Need for Steed: 40 mph Edition

Session Notes #39 - 10/23

The assault on Great Shaboath continues at a greatly accelerated pace as the party attempts to disrupt the aboleth's ritual of domination. After discovering they can break though the teleportation blocks warding the city with some dedicated dispelling, liberal use of greater teleportation, flux points, plane shifting, and speedy summoned mounts have led to a pretty weird time-table for the attacks. I believe the Tower of Necromancy was actually sacked within a few minutes of the initial breech.  This is...troubling for the aboleths.

The Ramblings of Jobin

Tower of Necromancy - Savant, nightcrawler, and sea bonze (big 'ol spooky water ghost) - 65k
Destroying the tower - 25k
Freeing brainwashed slaves - 15k
Various glyph disarming and destroying the shrine of Shar - 20k
Tower of Treasure guardians - 18k

Shopping in Sigil with an Illithid Chaperone, Three to Go

Session Notes #38 - 10/9
Had a couple folks out for 10/16 session.

Day Tracker
Start Day 226 - Sigil
Stop Day 227 - departing Shaboath

The Ramblings of Jobin

Tower of Conjuration - 2nd Floor - 3x Eldest Water Elementals - 9k
Tower of Conjuration - 3rd Floor - Conjuration Savant - 31k
Dispersing the magical energies of the tower - 25k
Fight outside the tower - 2x Ixzan Priest, 2x Eldest Water Elementals, Mercenary Group (Priest/Wiz fled, Barbarian deaded) - 57k

Assault on the Aboleth, Unholy Alliances

Session Notes #36 - 9/18 and #37 - 9/25

No session last week as I was running some promotional Thornwatch games. 

Talon (George) has departed the game with the classic "don't say anything, just stop showing up" move. Not wishing to continue a campaign is one thing, but this is really not the way to handle it. Don't be this sort of person when you're gaming folks.

Day Tracker
Start Day 225 - Preparing for the assault
Stop Day 225 - Departing from third strike

The Ramblings of Jobin

 

Allying with the Swords of Light, the renegade Illithids, and the Derro (sorta) - 30k

First Strike on NW wall - 7x Illithids, 2x Medium Warped Servitors, 2x Large Servitors, 1x Small Servitor, 2x Dominated Human Archers, 1x Derro Manhunter, 1x Derro Mage Sniper - 70k

Second Strike on S gate in tandem with Derro/Illithid- Destroying the entry pools/gate - 10k + 11x Derro Guardsmen - 11k
Third Strike on NW breach- nada, repelled

DM Notes

With Talon's departure we're at 4 players, a little sub where I'd like to be. Unfortunately, with things so far progressed it isn't really feasible to add a new member to the group so we'll have to soldier on through the last few sessions of the campaign. In keeping with their theme of not using any NPCs that 1. don't come out of a bag, or 2. don't have a sense of hearing, the party has decided to leave Talon offstage and let him manage the dominated Derro.

Party's Forces - led by Talon, lieutenanted by Jelenneth and Geronmen: 4 Derro Experiments, Abjuration Savant, Arcanist, Mage Sniper, Pyromaniac

Illithid Forces - led by Ipshizeen, lieutananted by Sausita the Crimson Mantis rogue - 6 Illithid, 5 Fomorian Giants, 10 Beastmen

Swords of Light - led by Lilianth - status unknown

Being good aligned means you can (forcibly) make friends with anyone, at any time!

Session Notes #35 - 9/11
Vacations and stuff interrupted our first Sept session.

Day Tracker
Start Day 224 - On the way to Isle of Madness in south Sunless Sea.
Stop Day 225 - Resting after Derro enclave fight

The Ramblings of Jobin

10x Ghawwas Div (some sleep murdered, some regular murdered, one squished) - 18k
Grootslang the redux (weakened) - 13k
Lying to a demon, and then it died - 10k
7x Derro experiments (barbarians) and 4x various savants - 40k

DM Notes

100% gold star encounter/side quest completion for the party in the Sunless Sea outside of Great Shaboath and random combats. Everyone gets 1000 achievo points.

Random fun fact: this was the first time I've played at a level where the iconic Prismatic spells are getting thrown around. Rogtar got better.

Random thoughts: Party now permanently paranoid about teleport traps. Tomoe's stealth and perception checks literally unbeatable without outlandish npc optimization/wealth. Rest of party essentially a blind marching band. D-door full attack bombs continue to be effective. Party now brainwashing insane derro to do their bidding and considered unreliable by illithid allies. Godwin's Law looms.

Gathering Allies and Storms

Session Notes #34 - 8/28
Chris (Cowl) got lost in the IRL woods camping and was out for this session. Late postings for the last few weeks because lazy. Roundup in the 9/18 post.

Day Tracker
Start Day 224 - post BG shopping/rezzing
Stop Day 224 - post Blades of Light meeting

The Ramblings of Jobin

Drider Abomination (Queen Clicks) and 3x Leng Spiders - 27.5k
Blightrat Warren - 25k
Saving Jelenneth (finally) - 15k

DM Notes

Wrapping up Sunless Sea sidequests and loose ends. Some discussion about the various NPC's sworn to the party's cause. They decide to just leave them in the "horse zone" - that ambiguous area where stuff no one cares to worry about goes until needed. Sorry Jelenneth and Geronmen, maybe next adventure someone will care about you.

Amusingly, Jobin demanded the party investigate the glint of gold leading to the blightrat den, resulting in an incredibly difficult to cure pair of diseases infesting the party. Except Jobin, who is immune.

Exploring Ruins is an Adventurer's Prerogative so it isn't Really Trespassing, Further Disruption of the Delicate Sunless Sea Ecosystem

Session Notes #33 - 8/21
George (Talon) was out this session. No session next week due to PAX. Nothing else new for now!

Day Tracker
Start Day 222 - talking with Szandur
Stop Day 223 -  Shopping in BG

The Ramblings of Jobin

Szandur is the gnome we captured last session. She has been studying the Aboleth's methods of domination for some length of time in the Sunless Sea.
She seems confused why we invaded her home, we are confused why she is here
There are five towers that are weaving together different schools of magic to perform a ritual spell for mass domination
She was rather grumpy about us invading her home. She explained some of the ways she has been able to scry into the Aboleth's city.
She also explains how she was able to protect her home from scrying
We recover Talon and he points out he found the elven ruins we were initially looking for in this area
Talon stays with the horses (George isn't here), while the rest of the party goes to explore the underwater city
It looks like some great cataclysm hit the city causing it to sink under the sea
While scouting the party is attacked by 3 giant moray eels. While their bites are ferocious the party quickly routes them
The party continues exploring the ruins and notices that they are the same architecture as the smooth caverns (Kasatha)
Fin pings Tomoe that there is a large evil aquatic creature ahead
Out from behind us a huge snake / elephant underwater creature attacks us (grootslang)
It teleports into the middle of us and body slams 3 of the party with its massive chest
Ortree's Sacred Shield blocks a fair portion of the damage
Jobin smites the beast and unleashes a flurry of blows
His sword becomes a 2d blade and he uses it to slice up the beast. Tomoe then unleashes a round of attacks causing the beast to implode pushing the party away 30 feet
The beast still stands (floats) and is now showing a second copper layer of screen with a metallic sheen.
It is angry
It rushes forward and bites Jobin before retreating
Rogtar teleports Or'Tree and Jobin to the front of the battle where the creature unleashes a massive blast of electricity
Thanks to Or'Tree's earlier prayer causes Rogtar's glitterdust to blind the beast
Jobin continues to hit the creature with his now 3D sword
Tomoe rolls (swims) in and delivers a double dagger stab
The creature retaliates with a lightning blast stunning Jobin and teleports away
After healing a bit the adventurers explore the creature's lair. We find a "Crown of Conquest" which Jobin puts on
We continue exploring the city. We are soon faced with a ethereal kasatha with a song on its lips. It seems hostile so Rogtar counters the song
The Banshee(?) joins the fight and a group of drowning devils (Sarglagon) join the fight as the sides close
She claws Jobin who is immune to fear and negative energy so she looks sad
Cowl's wand of batter blast sets up Jobin for the kill, he unleashes a flurry of blows on the Banshee
More combatants join the battle, these appear to be Hezrou demons (toad demons) which exude a noxious cloud around them and have some spellcasting abilities
Battle ensues, the hezrous throw chaos hammers and blasphemy around showing that they are basically the antithesis of Jobin
Cowl unleashes another chain of acid blowing up one of the drowning devils
Seeing the battle going bad, Rogtar dimension doors the party away
The group retreats to Szandur's island and offers to bring her things from town. She requests some fries. (She requests you stay the hell away and never return!)
While flying out Tomoe spots a pile of bone with glints of metal in it near a large hole. Jobin pulls a thing out of his bag a (yeth hound) who is commanded to fetch the metal from the pile. (twas coins!)
We then tell the Yeth to explore the hole, but it never returns

3x REALLY BIG MORAYS - 7.6k
Drove off the Grootslang - 15.3k
Kasatha Banshee - 5.1k (nerf bards)
Fled the underwater demon/devil joint attack after poofing one- 2k

 DM Notes

Not mentioned above: The drowning dead (Sarglagon) feature a "fun" effect that functionally increases PC's weight load. Who likes slow underwater combat? Bonus points for killing an incorporeal creature with a slashing weapon (1/4 damage).

I think the next encounter will feature demons capable of re-writing history such that all party members are, and always have been, geriatric halflings.

Mogtar Goes to Pieces, Return to Strength Drain Island, The Party Calculates the Flow Rate of a Giant Magical Pipe

Session Notes #31 - 7/17 and #32 - 7/24

Lots of stuff happened. Some good, some bad. Scheduling/vacation timing hopefully resolved (except for PAX in two weeks) and gonna get back to this campaign. Party is now level 14 and we'll be starting out just after investigating the underground sanctum of the gnome wizard.

Almost forgot! Mickinzee (Tomoe) commissioned an awesome rendition of the party, a random horse, and some blood crows.

Day Tracker
Start Day 220 - approaching Isle of Shadows for the wrap-up
Stop Day 222 - just cleared out the gnome wizard's hideaway

The Ramblings of Jobin

Isle of Shadows Redux

Nemhain - 8.5k
Dread Wraith - 4.2k
3x Zealot Wraiths - 4.5k
Assorted Traps - 3k

The Pyramid Assault - some of these escaped
6x Ixzan Caster - 15k
3x Ixzan Priest - 6k
2x Ixzan Supermutant - 9k
38x Ixzan Cannonfodder - 5.5

Szandur's Isle
5x Advanced Invisible Stalker - 12k
Szandur the gnome - 17k

DM Notes

Mogtar was annihilated by the Lusca after attempting an aquatic assault and set the record for most damage taken in a round so far this campaign I'd guess. There was a lot of debate as to just how magical the Ixzan pyramid's waterspout had to be to not kill anything it touched due to pressure and speed. (Answer: Extremely magical)

Visualizing the Ixzan fight was tricky due to it being in the air, on the ground, outside underwater, and inside underwater at the same time.

Rift and Forge, Dynamic Lighting Island Adventure, 95+ on the Random Encounter Table Finale

Session Notes #29 - 6/5  and #30 - 6/12

Welcome back friends! Been a while! Three of our intrepid adventures went on vacation during the last month, so we took a break. Bit of a debate as to whether to add an additional player to compensate for Or'Trees departure, but in the end I think that we're close enough to the climax to press on with 5. Or 4, as we're running short a Talon tmorrow. I'd predict 7-8 more sessions to wrap this baby up, but feel free to prove me wrong players. (A single tear falls from Shiraz's face). Cleanup of the Isle of Shadows and exploration of the Ixzan pyramid to come!

Day Tracker
Start Day 218 - Chronologically just after meeting with the Swords of Light group
Stop Day 220 - @Resting after Lusca fight 

 

The Lusca - 14k
 
Isle of Shadows
High Priest of Crucifixion and the club-hand council - 8k
Door trap - 2k
15 Gholdakos - 12k
11 Baykoks - 10k
5 Crypt Things (the teleporty guys) - 3k
1 Nightskitter - 3k1 Zealot Wraith - 1.5k

Surtur's Rift
16 Fire Giants - 13k
4 Volcano Giants - 15k2 Mountain Trolls - 5k
6 Hellhounds - 2.6k
Boltzolto, Snadurg, Freyjand - 8k

Dm Notes

Session started with the encounters during the exploration of the flame rift. Not covered in the notes above:

Party engages the fire giant group after linking up with Cowl (giants have really terrible aim with rocks at this level by the books as it turns out).

After a couple rounds of combat raging, Bolzolto, the king, keels over vomiting blood. (OOC - 10% chance to just die at end of round during combat due to pre-existing condition. The ceremony was to pass power to his son as he knew he was soon to die).  The party quickly slays the couple remaining giants and "liberates" a bit of remaining loot. After securing the area, Jobin reforges the sundered sword of the paladin lost in Murderglade ages ago and Cowl studies he flux point, securing an entry into this area of the Underdark for the party.

What we learned: The party has become very adept at evading melee combat, except vs. huge creatures wielding reach weapons, those are still pretty difficult to avoid.

Diplomancing for Fun and Profit, Welcome to the Sunless Sea, The Mary Sues

Session Notes #27 - 5/29 and #28 - 5/30

In a sad bit of news, Chris (Or'Tree) recently found out he was being deployed from the reserves and will be departing in ~2 sessions. In light of that, (and the holiday) we decided to run a double-header and played on both Sunday and Monday. Crushing the City of the Glass Pool marks the transition into the next section of the campaign, and, unfortunately, I haven't prepped all the new encounters. To wit, I had the illithids all ready to fight, but then the party decided to negotiate. This is, of course, totally fine and a nice change of pace from murder-hobo-ing through the City. However, it did leave the fire rift encounters un-mapped, leading to a bit of a timing shift. Upshot is that the first thing we're doing is flash-backing whatever happened in the rifts to the beginning of the next session and will then resume the adventure after meeting up with the Swords of Light party.

Day Tracker
Start Day 201
Return to surface/trip to BG (208)
Back down! (215)
City to Sunless Sea entrance (216)
Waiting outside illithid enclave during their debate (217)
Illithid negotiations, (REDACTED FIRE RIFT IS REDACTED), and the Swords of Light (218)

The Ramblings of Jobin

Smashing everything in the City, including numerous Sea Mother iconographics - 5,000 EXP

Bonus for the particularly fervent smashers (Or'Tree, Jobin, Rog'tar) - 2,000 EXP

Last city defenders - mix of KT, Derro, and illithid - 5,000 EXP

Freeing Groton and his stone giants from enslavement - 5,000 EXP (more than slaying)

BEEFY monitor jailor and unarmed crazies - no challenge

*Diplomancing Bagorgoop (king's son) and PTSD'd Duke Kugloogoop -  no challenge

Enhanced mithril golem - 12,800 EXP

Slaying that poor, crazy king's herald - no challenge, jerks

Final fight - 6 whips, 2 Lts, 2 captains, Ilsenzenden, King Bupgupgoorg - 14,500 EXP

Lump disarming various traps during the sacking of the city - 3,000 EXP (2k bonus for Tomoe)

*SCP's - all the points!

5 Shining Children - 12,800 EXP

6 Warsworn (hideously over CR'd and/or misplayed in the worst possible scenario) - 12,800 EXP

DM Notes

*Diplomancing - the art of shaking down evil beings for information and then having the paladins smite them because paladin things. Torm has his eye on you, Or'Tree, and he is frowny.

*SCPs - ended up not being particularly relevant due to the order/speed in which the party completed the major point events right at the end of the city. I still thought this was a really cool feature of the campaign, so here is the guide to peep at. Bonus points to Jobin for smashing up the front gate.

The Final Push, Fly-Paper Shields, The Fury of the Sea Mother

Session Notes #25 - 5/20 and #26 - 5/22

The assault on the Kuo-Toan City of the Glass Pool fires back up with a quick 4-person session Friday (Talon and Cowl out - played by party.) and full session Sunday (Cowl out due to work - many acid balls were hurled in his name). Hopefully we can resolve just what did happen about Cowl's plot this next session.

Day Tracker

Start Day 185
Travel back to city thru Cloud Peaks caves - 15 days (200)

Rest after farm fight (201)

Fight for the farms and temple encounter:

Some large number of KT whips and citizens, 10 KT priests, 4 KT Monitors, 2 KT captains, 2 KT Lts
2 Ixzan Wizards (one dead, one fled), 1 Ixzan Mutant, 1 Acid Savant, 1 Illithid
Dukes Hugulboorg and Klorgaboog - Kugloogoop feared away
Fury of the Sea Mother statue/elemental, 2 greater water elementals, a buffet of monstrous crayfish

37K EXP

SCP's: +36 (total 67)

DM Notes

 Play continues in the giant battle arena that is the city. Notable stuff not mentioned above and some clarifications:

• Stone giants were perched on the temple dome throwing rocks (mostly unsuccessfully - of note - the party is now ~3 levels above when they first attacked the city and their stats are quite a bit higher, many of the foes are not posing a large threat and have started mixing up their tactics.)
• 30" ft. tall stone-shaped towers with caged tops have sprung up around the city in defensive positions, intent on harassing the party. They are seemingly occupied by the scant remnants of the Derro military with illithid commanders and dispelling whips focused on limiting the party's mobility.
• Tomoe died shortly before the party finished the farm pools fight to a pile of melee KTs. Or'Tree scooped up her ioun stone, Finfinder, and used it to raise her after the party's retreat.
• Stisix the couatl continues his bard-music fueled murder-spree and eats like 10 non-trivial KTs.
• Later in the session, a bunch of Or'Trees summoned electric eels also "view the performance" during the underwater temple fight and become ~4x more powerful. The summoning abuse continues.
• The party managed to rescue 5 of Cowl's followers from the farm pools and also found Rogtar's brother, Mogtar. Happily reunited and filled with fury at his domination (and leveled up into Oracle-lame curse), he actually proves quite useful. Stisix plane-shifts out with the rest of the followers with instructions to get them safely back to Haranshire.
• The altar in the notes (actually a statue) reincorporates after creating the whirlpool and begins hurling elemental rays at the party. They weather the storm and begin approaching from the edges of the whirlpool to deliver the killing blow. Talon gets about 5 ft. too eager and dies to a full-attack. The statue falls shortly afterward and the vortex fades away.
• Almost done with the City! Only a few buildings have not been tackled. The KT king has ominously not yet shown himself. We'll need a holiday weekend double-header to wrap it up and move on to book 3!

Eggcellent, "Do we have enough time to go to Halruaa and buy an airship?", Zanticor foiled

Session Notes #23 - 5/1 and #24 - 5/8

No session on 5/15 as I was ill. Likely doing a make-up session this Friday. Schedules are all over the place during the next few months due to summer vacations, we'll get in where we fit in! (Or perhaps do our first Roll20 session not in the same room *wink*)

In an amusing twist of fate, Rogtar's first attempted Legato Piece on the Infernal Bargain masterpiece (what the hell bard naming conventions) summoned up a couatl to help with their struggles against the plane hopping, recurring villain Zanticor in exchange for the mystery eggs. Little did any of us know that, according to their, lore couatls - 1. particularly enjoy fighting against evil planar travelers and 2. are highly motivated by offerings of food. Well played.

Rumor has it the eggs were thunderbird eggs, but I guess we'll never know.

The white dragons the party encounter early in the first session got absolutely annihilated, I think it was 3 rounds? Seriously, ouch. Delaying and readying around the tactical use of Dimension Door to get full-attacks is effective.

Spent longer than usual prepping the Cloud Peaks section up next and think it paid off with an enjoyable encounter. While the party has quickly adapted to flying and short-range teleportation to get the hitters in striking positions, the anti-magic shielded, flying deva posed quite a bit of trouble by flitting back and forth between Talon and Rogtar and bringing the fiery non-magical sword smackdown. Zanticor took careful advantage of the "distraction" to taunt the party and pull out some force wall and programmed image shenanigans before shifting out.

Sensing a pattern, the party debates tactics a bit, then sends out Spot, the courier hound archon, to procure some specific scrolls/pages of spell knowledge to counter his bull. It pays off. Who needs dedicated casters when you've got the teleport-without-error-express, a searchable SRD spell list, and melee damage.

Day Tracker
Start Day 167
Descending the Cloud Peaks (169)
Two days travel to Keczulla (171)
Two more days travel to Eshpurta (173)
Four days thru Snakewood enroute to Parlfray's keep (177)
One day to Thurmaster (178)
Two days to Baldur's Gate and then waiting around two days for crafting (182)
Back to Snakewood for meeting and fighting (185)

5/1
Jimmenju - 3,200 EXP
Cloud Peak Path - bound Movanic Deva and Flayer Demon, Zanticor (fled) - 7,400 EXP

White Dragon diplomancy - Toristryx and Auronus (mature adult white dragons) - 4,250 EXP

Rogtar's amusing "luck" with the couatl, Stisix, summoning - 500 EXP

5/8
Snakewood - Zanticor and reduced CR for Veruguran fighting dumb dominated - 14,000 EXP
Cowl Character Bonus - 2,000 EXP
30 Total Slaves Saved - 9,000 EXP

DM Notes

The Snakewood session marked the culmination of a fairly long Cowl story-line the rest of the party wasn't even aware of. In short, wanting to continue his growth into a Dragon Disciple, Cowl sent out a number of his Meowswitchian followers to attempt to ally with a green dragon that would become his "mentor" and protect the town. While they were successful, Zanticor struck Meowswitch before Cowl could meet said dragon. Unknown to Cowl, his followers were interrogated by the mind-controlling illithid and spilled the beans. Zanticor then planted a false journal message detailing an arranged meeting where he took the form of a green dragon and convinced Cowl to accept a spell to verify his dedication to the proposed alliance. One dominate later (along with the injection of a mystery fluid), and Cowl was fighting for the wrong side. While he did manage to slip the control, Jobin and Or'Tree were having none of it and slew the potential ally (lawful evil) dragon Veruguran during the encounter despite Cowl's protests. To be fair, it definitely would've killed Jobin without Or'Trees sacred shield halving damage (I'd estimate that ability has prevented ~5ish deaths).

We'll have to wait and see how the conflict shakes out for the party!

...I wonder what the City of the Glass Pool has been up to during all these time-consuming diversions. Probably nothing important...