Hoard of the Dragon Queen is playing again tonight at 7pm PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. In case you missed the game this last Monday, here's what you missed:

As the Protectors of Phandalin take a short rest after defeating a Troll and group of large Crocodiles, their Lizardfolk companions set about harvesting the fallen creatures for meat and bones. They’re given meat from the crocodiles to eat, the Party opting to cook the meat, while the Lizardfolk are content to eat it raw. Dahlia offers the leader of this group of Lizardfolk, Snapjaw, a chance to taste some meat with spices, but the Lizardfolk doesn’t care for the spicy taste, preferring the simple flavor of raw meat.

With the early morning fog finally lifting they guide their kayaks back into the swamps of the Mere of Dead Men, continuing their journey toward the castle the cultists reportedly are stationed in. As they travel they begin to notice fallen logs and other barriers funneling them toward a specific point. Before they can express concern, Snapjaw pulls out a flag with the symbol of Tiamat on it, holding it above her head and the Party does the same as they round a corner and find themselves heading toward a well-guarded checkpoint. They find it staffed by other Lizardfolk, who recognize Snapjaw and question why she’s returning so soon. She introduces her new allies, and their intent to banish the Bullywugs from the “House of Stone” and claim it for themselves. The Guards, however, need to be convinced, especially when Snapjaw claims she witnessed them kill “The Weed That Walks”, the Lizardfolks’ name for the Shambling Mound, which they believe to be unkillable. Dahlia and Katniss team up in a show of skill... Dahlia uses Thaumaturgy to ignite a torch, and Katniss quickly shoots the same torch, displaying Their expert marksman skills that felled the Shambling Mound. The Lizardfolk are sufficiently impressed and listen to the plan, quietlly allowing the Party to continue unimpeded.

Travel through the Mere is slow, with long stretches of empty, standing water... no stream or flow to assist in their movement. Katniss casts Path Without a Trace to help them move more stealthily, but it becomes a moot point as they approach the castle, find it surrounded by an open lake with no room to hide, and other canoes carrying Lizardfolk moving out from the castle on patrols or hunting missions. Proceeding cautiously, they suddenly hear the beating of massive wings. Snapjaw instinctively pulls out the Tiamat flag again, holding it above her head, and the Party quickly does the same. However, they’re able to witness a few hundred feet away one Lizardfolk attempting to do the same, but losing their grip on their own flag. Suddenly, the sky darkens as the massive figure of a Black Dragon, Voragamanthar, “The Sudden Death”, streaks through the sky like a bolt of black lightning, slamming into the water, taking with him all of the hapless Lizardfolk riding the canoe. Voragamanthar strikes with such force that a huge wave rushes across the lake, strong enough to knock G’houl into the water. Inside he finds that Voragamanthar has released enough acid that the water itself burns his skin, and just as Dahlia is helping him back into the canoe Voragamanthar erupts out of the water several hundred feet in the opposite direction, which Katniss recognizes as far faster than even dragons are known to travel, with Voragamanthar living up to his reputation for supernatural speed.

As they canoes are carried ashore the sun is beginning to set, giving the party the cover of darkness to proceed forward. Rather than head directly for the castle, they instead move toward the simple huts built by the Lizardfolk and past their pen where they raise and train the Giant Lizards that fulfill the duties of Mounts, Beasts of Burden, and, if needed, sources of meat. There they meet other Lizardfolk, who need to be persuaded to join Snapjaw in her crusade against the Bullywug. The other Lizardfolk are resistant, not out of any care for the Bullywugs, but because they do not wish to upset Dralmorrer Borngray, the Elven leader of this sect of the cult who pays the Lizardfolk for their services with metal weapons and “magical” trinkets. However, G’houl and Katniss are able to show them that the trinkets are little more than costume jewelry, and any magical effects the Lizardfolk experienced was simply a Placebo (although it takes some effort to explain what a placebo is). Enraged at the betrayal, the Lizardfolk declare their willingness to assist not simply in ousting the Bullywugs, but in killing Borngray as punishment for his deception.

During this time, they meet the only child Lizardfolk staying near the castle... Snapjaw’s son, Light Touch. Snapjaw explains that their tribe, The Scaly Death, have a village of their own not far from here... it had been their intent to move their entire tribe into the safetfy of the castle, but that honor was given to the Bullywugs instead, thanks to their leader, Pharblex, who is capable of casting spells. Light Touch is the only child present because he was, at one time, training under the Lizardfolks’ original leader, the shaman Suncaller, who had been killed by Pharblex in a show of magical strength. Snapjaw explains that Light Touch’s egg was laid during a massive storm, and Light Touch was born with the ability, appropriately enough, to cause objects to glow at his touch. G’houl recognizes this a version of the Light Cantrip, and the party shows interest in Light Touch, who has no formal training and doesn’t even understand the concept of a Spellcasting Focus. Dahlia reveals that, despite being a bard, her Spellcasting Focus isn’t her pan flute, but rather an elaborate earring she wears. G’houl remembers a crystal necklace he had in his possession that would function as a spellcasting focus, gifting it to Light Touch. With the focus, Light Touch casts Light once again, and even he is surprised to find it erupts brighter than ever through the focus. The gift impresses the Lizardfolk, and Dahlia especially notices what seems to be Pride in the eyes of Snapjaw, although Lizardfolk emotions are difficult to read and at times quite alien. Snapjaw explains that Light Touch will one day be the leader of their Tribe, and that he will use “The Magics” to protect them.

Katniss explains that They would like to sleep for the night and do reconaissance the next day to plan exactly how they’ll defeat Borngray and the other cultists. They spend some time asking Snapjaw for information, which she is happy to provide. First, they ask if there is any secret exit from the castle that Borngray might attempt to use during an assault, and Snapjaw explains that, below the castle, there is a strange location where people and objects vanish at a word... G’houl instantly recognizes this as some form of Teleportation Circle. Surprised to hear of such a rarity in this desolate location, they ask more about the castle itself... Snapjaw does not know much about the castle, but is able to recreate symbols she had seen carved into the stone... her attempt is crude, but Katniss recognizes it as Elven script... “Naerytar”, the name they had seen written on Frulam’s Map, which they know to be the Elven family name “Gentle Archer,” or, translated literally, “Bow Gentle.” They realize now that this was once the castle of the great wizard of Conjuration, BowGentle, whose book holds the secret to Tiamat’s return, and for whom a Teleportation Circle would be a small feat to construct. Asking for more details, Snapjaw is aware that there have been many books found in the long-abandoned castle, and that there was a temple in the building to one of the Gods of the “Un-Scaled”, but she only knows this god by its symbol. Drawing the symbol in the sand, a simple star burst pattern, G’houl instantly recognizes it as belonging to Mystra, the Goddess of Magic, to whom he has dedicated his life. They peak Snapjaw’s interest when they explain that Mystra may provide the means for Light Touch to unlock his full potential in Magic.

The party also asks for more details about those present... Snapjaw explains that the Bullywug outnumber Lizardfolk in the castle, but also that they are cowards who will flee if their leader, Pharblex, is killed. Pharblex has been allowed to read some of the books left behind in the castle, and uses them to cast magic... in particular, he carries a strange book at his side that always smells of smoke. She also speaks of Borngray, a blonde elf with one eye and a scar across his face... supposedly he is the only man to fight the Half-Dragon leader of the cult, Rezmir, and live... although he carries the scars as a reminder of her strength. Borngray is both a skilled fighter as well as a spellcaster in his own right, and his armor is stamped with the symbol of the Eldreth Valuuthra, the Elf Supremacist group that stirs unpleasant memories in the half-elf Katniss. What raises their interest more, however, is the reveal that a “tattooed man” is also present, and while Snapjaw does not know the extent of his power, is aware that he uses magic as well. When pressed, she doesn’t recognize the name “Rath Modar”, but does know that the cultists refer to the Tattooed Man as “Master Jos”. G’houl immediately pulls out the scrap of cloth torn from Azbara Jos’s cloak, using it to track the rest of the cloak, finding that it, and Jos, are within the castle only a few hundred feet away.

With knowledge gathered the Protectors of Phandalin ask for some privacy so they can discuss their plans, which the Lizardfolk oblige without question. As he passes them, Light Touch cluthes his new necklace and proclaims that he will remember this, the closest a Lizardfolk might come to saying “Thank you”. G’houl takes a moment to cast Sending, first to contact Olive Treskettle and inform her of the castle and how to find it. She’s happy to hear from them, and proclaims that they successfully captured the Cult safehouse in Waterdeep, and now Harper Agents are on their way to assist, and she will let them know about the castle and their potential Lizardfolk allies. G’houl then contacts Jamna... with Dahlia reminding him to demand Jamna send her Wand of Magic Missiles back, and also lets her know about the castle and the Lizardfolk. Jamna responds that she had hoped Dahlia had simply forgotten, but explains that Bog Luck has been arrested by the Lords’ Alliance, and that more Lords’ Alliance members are on their way toward them. Dahlia also takes some time to use her Stone of Sending to contact Leosin and inform him as well... there’s little to share for him as Greenest and the lands around seem peaceful, for now, but he is impressed at their uncanny ability to make friends.

With allies contacted Katniss feels uneasy as They look down and see one of the discarded trinkets once gifted to Snapjaw by Borngray... cheap bronze discs stamped with the symbol of the Eldrath Valuuthra. The party is aware that They had been forced to flee Baldur’s Gate in Their youth after killing a man, but now They reveal the full story. While visiting a tavern with Their brother the two were approached by a group of High Elves who insulted Katniss for their heritage, and Their Brother Juniper for associating with Katniss. Being young and hot-headed, this caused a fight between Juniper and the others, and when Katniss realized that the High Elf was attacking to kill, They intervened, killing him first. However, the High Elf was a member of a noble family, and Katniss was forced to leave Baldur’s Gate where they might be raised with Their human mother instead. The Party is sympathetic to Katniss’s story, and believe that They did the right thing. Loki and Katniss leave Dahlia and G’houl alone so both pairs of lovers can enjoy some privacy after the long, muddy trip through the swamp. Dahlia and G’houl finally enjoy some time alone, where Dahlia presses G’houl on his behavior regarding Bog Luck. It takes some pressing, but G’houl admits that he was jealous of Dahlia flirting with Bog, even though he understands it was just an act to lower his guard. Dahlia finds his jealousy cute, and embraces her lover in the dim torch light of the Lizardfolk hut.

Hey everyone, some of our players are having technical issues with their internet provider, so we won't be streaming our homebrew campaign of Sacrament tonight. We're hoping to reschedule for later in the week, so I'll keep you all up to date as we figure things out.

Whew, we were forced to take an extended hiatus for the past couple weeks thanks to some technical and financial problems, but Crits for Breakfast is back tonight with more Hoard of the Dragon Queen! The action gets started at 6pm PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. The party is ready to challenge Castle Naerytar and the magical warriors that protect it, but if you need a reminder of what, exactly, happened last week, then read on:

G’houl and Dahlia embrace in the Lizardfolk longhouse, but Loki and Katniss leave to find somewhere more private. When they ask Snapjaw, she reveals that the Lizardfolk have a dedicated “Mating Hut” which she guides them toward. After enjoying a night of passion after days of hard travel, they’re woken up the next morning by Snapjaw delivering food to the sleeping adventurers. The Lizardfolk know little about cooking food, as they’re content to eat meat raw and bloody, so they’ve simply stuck hunks of meat directly into fire, producing a meal that’s technically edible, although more ash than meat by the time it’s delivered. Dahlia and G’houl use some spices Dahlia carries to assist their meal, but Katniss opts to simply store the meat for later and eat some rations.

Once gathered, Dahlia asks Snapjaw to send some Lizardfolk to meet Jamna and any Lords’ Alliance members she might be traveling with and escort them back to the castle. Snapjaw is hesitant, not wanting to bring more “Un-Scaled” into Lizardfolk territory, but Dahlia is able to convince her that Un-Scaled can not only be allies, but they can help to guide Snapjaw’s son, Light Touch, to harness his magical skills and be a greater leader for their people. This pragmatic response appeals to Snapjaw, and they also ask more questions about the Castle, and especially the chamber where the Teleportation Circle is kept. They had hoped to send Dusk into the Castle to explore it, but when they learn how deep it is in the castle, and that it’s surrounded by rooms where the Cultists frequent, they start to adjust their plans.

They shift focus instead to trying to think of how to lure Pharblex out of the castle. Snapjaw reveals that the chamber below the castle is actually a series of caves, filled with shallow pools used by the Bullywugs, and is where Pharblex spends most of his time. Pharblex comes out for only a few things... to flex his magical skills against the Lizardfolk, to take the best food of a new hunt for himself, or if something reasonably entertaining catches his attention. Dahlia considers using Conjure Woodland Beings to summon a pair of Satyrs, hoping their antics would draw attention, but Snapjaw warns that any creatures other than Lizardfolk, Bullywugs, or Cultists will be attacked on sight, and the Satyrs won’t get many opportunities to distract the others... and they certainly won’t be able to pull off Dahlia’s plan to have them perform and play with the Bullywugs.

Dahlia begins to ponder, thinking of the beings she knows she can summon, wondering aloud whether any of them can shape shift into Lizardfolks. Snapjaw asks for an explanation of the term “shape shift”, and once it’s explained to her she points out that she has already witnessed Loki and Katniss both shape shift into Lizardfolk already (although Snapjaw doesn’t fully understand that Katniss only employed an illusion). The party then begins to ask what would happen if a Magic-Using Lizardfolk would appear, and Snapjaw states that Pharblex would have no choice but to challenge this new Lizardfolk directly to maintain his authority in the castle. This excites the party, as they finally realize they have a way to eliminate Pharblex as a threat in a one-on-one confrontation. However, they’re still concerened about Borngray and Azbara Jos... Snapjaw doesn’t know much about Jos, but does state that Borngray will most likely watch the conflict, especially since Borngray does not like the Bullywugs and would rather work only with Lizardfolk, who are more reliable and cunning than the fat, lazy frogs. Still, Borngray is unlikely to interfere in the combat itself.

Snapjaw also clarifies that all the Lizardfolk in the castle are ready to help the party at a moment’s notice, and that those who dissented were “dealt with”. Knowing that the Bullywug will abandon the castle if Pharblex is killed, the order is made for the Lizardfolk to attack all Bullywug as soon as Pharblex is defeated. Now the question remains... who in the party will challenge Pharblex​?

We're back to our regular schedule this week, so join us tonight at 6pm PST (EDIT: Make that 6:30pm PST) at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty to join the CfB crew in our homebrew campaign of Sacrament. It's been a while since our last game, so I'm going to have read on too to remember exactly where we were:

The Grimveils are trapped on top of a stone plateau surrounded by massive Sandworms gathered for their mating season. Crush tries to calculate just how far they need to travel to get out of range of the sand worms, but with the heat and some bad luck he just can’t quite figure it out. He even struggles to explain what he’s doing when Azure asks him why he’s staring off into the distance, but once it does she applies her trained monk mind to the task and determines they need to travel about half a mile… fortunately, they realize that the Fly Spell Ash had cast earlier that morning let them travel approximately that same distance. However… only Kanec knows the exact direction they need to travel, and he’s in the Genie Bag trying to recover from his Heat Exhaustion. Realizing they can’t travel in the heat, they resolve to wait until night falls and travel under the light of the stars.

As they near the end of their wait, Ricky and Azure notice a dim glow somewhere among the gathered worms, which the worms themselves avoid. Looking closer, as the sun begins to set, they realize the light is emanating from a lantern. They can see that the lantern seems to be carried by a humanoid of some kind, but at the distance they’re at it’s difficult to discern any specifics… although Fidget is able to recognize the figure as female. Looking closer, Azure is able to recognize her as a beautiful woman in light, but elaborate clothing… and a large tattoo of a scorpion on her back. Kanec recognizes the mark of the poisonous women of the Desert… agents of the goddess Chao. As they look skyward they realize that the night sky has changed… as if the stars are all in the wrong place. Kanec warns that they have been brought to a shifted dimension… although what, necessarily that means, remains to be seen. Realizing they need to get out of here as soon as possible, they resolve to head in roughly the direction they had intended to go to begin with, and continue in a straight line until they escape.

As Crush, Kanec, and the Skeletal Brute are enchanted with the Fly spell, lifting the Cart and flying away from the gathering of Sandworms. However, as they travel, slowly beautiful music starts to fill the air, and so does the scent of delicious food. Crush holds his breath to avoid inhaling the scent… but as they continue, they find themselves pulled toward a golden palace, where women are playing music and waving to the party. Ricky willingly puts himself in the Genie Bag, not trusting himself to resist this party, but Fidget and Kanec are struggling with the desire to join the party. Ash searches for some kind of exit, but her eyes are drawn instead to a tall, gorgeous woman with floor-length hair… and as she looks, Ash realizes they’re not progressing in the air… In this pocket dimension, this woman has all the power, and they have no way of leaving without permission from this Queen.

At Ash’s direction, they land near the Queen… as an Undead, Ash is immune to poison, as are Fidget and Kanec as Reapers, and Azure’s training as a monk has made her immune to poison as well. However, Ricky and Crush have no defense against poison, and according to Kanec’s warnings, these women are so poisonous that a normal man will die at a single touch. Ricky is drawn out of the bag with desire at the sounds and smells, but Crush grabs him and both of them enter the Genie Bag, while Ash seals it shut to keep Ricky from trying to escape. The Queen greets them, eager to meet Ash especially. The Queen is intrigued by the party, and seems flirtatious with everyone still outside of the bag… her touch alone imbues them all with poison so strong that they can taste it, getting an unusual honey-like taste in their mouths. She introduces herself as Yanalani, the Scorpion Queen. Within the Genie Bag, Ricky starts to play a Countercharm as Yanalani makes her offer… she offers to let the women to join her Kingdom and join the Poisonous women… or for the Reavers to join and live a life of luxury… although they’ll be the playthings of the Scorpion Queen and her subjects, used as breeding stock. The offer is tempting for Ash especially, as she knows her Undead nature gives her a very real time limit, and Yanalani’s offer would remove her, and possibly Fidget as well, out of time and free from Death. But with some careful wording both Ash and Azure are able to decline the offer politely without upsetting Yanalani. However, Ash is still curious, walking with Yanalani to ask her more about her lands, and her people… and Yanalani tempts Ash, offering to take on the role of Ash’s patron. Ash asks for advice on how to escape the hold of a Man who has a grip on her very soul… especially when Ash, like Yanalani, has big plans to become a Queen in her own right. Yanalani, at first, states that Ash’s best interest would be simply to join Yanalani, but otherwise… there is a penance that must be paid. She advises her not to be afraid to spill blood, and that Ash should make herself appear weaker than she really is… get her Patron to loosen his grip, posing as the beaten dog until the moment arrives to bite. She can sense that Ash is on the verge of transforming into something else… something more than a Revenant. Yanalani herself choked the very life out of any who have ever hurt her… and used her strength to free those she loved.

Ash listens carefully to Yanalani’s advice, impressed with the self-made and vengeful woman. Yanalani as well seems impressed with Ash, and lets her know that she’s welcome back in the lands of the Scorpion Queen any time. Yanalani finally addresses Azmira, the spirit trapped in Fidget’s armor, the two women reuniting after centuries. It was Azmira that killed Yanalani’s brother, who had once forced Yanalani and the others into slavery. Yanalani cannot free Azmira from her imprisonment, and she allows her to continue with them. She does share a mantra with Azmira… “Spread Chaos, and allow the blood of Men to spill and run cold”. Yanalani allows the Grimveils to leave her Kingdom safely, and they fly away, her extradimensional space fading away. To their shock, they realize that Yanalani has released them much further along their path than they already were… shaving a full week off of their travel time.

Once back on the road, the Reavers are drunk on the poison from Yanalani. Ash and Azure lead Fidget and Kanec into the Genie Bag to rest and recover (and share some affection while the two are giddy), while Crush and Ricky take over steering the cart. They travel safely for some time, until they see an oasis. Not wanting to stop for the night, they still want to refill their water and check for any edible plants… but unfortunately, they find skeletons under the water, and Shadows emerge to attack once again. Rather than fight the Strength Draining Undead, they hurry back onto the cart, dashing away and leaving the slow moving shadows in the distance… although in the process, Thaco the Goat, who Ricky had let out of the Genie bag to stretch her legs, was attacked by a Shadow and very nearly was knocked unconscious. Ricky uses his Pendant of Speak with Animals to check on Thaco, and Crush and Ricky discuss exactly how the pendant works, and how awkward it is when Crush can only hear half of the conversation when Ricky speaks to them. However, while they’re distracted with their conversation they realize too late they’re headed toward Quicksand, and Crush fails to guide the Skeletal Brute… fortunately, he had already crafted a quick release so it doesn’t pull the cart down with it. Unfortunately, when Crush tries to snag it with a grappling hook, a critical failure causes it to slip out of his grip and get lost in the sand. Instead, Ricky polymorphs Crush into a Roc, giving him the size and strength necessary to pull the Skeletal Brute free and continue their journey.

As the sun begins to rise, those inside the Genie Bag finish resting… Azure was unable to sleep the day before, while Kanec and Fidget still needed to recover from the poison… although it doesn’t cause them physical harm, it still has an intoxicating effect. Ash, meanwhile, was just busy having fun with Fidget before he passed out. As they discuss the loss of Crush’s grappling hook, they’re interrupted by the sudden appearance of a Merc, the family of Mystical Merchants who seem to carry the rarest and most valuable treasures. Kanec is excited, as he has been planning to expand his Genie Bag… paying with his own gold, rather than the giant snakes that had been magically turned to gold. Ash and Fidget set up a savings account for Baby Kane, which the Merc finalizes with a drop of Fidget’s blood, and as the Godfather, Kanec’s blood is added to the contract as well. However, Ricky offers one of the Golden Snakes that he had claimed, offering first to pay for anything Crush wants… however, all Crush asks for is a replacement for his grappling hook. Ricky instead requests an extremely rare magical item… a Ring of Spell Storing, which is so valuable that it takes the entire Giant Golden snake to pay for one.

Once paid for, they realize they need to contact Gilly and the allies gathering in Glenarm and try to send them some of the money. The Merc offers to contact them using a magical mirror, creating a mystical call. However, as a mystical window is created for them to communicate through it attracts others on Gilly’s end, creating chaos, especially when Azure’s mother sees her daughter… expensive chaos, as the Merc is charging them by the minute for the call. However, they’re able to learn that Gilly has gathered allies, and they’re preparing to present evidence to the royalty of Estea to try and quell the ongoing war and direct them to fight against the Depraved Gloom instead. It takes some effort to calm down the chaos, but eventually they send Gilly the gold value of one of the Giant Golden Snakes… 50,000 GP, more than enough to fund their journey. They also take some time to buy some cloaks to give them resistance to the hot weather… one small one for Kane, and a large one that the party members can use as needed.

EDIT: Nevermind! Lol some of our players aren't feeling well so we're going to avoid playing this weekend. Keep an eye on this place to see when we reschedule... most likely on Monday/Tuesday

Okay, for sure this time... join us tonight at 6pm PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty for more Hoard of the Dragon Queen! And if you missed last week's session, read on for a reminder:

To prepare for the challenge against Pharblex, it’s decided that Dahlia is the logical choice to face off against the Bullywug spellcaster, especially since Pharblex is known to have a love of the Fireball spell, and Dahlia, as a Tiefling, is resistant to fire. However, she’ll need an hour to attune to the Hat of Disguise, which Katniss had been using to appear as a Lizardfolk. While Dahlia attunes to the Hat, G’houl spends some time transcribing a spell scroll into his spellbook, while Katniss moves forward on Their own to scout out the castle and find a good place to stage their battle against Pharbles before find a hiding place to be ready to ambush Their opponents.

While transcribing, G’houl notices that Light Touch, the young Lizardfolk touched by magic, is watching him closely and seeming to copy him. G’houl recognizes that Light Touch is most likely a budding Sorcerer. While Wizard training isn’t fully applicable to Sorcerers, G’houl knows that there are some universal laws of magic, and shares some very basic lessons with Light Touch. The Young Sorcerer is far from being able to properly cast spells, but at the very least he helps to dispel some of the mystery around magic, which the Lizardfolk clearly don’t fully understand.

Once their preparations are complete, heavy rain starts to wash over the swamp. Dahlia asks Snapjaw to bestow on her an appropriate Lizardfolk name to go by, and Snapjaw bestows on her the name “Sharp Tongue”. An entourage of Lizardfolk march with Dahlia toward the castle door to issue a challenge to Pharblex, with Loki taking advantage of her Changeling nature to appear as a Lizardfolk, and G’houl using Alter Self to also look like a Lizardfolk. Pharblex, however, wants to fight against his challenger within the castle itself, forcing Dahlia to attempt to intimidate the Bullywug he sent as a representative. However, she doesn’t manage to quite intimidate him enough, and he takes a long time bringing out Pharblex... and at the same time, Dralmorrer Borngray comes with him to watch the battle. Borngray confronts Dahlia directly, suspicious about the sudden appearance of a spellcasting Lizardfolk in the Scaly Death tribe. Dahlia falters in her impression of a Lizardfolk, prompting Borngray to investigate her more carefully... fortunately, he’s not quite able to see through her illusion. Dahlia gives the story that “Sharp Tongue” came to join the Scaly Death after losing her own tribe, and wanted to gain more power. Borngray seems interested in Sharp Tongue’s potential, but with her ability to read lips Dahlia is able to see that he orders some of his men to be watch her carefully and be ready to cut her down if she proves too dangerous to keep around.

Pharblex, however, clearly reveals his almost child-like personality... he completely misses all of Borngray’s sarcastic comments, taking them fully at face value. Pharblex also wears his approximation of a wizard’s outfit... wearing the head of an alligator gar as a pointed wizard hat, and what appears to be curtains wrapped around his body as a robe. Dahlia, who was warned that Pharblex wouldn’t understand any particularly complicated insults, instead simply calls him a weak tadpole, which is more than enough to enrage the Bullywug leader, who angrily shouts “Sneak Attack” as he prepares to cast Fireball. Fortunately, Dahlia is faster, careful to position herself where Pharblex won’t catch her allies in the area of a fireball before blasting Pharblex with a Ray of Frost. The enraged Pharblex blasts back with fireball, which has minimal effect on the dexterous Tiefling. The two trade blows, with Dahlia surprised to find the fat frog surprisingly nimble and well-armored. It takes Pharblex some time to realize that his Fireball spell isn’t quite having the effect he was hoping for, and switches to attacking with a poison-tipped spear. Once Pharblex stops using fire against Dahlia she starts to get injured more severely, and Katniss reveals Themself, springing out of cover to kill some of Pharblex’s allies, with chaos erupting as Snapjaw takes this as a sign for the Lizardfolk to turn on the Bullywugs and cultists, blowing a horn to signal her people.

Borngray is shocked to see a Half-Elf appear seemingly from nowhere, and orders his allies to attack while he attempts to escape. G’houl clears out a large crowd of Bullywugs with a fireball spell while Loki summons her Duplicate to confuse the enemies and healing her allies. Katniss attempts to taunt Borngray, knowing that the Elf Supremacist would hate, above all, to be challenged by a Half-Elf. Unfortunately for Them, the skilled fighter isn’t so easily baited... he casts Ice Storm to protect his retreat... G’houl, however, casts Counterspell, upcasting the spell to make sure he stops the spell, only for Borngray to cast Counterspell himself, cancelling G’houl’s Counterspell. Pharblex summons Black Tentacles to stop Katniss and Dahlia, not caring that he’s capturing Cultists in the spell as well. When he’s on the cusp of defeat the cowardly frog surrenders, but Katniss knows the Bullywug won’t retreat while Pharblex is still alive and executes Pharblex, making sure that Borngray sees Them before turning their attention to Borngray.

Borngray focues entirely on retreat, running at full speed and casting Misty Step to cover as much ground as possible. It seems he’ll be able to regroup with his allies deeper in the castle... but he didn’t count on Loki casting Dimension Door to take herself and Katniss right on his heels. The Lizardfolk and their Giant Lizards focus on pinning down the Bullywugs and their Giant Frogs, allowing the party to focus on Borngray. Katniss faces the Elf Supremacist head on... firing with such strength and precision that, even with Borngray casting Shield to protect himself, Katniss’s arrow shatters the powerful protective magic and claims Borngray’s remaining eye and killing the hateful elf. However, they’re met with a familiar sight... the Tiamat Loyalist glowing with strange, multi-colored lights as his body is manipulated by the Dragon Goddess. He releases deadly Lightning Breath, his own body harmed by the elemental magic his body is forced to create. Recognizing the draconic magic manipulating his body, Katniss retaliates with Their Prototype Dragon Spear, designed for hunting dragons by Dwarven master smiths. While this nearly fells the freshly Undead Borngray, it falls on Loki to put him down, blasting him with Magic Missiles.

G’houl takes notice of a strange book carried by Pharblex, where the edges of the paper glow as if burning, and which Pharblex seemed to be pulling energy from when casting spells. He gathers it quickly as he hurries to catch up with his allies, while Katniss chooses to claim the Longsword carried by Borngray... partly on the off-chance that it’s magical, but also as a trophy in defiance of the Eldreth Valuuthra, the Elf Supremacist group that Borngray belonged to... and that has been a source of pain for both Katniss and nearly all Half-Elves across the land. Katniss casts Pass Without a Trace so Their allies (including the Lizardfolk and their trained Giant Lizards) can sneak forward into the castle, which is filled with the cacophonous sounds of battle erupting between the Lizardfolk, the cultists, and the Bullywugs, who are attempting to retreat rather than stay and help the cultists. The party sees a trio of Dragon Wings (high ranking warriors in the Cult of Tiamat) guarding a door, with several dead Lizardfolk around them. Taking advantage of their stealthy approach, the party bursts out of the darkness and quickly slaughters the Dragon Wings before they can get a chance to act. Snapjaw explains that the door they were guarding leads to a Temple. The Party chooses to use some of the stolen cult uniforms they’re still carrying to disguise themselves before entering the temple. Inside they find a temple that was once built to Mystra, complete with a rare sight... a statue of Mystra herself, who is rarely depicted even in art by her worshippers. However, the statue is shattered, and in its place a wooden carving of Tiamat has been placed. When they find more cultists inside Dahlia manages to convince them that she’s a new arrival and doesn’t have any idea what’s happening. She manages to trick the culltist into revealing more information... he reveals that more cultists are waiting upstairs, that Azbara Jos would most likely have already left, since he didn’t help the cultists fight off the Lizardfolk, and that there’s no direct route to the teleportation circle, but it could be reached by crawling across the roof. Once they’ve learned all there is from the cultists, Katniss swiftly draws Their bow to execute the cultists before moving upstairs to fight off the remaining cultists.

We're going to be playing more of our homebrew campaign of Sacrament tonight at our usual time of 6pm PST, even if it is a couple days later than usual. Also, as a heads up, we won't be playing this upcoming weekend because two of our players will be out of town for a vacation. That said, there's a lot that happened last week, so read on to see what you may have missed:

Ricky is feeling awkward after seeing Corrio in the call orchestrated by the Merc merchant, and insists on getting some extra alcohol out of Kanec’s Genie Bag before the Merc takes it in order to install more rooms in the magical bag. They continue their journey through the Desert of Bones, looking for a safe space to set up camp after driving all night. As they travel, Ricky continues his attempts to teach Ash Vicious Mockery, which is normally not a Warlock spell, but seems like the kind of thing she would be able to cast. Ricky tries to push her by impersonating her former fiancee’s mother… accidentally pushing her too far, since she’s still struggling with painful memories from her nature as a Revenant. She needs to take a moment to sit on the back of the cart to catch her breath.

As they continue traveling they scan the horizon… only for Azure to spot a flaming skeleton approaching their cart, which Ricky quickly dispatches with a Chromatic Orb. Continuing further, Crush spots what looks to be a group of Slavers traveling near them. Wanting to get a better look, Ricky polymorphs into a hawk to find more details… he finds a group of six men wearing facial coverings, leading a cart with a cage that has a single woman in the back, sitting defiantly… wearing a white dress, he recognizes her as one of the poisonous women from the Scorpion Queen’s Queendom. They try to cut them off and set up an ambush, hoping to catch the slavers by surprise, although Ricky stays behind to protect the cart.

They manage to catch the slavers by surprise, bursting out from behind the sand dune to assault the slavers. The Slavers may have had an opportunity for more resistance, but with the element of surprise on their side the Grimveils are able to overwhelm them. The slavers are cut down and their prisoner is released. The Poisonous woman is pleased to be released, and is surprised to find that the party has already met Yanalani… and that she allowed them to leave with the men in the party. They check the bodies, finding some gold and jewels, but also paperwork related to their slaver operation. There’s little the Grimveils can do with this information, but Kanec knows of a group of Reavers who specialize in hunting down Slavers, and he uses the Blue Feather of Sending to send the paperwork to one of them.

Once Ash has the bodies gathered in her Demiplane, they debate for a moment on what’s to be done with the Slaver’s cart… with everyone agreeing to simply set it on fire and use it as a campfire while they camp out to rest after their long night and day without sleep. Ash and Fidget take the first watch, but Ricky stays up briefly to apologize to Ash for triggering her rage earlier… with Ash admitting that, for the sake of her sanity, she should avoid getting enraged and decides to suspend her training to learn Vicious Mockery, not fully trusting herself to handle the training. Ash and Fidget sit and watch the cart burn, discussing their fears about both of their respective curses… Ash, as a Revenant, will one day mindlessly pursue vengeance if she ever learns the name of the man who killed her, and Fidget will be overtaken by Reaver bloodrage if he didn’t have the armor possessed by Azmira. Still, the two are happy to finally relax and simply sit and chat.

However, Ash notices a strange hooded figure approaching, although Fidget is unable to see the same thing. Ash recognizes it as one of the reapers that have shown themselves a few times, telling Ash she needs to continue on to the afterlife. Ash, who had avoided these beings every time they were seen, approaches calmly this time, speaking to the grey-skinned, somber figure. It again tells her that she must move on before it’s too late, but rather than reply with anger as she did in the past she sadly informs it that she can’t leave yet… she has too much to do. The figure warns her that she only gets so many opportunities to move on, but doesn’t press further, fading from vision as Ash returns to her husband.

Ash thinks back on her conversation with Yanalani, remembering the advice she had been given by the Scorpion Queen. She knows that she’s indebted to Larlock for returning her to life… but despite their arcane connection, he doesn’t actually have possession of her soul. She realizes also that Larlock’s obsession with marrying Ash isn’t through love or lust, but rather… because he needs her for something. Something about the marriage ceremony itself is important to him… and the reason he’s willing to go through it with someone who’s so obviously difficult to control as Ash isn’t because he respects her strength, but rather… because the ceremony itself will somehow drain her of her personality.

Fidget is concerned for Ash, but he wakes up Crush to take the next watch, and Ricky, who used his Blanket of Rest, is fully recovered as well. The two sit and keep watch, finding the night peaceful. However, Baby Kane wakes up at this time, and takes interest in Crush as he carves a toy shell for Kane to wear. However, Kane is upset to see Ricky, whose eyes are glowing with the light of the stars, which upsets him, thanks to his connection to the Reaver God, Sovereign, who has declared war on the Night Mother and all her disciples. However, Crush focuses on trying to teach Kane more words in common, and makes sure that he knows “Ricky Good”… with Kane managing to learn the word “good” in time for Azure and Kanec to be awoken.

Azure and Kanec enjoy watching the last of the Slaver’s cart burn down to ashes, leaving only the burnt frame of the cage that had been used to imprison slaves. Seeing the metal cage weakened by a night of fire, Crush demolishes the remains before Ricky summons a magical breakfast to feed his allies. As they continue driving, Azure spots a group of Reavers moving in their direction. Kanec recognizes them as members of the Slaver Hunters, happy to share with them the information they had learned earlier from the slavers they killed. Crush mentions that the Slavers had captured one of the Scorpion Women of the desert, and although that seems ludicrous to them, Crush is earnest enough for them to take this seriously and make sure they’re ready, as the Scorpion Women are potentially more dangerous than the Slavers themselves.

Kanec reminisces about his childhood, remembering that he had always hoped to join the Slaver Hunters, if he didn’t find himself in the military. However, Ash reminds him that he’s already in a group… the Grimveils, and like the Slaver Hunters, they’re dedicated to eradicating monsters. Crush jokes that they’re basically a Monster Squad (an in-joke for the players, as that’s what our team was called in a previous campaign.) Everyone says that’s a terrible name, and Ricky instead suggests the name “Los Horny Boys”, much to the annoyance of Fidget, who doesn’t want Kane to learn such a stupid phrase. Ricky, however, keeps finding ways to sneak the phrase into conversation, playfully egging on his companions, even singing a song. Ash attempts to stop him by casting Web… although she captures herself and the rest of the group in the web, and fails completely to stop Ricky. To her annoyance she lets the spell fade as Ricky and Fidget wrestle, until eventually Ricky opts to simply play the song he had composed, and simply mouthing the words to himself.

Once things calm down, Ash speaks through the Message cantrip in private with Fidget… revealing that she knows her Patron is planning to do something to her that will destroy her personality… if not destroy her outright. She wants Fidget to explain this to the rest of the party for her, to minimize the chance of her Patron listening in. Ricky takes some time to cast Private Sanctum to make certain Larlock can’t listen in as they discuss what they know about Ash… they know that a Lich can only be killed by destroying their Philactory, and they have no idea what Larlock’s philactory even is… only knowing that Larlock needs to be able to regularly feed it souls and come in contact with it. They also realize that Ricky’s spell can protect even Ash from Larlock’s watchful eye, so she joins them as well. Azure suggests that Ash could be brought back to life using the scarf gifted from Amor… but Ash worries that doing so would only summon her Patron, who would kill her and return her to her undead state… and punish those around her. As they try to figure out what this might mean, Crush wonders out loud if Ash herself is a Philactory, since she also absorbs souls and delivers them to Larlock to maintain his undead nature. They’re incredulous about this idea, and instead Ricky takes advantage of the Private Sanctum to cast Identify on Ash again… something that Larlock had directly attacked him for attempting before. However, when he does he finds Ash is enchanted with multiple high level spells, including versions of Reincarnate, Control Undead, and even Soul Jar, all wrapped in a veil of strange, unknown magic. Ash has a horrifying revelation as she realizes Crush is right… she is Larlock’s Philactory, and if his plan succeeds she’ll be the perfect vessel… with no personality of her own, she’ll simply be an object, little more than a living Philactory capable of protecting itself.

The Crits for Breakfast crew has a strange schedule this week. We're going to be playing our homebrew campaign of Sacrament tonight at 7pm PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. Two of our players will be away from home on a short vacation this weekend, so we won't be streaming D&D as usual. Instead, we're going to be playing a short session of Sacrament tonight to make up for the fact that our last session of Sacrament ended short because of work schedules. Anyway, with that out of the way, if you missed our game stream on Tuesday, here's what you missed: 

As the Grimveils continue on their journey, Ricky is visibly starting to panic after the revelation that Ash is her patron, Larlock’s, phylactory. Crush manages to get Ricky to contact him through Message… assuring Ricky that he’ll be there to protect him, no matter how crazy things get. Still, Ricky’s having a hard time calming and starts to drink to relieve his stress. Although Ricky has the most obvious outward reaction, Fidget and Ash remain quiet and brooding. Ricky tries to distract everyone with a travel game… having people say a phrase then have the others respond with the first word that comes to mind. Baby Kane attempts to join, although he clearly doesn’t understand what’s happening, but everyone is happy to just treat him like he’s managed to win.

As they travel they notice an abandoned cart along with several crates set beside it. Crush and Ricky approach first… Crush is paranoid about mimics, so he pokes each of the crates with a javelin to make sure they’re not mimics in disguise. Content that they’re mundane crates, he opens up all the crates. One is filled with decades old spices, while the others are filled with various possessions… clothing, coinpurses, boots, and other trinkets. Oddly, one of the crates appears to have been opened and closed recently, and has clothing both old and new… although the clothing is torn and some of the coin purses appear to have teeth marks on them. They theorize this might be a cache set up by werewolves so they could recover their clothing and gold after transforming, but Azure knows that werewolves aren’t in control of themselves enough to do that, especially if the clothes is already ripped. Stumped, they decide to see if the cart at least is in better condition than the one they’re currently riding. Using his knowledge of woodcarving, Crush decides to investigate closer… only for his hand to get stuck to one of the wheels, just as he realizes that the parts of the “cart” are actually fused to the main body… the entire thing is a Huge Mimic.

With Crush grappled, they battle the mimic, which proves powerful. They’re surprised when it eventually starts to respond in Common, telling them to stop fighting back and just let it eat them. When Ricky blasts it with a high level Chromatic Orb using Fire power the Mimic relents, surrendering… much to Crush’s disappointment, who was starting to enjoy the fight. Ash and Ricky simultaneously come up with an idea… they want to ally themselves with the Mimic, as an enormous mimic could prove to be a valuable ally under the right conditions. The Mimic doesn’t immediately seem keen on this, but Ricky is able to convince them that the Grimveils will be able to provide them with meals, considering the number of bandits and other threats that regularly attack them. Ricky also uses his Dragon Mark to cast Create Food and Water, using Prestidigitation to make it taste like bloody, raw meat rather than the flavorless cubes the spell generates. The mimic is willing to travel with them… at first they want the mimic to remain in the form of a cart and be pulled from behind… but the mimic doesn’t want to, instead turning into a canopy to cover the cart, providing some shade for the party… although many party members are clearly uncomfortable with, essentially, being inside of a giant mouth. They talk to the Mimic more, asking for a name, and they admit that they have been called many things through the years, but one name they’ve been called for an extended period of time was Ezekiel, which a blind man called Them while not realizing that They were a mimic. Ricky latches onto “Zeke” as the Mimic’s name, which Zeke is fine with. Zeke talks about his “father”, a wizard who lived in a tall tower, and who had several mimics as servants. Eventually the tower was attacked and Zeke disguised themself as a barrel and rolled out into the desert where he’s lived ever since. Asking further, they learn that Zeke was created by a wizard known as Amarelian who dabbled in necromancy, eventually even experimenting on himself, transforming himself into a Lich. Kanec recognizes the name… Amarelian the Lich. A famous necromancer who founded the studies in Necromancy in the Reaver Capital.

As they travel, another heat wave washes over the party. Struggling with the heat, they seek a place to set up camp. Without Kanec’s Genie bag, they focus instead on Ricky casting Tiny Hut to protect everyone from the heat. Zeke buries Themself under the sand to avoid the setting sun while Ricky casts Create Breakfast to summon a more generous food supply. They discuss their plans for what they’ll do in the Reaver City, considering Ricky’s mission to find the tears of the Night Mother in the lost temple. Ricky seems certain that he’ll ruin everything, but Crush assures him that he’ll be there by his side, and even hears Crash’s voice in his head, letting Ricky know that family protects family, and that she also won’t let anything happen to him. Hearing from Crash seems to comfort him, but he wants some time alone with his thoughts. The others go to sleep while Ricky takes the first watch, and Ricky gets a magical letter from his mother, letting Ricky know that things are going well and that she’s also traveling to the Reaver Capital and hopes to meet them there. Ricky writes back a letter filled with vague platitudes, but quickly gets a message back from his mother who knows that something is wrong with him. Unable to hold back, Ricky confesses his fears to her, how he feels that he ruins the lives of everyone around him and that he’s certain he’ll either be killed soon or driven insane like Peeter, the mad bard who trained him in his Bardic college. His Mother writes back, assuring him that she’s also impulsive and knows that it creates trouble sometimes. She encourages him to actually talk to Corrio about their breakup, and that being toxic is valuable, if he learns how to direct it at people who deserve it. The letter comforts Ricky somewhat, but he still focuses on his watch… seeing Zeke eat a passing creature by extending Themself out of the range of the Tiny Hut. Ricky manages to get through his watch deep in thought, but he makes a point of laying his Blanket of Rest over Crush’s sleeping form to make sure he recovers faster.

We're playing soon tonight at 6pm PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty! We'll be playing more Hoard of the Dragon Queen, and if you missed last week's session, here's what you missed:

As the party makes their way up the corrupted Temple of Mystra with Castle Naerytar, they quickly attack the cultists waiting at the lowest level. Thanks to Dahlia’s convincing deception, they completely drop their guards, caught by surprise and killed before they can call for help. However, in the process Loki summons a Flaming Sphere, the bright light attracting the attention of cultists higher up in the tower. When a cultist comes down to investigate he’s swiftly executed by Katniss, and the cultists attempt to block the way up with a book case, but the party is able to force their way upward. The cultists take defensive positions, and as Dahlia tries to break through she’s overwhelmed by Dragon Wing cultists who cut her down, knocking her unconscious. Fortunately, her allies are able to overwhelm them and restore Dahlia to consciousness.

They find the second floor of the tower has been converted into a library for the various stolen books the cultists have acquired in their raids. G’houl is able to tell with a brief investigation that the sheer volume of rare knowledge acquired here would potentially be priceless in the right hands. Snapjaw warns, however, that the top floor of the tower is Rezmir’s personal living quarters and is protected by deadly magic. Rezmir is the highest ranking cult member the party is aware of... a female black half-dragon known as much for her cruelty as her strength and cunning. Approaching the top slowly, it becomes apparent that the idea of magical protection was yet another lie used to control the Lizardfolk. Making their way up, they find that, unlike the delapidated castle, Rezmir’s personal chambers are filled with custom crafted, high quality furniture and decorations. Dahlia notices paperwork on Rezmir’s writing desk that seems to be research notes on a summoning circle, with one particular phrase circled, “Draezier”. G’houl is able to discern that this is the activation word for the Teleportation Circle they know to be waiting in the castle’s basement.

They also search Rezmir’s bedchambers, which seems to also be lavishly decorated. Dahlia sees that a tall wardrobe decorated with Tiamat imagery is against one wall, but she can also see that it appears to be trapped. Rather than attempt to disarm the trap, she instead steps out of the room and uses Thaumaturgy to open the wardrobe... which activates a trap that floods the room with acid, irrepairably damaging everything inside. All the fine bedding and clothes is destroyed, and paperwork within the wardrobe is reduced to mush. Another room is examined which is simply a meditation chamber with no secrets to discover. Still, they’ve learned how to activate the teleportation circle, and they switch their focus to looking for Azbara Jos.

Before leaving the temple, Snapjaw reveals that she was the one who carved the statue of Tiamat displayed on the ground floor... and also that it contains a secret. The neck of Tiamat’s Black Dragon Head is actually a magical quiver which can be used to coat an arrow with magically summoned poison. Making their way out they find that the Lizardfolk have secured victory in the assault on Castle Naerytar, claiming the “House of Stone” for themselves. The party is greeted with the macabre sight of Lizardfolk eating the dead... both their opponents and their own fallen allies, as well as harvesting the bodies for supplies. Although the Lizardfolks’ treatment of the dead clashes with societal morals, but on the other hand, they don’t torture or abuse the living, simply killing all their opponents without question. Another Lizardfolk approaches Snapjaw, bringing with him the heart of Borngray, ripped from his dead body. The heart is offered to Katniss, who killed Borngray, but Katniss politely declines and offers the heart to Snapjaw. Snapjaw is grateful, choosing to save the heart for her son, Light Touch, believing that Borngray’s heart will grant further magic to the young Lizardfolk sorcerer. Making their way to a central tower in the castle they find the first floor is a simple guest’s room, where a large black scorch is on the ground next to the burnt corpses of several Lizardfolk. It seems that Azbara Jos has escaped, leaving behind nothing but a small, empty chest... although investigating it they find that the chest had a magical trap, making it at least somewhat value.... assuming its enchanted key is also found. Snapjaw explains that Borngray’s sleeping chambers are upstairs, and the party is eager to investigate further.

Moving upstairs they find a living quarters that is far more comfortable than anywhere else in the castle, but less ornate than Rezmir’s chambers in the corrupted temple. Entering Borngray’s sleeping chamber, they find a lone raven in a large iron cage which immediately starts cawing loudly. Katniss casts Speak with Animals to calm the Raven down, learning that it was simply following its training to make a loud noise if anyone but Borngray enters the room. Dahlia is instantly smitten with the Raven, wanting to know as much about it as possible. Through Katniss, she learns that the raven believes its name to simply be “Raven”, and that, while Borngray wasn’t cruel to the bird, he treated it more as a living alarm than a companion. While Dahlia and Katniss work with the raven, hoping to bring it along as a pet, Loki and G’houl search the room for secrets. They mostly find fine Elven clothing that seems to have simply been hung to gather dust rather than be worn in the muddy castle, they search underneath a rug and find a Lockbox hidden under a loose floorboard. G’houl is paranoid, following the traps in both Rezmir and Azbara’s rooms, casting identify on the box, but luckily finds that it’s a mundane box. Casting Knock, he opens the box to find coins and diamonds stored for the future, as well as a smutty book focused on delicate Elven women being ravaged by brutish Humans... something that Katniss isn’t shy about claiming for Themself, tucking it aside for the future.

Snapjaw mentions that there’s something magic in the top floor of the tower, but she doesn’t know what it is. Traveling upstairs the party finds an observatory with a complicated looking telescope device. Unusually, however, there are no windows or any obvious means to see anything outside of the room its stored in. Before they can invesitage further, however, hatches in the roof open and Gargoyles climb into the room to attack. G’houl floods the room with Sickening Radiance, using his training as an Evocation Wizard to protect his allies from the deadly radiation as it weakens the gargoyles, which are destroyed in short order. Once the gargoyles are defeated, G’houl takes a moment to cast Identify on the telescope, learning that it’s the “Illusk of Farseeing”, a rare and powerful magical device that can be used to observe celestial bodies... but which is also capable of casting a version of the Arcane Eye spell on nearby locations. In an expert’s hand, it’s a precision viewing device, but it’s in poor shape from decades, perhaps centuries of neglect, and the delicate device will be broken if toyed with haphazardly. Still, it’s already focused on a specific location, and when Katniss looks through the Eyepiece They find that it’s focused on the Black Dragon’s lair. However, as Katniss observes, They notice that there are actually two Black Dragons. With Their knowledge of dragons, they’re able to discern that they’re not simply two dragons of the same species, but are completely identical... twin brothers most likely born from a single egg. This explains the Black Dragon’s reputation for supernatural speed, such as appearing in multiple locations almost simultaneously. They recognize that Rezmir must know this secret, and they briefly theorize that, as a half-Black Dragon, Rezmir may be related in some way to these twin brothers. However, they also know that, if the Black Dragons know their secret is revealed they wouldn’t hesitate to kill any who know, and warn Snapjaw to keep the secret for the safety of her and her people, which she readily agrees to.

What is more challenging, however, is convincing Snapjaw to allow scholars to come to the castle to recover the stolen books , and repair the Illusk of Farseeing. Snapjaw is hesitant, especially now that she knows there is not one, but two Black Dragons stalking the swamp... she explains that the only thing a Dragon fears is another Dragon, and that the “Un-Scaled” are more like dragons in a few key areas... in particular their love of treasure and claiming land. G’houl suggests making certain that any scholars sent be Dragonborn, since their scaly appearance might be less jarring to the Lizardfolk. Snapjaw isn’t familiar with Dragonborn, but agrees that Scaled will be more welcome in the swamp and are less likely to draw the Black Dragons’ ire. They at first plan to next head straight for the teleportation circle, but Snapjaw warns that the caverns beneath the castle are dangerous and filled with monsters and Giant Frogs, and with their spell slots and abilities mostly spent, the Party opts to rest before tackling it. They make their way out of the tower where they find the Lizardfolk celebrating, feasting on fresh meat, beating drums, and males are performing mating dances. Even Snapjaw is quickly being approached by males while the party prepares to enjoy themselves until they’re ready to take on the challenges of the caverns.

The Crits for Breakfast Crew will be playing in our homebrew campaign of Sacrament tonight at 6pm PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. In case you missed last week's session, some pretty wild stuff happened... read on to learn more:

Ricky sees baby Kane poking at his father, and tries to pick up Kane to let Fidget rest. However, Kane accidentally touches Ricky’s pendant of the Night Mother… and it causes the young Reaver to start panicking and crying, since all Reavers are cursed to hate and fear the Night Mother. A sense of foreboding comes over everyone present. In a panic, unsure what the sensation might be, they rush into their cart and take off at top speed. Ash can see a comet rushing toward the ground… it lands where they were earlier, and a tall, muscular, long-haired man rises… and Kanec realizes to his horror that this is Sovereign, God of Reavers. Arriving bodily to eliminate the last of the Night Mother’s progeny.

Crush jumps out of the back of the cart, holding on with one hand and pushing the cart with all his strength… buying some time, but only seconds can be purchased when a God is involved. Ash has a plan to protect Ricky, if only temporarily… she opens a door to an empty Demiplane, and with Kanec’s help Ricky is thrown inside, with the Door to the Demiplane dispelled. Even if all goes well, Ricky will be stuck inside for at least 8 hours. However, Sovereign soon catches up to the cart, stopping it in its tracks. Crush tries to stand up for his brother without revealing Ricky’s location, and does well enough to keep Sovereign’s suspicion off of him, but Sovereign isn’t so easily placated. As Sovereign turns his attention to Kanec, pressuring the Reaver to reveal more by guilting him for assisting an agent of the Night Mother, Ash steps forward to interject. She communicates with Sovereign using the Message cantrip so the others can’t hear… she asks Sovereign to stabilize Fidget, but Sovereign balks at being given requests by an Elf. Ash, however, has an offer for him… rather than deliver to him Ricky, she wants to arrange for Sovereign to meet the Night Mother herself… all she needs is for Sovereign to give her access to the Night Mother’s secret temple at the top of the Reaver Ziggurat, and Sovereign’s sword. Out of character, Ash’s player uses the single free guaranteed critical success she had been given as a real-world birthday present to guarantee success in this moment. Against all odds, Sovereign is intrigued enough to agree… in a bolt of lightning he vanishes, leaving on the ground surrounded by sand turned to glass by the bolt of electricity… the enormous blade of Sovereign.

The other Grimveils are stunned at what happened… especially since they couldn’t hear Ash’s discussion. Ash attempts to pick up the massive blade, but it harms her simply to touch it. Kanec says that only Reavers may touch the blade of Sovereign, but when he’s asked to lift it he feels unworthy, especially since he feels that he’s just betrayed his God. Instead, Fidget lifts the blade… although it could perhaps be said that it was Azmira, the female Reaver whose soul possesses his magical armor. She laughs excitedly as the massive blade warps and changes into a slimmer, sleeker form more ideal for a Rogue like Fidget. The others are still unaware of the bargain Ash had made to keep Azmira behaved, and she uses the Message Cantrip to speak with Azmira and make certain the violent spirit doesn’t use the sword to create more chaos and havoc.

Crush takes a moment to gather some of the glass left behind by Sovereign’s lightning bolt before Ricky contacts him using his Feather of Sending to let Crush know that he’s safe and sound, although incredibly bored stuck in a freshly created, empty Demiplane. Crush borrows Kanec’s own Feather of Sending to let Ricky know that they escaped Sovereign, although he doesn’t know why Sovereign left his sword with them. Relieved that Ricky is safe, he begins searching for a safe location to set up camp to complete their rest for the night. Kanec briefly wonders if they’ll be safe from Sovereign so close to where he was last seen, but Crush reminds him that, as a God, physical location isn’t a particularly important feature for Sovereign. Once they’re alone Crush takes Ash aside, wanting to know what she had said to Sovereign, but Ash is concerned that others (such as her patron) may be listening, but assures Crush that they’ll discuss it when the opportunity arises. Ash returns to the others, while Crush toys with the newly created glass and stares up at the stars, thinking of his Brother and the danger they very narrowly evaded. The spirit of his sister, Crash, speaks to him… assuring him that he did the right thing by resisting his instinct to attack Sovereign in defense. She also knows that they still need the help of a Druid to fulfill their ultimate plan, but to do so her spirit will need to leave Crush. With a heavy heart, he tags in Crash once again, her spirit riding away on the wind as Crush returns to his allies as the weight of their duties seems to be looming ever closer with each day of their journey through the Desert of Lost Bones.

EDIT: Bad news, everyone... one of our players isn't feeling well tonight, so we're going to reschedule for tomorrow instead

Okay, after rescheduling our game yesterday, we'll be streaming Hoard of the Dragon Queen tonight with myself as the DM. Join us at 6pm PST tonight at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty, and if you missed last week's game, here's what happened:

With night fast approaching Loki doesn’t hesitate to claim the bed once held by Azbara Jos and quickly go to sleep. Katniss and Dahlia take some time to bond with the Raven they had found in Borngray’s room... Katniss uses Their Speak with Animals spell to speak directly, choosing to finally settle on the name Onix for the Raven, which Onix seems excited for when he learns its the name of a Precious Gem, or a “shiny” as he refers to them. Dahlia also opts to take advantage of the relaxed culture of the Lizardfolk and simply start walking around topless, teasing G’houl as he works diligently... first he casts Identify on the magically smoldering book he had recovered from Pharblex, the Bullywug spellcaster. He learns that it is a Fulminating Treatise, an enchanted spellbook specialized for Evocation Wizards, although he opts to continue using his personal spellbook as he transcribes more spells... struggling to ignore his topless girlfriend who is deliberately trying to distract him... only to find her already asleep by the time he chooses to join her, the two of them claiming Borngray’s sleeping quarters... although G’houl makes certain to clean it with Prestidigitation first, not trusting the hateful elf’s bed to be completely sanitary

Katniss, however, spends Their night in the observatory, spending time with Onix as They observe the Twin Black Dragons through the night using the Farseer of Illusk. Watching the Black Dragons They discern that, while the two of them work together clearly, they still bicker and fight and seem to compete for treasure. They also discern that, despite knowing that the Black Dragons have Kobold servants, none are seen in the chamber the brothers share, where ever it might be. They also don’t seem to have any kind of schedule that Katniss can discern, but the two clearly avoid leaving their chamber at the same time. Katniss spends Their night watching, but eventually drifts to sleep with Onix perched on the Farseer.

When morning comes the Party is awakened by the sun, going downstairs to gather together when Katniss and Dahlia both faintly hear the sound of a horn in the distance. Snapjaw comes to inform them that was the sound of a successful hunt... and the only Lizardfolk out of the castle are the ones sent to escort Jamna back to the castle. She estimates it will be between 3 and 5 hours for them to arrive, and the party decides to simply wait for Jamna in the castle. Stepping into the courtyard, they find the macabre sight of the skins of humans, Lizardfolk, and Bullywugs all stretched over large frames to dry, the Lizardfolk treating all of the dead as resources. Snapjaw offers them some of the meat harvested from the bodies, but the party hesitates and instead Snapjaw guides them to the kitchen that was used by the Cultists. Dahlia also requests, at the very least, that the human skins be moved somewhere more private, to avoid traumatizing Jamna and anyone she might be traveling with when she arrives.

The kitchen is stocked well enough to provide a hearty breakfast, and also has a few bottles of wine and some preserved food that can be kept as rations. More importantly, they see through a doorway nearby that several crates of treasure are being organized, which immediately draws Loki’s attention. Snapjaw shows no interest in the coins and jewels... although the Lizardfolk craft decoratiosn and trinkets, they don’t value coins... in particular, Snapjaw is dismissive of the soft metal of the gold coins, which makes them useless even as weapons. While Loki is busily counting coins, Dahlia finds a fancy box that contains what looks like a plain six sided die. G’houl identifies it as a Charlatan’s Die, and while Loki is distracted Dahlia takes the time to attune to it. Once attuned Dahlia challenges Loki to a few rounds of gambling, the Charlatan’s Die allowing Dahlia to roll any number she likes at will. The illusion would be flawless, if it wasn’t for Dahlia’s constant needling and teasing which raises Loki’s suspicion enough to realize there must be something special about this die. Once she’s had her fun, Dahlia reveals the trick and gives the Die to Loki, since she’ll get the most use out of it.

Fed and stocked on treasure, they decide to make their way to the Temple of Mystra that had been forcefully converted into a temple of Tiamat by the cultists. Along the way they’re briefly distracted by a Lizardfolk playing a lute... although the Lizardfolk is playing it “wrong”, in the sense that he had never seen one played and doesn’t know how it’s meant to be held, but his experimental playing is surprisingly pleasant and Dahlia encourages him, telling him about Bards, a term they’re unfamiliar with but seem excited at the concept. Continuing to the temple, they find that Light Touch, the young Lizardfolk sorcerer, has been attempting to repair the statue of Mystra that once stood proudly in the middle of the temple. Snapjaw has joined her son, using her skills as a craftswoman to try and repair the statue. The Party joins Light Touch to repair the statue, with G’houl casting Unseen Servant to have an extra pair of hands assisting, while Katniss casts Entangle so that vines can hold the shattered statue together as more permanent attachments are made. With some work, and a bit of Luck on Loki’s part, the statue is returned to a standing state. Light Touch quickly brings the statue offerings of shining beetles and bows to worship the Goddess Mystra, imploring her to grant him more of “The Magics”, as the Lizardfolk call it. G’houl, as a lifelong worshipper of Mystra, kneels down to explain that Mystra doesn’t ask for sacrifices or prayers... instead, Mystra asks her worshippers to gather knowledge, and to share that knowledge with others. All Light Touch needs to do to please Mystra is to learn. Eagerly, Light Touch rushes up the stairs where the Cultists had gathered a library of stolen books, coming back with the first book he could find... a simple cookbook. Like Snapjaw, Light Touch is proficient in the Common Language, and even knows how to read... although he clearly struggles with larger words or words with unusual spelling. He sits in front of the statue, reading recipes out loud, checking up to see if the statue reacts, but slowly simply becomes absorbed in the book itself. G’houl looks up to the statue, observing its expression... unlike statues of other Gods, Mystra’s statue doesn’t look imposing, or regal, or even Motherly... rather, she has the expression of a proud teacher looking appreciatively at a hard working, diligent student... a look G’houl has seen many times in his life.

As Dahlia is encouraging Light Touch and offering to teach him the Message Cantrip some time in the future the sound of horns announces that the hunting party sent to escort Jamna has returned. Hurrying out of the castle, they see that it’s not Jamna, but rather a green Dragonborn in gleaming silver armor and what appears to be a human woman, except her skin is blue and she has a bushy beard made of feathers. The boisterous Dragonborn introduces himself as Corinth, and his partner as Ella... they’re members of the Lords’ Alliance, and Jamna chose to remain in the Roadhouse and gave them Dahlia’s Wand of Magic Missiles to return to her... although apparently Jamna told Corinth that Dahlia owed her some money for it, which Corinth generously paid, assuring Dahlia that there’s no need to repay him. Ella loudly sneezes, the feather beard erupting off of her face and Dahlia makes the connection that Ella must be a Wild Magic sorcerer. Happy for the help, they make their way inside to find the teleportation circle they know waits in the dangerous caves beneath Castle Naerytar.

The Crits for Breakfast crew is playing our homebrew game of Sacrament tonight at 6pm PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty, and as always, here's what happened last week:

As the night starts, Ricky is unknowingly the victim of Fate, specifically Chao’s curse, where deadly enemies will spawn from nowhere any time an odd number is rolled. He tries to pass his time in the Demiplane by painting… only for shadows to coalesce and form into a Dryad which attacks him. Before it can reach him he casts Synaptic Static at a higher level, dealing enough damage with the spell to defeat it at once. Trying to figure out what happened, Ricky attempts an arcana check to see if he can discern how this is happening… rolling another odd number, which causes a red cap and a necromancer to appear before him and attack. Ricky tries to slow the Redcap with Vicious Mockery, lowering it’s ability to attack, and casts Bane on his opponents to lower their ability to hit him. Ricky is low on spell slots, forced to rely on Vicious Mockery to deal damage… positioning himself carefully to cast Synaptic Static again with his last 6 level spell slot… unfortunately, the 5 level spell doesn’t benefit from being upcast, but it still deals enough damage to kill the Red Cap. Left alone with the Necromancer, it manages to trigger an opportunity attack from Ricky, who, thanks to his Warcaster feat, casts Polymorph as a reaction. Turning the Necromancer into a beetle… scooping him up into his bag of holding and letting his opponent suffocate, knowing that the body will vanish upon death. Ricky decides it’s safest to do nothing and just finishes the painting he had started.

Meanwhile, Crush briefly mentions relief that, at the very least, he knows Ricky is safe. Crush recommends everyone try to sleep in the cart, since they don’t have the safety of either Ricky’s Tiny Hut spell or Kanec’s Genie Bag. Several of the Grimveils are already exhausted by this point but they agree this is safest in case they need to leave quickly. Crush volunteers for the first watch, as he’s the most well-rested of the group. Fortunately, his watch passes peacefully, but when it comes to Azure’s turn the cart is approached by a large crocodile-like creature… which the large mimic, Zeke, that’s posing as part of their cart attacks and attempts to eat. The others are woken up by the activity and help to kill the sand crocodile for Zeke before returning to sleep. Ash and Fidget take on the last watch of the night, although Fidget is more exhausted than Ash and needs some more sleep… Ash takes advantage of the privacy to speak to Azmira, the female Reaver spirit that possesses Fidget’s armor.

Ash wants to learn more about Sovereign, and especially the Sword that he’s shockingly left with the party… Azmira holds the sword eagerly, as the gauntlets that Fidget is wearing. Azmira reveals she’s held the sword before, as it is sometimes bestowed upon True Reavers, and as a former potential Warlord she had been blessed to wield the sword while commanding the armies of Sovereign. Azmira is not only a female Reaver, but one of very few Reavers born of two Reaver parents, as Reavers are almost overwhelmingly male and most often reproduce with females of other races. Not only that, Azmira has a twin sister… it was Azmira’s jealousy of her sister being declared Warlord that resulted in Azmira killing her sister, and having her spirit cursed to inhabit the armor she now animates. They also discuss that Female Reavers have a different blood rage than male Reavers… males become mindless killers when raging, but females become hyper-focused on killing a single target. She also reveals that, like herself, Azmira’s sister is not truly dead… instead, her spirit was also placed within armor, and unlike Azmira it was done as a blessing. Azmira seems to hate her sister, believing that she was only chosen as Warlord over her because she would suck up to Sovereign, and that she was always too much of a coward to bloody her hands.

When morning comes Ash casts Demiplane again, letting Ricky out, much to the shock of others when they realize he was attacked by Chao even in the seeming safety of the Demiplane. Ricky hadn’t even managed to get a Long Rest, too paranoid to fully fall asleep alone in the Demiplane. Luckily, his Blanket of Rest is still in the cart, and Crush makes room to let Ricky sleep. Continuing further, they talk about the Military Ball they intend to attend… but Kanec feels despondent… he chose to protect Ricky from the Reaver God Sovereign, and he feels like he won’t be accepted by his people. Crush pointedly asks Kanec how he would feel if he had delivered Ricky to Sovereign instead… Kanec admits he isn’t sure, but Crush lets him know that the pain of harming someone you care about is far worse and the pain never goes away. Knowing Crush’s history, and how he had accidentally killed his sister, Kanec sees Crush’s resolve and finds comfort when Crush assures him that he believes Kanec is a Good Man, and no God can convince him otherwise. When Kanec thanks him Crush responds with a playful “Oh, Yeah!”, which baby Kane attempts to imitate. The mood lightens as Crush encourages Kane, helping him to imitate his signature yell and teaching the baby to flex, declaring that Kane is now a “Crushamaniac”.

As they continue to ride toward the Reaver Capital, Azure spots an unusual sight in the distance… a tall Reaver carrying a heavy pack, and who has a long cloak emblazoned with an image of a full bowl with a snake above it… Kanec recognizes it as the sign of a traveling Doctor, something that baby Kane would benefit from, since he’s never been properly checked up since his birth. Fidget is uncomfortable with the idea… as a Goblin, the idea of a Doctor is an incredibly foreign concept, and he doesn’t like the idea of giving his baby over to a stranger. Ash can’t quite convince him, so instead Crush volunteers to be checked up first. The Doctor is eager to examine him, as he’s never met a Tortle before and is eager to get information for his notes. Satisfied that it’s safe, Fidget allows the Doctor to examine Kane. The Doctor is surprised as he learns of Kane’s parentage… Goblins are already unknown on the continent of Tiavet, but the Doctor can discern at just a glance that Fidget is a Made Reaver. The Doctor can also tell that Kane was born of a Siren Mother, and even that he’s a twin… but is shocked to learn that she was a legendary Empress Siren, and mentions that Kane is actually a triplet, as Queen Siren’s are born bonded to a very fish-like sibling which they eventually fuse with to become a Queen. The Doctor determines that Kane is quite healthy, but hearing how the party killed an Empress Siren he lets them know that the College in the Capital will want to hear everything. He also tests Kane’s magical potential, finding that he’s born with innate magic, possibly enough to become a Sorcerer or other spellcaster. This information is relieving… until the Doctor prepares to give Kane a vaccine.

Fidget panics at the sight of the needle, not wanting his child to be stabbed by a stranger. Rather than try to placate Fidget, Crush simply gets in his face and tries to intimidate Fidget into getting his shit together and letting the Doctor do his job, which manages to get Fidget to hold Kane still, and although the Doctor almost effortlessly administers the vaccine… although Kane still starts crying a moment later, which brings Fidget’s panicking back. Ricky attempts to distract Fidget with a silly dance… inadvertently summoning another attacker from Chao… this time, a Gulper. Fortunately the party is able to erupt out of the cart and cut the creature down, with Ash dealing the final blow with Blight… and now that he sees her up close, the Doctor figures out that Ash is Undead, and insists that he needs to examine her as well.

Ricky tries to convince the Doctor that further examinations aren’t necessary, but is unable to do so. There’s tension as everyone is aware that, if the Reaver Doctor touches Ricky’s pendant of the Night Mother, it will summon Sovereign… but they also don’t want to raise suspicion, letting him complete a simple examination, but are ready to rip his hands away at a moment’s notice. The Doctor continues to examine the Grimveils, making sure that everyone is healthy while Ricky casts Create Breakfast, choosing to summon a traditional Kirei Midorian breakfast including rice and sushi… although the Doctor won’t allow anyone to eat until they’ve been examined… much to Azure’s chagrin, as the smell of fresh fish is very tempting for the Tabaxi monk.

The last to be examined is Ash, who the Reaver Doctor shows particular interest in. As a Reaver he can hear a “song” from others, and Ash’s is particularly haunting and dark. He even checks the wound left by the blade that killed her… reaching inside the rotting blackness, unbothered by the Undead necrosis. He actually touches her heart, finding that it doesn’t beat, mentioning that some Undead actually have beating hearts, although normally it’s only done in imitation of life, as they don’t require blood flow to live. He discerns that she’s a Revenant, shocked that she’s remained Undead for so many years, as Revenants normally either rot away or fulfill their vengeance long before the 6 years Ash has been Undead. The Doctor notes that Sovereign himself is a form of Revenant, as he was killed by the Night Mother and revived seeking vengeance against his former lover.

The Doctor recommends Ash seek out someone named Dr. Grasper, a Reaver Doctor in the Capital who specializes in Undead. Satisfied with the examinations, the Doctor asks for payment, which Ash begrudgingly pays… only for Azure to realize that, as a monk, she’s immune to disease anyway. Crush is laughing about this, although Ricky’s eyes are drawn to the Blade of Sovereign that Fidget still holds. However, before he can say anything the Merc Merchant arrives, returning Kanec’s Genie Bag. Everyone climbs inside to examine it… finding that Kanec has had the training and trophy room removed and replaced with living quarters so the party has a place to sleep. Kanec spent a small fortune turning the Genie Bag his father had left for him into a portable home not just for himself, but for all of his companions.

We took some time off for 4th of July, but the Crits For Breakfast crew will be back tonight at 7pm PST for more Hoard of the Dragon Queen!  Come join us at our home of twitch.tv/afterdisbooty as the Protectors of Phandalin continue their quest to oppose the Cult of Tiamat. If you missed our last game or if you just need a reminder, here's what the party got up to two weeks ago...

Corinth, the Dragonborn in plate armor, eagerly refers to the Protectors of Phandalin as “The POP”, a moniker the group isn’t exactly enthusiastic about, but don’t take the time to resist. Still, they’re led inside as they explain what they learned about Castle Naerytar, and why they sided with the Lizardfolk in conflict with the Cult of Tiamat. Corinth reveals that he carries a Sending Stone which he can use to communicate with Skilled, the elderly Tiefling the party had met in the Lords’ Alliance, and intends to let them know about all this information. Making their way into the courtyard, Corinth is visibly sickened at the sight of Lizardfolk butchering and eating their own dead, but Dahlia convinces him to keep an open mind and respect their culture, with Katniss chiming in that everything the Lizardfolk are doing is perfeclty natural, even if its immoral by the standards of current society. Ella, the Wild Sorceress, however, is more fascinated by the new strange sights. She’s also clearly excited when she hears about Snapjaw’s son, Light Touch, eager to meet what seems to be a fellow Sorcerer.

Snapjaw guides the party to the stairway that leads down into the cave system beneath the castle, where they know the teleportation circle is waiting. Before going downward, they finalize the message they want Corinth to send back to Skilled... requesting a small group of scholars to come and recover the stolen knowledge left behind by the cultists, and wants him to make clear that they need to arrive peacefully and be willing to accept the Lizardfolks’ more animalistic culture... and Dahlia in particular wants him to also make sure to send Skilled a greeting, mentioning that she views the fellow Tiefling as a Brother. They also figure out that Corinth is a Paladin dedicated to Bahamut, and that he deliberately joined the crusade against the cultists because of his God’s well-known rivalry with his sister, Tiamat. Corinth also doesn’t want Snapjaw to accompany them below the castle, not wishing to put the civilian mother in danger... although Dahlia objects to the idea that Snapjaw be treated as weak or unable to defend herself... but Snapjaw also bluntly states that she doesn’t want to go below the castle, since there’s little for her to gain from entering the dangerous caverns.

With Snapjaw returning to her people, the Protectors of Phandalin and the Lords’ Alliance members make their way into the caverns, with Corinth carrying a torch to light the way. As they enter the dank, moist caverns the first thing they notice are a few stray coins in a scattered puddle leading into a small opening. Loki doesn’t see them, however, while Katniss takes the initiative to follow deeper into the opening, surprised to find a small pile of treasure to one corner... looking closely, They also note suspicious oily puddles on the floor near the treasure. Katniss fires an arrow near the puddle, only for the puddle to reveal itself as a Grey Ooze, which latches out and dissolves the arrow with its acidic form, but fortunately doesn’t notice Katniss, although the other puddles in the room are revealed as Grey Slimes as well. They decide it’s not worth the effort to gather the treasure, but when They return to the group They make the mistake of mentioning “Treasure” in front of Loki, who walks in and burns the slimes with a Fireball before taking the treasure for herself, the party suspecting that the Oozes were using the treasures as a lure to attract food.

With treasure recovered, they decide to focus on tracking movement on the ground to decide where to go next... they notice two distinct pathways, both covered with muddy footprints... one set of footprints a mix of human and bullywug, and the other only Bullywug. They opt to follow the Bullywugs-only path, finding a stinking, noxious mud pit... with Corinth happily marching through, not bothering the move stealthily, while all the others take advantage of Pass Without Trace cast by Katniss. However, he ends up attacked by an Otyugh that had made the mud pit its home, with the group fighting back against the large, dangerous creature. Ella casts Enlarge on Corinth, but ironically her Wild Magic surges and causes her to shrink 9 inches in height, but Corinth’s increased size still manages to protect him from the Otyugh’s grasping tentacles, and gives him enough strength to cut it in half. They also see a stairway across the mud pit, and Corinth uses his increased size to help everyone across the mud pit before the spell wears off.

Climbing the stair well they come across a room filled with swarms of centipedes that had been riled up by the sound of combat in the mud pit. The angry insects attack the group, and they’re forced to fight back against their tiny attackers. The bugs are weak, but there’s simply so many of them that they prove a major challenge. Fortunately, G’houl is an Evocation Wizard, able to blast large areas with powerful magic while also bending the magic around his allies. Once again, however, Ella’s Wild Magic surges, this time causing a Modron to appear, much to Dahlia’s delight. She convinces the strange creature to assisting them, although the Modron either can’t or won’t speak in Common, responding to any questions with strange, metallic noises. G’houl identifies the Modron as an agent of Mechanus, the realm of Order. Just as they’re trying to bond more with this strange visitor it vanishes from existance, much to Dahlia’s disappointment.

They avoid some dangerous Violet Fungus as they continue further, finding a large underground pond that has a massive Giant Frog watching over it. They can just barely see other Giant Frogs swimming in the pool, but they don’t attack immediately. Exploring carefully, they spot two Bullywugs in a connected cave, and rather than attack, the group decides they would rather negotiate... the Bullywugs are essentially trapped in these underground caverns, and there’s no need to kill them, since they were only working with the cultists out of convenience, and not because they were loyal to Tiamat. Dahlia remembers she’s still wearing the Hat of Disguise, using it to alter her appearance to resemble a Bullywug... asking for help from Katniss, with Their greater knowledge of nature, to help her design an illusion of not simply a Bullywug, but a beautiful female bullywug . Which proves not to be as useful as she had hoped, when they approach the Bulllywugs and find that they’re also female.

The Bullywug women are shocked at a stranger approaching them, but fortunately one of them speaks common and can communicate with Dahlia, who convinces them that they mean them no harm. The Bullywug women are tending to a pool of tadpoles, but also reveals that these are all Giant Frog tadpoles, and the Bullywugs own tadpoles aren’t raised in the caverns... in fact, there are no Bullywug children within the caves, much to the relief of the Party. The Bullywugs are hesitant to believe that Pharblex has been killed until G’houl shows them the Fulminating Treatise... the magical book Pharblex carried. With proof of their powerful leader’s death, Dahlia is able to persuade them to surrender, promising that they can arrange for the Bullywugs in the caverns to escape the castle safely. The Tadpole Tenders agree to guide them to the other Bullywugs, needing to convince this group as well, but with the Treatise and Dahlia’s silver tongue they’re convinced to surrender, and the Bullywug, along with their Giant Frogs, are led safely out of the castle, the Lizardfolk easily convinced to let them pass unharmed. The Bullywugs also explain where the teleportation circle is in the caverns, and warn that it’s protected by Flameskulls.

Before heading to the Teleportation Circle, however, the group decides to investigate the caverns that Pharblex has converted into some kind of shrine, as well as his own personal quarters. The shrine looks to be filled with shoddy impersonations of other religious and magical symbolism, with images of frogs haphazardly added to them. They also see that, within Pharblex’s own chambers, is a simple looking chest. G’houl stands several feet away and opens the chest with mage hand... but once again, this triggers a trap that fills the room with a dangerou substance. But unlike when Dahlia accidentally destroyed nearly everything in Rezmir’s chambers with acid while safely outside the room itself, all of the Protectors of Phandalin are in the room when this trap fills the room with psychedelic powder. G’houl is the only one to resist the powder, while the others begin to see their allies transform into monsters and have an overwhelming urge to submerge themselves in water. Fortunately, Corinth and Ella were nearby, and Corinth uses his Paladin ability to Lay on Hands and cleanse them all of the dangerous poison. Once cleansed, G’houl is clearly embarrassed at accidentally triggering the trap, especially with the revelation that the chest contains nothing of value, and they instead ready to take on the Flameskulls protecting the Teleportation Circle.

Just a heads up for an Crits for Breakfast fans... two of our players have started new jobs recently and our stream schedule is a bit up in the air. As a result, our usual homebrew game of Sacrament won't be streaming tonight, but it should be going live tomorrow night instead.

As promised, Crits for Breakfast is back tonight for our homebrew campaign of Sacrament! Come join us tonight at 7pm PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty to enjoy our wild adventures through the Desert of Lost Bones. However, if you need a reminder for what happened last week, well... you came to the right place.

As the party explores Kanec’s remodeled Genie Bag, Ricky takes some time to enjoy the more luxurious bath before going to organize the kitchen to take his mind off of things. Ash and Fidget, meanwhile, are happy to watch Kane who is back in the crib that Crush had carved for him. They’re both happy that Kanec has officially given them their own room… assuming he’s just tired of them commandeering his bedroom. Fidget is exhausted, and wants to take a bath, since he’s been wearing armor all day long for several days. Ash steps out to find Ricky tending to Thaco the goat and Omelette the emu, who have been given a self-filling feed bowl. Ricky wants to know what Ash said to Sovereign that convinced him to give them his sword, but Ash is afraid to say out loud in case her Patron is listening in. Ricky agrees and they exit the Genie Bag to join Crush, who is keeping watch on their cart. They decide to try and travel a bit more, covering more ground as the sun sets before setting up camp.

Meanwhile, inside the Genie Bag, Kanec and Azure are spending some private time alone in his newly renovated room. Ash shyly agrees to his suggestion, although she does request they take a bath together… much to the chagrin of Fidget, who was planning to take a bath. Outside they continue to travel, looking for a safe place to set up camp for the night… but as they’re searching, Crush spots bandits who set up an ambush, turning the tables on them with a Javelin, but Ricky ends the encounter with Mass Suggestion… convincing the bandits to give them all their money and leave… and even kindly heals the injured bandit before continuing on their way and finding a place to stop for the night. Ash, meanwhile, is writing in her grimoire… and seems to be transcribing magic of some kind. Ricky is fascinated by the rare inks and paper its made out of, and, along with the giant Mimic Zeke, starts to enthusiastically discuss the potential for lewd drawings on it, until Crush quietly scoops him up into Kanec’s Genie Bag so that Ricky can prepare some dinner instead of getting on Ash’s nerves.

After dinner is served, Crush asks about Azmira, and whether she can be trusted… which Ash knows she can’t. They also discuss whether or not Sovereign is a Revenant… he seems to match some of the rules of Revenants, as he was killed by the Night Mother and he is driven to kill her and all her followers by a supernatural hatred. However, a Revenant normally knows the exact location of their killer… but Sovereign can’t find the Night Mother, or even know where Ricky was while he was in Ash’s Demiplane. Crush points out that Ash also doesn’t know where her killer is, but only because the knowledge of who her killer is was blocked out of her memory. Crush and Ash take the first watch, discussing Ash’s state as a Reaver, and Crush promises that he’ll have her back, but doesn’t push for a more detailed discussion, knowing that Ash can’t safely talk about specifics. They scan the horizon, just barely able to see light on the edge of their vision, deducing that the only thing that could produce light visible at that distance would be the large Capital City of the Reavers. Still, their watch finishes peacefully, and they wake Azure and Kanec for the second watch.

With Azure and Kanec grabbing some of the food Ricky had prepared, they head outside to keep watch while Ash and Crush return to get some sleep. They once again see Zeke eat one of the desert’s wandering multi-legged sand crocodiles, with Kanec mentioning that it was younger and smaller than they could be… the creatures seem to have no limit to their lifespan… until injury or starvation takes them, they could grow endlessly. Luckily, the night passes safely and they wake Ricky and Fidget to take third watch. However, as they wake Fidget they find that he’s sleeping with Kane resting on his head in a cute position, and Ricky instantly wants to sketch the moment before everyone wakes Fidget, which the others are happy to accommodate. They decide as a group to have some fresh tea, with Kanec happy to see that the renovations he’s had done to his Genie Bag helps everyone to treat the Genie Bag itself more like a home than just a safe place to rest at night. After enjoying some relaxing tea, Ricky and Fidget step out to keep watch. Ricky tries to bond with Azmira… the possessed armor slow to open up, but she doesn’t seem as antagonistic toward Ricky as she’s been in the past. Ricky also apologizes for accidentally summoning Sovereign, but Fidget doesn’t hold it against him. They also lament the chaotic situation they’ve found themselves in, talking briefly about their mixture of annoyance with Duncan for leaving such a large and confusing mystery behind for them, while also mourning the loss of their close friend.

Morning comes and Ricky prepares some breakfast as they continue their journey. Crush finishes a project he was working on… a small wooden shell for Kane to wear, encouraging Kane to become a “Crushamaniac”. Ricky also reveals the drawing he made of Fidget and Kane from the night before, everyone bonding over the cute baby. Ash asks Kanec how long until they get to the Capital, but things get distracted as he is flirting with Azure, which Ricky immediately starts teasing him for. As everyone starts arguing Crush breaks through the teasing to ask how long until they reach the Reaver Capital, and Kanec, happy for the break, says they’ll take about a week.

Ash laments that it’s taking too long to travel, and considers polymorphing someone into a Roc to help them cover ground faster, but Kanec worries that doing so would attract Dragons, since Rocs are a staple food item for dragons that live in the desert. Crush asks if they can make the Skeletal Brute pulling their cart faster, and Ash suggests she could Polymorph it… they change it into a Dorse, the Dragon-like horse creatures native to the deserts of Tiavet, and Ricky uses Enhance Ability to increase its strength, allowing it to easily pull the cart at a full gallop, its undead nature still allowing it to proceed without worrying about exhaustion. However, as they travel, they notice a group of Reavers near an oasis being attacked by Undead, including Mummies and a necromancer. They quickly turn to help the Reavers, with Ash recommending they try to run over the Necromancer… and Ricky successfully convinces Kanec to try. As they barrel toward the Necromancer, Crush also chooses to leap out of the cart and tackle one of the mummies. As the Necromancer is knocked into the cart by the impact, Ricky quickly freezes the Necromancer in place with Hold Monster. Battle erupts, with the Necromancer in particular getting the worst of it… not only is he paralyzed by Ricky’s spell, the cart itself contains Zeke, the Giant Mimic posing as part of the cart itself. During the battle, Kane throws his Ball of Returning, a simple rubber ball that’s enchanted to always return to its throwers hand. However… with a Nat 20 throw, the ball coincidentally returns to Kane with enough force to deal just 1 damage to anyone in its path… although one of the people in its path was a bandit that Ricky had frozen in place with a Chromatic Orb keyed into cold damage… who immediately shatters. The Necromancer and his associates are dispatched, with Crush killing a mummy and dealing the last blow on the Necromancer with critical hits.

With the Undead defeated, the party can see that the Reavers they’ve rescued are members of the Anti-Slaver Response Unit, an elite group of Reaver enforcers who hunt slavers, and the Necromancer and his allies were revealed to be slavers they had been chasing. However, one of the Reavers removes their helmet, revealing a Female Reaver… Kanec recognizes her as Jass; his Godmother. The Reavers admit that they’re making their way back to the Capital as well, and the two groups consider traveling together. The Reavers playfully tease Kanec, treating him almost like a little brother. Crush checks to make sure that Ricky is comfortable with traveling with them, knowing that Reavers will feel compelled to attack Ricky on sight if they learn of his connection to the Night Mother. Ricky thinks it’s a good idea to travel with them, if they can at least travel in different carts… although the Reavers were traveling by foot. They talk to Zeke the mimic, who admits he can turn into a functioning cart that can carry a group. They form a short wagon train, the Grimveils sitting on Zeke while the Reavers prefer to ride the actual cart.

As they travel they talk with Jass, revealing their work as members of the Grimveils, and also explaining everything they can about the Depraved Gloom. Jass recognizes the symbol of the Depraved Gloom, recognizing that the assassin they had killed was diseased, but didn’t know much more about them beyond that. She’s grateful for the information, and encourages them to speak to to the college.

We had some technical issues and we're still dealing with players who are starting new jobs, so weren't able to stream this past weekend, but luckily we'll be able to stream tonight instead! Come join us at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty at 7pm PST tonight as I DM my friends through more Hoard of the Dragon Queen. In case you missed the last stream, here's what these wacky adventurers got up to:

Making their way toward where they know the Teleportation Circle awaits, the Protectors of Phandalin and their Lords’ Alliance friends approach slowly, having been warned that Flameskulls protect the Circle in service of the Tiamat Cultists. Their greatest concern is Corinth, the Dragonborn paladin who wears gleaming plate armor, but it’s actually Ella, the Human Sorcerer, who missteps and draws the attention of the Flameskulls. As the Flameskulls hurry to protect their quarry, Ella casts Haste on Katniss, allowing Them to attack even more quickly. Corinth as well, with his Paladin training, is able to cut down several of the Undead with his powerful smites. Glowing Will o’ Wisps join the Flameskulls, although it’s unclear if they are also agents of the cult or were simply attracted to the necrotic power of the Flameskulls. Either way, Loki is able to counter most of them with her Turn Undead feature, the tiny glowing wisps escaping into tiny cracks in the cave walls while the Flameskulls are dealt with. As a Tiefling, Dahlia is resistant to most of the Flameskulls’ attacks, using her Infernal heritage to work as a shield for her allies, while G’houl struggles against the Flameskulls’ elemental resistances, but proves invaluable when the deadly skulls attempt to cast fireball, with G’houl quickly counter spelling the potentially deadly blast of fire.

Once the Undead minions are defeated they quickly find the Teleportation Circle waiting. As they discuss their plans, Ella admits that she and Corinth may be a liability if they were to accompany the party... a Wild Magic Sorcerer and a Paladin of Bahamut in gleaming armor are virtually incapable of stealthily infiltrating a group of Tiamat cultists. As Ella suggests it may be best for her and Corinth to remain behind as liaisons between the Lizardfolk and the approaching Lords’ Alliance members who couldn’t travel as quickly as Ella and Corinth. However, as they’re discussing this Loki notices what appears to be a large chest, but rather than treasure it contains large, heavy fur capes seemingly designed for cold weather. Katniss deduces that the teleportation circle likely leads to a tall mountain of some kind, and theorizes that it may lead to the Well of Dragons, a large volcano sacred to followers of Bahamut and to Metallic Dragons surrounded by a tall, dangerous mountain range. This information immediately puts Corinth on a 180... the thought of the Well of Dragons being corrupted by the Tiamat Cultists is too much for the Paladin to stand, and he instantly wants to come with, but Dahlia is able to Persuade him to think of what will be tactically most beneficial, and not rush in head first. However, G’houl thinks to cast Identify on the Teleportation Circle, hoping to discern where it actually leads. The spell doesn’t reveal exactly where it leads, but with it he can discern that the circle works both ways... teleporting back and forth, but also is able to determine that it leads to “The Huntsmen’s Lodge”. A successful History check has him remembering that the wizard Bowgentle was a member of a goup of Adventurers knowns the “The Huntsmen”, and their base of operations was somewhere in the Greypeak Mountains. Satisfied that the teleportation circle most likely doesn’t lead to the Well of Dragons, Corinth is more comfortable staying behind, especially since the Lizardfolk seem more open to listen to him because, as a Dragonborn, he’s at least superficially similar to the repitlian Lizardfolk.

Katniss mentions, however, that They’re low on spell slots, and since it’s still the early afternoon, it may be wise for everyone to first take a long rest so they can explore where ever the teleportation circle leads by cover of night. The others agree, and as they make their way back out to meet with the Lizardfolk G’houl is contacted through the Sending Spell by his teacher, Professor Raphael... his contacts had informed him of the message that had been sent by Corinth to the Lords’ Alliance earlier, requesting scholars to recover the stolen knowledge hoarded in Castle Naerytar, and also to repair or extract the Farseer of Illusk. Raphael is seeking confirmation from G’houl, who informs him of the location of the castle, and also warns his teacher about the twin Black Dragons posing as a single super-fast Black Dragon, and also warns Raphael that the Lizardfolk will be more receptive to inviting Scaled humanoids into their home, at least until they get used to outsiders in their midst. He also requests that Raphael send an experienced Sorcerer to help train Light Touch, the young Lizardfolk born with the abilty to cast the Light cantrip.

Once back on the surface they seek out Snapjaw, their liaison and ally among the Lizardfolk, informing her about the people who will soon be arriving and promsing it will lead to good things for her and her people. Snapjaw declares them all to be Friends, and shows affection by placing her hands on Dahlia’s shoulder and gently bumping foreheads... a sign of affection they had seen among the Lizardfolk, although the cold-blooded hunters rarely feel the need to express such emotions. Corinth gets a little choked up at the honorable show of affection between allies, and Katniss responds by giving him a similar headbutt, much to his delight. Dahlia also informs Snapjaw about the teleportation Circle, and requests that Snapjaw find Lizardfolk willing to challenge the cold weather on the other side of the circle in case they find themselves in need of alllies. Realizing they’re going to be taking some time to sleep, Dahlia eagerly asks G’houl if he’s got the spell slots necessary to summon his tower. There’s some hesitation to create a 3 story tower in the center of the castle, in case it attracts the attention of the Black dragon twins posing as Voragamanthar... but Katniss is able to dig into Their knowledge of Black Dragons, and determines that, if the Black Dragons cared about the Castle itself, they would have claimed it long ago... even if they flew overhead, they would likely not pay enough attention to the homes of these Lesser Beings to care if they suddenly had an additional tower. Satisfied with the answer, Dahlia climbs on G’houl’s back for an impromptu piggy-back ride and demands he summon the tower, if only so she can take a proper bath.

Finding some clear space in the Castle’s Courtyard, G’houl summons forth Galder’s Tower as a three story building, complete with sleeping rooms and a bathroom with 4 separate baths. The Lizardfolk are fascinated by the process of summoning the tower, but show little interest in the interior of the tower itself. All except for young Light Touch, who is invited inside, along with Snapjaw, to examine the interior. Through Dahlia’s coaxing, the two Lizardfolk are taught about proper bathing, as they seem content to simply dunk their heads underwater or simply soak. Light Touch even tries to eat a bar of soap, and although he quickly learns not to eat the enticing smelling bar, the party starts to realize that the young Lizardfolk has a habit of gnawing on things to examine them. Snapjaw seems impatient to leave, finding the concept of bathing tedious, but Light Touch has a curiosity uncharacteristic among Lizardfolk and spends as much time as possible within the tower, but when the others are readying for bed he scurries back to the temple of Mystra, taking G’houl’s advice to heart and obsessively reading the many books left behind by the Cultists, although for now he’s simply been reading a cook book. Finally alone, the pairs of lovers split off to the two separate bedrooms, while Ella and Corinth, who are planning to stay behind, instead step out to mingle with the Lizardfolk while the Protectors of Phandalin rest and prepare to infiltrate wher ever the teleportation circle leads.

The Crits for Breakfast Crew has been on kind of a wild schedule this week, and tonight we're going to be playing more of our homebrew campaign of Sacrament. We'll be going live at 6:30 PM PST at our home of twitch.tv/afterdisbooty. And in case you missed our last session, some crazy stuff happened, so read on to see:

The Grimveils are traveling with Jass and the Anti-Slaver Reavers on their path to the Reaver capital. They chat with the Reavers and the conversation somehow leads to Crush recalling a time that Tricky, Ricky’s father, once ate monkey brains. This leads Ricky to ask Ash if there’s any way to see if Tricky is still alive, considering the war going on in their home country… but when Ash uses Sending to contact him she learns that he’s still alive, and angry that the lawsuit between himself, Ricky, and Crush is delayed, but still ongoing.

Jass spends some time regaling the party with tales of Kanec’s youth… in particular the time he had stolen sweets from his older brother who had bought a rare delicacy from a famous bakery located within the Pink Orchid… a famous Brothel. This leads to Ricky asking enthusiastically about the famous brothels of the Reaver Capital, and as the Anti-Slavers discuss it eagerly (to the annoyance of Jass). Crush loses interest, working instead to carve a teething toy for Kane, since he’s been having trouble with his incoming teeth.

More chatting goes on with everyone getting to know each other until Jass mentions that the area they’re traveling in has a dangerous volume of Sandworms in it. They don’t see evidence of any nearby, but Ricky opts to use Polymorph to transform into a hawk and fly ahead, looking for either more Sandworms or at least a safe place to set up camp, but he doesn’t find either.

After some time, the Reavers find a young Sandworm, hunting it for food while Crush spots a safe space to set up camp for the night, knowing that the sandworms normally avoid land covered with sandstone. Ricky takes the lead on preparing the Sandworm steaks… even a young Sandworm is as large as a horse, providing more than enough food for everyone, and even enough to feed their giant Mimic. Jass orders her men to keep watch during the night, although Crush volunteers to stay up at least for first watch. He spends time with Brock, a Half-Orc Reaver, and they see some of the Watchers… strange, shadow creatures that are apparently harmless, but watch those camping in the Desert of Lost Bones at night. They remind Crush of Sleep Paralysis demons, which gets Brock to start talking about the Nightmother, which the Reavers blame for sleep paralysis and, indeed, is known to torment Reavers with vivid visions of being choked or tortured in their sleep. The Nightmother is considered the Goddess of nightmares and dreams, with Crush taking note that Dreams can be good things, comparing it to the Goddess Amor, Goddess of love and romance, who is simultaneously the Goddess Lust… the Goddess of selfish, physical desire. Two sides of the same coin.

In the morning, with the Anti-Slavers assisting the party gets on the move very quickly, although Ricky takes time in Kanec’s Genie bag to produce an impressive breakfast. Ash, meanwhile, has vivid dreams of her family’s death, and wakes to find her pillow slashed by her growing claws. She even forgets to use her Mask of Many Faces to disguise her disfigured form, creating some discomfort with the Reavers. In addition to her appearance, the Reavers are able to hear her “Song”, and they can tell that its discordant. Still, travel continues peacefully until the party sees a messenger cart moving in the same direction they are at high speed. Worried that it may be running from something, they notice that the horse pulling the cart seems to have a mane and tail made of wavering heat, although not full flames. Jass recognizes it as a type of air elemental that is extremely rare and sometimes employed by mail delivery, especially for valuable packages. Ricky tests to see if he can Polymorph the skeletal brute into one of these spirits, but since it’s not a Beast he’s unable to… still, wanting to travel faster, he Polymorphs it into a Dorse to speed up travel.

The day passes peacefully, and with Ricky and Ash taking turns Polymorphing the Skeletal Brute the journey goes much faster than anticipated. Seeing the light of the Reaver Capital in the distance, Ash wants to travel even after night falls. Ash takes a short Cat Nap to get her spell slots back… she doesn’t require proper sleep, and neither does her Brute. Traveling through the night, they find a pregnant woman walking through the sands… with the help of the famous Anti-Slavers, she’s willing to see past the skeletal beast pulling the cart and join the cart. Kanec explains that it’s not uncommon for women impregnated by Reavers to seek out the capital… the birth of Reavers is often deadly to the mothers, but the hospitals in the Capital are equipped to drastically increase survivability. As well, the Reaver government provides support for Mothers and lost children and helps to unite them with the father. Azure takes some time to diagnose the woman, realizing that she’s incredibly unhealthy… slowed by heat exhaustion and pushed to her physical limits by her journey through the desert, however long it may have been. She desperately needs medical attention, and Azure, as the only team member with any medical knowledge, may be the only factor between this woman, and possibly even her child, and death itself. She’s carried into Kanec’s Genie bag and set to rest in Kanec’s bed while Azure continues to treat her. Azure diagnoses that she’s suffered internal bleeding, but the baby seems healthy. She has trouble calming her patient, which Ricky steps in to assist with, while Crush busies himself providing water and taking time to cook some kind of soup for her. Azure and Ricky take on the task of caring for their patient… Ricky calms her, casting Sleep to prevent her from feeling pain from the surgery. With Inspiration and help from Ricky, Azure is able to give a Caesarian Section to the unconscious woman, finding that the poisoned blood of the Reaver newborn was killing his mother, and had almost completely necrotized her womb. Her entire womb needed to be removed, but she survives the procedure… however, she’s bleeding out quickly, but Ricky manages to stop it by casting Regenerate on the Mother… not only recovering her from surgery, but outright regrowing her womb and sealing her completely with no scar. With their patient healed, Jass is informed of what happened, impressed at the party’s skill with medicine. Mother and Newborn son are resting peacefully, able to recover as they continue their journey to the Reaver Capital.

We're still getting our bearings figured out as schedules are changing, but for tonight at least we'll be streaming Hoard of the Dragon Queen at 7pm PST at our home of twitch.tv/afterdisbooty.  The party has made their way past Castle Naerytar and continued their investigation into the Cult of Tiamat... if you missed our last session, read on to see what you missed:

The party awakes around midnight in G’houl’s magical tower to the sounds of arguing in the courtyard. Stepping outside they find that one of the Bullywugs has returned and asked for some of his people to be allowed to return to the castle. The Lizardfolk distrust the Bullywugs, but the Bullywugs, despite the conflict with the Lizardfolk, still want to enjoy the safety offered by Castle Naerytar in the dangerous Mere of Dead Men. The party intervenes... the Bullywugs were mostly just following orders from their cruel and arrogant leader, Pharblex, and seem to have no leader at all now that he’s dead. They encourage the Lizardfolk and Bullywugs to cooperate, and Dahlia even says that Snapjaw could be the new leader of both groups. An uneasy alliance is made, but considering the fact that scholars from the School of Knowledge as well as members of the Lords’ Alliance and the Harpers will be reaching the castle soon, the more diversity may help ease the Lizardfolk into this new stage in their society.

Before they leave they find that Light Touch, the young Lizardfolk sorcerer has forced himself to stay awake late into the night in order to see them off. He thanks the party for teaching him more about magic, and for providing him with his first arcane focus... a crystal pendant given to him by G’houl. Dahlia encourages him to not simply focus on getting stronger, but wiser as well, since the Lizardfolk have already decided that he will be their leader when he comes of age. Snapjaw shows affection for them as Lizardfolk do... a simply touch of forehead to forehead and a proclamation of friendship. She thanks them for their strength and guidance in freeing her people from the Cultists, and promises to work with the others who will soon be joining them in the castle.

Making their way back to the basement they’re once again joined by Corinth and Ella. Once below the castle, however, the highly perceptive Katniss and Dahlia can hear the sound of footsteps and faintly audible voices. Sneaking carefully, they see that some cultists have returned, most likely using the teleportation circle. They approach carefully, with Dahlia casting Major Image to distract the guard with an illusion of one of the Bullywugs’ pet Giant Frogs so that Dusk can sneak past and allow G’houl to see what’s happening. The Cultists have sent members with Dark Vision, such as Half-Orcs and Elves, in order to investigate Caste Naerytar and learn why the Lizardfolk suddenly turned on them. However, they’r unprepared for the more competent and powerful Protectors of Phandalin and their Lords’ Alliance partners to ambush them, and the cultists are steadily dispatched.

When only two cultists remain one suddenly turns on the other, killing his ally with radiant flames before surrendering to the party. The cultist seems confident that he’ll simply be arrested, not taking Dahlia’s threat seriously even with Katniss assisting. Dahlia asks Corinth and Ella to step away before drawing her rapier and stabbing the cultist in the shoulder, careful not to kill him or knock h im unconscious. They learn that he’s named Dirk, a half-elf cultist and one of the lower ranking members who had been raised in the cult from birth. It takes some prodding and threats to get him to open up, but he eventually reveals that his group had been sent to investigate what happened in Castle Naerytar, and that they were considering destroying the teleportation circle on the other end. He also explains that the circle leads to a Hunting Lodge originally owned by The Huntsmen, an adventuring party that the wizard Bowgentle once belonged to. However, he also reveals that the treasure is being taken to a Cloud Giant’s castle, a fact that G’houl finds ridiculous, as Cloud Giants have a well-known rivalry with Dragons, and also that a Cloud Giant’s Castle cannot simply be stolen... however, Dirk appears to be telling the truth and doesn’t know any specifics of how and why the cult has access to such a resource.

They also learn that the wizard Azbara Jos is in the lodge working on a project of some kind that involves a tall white tree that the cult had cut down. With some stretching, G’houl believes that it may be Pixie Wood, a rare tree that normally only grows in the Feywild, but occasionally thrives on the material plane in places with potent magical energy. G’houl also knows that Pixie Wood is ideal for wand making, but there’s no need to chop down the entire tree just to make wands... however, doing so does provide potent corruption, which could be used to create wands focused on darker, more insidious purpose. Katniss in particular is stunned at this blatant corruption of the natural order and seems more eager than ever to enter the portal. Before they leave, however, Dahlia uses her Hat of Disguise to make herself look like a Tiefling Dragonwing Cultist, learning that his name was Brother Anton and forcing Dirk to teach her how he spoke so she can impersonate him. Anton was apparently the highest ranking member of the party sent to investigate the castle... to complete the disguise G’houl dresses himself as one of the Half-Orc mercenaries, careful to make it look like he’s wearing armor, but knowing that the restrictive weight of armor would make him unable to cast spells, so he instead puts on a minimum of loosely attached armor to simply appear armored, but without gaining the proper defenses armor offers. Loki shapeshifts to appear as one of the elf culltists while Katniss disguises Themselves as Dirk himself, since the two are both half-elves and have similar builds. Paired with the ceremonial masks the cultists wear, the disguises are at least convincing enough to trick anyone who didn’t know the people they’re impersonatinig particularly well.

Once through the portal the party teleports to a snowy outdoor teleportation circle near the remains of the chopped down tree they had heard of. Katniss has a shiver, recognizes the power such a mighty tree would have once had, remembering Their meeting with the guardian spirit on the road weeks before. For a fleeting moment the swirling snow surrounding Them resembles the familiar form of a white stag, with Katniss feeling a compulsion to right what has been wronged in the land itself. However, this sensation is quickly interrupted when another mercenary who had been set to guard this side of the teleportation circle approaches, but Dahlia is able to play the part of Anton well enough to get escorted to the nearby cabin... a two-story wood and stone structure that has been standing for decades. Inside they find the interior staffed with Kobolds wearing mismatched maid and butler uniforms, with the small dragonoids clearly fearful of Dahlia and the other cultists. They’re led to a lounge where they can relax and enjoy some brandy, and they also find a strange tapestry that seems to be a portal capable of teleporting eager hunters near potential game somewhere within the vicinity of the Lodge... something the party notes may be of value as an escape route if things go poorly.

However, Dahlia seems more interested in the Kobolds left to serve them in the lounge. They seem clearly afraid of “Brother Anton”, and Dahlia finds it difficult to maintain her disguise as the Kobolds bow to her and kiss her feet, not out of any kind of admiration, but out of fear. She takes a risk and reveals her true self to them, hoping to appeal to their desire to be freed from the cultists. The Kobolds are shocked and need to be convinced not to shout for help, as they had been instructed, but Dahlia is able to Persuade them to understand that the party means them no harm. She learns that the Kobolds have been enslaved by the culltists practically their whole lives, and that the leader of the Hunting Lodge is someone they refer to as “The White Lady”. They also reveal that they can’t leave or defy the cultists or else they’ll “Hurt Gli”. Confused by this, the Kobolds explain by taking htem to the Kobold chambers, where an older female Kobold with bluish scales is seen... she’s had one leg amputated, along with her tail and several fingers. Dahlia realizes that this is Gli, and when she asks if Gli is okay, Gli can only open her mouth to reveal she’s had her tongue cut out as well. The other Kobolds explain that Gli tried to organize an escape at one point, and when she was caught, rather than torture all the Kobolds, they simply torture her instead, manipulating the Kobold’s natural group instincts. Dahlia in particular is disgusted by this, remembering the Baron who had abducted her and who tortured her father in a similar fashion to manipulate her and her mother before forcing Dahlia to marry him. More importantly, she remembers how she had manipulated him in turn, eventually isolating him as well in a cabin far from society surrounded by whirling snow... with plans to do the same thing she did to him to the cruel woman who now runs the Huntsmen’s Lodge.

Join us tonight at 7pm PST at twitch.tv/afterdisbooty! We'll be playing more Hoard of the Dragon Queen, and in case you missed last week's session, here's what the Protectors of Phandalin got up to:

After sneaking into the Huntsman’s Lodge the Protectors of Phandalin find themselves once again allying themselves with a group of Kobolds enslaved by the Cult of Tiamat. After learning the cultists are maintaining the loyalty of their Kobold slaves by systematically dismembering and torturing their eldest member if they ever get out of line. However, the Kobolds don’t know much about how the Lodge actually runs, only knowing vaguely where the “White Lady” who leads the cultists sleeps at night and some idea of things they’re not allowed to touch. However, they do know about an elderly human who worked in the Lodge before the cultists actually took it over.

Uncertain if he can be trusted, the Party approaches him still in disguise as cult members, finding the head butler Gastyn in the kitchens alone late at night, preparing a meal with three glasses of water in the middle of night, which he attempts, quite unsuccessfully, to hide from what he believes to be more cult members. He’s clearly terrified of Dahlia, who poses as Brother Anton, a tiefling Dragon Wing with a reputation for being particularly cruel amongst the cultists. And although he maintains his composture, the Insightful Dahlia is able to see his professionally repressed anger, as the cultists murdered the Lodge’s previous owner, Lord Marsten, and killed all but a few of the staff who worked there. Deciding it’s worth the risk, she reveals herself to him, explaining their intent to defeat the cultists and learn their secrets. He quickly asks if they’re members of the Emerald Enclave, another organization that Katniss instantly recognizes, knowing them to be Freedom Fighters similar to the Harpers, although the Emerald Enclave focuses more on maintaining balance in nature, as opposed to protecting civilians and humanoids. When they reveal themselves to mostly be members of the Harpers, Gastyn explains that a member of the Emerald Enclave has been captured by the cult and is currently imprisoned in the Lodge’s basement.

Investigating the basement, the party sees a group of humanoids chained to the wall, with a plate of fine food left tantalizingly just out of reach of the prisoners. Among them is a Half-Elven woman wearing under armor, and who had clearly been tortured based on the bruises and cuts on her body. Next to her is a sleeping human man in white robes who seems suspiciously untouched, but for Dahlia these two don’t even register. Instead her focus is on a beaten and bruised Dwarven Man, wearing only ragged clothing and chained furthest away... a man she instantly recognizes as an ally to Baron Thaddeus Whipstaff... the man who had tortured her family, killed her father, and forced Dahlia to become his wife... a man that Dahlia had killed years ago in an upsettingly similar cabin deep in the snowy mountains of her home country of Esleah. She had seen him greeting the Baron many times using the distinct open-palmed greeting the cultists use to identify each other.

As Katniss is tending to the injured Half-Elf, Dahlia instead immediately storms toward the Dwarf... attempting to trick him into revealing information using her disguise as Brother Anton, but as the Dwarf knew Anton personally he is more easily than others able to see through Dahlia’s impersonation, even discerning that she’s using illusion magic to disguise herself. Deciding to simply drop the disguise and reveal her true form. He recognizes Dahlia, having met her enough for her to recognize him as well, although the two had never spoken before this moment. Dahlia demands to know what his relationship was with The Baron. He’s dodgy at first, but Dahlia’s hate-filled threats are enough to convince him it’s safer to tell her the truth... although to her allies, who don’t know who thi s man is, are shocked and concerned to have Dahlia threatening an unarmed, beaten man... all except Loki, who is more concerned with eating the steak that was being used to torture the prisoners. Dahlia is so enraged that Katniss needs to intervene physically to get her to explain herself, and while her allies understand why she reacted the way she did, they’re still concerned that it may be wrong to torture or kill this man.

The man explains that he worked with Baron Whipstaff as a liaison for the cult of Tiamat... Whipstaff provided the cult with wealth and access to ships, and the cult provided him with enforcers, thugs, and training in the ways of Dragons... including their methods for torturing and controlling others. Dahlia holds him responsible for the Baron’s actions, allthough the dwarf does not consider him anything but a business partner, and asks if a Blacksmith is responsible for what is done with the swords they well. Dahlia isn’t satisfied with his answer, but wants to know why the Dwarf is chained in the basement, despite seeming to be a fairly high ranking cult member.

This attracts the attention of the Half-Elf, who reveals her name is Miresalla, and that she’s a member of the Emerald Enclave who had come to the Lodge to investigate what happened the Guardian Tree of the forest. As soon as she learns that the dwarf is a cult member she quickly turns on him, insisting that the cultists can’t be trusted. This also wakes the human man... Brother Caemon, a low-ranking cleric of Amaunator, who seems to mostly be confused at what’s happening. The dwarf also lets them know that his name is Craggnor, and he’s imprisoned because he is close friends with Varram the White, one of the Wyrmspeakers in the Cult of Tiamat; some of the highest ranked cult members who each represent one of the Heads of Tiamat... The party knows that Rezmir, the black Half-Dragon who they have been tailing is one such Wyrmspeaker. However, the “White Woman” who runs the Lodge, Talis the White, desperately wishes to be the White Wyrmspeaker and is hoping that Craggnor can reveal some hidden weakness of Varram the White. Dahlia finds it preposterous that a cultist like Craggnor wouldn’t turn on his friend to protect himself, but Craggnor insists that, above all else, he has his Dwarven Honor. G’houl, who had been raised by Dwarves, highly doubts that someone could call themselves honorable while working with this Cult, but despite watching Craggnor’s body language closely he doesn’t see any sign of hesitation or deception in his words.

Dahlia feels the intense urge to simply kill Craggnor and be done with it, but her conscience holds her back, and Craggnor appeals to her logic as well, reminding her that he has intimate knowledge of the cult and Talis especially, who he has every reason to want to see killed. As a sign of good faith, he reveals that he knows where Brother Anton kept the keys to the chains holding the prisoners, which Dahlia finds in a hidden pocket in the stolen robe she’s wearing. He also claims to have not tortured any of the Kobolds, although he doesn’t seem to hold much sympathy for them, but merely doesn’t see torture or abuse efficient. Katniss provides a spare bow and arrows to Miresella, who thinks they should just leave Craggnor chained up in the basement while they clear out the cultists. Brother Caemon is released as well, and once given G’houl’s old staff he uses it as a spellcasting focus to help cure Miresella and Craggnor. When asked why he’s uninjured, Caemon admits that he doesn’t know why... Talis simply takes time to sit and have long talks about religion with him and doesn’t torture him. At best he guesses that they simply know he doesn’t know anything of any particular value, which rings true for G’houl, who is suspicious of the unharmed man at first. Theories rise on what they actually want with him, and it’s suggested Talis could be trying to convert him to the Cult... or that she might be prepping him for some kind of sacrifice, with Craggnor admitting that Tiamat sometimes demands sacrifices. Although clearly panicking, the young cleric still pushes against the idea of killing Craggnor.

Dahlia decides to instead put Craggnor to the test... they want his help to eliminate Talis and the other cultists. He suggests that the smart move is to first defeat Trepsin, the Four-Armed Troll who raises a pack of Drakes that guard the outside of the Lodge. Once Trepsin and his Drakes are killed, Miresella can lead Brother Caemon and any others who want to escape to the nearby town of Llorkh. All of the prisoners are given food and water, but Craggnor is not trusted to be given a weapon. He’s ordered to lead them to the Kennel where Trepsin raises the Drakes and help them kill the troll... although Craggnor has an ulltimatum... if he helps them, they’ll let him go on his own, and he’ll leave on his own, leaving the cult behind and returning to a civilian lifestyle. Dahlia clearly doesn’t trust Craggnor, and she’s able to tell that he’s simply trying to tell her what he thinks she wants to know... in truth, she knows that he’s a close friend of one of the most powerful members of the cult, and if Talis is dead he’ll have no reason to not return. Dahlia redoubles her threats to Craggnor, who comes clean and admits that her suspicions are correct, but he assures her that he has no plans to betray them beyond that. Despite their suspicions, the Protectors of Phandalin take the risk and trust Craggnor for now... although they are all ready to turn on him at a moment’s notice. Miresella and Caemon are left to wait in the basement until escape is safe for them, while Craggnor, who isn’t even wearing any boots, leads the Party outside into the heavy snowfall toward Trepsin’s kennel.