In which
our heroes gain and lose an ally Book Two, Chapter 3.3 (session 74, 5 th
February 2019) The Party: Naergon Harna, elven wizard (Diviner) Mads Rangle, human fighter/warlock (Fiend: Archdevil
Zariel) Jamna Gleamsilver, gnome rogue (Arcane Trickster) Tomaz Stormwind, human ranger (Hunter) Druscilla Oakenrock, dwarven cleric (Trickery: Mask) Talis Wintercrest, half-elven cleric (War: Bane) Jamna casts disguise self to take on the appearance of a
baby yeti standing on board the ship [dodge]. Mads swings his glaive and cuts
down the closest yeti in a series of vicious cuts. One of the yetis scrabbles
at Druscilla, its icy claws penetrating her armour. Another yeti attacks the
illusionary Druscilla, claws slashing the air as it stumbles forward confused.
Two more yetis stand under the levitating Naergon howling at him, trying to
reach up with their claws. One attacks Talis, claws scrabbling at her but
missing, another advances on Mads who swings at it and cuts it down in a single
stroke. Tomaz coughs up blood and groans [death save success]. Isendraug
continues to rise into the air clutching the scrabbling giant in its bubble.
Talis stabs the yeti in front of her and Naergon fire bolts on of the yetis
below him, the bolt burning through its fur as he rises further into the air.
Druscilla swings her axe but misses, whilst moving her spiritual weapon up. Jamna (as a yeti) shoots at the yeti fighting Talis, the
arrow slamming in under its armpit and dropping the beast [sneak attack]. Mads
slaps his armour and activates the cold immunity feature whilst saying “ keep an eye on the dragon, I don’t trust it”
[telepathic link]. The yeti fighting Druscilla claws at her futilely, the yetis
abandon the majestic figure of Naergon and advance towards Druscilla. Tomaz coughs
one final time and then lies quietly [death save success = stabilised].
Isendraug continues to fly up and to the south, carrying the giant in its
sphere. Talis casts cure wounds on herself and Naergon casts fire bolt at the
scorched yeti fighting Druscilla, the bolt burning through the back of its neck
as it crumples to the ground screeching. The wizard rises yet higher into the
wintry sky above the iceberg. Druscilla swings at the yetis surrounding her but
misses as she draws her spiritual weapon closer. Jamna (as a yeti) shoots at one of the yetis fighting
Druscilla, the arrowing slicing through its neck, severing the spinal cord as
the yeti flops to the ground like a puppet with cut strings [sneak attack].
Mads casts eldritch blast at the final yeti, each one flying wide of its mark.
From the far side of the ice ridge, near the entrance to the lagoon a giant can
be heard roaring and shouting something as the final surviving yeti claws
desperately at Druscilla, once again penetrating her armour. From above they
hear Isendraug roar and shriek, to be answered by a lower growling roar from
closer to the lagoon entrance. Talis moves cautiously down the gangplank
towards Tomaz and Druscilla. Naergon from his position eighty feet above can
see Isendraug soar above the ice ledge as he fire bolts the last yeti, the bolt
burning it but failing to kill it he shouts out “ there’s another one on the ship get it Mads, Talis.” Druscilla
swings again and cuts the scorched yeti down sending a welter of blood across
the stained ice around her. Turning, she calls her spiritual weapon towards the
lagoon entrance and the chain across which she can see a number of giants
approaching. Jamna hurriedly drops her disguise calling “no, no it’s me, honestly it’s me! But look
more giants approaching across the lagoon chain” [telepathic link]. Mads
moves down the gangplank towards Talis as the giants on the chain cross to the
boathouse side of the ice berg. From the south the deep growling of a second
dragon continues as Isendraug begins to dive towards the south, still clutching
the giant in a globe. Talis moves up to Druscilla as Naergon begins to lower
himself as Druscilla moves towards the ice shelf covering the lagoon entrance,
her spiritual weapon following behind. Jamna dashes along the ship towards the gangplank,
chasing after Mads who moves up to Talis and asks “ do you have any healing that you can spare for Tomaz?” On the far
side of the entrance the giants advance alongside the ice shrouded boathouse as
the dragon roars again, the faint sound of chains being dragged and rattled
underscoring the growls. Isendraug disappears over the ice ledge to the south.
Talis replies to Mads “ why would I waste
spells on him? But if you insist I’ll do it for you dearie” and casts cure
wounds on the unconscious ranger. Mads kicks Tomaz lightly and hisses “ say thank you now”. “Err, yeah, thanks I
guess” says Tomaz through gritted teeth as Talis turns her back, purple
cloak swinging and walks away. Naergon drops down a further twenty feet. Druscilla
says “ there are more giants on this side”
as she advances towards the ice shelf pulling her spiritual weapon alongside. Jamna continues to run after Mads who walks towards the
lagoon entrance readying his eldritch blast. The giants on both sides continue
to advance. Tomaz climbs to his feet and walks after Talis and casts cure
wounds on himself. From the south comes the continuing sound of dragons roaring
as Talis glances at Tomaz and grunts “ you
should prepare yourself to fight those giants” as she moves away. Tomaz
calls after her “I have no arrows left!” Naergon drops down to twenty feet
whilst Druscilla peers at the giants under the ice-bridge and casts flame
strike on the ice shelf above their heads. With a roar a cylinder of flame
pierces the shelf, causing it to split and a huge section of the front to
slough off and fall crashing across the path and into the lagoon. The lead
giant falls and slips as the cylinder of flame suddenly envelops it, it
scrabbles at the ice and is left hanging from its fingers off the edge of the
semi-melted causeway. Druscilla steps back and moves the spiritual weapon in
front of her. Jamna runs towards the tunnel they originally entered
from and shelters out of sight of the giants and fumbles with her sending
device “ boss, can Talis be trusted?”
the reply comes back “ just as much as I
trust you dear.” [Sending] Mads strikes a pose and shouts at the giants on
the causeway “ come and fight me like a,
err a giant man!” From the other side of the ice shelf comes the unmistakable
sound of a giant wailing as it falls from high in the wintry sky, a wail that
ends suddenly in a huge, crunchy and slight wet sounding thud. Tomaz moves
south, still following Talis “ why are you
following me? Go away and stop stalking me, I’m already regretting healing you,
now go over there somewhere ” she says in irritation. From the south the
dragons roar in challenge followed by the familiar sound of a breath weapon
attack, the sound of giants shouting can be dimly heard as well. Talis stalks
away, pulling her cloak around her and pulling her hat down closer over her
eyes. Naergon lowers himself to the ground as Druscilla falls back towards the
party, gripping her axe and preparing to fight the giants swarming across the
causeway. Her spiritual weapon blinks out of existence. Jamna shelters in the tunnel [dodge] as Mads continues to
hold his eldritch blasts waiting on the giants. The giants on both sides of the
causeway advance, the ones on the far side hurling iceballs, which gouge huge
furrows in the ice around Naergon, Talis and Druscilla, covering them in
showers of ice and snow but fortunately missing. The ones on the near side
advance and spread out, the lead two hurling iceballs at Talis and Druscilla
who manage to duck and weave [dodge] out of the way. Jamna, sheltering in the
tunnel hears the door behind her open and giants emerge. The lead one ignores
the gnome and hurls an iceball at Mads who ducks out of the way [dodge], the
second swings its greataxe at Jamna but misses the gnome as she ducks away
[dodge]. From the far side of the ice ridge comes the sound of immense ballista
firing and the roar of a dragon shrieking in pain. Tomaz, blinking through the
clouds of ice and snow moves forward towards the causeway and stays alert
[dodge] as the sound of a dragon biting and clawing through flesh and timber
reverberates through the causeway tunnel. Talis cries out “ giants, there, and there, and err, back here too” looking wildly
around and casts guardian of faith in front of the tunnel entrance. Naergon
calls out “how many are coming through
the tunnel Jamna?” “Lots !” comes the reply “at least four, maybe more.” “Right” Naergon continues “ concentrate on the ones in the tunnel, I’ll
deal with the ones from the causeway.” And with that he casts wall of
force, blocking the causeway off from the ice shelf, sealing the six giants in
the lagoon entrance. Druscilla and her duplicate retreat towards Talis. Jamna activates her boots of speed [bonus] and races out
of the tunnel, the giant swings its axe [AOO] and misses as she turns and
readies her bow [ready action]. Mads advances on the giant in the tunnel, Jamna
shoots [readied action] an hits the
giant as mads swings his glaive, using menacing attacks but the giant shrugs
off the fear despite being sliced and stabbed again and again. From the southern edge of the berg the sound
of ballistae firing can be heard followed by a shriek of pain from one of the
dragons accompanied by the grunts of giants and the sound of axes clashing with
horn and claw. In the tunnel giants advance through the guardian of faith,
getting burnt by the supernatural aura, grunting and shaking their heads they
plough on to attack Mads, the axe biting through his magic armour. The second
giant walks past Mads who jabs at it with his glaive [AOO], the giant ignores
the attack and swings hard at the dwarven illusion in front of it, stumbling as
its blade passes clean through the armoured figure. The third giant squeezes
through and swings at Jamna despite being burnt by the guardian, cutting deep
into the gnome. A particularly large giant, wearing an impressive, if ancient
helmet stoops through the tunnel door, clearly this is Jarl Stovald himself. He
roars as the supernatural radiance of the guardian bursts across him as the
spell dissipates. Tomaz moves slowly [exhaustion] towards the tunnel entrance.
To the south the roaring of dragons, clanking of chains and the sound of tooth
and claw rending flesh continues. Talis steps up to the tunnel entrance and
stabs the lead giant with her spear, the giant grunts as blood flows down its
thigh. The jarl steps towards Mads and swings his axe, cutting through the
warlock’s armour and deep into his shoulder. Naergon runs across from the wall
of force towards the tunnel as he does so he shouts “ that isn’t good” , pointing to where six more giants are pouring out
of the second tunnel entrance “ it’s time
we left.” Skidding to a halt he casts force cage on the jarl, pinning him
into the tunnel. Druscilla steps forward and swings at the lead giant, her axe
biting deeply into its calf, using the rods ability to terrify the giant [WIS
save fail]. Jamna pulls out another bead of force and hurls it at the
closest giant, encasing it in an impenetrable globe [DEX save forced fail using
portent] one of the other giants swings at her [AOO], slicing deeply into her
back as she attempts to slip away [bonus dodge]. Mads, stuck in the tunnel next
to the force cage prepares to hold the position to prevent more giants coming
out, he swings his glaive again, and again, slashing great wounds in the giant
in front of him. One of the giants runs towards Druscilla, another looms in
front of Talis, swinging its axe it cuts the half-elf badly. In the tunnel the
giant attempts to cut at mads hitting him once despite the confines of the
narrow tunnel. Another giant looms in the doorway behind. The giant in the
globe rolls forward towards the lagoon, pounding away futilely. From the south
a single ballista shoots and one of the dragons screams and wails in anguish
followed by a colossal crash of something huge falling onto the side of a ship
and then sliding off amidst the sound of broken spars and oars. The other
dragon cries out in anger and misery, chains clanging as it screams. Tomaz
slowly moves around the back of the party [exhaustion]. Talis, reels back from
the giant in front of her and casts spirit guardians, clouds of fiendish
draconic figures swirling around her in a thick mist. The jarl slams himself
against the force cage shouting and cursing. Naergon casts sunburst across the
approaching giants, blinding two of them and burning four more badly. Druscilla
stands her ground and swings at the scared giant in front of her, slicing it
again. Jamna moves back and shoots the scared giant fighting
Druscilla, the arrow slams through its shoulder [sneak] as the gnome dodges
[bonus]. Mads stands his ground swinging his glaive, cutting the giant to his
front to ribbons, it leans forward grasping the corner of the force cage,
shoulders wedged against the tunnel walls, axe drooping to the ground as it
glares at him, blowing frothy blood from its nostrils across him. From the cage
the jarl screams at the giant and points at Mads. On the causeway the giants on
the other side of the wall of force start to attempt to scrabble up and over but
with limited success for now. Back in the tunnel the badly wounded giant grunts
and hefts its axe, jabbing at Mads in the confined space, smashing him in the
face. Outside the scared giant swings at Druscilla but in its fear the blows
fail to connect. Four of the other giants race towards the party whilst, in the
rear two of them stumble around blindly. The lead giant enters Talis’s spirit
guardian sphere, the fiendish draconic shapes slashing and biting it. From the
south can be heard the dull repetitive thud of wood slamming against scaled
flesh accompanied by low growls and whimpers. Tomaz steps forward and stabs at
the scared giant, wounding it slightly. Talis stabs the giant in her guardian sphere,
it reels bleeding badly but doesn’t fall. Naergon walks up behind Jamna and
clasps her shoulder whilst casting dimension door, transporting both of them
over onto the prow of the greatship. Druscilla moves her duplicate up to stand
next her and then casts prayer of healing over herself, Mads, Tomaz and Talis. Jamna dashes [bonus] along the rail of the ship and
shoots at one of the blind giants, the arrow piercing through its shoulder and
under its collar bone [sneak]. Mads swings and drops the giant to his front,
with the tunnel blocked he retires and attacks the giant fighting Talis,
cutting it down as well. He then leans on his bloody glaive and takes stock [second
wind]. Two giants advance on Talis, entering the fiendish guardian sphere, the
draconic shapes slashing and biting at them. Mads stabs with his glaive but
misses [AOO] as the giant swings at Talis who collapses in a spreading pool of
blood. Two giants rush for the gangplank whilst the blind ones stumble about. Tomaz
moves towards Druscilla, clutching his spear in front of him [dodge]. Talis
continues to bleed out [death save fail]. Naergon moves along the ship towards
Jamna “ please try and stay still will you”
he shouts. Druscilla says “ I have one
teleport left, I can take those next to me but not Naergon or Jamna. Where
would you like me to take you?” [telepathic link]. “I can dimension door us across the lagoon, anywhere on the berg, so
just go when you need to ” replies Naergon [telepathic link] “ We’ll see you in the dragon lair then” [telepathic
link] and with that she taps her helmet and Druscilla, Tomaz, Mads and the unconscious
body of Talis blink out, leaving the wizard and gnome alone with the giants. Jamna shoots at the giant at the top of the gangplank,
hitting it but despite using a precious magical arrow the giant shrugs of the strike.
Jamna ducks and weaves [dodge] as the giant advances and swings its axe,
wounding the gnome badly. Naergon steps behind Jamna, clasps her shoulder and
casts dimension door, reappearing in the dragon lair next to the rest of the group. Next
time: Where do we go from here? No
levels were gained this session:
Naergon
15 th
level
Mads
14 th
level
Jamna
14 th
level
Tomaz
14 th
level
Druscilla
14 th
level
Talis
11 th
level
XP
earnt is now irrelevant as the rest of TOD is based on milestone XP In-Game
the session ended at 20:15 on 22 nd Elesias 1485 DR [The last LONG REST was completed at
06:00 on 22 nd Elesias] [SHORT REST for ALL taken between 15:30
and 16:30] [SHORT REST for MR+TS taken between
18:00 and 19:00] Next
session Tuesday 19 th February at 19:15