STALKER7

Weather is slowly improving, schedules are finally aligning, the New England winter crud fading, which means our game sessions are getting back on track at last. (funny how a few hours around the game table with friends can boost your perspective, eh?)

On the heels of the Farlight 43.2 episode and Cy_Borg mini-con, our resident 5e GM, Mike D. brought the second arc of the CCWC’s D&D campaign to a fitting close.

After the near disaster on the river, trying to fight angry fishmen in their natural environment, (underwater) the party descended into nearby tunnels where, even though they were dark, at least the terra was more firma.

After an ugly brawl with Ropers and Piercers in which Mike E’s Elf Rogue was damn near eviscerated, the Earth Genasi Paladin found a nifty circlet. Trying it on earned him a +2 Migraine, which eventually subsided and conferred the ability to comprehend different languages – including the choking, gurgle-speak of the fishmen.

This came in quite handy moments later when the party encountered a pair of hapless sentries who were broiling perch over a smoldering campfire. (Matt B’s Halfling Druid wondered if that made them cannibals?)

The eavesdropping Paladin determined they were: A. Bored to tears. B. Left out of an important ritual of some kind, taking place in the cavern just beyond their post.

A bit of quick knife work and our heroes proceeded down the passage to another inevitable confrontation.

A Small, Private Ceremony

Ancient underground ruins. Mysterious, engraved glyphs. A pool of inky-black viscous liquid that radiated evil like a nuclear waste dumping ground. Guards. Acolytes. A fishy-looking Shaman with a glowing pearl-topped staff.

Proper ingredients for an off-the-hook rave.

It started so well

Silent dispatch of the sentries and two more guards. The party skulking into position in the shadows. Weapons and magic at the ready. It had the makings of a flawless ambush.

The Druid and the Dwarf Cleric both used Call Lightning spells and called twin bolts on the unsuspecting shaman. Solid strikes, one of which was a Crit Success. Both the shaman’s body guards exploded as he dropped at the edge of the pool, gasping. The stench of microwaved fish filled the air.

“Oh, we got ’em now.”

And that was the moment we figured fishman guru was a goner and shifted our attacks to the rest of his congregation.

In hindsight…

His Fishy Weirdness staggered back to his webbed feet and promptly cast Sanctuary on himself. His surviving retainers fled from combat and jumped into the dark pool. Which must have been filled with Concentrated Aquatic ‘Roids, because they emerged the following round transformed.

Bigger. Sturdier. Meaner. With new “Poisoned Claws!”

What began as a textbook ambush devolved into a knife fight in a dark closet.

“Halfling Barbarian with Battle Axe” might not be an optimal build, but what he lacks in bulk he makes up for in heart. And Rage. And multiple Luck rerolls.

Matt G’s Psychotic Little Person waded into the thick of it, hacking and hewing down Enhanced Guppies in a valiant effort to take out the Shaman. He was maybe one round from doing it too, but those Poisoned Claws stopped him.

Thankfully, Paladins are immune to poison.

A Crit Hit with a Grumbar-blessed, Searing Smite-enhanced, stone warhammer turned the last Guppy into fish paste. Meanwhile, John S’s Cleric and Matt B’s Druid tag-teamed the shaman once again, gutting him once and for all.

Our heroes stand bloody, bruised, and victorious.

The session ended with them catching their breath in the ancient ruins. They may be deep underground, shrouded in darkness, haunted by a mysterious malevolence, but they remain unbroken.

To be continued…

***

Solid end to this chapter of the campaign. We’ll hit Pause on 5E for a bit and run some other games. The Exploit Zero Omnibus is on track for a June release, and John and I are still angling for a large Bolt Action 3e game for the entire group.

In the meantime, I started another terrain board. A 2 x 2 Graveyard that will stack on the 4-Room Dungeon I made a while back. Layout settled, now I just need to paint everything. (easy, right?) Photos as that progresses.

In the meantime, Good Hunting.

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