Session 47

Members[]

Atticus
Ava
Bob
Carter
Fitz
Grimweld
Henderbeard
Solaris

The Adventure[]

We begin today's adventure deep in the Carnifex castle. Having faught off the initial attacking Carnifex, the party headed further into the Shrine of the Carnifex. Four more guards were waiting. The fight raged on, and as seems to be his habit, Solaris fell unconscious on his first attack. Bob's blade barrier tore into flesh and Grimweld made a break for the black staff of the Carnfex. The second he touched it, a thunder clap sounded and he was blown back, falling down the stairs. A Carnifex mage teleported in and headed for the northern room, leading the Henderbeards into the Hall of the Undead. The resident Hag was kept at bay, and the Carnifex mage died. Sensing impending doom, the leader, a lich of considerable power, grabbed the staff and teleported away.

Bob's sunbeam blinded the remaining undead and Henderbeard snuck around to flank the monsters from behind. Then the unthinkable happened ... Grimweld dropped unconscious and died. He spent the rest of the fight in the peaceful surroundings of Tito's resting place having tea and crumpets. Ava realized that she could try to get him back to life, so she hobbled on her stump over to Grimweld. Solaris pulled off many a Solaris Special, until he too succumbed to his curse. An untoward shot ricocheted back, knocking him unconscious and he too fell down the stairs. Carter also found that he has a signature move. It is the triple crit. He did it again this session.

Without their leader, the rest of the undead revenants were quickly dispatched. The party was left with the decision to heal or jump through a rapidly fading teleportation circle. Seemingly cured of their aversion to using consumables, they gobbled mushrooms, drank potions and got ready for a fight.

Carter, carrying Ava, stepped through first. The Carnifex were waiting. Both Carter and Ava took a cleaver to the face. The rest of the party was surprised to see Dorath Kir sitting on a huge throne in the room. With no time to think, combat started. A Carnifex summoned a clone of Henderbeard. Then Bizarro Bob, the clone of Bob showed up. Bob tried to silence the enemy, but Evil Henderbeard was too smart for his tricks and just walked out of the circle of silence. Both of the clones were soon stuck in Bob's entangle spell though.

Fitz moved into the melee and went for the staff. Evil Henderbeard wrested it from his hands, polymorphed into a Carnifex, and was prepared to use it, when he was cut down, his robes, equipment, and body drifting away as a puff of smoke on the wind. Dorath Kir died. He was unconscious, and Grimweld slit his throat. Upon death, he and all of his possessions turned to dust.

The last clone, Bizarro Bob, finally succumbed. He too could not face the combined might of the Henderbeards. Bob and Grimweld detected the evilness of the staff, and Fitz also knew it needed to be destroyed. Bob cast remove curse and Fitz dispelled its dweomer. With the destruction of the staff, a great alarm sounded in the castle.

Everyone saw a dark gray henge appear, with a vision of the Guardian Mesa on the other side. The Carnifex already had a way into their plane! This inter-dimensional portal was almost ready to be put into use. As the last of the team headed through the henge, a loud rumbling sound started. Horrible shrieks echoed from the magical portal, and the Henderbeards watched as the fortress of the Carnifex started crumbling.

Clusters of horrified Carnifex poured out of the castle. Many of them heading toward the henge. Quick thinking saved the day. As Fitz pried up a symbol, the gate closed with a loud snap. Immediately after the first symbol was pried up, each henge started to glow with a golden aura. From each henge the rulers of the magical pocket realms appeared. As if they were a single entity, they all knelt and announced the following:

You have bested us and thus, it is right to claim and rule our realms. Such is our law. Should this be your choice, you then become the defenders of the gate to the Pits of Banishment. Touch a henge for the power to be yours, or leave and never return.

Grimweld and Carter jumped at the chace to become demi-gods of their own realm. Ava, Henderbeard, Bob, and Fitz declined the offer, and headed down. As they left the plateau, they felt a surge of power. Having given up the chance to own a realm, they got other rewards. Bob, Fitz, and Henderbeard gained 50,000 XP. Ava gained true sight and ESP.

With the threat of the Carnifex over, the party limped back to their headquarters in Pradaqa. As the ruler of the red realm, Carter was stuck. He was embroiled in an epic battle. An unending war. He would not soon grace the plane of the Henderbeards again. Grimweld enjoyed himself in the pursuit of the color blue and women. Sorabeth, the Law Giver, soon bent to his charms and agreed to be courted.

Back at Pradaqa, Bob started healing and restoring the wounds of the group. He regrew an eye and a leg. Gave Ava back a foot, and everyone healed and rested. Feeling a lack of supplies, Bob headed south in his boat. He was in luck. Rolg did not have any major healing supplies in stock, but he did have some items he found in his travels, and joined Bob for a trip back on the Faronos. To Henderbeard, he sold a Barrel of Rolling, to Grimweld, a Barrel of Poverty. With that sale, Rold laughed a deep barrel chested laugh. Grimweld looked inside and his clothing and equipment vanished. The cover changed to leather strips, and Grimweld decided to put on the barrel. Rolg explained that his clothes had been transported to the Blue Realm.

Rolg stepped off the ship and took out his wares from a seemingly endless haversack. To Ava, he sold a Steed, to Henderbeard, a new Guardian Familiar, to Fitz, the legendary Robe of the Arch Magi, and to Bob, a Teddy Bear. He spent the night at the tower and headed out in the morning, with a shopping list from Bob.

A few other things happened concurrently. Some of the party wondered why Dorath Kir was still alive and drinking in the tavern with Qesnef. A strange lizard found the Henderbeards and agreed to fight with them on the condition that they one day help him find his god Zlntrlkopfr. Also, at long last, Grimweld heard some wings flapping in the distance. He knew right away that it was his dragon. He immediately bonded with it and flew off to the Blue Realm to get to know his new cohort, but before he left, he commissioned Atticus with making a saddle for him.

Fitz also found himself the owner of a basilisk egg. Can he raise it to be his familiar? Before Grimweld left for his pocket realm, he tried to scry on Ragnar. His spell worked, and what he saw scared him.

Ragnar is now some form of undead who feasts on the flesh and blood of virgins. The demon is stronger than ever, and sitting on a throne overlooking the demon's praying and Ragnar's sacrifices was a strange being.

The product of a demon and a human. A cambion demon. Who is this new threat? What power does he bring to the table? Can Carter ever stop the wars on his pocket realm and escape its confines? The demon quickly saw the scrying orb and sent a bolt of flame into Grimweld's eye, closing the link, but not before he saw an army of Taldor and Tlengle ...

XP[]

Session XP: 30,000

Henderbeard, Bob, and Fitz gained an additional 50,000 bonus XP from the old realm leaders. Individula XP is recorded in this thread: https://app.roll20.net/forum/post/931986/individual-xp#post-944546