Check In Question: What unusual talent do you and your character have?
- Miranda: I can belch (radiation side effect). Lysithea can pat her head and her stomach while singing the alphabet backwards while jumping up and down in circles.
- Victor: Draggy’s is fighting. I can do silly voices.
- Cordelia: I’m really good at drawing kawaii things. Surina can walk a tightrope.
- Kevin: Weird finger wiggling. Gobbles’s sense of common sense is… not normal.
- Justice: I can wave my pinky. Capper can play the Warrrgghhophone, which is normally an orc-only instrument.
When we last left the party, they had made it to the city of Pupbaatt. The townsfolk have been acting a bit strange, suspicious of the new faces, especially the Dragonborn. The party explored the temple, had a run-in with the local crime boss, and volunteered to participate in an exhibition match in the arena, all while looking for one of Rhu’s items. That evening, on a whim, Gobbles decided to stalk Capper, the sketchiest of Tabaxi, and followed him to the hospital. Inside the doctor’s office Gobbles found one of Rhu’s items, half of an amulet. He brought it back to the party, and Lysithea promptly destroyed it with the dagger. Mission accomplished; however, the party still had to participate in the exhibition match the next day. They were triumphant against 3 rather frightening creatures, and left the crowd roaring with applause and the party severely injured.
The crowd gives the party a standing ovation, screaming at the top of their lungs as Surina and the Crystal Gems are the victors in their exhibition match! Not really hidden from view, money can be seen exchanging hands. The High Priestess makes her appearance and begins the awards ceremony, congratulating the party on their victory.
Lysithea: I huuurrrt!
The receptionist from the hospital approaches the party.
Receptionist: The doctor will see you now in her office.
Lysithea: Oh good. I hurt. Let’s go.
The party is led to the medical bay of the arena, where the mysterious doctor is waiting for them. They are happily greeted by the doctor, an Elf woman.
Doctor: Ah! Welcome! That was a great fight! I rather enjoyed it. Let’s get you all patched up and healed.
Lysithea: Yes please.
Gobbles: I’ll just use my bed rest. I’m good.
Doctor: You don’t want me to heal you?
Gobbles: I’m fine.
Doctor: Okay…
Surina: Hah! I’m still feeling fine.
The doctor casts Cure Wounds on Lysithea, who is close to collapsing, healing her for 18.
Lysithea: Great… On a scale of 1-74 I’m at a 19.
Doctor: I would recommend not doing anything physical for the rest of the day.
Gobbles: I can do that, too. *casts Cure Wounds on himself*
The confused doctor casts Cure Wounds on Lysithea again, healing her for 24 more.
Doctor: That was wonderful.
Lysithea whispers to party: Does someone else want to frontline this before I open my big mouth?
Surina: Frontline what?
Lysithea: Asking about the amulet.
Gobbles: I can be tactful. *turns to doctor* Sorry I didn’t want you to do any of your doctoring on me. I just don’t trust you cause I think you’re evil, because of the kennels.
Doctor: Oh, those were for creatures we have found.
Gobbles: And caged.
Doctor: Well, yes. Do you want those beasts roaming around?
Gobbles: Yes.
Doctor: Well, uh, er…
Lysithea: You don’t have, like, a wildlife reserve or something?
Doctor: These are not natural creatures. But you all did wonderful. But, kennels and cages, of course they are kept in kennels and cages. Where else would you keep these monsters?
Gobbles: Hotels? Motels! Cause that’s where they keep the roaches.
Doctor: If you would like to sleep next to one of those mouthers…
Gobbles: Why are you making them, I guess is the question?
Doctor: I’m not making them!
(Insight Lysithea adjusted 20, Draggy 10, Surina Nat1) The doctor isn’t lying about making the monsters. Surina, though, doesn’t seem to care about the truth, still living off the roar of the crowd from being the champion.
Lysithea: Okay, so that’s fine. But what about keeping amulets from evil chaos gods?
Doctor: How do you know about that?
Lysithea: How do you know about that?
Doctor: I don’t. It was an amulet that was stolen from me last night. I found it down in the well.
Lysithea: What else did you find in the well?
Doctor: These monsters.
Lysithea: These monsters were in the cave?!
Doctor: Yes!
Gobbles: You didn’t think to warn people and then seal it up and then pour lava down?
Doctor: Well, we need the cave.
Lysithea: Are there more down there?
Doctor: There didn’t seem to be, but I only found half the amulet. So. I assume whoever has the other half has more of these things.
Gobbles: How did you get the monsters up without them killing everybody?
Doctor: Oh, the amulet.
Gobbles: Oh. Great.
Doctor: Yes, it was very difficult to get them to the arena because it was gone. I had to Sleep them. But I don’t think there are more down there. We dug a little too deep.
Gobbles: How very Dwarven of you.
Lysithea: And did you close up the “too deep”?
Doctor: Well, we need the water.
Gobbles: The nice pure water that these monstrosities are in, or near.
Gobbles makes a mental note to use Purify Food and Drink on everything from now on.
Doctor: Well, we used to have canals and other things connecting to the river, but there have been a lot of issues lately.
Lysithea: The Kobolds?
Doctor: The Giff.
Lysithea: The Giff have been causing problems a lot of places.
Doctor: Someone has hired them. Usually we just pay these mercenary companies off, or scare them away. But lately… it’s been worse.
Lysithea: Just… the thought didn’t cross your mind that an amulet that can control these monstrosities might be a bad thing?
Doctor: It was better to have it in our hands than to let someone else control them.
Lysithea: Okay, Boromir.
Gobbles: That cat. Were you giving him orders?
Doctor: Which cat?
Gobbles: You know which cat.
Doctor: Oh. No, he came to me and was like, “I know their secret,” and I was like, “Don’t care.”
Lysithea: Whose secret? Our secret?
Doctor: Yes. He wanted to make a deal for my monsters to win.
Gobbles: We have a secret?
Lysithea: We have a secret?
Gobbles: What’s our secret? I wanna know!
Doctor: That you use magic.
Gobbles: *sarcasm* Oh no! That’s just a closely guarded secret!
Lysithea: *sarcasm* Oh, that’s terrible!
Doctor: They’re not very smart around here.
Lysithea: We noticed.
Doctor: So that’s why I was keeping the amulet instead of, you know, one of the others.
Gobbles: Here’s the secret – Those powerful adventurers are powerful adventurers.
Lysithea: Kay. Next time you find an amulet, or something that’s probably evil, don’t keep if for yourself.
Doctor: I wasn’t keeping it for myself, I was protecting it.
Gobbles: For yourself.
Lysithea: That’s what I said.
Doctor: What else would you like me to have done with it? It was only half of an amulet.
Lysithea: Contact people to find out what it is?
Doctor: It controlled 3 monsters that we found down there.
Lysithea: You’ve been living in this city too long. Thank you for the healing. You’re never getting the amulet back. Have a nice day.
Lysithea turns around and leaves.
Doctor: I’m confused.
Draggy: Bye bye. Forever.
The rest of the party follow Lysithea out.
Lysithea: Okay. That’s done. I would now like to take a nap in our sketchy hotel room, and then leave this silly place to get the other half of this amulet which is, I’m assuming, in the mountains.
Gobbles: You don’t want to go in the cave?
Lysithea: I would like to rest at least a little before doing that. Is there anything else you guys wanna do in this town?
Draggy: I dunno.
Gobbles: Let’s check out the cat place!
Lysithea: Which cat place?
Gobbles: The Cat’s Paw! Maybe that will be relaxing and count as a short rest before we get inflicted with more injuries.
The outside of The Cat’s Paw looks like a maneki-neko, complete with an arm attached to the side of the building that goes up and down.
Draggy: What’s that sound?
From outside the restaurant they can hear very upbeat, synthesized music. If the music had a color, it would be neon-rainbow. A large portion of the crowd from the exhibition match can be seen entering The Cat’s Paw.
Lysithea: I’m afraid. We just battled horrific demons, and this scares me. Do we want to go in? *looks at Surina*
Surina: Yes!
Lysithea: Okay… lead the way, Surina.
Inside they are greeted by a Tabaxi, who, on top of their natural ears and tail, is wearing cat ears and a fake cat tail.
Surina: They already have ears!
Greeter: Welcome!
Looking around the party sees several patrons dining with cats. Not Tabaxi, but cats. The greeter offers the party their own set of cat ears and tail. Gobbles takes his very excitedly and puts them on. He hangs the orange tail around his neck like a scarf.
Lysithea: Um… I can’t really fit them over my horns. And… *points to her tail* no thanks on the tail, I’ve got my own.
Lysithea takes her orange cat ears and puts them across her forehead. Surina also takes her calico spotted ears and puts them on.
Surina: Oh boy. Not gonna take the tail, though. I already have a tail.
The music is playing on a constant loop. The greeter sits the party at a table, where the waitress is waiting for them. She talks with an exaggerated cat accent, or catccent, like a certain Ctarl-Ctarl.
Waitress: How can we seeerve you, neko? Meow meow.
Surina: Is there a menu?
Waitress: We serve the finest cream beverages, meow meow.
Surina: Is that the only thing you have?
Waitress: No, we have fish treats that we get imported in, meow meow.
Surina: I’m starting to get annoyed at the “meow meow”.
Lysithea: You wanted to come in here!
They are given a menu, covered in cat paws.
Gobbles: How expensive are the cats?
Waitress: Oh, you get a complimentary cat for your table, meow meow. You don’t get to keep it, but it will sit with you, meow meow.
Gobbles: Yes please!
Waitress: Do you have any preferences on what type of cat, or is this your first time, meow meow?
Gobbles: This is our first time.
Waitress: Okay. So we’ll bring you 2, meow meow.
Gobbles: YES! Cats!
A large, fluffy, black cat and a skittish, gray cat that cannot stop moving are brought to the table.
Waitress: *points to the black cat* This is Lord Moxie, and his associate *points to gray cat* Sir Kitty Kitty Meow Meow. So, what will you be having to drink and eat, meow meow?
Lysithea: I’ll have a milk tea boba, meow meow.
Waitress: One milk tea, meow meow.
Surina: I’ll have what she’s having.
Waitress: Another milk tea, meow meow.
Gobbles: Let’s see meow. I would like an order of Kit-Kats for the table.
Waitress: Oh, Kitty Kats, meow meow!
Saucers of milk are brought for the cats along with the party’s order. The boba in the milk teas are shaped like little cat paws. The Kitty Kats are served along with some other treats, cookies in the shape of cat heads. The drinks and food are actually very good, but the atmosphere is very tourist-trappy. Across the restaurant the party can see Golag at a table, having the time of his life. He has his own personal booth, and the same cat with him that he requests every time he comes. The whole experience costs the party 10 silver, which Gobbles pays. The party… enjoys?… the atmosphere and feels significantly more rested. Gobbles spends a lot of time petting the Lord and his associate, and packs some Kitty Kats for the road.
Lysithea: Well this was… something… Do we want to go check out that cave now?
Gobbles: Yes, let’s go.
Waitress: Have a nice day, meow meow!
As the party approaches the entrance to the cave that serves as a well, they are stopped by a guard.
Guard: Sorry folks. Only authorized people can go down there.
Gobbles: It’s okay, we were invited.
He hands the guard one of the Kitty Kats that he had packed, and tries to walk past.
Guard: No, no. I’m serious here. We’ve had reports. The doctor found…
Lysithea: Monsters? We just defeated them in the exhibition match.
Guard: I understand that. I was there.
Lysithea: We would like to check to make sure there aren’t any more.
Guard: But, you have to understand, this is where we get our only drinking water. We can’t let…
Lysithea: We don’t care about your drinking water. We just want to…
Guard: That’s what you say, but, we cant…
Gobbles: Sir, we accept your offer to guide us down there safely. Thank you. We very much appreciate it.
Guard: I… I didn’t offer to guide you.
Gobbles: I’m sorry. I assumed you were a good person. (Persuasion 23)
Guard: *sighs, looks at the treat* I do like this. And it is my break…
Surina walks up and forces a business card that she just frantically made into his hand (persuasion 24). The card reads, “Surina and The Crystal Gems. Have Evil, Will Exterminate”.
Guard: If you get yourselves killed…
The guard just walks off.
Lysithea: I’m pretty sure we can hold our own.
Surina: Yup!
The party begins to descend into the cave. The cave system appears normal at first. There are pools where water would be, but they are all drained.
Gobbles: Oh, this isn’t a self-sustaining kind of thing. They’re draining the water and then have to dig deeper and deeper.
(Survival Lysithea 11, Surina 19, Gobbles 10) Thanks to Surina’s keen eyes the party is able to avoid dead ends in the tunnel system. But it keeps going deeper, and deeper… and deeper. And the deeper they go the more drained pools they see. It’s clear that they have been using this system for a very long time. (Initiative Gobbles 17, Lysithea 12, Surina 18) Surina and Gobbles begin to sense this foreboding feeling of dread coming from one of the tunnels. The path is taped off, with a sign reading “Don’t Go Down This Way.” Gobbles puts his hand on the sign to cover up the word “Don’t”.
Gobbles: Okay, I think this is where we are supposed to go.
Lysithea: Obviously.
Ignoring the tape and warning sign, the party proceeds down the tunnel. The tunnel twists and turns downward, until it stops at a door carved out of stone. Attached to the door is another sign that reads “Do Not Open”. Gobbles instinctively checks for traps (investigation 17), but there are no traps he can sense on the door. He also checks to see if the door is locked, but being a stone door there are no locking mechanisms.
Gobbles: Giant stone door? We have the key to unlock that. *steps aside for Surina*
Surina cracks her knuckles, (athletics 19) gently taps the door, and it swings open from being touched by the powerhouse that is Surina. The door opens to a room with 4 large statues of what look like Dwarves.
Gobbles: Where are the other three? I don’t see Sleepy anywhere.
Gobbles casts his Divine Sense to see if any of the statues are in fact demons or undead in disguise, but he doesn’t detect anything.
Lysithea: Let’s inspect, but not touch.
One of the Dwarven statues is holding two battle axes, crossed over. Another one is standing with his foot on top of an anvil. The third has what looks like a mace hitting one of the boots he’s wearing. The fourth is holding two large rings locked together. At the back of the room is a stone statue of a mountain with a gem in the middle. (Religion Gobbles 7, Lysithea Nat1, Surina 19). The symbology of the statues doesn’t mean anything to Gobbles or Lysithea, but Surina recognizes them. These are the statues of 4 Dwarven deities. The one with the 2 rings is Berronar Truesilver, the goddess of Dwarven homes, known as The Mother of Safety. The one with the battleaxes is Clangeddin Silverbeard, the god of battle and honor, known as Lord of the Twin Axes. The statue of the mace hitting the boots is Marthammor Duin, the god of travel, known as Finder of Trails. And the Dwarf standing on the anvil is Moradin, the Dwarven god of the forge. Surina also knows that the statue in the back is Dumathoin, the Dwarven god of mining and exploration, known as Keep of Secrets Under the Mountain.
Lysithea: Was this a Dwarven city before the Tabaxi took over it?
Gobbles: I was going to say, there’s a lot of Dwarven things for a cat city.
(History Gobbles Nat20, Lysithea 18) Pupbaatt was originally Creek Ruptzz City. Although it wasn’t necessarily pure Dwarven, there were Dwarves, and there still are around the mountains.
Lysithea: This must be a shrine that got buried.
(Wisdom saving throw Gobbles Nat 1, Lysithea 24, Surina 24) Gobbles suddenly hears a voice in his head.
Voice: I hold the secret. I will let you know what it is if you let me out.
Gobbles: Uh… I’m Gobbles the Goblin. Nice to meet you. Who are you?
Lysithea: Gobbles, who are you talking to?
Gobbles: A voice in my head that wants me to let him out.
Voice: See, they trapped me in here. And I can show you the secret..
Gobbles: They trapped him in here and he can show me the secret to…
Voice: To all the wealth. I can show you the secret to the wealth here.
Gobbles: To all the wells, or something. Hey, Mr. Voice Guy? What’s your name?
Voice: That’s not important.
Gobbles: It’s polite.
Voice: It is, but that’s not important.
Gobbles: *to party* He’s not very polite.
Voice: You can call me Dumathar. I will open the door for you if you help me get out.
Gobbles: Mmmmm…
Dumathar: I have been unfairly trapped in here.
Lysithea: Gobbles, what’s going on, buddy?
Gobbles: He saying he wants me to let him out he’s been unfairly trapped in here, um… Are you a worshiper of Bahamut?
Dumathar: No.
Gobbles: Would you like to be?
Dumathar: Not really.
Gobbles: But why? You do know how cool Bahamut is, right?
Dumathar: Franky, I’ve never had a sit down conversation with Bahamut.
Gobbles: You sound like a Dwarf. Are you a Dwarf? I see there’s Dwarf statues.
Dumathar: There are. I am.
Gobbles: Um… Uh… Surina? Lysithea? Should we let the weird disembodied Dwarf voice out?
Lysithea: What is it going to do once it’s out?
Gobbles: What are you going to do when you’re out?
Dumathar: Be free.
Gobbles: To do what? What are you going to do with your freedom?
Dumathar: I am going to do… what I’ve always done. Be me.
Surina: Is he bad or is he good?
Lysithea: That is an excellent question, Surina.
Gobbles: Yeah. Would you be willing to swear on your beard and your life and your true name that you will commit no evil for the rest of your existence?
Dumathar: I will happily swear on my beard.
Gobbles: What about the other things? And will you dedicate yourself to Bahamut?
Dumathar: Like I said, I haven’t really sat down with Bahamut.
Dumathar pauses, and then Gobbles can no longer hear his voice. Lysithea suddenly hears Dumathar’s voice in her head.
Dumathar: Tiefling. If you let me out I will show you the secret under this mountain.
Lysithea: Uh huh. Okay, see, here’s the thing. We’ve had encounters with a lot of evil chaos gods, and we’re not about letting evil out…
Dumathar: I am not a chaos god.
Lysithea: No, I can tell. Who trapped you here?
Dumathar: Centuries and centuries ago, an evil wizard trapped me here.
Lysithea: Which wizard?
Dumathar: I don’t really know his name.
Lysithea: Wow, you didn’t swear to get revenge on the evil wizard that trapped you?
Dumathar: He was wearing a mask and he didn’t give me his real name. But trust me, I will find him, or his descendents, and give them a stern talking to.
Lysithea: Look, are you going to do bad things?
Dumathar: Define bad.
Lysithea: Are you going to harm beings, or try to destroy things, or take over things, or give children nightmares?
There is a pause. Surina suddenly hears Dumathar’s voice in her head.
Dumathar: Okay, okay. Just go push that statue. You see the big statue with the two battleaxes? Just go give it a shove.
Surina: Uhhh…. Okay.
Surina walks over towards the statue…
Gobbles: Hey, Surina, whatcha doin?
… and (athletics 25) pushes the statue off the pedestal. There’s a loud thud as the statue hits the floor. The statue breaks apart a little on impact, and from the cracks rises a being with goat horns, and many fangs protruding from its canine muzzle. It has 4 arms – 2 that protrude from its stomach with humanoid hands, and two from the shoulders with massive pincers at the end. The Glabrezu stands at least 12 feet tall on powerful legs with dragon-like feet.
Gobbles: Ah!
Lysithea: That’s not a Dwarf.
Gobbles: I don’t like that at all! Unless he’s friendly. Do you want to join our party?
Dumathar: *cracks neck* Finally! Thank you! Thank you.
Surina: Bad or good? Tell me real quick.
Gobbles: Uh… are you Doomguy?
Dumathar: My name is Dumathar, yes.
Gobbles: You’re a very strange looking Dwarf.
Dumathar: I lied.
Gobbles: YOU LIED?!?
Surina: AHHH!
Dumathar covers his mouth with his smaller, humanoid hands and pretends to gasp.
Dumathar: No, no, I just lied about that to get you to… I don’t know, you were not opening up.
Gobbles: Why?
Dumathar: But like I said, I will happily have a sit down with Bahamut if you want, later. First, let’s open…
Dumathar walks open to the statue of the mountain and removes the gem from it.
Dumathar: This is fake.*tosses the gem behind him* Does anyone have a gem?
Lysithea: What’s behind it?
Dumathar: Oh! Treasures! And they’re all yours.
Surina: Uh, I don’t have a gem.
Gobbles casts his Divine Sense again, and Dumathar registers as a Fiend.
Gobbles: Why..wh… You appear to be pinging as a Fiend? That’s usually not good.
Dumathar: That’s because I am a Fiend. Grrr, arrgh, really? Look at me.
Lysithea: Dude…
Gobbles: Fiends are usually not great…
Lysithea: Dude! My ancestors are technically in that department.
Gobbles: Yeah, but your ancestors don’t have lobster claws!
Dumathar: Hey! I’m right here!
Gobbles: I mean, I’m not saying lobster claws are bad. I would like some lobster claws.
Lysithea: I would just like more information.
Gobbles: Are you gonna, like, not murder a bunch of people? A bunch of innocent people?
Dumathar: I mean… define innocent. Would you really call the people that have been above here innocent?
Lysithea: The Tabaxi? Look, they’re not smart, they’re terrible liars, a lot of them are just really bad people, so innocent is pushing it…
Dumathar: Exactly!
Gobbles: Not to be a bother, but, you’re not a Dwarf, you have, like, pincer things, you’re big, you’re coming off as something that traditionally tries to stab the planet. I just want to… I just don’t want to unleash evil on the world. We’ve done that a couple of times.
Dumathar: Yeah, I mean, ugh, unleashing evil? You just unleashed me. Does anyone have a gem?
Surina: I don’t have a gem, but I have a rune.
Gobbles: And you were going to swear on the beard you don’t even have!
Dumathar: And you were going to fall for it.
Gobbles: Can you swear on something you do have?
Dumathar: My morals.
Gobbles: Are your morals like your beard?
Dumathar: I have morals!
Gobbles: Are they good morals?
Lysithea: Why were you trapped here?
Dumathar: A wizard trapped me here.
Lysithea: Because…?
Dumathar: Cause it’s a wizard? And they’re jerks.
Gobbles: Hey, Thistle?
Thistle: I’m scared! I’m not here!
Gobbles: Okay…
Thistle: I think it was going to ask me next. He was going power level. Not to say that you aren’t powerful, new friend.
Gobbles: No, I mean, you’re giving me my powers. I know that.
Thistle: I am. I think he was going power level. So then he was going to get to me.
Dumathar: Listen. I need a gem.
Lysithea: I don’t have any gems. We are the Crystal Gems.
Dumathar: Really…
Gobbles: I don’t appear to have any gems.
Dumathar: Fine. If you don’t mind, I’m going to wake up my friends and we’re going to discuss and find out where there is a gem.
Gobbles: Who are your friends?
Dumathar reaches over and easily pushes over another statue. What breaks out of the statue is a Shoosuva – a 6ft tall demonic hound that resembles a hyaenadon, but with a series of bony ridges going down its spine and a massive, poisonous tail stinger.
Dumathar: Whoops, wrong one.
Lysithea: Dude, I think you need to stop.
Dumathar: Don’t worry, one of them has a gem, I’m sure.
Lysithea: Nononononono. If you continue we’re going to have to murder you. And we’ve already done enough of that today.
Dumathar pushes over another statue.
Dumathar: Oops.
From the statue arises a Hezrou – an 8ft tall demonic, humanoid toad, with a wide maw full of blunt teeth, and a series of spikes down its back.
Lysithea: *cracks neck* I really wanted to nap first.
Lysithea launches Magic Missile, firing one missile at each of the present Fiends. Dumathar takes 5 damage, and the Shoosuva and Hezrou each take 3 damage.
Lysithea: Please stop.
Begin Fiend Fight
The Hezrou decides to charge Surina, who is closest to it. It runs forward, massive maw ready to bite her, but its teeth clang down on her shield instead. It makes two claw attacks at Surina, scratching against her once for 6 slashing damage, but Surina leaps out of the way for the second. Surina attacks the Hezrou demon back (attack 24), and slices into it for 9 slashing and 5 fire damage. She swings her sword again (attack 22), dealing the Hezrou an additional 7 slashing and 4 fire damage. (Constitution saving throw Surina 19, Gobbles 9) The stench of the Hezrou does not overpower Surina, but Gobbles becomes poisoned from the smell.
Gobbles: Blech! Deodorant, bro!
Hezrou: Natural scents.
Gobbles casts Protection from Evil and Good on himself to protect himself from the Fiends. Gobbles then positions himself by the Shoosuva so that he will be able to pet the doggy.
Thistle: New friend, that’s not a dog.
Gobbles: Demon dogs are still dogs! Can you still pet them, Thistle? Yes or no?
Thistle: Can I? Probably not without getting eaten.
Gobbles: That’s the same for Rottweilers, so what’s the difference? Hey toad guy! You’d better not do that again or I’m gonna thump ya!
Hezrou: What do you mean, thump me? I’m going to thump you!
Gobbles: I dare you! I dare all of you! AHAHA!
Lysithea gives a confused look towards Gobbles, then casts Fireball on the Fiends. She knows that this will break the remaining statue, but at least it will hurt. Dumathar and the Hezrou are able to leap out of the way and take only 16 damage, but the Shoosuva takes the full 32 damage; however, the Fiends seem to have some resistance to fire.
Gobbles: Throw down your weapons and pledge yourselves to Bahamut!
The final statue breaks from the Fireball, and a Maw Demon, a giant, toothy mouth with stubby appendages, emerges.
Dumathar: Aw, I didn’t know he got caught. That’s a shame.
Draggy rushes in and uses his Super Punch against the Hezrou (attack 13), but his swing goes wide. He swings again (attack 21) and lands his Super Punch right in the Hezrou’s jaw for 14 damage. The Shoosuva charges at Gobbles…
Gobbles: DOGGY!
… in an attempt to bite him, but the excited Gobbles leaps out of the way. The Shoosuva winds up its tail and fires its stinger at Gobbles, but it sails clear over Gobbles’s head. A “phew” can be heard from Thistle, who then throws a puff of cotton candy at the Shoosuva’s eye. Dumathar casts Power Word Stun at Lysithea, speaking in Abyssal, causing Lysithea to be stunned. Gobbles is the only one in the party that can speak and understand Abyssal, so he knows that Dumathar shouted, “Freeze Dance” to stun Lysithea. He then moves towards Draggy and tries to grab him with his pincers, but Draggy is too strong and deflects the attack.
The Hezrou attempts to bite Surina again, but once again clamps down on her shield. Frustrated, it swings its claws at Surina, but she effortlessly dodges the attacks. Surina retaliates (attack 24), slicing at the Hezrou for 4 slashing and 4 fire damage. She lunges her sword at the Hezrou again (attack 26), and stabs into its leg for 11 slashing and 7 fire damage. The fire damage may not be doing as much, but her sword is easily slicing through her target. Surina is happily meowing as she attacks, still in a good mood from The Cat’s Paw.
Gobbles: Dog, did you just try to boop my snoot? I will return the favor!
Gobbles swings his warhammer at the Shoosuva (attack 7), but his hammer lands on the floor instead of its head.
Gobbles: Uh, Lysithea, let’s get a move on! Now’s no time to take a nap!
Lysithea is frozen in place, stunned, with an annoyed look on her face, but is grateful for the Bardic Inspiration. (Constitution saving throw Lysithea 26) She is able to break herself out of the stun, still clinging to her inspiration.
Lysithea: Draggy! Smash!
Draggy swings his mighty battleaxe at the Hezrou (attack 26) for 8 damage, then delivers a Power Punch to its head (attack 26) for an additional 6 damage. He then action surges and attacks 2 more times (attack 27, 24), with both hits landing in the Hezrou’s eyes for an additional 24 damage. The Maw Demon chases after Surina and deals to her a devastating blow. It spits and gnarls as it bites down on Surina’s leg for 22 damage. The Shoosuva bites at Gobbles again and again and again, but Gobbles just thinks it is playing with him and laughs as he dodges the attack.
Dumathar in Abyssal: How’s everyone doing around here?
Gobbles: I found a dog!
Dumathar: I’m not talking to you!
Gobbles: Sorry!
Dumathar moves a step closer to Draggy and makes two pincer attacks against Draggy, but Draggy is too quick for him. He then uses his smaller, humanoid hands to try to punch at Draggy and hits him twice for 5 and 4 damage.
Draggy: That tickles!
The Hezrou is determined to hit Surina and once again tries to bite and claw her. Surina is able to avoid the bite and the first claw attack, but the second claw attack hits her for 8 slashing damage. Surina thinks for a second, then swings her sword back at the Hezrou (attack 21) and casts Divine Smite at 3rd level as she deals 7 slashing, 8 fire, and 24 radiant damage. The Hezrou, having been pummeled by both Draggy and Surina, falls over, dead. Surina turns her attention to the Maw Demon (attack 14). Noticing how well the Divine Smite affected the last fiend, Surina casts Diving Smite at level 2 as she pierces the Maw Demon’s side. Her blow does 11 slashing, 9 fire, and 23 radiante damage. The Maw Demon makes the strangest gibbering sound as it falls over dead. In the back Lysithea starts applauding.
Dumathar: Oh, shoot. Not good.
Gobbles: Sorry doggy, I’m going to go do other things because this seems boring.
The Shoosuva takes an attack of opportunity at Gobbles as he leaves to fight Dumathar, but misses.
Gobbles: Bye doggy! Nice to meet you!
Gobbles pats the “dog” on the head, and Thistle throws another cotton candy puff at it. Gobbles then casts Hex Blade’s Curse on Dumathar, then ignites Green Flame Blade and smashes his warhammer onto Dumathar’s foot (attack 21). The attack deals 8 bludgeoning, 5 sneak attack, 9 Fury of the Small, 14 radiant from Divine Smite, 4 fire, and 3 necrotic damage.
Dumathar: Wh… Ow!
Gobbles: That’s for lying about your beard!
Lysithea casts Blight on Dumathar. Dumathar is able to resist some of the attack, but still takes 25 necrotic damage. Lysithea then summons her Hound of Ill Omen on Dumathar. The Hound appears from the shadows behind Dumathar and tries to bite him, but Dumathar leaps out of the way. Draggy faces Dumathar and punches towards his heart with a Power Punch (attack 23) for 14 damage. He punches again, trying to remove his heart (attack 26), and manages to take out some of it for 15 damage. Dumathar bats Draggy’s hands away.
Dumathar: Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop! Hey, Shoosh! Come over here! Help me!
The Shoosuva runs up behind Gobbles…
Gobbles: Ooh, it’s my dog!
… and tries to bite him, but misses. The Shoosuva growls, then launches its tail stinger at Gobbles. The stinger pierces Gobbles for 20 piercing damage (Gobbles constitution saving throw Nat 20, concentration check Nat 1), but Gobbles is able to resist being poisoned and paralyzed; however, he loses concentration on Protection from Evil and Good.
Gobbles: No, George, what are you doing? Stop!
Shoosuva in Abyssal: I will kill you and eat your bones for breakfast.
Gobbles: George, that’s not very nice. You’re my doggy. You can’t talk to me that way.
Dumathar begins to cast a spell aimed towards Lysithea, but Lysithea Counterspells at level 4 and nullifies the Confusion attack.
Lysithea: Just stop! You don’t mess with my mind!
Dumathar in Lysithea’s mind: Fine, I’ll mess with your friends.
Lysithea: You’ve been in Gobbles’s mind already. Good luck.
Dumathar: I’ll take his head off!
Lysithea: Never bet against Gobbles.
Dumathar turns and attacks Gobbles, but Gobbles reacts with Shield and blocks the attack. Surina moves in to flank Dumathar with the Hound and swings her sword at him (attack 15), but misses her first attack. She lets out an exasperated sigh, then attacks again (attack 26), this time hitting for 10 slashing, 11 fire, and activates another level 2 Divine Smite for an additional 19 radiant damage. Gobbles follows Surina’s lead and swings his warhammer at Dumathar (attack 14), but misses.
Gobbles: This is your last chance! You need to convert to Bahamut right now. I expect light to come down from the heavens and you to turn into a dragon and fly off.
Dumathar: Ugh, turning into a dragon…
Gobbles: Do it!
Gobbles then casts Hunter’s Mark on Dumathar, just in case. The Hound of Ill Omen bites at Dumathar (attack 23), sinking its fangs into his calf for 9 piercing damage. Lysithea casts Magic Missile at level 2, sending every missile at Dumathar. Dumathar lets out a “Ha” after each of the first three missiles hit him for 11 damage.
Dumathar: I made it!
But then the unexpected fourth missile hits him in the back of the head for 4 more damage. Dumathar’s body begins to writhe as he melts away from defeat.
Lysithea: I told you to stop!
Dumathar: I’ll be back!
The last thing they can see is Dumathar’s thumbs up and he disappears into black ichor. Draggy turns to face the Shoosuva and swings his battleaxe at it (attack 19) for 9 damage. Draggy bites the Shoosuva’s tail (attack 26) for 8 more damage. The Shoosuva doesn’t have eyes for anyone except Gobbles.
Gobbles: Hey, buddy…
It whips its tail stinger at Gobbles, but Gobbles is able to block the attack.
Gobbles: That’s a good boy!
Surina has had enough of Gobbles’s silliness with the “dog” and charges at it (attack 25). She lets out a mighty meow of a cheer as she deals 7 slashing, 3 fire, and 9 radiant damage from another Divine Smite. Surina continues to meow as she attacks again (attack 21), hitting for 11 slashing and 8 fire damage.
Gobbles: Alright, George, you need to learn how to be nice. I mean, you’re a talking dog and that’s pretty cool, but you gotta stop biting and stabbing people. I’m gonna put you in a better mood and tell you a joke. What part of a tree dogs like best?
Shoosova: I will eat your bones.
Gobbles: That’s not it. It’s the bark!
Gobbles casts Tasha’s Hideous Laughter, and the Shoosuva begins to cackle like a hyena and falls prone.
Gobbles: See, I told you it was a good one!
Lysithea casts Chill Touch at the Shoosuva (Nat 20, yes it was rolled at disadvantage and it was 2 Nat 20s) and deals 15 necrotic damage. The Shoosuva continues to cackle as Draggy walks over to smash it (attack 21). He smashes on the Shoosuva’s head for 8 damage. The Shoosuva stops laughing in time to see Draggy leap up and jump down on him (attack 23), for 8 more damage. The Shoosuva stands up, brushing a tap dancing Draggy off of him…
Gobbles: Last chance. Convert to Bahamut. Turn into a dragon and fly away.
Shoosuva: I told you I will eat your bones.
Gobbles: I told you, that’s not very nice.
… and very determinedly tries to attack Gobbles, but it just cannot hit the Goblin that will haunt his nightmares forever. Surina moves in to form a triangle around the Shoosuva (attack 21) and attacks for 10 slashing, 4 fire, and 16 radiant damage from yet another Divine Smite.
Surina: Bad dog!
As her sword boops the “dog’s” snoot with divine energy, the Shoosuva begins to crack and crackle. It turns into goo in the form of a dog, then splashes to the ground. Gobbles immediately grabs a tankard and scoops up some of the goo. He puts a label on it that reads “George’s Stuff – Shoo”.
End Fiend Fight
Draggy: Is it dead yet?
Lysithea: It is.
Before the party stands a door that needs a gem.
Lysithea: Does the Gomax-ee’s here have a gem we could buy? Let’s go to Gomax-ee’s real quick and buy a gem.
Draggy: I’ll go!
Draggy sprints off towards the local Gomax-ee’s and buys a topaz, then rushes back to the party in the tunnels, and places the gem in the door. The door creaks as it slowly begins to open. Lysithea prepares to attack just in case. The door opens to a treasure trove of Dwarven statues, portraits, artifacts, coins, and gems.
Lysithea: Where’s Professor when you need him?
Gobbles: We get first dibs on everything!
Lysithea: If that cat shows up I’m going to light him on fire.
Surina: You have a long list of people you want to light on fire.
Lysithea: Well, I just added Capper to the list. Then there’s Slogoth. And that scout once we free him from Rhu…
The party begins to explore the trove of treasures. End Session.
Check Out
Spotlight On Another Player:
- Miranda: Victor for playing and his really big hits and his roleplay.
- Kevin: Cordelia for pushing over the statue.
- Cordelia: Kevin for naming the dog thing George even though it had a different name.
- Victor: I like what mom and Gobbles did.
- Justice: Kevin for looking up Divine Smite and realizing it does extra damage against Fiends.
Challenge or Something Learned:
- Miranda: I learned that Japanese cat-bars are a thing in this world.
- Kevin: If something swears by its beard, check for the beard first.
- Cordelia: Divine Smite does more damage on Fiends.
- Victor: My power bug learned something.
- Justice: Prep magic items ahead of time.
Hope or Prediction for Next Session:
- Miranda: I hope Shannon can actually come so we can celebrate his birthday.
- Kevin: That we discover whatever the source of the strange, aberrant creatures are and save the water supply.
- Cordelia: I hope I get a new sword.
- Victor: I don’t know.
- Justice: I need to help make Victor’s dungeon so that we can do that.
Analysis: Victor was on fire today! He was actively participating in both roleplay and combat, and was the most focused he’s ever been. What was really impressive was his creativity during combat. We just went with the flow when he decided he wanted to use his Power Punch, or bite, instead of using his weapons. We had to explain to him that there were limits to what he is able to do. He wanted to take out Dumathar’s heart, but it doesn’t exactly work that way. We gave him a little leeway on that one, though. He also wanted to do a Bug Punch, which would turn the target into bugs. In the future we can create a mechanic for that, but at the spur of the moment Justice didn’t know how to make it work fairly, so it switched to another Power Punch instead. Be on the lookout, because next session Victor steps into the DM’s seat!