if the Maze is keeping track of the paths they’ve followed, and since they’ve already traveled North, they decide to follow the path East. Following another winding path, it leads them to a large dark pool 50 feet across with a small Garnet floating about a foot above the very center of the pool. Looking closely, they can see that there are large figures moving below the waters surface, although they can’t be seen clearly enough to determine what they are. Moving stealthily, the Chainbreakers make their way slowly around the pool to another pathway on the other side… although Dhalia notices that the Garnet seems to gleam a little brighter the closer they get to the other side. Uncertain if they should continue further, Harle investigates the pool a bit more closely… he still can’t determine what the figures are in the dark, murky water, but he does notice the barely perceptible shine of something at the bottom of the pool.
When she hears there’s something shiny in the pool, Loki decides to test the water, poking it with her crescent moon staff… although nothing happens as a result and the dark figures within do not react. Wanting to investigate further, Dhalia decides to brave the water, dipping her head inside, trying to get just her face below the surface to hopefully get a better view. However, when she does so her enchanted earring gifted by Granny Greenskin touches the water, and instantly one of the figures rushes toward her. As she leaps out of the water she just barely avoids the snapping claw of a large, crustacean-like creature with segmented tendrils for a mouth. With Their research into the many dangerous creatures of the world, Katniss recognizes it as a Chuul… creatures created by Aboleths to guard their treasures. Chuul’s are naturally drawn to magic items and hoard them aggressively. These Chuuls, however, seem to only notice magic items that are in contact with the water of their pool. A long discussion begins, debating the best way to take advantage of this knowledge and hopefully gather whatever treasure is waiting at the bottom. Dhalia and Loki both take off any magic items they’re wearing, while Katniss aims their bow… because of the way Magic bows work, the arrows fired from them become magical, albeit only briefly. Katniss fires an arrow on the far side of the pool, drawing the Chuuls to that location, distracting them while Dhalia and Loki dive into the water. Below the surface they see several magic items the Chuuls collected at some point… a Wand, a few daggers, several potions (as well as the broken bottles of others) some kind of crystal ball and a lightly glowing sapphire. Dhalia grabs the wand and a dagger, while Loki grabs the crystal ball and sapphire. However, as soon as they grab the items it instantly draws the Chuul’s attention. Katniss tries to keep the creatures distracted, but they quickly close in on the two swimming adventurers. Thinking quickly, Loki casts Dimension Door, bringing both her and Dhalia safely out of the pool, and the Chuuls remain, still seeming unaware of anything happening outside of the pool itself. Still suspecting the Garnet is important, once Loki and Dhalia gather their magic items again everyone prepares to run as Harle casts Mage Hand, using it to grab the Garnet. Once grabbed, the Chuuls start to crawl out of the pool, but by the time they do the Chainbreakers have already dashed into the maze, and find themselves once again at the golden Sundial.
They see that there has been no change to the Sundial, as it still casts shadows to the North and East passages. Thinking they must have taken the wrong path, the Chainbreakers decide instead of following the shadow itself, to instead go where it doesn’t fall… the path to the Northeast. Continuing down this path, it returns them to the Sundial once again, although the cast shadow has changed… proof that they made the correct choice. Now the Sundial casts shadows to the North, the South East, and the South West. Despite the fact that following the shadows failed them last time, the party decides that it would make sense to go down a path they haven’t tried yet, following the shadow guiding them to the South East. Continuing through another winding path they find a surprisingly large field. Two Cyclopes are standing at the far end, seemingly in conversation, while a group of goats are penned nearby… however, they all seem to be frozen in place, as if caught in a moment of time. Dhalia is the first to approach, and as she enters the field time suddenly animates the figures. The Cyclopes notice the Chainbreakers enter and proceed to converse with one another in the Giant language… unfortunately, no one in the group speaks Giant and cannot understand their conversation as the two one-eyed creatures play rock scissors paper, the loser approaching the party to speak. The two of them are unarmed, and although they have large clubs they leave them behind. The Cyclops points to a pile of large, 100+ pound boulders. Hefting one up, he hurls it across the field, sending it soaring about 100 feet before hitting the ground. He then points at the pile, then points at the Chainbreakers, seeming to not indicate any specific one, then points across the field.
Dhalia uses a stick to draw in the ground a simple stick figure throwing a rock, with the Cyclopes smiling and giving a double thumbs up to confirm she understood the instructions. She points at a smaller stone, but this time the Cyclopes shake their heads and point at the pile of boulders, indicating that it is only those that can be used. Dhalia then casts Telekinesis, using it to lift one of the massive boulders. Again, she gets a thumbs up, indicating that use of magic is perfectly fine for this test. With the spells aid tossing the boulder further than the one thrown by the Cyclops is a simple task, and when the boulder lands it cracks open, and a small Topaz the same size and shape of the Garnet they recovered earlier begins floating above the split boulder while the Cyclopes clap in congratulation and gesture for the adventurers to proceed unimpeded. Grabbing the Topaz, they march back through the maze until they arrive once again at the Sundial, and find that it still has shadows cast to the North, South East, and South West.
Despite the fact that following the shadow to the South East failed, the Chainbreakers decide to follow the shadow to the South West. Eventually they find themselves in a long corridor with a fountain in the center, with large flowering plants growing along the thin patch. Every 10 feet there is a flower with a large pearl resting on it, the pearl the same size and shape as the Garnet and Topaz they already recovered. They also see that the fountain seems to be feeding water to the plants. Sensing a trap, they poke at one of the pearls cautiously, and find that it does seem to be secured to the plant and will require some effort to remove. Using Mage Hand, Harle makes sure that everyone is a good distance away from the specific flower he’s targeting before trying to yank out the pearl, with Dhalia going the extra step to fly above them using her Broom of Flying. Unfortunately, it seems to be secured quite well… even worse, interacting with that single flower causes all the flowers to animate and attack the party. They’re surrounded as the flowers reveal large, flytrap-like mouths and whip their vines to grapple the Chainbreakers. They attempt to attack the flower that Harle has already started to pull the pearl from, and they realize that all of the flowers seem to react, as if they are all connected. Because they’re surrounded by so many of them, the Chainbreakers can’t get to a safe location. Suffering painful whippings from the vines and Harle becomes poisoned by one of their bites. Finally, Loki grabs the pearl of a Flower grappling her while she casts Inflict Wounds, the burst of necrotic damage withering the plants… all the other pearls dissolve in a puff of dust, but the one Loki is clutching remains in her hand, and they confidently March onward to continue their journey.
Arriving back at the Sundial, the shadows are still cast to the North, South East, and South West. They determine that they should try going South, but opt to take a short rest before they do to tend to their wounds. Dhalia spends her time trying to study the journal of Griffin Hawe, hoping that it will hold some hint about Granny Greenskin’s true nature. Harle asks her about the book, and she explains that Granny Greenskin is her Fairy Godmother… a powerful hag who lives in the feywilds and who helped unlock Dhalia’s fey-based magical powers. She knows that Greenskin aids her because her father, many years ago, gifted Greenskin a song, and Dhalia is hoping to give her another song, but she needs to know more about her before she can. A kind Hag is an unusual concept, but Harle has heard stories of hags sharing wisdom and guidance… there are as many stories of the great hag Baba Yaga imparting lessons and guarding the forest as there are of her deceiving others and devouring children. With their rest completed, the Chainbreakers venture South.
The Southern path leads them once again to the Sundial, proof that they made the right choice this time. However, when they arrive they see that, the Sundial is casting four shadows forming a large X… and X that slowly begins to rotate in a clockwise direction. Spinning gradually faster and fast while also shrinking in size, until it’s a blur of shadow that vanishes as if sinking into the Sundial itself. There’s a long discussion on where to go next, some debate on whether the clockwise rotation had any significance, until Finally Dahlia decides to investigate the sundial itself… finding that her hand passes right through the Golden Sundial as though it is merely an illusion. Without hesitation she cannonballs into the Sundial itself, and the rest of the party scrambles to catch up with her, not wanting to get separated. She’s proven correct when they all fall down once again by the Golden Sundial, this time, though, it is casting a shadow towards every single pathway.
Unsure of what this means, they decide they should at least try going down a path they haven’t tried yet, taking the Western path. This proves to be the wrong direction, as it leads them to another test… an open area with a small pool inside. Resting in the pool is a large boulder, with a pagoda built on top of it. Standing in the Pagoda is a smiling human man in yellow robes, who silently gestures for the party to join him, gesturing to a short bridge connecting the Pagoda to land. The party is hesitant, Dhalia investigating the man closely and determining that his appearance is an illusion of some kind. She asks him to show his true form, but he silently ignores her and gestures for everyone to join him in the Pagoda. Hesitantly, they step inside, finding that the interior is an elegant sand garden with a small charcoal pit in the center. The smiling man produces silk cushions for everyone to sit on, and he pointedly ignores any questions or requests made to him. Holding his hand over the charcoal pit, a steel tea kettle rises out of the ground. It has a distinct, angular face as part of its design that Katniss recognizes as the face of a Dao, a type of genie. Dhalia then realizes this is likely one of the enslaved genies she was warned about, and again pleads with him to show his true self and converse with them, as she feels sorry for the enslaved elemental. However, the smiling man continues to ignore her, producing from within his large sleeves some leaves, crumbling them in his fingers and dropping them into the tea kettle. As the teakettle starts to steam the Chainbreakers have just long enough to notice it has an acrid, unpleasant spell before suddenly stone walls erupt upward from the boulder, trapping them in the Pagoda as the smiling man sinks into the ground below.
As the Pagoda fills with steam they realize it’s burning their lungs, and must be some kind of poison. Harle uses his mage hand to plug the tea kettle, reducing the amount of poison they’re trapped with while everyone focuses on hammering on the stone walls, hoping to escape before they choke on the poison. As they’re smashing the stone wall Harle notices that the face on the tea kettle seems to be reacting to their actions, looking annoyed that they’re making their escape already. When he mentions this to the others, Dhalia remembers stories of genies from her homeland… in particular, she knows that they have bottles that they can hide in. As Katniss is finally breaking through the stone wall Dhalia realizes that she knows exactly where the Dao is hiding, and is already making plans to punish him for his deception.
The Chainbreakers are back, continuing their journey into Xonthal's Tower! Come join us on Twitch and Youtube tonight at 6pm PST, but in case you need a refresher, here's what happened in last week's session:
As the Chainbreakers seemingly have the Dao genie trapped in a teapot, the stone-faced elemental suddenly bursts out. Summoning an Earth Elemental to fight in his stead before using his earth glide feature to vanish below the ground. The Earth Elemental is massive and powerful, but not too smart. Katniss manages to keep its attention on Themself, and Loki discovers its weakness by casting Shatter, the Thunderous burst of sound rattling the creature to the core. Once it’s destroyed, the Dao returns, now flying in the air, hoping to stay out of range of his opponents.
Not wanting the Dao to be able to move freely, Dhalia mounts her Broom of Flying, casting Spirit Guardians and using them to slow down the Dao. To keep Dahlia protected, Cole casts Tasha’s Mind Whip, taking advantage of his Magical Ambush to damage the Dao and prevent it from being able to attack Dahlia for one round. This protects her for a key moment, forcing the Dao to remain above ground, but despite the other Chainbreakers blasting the Dao with their full strength, when the Dao finally gets a chance to attack again he slams Dahlia with his massive stone hammer, knocking her out of the sky before slamming a fist into her prone form, knocking the blue tiefling unconscious. Still, despite losing consciousness, Dhalia’s spirit guardians still manage to slow the Dao enough that he’s unable to slide into the earth, leaving him exposed for Katniss to finish off with Their potent sharpshooter skills. After dying, the Dao’s teapot shatters, revealing a glowing jade gemstone that will allow them to continue their journey through the deadly hedge maze.
Dhalia is revived using one of the potions made by Antares and infused with his chaotic wild magic. This allows her to float temporarily, which she takes advantage of to rest and relax as the others carry her back toward the sundial to decide what to do next. During their short rest, Katniss investigates the sundial, which is casting a shadow down every single path surrounding the sundial when They have a revelation… only once did actually following the cast shadow lead to the correct answer… instead, the correct way to go was where the shadows weren’t. With that in mind, Katniss investigates the walls of the hedge maze… finding that they part, allowing the Chainbreakers to pass through safely.
Stepping through the hedge, they find themselves once again back at the sundial, but this time the night sky above them has the familiar stars, and directly to the south of the sundial is the entrance to the hedge maze itself, and directly to the North is Xonthal’s Tower… making it even more clear that they’re out of the hedge maze’s demiplane, the sundial itself is no longer the pristine, gold-plated structure they had seen so many times already… instead, although it’s clearly the same sundial, it is weather worn, the gold peeling off, grass overgrowing as the sundial has been left unattended for a century. Acting quickly, the Chainbreakers see that a magic circle is at the base of the tower… stepping on it, they find themselves teleported into the interior.
Arriving in what appears to be a dining hall, they find two cultists in deep conversation. In a moment, they recognize one of them as Iskander, the man they were sent to rescue in exchange for the Blue Dragon Mask. He asks if they’re with the Zhentarim, and when they confirm that they are, Iskander immediately turns on the cultist he was speaking to, helping the Chainbreakers to kill him. Once the other cultist is killed, Iskander explains that the mask is hidden in the tower’s dungeon, but to access the Dungeon they’ll need the key to the tower… he knows that a high ranking cultist, Jorgen Pawl, currently has the key in his possession, but he does not know Pawl’s current location. He also explains how to operate the teleporter the party used to arrive within the tower itself… there are no stairs in Xonthal’s Tower, and instead each floor is accessed by touching runes carved into the wall above the miniature teleportation circle.
The Chainbreakers had gone out of their way to arrive at night for the express purpose of ambushing the cultists in their sleep. Iskander shows no hesitation guiding the party to the sleeping chambers used by the cultists, where several of them are still asleep. Some of the Chainbreakers grow a bit suspicious of Iskander, as he has a sinister air about him… examining his clothing they notice that, while he does wear dragon-themed robes, he seems to avoid overt Tiamat imagery. His attitude gives them the impression of a man with little regard for the lives of others, but who doesn’t seem to take any particular glee in harming those around him… instead he seems to approach the grim work ahead as a necessity. Confident they can at least trust him enough to not turn on them any time soon, they continue into the bedchambers where Harle (himself a trained killer for whom murder is a simple necessity of his work from time to time) slits the throats of the sleeping cultists.
Iskander explains that the next floor up is a research laboratory… there are usually cultists there doing research into creating Dracoliches regardless of the time of day. He warns the Chainbreakers to be careful of the skeletal arm of a black dragon that’s in the room. The Chainbreakers know that the cultists will attack anyone they don’t recognize on sight, even if they are wearing Cult of Tiamat robes… fortunately, however, they’re traveling with Iskander, a Changeling, and a Tiefling who owns a Hat of Disguise. There are enough robes in the room as well for Katniss and Harle to wear, and although the two of them know they’ll be discovered quickly, they’re both skilled in Stealth enough to maintain a low profile at least long enough to catch their opponents by surprise.
With their deception ready, they travel to the research laboratory which, as Iskander had warned, is filled with spellcasters performing research. Their ruse proves a success, and they catch them by surprise, unleashing attacks and quickly eliminating most of the cultists before they can even get a chance to react. The black dragon arm in the center room begins to animate, and rather than risk dealing with the undead threat, Loki taps into her divine power to Destroy Undead, reducing the draconic arm to ash… much to Iskander’s dismay. Despite getting the drop on them, there are simply too many researchers awake at this time of night to defeat them all in a single round, and the spellcasters begin to fight back. Dahlia conjures a pack of Blink Dogs to surround and assault the panicked cultists, and Loki reaches into her Bag of Tricks to summon a creature… throwing a small furry ball that suddenly grows into a Giant Boar that nearly gores one of the researchers.
In a last desperate move, the last remaining well-trained spellcaster releases a cone of cold, willingly killing some of his own allies in an attempt to kill as many of his opponents as possible. Unfortunately for him, the mostly un-injured Chainbreakers all manage to survive… even the comparatively weaker Blink Dogs avoid fatal damage. However, during the skirmish one cultist was able to make his way to the teleporter and attempts to reach a higher floor… before the teleporter activates Katniss manages to kill him, but instead the teleporter activates, sending both the dead body and two of Dhalia’s Blink Dogs to another floor of the tower, and the Chainbreakers will need to act quickly before the alarm is raised, alerting everyone and everything in the tower to their presence.
Announcing this a bit late, because it seems like whenever I post early we have to reschedule our game. Luckily everything should be good, so come join us at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty for our homebrew campaign of Sacrament as we're about to go live right now
Ash is confronting her former fiancee, Cornelius, in the Reaver Military Ball. She demands that Cornelius needs to make up for what his wife’s father did, as he’s the man who killed Ash and her parents. She also reveals that she’s married to Fidget, much to Cornelius’s shock and dismay. Ricky notices that his cousin, Misty, and Uncle Henri are in the crowd watching… even his mother, Elizabeth, enters… and while normally her entrance is the center of attention, all eyes are still on Ash and Cornelius. He refers to her as Promethea, but she makes it clear that she goes by Ash now.
The Warlord, after the drama slows, stands up to address the crowd. He makes clear that he doesn’t condone the actions seen before him. This ball is meant not only as a gathering for active military, but as a memorial for those lost in combat. Just as he’s beginning to give a speech, the Ziggurat is suddenly rocked by explosions. Looking out of a window, Crush sees that his vision is coming true… the Eye of Chao has taken over the moon once again, the stars beginning to dim as a literal wave of undead is flowing over the walls of the city. As Crush shouts that they’re under attack, several of the party goers stand up, illusions disappearing as they reveal their true forms… a mixture of Depraved Gloom assassins, Larlock’s necromancer, the mutated Brutes, fire elementals and even flaming skeletons. Ricky hesitates, but realizes this is the best chance he’ll get to reach the temple… especially since the Ziggurat itself is being attacked, and the temple risks being lost forever. He runs out, trusting his allies and the military members to remain safe as he makes his way to the temple.
Crush, who was watching Baby Kane, gives Kane to Professor Fletcher before rushing forward to Kill a mummy and throw a chair at a necromancer. Azure summons her full astral self, using it to inflict Necrotic damage against a brute while Ash casts Blight to destroy it. Elizabeth sees that Ricky has run off, and uses her own bardic skills to allow the Grimveils to hurry into the hallway and help Ricky in his mission. However, they’re slowed down when they see that a group of Reavers have set up a barricade in the hallway, with strict orders not to let any Non-Reavers past… while Ricky attempts to remain hidden, Crush willingly runs staight toward the Reaver guards, intent on becoming a distraction to let his allies continue toward the Lost Temple.
With Crush providing a distraction, Ash looks for an alternate path forward… hearing sounds coming from a nearby door. She uses message to inform Ricky about the alternate paths, although Ricky replies that he’s considering just talking to the Reavers instead. Azure notices that there’s a faintly glowing glyph on the floor, which Kanick recognizes as an anti-magic barrier… anyone who steps on it won’t be able to cast magic for a brief period. Ricky realizes their best bet is just to talk to them… holding up his Grimveil amulet, using it to appear as though he’s an authority figure, commanding the Reavers to let them through. He manages to convince them, and they’re allowed further in, and told to take shelter in the barracks… but the path they need to go is guarded and they’re not allowed past.
Once in the barracks, Crush sees that there’s no other way out through the barracks… so to keep suspicion off of them, he immediately starts barking orders at the Reaver soldiers, his intimidation skills convincing them that he has more authority than he actually does. Using the exiting soldiers as cover, they speak again to the guard who was blocking their way… Ricky again relies on his Grimveil pendant as a sign of authority, and convinces the guard to let them pass. He’s uncertain, but he’s convinced to let them through. As they’re jogging forward, they can hear a voice shouting in draconic, looking for Ash. As they pass a window they see a Dracolich ridden by Larlock battling Facein, the Tiavet Black Dragon allied to Elizabeth. Another massive stone rocks the Ziggurat… collapsing the stairs they’re about to climb. Frustrated, the nearest door is a large, very secure door… Ricky knows from his visions from the Nightmother that it’s a viable alternate path, but he doesn’t know exactly where it leads.
Ricky is unable to pick the lock, but fortunately Fidget catches up with them and is able to pick it instead. Heading inside, they realize this is the treasury of the Ziggurat. The room is heavily trapped… including flame traps and also more anti-magic traps. They proceed forward carefully, until Ash mentions that some members of the party are wearing formal clothing with no proper armor… the focus shifts to finding armor within the treasury… finding armor for Kanick is fairly easy, as the armor present is clearly made for Reavers. However, they notice that a statue of Sovereign seems to be watching them as they approach some locked doors… realizing it’s watching anyone who comes too close to any treasures, Ricky steps close to it, hover-handing over some gold to keep the Statue paying attention to him as Fidget picks the lock. Inside, they spot some armor that’s too heavy for Ash or Fidget, but what really draws their attention is a pair of golden gauntlets.
Approaching them, they hear a voice coming out from them… and they realize this is the Female Warlord that was murdered by Azmira. She introduces herself as Dia, explaining that she willingly allowed her soul to be trapped in armor just like Azmira, rather than proceed to the afterlife. When she learns that her sister is being worn by the Ancient Reaver, who she knows as K’saathra, she says it’s her duty to stop her sister, agreeing to travel with the party (and help stabilize Fidget), although she warns she can’t be removed without triggering a trap. The party prepares… Fidget snatching up Dia and hurrying out, only to find that sand is beginning to fill the entire treasury. They rush out, stumbling through another anti-magic trap, but soon they get free and proceed up the Ziggurat, only to find that Neo has been climbing up the Ziggurat from the exterior, along with Kalea, battling undead on their way up the tower.
They reach a temple at the top of the Ziggurat, where a large statue of Sovereign is waiting. They begin looking for hidden doorways, hoping to find the Lost Temple of the Nightmother. However, this draws Dia’s attention, the former Warlord wanting to know why they’re potentially desecrating this sacred place. Ricky briefly attempts to deceive her, but soon sees that’s not the right direction… with Crush’s help, he explains his true goal… to find the tears of the Nightmother in the Temple that Sovereign still keeps in the Ziggurat. They make clear that their goal isn’t to harm Sovereign, but rather, to learn what happened and help heal the rift between Sovereign and the Nightmother. Hesitantly, Dia agrees to this and offers advice… there is a puzzle in this room to open the way forward, and it has something to do with symbols on Sovereign’s statue and the murals that surround it.
The murals depict points in Sovereign’s life, correlating to symbols on the statue. His early life as the son of a Siren, represented by a fish… his youth trained by his father, which is shown by a Sword… his Manhood as a leader, his extended hand matching the symbol of a hand in the same position… then his death at the hands of the Nightmother, his heart ripped out and accompanying a symbol of a bleeding heart. And finally his ascension to Godhood, shown by the image of a glowing human figure. Setting the symbols to match the story, which causes a doorway to open up behind the statue.
Just as it opens, however, they hear a fist slamming on the door leading into the temple of Sovereign. Crush hurries to barricade the door as Ricky, Neo, and Kalea hurry to get the tears of the Nightmother, as the door bursts open and they see K’Saathra, the Ancient Reaver, wearing the armor of Azmira… it’s not clear how he got here at this time, but he recognizes the party and immediately attacks them. While they struggle against this empowered foe, the other three continue further into the temple, hoping to unlock the secrets of what really happened on that fateful day when the Nightmother betrayed Sovereign...
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Something kind of weird happened last week... DND Beyond was glitching for me, and I couldn't post anywhere on the forums, let alone on this page. So, as a result, I couldn't post the usual summary for Rise of Tiamat. However, this week we won't be playing RoT, but at the very least I thought I should post the summary that I couldn't post last week:
Making their way to the Council of Waterdeep, the Chainbreakers finally meet Lady Laeral Silverhand, the elderly human magic user who has recently been given the title of Open Lord of Waterdeep. She quickly asserts herself in her new leadership position, asking for a summary of the Chainbreakers’ quest to capture Varram the White. His live capture is seen as a major success, although Delaan Winterfloe, the Tortle representative for the Emerald Enclave, wonders aloud if keeping Varram alive is more of a liability than an asset.
One note of particular interest is the vision Dahlia briefly glimpsed in Diderius’s pool of Seeing… when questioned about it, Dahlia stepped forward to cast Major Image, showing everyone present exactly what she saw. The councilmembers recognize the man in the vision holding the White Dragon Mask as Severin, a man they know to be the leader of the Cult of Tiamat. He can also be heard speaking to Rath Modar, a voice that only a few members of the Lords’ Alliance recognize… There’s some confusion, as Modar had willingly helped the Chainbreakers after Dahlia’s impassioned plea on Skyreach Castle, which leads them to wonder why he’s still with the Cult of Tiamat, instead of abandoning them to assist the Council of Waterdeep like his student, Azbara Jos. Delaan, who was aware of the situation before seeing the vision, had talked to Jos about it, but the two have no solid answer… only theories that the cult has some leverage to maintain control over Modar.
Marshall Ravengard of the Lords’ Alliance implies that Modar is clearly a liability and needs to be eliminated, but Dahlia maintains that, although his methods are cruel, his motivation of freeing the people of Thay is still noble, and Modar should be approached as a potential ally. She proves persuasive, and Ravengard agrees to at least attempt to communicate with Modar if the opportunity arises, but makes no promises to hold back if it comes to blows. Less impressed is King Melandrach of the High Forest… he notes that the Chainbreakers have failed to stop the Red Wizard, despite their claims to the contrary in the past, and they have also failed to capture the White Dragon Mask, which was the primary purpose of their journey to capture Varram… the Wyrmspeaker himself was ultimately less important than his mask, which is a key component needed for the spell to summon Tiamat.
As the Chainbreakers try to explain themselves he changes the subject, introducing an Elven Woman who has seemed to join the Council… Dahlia realizes this must be the Dragon that Melandrach had mentioned during the last session, with Melandrach admitting being impressed at her ability to figure out who it is, introducing her as Otaaryliakaarnos, although the woman herself says it’s perfectly fine to just call her Elia, if it’s easier. Elia drops her disguises, shifting into her true form as an Ancient Silver Dragon. She explains that she’s been sent as a representative of the Council of Dragons… a group of Metallic Dragons alerted by the sound of the Draakhorn. When she mentions the Draakhorn, Thorn interjects to state that, with Elia’s help, the Zhentarim have translated the coded message being sent through the Draakhorn… “Worship the Queen of Dragons. Bow to her at the Well of Dragons or suffer her wrath”. Elia confirms that the Metallic Dragons are planning to assault the Chromatic Dragons and reclaim the Well of Dragons, and she was sent to invite representatives of the Humanoid races to their own council, and the Chainbreakers were chosen as the ideal representatives of the humanoids after they killed Glazhael the Cloudchaser.
The party is excited for the opportunity to visit the council of dragons… although there’s some concern about letting Loki near a dragon’s hoard. However, Delaan speaks up, asking instead for focus to be placed on the South Wood, where rumors of a potential Wyrmspeaker and a glut of green dragon attacks has ravished the Elven villages scattered throughout the woods. King Melandrach scoffs at this concept… he’s already sent his armies into the South Wood, and since their increased presence the dragon attacks have ceased. Suspecting he has something to hide, G’houl and Dahlia ask him for more details while paying close attention to everything they know about Melandrach… realizing through their combined insight that it’s primarily his Elven Pride leading to his objection… he doesn’t want non-elves entering Elven lands to solve Elven problems.
Delaan mentions that it was Prince Alagarthas, Melandrach’s own son, who sought the help of the Emerald Enclave in researching this issue. Antares also flexes the authority he carries as a stallion of the Silveroak Herd… as the son of the herd-leader, he is able to represent them, with the Silveroaks having ties to the South Wood, and Antares dead set on investigating this further. Melandrach is willing to recognize Antares’ position, but still feels that Elia and the Council of Dragons is much more important than a potential wild goose chase in the South Woods. Dahlia speaks up, begging Melandrach to think beyond just the Elves… to see the other societies not as opponents, but as true allies who would benefit from working together. Sildar Hallwinter, who rarely speaks at these meetings, speaks up as well… acknowledging that he’s not as high ranking as the others, and is there more as a representative for the enlisted soldiers, but he speaks on how, if he had listened to his own son more, perhaps he wouldn’t have the leg injury that prevents him from joining directly in combat. With his help, Melandrach acquiesces, agreeing to assist with the investigation into the Southwood, but still feels that the Council of Dragons is more important.
The Chainbreakers come to a decision… knowing that the Council of Dragons will be a (hopefully) peaceful negotiation, then Katniss, with Their great knowledge of draconic history, along with Dahlia, a skilled negotiator, and Loki… who mostly just wants the opportunity to gain access to a Dragon’s hoard, choose to separate and join Elia with the council of Dragons, with Elia helpfully volunteering to fly them to the council meeting on her back. Antares instead wants to travel to the Southwood personally and fight back against the cult directly while G’houl, who has never been particularly skilled with social encounters, feels more comfortable at using his Wizarding skills for the likely combat they’ll face if their suspicions prove true.
With the party splitting, Dahlia, Loki, and Katniss are approached by Thorn, who notices that they could use some help on their journey, and volunteers the services of Harle. Despite hesitating about Harle in the past, the group still, for the most part, trusts Thorn and accept Harle’s help on her recommendation. Katniss notices, however, that Thorn is being assisted by Noohan and Sevik… a pair of wood elf craftsmen, one of whom was born mute, but also with the inexplicable gift of True Sight. They had both been employed by the Zhentarim to provide security, especially after the assassination attempt against Thorn that relied on illusion magic… Sevik hired for his true sight, and Noohan as Sevik’s interpreter. Katniss can insight that the brothers don’t exactly look happy with the arrangement… speaking to them privately and learning from Noohan that, while they would both rather focus on their crafting, the Zhentarim simply offered them too much money and they felt compelled to work with them… although Katniss can also tell that, although he doesn’t say anything, both brothers are more scared of the Zhentarim than anything.
Katniss doesn’t know the situation as well as the others, so she slyly lets Dahlia know about the brothers’ situation and encourages her to talk to them while Katniss distracts Thorn. Using the Message Cantrip to speak entirely silently, Dahlia learns that the brothers aren’t happy working with the Zhentarim… the pay is good, but as skilled craftsmen who came to Waterdeep to seek careers this guard duty is completely out of their wheelhouse. They’re not even certain how the Zhentarim even know that Sevik has Truesight, triggering Dahlia to remember that she had mentioned Sevik’s unique powers to Jamna, the Gnomish spy and Zhentarim member she traveled with earlier. Feeling responsible for the brothers getting themselves caught up in this situation, Dahlia volunteers to help them escape. The brothers are happy for the help, but they do admit they’re willing to continue assisting at least until after this conflict with the Cult of Tiamat is resolved… although they’re still afraid that they’ll be forced to work for the Zhentarim for the rest of their lives. Dahlia promises she’ll talk to Thorn in the future and make sure they can pursue their dreams without fear of the criminal organization.
Dahlia also pressures Thorn to join them in visiting with her brother, Droop, who Thorn neglected to invite to Dahlia’s party the other day. Thorn has Droop assigned to watch the Mirror of Conversation used to communicate over long distances with the Nimbus. However, this leaves Droop with considerable freetime, and there’s evidence of Droop taking on a variety of hobbies, none of which he seems particularly skilled with. Droop is happy to meet with the Chainbreakers again, since they had always been kind to him, and had rescued him from bandits when they first met. The party also learns that he had been in regular communication with Armpit over the past few days, and the two seem to be on friendly terms. At Dahlia’s insistence, Thorn begrudgingly shows the bare minimum of affection for her brother, telling him hesitantly that she’s proud of him. While Thorn barely sounds sincere, this show of sisterly affection is enough to get Droop crying as Dahlia forces everyone into a group hug.
Satisfied with their meeting, the Chainbreakers (and Harle) meet with Elia in the Courtyard of Castle Waterdeep. A small crowd has gathered to witness their flight. Elia reverts to her true form, and offers the Chainbreakers the honor of riding on her back… leaving the Nimbus free to ferry Antares and G’houl for their own mission. The Chainbreakers aren’t fully comfortable riding bare-back on a Dragon miles above the ground, and they ask politely if they would be allowed to build some kind of rudimentary rope system to secure themselves to Elia… rather than be offended, Elia seems excited and curious to see what they craft, with Katniss taking the lead in tying to together the various ropes owned by party members to create harnesses to prevent anyone from falling off of Elia’s back. Once secured, Elia takes off to the sky, hurtling past Griffin-riders who had gathered to witness the event.
Elia is incredibly fast, traveling easily over vast distances that would take days on the Nimbus. Her flight takes her to the Star Mountains, where she knows a small cave is available to rest in for the night. Once arrived Dahlia chooses to take her broom of flying out to search the area, while Katniss plans on hunting for food, as Elia seems to have forgotten about any kind of creature comforts for her humanoid guests. As a silver dragon, she’s perfectly comfortable in the snowy peaks of the tall mountains, and didn’t think about whether or not the others would be uncomfortable. Still, she’s incredibly curious about humanoids, and she’s excited to follow Katniss and witness how Humanoids hunt. Despite her massive size, she’s surprisingly skilled at moving stealthily while Katniss finds a small pack of goats grazing in the mountains. Katniss easily bags an older goat, revealing a new spell They had discovered while adventuring away from the party that allows Them to quickly butcher the goat and prepare it to take back, while Elia simply snatches a few goats to eat raw.
Meanwhile, Loki is still having difficulty getting along with Harle… not because she distrusts him for being a Zhentarim member, but mostly because she feels competitive with his Disguise Self spell versus her natural shapeshifting. Harle tries to break the ice by offering to play a game of chance, the two of them betting some gold on a game of cards. Loki attempts to cheat, but Harle has incredibly keen perception and notices her slyly tossing a card up her sleeve. When he confronts her about it Loki gets frustrated, throws the cards all over the floor then quickly snatches the gold and hides in her tent. The others return to find Harle picking up cards before Katniss prepares dinner. They all speak more with Elia, who talks about her fascination with humanoids… she’s amazed at their skill at inventing and how they create so much while being so small and weak. She even admits that Dragons don’t create new songs… simply repeating the same music that was created centuries ago. This inspires Dahlia to play a song for Elia, much to her delight. During this time, Katniss treats the goat hide to create a waterskin, giving it to Harle as a sign of acceptance, in spite of Loki’s tantrum.
With Elia watching over them, the Chainbreakers get some rest and prepare for their meeting with the Council of Metallic Dragons.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
It's been a few weeks since our last stream! Between technical issues where one player had to completely replace her PC and another player needing to be out of town for a weekend, we've had to delay our games. But we're back tonight with our Homebrew Campaign of Sacrament, and we'll be streaming at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty tonight at 6pm PST. Even if you did catch our last stream, it could be worth it for you to read the summary as a reminder for where everyone is at the end of the last session and the start of today's:
The Grimveils are in the temple of Sovereign, battling K’saathra the Ancient Reaver, wearing the armor of Azmira, trying to defeat him while Ricky searches for the lost Temple of the Nightmother. Kanick lays into K’saathra, landing a critical hit on his opponent, but K’saathra, especially with Azmira’s help, is a devastating opponent. He has a killer aura power that unleashes unblockable psychic and necrotic damage, and is able to knock his enemies prone, taking advantage to evade Crush’s Sentinel feat and rush Ash, nearly knocking her unconscious. Fidget steps out, revealing that he’s allowed Dia, the spirit of the armor he’s wearing, to possess his body so that she can unleash her full strength against Azmira. This allows Fidget to make multiple attacks, and his attacks knock K’saathra prone. Crush calls for help, since Ash is nearly knocked out. Kalea and Neo both hurry back to help, leaving Ricky alone to face what appears to be a path of pure, overwhelming darkness. Azure baits K’saathra to take an opportunity attack against her, which he thankfully misses, thanks to still suffering from Ricky’s Synaptic Static spell, as well as being knocked prone by Fidget. With Ash’s escape, she traps him with a Black Tentacle attack.
Ricky is still polymorphed into an owl as he flies into the darkness… there he sees a wolf made of starlight… Bo, the stalwart ally of the Nightmother. He invites Ricky to continue, allowing him to enter the Lost Temple. Inside he finds a truly magnificent statue of the Nightmother… pristine and leaking tears… Ricky takes out one of the heart-shaped bottles he had purchased on the Day of Love. During the chaos, Aylis and Alex arrive, having followed Ash… only to find themselves caught up in the battle. Meanwhile, Azmira, trapped in the Black Tentacles with K’saathra, throws his blood at the statue of Sovereign in the room… chanting in Tiavet and beseeching Sovereign, invoking him to appear… he possesses the statue, appearing as an avatar and proclaiming his intent to kill the Night Children in his temple. Even with a literal God appearing before them, Crush focuses on killing K’saathra, slicing off the Ancient Reaver’s head. He holds up K’saathra’s head, looking into Sovereign’s eyes and saying, “Hail to the Nightmother”, hoping to keep Sovereign’s attention on himself and away from his allies.
The party is hesitant to fight a literal God… Ash attempts to speak to Sovereign, hoping to Persuade Sovereign to instead prioritize protecting the city from the Undead… but despite her desperate plea, Sovereign ignores her. Neo reveals he’s been a werewolf this entire time, transforming and attacking Sovereign, telling everyone to run while he distracts him. Sovereign is implacable… easily throwing Neo across the room, smashing pillars as he does so. He casually slaps aside Ash and Fidget, knocking them both unconscious… this triggers Ash’s Phoenix Spark, which keeps her conscious… but also damages Fidget in the process, nearly killing him. Ricky asks Bo for help, and the spiritual wolf tells him that there’s an escape in the temple itself… Ricky uses Sending to contact Crush and telling him to bring everyone to the temple… Crush shouts to everyone to follow Ricky to escape before hurrying, scooping up Fidget’s unconscious body to help him escape and get him closer to the healers. However, Azure does the most to get others to safety… tapping into her Step of the Wind combined with her Feline Agility to move at insane speeds, combining it with her astral arms to carry allies to safety.
However, during this, Alex sees the way Sovereign has assaulted those already injured, ignored reasonable pleas for help… acting more like a brute than the noble warrior she was raised to revere. In a rage, she attacks him, as she experiences her first blood rage in battle against her own God. Reavers are their most dangerous during their first Blood Rage, making them nearly unstoppable as their cursed blood drastically transforms their bodies… it’s common for Reavers to destroy entire villages during their First Bloodrage, but for female Reavers it’s even more intense, their power nearly unparalleled. Everyone else has ran through the halls, making their way to the Lost Temple, but they have no way to rescue Alex… with her Blood Rage taking her over, she can’t be stopped. Aylis doesn’t want to leave her behind, but Neo scoops him up in his arms… using his increased strength as a Werewolf to carry the young Elf further toward the temple, and away from Alex. The Grimveils are hesitant to leave… although they know there’s no way to stop Alex… even if they had attempted to pull her way, her Blood Rage would make her just as deadly against them.
As everyone is trying to escape, they need to wrestle with Aylis to keep him from running back into the fray. In the end, Azure is carrying him with her astral arms as suddenly Alex manages to catch up with them… attacking Azure to try and get to Aylis. However, in her rage she focuses on shoving Aylis through the portal before she changes her focus to demolishing the pillars supporting the roof… as the walls are collapsing she turns and quickly kisses Aylis before the temple comes crashing down… using the last of her sanity to rescue the young man she loves and destroy the portal so that Sovereign can’t follow them to wherever this portal leads.
Once through, they find themselves in a dark, and cold cave. Crush is able to tell this is more than just the coolness of a dark cave… wherever they are, it’s very cold. Aylis is inconsolable, and the others focus on dealing with the cold… they’re all wearing the formal-wear they had worn to the Military Ball, and nobody has their equipment with them. They don’t even have Kanick’s Genie Bag. Ricky casts Tiny Hut to provide some comfort, although Aylis needs to be convinced to enter. The Reavers in particular are struggling with the cold… their bodies reacting to it more intensely than the others, even more than the reptilian Tortles. Ricky summons his breakfast as everyone takes a short rest and discusses what happened, wondering if they should even attempt to contact their allies.
As they’re finishing their rest, the Grimveils hear the sound of a child giggling, and a glint of light deeper into the cave they find themselves in. Following it, they find it leads them outside, seeing that they’re in a mountainous region covered with snow. The Night sky is clear, and Ricky summons his Familiar Roads feature using the letters sent by their allies as a focus… the sense of direction it grants him causes him to realize exactly where they are… they’re as far North as the world allows, at a place sometimes called the Throat of the World, finding themselves in the Glacial Wastes. Looking out, they realize that the lights are Pyreflies… wondering how they got here since, as far as they know, they’re native to the deserts of Tiavet. Ricky realizes that the Pyreflies are leading them in the same direction that his Familiar Roads feature is guiding him. The Grimveils resolve to follow the path at least until it gets too cold to continue… traveling for a few hours in the punishing cold, they notice the stars begin to get covered by heavy clouds as the snow picks up… and as they search for a place to rest for the night Ash spots a nearby cave… just in time as there’s a loud cracking sound followed by an avalanche of snow. Everyone rushes inside, but Aylis is following behind… Crush needs to rush back and pick him up, while Azure struggles against the cold, but ultimately her monk training gets her into the cave safely just before the entrance is blocked by tons of snow.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
great content! followed on Twitch! cant wait to binge the hilarity!!
We're finally going to be able to play Rise of Tiamat again tonight! Come join us as some new faces join with the Chainbreakers as the venture into the woods in search of a dangerous draconic attack. We'll be going live soon at 6:30PM PST at our home of twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. In case you need a refresher, here's what happened in our last session:
The Chainbreakers continue their flight with Elia, making their way to the home of Protanther, the Ancient Gold Dragon who once held the title of King of Justice. Making their way toward his stronghold, they find a lush valley surrounded by a tall, snowy mountain range. They realize that Protanther’s home is built into a dormant volcano, the Gold Dragon’s innate magical presence giving him direct influence over the lands he claims as his home. In the center of his valley is a large shallow pond of pure shining blue water, surrounded by fields tended to by Kobolds in colorful clothing, with Giant Lizards kept as beasts of burden, and large burrows leading into below-ground structures serving as the homes for the Kobolds.
Elia leaves the party in the care of an older Kobold named Chirring, who serves as a host for Protanther’s guests. As he leads them to a massive cave entrance they see that the ground leading in is paved with partially melted shields of a wide variety of styles and sizes… a warning to would-be thieves of what Protanther has done to previous infiltrators. In that same vein, as they’re led further inside to a large dining room, the walls are decorated with weapons literally melted into the stone walls in mosaic, flowing patterns. However, the dining room has a massive feast prepared, with meals served on golden plates, fine wines poured by Kobold servants into large golden goblets. Loki is trembling and sweating as the fights the urge to swipe the gold items, but between the signs of what has happened to previous thieves and her allies literally restraining her, she manages to maintain her composure as the Chainbreakers approach the feast and find that the other Dragons of the council have brought along their own entourages who are free to enjoy the feast and mingle with one-another.
At first they greet a Bronze Dragonborn in priestly robes. He’s eager to meet other visitors, proselytizing on the Glory of Bahamut, eager to share his faith. They also meet a small group of female kobolds in elaborate dresses designed more like Humanoid servants who seem snarky and unimpressed with the new visitors, and finally meet a pair of Lizardfolk who are extremely relaxed and eager to speak about the mysteries of the universe… or just chill and eat the free food. They realize these are the servants and disciples of the ancient dragons they’ve come to treat with… Nymurrh, the Bronze Dragon who lives to spread the wisdom of Bahamut, Tazmikella, the Copper Dragon who particularly loves treasures and the lifestyle of humanoids, and Ileuthra, the Brass Dragon who is known to travel the planes. However, their mingling is cut short as Chirring approaches and tells them it’s time to meet with the Council of Dragons.
Led deeper into Protanther’s stronghold, they find that they’re led by a cadre of Kobolds disabling dozens of traps to make their passage safely… although a second cadre follows them closely behind, re-setting all the disabled traps. They are introduced as the Chainbreakers as they find themselves in Protanther’s hoard… a massive glowing orb of fire floats at the top of the high-ceilinged chamber. Piles of gold and riches surround them in the uncomfortably hot space deep below the dormant volcano Protanther calls home. Slowly they are introduced to the Draconic council… Nymurrh, Tazmikella, Ileuthra, Otaaryliakaarnos, and finally their host… the majestic Ancient Gold Dragon, Protanther.
The King of Gold Dragons is the first to speak, and isn’t shy about his claim that Humanoids are not to be trusted, citing the many atrocities committed by Humanity, not only against dragons, but even against their fellow people. Dahlia interjects, speaking on behalf of humanity, assuring that the threat they face is too great and that the good people outweigh the bad, and although she’s persuasive enough for Protanther to hold his tongue, for now, he instead invites his fellow dragons to voice their misgivings, with the Chainbreakers empowered to speak on behalf on the Kingdoms and organizations involved in the Council of Waterdeep.
Tazmikella is the first to speak, as she wishes to know if the Chainbreakers are, indeed, the ones who killed the young green dragon Chutha, or as he’s better known by humanoids… Venomfang. When they confirm that the they are, she explains that Chutha robbed one of her hoards, stealing a collection of coins and, most imporatntly… a rare and valuable Broom of Flying. Dahlia instantly realizes that her beloved Broom of Flying is the one Tazmikella speaks of… and although she’s had the broom modified enough that Tazmikella wouldn’t recognize it easily, she willingly relinquishes the broom back into Tazmikella’s hands. The Copper Dragon is shocked at how easily Dahlia returns it, and the earnestness for which she apologizes and speaks forlornly about how she’ll miss flying with it… recognizing the conviction of the Chainbreakers through Dahlia, Tazmikella admits that the best thing about owning great treasures is the opportunity to gift them to others, and officially gives the broom as a gift to Dahlia and seems swayed to side with humanity.
Next to speak is Nymurrh, who has no demands to make. Rather, he maintains that, as the Children of Bahamut, it is the duty of Metallic Dragons to guide and protect the weaker creatures. Rather than make demands of the Chainbreakers, he spends his time imploring his fellow dragons to appeal to their greater calling. Protanther seems used to his preaching and remains unimpressed, turning to Ileuthra, who he assumes will also blindly support the humanoids. However, Ileuthra has a demand… he knows that the dragon masks made from Tiamat’s scales are too dangerous to allow to exist in the material plane… to get his support, the Chainbreakers must agree to relinquish all the Dragon Masks to his care, so that he can hide them across the planes themselves and prevent them ever rejoining again. However, Katniss explains that the masks can be destroyed using the Forge of Spells, but Ileuthra remains adamant… he claims that Tiamat cannot create more masks when the originals still exist, and although he admits it may take many lifetimes, if destroyed she may find a way to recreate them. This is enough to convince the Chainbreakers, who then agree to his demands.
Annoyed, Protanther also assumes that Otaaryliakaarnos, who had brought the Chainbreakers in the first place, will similarly have no demands, but the Silver Dragon admits she does have a grievance. In years long past, her niece, who was named after Otaaryliakaarnos herself, was killed by Dwarves in a Dragon Moot. Katniss doesn’t know much about these events, other than it’s seen as a great honor among dwarves to participate. The Silver Dragon knows that her niece’s scales were turned into armor… she demands that the armor be returned to her, and that the Dwarves deliver a formal apology on behalf of all Dwarfkind for the cruelty of the Dragonmoots. The party is easily swayed on this issue, and promise on behalf of Ambassador Brawnanvil that the remains will be returned and the Dwarves will apologize.
Finally, Protanther himself is the last to speak. He still remains unswayed, emotionally, but on a purely practical level he is willing to work with the humanoids if they can promise something to him… in ages past, The Elves of the High Forest attempted to tame and enslave Dragons using Elven magic. However, the spell failed, and only served to drive the dragons subjected to it mad… this became known as the Dracorage Mythal, a time of untold destruction which permanently tarnished the reputation of dragons among the common folk, and which led to the deaths of hundreds of innocent dragons… and far more innocent humanoids. He demands a public apology for the Dracorage Mythal by the current King of the Elves… King Melandrach, a member of the Council of Waterdeep. Melandrach himself has been the most obstinate and unsupportive member of the council, and the Chainbreakers very quickly agree to promise a formal apology from the haughty King.
With their demands met the council doesn’t hesitate… each promising not only their service, but the service of their fellow Metallic Dragons. The pact is sealed with the dragons filling the air above them with elemental breath weapons before retreating out of the chambers. Chirring then guides the Chainbreakers outside, offering them chambers to sleep in within the Kobold Village before their return to Waterdeep. Dahlia in particular is interested in speaking to Chirring… compared to the chromatic dragons they had seen before, who treat their Kobold servants as slaves, Chirring and the other Kobolds living under Protanther’s care seem to live fruitful and happy lives, with Chirring speaking of Protanther more as a protector than as a ruler. In particular she asks about the gold rings he wears as piercings in his horns, which Chirring explains are given as gifts from Protanther in commemoration for a century of service… Chirring himself has 9 rings, as, when given the opportunity, the normally short-lived Kobolds can survive centuries thanks to their Draconic blood.
The Chainbreakers are led to a large underground chamber built to Medium-sized creature proportions. It’s well stocked with creature comforts. As they begin to settle down for the night, they’re visited by one of Tazmikella’s Kobold servants, who brings to them a gift… a small wooden case which holds 3 Arrows of Dragon Slaying. They’re a bit shocked, wondering why a dragon would own such a thing, with the Kobold explaining matter-of-factly that a dragon would keep such a thing quite obviously to avoid letting someone else have them. When they ask why the dragon wouldn’t destroy them instead, she states that it’s for moments exactly such as this. Thanking her for the gift, the Chainbreakers sit down to enjoy a few drinks and leftovers brought over from the feast and prepare to return to Waterdeep with news of their successful trial by the Council of Dragons… and to inform them of the promises they’ve given on behalf of the Council of Waterdeep.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
We're going live! Come join us at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty right now! We're playing our homebrew campaign of Sacrament! If you missed our last session, here's everything that happened:
The Grimveils find themselves stuck in a cave, the entrance sealed by an avalanche. In the snowy North, they have no supplies with them, relying on Ricky casting Tiny Hut to provide some degree of comfort, especially for the Tortles and Reavers, who are particularly sensitive to the cold. Everyone looks through their packs to figure out what supplies they have… they notice that their Grimveil Pendants are glowing oddly… the light flickering and spinning like a compass at the North Pole. They discuss who to contact first, determining they should try and use Ash’s construct, Hermes, to contact the other group of Grimveils and try to coordinate the two groups meeting in the middle, hopefully with supplies. They also discuss how to continue… they at first intend to dig their way out through the snow, but Kalea can sense that it wasn’t just snowfall… there’s a powerful storm raging that would freeze anyone trying to travel, especially this group. They determine their best bet is to get some rest, and prepare to travel deeper into the cave the next morning.
However, as they’re discussing this and examining their Pendants, Aylis asks for more information about the pendants… revealing that he had been in communication with Corrio, and he had constructed new Pendants along with Alex… although they customized them to have some of each others’ blood in their pendants… however, doing so allows him to see that Alex is still alive. This gives him some relief, as everyone else prepares for bed… including some fighting over the supplies Ricky is carrying, since he’s the only one who still has his complete inventory, since he carries a Bag of Holding. Still, the conflict is quickly resolved, and the comfort of the Tiny Hut protects the Grimveils through the night.
With morning, they shred the blanket Ricky pulled out of his Bag of Holding to quickly create makeshift clothing to protect the others from the cold. They travel deeper into the caves, following the cool breeze that indicates the direction of a potential exit. They encounter a few dark mantles, and they even find evidence of an ancient campground and a lost note detailing a group of lost adventurers who had come here in search of an artifact. They continue further and find a roper, with Ricky using Fairy Fire to turn it into a target to be attacked by nearby Black Mantles and Stirges. Taking advantage of the distraction, they hurry further inside, only to find a pile of skeletons deep in the cave.
Crush throws a rock, determining that the skeletons don’t animate when disturbed. However, continuing closer, they see a large underground structure. They see that it’s covered with carvings depicting ancient battles, with more recent words carved into empty spots in the stone, warning not to continue further or face “the beast”… claiming that the artifact led whoever wrote this final message to their death. Looking further, Azure investigates the pile of skeletons, seeing that some are dessicated, partially mummified corpses… most old, although some look as recent as 20 years ago. They see the bodies are sitting at the bottom of a tall staircase that leads somewhere further into the structure they had found.
Ash examines a particular body more intently, seeing that it seems to have been struck dead in the back by a large blade. However, most striking is the body’s sharp, shark-like teeth… the teeth of a Reaver. The body seems ancient, as much as 1000 years old. Seeing no other direction, they continue further, climbing the stairs. They proceed stealthily, hoping to take advantage of Ash’s Pass Without Trace, but unfortunately the stairs are so tall that it fades before they reach the top. Things take a turn, however, when they come across a collapsed section of the stairway… Crush attempts to climb over, but fails dramatically, tumbling down the hole… made even worse because Ricky is riding on his back. This proves helpful, however, as the fall is deep enough that it actually gives Ricky time to cast Polymorph, transforming Crush into a Giant Eagle, giving them the opportunity to continue further.
With their return, however, Kane gets confused… not understanding where Crush went. When Ricky finally drops the Polymorph on Crush, a delighted Kane shouts out “Oh Yeah!”, happy to see him again… although the sound seems to alert something further up the stairs. Abandoning stealth, the party proceeds forward cautiously, finding at the top of the stairs a high-ceilinged room, a hole in the roof letting in snow. However, more concerning are massive piles of skeletons, some taller than Crush, many of which are clearly Reavers. Small torches are lit around the room, and in the center of the room is a massive white haired, bearded figure sitting in a large throne. As they approach the figure seems to ignore them… until Kanick steps into view, and suddenly the massive figure stands at his full massive height and rushes forward, stabbing his massive blade into Kanick’s chest, using it like a spear to lift Kanick and slam him into the ground… Crush attempts to retaliate with a Sentinel swing, but even a powerful swing from Crush doesn’t break through this foe’s armor. He continues to stab into Kanick, who struggles to even remain conscious. Azure bursts forward, summoning her complete Astral Self, increasing her armor and unleashing even more attacks, summoning necrotic energy to harm their huge foe, who seems to have a particular hatred for Reavers. When he’s stabbed by Fidget, the giant figure speaks… revealing his own shark-like Reaver teeth, promising that the “child” will be spared… with Fidget hiding in the piles of bones to avoid further attacks.
Ricky conjures a Synaptic Static attack in the air, well above his friends’ height to keep them safe, the pyschic burst weakening their opponent. Crush takes advantage of the disorienting effects, grappling his foe and pulling him into difficult terrain created by Kalea, pulling his blade out of Kanick’s chest in the process. Slamming him with his Greataxe, using his Raging Storm to knock the larger foe prone, insulting him and getting this Ancient Reaver’s attention. Neo transforms into a werewolf, intent on ending this opponent as quickly as possible. Kanick seems to recognize the figure as Xander… an Ancient Reaver who betrayed Sovereign and refused to join him in his crusade against the Nightmother.
The party continues to battle Xander, who seems unfazed by the damage dealt to him by the Grimveils. However, as he’s swinging his blade, Ricky notices that Xander is wearing a variety of pendants… including a symbol of the Nightmother, and even more shockingly… a Grimveil pendant. Ricky suddenly jumps forward, showing off his own necklaces of both. This gets Xander to relent… the party sheathing their weapons as well. As Xander begins to speak more calmly, he explains he has sworn to protect this place from all Reavers. However, the more they speak to him, the more they realize he bears a striking resemblance to their deceased friend, Duncan. Ricky immediately calls him Uncle Duncan and tries to hug him, but he explains he’s not Duncan. Crush guesses that he might be Xander Grimveil, with Xander admitting he took on the name symbollically, which eventually became a family name. As one of the original Reavers, he had human children before converting into a Reaver, and he knows that Duncan was the last of his line, and the two even knew one another. It was the Grimveils who created the Eternal Storm that separated Tiavet from the rest of the world. He also explains he couldn’t join Sovereign’s genocide against the Night Children, and even though he was labeled a heretic, he still prays for Sovereign’s redemption… with the Grimveils now seeing their temporary opponent as a powerful ally… both realizing they have much to learn from one another.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Heads up, we won't be able to stream this weekend... please look forward to next week, especially for Sacrament, which is nearing its completion!
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
We've had an unplanned hiatus of about a month thanks to the host of our games who actually streams them having a major computer failure. Thankfully we've gotten the bugs figured out and we should be back to normal. So come join us tonight at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty at 6:30 PM PST, where I'll be DM'ing my friends through more Rise of Tiamat. However, in case you missed our last session, or if you just need a refresher after all this time, here's everything that happened last time:
As G’houl and Antares are preparing to investigate the dragon attacks in the South Wood, they find that the other groups in the Council of Waterdeep have arranged to bring a few allies along with them… the first is Yauna Jasperwell, introduced by Sildar Hallwinter of the Lords’ Alliance. Yauna, like Dahlia, is from the country of Esleah… she was a family friend of the Tricklegrove family and she was asked, by Dahlia’s Mother, to travel to the Sword Coast and help protect Dahlia. Yauna is a human woman in heavy armor and carrying a large shield, with an upbeat, if a bit naive personality. She’s eager to meet up with Dahlia, but for now is willing to travel with and protect G’houl, who she’s aware of from the letters Dahlia had sent back home. Second, Thorn introduces a young female goblin as her cousin… a young woman introduced as Z, although she tactfully avoids using her full name of “Ceesz” (pronounced “Cheese”). The Goblin is a trained assassin, and seems not particularly interested in her new allies, but is willing to work with them to accomplish the goals of the Zhentarim. Perhaps the strangest new ally, however, is Hazirawn… the sentient blade the party had taken from the body of Rezmir, the Black Dragon Wyrmspeaker. Hazirawn is a jet-black Greatsword enchanted with powerful necrotic magics. After G’houl determined that the sword is not actually cursed, merely sentient, Antares has opted to wield the deadly weapon, and while Hazirawn has no means of directly manipulating its wielder, it speaks constantly in Antares’s mind, encouraging him to conquer others, enact vengeance and destroy all who oppose them… while Antares is mostly just happy to have someone to chat with.
Their meeting with their new allies doesn’t last long, as they’re soon on their way atop the Nimbus, flying toward the South Wood. They were told to visit a settlement known as Altand where survivors of the dragon attacks have gathered. They meet with refugees in the settlement, with Yauna in particular feeling compelled to use her Paladin powers to heal some of the injured who are waiting for treatment. As she mingles with the people she learns from the victims some information about the attacks… they always come at night, with a green dragon assaulting small villages accompanied by humans in ceremonial garb she recognizes as Cult of Tiamat wardrobe. The dragon uses its poisonous breath to kill villagers by the dozen, and those that survive or avoid the dragon are slaughtered by the human followers. However, there is some confusion on whether or not the dragon has a rider… some refugees claim to have seen an armored human, others say it looked like a robed elf, and others didn’t see any rider at all… although there are few who were close to the attacking dragon who survived in the first place, so it was only ever witnessed from a distance in chaotic conditions.
Meanwhile, G’houl wants to take some time to set up Alarm spells in locations that seem like a potential entry point for a creature the size of a dragon. Antares helps him with this, since Antares is more experienced with survival, while Z accompanies them mostly out of boredom. In a particularly large clearing, Z gets bored as G’houl is ritual casting his alarm and begins to investigate the area for anything of interest and finds something shocking… obscured by brush, an area of soft earth is marked by a massive clawed footprint… and standing in front of it are remnants of a humanoid’s boot prints. With Antares’ help they’re able to determine that these footprints couldn’t be more than a few days old, possibly as few as one. Their curiosity piqued, G’houl makes certain his Alarm will create an audible sound if any creature humanoid or larger enters the clearing.
Reuniting, the group is directed to speak to Warden Galin… the De Facto leader of this settlement, who is known to have survived direct contact with the Dragon. Galin is a tall, wirey thin Wood Elf with heavy bags under his eyes and clear signs of a man under immense stress, although he forces a friendly smile when meeting with the Chainbreakers. Antares’s position as a member of the Emerald Enclave carries significant weight, especially among the forest people of the South Wood. Galin says that the increased military activity of the Elven Kingdom has done more than enough to quell the dragon attacks, and doesn’t feel that further investigation is necessary. He also states that the dragon has no rider, and the claims of it carrying one are just flights of fancy. As they’re speaking G’houl gets the impression there’s something Galin isn’t telling them, and perhaps most damning of all… Antares looks Galin head-to-toe, and is able to perceive that his boots perfectly match the size and shape of the footprints they had found in the clearing near the Dragon print. Their suspicions raised, the Chainbreakers leave Galin for now, although Z chooses to stealthily hide herself in his house and continue to observe the Warden to see if there’s anything else to be learned.
Moving stealthily, Z is subtle enough to be able to search through Galin’s possessions while in the single-room home with him, but finds nothing but a few stray coins. However, she is able to observe him crying once he’s left alone, and looking out through his window very clearly in the direction of the clearing they had discovered earlier. She remains long enough to observe another visitor coming to meet with the Warden, who quickly wipes his eyes, speaking with a Centaur hunter as they discuss which nearby settlements and isolated homes have been heard from lately, and discussing what kind of security they are known to have. Getting bored once again, Z sneaks out to reconvene with the Chainbreakers, who had been shown a place to stay for the night… a large tree that has been grown in such a way that all its upper branches spread out into a natural floor, with cloth walls as cots and bedrolls are set up for the refugees inside.
Joining with them, Z reveals all she has seen, and the group resolves to keep an eye on Galin. Antares wants to provide some extra security for the settlement, volunteering to patrol the streets as night falls… while doing so, he helps G’houls familiar, Dusk the winged Black Cat, to hide near Galin’s home and watch the single door. Hours pass, and although things seem peaceful, late into the night, Galin sheepishly sneaks out of his own home, wrapped in a heavy cloak. The Chainbreakers follow him at a distance as they see him clearly moving in the direction of the clearing they had discovered earlier.
As they’re moving in his direction, the night air is filled with the screeching sound of G’houl’s Alarm spell. Soon Galin comes running back toward the village, running face-first into Antares. Galin is clearly panicking, not realizing the source of the sound. However, when the Chainbreakers express interest in investigating it further, he tries to discourage them… but they’re quickly able to overwhelm him, persuading him to show them where he was, with Galin nervously guiding them back to the clearing. Galin continues to try to encourage everyone to just leave it be and go back to Altan, when Antares reaches over his shoulder to grip the handle of his greatsword Hazirawn.
Galin begins to panic as Antares hears Hazirawn in his mind once again, encouraging him to punish this man for lying to him, telling Antares to cut down Galin to send a message to all who would opppose him… but rather than draw the sword, Antares taps into one of the spells stored in the evil sword… casting Detect Thoughts on Galin. Through the spell he learns that Galin regularly meets with the Green Dragon in this clearing, along with its rider… pale Elven man with dark hair wearing elaborate purple robes. Galin regularly shares with them information about nearby villages and hamlets… guiding them to any location not protected by the Elven Military. Through the nature of the spell, Galin is fully aware that Antares knows everything, and although he panics at first he surrenders… coming clean about everything. After his wife died he made a deal with the Green Dragon, Chuth… if he would spare the people of Altand, he would share intel with him and his rider… a man by the name of Neronvain.
The name is familiar to Antares, but he can’t quite place it… luckily, Z, although she easily gets bored with technicalities, has dealt with enough political intrigue to recognize the name Neronvain as the disgraced son of King Melandrach… over 100 years ago, Neronvain was stripped of his title and banished from Elven society, and has long been thought dead… although exactly what crime he performed isn’t well known. Antares remembers him for this reason… Neronvain is often used as a cautionary tale, and he has been accused of everything from slave-trading, to robbery, and a plethora of much simpler transgressions parents might claim to condition good behavior from their children. Galin is watching the sky nervously this whole time, explaining that he’s required to come to this clearing each night at Midnight sharp, and although Chuth does not arrive most nights, he still needs to be here just in case, as Chuth will destroy Altand if Galin misses even a single meeting. They realize that it’s past midnight, so they go to Galin’s home to speak in private.
Galin is clearly wracked with guilt, knowing that protecting those closest to him meant sacrificing innocent people elsewhere in the South Wood. Despite his intense guilt, the Chainbreakers are sympathetic to his plight, seeing that he was put in a horrendous situation, manipulated through fear and sorrow by the Cult of Tiamat. He explains that, at times, Neronvain appears before him soaking wet as though he had been submerged underwater, even on days with no rain. He also mentions that Neronvain sometimes wears an elaborate mask resembling a green dragon, affirming their suspicion that he’s the Green Wyrmspeaker Chuth also always flies away directly South East… he knows that there are caverns and underground lakes in that direction, and believes that Chuth must have taken up residence somewhere over there, although he admits he doesn’t know exactly where they might be.
G’houl gets an idea based on Galin’s story… with Galin guiding Chuth and Neronvain by providing them with intel on nearby settlements, they could potentially empty a small village of citizens, then work with the Elven Military to set up an ambush to capture the Cultists and their dragon ally. Galin thinks this sounds brilliant, but admits he doesn’t know how long it will be until Neronvain will visit again… it could be weeks before the Green Dragon comes back to him for more intel, and there’s no telling what damage they could do in that time, with Galin falling into sorrow once again as he realizes there are more yet who could die from his decision to work with the Cult. Yauna speaks up, trying to comfort him… despite her often air-headed actions and chipper attitude, deep down she is a True Paladin… a beacon of hope in a dark and dangerous world, and she helps to inspire Galin, instead of wallowing in misery, to instead focus that energy into making right what went wrong. This bolsters the guilt-ridden Warden, and he resolves to set up the false village… planning to direct Neronvain and Chuth toward it, but at the same time, the Chainbreakers are still encouraged to seek out Chuth’s lair… if they can’t find it, then they can return to Altand and wait for Neronvain to show himself again and set up an ambush.
G’houl is feeling a bit apprehensive, especially because he knows about Dahlia’s intent to capture the souls of at least one of the Wyrmspeakers in order to turn Zariel against Tiamat… the Archduchess of Avernus willingly helping the Draconic Goddess to escape her realm if only to avoid dealing with her. He casts Sending to contact Dahlia, creating some confusion by also informing her about Yauna’s presence… something that shocks Dahlia, as she knows how clingy and excitable Yauna is. The two of them have some trouble communicating… Dahlia has been drinking following the successful meeting with the Council of Dragons. The two of them go back and forth, as neither has had to cast many spells through the day and are free to waste a few spell slots on Sendings until Dahlia understands what’s happening… she wants G’houl to avoid killing Neronvain if he can, with her still hoping to be present at his death… although she also admits she wouldn’t shed a tear if the cruel former Prince dies on his own. G’houl also contacts Delaan Winterfloe, the representative of the Emerald Enclave, to ask his advice on what to do next… Winterfloe warns that, just because someone calls himself Neronvain, doesn’t necessarily mean he’s the disgraced son of Melandrach… still, although he views Melandrach in a gentler light than the Chainbreakers, who he has always been antagonistic towards, he warns that killing his son could upset him. Whether he’s truly Neronvain or not, he recommends bringing the potential Wyrmspeaker in alive, if possible.
The Chainbreakers resolve to kill the Green Dragon at all costs, and at least attempt to bring in Neronvain alive, but no one of them is adamant about his survival. After returning to the refugee area the party gets some sleep before heading out early the next morning. By the time they’re awake they learn that Galin has already left to help the nearby village of Pasroy to empty out in order to protect them from future dragon attacks. The Chainbreakers leave on their own, heading deeper into the misty forest of the South Wood. Antares takes the lead, although his innate knowledge of survival fails him in the heavy mists, and in the obscuring greyness he doesn’t realize that he’s led the party into an area choked with spider webs. A group of Ettin and Giant Spiders burst out of the woods to ambush the party, letting G’houl and Antares see Yauna and Z in action. They both prove competent fighters… Yauna’s heavy armor and shield make her difficult to attack, while Z avoids attacks using her potent stealth skills. Antares can hear the mad cackling of Hazirawn, the necrotic powers of the evil sword adding even more potent damage to every attack, to the delight of the cruel spirit possessing the deadly blade. The poisonous bites of the Ettins and Giant Spiders are draining, but ultimately the Chainbreakers prevail with relatively little damage. Still, there’s a long day ahead for the Chainbreakers as they correct course and return to the correct path, continuing on their journey to take on the Cultists and the Green Dragon that have brought so much destruction to the innocent people of the South Wood.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
We'll be streaming our Homebrew Campaign of Sacrament soon at 6:30 PM PST... apologies for not announcing our stream sooner, but we only just now were certain we'd be able to stream tonight. Come join us at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty as we're nearing the finale of our 2-year long campaign. In case you missed our last session, or if you just need a refresher, here's where we left our heroes nearly a month ago:
The Grimveils are getting to know Xander, the Ancient Reaver who originally founded the Grimveils. He uses a horn to signal to wolves, who says will deliver a message to the other Grimveils who are also here in the frozen north. As they make their way into the caves to try and warm up, Ricky takes some to investigate the large stone throne that Xander was sitting in… noticing that drawings from children are tucked into a back corner, and he chooses to add a drawing of his own of “Officer Peepee”.
Going further into the caves, they find an area that’s a bit warmer, and where nutritious sweet mushrooms can be found. Xander remains behind, while the Grimveils are instructed to continue further to reconnect with their allies. Moving deeper into the caves, they hear a mysterious giggling in the distance. Following the sounds, they find an area that looks to be carved into the stone with small lanterns lit. They follow deeper… to their surprise, they find a door leading outside that, surprisingly, is as warm as a summer day. Stepping outside, they find a small village… large statues of the Nightmother standing unhidden.
Moving further inside, they find that the other Grimveils are already here, waiting in the safety of the hidden village. There’s an emotional reunion, with the main Party explaining what happened in Tiavet. They even see that Griffons, long thought to be extinct, fly overhead. They learn that this place is hidden from divination magics… even preventing messages from being sent in or out, explaining why the two groups of Grimveils have had difficulty communicating. They realize that this is the ideal location for Ricky’s ceremony with the tears of the Nightmother he recovered from the Lost Temple of the Nightmother. They are told to speak to Lyra… the Headmother of the hidden village. Finding her teaching children, she dismisses her students to speak to the Grimveils directly.
Lyra recognizes the energy of Ricky, and the rare vial he carries. However, she reacts with sorrow… knowing that this is a sign that great conflict is coming soon. Ricky asks about Peeter, his teacher, with Lyra explaining that Peeter had willingly asked to become moon touched… driving himself mad as a means to hide himself from the Depraved Gloom. The group introduces themselves, and she explains that the ritual will be dangerous, as the sorrow is so potent it could kill an individual… but the more of those close to him join him in this ritual, the more the sorrow will be diluted… although to perform the ritual itself, Ricky must be forcefully held below the water… his very life put in danger in order to reveal the secrets left behind. They also learn that Lyra has been here for centuries… arriving here along with Xander… although it’s more accurate to say her pregnant mother did. Between the magics of the hidden village, and her lycanthropy she has survived all this time to watch over the Sanctuary.
Speaking more with Lyra, they learn that she actually raised both Duncan and his twin brother. However, Duncan’s daughter was captured by the Depraved Gloom, and forcefully transformed into a Hag… all the good in her drained from her body and devoured, leaving behind a hateful creature that killed her mother, and in his attempt to fight against her he was tricked into killing his own brother. She also explains that the Griffons are desired because their blood is an important ingredient for a ceremony the Depraved Gloom intend to perform.
With knowledge shared, there’s nothing to do but prepare for the ritual. Neo knows that Ricky might not survive the process, and encourages him to give farewells to those he cares about… just in case. Azure thanks him for teaching her how to cook, and even Ash gives him an Ash and tells him if she’s conquered death, then he’ll be fine. Ricky heads to speak to the rest of the Grimveils, expressing how grateful he is for everything they did, and making sure everyone knows how much he really cares for them. Making their way to the pool for the ritual, Ricky takes an extra moment to tell Crush how he understands now how Crash was able to die with a smile on her face. The two Brothers embrace and Ricky is led into the water as the ritual begins.
Ricky goes through the ritual, drinking the tears of the Nightmother… struggling to swallow them if only from the intense sorrow that overwhelms him. Ricky’s eyes turn black, and his body drains of color. Lyra herself seems to dissipate into the water as Ricky enters a vision… seeing nothing but blackness, his body overwhelmed with sorrow. But slowly the blackness gets overtaken by visions of a large glowing orb… spreading out, dissipating into individual stars that swirl and twist in the grand form of the cosmos, until the stars take the form of a woman… her hair flowing like long, twisting and turning galaxies. The focus shifts to a single start… from there, to a single planet… blue, with clouds hovering in its atmosphere. The Primordial Gods appear, all watched over by Aurona… the true name of the Nightmother. The being that represents the vastness of space far beyond the planet.
She is seen spending time with the God of the sun, Sol… but when Sol grows distant her focus shifts to the individuals. Hearing their music… the song that emanates from all living beings. She takes particular interest in one individual with a hauntingly discordant and chaotic song… Sovereign, when he was a man. The two enter a whirlwind romance, but over time they seem to grow distant… and the God Sol watches jealously. Soon he sees a sight, the planet sitting in the center of a large chamber… the Gods surrounding it like a wartable. Sol speaks angrily, admonishing Aurona for showing her love to a Mortal… a creature that will one day die, a creature that cannot understand what it means to be a God. All the Gods agree… Sol with anger, Hearth with sympathy, but Amor alone remains at her side, but is dismissed by the other Gods. It is made clear that Aurona must abandon her lover, and as the Gods leave her Sol alone remains behind… demanding Aurona take him back, believing they belong together as a matter of course. Still, Aurona can’t love Sol again, accusing him of caring more about being worshipped than caring for his followers. He warns that if Aurona doesn’t kills Sovereign, then he himself will do so… and he promises to do so on the dawn of their wedding, and make it very, very painful. Aurona rejects him, and as she slinks into the darkness she hears the voice of Chao… the Goddess of Chaos who wasn’t allowed to meet with the other Gods. She knows a secret, but will only reveal it if Aurona promises not to tell anyone. Agreeing to her conditions, Chao says she knows that Aurona is planning to marry Sovereign… and also knows that, on that very dawn, Sol plans to rend Sovereign’s soul from his body… and give it to Chao to toy with as she wishes. Chao tells her that her only chance to protect Sovereign’s soul from an eternity of torture would be to rip Sovereign’s very heart from his chest… killing his body to protect his soul. And with Aurona’s promise… she realize she can never tell anyone what Chao told her.
On the night of her wedding, Aurona lowers herself to the mortal plane, joining Sovereign on the night before a New Moon in the very temple the Grimveils found the tears, in a time when it was well-maintained and built in preparation of their wedding. Even as a mortal, Sovereign was a great leader who had built his grand Ziggurat. The mortal and Goddess holding one another, making love one last time before Aurona sorrowfully realizes that soon the sun will rise… she cannot walk the Mortal Plane while the sun shines. In this last moment, she plunges her hand into his chest, tearing out his heart… and here Ricky sees what hadn’t been seen before: Aurona digging her fingers into her own chest, ripping out her own heart… it glows with ethereal light. He places her own heart into his chest… taking his own heart into her chest… leaving him with her own heart overflowing with hatred for herself and what she had done. The hatred the Reavers carry in their souls is not Sovereign’s hatred… even in that moment he still loved her deeply… the hatred is Aurona’s own.
Ricky then sees a vision of the Nightmother before him… now speaking directly to him. He sees her weeping and moves forward in the ethereal space, cupping her face to comfort her. She laments that she promised Chao she would never tell… not realizing at the time how damning that promise would prove to be. But Ricky lets her know that he never promised Chao anything… and Sovereign needs to know the truth. He encourages her… letting her know that she doesn’t need to hate herself… telling her that, even now that he knows the truth… he loves her. He would give her his own heart if it would help her heal from this… he encourages her, and his allies speak up, helping him to convey strength to his Goddess… to help her realize she can speak to Sovereign. With the truth learned, Ricky realizes his constitution is being tested… struggling just to survive… tapping into his innate Luck, he manages to survive, waking up, coughing up water.
As Ricky recovers, they realize that Lyra is missing. Another of the Nightchildren approaches, explaining that Lyra had lived all these years protecting this hidden village, waiting until the secret of the Nightmother could finally be revealed. With her duty complete, she is finally free to rest… although that now means the magics that protect the village are falling away. With the village no longer protected, the Grimveils must now enact their ongoing plan… arrange a meeting between Sovereign and the Nightmother on grounds consecrated by Peace, and watched over by Hearth, who holds Sovereign’s blade so it can’t be used. The Night Children know that there is a location called the Frozen Pond protected by Peace which can be reached in half a day’s time… if flown by Griffon. Xander comes to speak to them, revealing that he has a magically frozen piece of the pond which Ricky can use to guide them. The Night Children prepare cold weather supplies, with the Grimveils now on a quest to quell the conflict between the Gods before the lost village is discovered by the Reavers… or before Ash is found by Larlock… or the Depraved Gloom tracks them.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Last week we couldn't stream because of technical problems with some of our players, whose internet wasn't working at all. This week, one of our players lost her voice and she's unable to speak enough to play the game. Just thought I'd let everyone know just in case
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
It's been nearly two months since we were last able to stream... we went through technical problems, illnesses, and severe weather preventing us from streaming this whole time, but we're finally back! We'll be streaming tonight at 5:30 PM PST with our homebrew campaign of Sacrament! I know it's been a long time, so even if you did manage to see our last stream, you should read the summary for what happened last time:
With the magic hiding the Night Children dispelled, the Grimveils must quickly travel to the frozen lake blessed by the Goddess of Peace… the Night Children will need protection, and there aren’t enough Griffons for every member of the Grimveils. As well, Ash knows that her former Patron will be searching for her, and it’s not clear how soon the powerful Larlock can find her here in the frozen North. As they’re preparing, Corrio notes that he’s been hearing a singing in the wind, but he’s the only one who hears it. They’re not certain if it’s some kind of Siren, or possibly a fey… it may even be the Nightmother herself. Suspecting that the Nightmother is calling to him, the fact that he’s been researching Duncan’s notes this entire time means he’s the most qualified to assist them in this upcoming conflict.
With their plan in place, they have to decide who should go on the journey to meet with the Gods Sovereign and the Nightmother to resolve their conflict. Although Neo seems like an obvious choice, he needs to help the remaining Nightchildren, as the last qualified Priest of the Nightmother. They also know that Ash must travel with them, to avoid Larlock finding the Nightchildren… however, despite his reservations, Fidget is left to travel with the Nightchildren so he can protect their son, Kane. Azure travels along with Kanick, who is known as a reliable warrior, along with Corrio as an expert in lore, and finally Kalea as a liaison who can contact Hearth.
With their groups planned, a trio of Silver Griffons are provided… Vex, Torque, and Noodle. With the Grimveils prepared, they take off into the sky… Ricky’s skills as a College of Stars Bard uses the shard of magically frozen ice he was given to guide them forward toward their destination. However, as they proceed further a fireball erupts in the sky around them… while Depraved Gloom assassins chase them on the back of flying demonic creatures. Crush manages to fell one quickly, while Ricky focuses on keeping his flight path true. The creatures have poisonous stingers on their tails, which they use to try and kill the Griffons. The small cadre of Depraved Gloom are more dangerous for their potential to knock riders off of Griffons, but thankfully the Grimveils support one another and manage to stay on their rides.
However, after Ash chooses to cast Fly on herself and Kanick, and in the process lets their Griffon, Vex, fly freely… however, this leaves Vex unguarded, and the last Depraved Gloom assassin throws a magical net at the defenseless Griffin, trapping him and causing him to plunge to the ground. Luckily, Ricky had already cast Enhance Ability on his Griffon, Noodle, giving Noodle Advantage on Strength to catch Vex and prevent him from falling toward some kind of strange glow on the ground, with Ricky the first to realize that the Depraved Gloom aren’t after the Grimveils… they’re trying to capture the Griffons. With some luck they manage to fight off the last of the Depraved Gloom, but they’re hit by a burst of energy from the ground… although the damage isn’t great, it does cause those unable to dodge the attack to bleed. In particular, Crush’s Griffon, Torque, who had been poisoned by one of the flying demons bleeds profusely, as the venom induces hemophilia.
The group makes an emergency landing on a nearby mountain to tend to Torque’s injuries. Looking back to where the attack had come from, they see distant figures vanishing in magical light. Ash realizes that the Depraved Gloom had gotten what they wanted… the blood of a silver griffon, a key ingredient in the ritual she knows the Hags of the Depraved Gloom are preparing to ascend someone to Godhood… Ricky takes the time to cast Regenerate on Torque, healing him back to full before he realizes that they’re actually within walking distance of their destination.
Seeing how close they are, the Grimveils choose to continue by foot. As they march across the clifftop, they come across tall crystals of ice. Musical chimes can be heard in the air, with barely audible singing mixed within. As they pass the ice crystals, they see visions of peaceful moments in their past… Crush and his sister playing on the beach as children, a young Azure listening intently to an exciting story from her Uncle Duncan, while Ash remembers her life as Promethea celebrating a holiday with her family. Even Corrio sees a vision of himself as a child, spending time with his mother before she died. Even as they walk the crystals reflect themselves from their childhood… young and carefree. Ricky is the last to notice his own vision as he was too distracted by everyone else’s… remembering spending time with his Mother, listening to her sing while he doodled drawings and they shared hot cocoa on a cold winter night. They even see that Corrio has a vision of the time when he first joined with the Grimveils… before his personality had been altered by magic. Corrio is getting choked up, remembering what it was like before… embarrassedly getting angry at himself just for acknowledging his past pain.
Ricky tries to comfort Corrio, who angrily rejects the signs of affection. As Corrio tries to avoid his feelings everyone can see another vision of Corrio… remembering a moment when he freed a bird that his father kept as practically a decoration… his mother promising that she’ll make sure he isn’t punished for it. Corrio is irritated, feeling like he’s being targeted by whatever is guiding these visions. Ricky helps to comfort him, and although Ricky helps to keep him calm, Corrio’s stubbornness still resists opening up… although Ricky can tell that the former Cleric wishes he could cry. Crush comments that, in many ways, it takes more strength to be honest enough with yourself to cry.
As they approach a frozen lake, they can’t help but notice that the ice subtley cracks under Corrio’s feet, while the much heavier Tortles don’t have the same effect. Continuing further, Ash talks to Corrio about death, and what she learned from her father when she met him during her resurrection… that a person can change, and there’s strength in trusting those around you. Corrio looks and sees a reflection, for the first time seeing his father’s stern, uncaring face… for the first time, realizing that he looks just like his father now. As Ash and Ricky comfort him, he starts to hear a gentle, loving voice… she tells him that everything will be okay, and assures him that everything that happened wasn’t his fault. As the voice speaks to Corrio, acknowledging that he’s been broken, his soul scarred… but if he opens himself up, if he allows those who care about him to be there for him, he can heal. With each step the cracks produced below his feet lessen. With Corrio struggling, the others step forward to comfort him… but surprisingly, it’s Ash who starts hugging him. The sudden show of affection from the normally cold and indifferent Elf overwhelms him, and finally Corrio starts to cry.
Collapsing to the ground of the frozen lake, the ice no long cracks beneath him. Looking down, he sees not his own reflection, but the sight of his mother. The voice assuring him that, although his Mother may have been a warrior by trade, she knew Peace and cherished it. As the reflection begins to rise out of the ice it becomes warm, comforting light… filling Corrio’s body… the curse that had ripped out the kindness and warmth from his soul finally cured. Corrio is once again the shy, loving Cleric they had met months ago. Pulling Corrio into a tight group hug, the voice thanks the Grimveils for bringing Corrio here to help her cure him. Before them appears a tall, gentle woman, with skin like crystal and a long, flowing robe of ice… the Goddess Peace, who welcomes Corrio as her newest Cleric.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
We're nearing the end of our homebrew campaign of Sacrament! I'm not going to say that tonight is the finale, but we're definitely getting into the weeds tonight! So come join us at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty tonight at 5:30 PM PST. Things are getting crazy, so if you need a reminder of what happened last week, read on:
The Grimveils stand on the frozen pond speaking to the Goddess Peace, who bears a striking resemblance to the Nightmother. With her guidance, Corrio and Kalea prepare the area to allow the Nightmother and Sovereign to meet and, hopefully, the truth of their falling out will end their centuries-long rivalry. While Crush meditates, Corrio and Kalea perform a ceremony, the ice of Peace’s domain glowing. Once the land is prepared, then the Grimveils must summon Sovereign… which they know can be done by letting a Reaver touch the Pendant of the Nightmother that Ricky wears. With some hesitation, Kanick reaches down to touch it, and the massive figure of Sovereign crashes down onto the frozen, cracking the magically enhanced frozen water of the lake.
When Sovereign arrives, Corrio and Kalea must complete their ritual with him present before the Nightmother can be summoned. Knowing they can’t hope to truly defeat Sovereign… instead, they must prevent the God from killing Ricky, or interrupting the ceremony. Kanick runs, carrying Ricky out of the God’s range while Azure attempts to stun him… as a former mortal, Sovereign still has pressure points that can be targeted with her stunning strikes. However, his Godly constitution is too great for her to overcome, while Crush attempts to tear away the God’s sword… barely able to even lift it, and although he holds it enough to prevent one attack from the God, he’s able to yank it back out of Crush’s arms… stomping through them, damaging the lake as Corrio and Kalea struggle to complete their ritual.
Despite his misgivings of facing off against his own God, Kanick does his best to protect Ricky. Sovereign doesn’t hesitate to attack, damaging Kanick enough to activate his Reaver rage. Because the party had prepared rags soaked in Kanick’s blood that will cause him to view them as family there’s only one target for his rage… Sovereign himself. As Kanick unleashes his violent attacks, Kalea completes part of the ceremony, summoning the spirit of Water, which floods the icy arena with mystically conjured water… and just as the water appears, the frozen lake cracks, flooding with the outpouring water. Azure rushes forward, knocking Sovereign into the water. Ricky dives in after… casting magic to show Sovereign the sight of the Nightmother giving her heart to Sovereign… Crush dives in as well, helping Ricky to convince Sovereign to stop his rampage and listen to them. This slows down Sovereign enough for Kalea and Corrio to finally complete their ritual… conjuring the Goddess Hearth, who restrains Sovereign, and allows the Nightmother to appear and speak to him, briefly putting Kanick to sleep to end his rage. Even restrained by Hearth, Sovereign struggles, until Hearth reveals she’s carrying his blade, and threatens to kill him if he continues to enact violence in this sacred place blessed by Peace.
The Grimveils band together to convince Sovereign to drink the tears of the Nightmother… allowing him to see the memories that had been hidden from him all these years. He looks upon the Nightmother, calling her by her true name, Aurona… as she reveals to him the scar of his heart, which she still carries in her chest, just as he has hers within his. The hatred he has felt for her all these years her own self-hatred for betraying her beloved to prevent his very soul from being wiped from existence. With tears in their eyes they embrace, and a burst of light erupts outward, the stars themselves swirling and dancing in response. Even unconscious, Kanick weeps as his connection to Sovereign allows him to experience everything that happened. With the two reconciled, Hearth returns Sovereign’s sword to him, and the great and powerful sword morphs… its blade dulling, the handle melding into a single circlet, which he places upon his beloved’s head… Ricky’s pendant, which was made from a portion of Sovereign’s blade, slips from his neck, falling to the ground. The Nightmother tells Ricky that he’s no longer bound to the promise he made, and now if he wears the necklace it will be by his own design, and not because it can’t be removed.
As the sun begins to rise, Sovereign flies away… a dark spot briefly visible on the surface of the sun as Hearth notes that he has gone to punch Sol in the face. As the sun rises the Grimveils have only a few moments to speak with the Nightmother before she exits… and Ash whispers a request to her, forcing the Goddess to kneel before her to speak to her face-to-face. The Nightmother is shocked by her request, but although the others don’t hear what she was asking, she is given a magical mirror of some kind. With the feud between the Gods resolved, the Grimveils set their Griffons free, telling them to return home as they resolve to being confronted by Larlock. Ash has a plan… revealing that the mirror she asked for is intended as a “wedding gift” for Larlock… one that she describes as a lovely cage to house a “pet”.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Last week we finished our homebrew campaign of Sacrament! It's pretty crazy to complete a two and a half year long streamed game, and we're planning to make our next series easier to keep up with. For tonight, though, we're finally going back to Rise of Tiamat. We'll be going live at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty tonight at 6pm PST. It's been a LONG time since our last RoT stream, so even if you caught that stream you should probably read on to get a reminder of what happened:
After defeating the Ettercaps and their Giant Spiders, the Chainbreakers hear a woman’s howl followed by the sound of a tree crashing. Without hesitation, Yauna and Antares rush toward the sound to find an elderly gnomish woman trapped under a tree. As they work together to lift the tree off of her, however, they learn that it’s an Awakened Tree that was only pretending to pin the old woman down. She reveals her name is Jamantha, and she’s a member of the Emerald Enclave who was testing their character to see if they would hesitate when a seemingly innocent person was in peril. Although Ceesz remains suspicious of the strange woman throughout their interaction, Antares is eager to speak to a fellow Enclave member.
Jamantha reveals that she was investigating the Green Dragon, Chuth, who had used his mastery over the creatures of the woods to force the innocent beasts to serve as his spies. However, she weaves for them garlands made of enchanted flowers that will hide them from Chuth’s spies, and will provide some degree of protection while they’re within the South Wood. She also provides for them an enchanted twig that will point them in the direction of Chuth’s cave, but she admits she lacks the strength to accompany them. She warns that the shortest path leads through an area of the forest held by Ettercaps… it’s possible to walk around and avoid the spider-like abominations, but doing so would mean they would arrive at Chuth’s lair closer to nightfall… when they believe the nocturnal Dragon is most likely to be awake. The Chainbreakers opt to risk the Ettercaps, proceeding stealthily through the web-choked forest.
The path through the Ettercap’s hunting grounds is slow and steady as they avoid the hungry creatures, a task made difficult as the Ettercaps and their Giant Spider companions can sense movement in their intricate net of webbing that covers the forest so thickly that it chokes trees to death. However, despite a few close calls, they manage to avoid the eight-legged threats and emerge into healthier woods, following the magical twigs direction as it points them toward a sharp cliff face with a powerful waterfall spilling down it… the waterfall itself nearly hiding a large cave entrance before filling a large natural basin that, presumably, feeds into the underground rivers that run throughout the South Wood. Going over their plans, Ceesz reminds them that her training as an Assassin in the Zhentarim has given her a reliable false identity as a high ranking member of the Cult of Tiamat by the name of Cheddar. G’houl also owns a Cultist robe to disguise himself, and knows enough about the Cult of Tiamat to know that Antares and Yauna can reliably pass as hired mercenaries.
With “Cheddar” in the lead, they make their way into the cave to find the entrance watched by a group of elves, one of whom wears dented armor of the High Forest Kingdom. They greet Ceesz subserviently, but still ask questions and seem to be testing her. However, Ceesz relies on her disguise to intimidate them for “wasting her time”, and with Antares backing her up they relent and allow her and her companions into the cave. Once inside they find the large natural cave to be filled with stalactites, while torches have been set up at regular intervals to accommodate for the lack of natural light. Making their way inside, they find a large chamber that seems to be empty of others, although they notice a high platform carved into the stone with more elves watching them. Hearing thudding sounds and angry voices in a similar direction, they follow a short tunnel until they find the source of the noises.
Through the tunnel they spot a group of Ettin… dim-witted but powerful giants whose most striking feature is the fact that they each possess two heads. The Ettins are arguing in Giant, and a horrid smell emanates from the large room they occupy. With their two heads the Ettins are extremely perceptive, and they notice Ceesz entering… thinking her to be an authority figure of some kind, they demand she resolve their conflict… two of the 3 Ettins are arguing about whose turn it is to clean the pile of shit in the corner of the room. Seeing that they could easily be manipulated, she tells them to go outside and fight it out, with Antares sweetening the deal by promising that whoever wins won’t have to clean for a month. This is an unusual request, but with Antares’s help Ceesz manages to convince the Ettin’s to abandon their post in order to step out and remove them as potential obstacles during their infiltration.
Exploring deeper, the Chainbreakers discover that the Ettins were guarding a small sloped pathway that leads up to the platform they saw earlier. Moving upstairs, they can see that the Elves that had watched them enter are clearly prisoners, although surprisingly they’ve been given bows and arrows. Yauna steps forward, explaining that the group is here to rescue them… with G’houl backing her up, they see that this is their chance for rescue, with them admitting that they have been working with the dragon out of fear that it would kill them if they disobeyed… even the guards at the entrance were compelled to obey the dragon lest their fellow prisoners suffer for their disobedience. They learn that the dragon would enter a large pool in the cavern to go wherever it does to rest, but the prisoners don’t know exactly where the dragon goes. The prisoners do not know, however, that the Wyrmspeaker leading this sect of the cult is Neronvain, disgraced son of King Melandrach… one captured noble admits that he resembles Neronvain, but as the deposed Prince hasn’t been seen in over a century, he’s not fully confident of his identity. Once they learn all they can from the prisoners, G’houl volunteers to cast Teleportation Circle in order to send them safely to Waterdeep… the guards watching the front are brought back, and Yauna writes a letter for them to deliver to those in Castle Waterdeep, where she requests lodging be provided for the prisoners and requests that they not be questioned too deeply, as the Chainbreakers themselves don’t want to risk faulty information reaching King Melandrach, just in case the man they seek isn’t actually Prince Neronvain.
With the prisoners sent safely to Waterdeep, Antares notices a statue that has clearly been in this cave for far longer than the cultists occupied it. It’s the statue of a tall, beautiful woman holding a stone basin that he recognizes as Eldath, the Goddess of Waterfalls. Out of respect, Antares offers a prayer to the Goddess and releases some of his chaotic magical energy toward the statue. He is rewarded with a vision of the Goddess who blesses him and his allies with the effects of the Bless spell. With Eldath’s blessing the Chainbreakers then have to decide what to do next… do they probe deeper into the cave and risk confronting the cultists, or explore the dark pool in the hopes of finding the Dragon first?
The dragon is their top priority, but there’s no way to know exactly where the area beneath the pool leads. Luckily, G’houl has taken the time to learn Water Breathing and is able to cast it as a ritual… unfortunately, the time spent doing so is enough for the Ettins to return… and although they’re fairly dim-witted, they at least are able to realize that the prisoners they were guarding have gone missing. In a rage, the Ettins attack… fortunately for the Chainbreakers, they have the high ground and are able to fight back easily against the enraged giants, but the skirmish draws the attention of the remaining cultists… stepping out to investigate, a cult member notices the missing prisoners and the dead Ettins, calling out to his fellow cultists that there has been a betrayal. In a last-ditch effort, G’houl uses the spell Far Step to get close enough to cast Suggestion on the Cultist, telling him to state that it was a false alarm and act as though everything is fine. Unfortunately, the cultist resists G’houl’s magical influence, and now the Chainbreakers must face all the remaining cultists within the cave
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
We're playing Rise of Tiamat in a few minutes! Come join us at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty tonight at 6:30 PM PST. As always, if you missed our last session, or if you just want a refresher, here's what happened:
With their ruse falling apart, the Chainbreakers find themselves in combat against the entire collection of cultists hiding in the Green Dragon Chuth’s lair. Fortunately, the cultists had a bottleneck in a thin hallway, and as they’re rushing together in a dense line to attack the interlopers they end up gathered close enough for G’houl to be able to clear them out with a well-placed Fireball from his Staff of Fire. However, G’houl is all alone in the middle of the cave, with the rest of his allies still on a high platform, and although G’houl was able to clear out the majority of the weaker cultists, more powerful members are still on their way to attack him.
To get down to the lower level, Yauna uses her shield to surf down the rough walls of the cave… not skillfully enough to completely avoid fall damage, but enough to get to G’houl’s side more quickly. Antares, meanwhile, takes advantage of his unparalleled speed to rush down to one of the Ettins the party had defeated earlier, taking from her the magic-looking belt she was wearing as a sash. However, by the time he reaches G’houl he realizes he’s at risk of losing his Rage… in order to keep it up, he slashes himself with Hazirawn… unfortunately, he didn’t realize just how powerful the sentient blade truly is, dealing intense wounding damage to himself… but ultimately it accomplished the goal of maintaining his rage, defending him from attacks and increasing his ability to defeat his foes.
Ceesz, however, struggled to keep up with her allies… moving more slowly and stealthily, she had difficulty getting in range of foes with her shortbow before they could be defeated by her allies. Still, she finds herself in an ideal position after a loud roar is heard in the caves… and soon the Green Dragon Chuth and his rider, the deposed Elven prince Neronvain, erupted out of the dark pool near the back of the cave system. Unfortunately for G’houl, he had moved to this position to stay out of range of more attacks, and found himself alone as the Green Dragon unleashed a blast of poisonous breath directly at him… barely maintaining consciousness. However, in this moment Ceesz proved herself potentially the deadliest member of the Chainbreakers… her stealth expertise keeping her hidden even from a Dragon’s blindsight. Darting out from between Stalagmites, she lands a critical sneak attack against the dragon, draining its health viciously with a single attack before vanishing. G’houl as well teleported away from the dragon before casting greater invisibility on himself.
With Ceesz hidden and G’houl out of range, Chuth and Neronvain shift their focus to Yauna and Antares. The two had been cutting down cult members, but Yauna struggles with her movement options… fortunately for her, Antares was able to carry her on his back, acting as a steed for the heavily armored paladin. They rush toward the dragon, attacking as best they can while Neronvain moves off of Chuth’s back to get protective cover from high ground. The Chainbreakers begin to run low on health, putting them in danger against the massive, angry dragon… only for Ceesz to spring out of cover once again, this time successfully landing the infinitesimally rare double natural 20, which dealt some additional damage… and suddenly the massive dragon went from the aggressor to going on the run, using his Legendary Actions to beat his wings and dash for the door. The Chainbreakers do their best to cut down the fleeing dragon… with G’houl slashing with Steel Wind Strike, Yauna throwing her javelin, but ultimately Antares manages a high jump to get onto Chuth’s back… slashing with the dark blade Hazirawn, digging it into the base of the dragon’s spine and dashing across the creature’s back… the dragon Chuth crashing to the ground as his body is split open and the mighty dragon falls dead.
Neronvain finds himself abandoned, yelling angrily at Chuth for running away. But when Chuth dies, he realizes that he’s outnumbered and dives into the water, hoping to escape back into the cave systems. However, he’s unaware that G’houl, who is still under the effects of Greater Invisibility, is hot on his tail. G’houl manages to keep up with Neronvain, and casts Frost Fingers… not only to harm the fleeing elf, but also freezing the water around him, trapping him in an alcove. When Ceesz catches up and lands another attack, although she doesn’t manage a third critical hit it’s still enough for Neronvain to drop his weapon and surrender.
Neronvain attempts to play coy, but the insightful G’houl can tell that the cultist is terrified for his life and just trying to act confident while he looks for a potential escape. Not trusting him in the slightest, the Chainbreakers take the time to restrain and even gag neronvain, hog tying him to Antares’ back. After taking a short rest they continue to explore the caves, eventually taking off Neronvain’s gag to ask him for information. He seems only willing to guide them if they’ll listen to his ramblings about his father and the pointlessness of using their wealth and power to help citizens instead of just making their already lavish lifestyle even more decadent.
Despite guiding the Chainbreakers further into the cave system, Neronvain quite pointedly does not warn them about actual traps, but when discovered he will explain how to get past them. He guides them into his personal chambers, which are covered with stolen tapestries and with a trapped wooden chest that contains little wealth, but does have a scroll of fear. The Chainbreakers continue to press Neronvain, trying to figure out why, exactly, he was banished from the High Forest and stripped of his title… however, the manipulative elf is cagey with his answers, seeming to enjoy the mythologizing about him that has come up with people like Antares, who has only heard of Neronvain as a cautionary tale about what people need to avoid becoming. However, after some careful pressuring by Yauna, they get him to slip and reveal that what ultimately got him banished was participating in slave trading.
Despite the lack of help from Neronvain, the Chainbreakers manage to discover the secret passageway that leads to Chuth’s sleeping quarters, where the beginnings of a dragon’s hoard are found, since Chuth most likely has his true hoard hidden somewhere else. Digging through the hoard, they find that it’s mostly copper coins, as the treasure mostly comes from the low-income villages that live in the South Wood. However, they do manage to find a rare Dwarven Thrower… a powerful magical weapon, albeit one that can only be used by Dwarves. The Chainbreakers are ready for G’houl to teleport them all back to Waterdeep, but G’houl reminds them all that they’re here not simply to capture Neronvain, but to secure the Green Dragon Mask.
Mockingly, Neronvain explains that, following Rezmir’s death (which he assumes was done by Antares, as he’s wielding her sword), the leader of the cult, Severin, collected all of the Dragon Masks from the Wyrmspeakers to protect them, as they’re required for the ceremony to summon Tiamat. The group is hesitant to trust Neronvain’s claims, but despite his dishonest nature they’re able to Insight that he’s telling the truth… if anything, he seems to enjoy that they’re unable to achieve their goal. Still, content that the Green Dragon is killed and the Green Wyrmspeaker is in custody, they send Armpit a message asking him to fly the Nimbus back to Waterdeep as G’houl draws another Teleportation Circle and takes everyone back to Castle Waterdeep.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
With our homebrew Campaign of Sacrament complete, this thread will now focus exclusively on our Rise of Tiamat campaign. We'll be streaming live tonight at 6:30 PM PST at our usual home of twitch.tv/afterdisbooty, but for the first time we'll also be streaming on the Hazel's Emporium Youtube Page. So come join us as we dive into the latter half of the events of Rise of Tiamat and see what awaits our heroes, but just in case you need a reminder of what happened last time, read on:
With Neronvain in tow the Chainbreakers arrive in the teleportation circle of Castle Waterdeep, where they’re met by Delaan Winterfloe of the Emerald Enclave and Alagarthas, the Elven Prince who had requested their aid in the South Wood to begin with. Stunned to see his older brother, he quickly leaves to get their father while Neronvain is put into proper restraints and brought to a waiting room where the Chainbreakers can watch over him while King Melandrach is summoned. While they wait, they explain that the Cult of Tiamat has gone out of their way to gather the Dragon Masks, especially after Rezmir’s Black Dragon Mask was taken.
After their wait, Melandrach arrives in full regalia, along with Prince Alagarthas. While he maintains almost supernatural composure, Antares is able to see the tiniest hints of emotions in the centuries-old monarch… for a man like Melandrach, even those hints of true emotion are deeply telling. Neronvain continues to play coy, acting smugly as he gives excuses and taunts to his father. After being a voice of conflict regularly second-guessing the Chainbreakers, in this moment he thanks them for their service and promises the full support of himself and the Elven Kingdom of the High Forest. As for Neronvain… he admits that, in his weakness, he spared his son for his crimes a century ago… crimes that, if anyone else had committed them, would have them put to death. Antares alone is able to see the slightest hint of moisture in the stern King’s eyes as he condemns Neronvain to death.
Alagarthas immediately speaks up… although it’s clear from their interactions that he’s not close to his estranged brother, he’s still shocked to hear he’ll be put to death. Yauna and Antares speak up as well… although they don’t try to talk Melandrach out of one day executing Neronvain, they implore him to delay until after the conflict with the Cult of Tiamat is complete, as Neronvain still knows information that may prove vital. Melandrach admits there is wisdom in their words and agrees to a stay of execution. He thanks them again for their work before his guards take Neronvain and march him to a cell. Alagarthas remains behind to speak more with the Chainbreakers… giving them time to explain some of what happened in the South Wood, and promising to personally take care of the refugees they had sent to the castle only a few hours earlier. After he leaves, they then debrief fully with Delaan, who makes certain that the people of the South Wood will be informed of what happened, and they also explain the extenuating circumstances that led Galin to work with the Cult of Tiamat for fear not only for his life, but the lives of those he knew personally. They also share with him the location of Chuth’s lair so that the stolen treasures can be recovered.
With their work complete, the Chainbreakers are free to do as they wish, although they’re informed that a meeting of Council of Waterdeep is scheduled for the next morning. While Antares goes back to the Bloody Knuckle fighting arena to blow off some steam, G’houl returns to the Yawning Portal to begin transcribing some of the spell scrolls they had found into his spellbook, Ceesz finds informants within the Zhentarim to report on the incident and finds a generous reward from Thorn waiting for her, and Yauna gets directions to the Lords’ Alliance training grounds where she can also turn in a full report. She meets with Skilled, the elderly tiefling who serves as quartermaster to turn in her report. During the process Skilled asks where she’s staying, and she admits she doesn’t know… he offers her room and board in the barracks, but also mentions she might prefer to stay in the Yawning Portal, casually mentioning that this is where Dahlia normally stays, which is all the motivation Yauna needs to immediately rush to the famous tavern.
Yauna arrives at the Yawning Portal around the same time as Antares and Ceesz, the three of them entering together. Yauna is instantly fascinated with the tavern, especially the titular portal itself that leads into the dangerous Undermountain… a labyrinth popular for adventurers seeking their fortune. Antares also gets for her “Jungle Juice”, his favorite concoction he convinced the barkeep Durnan to make for him which is an unsavory mix of every alcohol her offers all poured into a single cup. While Antares sips his happily Yauna ends up vomiting directly into the portal, to the entertainment of everyone around until eventually a sympathetic dwarf buys her proper ale to wash out the flavor.
G’houl remains in his room, focused on his spellbook, but he does send Dusk to spy on the others as they chat about everything going on. Yauna, who had briefly flirted with G’houl, asks to learn more about him and is stunned to learn that he’s dating Dahlia. She explains that Dahlia, as a Baroness, is being pursued by suitors of high standing in her home country. Antares can’t answer all of Yauna’s questions… all he knows is that the two of them are in a relationship and seem to be quite serious. As the sun begins to set, they realize that the other members of the Chainbreakers are expected to return to Waterdeep soon.
Here the focus shifts back to the previous night, when the other group were returning to Waterdeep, escorted on the back of the Silver Dragon Elia. They stopped in the same cave in the Star Mounts that they had stopped in previously, although this time they brought along a mass of food and spices in order to cook some curry to share with Elia, who has shown herself to be fascinated by humanoid cooking. The group sits and talks, sharing stories about life while enjoying the excellently prepared meal. With some prodding, they learn that, like Dahlia, Elia had once been in love with a wizard, although she laments that he died of old age many years ago. Happily sharing stories through the night before they all go to bed and head out early the next day to make their way back to Waterdeep. After arriving back in Waterdeep they’re greeted by Remalia Haventree of the Harpers and Ontharr Frume of the Silver Gauntlet, who are impressed that they were able to convince every member of the Metallic Dragon Council to join their cause. They’re also told that G’houl and Antares have succeeded in their journey to the South Wood, and they had even managed to kill a green dragon. Happy to know that their friends returned safely, they begin to make their way toward the Yawning Portal to rest before the next meeting of the Council of Waterdeep.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
It's been about a month since our last session of Rise of Tiamat, but we're back tonight for more! Come join us tonight at 6pm PST at Twitch or Youtube as I DM my friends through their ongoing conflict with the Cult of Tiamat. In case you missed our last session, or if you just need a reminder, here's what happened last time:
Antares, Yauna, and Ceesz are having drinks in the Yawning Portal, while G’houl is busy in his room transcribing spells. Soon, however, Dahlia, Katniss, Loki, and Harle step in, the group excited to meet up with Antares, and also curious to meet Ceesz. Yauna, however, is hiding from Dahlia at first, embarrassed that she had flirted with G’houl earlier, not knowing that he was in a relationship with Dahlia. Still, they eventually meet, with Dahlia recognizing the excitable and awkward Paladin, whose presence is a reminder to her of the duties waiting for her as a Baroness in her home country of Esleah. However, her focus shifts to romance when G’houl joins the group propertly to spend time with his friends.
As everyone is enjoying their drinks and reconnecting, the Chainbreakers are visited by Thorn, the Goblin representative of the Zhentarim in the Council of Waterdeep. She is attempting to get Antares to sign over his claim for the body of Chuth, the Green Dragon… although Antares dealt the fatal blow, she maintains that Ceesz was the deciding factor in the battle, and thus she should be the one to lay claim to the spoils of war (and, vicariously, so will the Zhentarim). Antares has had enough to drink that he’s perfectly willing to sign it over, but G’houl and Dahlia both insist on reading through the contract she provided first… while G’houl does agree that Ceesz was the “MVP” in the conflict, they convince Thorn to reserve enough scales from the dragon’s body to create a set of armor for Antares. Satisfied with the negotiation, Thorn stays long enough to share a drink with the Chainbreakers, but has to leave early, informing them all that the Council of Waterdeep will be meeting very early the next morning, and they’re all expected to arrive and speak.
Dahlia and G’houl are the first to leave, looking to have a romantic night alone in G’houl’s room. Katniss guides the drunk Antares out to the stables (his preferred place to sleep) before joining Loki for their own romantic night alone in Loki’s room. This leaves Yauna and the two Zhentarim rogues, Harle and Ceesz, end up all alone. The rogues consider ditching the excitable paladin to spend the night practicing their thievery, but they decide to spend some time with her, hoping to help her find some romance of her own. Ceesz casually recommends a brothel, but Yauna flatly refuses… instead they head out for a bit, just wandering the city and looking for potential partners.
With the Rogues’ help, Yauna is introduced to an attractive Gnomish woman named Xamyra. Yauna is a bit awkward, but the two of them bond as they take some time to return to the Yawning Portal and sharing a few drinks. Yauna learns that Xamyra is an inventor, and is overall a hard worker who Yauna can relate to. It’s only a short date, but she invites Yauna to visit her at her workshop, known as the Big Sprocket, hoping to go out again later.
The next morning the group meets with the Council of Waterdeep first thing in the morning. It’s a particularly large group attending the meeting, and the Council is impressed with their work, for the most part. The concessions made to the Council of Dragons is seen as reasonable, although it’s clear that if it were not for Neronvain’s recent capture, King Melandrach would have been very upset at being ordered to apologize for the Elven Kingdom’s sins with the Dracorage Mythal, which attempted to enslave dragons but served to only drive them mad. Ambassador Brawnanvil, however, is unafraid to express his disappointment at being requested to apologize for the Dragonmoots that killed Elia’s niece… although the dragons believe the Dragonmoots to be simply Dwarven cruelty in search of vain glory, for the Dwarven people it is actually a solemn duty undertaken only when a dragon becomes a danger to itself and others… apparently Elia’s niece was driven mad at the time of her death, but he does willingly offer to return the ceremonial armor made from her scales. Finally, the last objection is from Thunderspells, who feels it is foolish to attempt to hide the dragon masks rather than simply destroy them… he believes that the Brass Dragon Ileuthra thinks on too large of a scale, and although Tiamat may eventually recreate the dragon masks if they are destroyed, the kingdoms of Man will have plenty of time to prepare for such an eventuality… however, even scattered across the planes, an individual with the skill and knowledge could reacquire them at any time.
The killing of Chuth and capture of Neronvain receives far less controversy, as the party f succeeded in stripping a powerful asset from from the Cult of Tiamat… although the knowledge that Severin has already gathered the remaining dragon masks made the ultimately goal of taking the green dragon mask a failure. Still, at this point Thorn speaks up, revealing that the Zhentarim have made contact with a member of the Cult who still has in his possession the Blue Dragon Mask… a person who is trying to escape the cult with his life. He is located at Xonthal’s Tower, and he is offering the Dragon Mask as reward for anyone who can rescue him.
This seems to be the Chainbreakers’ mission, but Lady Silverhand mentions that she had received a ltter as well, this time from an ambassador to the country of Thay. The Thayans are interested in capturing Rath Modar and the students he fled with from Thay, including Azbara Jos. They are particularly interested in meeting with the group who took Skyreach Castle, which the Thayans know is the last place Modar was seen alive… although the letter does not indicate that they know the names of the individuals who took the castle, or that Azbara Jos is already in custody at Waterdeep. The Chainbreakers are hesitant to work with the Thayans… although their Red Wizards would be a powerful boon to the upcoming conflict, the morality of working with Szass Tam… a powerful lich who has literally enslaved an entire country, weighs heavy on their conscience. At Dahlia’s request, Azbara Jos himself is brought to the council to speak on the matter… Jos opposes working with them, not the least of which because one of their demands is his own return. But he knows that the Red Wizards of Thay would not hesitate to use mind reading and other trickery to learn knowledge the Chainbreakers would rather keep secret, but perhaps more than that… he also knows that any help sent would simply be more slaves but in harms way for Tam’s benefit, and no one else’s. The Chainbreakers decide to decline the offer to visit Thay… for now, at least, however, they realize this may prove to be the opening they need to eventually travel to Thay and face Tam directly, fulfilling their promise to Jos and Modar to help them rid the world of the diabolical lich once and for all.
With that decision made, the group is told to prepare for the adventure in Xonthal’s Tower. According to Thorn, this job will require stealth and will be best fulfilled by a small strike force, and believes that a group of four should take on the task. Immediately Katniss, Loki, and Dahlia volunteer, although there is a debate between G’houl and Harle… as a wizard, G’houl could learn untold secrets from the tower, but as a Rogue, Harle would be better prepared for sneaking in, and could potentially communicate with the Zhentarim agent who helped send the message in the first place. Ultimately, Harle promises to steal some useful books for G’houl, while G’houl plans to stay behind and continue his own research to prepare for the upcoming conflict.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Bad News: We won't be able to stream tonight. Still, I'll leave up the summary of our last session for people to read
After accepting their assignment to infiltrate Xonthal’s Tower, the Chainbreakers have some time to prepare for the journey. Zhentarim agent Harle is taken aside by Thorn, who has a specific assignment for him… she wants him to make sure that every single cultist in Xonthal’s tower is killed, and to make certain he brings something from the tower as proof that he entered in order to establish his claim to the location. Harle is all too happy to agree, and as he’s returning to catch up with the Chainbreakers he’s met by G’houl, who offers Harle a few of his magic items and potions for Harle’s protection.
While Harle and G’houl discuss their plans, Dahlia heads up to Azbara Jos’s cell to speak to him, finding that Yauna is already there, having pledged to protect Jos after it became clear that the Thayans are looking for him. Yauna is weeping openly after hearing about the plight of the Thayan people from Jos. Dahlia wants to talk to Jos about his teacher, Rath Modar, who seems to still be allied with the Cult of Tiamat. She wants to know if Jos has any ideas why Modar is still working with the Cult of Tiamat despite seemingly betraying them at Skyreach Castle. Jos believes that, despite everything, Modar is willing to do anything to have the power to defeat Szass Tam… and Modar won’t hesitate to harm others to accomplish his goals.
After speaking with Jos, Dahlia wants to take some time to look up information on Green Hags, hoping to learn more about Granny Greenskin, hoping it will help her to give a gift to her Fairy Godmother. She’s allowed to access the library of Castle Waterdeep, where it’s quite easy to find information about Green Hags… although everything she reads doesn’t seem to accurately describe Granny Greenskin… looking further, she struggles to find anything that seems to accurately describe the Hag. Looking through some of the incomplete research inside the library, Dahlia finds a journal by a halfling explorer named Griffin Hawe, which details his journeys into the feywild where he has documented many things that aren’t well known on the material plane… although she can’t find anything specific at this time, she’s allowed to rent the journal to research at her own pace later.
Disappointed, but not surprised, Dahlia catches up with her allies as they’re purchasing supplies from the Waterdeep Army Surplus to take advantage of the generally lower prices… although Loki can’t resist toying with the rude Clerk… asking him pointless questions, and buying a completely pointless Climbing Kit (seeing as she already owns slippers of spider climbing) deliberately overpaying for it to force him to give her change. He tries to get back at her for picking on him in the past… paying her the remaining change with a jar full of copper pieces that she had used to purchase something earlier. However, Loki turns it on him by throwing off his counting, and in frustration he just gives her the entire jar, which ultimately ends up giving Loki an extra 100 pieces of copper.
With their shopping complete, the Chainbreakers climb up Mount Waterdeep to meet up with Captain Armpit and the Nimbus, showing Harle the artificially created floating island they use to travel. Armpit also reveals that he’s modified the bath tub Dahlia bought for the Nimbus… he found that it got cold too easily, so he connected it to the heating system that powers the Nimbus… accidentally inventing a hot tub in the process. During the flight toward Xonthal’s Tower, Katniss gathers medicinal herbs that Antares had planted on the Nimbus, while Dahlia tries to read more of Hawe’s journal, but the sloppy hand-writing and clinical language are difficult for her to decipher accurately.
Surprisingly, they see another vehicle flying during their travel… a large patchwork balloon carrying a small shed and led through the air by a griffin on a bridle. The large balloon is kept inflated by an enchanted glass jar releasing bursts of wind. Once flagged down they find the rider to be a Dwarven woman in a tall hat and extravagant jacket known as Janeth Steelbraid, and the structure is her traveling magic item shop, Steelbraid’s Shop of Mystical Wonder. Her prices are a bit high, but she’s willing to give a discount for purchases made with precious stones instead of gold. Unfortunately, Loki, who normally collects gems, recently exchanged her collection for coin, and most items are out of the Chainbreakers’ budget. Dhalia, however, manages to Persuade Steelbraid to give her a slight discount on a Ring of Evasion, after explaining what the party is doing and imploring her aid in resisting the Cult of Tiamat. Pleased with the sale, Steelbraid has to leave as she’s traveling a different direction in her travels although her Griffin, Mcelroy (or as she calls him, just Mac), seemed to enjoy the opportunity to rest.
Before continuing their journey, Dhalia takes some time to cast Message to contact Rath Modar. She doesn’t have much to say to him, but instead prioritizes asking his permission to contact him using the Dream spell later that night. Modar consents, telling her that he’ll be asleep at night fall and won’t resist her attempts to contact him.
Continuing their journey, the Chainbreakers arrive outside of Xonthal’s Tower in the mid-afternoon. The village surrounds what appears to be a 3 story tower, which has a large hedge maze surrounding it in a circle, with the town itself seeming to radiate outward in a large circle from the tower in the center, lights glowing in the tower windows. To avoid potentially being seen, the Nimbus touches down several miles away from the small village, with Katniss leading the way safely through heavy marshes to approach the village, which is also called Xonthal’s Tower. Near the outskirts of town the Chainbreakers notice that most of the buildings in the remote village seem to be empty, many of them showing decades of neglect. Harle notices a message carved into a tree directing Zhentarim agents to a safe house… the letters “S + H” Carved into a tree with a heart around them, the point of the heart pointing down toward a small stone that has the number 11 written on its underside in blue paint. Although the stone itself means nothing in Thieve’s Cant, Harle reasons that “Blue 11” is meant to be a hint.
Once in the village, the Chainbreakers stealthily seek out a tavern. They find a location directly south from the tower known as “The Six”… a large tavern and inn that looks as though only a small portion of it has been properly maintained for decades. Inside they get some simple food and cheap beer from the bartender, Eleanor Cornwallis, who is happy to chat with travelers. She explains that, 100 years ago, the Wizard Xonthal suddenly banished all of his students from his tower and shortly after went missing himself. However, the lights in Xonthal’s Tower suddenly lit up again about a year ago… however, no one has been seen leaving the tower. She believes that Xonthal himself must have returned, and is hopeful that the town will recover, since it had mostly fallen to ruin since his disappearance. When the Chainbreakers ask for more information about the hedge maze, she warns them very explicitly to not even attempt to enter, but if they still have more questions she directs them toward a half-elf farmer visiting the bar.
Dhalia buys a beer to give as a gift to open up conversation with the half-elf farmer, a seemingly young woman named Elizabeth Wheatflow, although she’s actually 70 years old. She’s hesitant to talk about the tower or especially the hedge maze, but with some persuading Dhalia is able to convince her to open up… Elizabeth’s Elven father was a student of Xonthal’s, who remained in the village after being banished from his tower where he met and fell in love with a human woman. However, her father could never quite give up on the tower… every few years he would brave the Maze in an attempt to reach the tower, but always returned empty handed… until, of course, he pushed himself too far and never returned. Dhalia instantly sympathizes, as her father’s own death still weighs so heavily upon her, and she hopes that the light in Xonthal’s Tower might be proof that Elizabeth’s father is still alive, Elizabeth herself is convinced that it’s likely just some adventurer who managed to figure out the maze, although she assumes whoever it was is now trapped in the tower. She also has seen a few more passing adventurers attempt to reach the tower ever since it lit up, assuming they all died in the process… she actually has seen a group with a hobgoblin sneak into the maze, but it was several months ago.
With night fast approaching, the Chainbreakers decide to rent rooms to pass the time and have somewhere to return to, just in case their first exploration of the maze goes poorly. Katniss and Loki decide to take advantage of the brief break for a romantic tryst in private, while Harle and Dhalia share a room, if only to help keep an eye on one another. Preparing for bed, Dhalia takes some time to cast Dream to speak with Rath Modar. For their meeting she conjures a large open field under bright star light, hoping to create a comforting environment for her meeting. Modar himself manifests in his full ceremonial red robes, stoic and cold, as usual. Dhalia wants to know why Modar still allies with the Cult of Tiamat, and reiterates the promise she made to help him and Azbara Jos to take down the lich Szass Tam in Thay. Modar explains why he’s still assisting the Cult of Tiamat despite seeming to agree with Dhalia in the past… he intends to test Dhalia and the Chainbreakers’ resolve. If they cannot stop the Cult of Tiamat at its strongest, then they’ll stand no chance against Tam, who has an entire country of enslaved people and the Undead protecting him. He promises he’ll give no quarter, and asks none in return. Seeing the intense resolve in Modar’s eyes, Dhalia reluctantly agrees to his terms, promising she won’t hesitate in battle against him, and to prove that her friends will have the strength to one day take on Tam. Modar then simply waits for her to dispel the Dream spell, but she has one last thing to do… ask him how he feels about Azbara Jos. Modar had raised Jos since he was a child… but only did so after killing Jos’s actual parents on Tam’s orders. Despite their complicated history, Jos himself has acknowledged that he sees Modar as a father… despite being the one who took Jos into the Red Wizards, he’s also the one who organized their escape from Thay… he is as much responsible for Jos’s life of slavery as he is for his current freedom. Modar visibly hesitates for the first time in this discussion, but states bluntly that Jos is a fool and an idealist… but admitting that he feels some relief that Jos is not directly involved in this conflict. Dhalia sees that, in his own way, Modar seems to care for Jos at least as much as Jos cares for Modar, and with Modar declaring that he will not accept further communication Dhalia agrees, ending the spell and preparing to continue their journey into Xonthal’s Tower, where the blue Dragon Mask awaits them.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
Because some players have gotten new work schedules on top of some bad weather, we were forced to cancel our usual Friday session of Rise of Tiamat. Thankfully, we'll be able to stream tonight instead! Come join me as I DM my friends as they explore the deadly enchanted Hedgemaze surrounding Xonthal's tower, tonight at 6pm PST on Twitch or Youtube.
I also would normally share a summary of what happened last time, but I already did! So just scroll up a little and you can read the summary that was originally posted on Friday.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
We couldn't stream Rise of Tiamat last week, so we'll be streaming tonight instead! You can find us on Twitch and Youtube tonight at 6pm PST. Going forward, we'll be streaming Rise of Tiamat on Mondays, since this works better for some of our players' work schedules. As always, however, read on in case you need a reminder of what happened last time
Dhalia awakes from her dream with tears in her eyes… shattered that Rath Modar has chosen to remain with the Cult of Tiamat… as much to use the power of Tiamat to free the people of Thay as he is using them to test the Chainbreakers… knowing if they have the power to stop Tiamat herself, then they may have the power necessary to kill Szass Tam and free the enslaved citizens of Thay. The group reconvenes and she informs them of what she had learned, and also explains that she intends to stay true to her promise to Rath Modar to show him no mercy in their upcoming battle to prove that they won’t hesitate against Tam. Harle understands Modar’s logic fully, Katniss begrudgingly admits his logic is sound, and Loki doesn’t even fully remember who Rath Modar is.
Wanting to take advantage of the dark of night to avoid being seen by any cultists in Xonthal’s Tower. Wanting to find out the meaning of the “Blue Eleven” hint they saw earlier, Katniss figures that, treating Xonthal’s tower as the center of a clock, They lead the Chainbreakers to vaguely where the 11 would be on a clock face, and They notice an isolated, abandoned building with a distinct blue door. Harle notices Thieves Cant markings carved onto a portion of the building denoting it as a safe house. Harle uses a signature knock to let the occupant know he’s a member of the Zhentarim, and the two share a coded conversation before the door is opened and they see the Hobgoblin spy they were told to meet… a middle aged Hobgoblin with red skin, black hair, and a distinct divot-like scar on his lower lip that he rests a pipe in who goes by the name Norbon. Dahlia, Katniss, and Harle all have such high passive perception that they notice he’s wearing bandages under his clothing, and Katniss is able to identify by smell that it isn’t tobacco in his pipe, and is instead a medicinal herb he’s most likely smoking to ease the pain.
Norbon lets them know about the state of Xonthal’s Tower… The tower is occupied by a sect of the Cult of Tiamat originally known as the “Cult of the Dragon”, and they’re largely unfaithful to Tiamat, instead they’re interested in researching the creation of Dragon Liches. There’s a key within the tower itself… while holding it anyone can pass safely through the hedge maze, but otherwise it subjects anyone who enters to a series of unpredictable challenges that the Cultists were only able to get through by sacrificing many of their own members. Norbon himself was escorted through with the key, so he doesn’t have first hand experience… instead he can only share what he’s heard from the other cultists… He believes that the maze itself is a living thing, and the only advice he can give is that the Sundial is the key to getting through the maze. He also warns that Xonthal had managed to enslave several genies and elementals that still guard the maze and tower. As he talks the Chainbreakes show concern for Norbon’s injuries… he seems mostly irritated at their desire to actually help him, explaining that he was seen delivering Iskander’s letter to a Zhentarim agent… although the cultists didn’t know the details of what he was doing, seeing him doing something so suspicious got him stabbed in the chest and unceremoniously tossed outside of the tower… he only barely managed to survive and could at least exit the maze without being subjected to its tortures. He explains that the cultists all know each other, and there is no code phrase or symbol that could be shown to fake authority to get access… if anyone shows up that they’re not expecting, they’ll be killed on sight. When asked about the cultists inside, he says that they’re mostly humans and although they’re likely to have someone on watch 24/7, they are likely to be asleep at night.
Dhalia shares some of her expensive bourbon with Norbon, which he takes without hesitation, chugging it with little appreciation for its quality, and he doesn’t give the bottle back. Seeing how injured he is, Dhalia decides to let him keep it. Loki attempts to cast Cure Wounds on Norbon, but it has little effect… his wounds are already treated, so while he does have a lingering injury, mechanically he is at full health. The Chainbreakers make the decision to brave the Maze in the dead of night, hoping to catch the cultists sleeping. Norbon lets them know he won’t be in the safe house when they return… he only stayed near Xonthal’s Tower to share this intel with whoever the Zhentarim send to recover Iskander. As he’s preparing to leave Harle stealthily casts Message, asking Norbon how many cultists are inside… Norbon explains it’s a bit over a dozen, and intuits that Harle must be planning to kill them all in order to claim the tower for the Zhentarim.
Because of Norbon’s blunt, straightforward attitude they are still within the hour duration of Katniss’s Pass Without Trace spell, using the stealth bonus to enter the maze, confident they cannot be seen by anyone inside the tower. As they pass under an archway into the maze, looking up they realize that the stars in the sky are different. It doesn’t even look as though it’s simply a different location on the same planet… they’re most likely in demiplane of some kind. Following a winding, but otherwise straightforward path, they eventually reach a large golden sundial in the center of 8 diverging pathways. They see that the sundial looks brand new, as if it hasn’t been sitting out in the open for over a century. The Sundial itself, despite the low light, casts a distinct shadow pointing to the North path, while the Chainbreakers’ own shadows are directly beneath themselves. There is debate on whether the shadow is indicating which direction to go, or if it’s a trap meant to ensnare anyone who proceeds too confidently. Katniss uses Their familiar, the Raven Onix, sending him flying into the air to see if he can find some hint of a correct path. Seeing through Onix’s eyes, Katniss sees that, as Onix’s perspective rises up, the tower seems to sink below the horizon, and looking around the land itself has completely become a single, massive maze that extends all the way to the horizon in all directions, with no sign of which path is the correct one.
Onix returns, and the Chainbreakers realize they are no closer to solving this riddle. Seeing as the maze is made by a massive hedge, Katniss decides to test further… casting Speak with Plants, They attempt to ask the maze itself for guidance. To Katniss’s shock, the Maze’s voice is overwhelming, like millions of voices shouting in unison. The maze speaks in short, commanding phrases. It proclaims that this is the test. When Katniss asks for guidance or a hint of some kind, They manage to be persuasive enough to convince the Maze to give some hint… telling Them that the Shadow will be their guide. Satisfied with the answer, Katniss dismisses the spell, as the sensation of communicating with the living maze was oppressive and distracting. Trusting the words of the maze, they march to the Northern path, following the shadow cast by the Sundial.
This leads them on another winding path with no forks or other paths until they seemingly find themselves back at the same Sundial they had just left. However, it is now casting two separate shadows… one pointing North, the other pointing East. They wonder if the Maze is keeping track of the paths they’ve followed, and since they’ve already traveled North, they decide to follow the path East. Following another winding path, it leads them to a large dark pool 50 feet across with a small Garnet floating about a foot above the very center of the pool. Looking closely, they can see that there are large figures moving below the waters surface, although they can’t be seen clearly enough to determine what they are. Moving stealthily, the Chainbreakers make their way slowly around the pool to another pathway on the other side… although Dhalia notices that the Garnet seems to gleam a little brighter the closer they get to the other side. Uncertain if they should continue further, Harle investigates the pool a bit more closely… he still can’t determine what the figures are in the dark, murky water, but he does notice the barely perceptible shine of something at the bottom of the pool.
When she hears there’s something shiny in the pool, Loki decides to test the water, poking it with her crescent moon staff… although nothing happens as a result and the dark figures within do not react. Wanting to investigate further, Dhalia decides to brave the water, dipping her head inside, trying to get just her face below the surface to hopefully get a better view. However, when she does so her enchanted earring gifted by Granny Greenskin touches the water, and instantly one of the figures rushes toward her. As she leaps out of the water she just barely avoids the snapping claw of a large, crustacean-like creature with segmented tendrils for a mouth. With Their research into the many dangerous creatures of the world, Katniss recognizes it as a Chuul… creatures created by Aboleths to guard their treasures. Chuul’s are naturally drawn to magic items and hoard them aggressively. These Chuuls, however, seem to only notice magic items that are in contact with the water of their pool. A long discussion begins, debating the best way to take advantage of this knowledge and hopefully gather whatever treasure is waiting at the bottom. Dhalia and Loki both take off any magic items they’re wearing, while Katniss aims their bow… because of the way Magic bows work, the arrows fired from them become magical, albeit only briefly. Katniss fires an arrow on the far side of the pool, drawing the Chuuls to that location, distracting them while Dhalia and Loki dive into the water. Below the surface they see several magic items the Chuuls collected at some point… a Wand, a few daggers, several potions (as well as the broken bottles of others) some kind of crystal ball and a lightly glowing sapphire. Dhalia grabs the wand and a dagger, while Loki grabs the crystal ball and sapphire. However, as soon as they grab the items it instantly draws the Chuul’s attention. Katniss tries to keep the creatures distracted, but they quickly close in on the two swimming adventurers. Thinking quickly, Loki casts Dimension Door, bringing both her and Dhalia safely out of the pool, and the Chuuls remain, still seeming unaware of anything happening outside of the pool itself. Still suspecting the Garnet is important, once Loki and Dhalia gather their magic items again everyone prepares to run as Harle casts Mage Hand, using it to grab the Garnet. Once grabbed, the Chuuls start to crawl out of the pool, but by the time they do the Chainbreakers have already dashed into the maze, and find themselves once again at the golden Sundial.
They see that there has been no change to the Sundial, as it still casts shadows to the North and East passages. Thinking they must have taken the wrong path, the Chainbreakers decide instead of following the shadow itself, to instead go where it doesn’t fall… the path to the Northeast. Continuing down this path, it returns them to the Sundial once again, although the cast shadow has changed… proof that they made the correct choice. Now the Sundial casts shadows to the North, the South East, and the South West. Despite the fact that following the shadows failed them last time, the party decides that it would make sense to go down a path they haven’t tried yet, following the shadow guiding them to the South East. Continuing through another winding path they find a surprisingly large field. Two Cyclopes are standing at the far end, seemingly in conversation, while a group of goats are penned nearby… however, they all seem to be frozen in place, as if caught in a moment of time. Dhalia is the first to approach, and as she enters the field time suddenly animates the figures. The Cyclopes notice the Chainbreakers enter and proceed to converse with one another in the Giant language… unfortunately, no one in the group speaks Giant and cannot understand their conversation as the two one-eyed creatures play rock scissors paper, the loser approaching the party to speak. The two of them are unarmed, and although they have large clubs they leave them behind. The Cyclops points to a pile of large, 100+ pound boulders. Hefting one up, he hurls it across the field, sending it soaring about 100 feet before hitting the ground. He then points at the pile, then points at the Chainbreakers, seeming to not indicate any specific one, then points across the field.
Dhalia uses a stick to draw in the ground a simple stick figure throwing a rock, with the Cyclopes smiling and giving a double thumbs up to confirm she understood the instructions. She points at a smaller stone, but this time the Cyclopes shake their heads and point at the pile of boulders, indicating that it is only those that can be used. Dhalia then casts Telekinesis, using it to lift one of the massive boulders. Again, she gets a thumbs up, indicating that use of magic is perfectly fine for this test. With the spells aid tossing the boulder further than the one thrown by the Cyclops is a simple task, and when the boulder lands it cracks open, and a small Topaz the same size and shape of the Garnet they recovered earlier begins floating above the split boulder while the Cyclopes clap in congratulation and gesture for the adventurers to proceed unimpeded. Grabbing the Topaz, they march back through the maze until they arrive once again at the Sundial, and find that it still has shadows cast to the North, South East, and South West.
Despite the fact that following the shadow to the South East failed, the Chainbreakers decide to follow the shadow to the South West. Eventually they find themselves in a long corridor with a fountain in the center, with large flowering plants growing along the thin patch. Every 10 feet there is a flower with a large pearl resting on it, the pearl the same size and shape as the Garnet and Topaz they already recovered. They also see that the fountain seems to be feeding water to the plants. Sensing a trap, they poke at one of the pearls cautiously, and find that it does seem to be secured to the plant and will require some effort to remove. Using Mage Hand, Harle makes sure that everyone is a good distance away from the specific flower he’s targeting before trying to yank out the pearl, with Dhalia going the extra step to fly above them using her Broom of Flying. Unfortunately, it seems to be secured quite well… even worse, interacting with that single flower causes all the flowers to animate and attack the party. They’re surrounded as the flowers reveal large, flytrap-like mouths and whip their vines to grapple the Chainbreakers. They attempt to attack the flower that Harle has already started to pull the pearl from, and they realize that all of the flowers seem to react, as if they are all connected. Because they’re surrounded by so many of them, the Chainbreakers can’t get to a safe location. Suffering painful whippings from the vines and Harle becomes poisoned by one of their bites. Finally, Loki grabs the pearl of a Flower grappling her while she casts Inflict Wounds, the burst of necrotic damage withering the plants… all the other pearls dissolve in a puff of dust, but the one Loki is clutching remains in her hand, and they confidently March onward to continue their journey.
Arriving back at the Sundial, the shadows are still cast to the North, South East, and South West. They determine that they should try going South, but opt to take a short rest before they do to tend to their wounds. Dhalia spends her time trying to study the journal of Griffin Hawe, hoping that it will hold some hint about Granny Greenskin’s true nature. Harle asks her about the book, and she explains that Granny Greenskin is her Fairy Godmother… a powerful hag who lives in the feywilds and who helped unlock Dhalia’s fey-based magical powers. She knows that Greenskin aids her because her father, many years ago, gifted Greenskin a song, and Dhalia is hoping to give her another song, but she needs to know more about her before she can. A kind Hag is an unusual concept, but Harle has heard stories of hags sharing wisdom and guidance… there are as many stories of the great hag Baba Yaga imparting lessons and guarding the forest as there are of her deceiving others and devouring children. With their rest completed, the Chainbreakers venture South.
The Southern path leads them once again to the Sundial, proof that they made the right choice this time. However, when they arrive they see that, the Sundial is casting four shadows forming a large X… and X that slowly begins to rotate in a clockwise direction. Spinning gradually faster and fast while also shrinking in size, until it’s a blur of shadow that vanishes as if sinking into the Sundial itself. There’s a long discussion on where to go next, some debate on whether the clockwise rotation had any significance, until Finally Dahlia decides to investigate the sundial itself… finding that her hand passes right through the Golden Sundial as though it is merely an illusion. Without hesitation she cannonballs into the Sundial itself, and the rest of the party scrambles to catch up with her, not wanting to get separated. She’s proven correct when they all fall down once again by the Golden Sundial, this time, though, it is casting a shadow towards every single pathway.
Unsure of what this means, they decide they should at least try going down a path they haven’t tried yet, taking the Western path. This proves to be the wrong direction, as it leads them to another test… an open area with a small pool inside. Resting in the pool is a large boulder, with a pagoda built on top of it. Standing in the Pagoda is a smiling human man in yellow robes, who silently gestures for the party to join him, gesturing to a short bridge connecting the Pagoda to land. The party is hesitant, Dhalia investigating the man closely and determining that his appearance is an illusion of some kind. She asks him to show his true form, but he silently ignores her and gestures for everyone to join him in the Pagoda. Hesitantly, they step inside, finding that the interior is an elegant sand garden with a small charcoal pit in the center. The smiling man produces silk cushions for everyone to sit on, and he pointedly ignores any questions or requests made to him. Holding his hand over the charcoal pit, a steel tea kettle rises out of the ground. It has a distinct, angular face as part of its design that Katniss recognizes as the face of a Dao, a type of genie. Dhalia then realizes this is likely one of the enslaved genies she was warned about, and again pleads with him to show his true self and converse with them, as she feels sorry for the enslaved elemental. However, the smiling man continues to ignore her, producing from within his large sleeves some leaves, crumbling them in his fingers and dropping them into the tea kettle. As the teakettle starts to steam the Chainbreakers have just long enough to notice it has an acrid, unpleasant spell before suddenly stone walls erupt upward from the boulder, trapping them in the Pagoda as the smiling man sinks into the ground below.
As the Pagoda fills with steam they realize it’s burning their lungs, and must be some kind of poison. Harle uses his mage hand to plug the tea kettle, reducing the amount of poison they’re trapped with while everyone focuses on hammering on the stone walls, hoping to escape before they choke on the poison. As they’re smashing the stone wall Harle notices that the face on the tea kettle seems to be reacting to their actions, looking annoyed that they’re making their escape already. When he mentions this to the others, Dhalia remembers stories of genies from her homeland… in particular, she knows that they have bottles that they can hide in. As Katniss is finally breaking through the stone wall Dhalia realizes that she knows exactly where the Dao is hiding, and is already making plans to punish him for his deception.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium
The Chainbreakers are back, continuing their journey into Xonthal's Tower! Come join us on Twitch and Youtube tonight at 6pm PST, but in case you need a refresher, here's what happened in last week's session:
As the Chainbreakers seemingly have the Dao genie trapped in a teapot, the stone-faced elemental suddenly bursts out. Summoning an Earth Elemental to fight in his stead before using his earth glide feature to vanish below the ground. The Earth Elemental is massive and powerful, but not too smart. Katniss manages to keep its attention on Themself, and Loki discovers its weakness by casting Shatter, the Thunderous burst of sound rattling the creature to the core. Once it’s destroyed, the Dao returns, now flying in the air, hoping to stay out of range of his opponents.
Not wanting the Dao to be able to move freely, Dhalia mounts her Broom of Flying, casting Spirit Guardians and using them to slow down the Dao. To keep Dahlia protected, Cole casts Tasha’s Mind Whip, taking advantage of his Magical Ambush to damage the Dao and prevent it from being able to attack Dahlia for one round. This protects her for a key moment, forcing the Dao to remain above ground, but despite the other Chainbreakers blasting the Dao with their full strength, when the Dao finally gets a chance to attack again he slams Dahlia with his massive stone hammer, knocking her out of the sky before slamming a fist into her prone form, knocking the blue tiefling unconscious. Still, despite losing consciousness, Dhalia’s spirit guardians still manage to slow the Dao enough that he’s unable to slide into the earth, leaving him exposed for Katniss to finish off with Their potent sharpshooter skills. After dying, the Dao’s teapot shatters, revealing a glowing jade gemstone that will allow them to continue their journey through the deadly hedge maze.
Dhalia is revived using one of the potions made by Antares and infused with his chaotic wild magic. This allows her to float temporarily, which she takes advantage of to rest and relax as the others carry her back toward the sundial to decide what to do next. During their short rest, Katniss investigates the sundial, which is casting a shadow down every single path surrounding the sundial when They have a revelation… only once did actually following the cast shadow lead to the correct answer… instead, the correct way to go was where the shadows weren’t. With that in mind, Katniss investigates the walls of the hedge maze… finding that they part, allowing the Chainbreakers to pass through safely.
Stepping through the hedge, they find themselves once again back at the sundial, but this time the night sky above them has the familiar stars, and directly to the south of the sundial is the entrance to the hedge maze itself, and directly to the North is Xonthal’s Tower… making it even more clear that they’re out of the hedge maze’s demiplane, the sundial itself is no longer the pristine, gold-plated structure they had seen so many times already… instead, although it’s clearly the same sundial, it is weather worn, the gold peeling off, grass overgrowing as the sundial has been left unattended for a century. Acting quickly, the Chainbreakers see that a magic circle is at the base of the tower… stepping on it, they find themselves teleported into the interior.
Arriving in what appears to be a dining hall, they find two cultists in deep conversation. In a moment, they recognize one of them as Iskander, the man they were sent to rescue in exchange for the Blue Dragon Mask. He asks if they’re with the Zhentarim, and when they confirm that they are, Iskander immediately turns on the cultist he was speaking to, helping the Chainbreakers to kill him. Once the other cultist is killed, Iskander explains that the mask is hidden in the tower’s dungeon, but to access the Dungeon they’ll need the key to the tower… he knows that a high ranking cultist, Jorgen Pawl, currently has the key in his possession, but he does not know Pawl’s current location. He also explains how to operate the teleporter the party used to arrive within the tower itself… there are no stairs in Xonthal’s Tower, and instead each floor is accessed by touching runes carved into the wall above the miniature teleportation circle.
The Chainbreakers had gone out of their way to arrive at night for the express purpose of ambushing the cultists in their sleep. Iskander shows no hesitation guiding the party to the sleeping chambers used by the cultists, where several of them are still asleep. Some of the Chainbreakers grow a bit suspicious of Iskander, as he has a sinister air about him… examining his clothing they notice that, while he does wear dragon-themed robes, he seems to avoid overt Tiamat imagery. His attitude gives them the impression of a man with little regard for the lives of others, but who doesn’t seem to take any particular glee in harming those around him… instead he seems to approach the grim work ahead as a necessity. Confident they can at least trust him enough to not turn on them any time soon, they continue into the bedchambers where Harle (himself a trained killer for whom murder is a simple necessity of his work from time to time) slits the throats of the sleeping cultists.
Iskander explains that the next floor up is a research laboratory… there are usually cultists there doing research into creating Dracoliches regardless of the time of day. He warns the Chainbreakers to be careful of the skeletal arm of a black dragon that’s in the room. The Chainbreakers know that the cultists will attack anyone they don’t recognize on sight, even if they are wearing Cult of Tiamat robes… fortunately, however, they’re traveling with Iskander, a Changeling, and a Tiefling who owns a Hat of Disguise. There are enough robes in the room as well for Katniss and Harle to wear, and although the two of them know they’ll be discovered quickly, they’re both skilled in Stealth enough to maintain a low profile at least long enough to catch their opponents by surprise.
With their deception ready, they travel to the research laboratory which, as Iskander had warned, is filled with spellcasters performing research. Their ruse proves a success, and they catch them by surprise, unleashing attacks and quickly eliminating most of the cultists before they can even get a chance to react. The black dragon arm in the center room begins to animate, and rather than risk dealing with the undead threat, Loki taps into her divine power to Destroy Undead, reducing the draconic arm to ash… much to Iskander’s dismay. Despite getting the drop on them, there are simply too many researchers awake at this time of night to defeat them all in a single round, and the spellcasters begin to fight back. Dahlia conjures a pack of Blink Dogs to surround and assault the panicked cultists, and Loki reaches into her Bag of Tricks to summon a creature… throwing a small furry ball that suddenly grows into a Giant Boar that nearly gores one of the researchers.
In a last desperate move, the last remaining well-trained spellcaster releases a cone of cold, willingly killing some of his own allies in an attempt to kill as many of his opponents as possible. Unfortunately for him, the mostly un-injured Chainbreakers all manage to survive… even the comparatively weaker Blink Dogs avoid fatal damage. However, during the skirmish one cultist was able to make his way to the teleporter and attempts to reach a higher floor… before the teleporter activates Katniss manages to kill him, but instead the teleporter activates, sending both the dead body and two of Dhalia’s Blink Dogs to another floor of the tower, and the Chainbreakers will need to act quickly before the alarm is raised, alerting everyone and everything in the tower to their presence.
Watch Crits for Breakfast, an adults-only RP-Heavy Roll20 Livestream at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty
And now you too can play with the amazing art and assets we use in Roll20 for our campaign at Hazel's Emporium