DM Note:
I felt like the session this week stood out as one of our best, most exciting and emotionally-tense of all time. The modifications I made to the adventure path complicated events, but I saw a chance to run an adventure concept that I have wanted to do for a long time...
Session 1438
[Module: Serpent's Skull Adventure Path - Modified]
Pylia (half-elf bladesinger/wizard), Blue (satyr paladin), Drizmar (drow rogue), and Blood (satyr cleric reincarnated as a gnome) discussed their options after their rest from last time. Blood said she was concerned that something was wrong with reality because Pylia shouldn't have had the scrolls that were used to teleport them around on the previous day and they shouldn't have healed without getting snake scales all over their bodies. At that point they heard a horse galloping, running toward the room...
A spirit that looked like a handsome shirtless Strahd, on horseback, came through the wall and spoke to Pylia - asking if she was dead, saying he loved Pylia, and asking her to escape to go restore his humanity to him. Pylia thought on this, rejected the reality they were in, and disappeared (as did Strahd). Blue, Drizmar, and Blood discussed the situation for about half a minute before also rejecting this reality.
What they didn't know was that, when they went into the "Vault of Slumber" [during the last session], they were all captured by a wizard mindflayer and his grell minions [and he had put them through a dream-like sequence to test them and see how they would assault his lair to steal the crystal skulls]; he had used his mind domination to keep them all in a trance for days while using magic to create a simulacrum copy of each of them, then enhancing the simulacra in Illithid-brine pools. The simulacra of Pylia, Blue, Drizmar, and Blood woke up not knowing they were simulacra. A voice in their heads wouldn't allow them to attack the mindflayer (whom Pylia nicknamed "Chuck" and Blue called "Cthulhu"). "Cthulhu-Chuck" sent them to assault the nearby yuan-ti lair, retrieve the human prisoner being held by them, and find out whatever info he had. Chuck was up front about his goal to use the yuan-ti's snake god's body as a host for the primordial "Child of Tharizdun" that he served.
With permission, they went past the minions (the maze spiders and the intellect devourers). They rescued the half-dragon/serpent (nicknamed "Snek") and proceeded to the yuan-ti lair (with fake crystal skulls). They convinced the guards to let them in and tried bluffing that they had the crystal skulls; the enemies agreed to exchange the prisoner (Eando) for the skulls. Once the team had Eando, they ran; the yuan-ti army was quickly behind them (having easily figured out the deception once they had the fake skulls).
The team (still unaware they were merely simulacra and not themselves) got Eando to tell them where the godslayer sword was located (since he was weak and they knew he was about to die in the battle). The yuan-ti group included a powerful fighter commander, a wizard, a ghost sorcerer, a rogue, and 25 soldiers; they had left the succubus Selaxasp (with the iron golems and nagas) back at the fortress. In a close battle, before being wiped out, the team took out all of the enemies except for the ghost sorcerer and a few soldiers [in what would have been a TPK if they had not been simulacra]. Snek finished off the bad guys.
Back at the home of "Cthulhu-Chuck," the team woke up with Grell's removing tentacles from their faces. Chuck confirmed what had happened and that he had used a mind-link that had allowed them to know the experiences of their simulacra. Blue was upset and demanded they immediately go rescue Snek. Chuck gave them access to chain shirts, short swords, and crossbows; they reunited with Snek.
Chuck was willing to help the group assault the yuan-ti holy cave to try to get their stolen gear back; he used his scrying orb to confirm the enemies at that cave (which included many undead, the undead froghemoth, a powerful yuan-ti necromancer, a hired assassin in bug armor, the sorcerers, and the priests). The team needed to decide what to prioritize: obtaining the godslayer sword (which Chuck refused to help with), performing the ritual(s) in the City of the 7 Statues (which Pylia wasn't too keen on), or assaulting the holy cave to kill the yuan-ti high priest (and get their gear).
They rested for an hour. Pylia used her meditation to commune with the Strahd spirit, sending him telepathic images of the Purple Rock islands; Strahd responded he would try to secretly send help. They decided to go try to get the godslayer sword in the secret caverns, with Snek joining them in their quest.
No comments:
Post a Comment