Deadly Dungeon: Episode 19

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==Session 19: The Anthology of Creation (14th Party - Floor 11)==
=== Characters ===
* Jack O'Neill - Eldritch Knight Fighter 6
* Samantha Carter - Battle Smith Artificer 6
* Daniel Jackson - Twilight Cleric 6
* Teal'c - Circle of the Moon Druid 6
=== Episode Synopsis ===
The party spawns in the dungeon in a room with four bookcases, numerous sconces that emit light, 2 simple treasure chests, a good treasure chest, and a recycling chest. There is a double door to the south that will not open, and a double door to the north with three concentric circles of runes on them. Jackosn finds a Pearl of Power (lvl 2) in the good treasure chest, while O'Neill finds a Pearl of Power in another chest. Carter gives O'Neill a Radiant Halberd and Jackson a Spell Refueling Ring. Teal'c finds a Scroll of Cloud of Daggers in the last chest, which Carter recycles into a Potion of Heroism. Carter searches the bookshelves and finds a small leather bound book that stands out from the rest. Most of the pages are blank, and the front two pages have been torn out. One page has a small amount of text on it, and reads:
"I've wondered if anyone else in the land has tried what we've been trying. I've met some very old elves on my travels and shared some tea and bread with them, exhanging stories and purpose. I could tell one of them was far more powerful than I but still hse was shocked to see what we could do. We spent an evening viewing a dozer or so of your iterations and she was speechless. Both at the source material of our Pretensomancy but also what it could accomplish. I explained that you've been simulating hundreds of thousands of bifurcations. They weren't sure what heuristic pattern magic was and explained that no such magic had ever been uses, much less conceived of on this continent. I could tell they wanted to know more but they understood the gravity of our mission and were willing to tell me more about the magic of this land. 
It is insanity. 
They all derive their power from the Gods; nothing done without the Gods' will. No wonder the people of this land are complacent with Scoria's rule. There's two kinds of people; those who control, and those who are controlled, and I think that one truth that our simulations have shown me is that the only kind of champion that can defeat Scoria will have to be someone with a volition great enough to match her own, and a willingness to accept a Pyrrhic vicory:
Jackson casts Aid at third level, boosting O'Neill, Teal'c, and himself by 10 HP. He then uses Eyes of the Night to give the entire party 300 ft. of Darkvision, and Vigilant Blessing to give Teal'c advantage on intiative rolls. The entire party focuses on the door, and moves through.
They find a massive room with a strange reflective surface on the floor and what seems like a garden of crystals. The ceiling is blocked by a thick smoke, and there are many rays of light that shine through it and illuminate the room. Jackson moves forward and starts laying caltrops, blocking sections of the floor. Teal'c starts exploring the west side of the room, and the party follows after. Carter drinks the Potion of Heroism, as O'Neill collects a few purple crystals from the garden. A few moments later, an Orange Crystal Elemental pops out of the crystal garden and stabs Teal'c twice. It's Soul Rend ability causes him to lose a level 1 spell slot and 5 maximum hit points. The party hears a women's voice, saying:
"In the beginning, this story goes, there were six forces of nature exising in the void. Then, their powers touched one another, creating the world and expending nearly all of their energy. The remnants of these forces eventually become harnessed in turn into powerful crystals; eternity shards. The residual energy of the forces made the shards sentient, and they rose up as primordial beings among the gods, whom they themselves created. The shards bickered about what to do next, about what their role in the world would be, and eventually four of them turned on their brother and sister, slaying two of them. Now these four oversee the gods, taking turns slumbering, resting, and overseeing. What would it be to like to face the avatars of these primordial energies?"
O'Neill stashes the Orange Elemental as the Red Crystal Elemental and Purple Crystal Elemental move out of hiding and start closing to the party. The Purple Elemental steps on caltrops and stops in place. Jackson casts Bless on O'Neill, Teal'c, and himself. Teal'c casts Thunderwave and slams back the Orange Elemental, and then Wildshapes into a Polar Bear. Carter shoots the Orange Elemental twice as MALP moves to protect Jackson. The Orange Elemental stabs Teal'c twice as O'Neill stabs the Orange Elemental, and then intercepts the Red Elemental and stops it with Sentinel. Teal'c Bear bites and slashes the Orange Elemental and it shatters apart, dealing damage to the bear and O'Neill. Jackson drops more caltrops as Carter casts Web on the Purple Elemental. O'Neill stabs the Red Elemental and moves over to the Orange Elementals body, picking up a Potion of Greater Healing. The Red Elemental stabs O'Neill as the Purple Elemental ducks out of the webbing and dances past the caltrops. Jackson casts Spiritual Weapon and whacks the Purple Elemental. Teal'c Bear slashed and bites the Orange Elemental as Carter and MALP deal damage to the Purple Elemental. O'Neill hits the Red Elemental and nearly kills it, but the Elemental is able to stab Teal'c Bear and drop the Wildshape. The Purple Elemental stabs Jackson once, while Jackson hits it with his Spiritual Weapon. Teal'c disengage and moves to safety as Carter shoots the Purple Elemental. O'Neill smacks the Red Elemental, which shatters and damages him as he moves and hits the Purple Elemental twice. The Purple Elemental stabs Jackson once, after which he disengages and moves away to safety. Teal'c hits the Elemental and Carter shoots it, shattering the Elemental and damaging MALP. The crystals drop two scrolls, one of ??? and one of Magic Missile. Jackson drinks the Potion of Greater Healing, uses the Spell Refueling Ring, and then uses both Pearls of Power to recover spell slots. He also drinks two Potions of Healing. Teal'c casts Cure Wounds at 2nd level on himself and drinks two Potions of Healing. Carter casts Mending on MALP to heal it and gives Jackson the Scroll of Magic Missile. O'Neill recycles the Scroll of Scorching Ray into a Potion of Heroism and drinks two Potions of Healing. He then drinks the Potion of Heroism. The party gathers by the door, concentrates on it, and moves through. 
The party finds themselves in the void of space, and seems to standing on solid ground, but can see through the floor below them. The party contemplates how they can breathe, and then decides to move forwards towards the building they see in the distance. The party begins moving towards the structure, which is about a half mile in the distance. Jackson gives his Vigilant Blessing to Teal'c. As they get halfway to the structure, they hear the women's voice call out again: 
"Perhaps my favorite myth is that of the ten dragon titans, whose clash slammed the body of the earth into being. It's said that their battle echoes throughout history; that when you witness storms, you witness echoes of that battle. Thunder, the crash, the echoes of their wings."
Suddenly, two dragons wing their way past the party, a Green and a Bronze. Appearing in the distance are 8 more dragons, flying in pairs and battling with each other. The two close dragons circle, and wing their way towards the party. Carter fires at the Bronze dragon, and scores one hit. Both Dragons start dodging and make their way in. Jackson casts Bless on himself, Teal'c, and MALP. O'Neill hits the Green Dragon with Chill Touch as Carter redirects to the Green Dragon and scores a hit. The party feels emboldened, as their hits seem to score more damage and they feel protected (mechanically for the room, the PC's deal double damage and have resistance to all damage). Jackson hits the Green Dragon with a Sacred Flame as Teal'c casts Call Lightning, blasting the Green Dragon with a powerful bold of lightning. O'Neill misses with his Javelin, but uses his Bonded Weapon feature to return it to his hand. Carter hits the Green Dragon twice as MALP slams into it. The Green Dragon breathes poison breath on MALP and O'Neill, and gets hit by O'Neill's Halberd as it closes in. Teal'c directs a lightning bolt in and kills the Green Dragon. O'Neill moves up and stops the Bronze Dragon as it flies in with Sentinel, and then the Bronze Dragon breathes lightning breath on O'Neill. Carter hits the Bronze Dragon and moves MALP in to slam it. Jackson uses Channel Divinity - Twilight Sanctuary to give everyone around him temporary HP, and casts Healing Word on O'Neill. O'Neill hits the dragon twice, and then the Bronze Dragon breathes lightning breath again on Jackson, who blocks it with his shield to take no damage. Carter shoots the Bronze Dragon twice to bring it down, then casts Cure Wounds on O'Neill. The party bathes in the twilight and resets to receive the next group of dragons.
The Gold and White Dragons start approaching from the southeast. Carter lands two shots on the White Dragon as the dragons dash forward at high speeds. O'Neill and Carter hit the White Dragon multiple times on the approach. The Gold Dragon moves in and breathes fire on O'Neill, who uses Absorb Elements to reduce the damage. The White Dragon moves in and breathes cold breath on MALP. Carter hits the Gold Dragon as MALP moves up and repairs itself. Carter dashes forward to provide cover with his Twilight Sanctuary. O'Neill moves up and misses the White Dragon, but Teal'c drops a lightning bolt that hits both dragons and kills the White one. The Gold Dragon bites and slashes at O'Neill, but he casts Shield to block it. Carter hits the Gold Dragon once as Teal'c hits it with another lightning bolt. The Gold Dragon gets its bite deflected by MALP as Carter shoots it, and Teal'c kills it with a lightning bolt. Jackson casts Cure Wounds on O'Neill, and the party resets to receive the next group of dragons.
The Red and Brass Dragons start approaching from the southwest. The Brass Dragon takes multiple hits from Carter and goes down before it reaches the Lightning Cloud. Jackson casts Thaumaturgy and taunts the dragons. The Red Dragon takes a hit from the lightning as it enters the cloud, and then breathes fire breath on O'Neill and approaches Jackson. O'Neill close in and misses the Red Dragon as Teal'c blasts it with a lightning bolt. Carter hits it twice as the Red Dragon again breathes fire on both MALP and O'Neill. O'Neill casts Absorb Elements and reduces the damage, and then slashes the Red Dragon twice. A lightning bolt comes in and finishes off the Red Dragon. MALP repairs itself again as Teal'c casts Cure Wounds on O'Neill. The party resets to meet the next group of dragons.
The Silver and Black Dragons approach from the northwest. Carter lands two hits on the Black Dragon at long range and O'Neill hits it with a Chill Touch. Teal'c hits the Silver Dragon with a lightning bolt as it breathes cold breath on both O'Neill and Jackson. The Black Dragon closes and breathes acid breath on Carter, but he blocks it with his shield and takes no damage. Carter hits the Black Dragon once, and Jackson casts Aura of Vitality to start healing O'Neill. O'Neill hits the Black Dragon as Teal'c drops a lightning bolt on both dragons. The Silver Dragon breathes cold breath on both O'Neill and MALP, and the Black Dragon drops MALP with two claw attacks. Carter drops the Black Dragon with a well placed shot as Jackson heals O'Neill with his aura. O'Neill hits the Silver Dragon twice as Teal'c drops a lightning bolt. The Silver Dragon once again breathes its cold breath on O'Neill, and two shots from Carter drop the Silver Dragon. Jackson moves closer into O'Neill and starts healing them both, and Channels Divinity again to start giving the entire party more temp HP. The party prepares for the last group of dragons.
The party waits, and sees the Copper and Blue Dragons circling outside of the party's range. They finish their healing spells, and wait as the Dragons start circling the party in a wide berth. After a few minutes, the party starts slowly advancing forward outside of the Call Lightning cylinder. As the party gets about a quarter mile from the structure ahead, the Dragons turn and attack. Carter hits the Copper Dragon three times on the approach, as O'Neill hits it with a Chill Touch. Carter drops the Copper Dragon before it can reach the party, and O'Neill moves up and Dodges. The Blue Dragon breathes lightning breath on Teal'c as Carter shoots it. Jackson casts Moonbeam and damages the Dragon as O'Neill smacks it with his Halberd. The Blue Dragon again breathes lightning breath at Teal'c. Jackson moves the Moonbeam onto the Dragon as O'Neill and Carter hit it, while Teal'c runs away. The Blue Dragon turns and claws into O'Neill twice, but Carter hits it twice and brings it down. The party breathes a sigh of relief, and slowly moves their way towards the structure ahead. Jackson uses his Vigilant Blessing on himself as Carter casts Cure Wounds on Teal'c. Jackson also casts Cure Wounds on Teal'c, and the party gathers by a large door with characters littered across it. There are four spots with concentric circles on the door. Jackson casts Bless on himself and Teal'c, and the entire party concentrates on the door, moving through. 
The party finds themselves in a Grand Library. There are bookshelves on all of the walls, and a grand stairway leading up to a balcony with many more books. There are four grand pillars holding up the structure, and chandeliers providing a large amount of light. There is a small overhang above the party. They move out and look back up, hearing again the women's voice. She says, 
"When I was little, my friends and I would sit with tea around the fire, imagining ourselves as powerful beings trusted in legendary weapons, shields, swords, magic at our fingertips. It was these wonderful memories of seeing the awe and smiles on my friends faces as we told each other stories that drove me to be an author. These stories that I tell; stories that we tell each other. They reveal to us who we are, what we really want, how far we are willing to go to discover who we are, what we're made of. What are you made of?" 
The party hears a tapping sound above them, and they see the Author standing at the front of the balcony. She is in a coat with sharp points at the shoulders, moon shaped earrings, a flowing purple dress, and she has a great book laid out in front of her. She is tapping the book with a pen, and asks "Will you show me what you are made of?", and strikes her pen down the book to begin writing. Teal'c backs up and casts Conjure Animals, summoning two Giant Octopi named Copernicus and Einstein. The Author uses a Reaction called Foreshadow, recording the spell on a page of her spell book to use later. Einstein hits the Author and grapples her with its tentacles. Jackson uses the scroll of Magic Missile and targets the pen in the Author's hand, dealing a moderate amount of damage. The Author uses Introduce Antogonist, summoning 2 Paper Elementals and 2 Ink Elementals. The Paper Elementals move in and attempts to attack Jackson and Teal'c, but both miss. An Ink Elemental moves in and smashes Teal'c for a large amount of damage. Carter steps back and takes two Sharpshooter shots at the Author, hitting with both. O'Neil slashes at the Paper Elemental with his Halberd twice and destroys it, then smashes an Ink Elemental with the pommel. 
The Author uses Ethos, writing lines in her Storybook and healing some damage. The Storybook then turns itself to a new page as Teal'c casts Thunderwave, damaging the Ink Elemental. He then wildshapes into a Polar Bear. The Octopi lash out with their tentacles and slam the Author, who tears out the previously inscribed page and uses Flashback, summoning her own Octopi to engage in the battle. Jackson steps out from under the balcony and casts Sleep, putting the Paper Elemental next to him asleep. The Author summons another Paper Elemental as Carter fires another shot. The Author uses Protagonist's Fate to modify the attack roll and cause it to miss. O'Neill smacks an Ink Elemental three times and kills it. The Paper Elemental steps up and slashes Carter while the Ink Elemental smashes Teal'c Bear. The Author uses Ethos to heal damage as Teal'c Bear hits the Ink Elemental twice. The Octopi attack, and Copernicus connects for some damage. The Author uses Antithesis, causing Carter to have one of her future roles be a failure. Jackson steps out from the balcony and casts Moonbeam, centering it on the Author. The Author takes damage from the Moonbeam and then casts Vicious Mockery against Jackson, which fails. The mirrored Copernicus grapples the original Copernicus as the Ink Elemental smashes Teal'c Bear. Carter moves away from the Paper Elemental and casts Shield to block the opportunity attack, and then hits the Author with a shot. O'Neill kills the Ink Elemental and then moves over to smash the Paper Elemental. 
The Author uses Ethos to heal some damage and the Storybook turns a page. Teal'c Bear runs up the stairway and starts circling around the balcony towards the Author. The Octopi land another hit on the Author as Jackson fires a Guiding Bolt at the Author. She uses Protagonist's Fate to cause it to miss. The Author takes damage from the Moonbeam and Viciously Mocks Jackson, which breaks his concentration on Moonbeam. The Paper Elemental moves away from O'Neill, who slashes at it and kills it with an opportunity attack. The Mirrored Octopi slam the original Octopi. Carter fires a Sharpshooter shot and causes the Author to use Protagonist's Fate to cause it to miss, and then hits the Author with her second shot. The Author uses Foreshadow to record Carter's attack, and uses Ethos to heal some damage. O'Neill hits the Author with his Javelin 
The Storybook turns a page as Teal'c Bear sprints around the balcony. The Author uses Ethos to heal some damage. Jackson casts Sleep again, but the Author is immune to the ability. The Author tears out a page and uses Carter's attack, knocking Teal'c Bear out of wildshape and breaks concentration on Conjure Animals. The Author attempts to Viciously Mock Teal'c, but fails. Carter moves up to the stairs and hits the Author with her first shot. The second shot misses as the Author uses Protagonist's Fate again. O'Neill tries to hit her with Chill Touch and misses, then uses Action Surge and misses again. 
The Storybook turns a page as the Author uses Ethos is heal damage. Teal'c again uses Conjure Animals to summon Einstein and Copernicus again, whose attacks cause the Author to use Protagonist's Fate once again. The Author uses Tragic Flaw to reduce Carter's Intelligence by 1. Jackson casts Faerie Fire and illuminates the Author in bright light. The Author uses Ink Spray to try and damage Einstein and fails, then tries to run from the Octopi and gets grabbed, using Protagonits's Fate to cause one attack to miss. The Mirrored Octopi move in and grapple Einstein. Carter casts Branding Smite and shoots the Author, who uses Protagonist's Fate to cause it to miss. The second shot lands and smites the Author, who in an act of desperation stabs the pen into her Storybook and destroys it along with the last Paper Elemental. She then disappears, and the Mirrored Octopi disappear with her. A few moments later, she reappears at the top of the balcony. Teal'c hits her with a Produce Flame, and the Octopi land a final hit on the Author. She disappears into many pedals of pink energy, which dissapate a moment later. The room becomes silent. 
Jackson searches for book in the library, and finds one titled "The Adventures of Chef Haul Pollywood", about a baker who saves a village from a Giant by animating a small army of Gingerbread men. Carter pulls out the diary she had found, and finds the page she had initially read is torn out and gone. On the next page she finds the words "Thank you for showing me what you are truly made of. Best wishes on your future endeavors". As the party looks up, appearing from nowhere is a Stargate at the beginning of the room. A Dial Home Device appears at the top of the stairs, and Jackson joins Carter to dial home. The wormhole appears out of the Stargate, and the party begins to slowly move to the Stargate. Carter sets the diary on the floor and moves through. Jackson picks up the pen off the floor, and the rest of the party move through. 
The scene moves to show the Author climbing a mountain, with the book and the pen in her hand. The book is glowing, and showing a montage of all the events that have preceded. As she gets to the summit of the mountain, she sits down on a rock and looks down at the book. The glow slowly fades, and the Author frowns, but she closes the book and stows it in her bag. She looks out to the horizon, smiles, and starts hiking down the mountain......... 
=== Death Synopsis ===
* The Players cleared the final floor and completed the dungeon
=== Post Mortem Recap ===
* The Players and the GM thanked all involved with the creation, running, and streaming of the show
*Tune in next week as the entire dungeon, all encounters, and all custom monsters are revealed. 
Category:Deadly Dungeon Episodes