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Ep. 72 Wrath Of The Mist image

Ep. 72 Wrath Of The Mist

S2 E72 ยท The Hired Swords
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181 Plays2 years ago

How do you kill the unkillable? For each strike we make, this creature seems to only become stronger..

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Transcript

Introduction and Recap

00:00:05
Speaker
previously on the higher swords. This is it. Again, I'm here again on the brink of death. We're not even to the shadow wilds. The untouched lands at the north. We know nothing. We've seen nothing. We've fixed nothing. And again, here I am, life on the line.

Meet the Players

00:00:49
Speaker
You are listening to The Hired Swords, a podcast that kills cast members like it's going out of style. Woof.
00:01:10
Speaker
Hello, everybody, and welcome to another episode of the Hired Swords. Here I am again, your dungeon master, Michael, with Derek playing Daven. Oh, we're going to do it the old school way this time, huh? Yes, we are. Gwendolyn is played by Ashley. That's me. And Joxer is controlled by Mikey. Nope, nope, nope, nope. And we got Krigs played by Blaze. For now.

Journey Through the Mist

00:01:34
Speaker
In the last episode we traveled for about a day through the dark mist and forest traversing over a potentially dangerous ravine in the in the ground that the party was able to pretty easily get over and Then found their way to the edge the banks of the Black River where above the Black River is
00:01:59
Speaker
swirls this dark fog or mist that they have been kind of expecting to come across in its major form, and it seems that they have done so. As they approach and think about what to do, this sense of tension rises as the water swells and suddenly out from the water comes this
00:02:20
Speaker
creature with five heads made from water swirling with different types of elements that change. It seems unstable changing from time to time. Standing like a bulldog with five heads striking down at these creatures or at these party members, these adventurers, causing some damage. We had a little bit of a fight. Some spells were cast, some attacks were made, some damage was done to everyone, including the

Battle Begins

00:02:45
Speaker
monster. And here we stand in the middle of combat after Krigs was attacked
00:02:50
Speaker
dragged into the water and then the creature turned from fire to acid. It's Joxer's turn. Well, that's no fun. No fun. I have just enough movement to run all the way over there into the water to do just, you know, to be within range to melee it.
00:03:15
Speaker
which sounds like a super good idea with its acid and all that jazz. Nice. So as you get into the water, you get in where it's just around the, just above your ankles, almost to your knees, and it is moving fast. I mean, it is powerful. You currently feel like you're safe, but if you go any further into this water, it's likely you're going to, you could get swept away pretty easily. What are you going to do next?
00:03:44
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, you're killing me here trying to Yeah Okay, so I'm gonna use a key point to Just pull out a fist and I'm gonna punch it's fed fed Punch its face or at least as close as I can in where it's trying to hold pricks and
00:04:09
Speaker
Currently. Okay, you're trying to attack the head that is holding Krigs. Yeah, yeah, trying to see what kind of damage I can do with that, with a key point. Okay. And so that is a bonus action. And so that's two attacks. All right, that's a 14 plus seven. And that is a 12 plus seven. So over 20 and 19.
00:04:35
Speaker
okay so yeah both hit okay and I do I haven't I haven't used my fists in a little while so let's see that is 86 plus 3 6 plus 3 that's 9 and 5 plus 3 that's 8 so 17 17 magical damage okay yeah because that's magical damage it takes full damage from this and
00:05:03
Speaker
And yeah, you punch at the mouth of this water-lasted, water-like creature and like, let go, let go, let go as you're punching and make a constitution saving throw.
00:05:19
Speaker
So 19 plus three plus one, so. Yeah, you say. So you take half of eight acid damage. You take four acid damage as it just kind of engulfs your fist with this liquid that burns away some of your flesh. But you do the full damage that you attack with on this creature. Does it look like it did much in the way of trying to loosen that grip?
00:05:48
Speaker
It looks like it's got these, not littles, they're pretty good size, like baseball size eyeballs in this thing that are right now pure green since this thing has become acid and that it turns and looks at you while it's holding Krigs and you see its mouth clenched tighter in response because it seems to have maybe started to lose him a little and re-firmed up its grip.
00:06:16
Speaker
I don't think... I don't think that's enough. Okay, so I'm gonna use my action to kind of just disappear into nothing. So go into that Aspiril plane for a second. And I'm gonna cast two spells on myself without using any spell slots.

Summoning Allies

00:06:34
Speaker
Because I don't have any, and luckily this works that way. So Shadow Blade will pop up in my other hand, and then I'm also gonna cast Armor of Agathys.
00:06:44
Speaker
Okay, so you disappear and you reappear and you're standing in a forest. That is the ground, the grass is blue. The tree trunks are purple and this light purple leaves on the trees and the whole place is like shimmering. And you take a half a second in kind of in awe of what you're standing in. And then you remember, oh, I'm here for the reason. And you cast your spells. And is that your whole turn?
00:07:12
Speaker
Um, yes. Yes, it is. All right, that takes us to Krigs now. You are grappled? That doesn't mean you can't attack. It just means you can't move currently, unless you try to un-grapble. But you are being dragged into the water that is filled with black mist, black swirling stuff in this water. Okay. What do I have to do to try to resist this grapple and get out of it?
00:07:42
Speaker
You have to successfully make another strength, contested strength check. Would that be a full action to do? Or would that be considered just like movement? The strength check would be your action. Okay. I am going to... I'm gonna cast a spell. Okay. I'm gonna cast Conjure Animals. Okay. And I'm gonna have...
00:08:13
Speaker
I'm going to call out to two of my truffle squad team truffles. OK. And I'm going to summon. Two giant octopus. Octopi, I think it is. Yeah, one is named Annabella and the other one's named Rufus.
00:08:29
Speaker
Boy, she's quick on that. I'm so good. I'm going to summon two octopi and I'm going to give them a command to free me and to restrain this creature. Okay.
00:08:47
Speaker
So one second. Let me look at something here. OK, you can. I was looking up the rules. I was like, can he summon two giant octopus? He can level or challenge rating one. So they have to make attacks against the creature.
00:09:05
Speaker
Yeah, you can try to grab and grapple this creature by using the attack action with the giant octopus. So I will copy this guy. Did you cast two of them? One on each side of them? Is that kind of your idea? Yeah. Okay. They're going to give each other advantage on their attacks as well. They're flanking the guy. All right. So do they go now or do they have an initiative?
00:09:31
Speaker
Uh, let me double check. Roll initiative. It says roll initiative for the summoned creatures as a group. So one initiative for both of them. Okay. Uh, they got 15. All right. So they actually will go at the big, we'll go right

Strategic Maneuvers

00:09:46
Speaker
before you on your next turn or right before jocks are right. You got, you got a 14, right? I had a 13. Yep. 13. Yeah. So they'll go right after the guardian.
00:09:56
Speaker
Octopi. Okay, so they're there, but they don't get to do anything until their turn comes around soon. But they're, if nothing else, a distraction for the creature here. So is that your whole turn? Yeah, that's gonna be a Bob. Okay, my name is Michael and that takes us now to Daven.
00:10:15
Speaker
All right. I'm going to, uh, rush a little bit closer, about 15 feet toward the shoreline. So he's right in front of me. Does it look like it's been distracted at all by these or is it still making a move to go into the water? Uh, it still seems like it's heading, it's backing its way down into the water. All right. Worried. It's going to pull Craig's underneath. I'm going to yell Craig's and then I'm going to cast telekinesis. Okay.
00:10:39
Speaker
And with that, I can pull a creature or an object. And if it's contested, then it has to make a contested strength check against my spell. Okay. The 19? 21. Nice. So you're trying to pull the creature back towards the shore?
00:10:57
Speaker
No, I'm trying to pull Krigs away from it. Krigs away from it? Okay. Yes. All right. Cool. So you do, you, you, you start to pull Krigs. Krigs, you feel this, this, uh, just nothing. This, this presence start to tug at you and pull you away from the creature and the creature, you know, tightens its grip. And as he does, uh, you feel that acid kind of burn away. You make a constitution saving throw. Oh,
00:11:24
Speaker
Wow, that's interesting. Uh, I rolled a two and I know my con is high, but it's not high enough. Not out of 15. So you take, you take seven, you take eight acid damage as this thing tries to continue to hold onto you, but it fails. And so you are pulled. How far are you going to, are you going to pull them away? I can pull them up at 30 feet. No, the creature will though.
00:11:51
Speaker
Well, let me double-check that go ahead. What were you gonna say? I can pull him up to 30 feet So I'm gonna pull him back and basically set him down right next to me Okay When you could make it opportunity attack when a hostile creature that you could see moves out of your reach
00:12:07
Speaker
Okay, you don't take one when someone or something moves you without using your movement action. So the attack of opportunity doesn't happen. So tell me, how far back did you send him? Sorry. Uh, what was that? Like about 20, 25 feet or so to me. Just basically set him down right next to me.
00:12:22
Speaker
Okay, great. And so, Krigs, you just get dropped right next to you. I assume you drop him on his feet, and so you're standing there next to Daven now, and this creature is now left in the water with these octopus creatures. Is that your whole turn, Daven? No, I'm going to, once again, use a sorcerer point to quicken spell so I can cast a cantrip. Okay. And I will cast a firebolt directly at it.
00:12:47
Speaker
Okay, make your attack roll. You're beating a 60. Natural 20. That beats a 16. Yeah. So that is 6d10. Dang. Jeez. And don't you get something special when you do 20s? Yeah, you have to roll on a table. Thank you for reminding me. Oh, no. Meanwhile, while I'm watching Devin just swirl his hands about conjuring all this flame and whatever else, I just look up coughing up
00:13:16
Speaker
How did you know I didn't like to swim? I know everything and he just watches like flames wrap around his hands. He kind of pulls it and stretches it out into a spear and he throws it and he hits the target for 30 points.
00:13:28
Speaker
30 points. Yeah for a cantrip. That rolled really well too. And you critted. That was a couple already. When you hit the creature the fire explodes around him and as it does one of those heads again just
00:13:47
Speaker
Bursts where there's three left now currently and the head and neck and everything just kind of goes away and the the heads kind of Reform like readjust where they are to where they're they seem proportional now It doesn't look like he's missing heads right like the next with no heads hanging there or anything. It's just three heads now instead of five and it's the head that had Craigslist now gone and Again, the thing absorbs that fire
00:14:14
Speaker
And then begins to burn with flame instead of acid again. What is your, or is that the whole,

Struggle for Survival

00:14:22
Speaker
your whole turn? The rest of my turn. Yes. All right. Okay. I need you to roll a D 100 for me. Oh boy. I have to find my stuff. Okay. That is a 33. A 33. Okay. Now roll a D 10. Okay. Six.
00:14:44
Speaker
All right, so as you cast this spell. Wait, wait, it was also three more points of lightning. Oh yeah. Okay. So, and as you cast the spell. Wait, wait, wait again. It's double, right? Because. Oh yeah. Six points. It's great. So six points. Okay. Now roll a D six for me real quick. Five.
00:15:02
Speaker
OK, so I was going to see if it was since it took both damage, lightning and fire, I was going to see which one it became and just it stays fire. So odd was fire. So the fire still absorbs and grows from it and it becomes a fire creature now and.
00:15:18
Speaker
Suddenly, your necklace glows a bright light 30 feet emanating from your neck. Like, I mean, just the bright. And you it's like sudden like you can see it if it's tucked under your shirt, even you can see the glowing through your shirt. It barely hides it. Yeah, you've got you've got a bright light shining from your chest now. So that takes us now to Gwen. So this beast has fire now, yeah.
00:15:48
Speaker
I'm going to do Ice Storm again, I think. Okay. It sounds boring, but that's what I'm going to do. Heck no, rain that beautiful ice footage. Does he save on a dexterity saving throw as little pellets from the sky come out? Let me check for you.
00:16:14
Speaker
Dexterity, no, not with the five. Whee! I'm gonna cast it at a level five. Ha ha, correct. Oh, snap. So I'll roll 3d8 of bludgeoning, which is okay, that's 15. And then I'll roll four d6s. Whee, so 25 damage. 25 damage. My ice storm rains from the sky.
00:16:44
Speaker
All right, yeah, this ice storm comes through and just pummels this creature. And as it pummels the creature, it's extinguishing the flames inside of this thing. And you see that black mist swirling and the heads rear back and almost like a roar, this gurgle grumbly roar.
00:17:02
Speaker
And it turns and looks towards the group of you, the three standing over there on the shore now that its current lunch has been dragged away from it. Daven waves. Gwendolyn kind of smiles because she feels good, like her spell casting abilities has gotten stronger. Nice.
00:17:24
Speaker
because they have. Is that your hold turn then? Yes. Okay, so this creature is now the three heads that are left are going to launch shots. Well, actually, let me see. I'm going to do 50-50 shot that it attacks you guys or attacks...
00:17:40
Speaker
the octopus so evens you odds octopus that's a five so it's going to make two bite attacks at the octopus on its left and one at the one on its right so a natural one on the one on his left so that head strikes down at the octopus and the octopus wraps its tentacles around the thing's head pinning it there
00:18:03
Speaker
The second attack against that octopus is really bad, a three plus nine. So it also misses, well, what's the octopuses hit, or HP, or not HP, AC? I'm checking. Armor class 11. 11, okay. So it hits for both of those attacks. And on that hit, it's doing fire damage to the octopi. So that is...
00:18:32
Speaker
D10 plus five piercing. So eight piercing and 14 piercing. Twenty two piercing for the for those two piercing ones and then a D6 fire to one three fire damage.
00:18:53
Speaker
So I think it was wasn't 18 before 18 piercing three fire. I think that's right.

Turning the Tide

00:19:01
Speaker
Yeah, I think so. So he it bites down to two bites from these heads and it bites on the the the one that Annabelle.
00:19:11
Speaker
Yeah, it bites on one of them. And then the other one bites this other creature here. Actually, he doesn't take all that. I screwed that up. Forgive me. That's two different octopus receiving this damage. So I'll just split it in half evenly. Because I don't remember that each roll what it was. So that'll work. So yeah, so they take that damage and then from there,
00:19:41
Speaker
That's the end of its turn as it stays there knowing that it was trying to drag one of you into the water and failed. So it actually begins to move towards you. And I guess those octopus are going to get to make a tax of opportunity. Yeah. Cause it's going to move. It doesn't, it's not smart enough to think about that. So it's getting out of the way. It's just moving to get over here towards Krigs and everybody.
00:20:11
Speaker
So do you want me to roll this? Yeah, roll two attacks. Actually one attack, it doesn't get out of the opportunity, out of the melee range of the other, of one of the octopus, only one of them, because he's so big. Okay. Well, a plus five to hit, I rolled a 10, it's 15. Oh, you needed a 16. Rough.
00:20:29
Speaker
So the octopus, as it grabbed onto that one head, lets go and it slithers out from the pain of the bite from this creature. And the creature turns its heads back towards Krigs and Davin, crawls back onto the shore, this water dripping from it, but it's still staying formed in water from the backside, which is back legs in the water still coming up into the creature. And as it does,
00:20:58
Speaker
You see this, these necks come from the body of this creature. It just come forward and these heads form into where it grows two more heads where you had destroyed, actually four more heads where you had destroyed two heads. What? What are we in Hercules or something? Hydra. What's happening? We're in Stroxer by the way. A water Hydra.
00:21:23
Speaker
And as it does, the water that's absorbing and coming through it begins to feed this creature and it kind of swells up and seems to become a little stronger and not as damaged from your attacks before. And it also shifts from the...
00:21:43
Speaker
from that green form, the green seems to kind of wash out of it and it's followed again by this clear flowing water. And again, that sound of emanating from it as it fills with thunder again. That's his whole turn. We're now back to the, we're now at the octopi. And they get eight attacks each, right?
00:22:09
Speaker
Yep, totally eight attacks. The one that is closest to it, that is, what was the name again? Oh, there's Annabelle and Rufus. Annabelle is going to attack and she's going to roll 13 plus five, so 18. Yeah, that hits for sure. And she is going to do a 2d6 plus three bludgeoning damage. And she hits for a total of 12 damage.
00:22:38
Speaker
Great. And then Rufus is going to come on over, not letting Annabelle have all the fun, and he's going to attack with a natural 20. Nice. Good job, Rufus' man. I'm in feeling all kinds of emboldened by- And do they get to try to grapple the creature when they do this? Yeah.
00:23:03
Speaker
Okay. So he, the creature has to make a DC 16 strength save from Annabelle's attack. So the first one is a 14. So Annabelle holds this creature here. The other one's a natural 20. So only one of them is holding it.
00:23:21
Speaker
That's fair. Well, Annabelle just held it in place so Rufus could get a really good attack in. Yeah. And Rufus rolls in with his sheer emboldenness and hits for a total of 22 damage. That's doubled.
00:23:34
Speaker
With Rufus's hit, you see the water flood from the backside of where Rufus attacks his creature and it shoots and the thunder kind of shoots towards the front of the creature and one of its heads splashes out. And then destroys. You see Annabelle and Rufus both raise a tentacle and high five, but then take like five or ten seconds to unsuction.
00:24:02
Speaker
That's funny. Gotta remove. They weren't really anticipating that, you know. They're kind of dumb. I like it. I like it. I like it. They're fake creatures. They don't really know, you know, tentacles and all that. So, so judgy. They just do when they, they just do them fae best. Is it, uh, is it now, is that your whole turn? Uh, that's their turns. Yeah. They live in fae best life. Uh, Daven, it's you now. No, that was the octopus turn.
00:24:26
Speaker
Oh yeah, you're right, it's Jox's turn. Sorry, so much going on. I have disappeared from the map. So I imagine- You did, because you disappeared from the world. Yes, so I'd imagine I would have hopped back and it looks like I will be inside- Did you reappear where you disappeared? Well, it should have brought me back.
00:24:47
Speaker
Um, at like after my turn. Yep. I don't see me quite yet. Should be there now. Oh yeah. Dead center. You're in the middle of this creature. And so. Awesome.
00:25:03
Speaker
Oh you came back at the end of your turn not at the beginning of your next turn. Yeah yeah I didn't realize I had disappeared. Gotcha okay well. Well that's okay right now if you have been absorbed inside of it so you're technically grappled by this creature then.
00:25:19
Speaker
And so that's like in tandem, I'm grappled by the creature and Annabelle. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah, you're grappled by a creature that's grappled by another creature. You're double grappled? Grappling. Grappling. 2022. So interesting. OK. Whale. No, it's an octopus, not a whale.

Inside the Beast

00:25:41
Speaker
I have weapons in hand. Deep water. Yeah, typically it's where you'll find a lot of these octopi.
00:25:49
Speaker
I'm dying. Okay. Um, well, I guess I'm gonna, I'm gonna like, he's, it wouldn't, okay. So I guess this is straight attack because he's, he's restrained and I'm, we're, we're like, we're both at disadvantage at advantage. Is that straight attack grapple doesn't affect your attacks. I'm just, I'm just, uh, inside of, uh, what is he right now? Swing it around inside this guy.
00:26:17
Speaker
So he's lightning. Okay, so I'm gonna thunder. He's thunder thunder thunder. Sorry. I guess I'm gonna start with two Two shadow blade attacks. Okay. All right, so that is 15 so that does not do anything, right? No 15 will not hit. Okay first one. I'm trying to feel my space a bit It's a little a little confusing
00:26:46
Speaker
All right, so that is an 18. 18 will hit. Okay, so actually, let's call that your first attack. You should technically, I feel like you should get advantage being inside this thing. How do you miss inside it? So we'll say that you rolled the 18 with advantage and hit. So that's your first attack. So you can do your second now. Okay, okay. All right.
00:27:11
Speaker
Play it where it lies. Yeah. Well, play it where it lies was a 16 plus seven. Don't play it where it lies. Just kidding. Did you roll advantage in case of crit? All right. That's a seven plus... What is my character sheet? Where'd that go?
00:27:33
Speaker
I have the octopus character sheet up, but not mine. I use theirs, it's fine. Yeah, it's okay. Use their damage. 1d6. You guys are very similar. So 7 plus 4, so 11. Psychic damage. And then...
00:27:51
Speaker
That's going to be, I can read in the dark. So nine. So 20 psychic damage. And then I will use a key point to just flurry of blows. Flurry then blows. Flurry, flurry, flurry. And that is a different. Those are all advantage. OK. That is 16. Yep.
00:28:20
Speaker
Ooh, that one. 17. Not doing so great. So three. So that will be seven magical damage and eight magical damage.
00:28:38
Speaker
which I don't know if this applies here. I've never actually used this rule as is, but apparently if I use Flurry of Blows, I get to disengage for free. Can I try to run out of here? Yeah, yeah, for sure.
00:28:56
Speaker
All right. So I'll at least try to like you have to successfully un- grapple, though. Well, you're not just engaged. You are grappled. OK. Which means your movement is zero. Well, then then I'll I'll say that I'm I'm still just flailing and, you know, next round it might be a little rough because I might not be able to read their breathe. Gotcha. And is there anything else that I can do? I can't really do too much. I guess it's a no. So that was a second attack.
00:29:26
Speaker
Monks, man. Too much to keep track of. I know, it's rough. It's almost like being a DM, running monsters. So I've used two key points. And yeah, no, I can't really do too much at this point. Okay, so I need you to make a constitution saving throw. As you end your turn inside, this creature still grappled inside of him.
00:29:49
Speaker
Yeah, that's, you know. And it's thunder currently, so there's just thundering inside here. So that will be an 11 plus 3 plus 1, so 15. So you save, but you take half of 10d6 damage. All right. I think I have 10d6, which is just super fun. So he might be in for a surprise.
00:30:20
Speaker
Who might? This whopping monster. I'm a little armored right now. All right, so this damage is 12.
00:30:37
Speaker
41 points of thunder damage. Your ears start to bleed from the just pulsating and you realize you're going to you know, if you're in here too much longer, you're not going to be able to breathe, but you're also just struggling from the just the constant vibration of thunder inside this creature. That's not considered a melee attack, is it? No, that would be that would be more of like
00:31:05
Speaker
Like area of effect damage. Okay. Its whole body is the area of effect in this case. Okay, so I have armor Agathys. I know that he wouldn't take that, so I have 20 temporary hit points. Would I take away from regular hit points or? I mean, it would take away the temporary burst and then whatever's left would be. Okay, and then at that point he wouldn't, if he did a melee against me, it wouldn't do the thing. Okay, so that's only...
00:31:34
Speaker
So that's going to be 30s. Um, I'm looking, I'm looking like I could be, you know, I could be better. Sure. Sure. Yeah. A couple of you look pretty, pretty rough. All right. Is that your whole turn? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, then we go to Krigs. All right. Um, Krigsy isn't feeling too hot. Uh,
00:31:59
Speaker
Let's see, I guess all I'm going to do is I'm going to dump 40 hit points of my lay on hands into myself and regain some of what I had lost in preparation of. Did you say 30 40? That's a lot. OK. And you get a bonus, right? Because the aura. Yeah.
00:32:29
Speaker
So the aura that's up from Gwendolyn is the unicorn spirit. Uh, it regains hit points equal to her druid level. Uh, whenever I restore it points to myself or correct. So I'll do a total of 52 total. Sorry. Uh, 52 total. Good job. Thousand hit points. I have 3 million hit points. Gryffindor. Sorry.
00:33:00
Speaker
All right, then what? That's pretty much it. That's my main action. That's a full blown action and not much else I can really do bonus wise right now. I mean, I guess. Yeah, there's really not too much I can I can do since I didn't take a attack action. Yeah. OK, so that takes us to Davin.
00:33:24
Speaker
Daven is standing right next to Krigs and he looks over, he's like, why do I feel like I'm always saving you boys? And he's going to lift his hand up and Krigs, you kind of feel that force that has been kind of like lifting you up just drop as since it's concentration, I still have telekinesis and for my action, I will move over to Joxer and I'm gonna try and pull him out. You're gonna move inside the creature? No, no, no. My telekinesis is going to move to Joxer and then pull Joxer out of there. So it's another strength check against my spell.
00:33:54
Speaker
20. Dirty 20. I got a dirty 20 also. All right. I don't know what that means. Meat beats it. So wait, you know what? Hang on. That's not a saving throw, right? It's just a contested, contested strength check. It is. Yeah. So I'm only a 16. So I, you, you win. So you successfully pull him out. Okay. I'm going to pull him out and just move him to the right, uh, just so he's just outside of the thing.
00:34:17
Speaker
Like over here to the, just to the right of him. Yeah. Let's move him like 10 feet or as far as I can go, I guess. So 30 feet from, from the creature, just so he's got some room and he can kind of move where he wants to from there. Got it. Okay. And I'll gently drop him down. I'll first I'll turn him upside down and then gently drop him down. Okay. So he's used to it. Whoa.
00:34:38
Speaker
That's my action. That's my and then I will once again quicken spell and Still looking at Craig's I just smile and say it's just getting kind of fun My eyes just kind of turn completely white And you see like this glowing white come from my hands and I'm going to cast guiding bolt at the creature at fourth level Okay Show off I say back which is 76 I
00:35:08
Speaker
That is it. Did you make a spell attack? Um, Oh, I guess I have to hit first, right? That's a good point. It's a natural 19. So 27 hits. Okay. Oops. All damage. 21, 21 radiant damage to the creature. Nice. Oof. Duh.
00:35:29
Speaker
All right. As this light just goes into this creature and lights it up at like a, like a beams of light shoot from inside of the creature and start to kind of evaporate bits of it and the water kind of floods away or floats away as vapor. And yeah, it's looking, it's looking pretty rough.

Final Moves and Victory

00:35:51
Speaker
And then I'm within melee range of it, right? It's right in front of us.
00:35:55
Speaker
Correct. Yeah, you're totally in melee range. Its faces are looking at you and Krigs currently, all four of them that are left. Davin is just going to try and hunker down and look smaller than Krigs. Okay. Good luck. I'm going to offer... Do you want my shield? Gwen's turn. No, it'll be fine. I'll be fine. It'll hit you. It's monotone.
00:36:16
Speaker
Um, Gwendolyn is going to see that Joxer was pulled out and notices that he looks a little, a little worn out. And so I am going to move at least 15 feet towards the direction of him, but behind Davin and Krigs. And I am going to cast Mascare Wounds. Okay. And my point that I'm is centered over the creature because I want to heal the octopuses as well.
00:36:45
Speaker
Nice. Okay. Cause I can do six creatures and there's only six here. So you could feel the bad guy too. If you really wanted to. I know. I'm curious is the bad guy, this whole protector of the, the doo doo forest. Is he, uh, is he still fire or is he acid? He's thunder. Remember thunder. Lightning. What's his awesome cool name again?
00:37:11
Speaker
What's his cool name? Yeah. The Black River Guardian. What's his not cool name? Whatever he just said. You do forest protector. All right. Episode title. Gosh darn it. All right, so I rolled 11 plus nine is my spell caster plus my druid level because we're all in the circle, which is 12 and that equals 32. Wow. We all get 32. Holy mama.
00:37:38
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh, I'm, uh
00:38:05
Speaker
Okay. But yeah, get that good, good life juice. Not that it matters, but we all have resistance to fire now. Oh, that's sweet. Except Joxer. Yeah. Anyone that's within a range of me gets resistance. Gotcha. All right. So the creature's turn. It is going, it has seven heads now, by the way, because it had three and grew four. Remember, it had three, grew four. So it has seven heads. So two heads shoot globs at Joxer over on the side over there.
00:38:34
Speaker
So jocks are those two attacks are for crying out loud. It is a 14. Yeah, but it doesn't want to move. So it doesn't matter.
00:38:50
Speaker
You're rolling and I thought you said you rolled it and you're like, uh, Jackson, this one's for you for crying. I rolled. I rolled is a free action. A 14 or 15. Neither one hits correct. Jackson with major. Yeah, no, neither one hits. I was going to use, I was going to use a reaction to, well, it doesn't matter. I was going to deflect it, but it doesn't, it's gone.
00:39:17
Speaker
Okay, well it's not a missile, so it wouldn't have worked anyway. And then, uh, then it's gonna make two, or a head attack, or like, bite attacks against Daven and Krigs. It has... Excuse me, before it does that, it attacks Jock's hand, it's in melee range of me, right? Yep, make a hit, hit it. I'm gonna do it! Uh, we're gonna do a double hand attack because I didn't have my shield out, and...
00:39:45
Speaker
I rolled 17. Did you roll to hit? Oh, yeah, you did. Sorry. I just saw a bunch of dice and I was like, what's happening? OK, yeah, 17 hits. Yeah. And I did a total of 14 bludgeoning and.
00:40:00
Speaker
With my improved hit, I did another four holy damage, so I did 18 total damage. Yeah, so your reaction, as it launches those two attacks at Joxer, you swing and hit it and it just, those four or the five heads remaining turn and look at the two of you. One of them decides to go for Daven with a 16 plus nine to hit. I will use my reaction to cast Shield so that it does not hit me.
00:40:31
Speaker
25 doesn't hit with shield. Oh, I thought you said I don't know. 16 plus nine. 16 plus nine. Nevermind. Yes, that would definitely hit. Okay. So don't waste shield. Okay. And so yeah, it hits. And then, uh, that does the D 10 plus five, which is 12, uh, 12 piercing damage. Make a, uh, what was it? Constitution saving throw.
00:40:58
Speaker
Constitution is 19. Can I get more than one reaction per round? Come on. So you take, no, you can't. So you take one point of thunder damage as well. So 13 total damage. And you feel it trying to push you back like the pressure of it, but you resist and stand strong. The other four heads all attack Krigs because it just took such damage from him. I was going to split them, but not anymore. That's my right.
00:41:27
Speaker
First one fails with a four plus nine. My second four plus nine. New dice. Yes. There we go. That's a 21. That hits. And that's a 28. That hits. 19 plus nine. So two hits causing you
00:41:49
Speaker
uh 11 oh that's wrong guys 11 damage from the first 11 piercing from the first and 12 from the second and then make two constitution saving throws so i took a total of 23 piercing
00:42:10
Speaker
All right. And first con save is 19. OK, that saves. And the sec make another one is a 91. OK, so you take you take 10 points of thunder damage and you're blown back. You're shot back five feet.
00:42:29
Speaker
And kind of blown back five feet and prone when you land get there So you're laying on your back from the from the huge blast of thunder damages when it bites you this Shoots you backwards. Oh I'm getting too old for this and that is the creatures entire turn. We are now to joxer or no octopus again. Oh
00:42:53
Speaker
Right. Annabelle is going to take her attack first. Actually, Rufus is going to take his attacks first because he wasn't grappling. Oh, he got another natural 20. What is it, Rufus? Come on, Rufus. Rufus. Rufus. My guy. He came to play. Oh, at the end of this guy's turn, he grows two more heads, by the way. No. There's so many heads. Rufus does a total of.
00:43:23
Speaker
18 damage. Gwen, have you been naming these heads as they pop up? No, because they die. He's up to nine. Oh, boy. Michael, if you would roll a check to see if ruthless grapples. At disadvantage, right?
00:43:41
Speaker
21, why would it be disadvantage? Because he's restrained, or he's already grappled. Yeah, restrained, or grappled just makes your movement zero. That's all grappled does. Okay, so earlier I heard you say restrained, but at least just grappled. Annabelle rolls. Sorry, I was probably using that word as flavor, and that's not a good word to use as flavor. 19, 14 plus five. To hit hits. And does she need to re-roll her grapple? Yeah, roll each, each hit would be a new one. That's a 20, 30, 20.
00:44:10
Speaker
She did a total of 13 damage and he is no longer grappled. Okay. Oh wait. No, no, no, sorry. She doesn't have to reroll against him. He's still, he's the monster still grappled. I was thinking another attack trying to grapple again, but it's the monster can choose to try to get out of the grapple, but you can stay grappled as long as, you know, as long as this, as long as Annabelle wants to grapple it until it tries to get out. Yeah. So the octopi did a total of.
00:44:40
Speaker
32 damage, 31 damage. Man, this thing looks like it's starting to, some of the water on it that's flowing starts to kind of seep down and puddle up underneath it. And all the heads are looking at you, every single head. It's Tanner, Jason, Bastion, Hannah, Pamela, Gary, Evan, Kathy, and Larry. They all look at you like, brrr. Like they turn and look at Annabelle. Come on, Gary.
00:45:06
Speaker
Come on. It always ends with Gary. In a sense of transparency, I have a concentration spell. I rolled to make sure that I didn't lose concentration from getting hit and I'm okay. Okay, good. Thank you for that. If I fail. I can see your flesh. I don't see through you. You are such a dad. I am. It's true and I love it. Sometimes it's the worst, but I love it sometimes too. I know. I love it every day.
00:45:29
Speaker
When I left work today, I was like, hey, don't forget to close that door. Sorry, I'm a dad. Anyway, is that your whole turn? This is D&D. You're not a dad. You're a daddy. Whose turn was that? Octopus. Is that their luck turn? Yeah, Joxer. You're up. OK. All right. So I'm glutton for punishment. I'm going to run up and just start wailing. So let's start with two shadow blade attacks.
00:45:59
Speaker
Do it. I forgot one more thing to roll for this monster. All right, 19 plus eight, so 27. Oh wait, and it was advantage. So that one's a nat 20. So that one was a nat 20. And that's 17 plus something or a four. So we'll go with the 17, start with the nat 20.
00:46:25
Speaker
And that's a d8. And that is a not so great. So 4 plus 4 plus 4. So that's 12 shadow damage. And then second attack is 4 plus 4. So 20 total for those psychic attacks.
00:46:48
Speaker
And then I don't really have... I guess I'll just use key points to go for another two punches. Okay. You didn't hit at all? Oh no, I did 20 Psychic damage. So it was 12 with my crit and then 8 with my not crit.
00:47:08
Speaker
That's right. Yeah, you did crit. Yeah, it was a pretty sad crit. Oh, man, two threes in a row. So a 10 probably doesn't hit with the first fist that that thunder does not hit a little, a little awkward. Maybe gave me a little shock, a little static shock. I didn't like it. Just read back a little bit. Nineteen plus seven. So twenty six. So at least I got one in there.
00:47:36
Speaker
Come on, one plus, is that a three or four?
00:47:41
Speaker
I say it's a four. I don't think it really managed. Four damage? Yeah, an extra four. All right. So this creature, two more of its heads just burst into the spray of acid. And as the creature changes again, the thunder dissolving from inside it and the whole thing turning this, this mix of green and black and blue water and
00:48:11
Speaker
Yeah, is that your whole term? Since I use that key point, and I can do this as a drunken master, I am going to disengage for free. Cool. OK. I'm just going to go boop, boop, boop, about 15 feet away. Sounds good. You disengage for free. Run away, run away. All right, that takes us to Krigs.
00:48:30
Speaker
All right. How is it looking right now? I'm assuming real bad. OK. Those two heads exploding. The neck kind of dangles there. This watery flowing neck dangles. It doesn't look like it's absorbed back in. It doesn't look like it's it's bringing in as much water from the from its back legs in the water anymore. It's it's you're dissipating it quite a bit, it looks like.
00:48:54
Speaker
All right, I'm going to approach it shield on my back holding holding my hammer for the my right hand, the hand that had the glowing eye in it for however long and the one that now in the cave as I was holding the hammer and I felt kind of attached to it. In a sense, you'll just have that that beaming glow kind of radiating up and down the hammer itself and around the the actual
00:49:21
Speaker
Warhammer's head and I'm going to hold on tightly and I'm going to swing as hard as I dwarfly can with all my strength boy strength. I'm going to I'm going to do a good two handed attack at this creature. All right. Make that attack. And I roll. Twenty two. Yeah, that hits. And for Dimash.
00:49:50
Speaker
Let's let the math gods do this for me. Sounds good. That is 17 bludgeoning damage. And I'm going to pump a Divine Spine, you know, I get improved Divine Spine on that, so let's just add that. I don't have to cast it, it comes natch. So 21 damage on that attack.
00:50:17
Speaker
All right, so describe your killing of this creature. Sweet. This is the first time Krigs has swung his hammer since being in that cave, the first time actually using the hammer for combat. Everything he's done so far has just been, I haven't been certain about it ever since I, it's different, it's new, and I'm old and I've been in the battlefield and it's not something that I'm used to.
00:50:46
Speaker
I swing as hard as I can, but I swing way more true than I expected. And the follow through, the hammer just passing through this creature almost as if it's cutting through butter. And it's unique. It's a hammer. It bludgens through things. But this holy radiant power just slices through this creature and creates just a splatter of
00:51:12
Speaker
water and acid and everything else that this creature has been in those last little bit, just kind of all across this beach here. And so much so, Annabelle looks at me like, whoa, hey, whoa, buddy, hey, I'm right here. And both Annabelle and Rufus just kind of back away for a minute and look at look at me there. And I just look around at the crew and I feel grateful that we managed to survive this.
00:51:39
Speaker
And as you finish the hit, that radiant light just pulsates through this water creature. And as it does, the water peels away and just sprays backwards into the river. And what's left is this black mist fog in the shape of this creature that then turns into a ball. And as it turns into this ball, it just shoots back up into the sky.
00:52:06
Speaker
and absorbs into what's up above there, and you can see as you look, another ball of this shoots down into the water in the distance, and this creature is now gone from your sight.

Reflection and Next Steps

00:52:22
Speaker
Whoa. I've never seen a creature like that before. Well, that was a lot of fun. I don't know about you guys, but I had a great time.
00:52:31
Speaker
Maybe ropes and tying each other down is not the best. Are you still working? Come on, surely. We've been through so much in the last like two minutes. You've got to be over that. I just I'm I'm just saying that I I'm the one who threw out the idea. I just didn't realize we were tying each other together and then and then it was just a bad idea. Look, don't offer a good time and then take it away.
00:52:59
Speaker
Oh, no. No idea what was going to happen there. You guys look at Devin. He's first of all, he's got his chest is growing brightly from one of his necklaces. How would you say is like 30 foot radius or something? Oh, yeah. It's a bright light. Why are you glowing? You also notice that his right eye now the his pupil is no longer black. It like stayed white after that last spell he cast. And then the green of his iris is like you see like almost like streets of lightning kind of splitting out from the white of his pupil out toward it.
00:53:28
Speaker
Um, Buddy, are you okay? Damn, I'm great. That was a lot of fun. That was probably the best fight we've had in a long time. You're sure you're okay, I mean... Well, I mean, it's a little bright right now, I'm sorry. I don't know what's going on with this. Your eye, it's a little... changed? What's wrong with it?
00:53:47
Speaker
Uh, I'm going to take my shield and I'm going to kind of rub my elbow along the backside and polish a corner to give it some reflection. And I'm just going to hold, hold it backwards towards Devin and let him kind of look at, look at himself in the polished area of the shield. Oh, would you look at that? I think it looks kind of cool actually. Sure, but can you see out of that? Uh, Devin like opens and closes one eye than the other. Oh, everything seems fine. All right.
00:54:16
Speaker
You were pretty powerful back then, I'm not gonna lie. Watching you and your magics, that was a sight to behold. Or me, come on, you guys are amazing too. I mean, look at all that ice that came out of the sky from Gwen and everything. Well, I only got the idea because you were... Wait a minute, where did we go earlier?
00:54:42
Speaker
Oh, or that thing. When, when we are the, the coat, I, to be honest with you, I don't know. I found this coat and I, I know what it does, but where, where do we go? I don't know. Is he lying? When I look at him and use my insight check insight power. Okay. Great.
00:54:59
Speaker
I'm also going to make an insight check because I have no idea because I, I dimensioned order from before and I had no recollection of like going anywhere. Happens really fast. Yeah. Plus four, nine. I was rolling 14 plus five. So 19. I get insight proficiency.
00:55:20
Speaker
What do they read off of you, Devin, with 19? Uh, they both can tell actually, cause I rolled pretty terribly against them. That seems like he's telling the truth. He doesn't seem to know much about it. Likely story. All right. I just, that was fun. I just, it was a weird place.
00:55:43
Speaker
Yeah, I am. It freaked me out the first time it happened, too. But it doesn't seem like I'm ever there long enough for anything bad to happen. It's just like like a flash of seeing this place wherever it is. Oh, sorry. Before I forget, Annabelle Rufus. And I'm going to call them over. Say say hi to Gwen. She'd love to meet you, I'm sure. No, she gets so excited.
00:56:05
Speaker
And you just see two little octopus kind of like come up and they salute. It's the funniest thing, but they kind of stand up tall, as tall as they can. Seven tentacles to the ground and one tentacle rising up like a salute. And they're just they're standing there as proud as can be.
00:56:22
Speaker
I turn into an octopus. No, I don't do that. Classic. But I give him the biggest hugs. I jump down and I give one to Rufus and then I go over and they're like, Oh, you too Annabelle and my mind and I. Does she stick to him? Oh yeah. She's going to be goopy from him.
00:56:40
Speaker
They don't they don't mind. And with that, they're going to salute once more and then you're going to see them kind of dissipate into if you've ever seen it before, it's that phosphorescent plankton and whatnot that you'll see on the banks of different rivers. If they have that plankton in existence, you're going to see the kind of smoky and bluish glow of that phosphorescent looking
00:57:05
Speaker
plankton as it just shifts down and you'll see a ball like a little orb of a face spirit just fly off again and back into back into this time the the the river away and i'll send them off
00:57:21
Speaker
All right. And as they go away and you guys kind of watch them go into the distance spec towards the river, you look up and you can see that billowing just black, like thickest clouds you've seen in your life just billowing above this river. The river looks like the water inside of it swirls with this blackness as it rushes past you. And all you know is you're supposed to go North and the only way North
00:57:51
Speaker
is somehow across this river. I'm gonna... I'm looking at that. I'm looking at the shadow and the mist. I turn back and I see Gwyn still a little bit slimy from hugging Rufus and Annabelle. And Joxer, who's taking stock in himself, it looks like. And Daven, who's still a little bit proud and standing tall with his uniquely green eye.
00:58:19
Speaker
And I look at myself and realize how much of myself I actually put into that fight and how close it was yet again. And I am terrified of what is beyond this wall of mist and what could possibly be beyond that. It feels like it's too much. And that's where we're going to leave the episode. Whoa. Yeah, fun. Oof. That was fun.
00:58:47
Speaker
I burn like every spell slot. Good.

Conclusion and Call to Action

00:59:03
Speaker
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00:59:16
Speaker
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