17: MULLIGAN

**Session 16 was a struggle. We’re trying again.**

* **We stick the doorknob on the door and open it. We begin initiative immediately in the largest room of all time that we’re definitely going to die in (again). The room is lit, though, which is an improvement over last time.**

* + **There’s a big ol’ plinth 15 feet in front of us. We should touch it. It contains a topographical map of the geography surrounding the tomb.**
	+ **There are also two rows of big ol’ stone pillars, in the center of which is a “large magical circle.” We should definitely not touch it.**
	+ **At the opposite side of the room are two other plinths with gold slabs and braisers burning giant fires. Between these two plinths is an altar.**
* **We move in. We feel unsettled (duh). We all stand around looking cool and readying actions. The camera circles around us menacingly. Except for Adele, who is distracted by shining gold plinths. There’s a big noise and we all react. We split up in classic Scooby-Doo style.**

* + **Oris consecrates a big ol’ circle. Immediately, a column of darkness falls over the consecrated area. Adele’s head radiates in this consecrated area. Oris casts light and that helps a little. Tarlenheim lights lanthorn with oil and his blood; he can see shit just fine in a 10ft radius, but it’s all black and white. Fina’s still good outside.**
	+ **Adele gets a magical glass lightning axe thrown at her by a mummyboy. It misses, but smashes into the wall and emits more lightning. She dodges. Durk moves in the direction of that ruckus.**
	+ **Fina hears faint sounds of something approaching behind her, the way we came. A man appears from around the corner, immediately recognizable as one of the earl’s huntsman, Logan. (It’s the new guy who is joining our session, Lane.) He was walking around the Barrow Downs and noticed one tomb’s door was option.**

* + - **In a long expository moment, we learn that the leader of the Court of Malice can be killed with a staff/spear/long piercing thing with a thistle on the end.**
	+ **Tarlenheim uses his magical gun to shoot the mummyboy, which catches him on fire (as a mummy, he is quite vulnerable to fire). Praxis bows him with a holy water arrow, doing a bunch of damage.**
	+ **Kang, in a totally different part of the room, explores an area full of coffins. There are 8; all look the same from a distance. Oris grabs Gilda and walks to the edge of the darkness, deploying Gilda to cast guidance on Adele. She is guided. Mummyboy jumps up with his bigol’ axe and smashes it on the ground, releasing a thunderwave. Tarlenheim fails his save, is pushed back a bunch, and takes some damage. Praxis does, too.**
	+ **Fina and Logan move into the darkness begrudgingly. Adele flies up and shoots him with the noodle. Durk rushes out of the darkness towards the confrontation, who immediately feels that his totem god is whispering words at him about the axe. He knows this but can’t explain why yet.**
	+ **Tarlenheim stands up, peeks around a corner to see a room full of sarcophagi, then blasts mummyboy with some more fire. Mummyboy burns into a crispyboy. As his body crumbles, a shadowy remnant of his soul remains behind. He emits a terrible, forlorn, sad sound. He is a dead sadboi. Durk takes the axe.**
* **Kang peeps up a set of stairs and sees a sarcophagus moving and runs back to the party – bolting through the magical darkness – screaming loudly that “Something is happening!” until he ends up next to Tarlenheim. Tarlenheim takes up the charge and runs back across the magical darkness with Kang, yelling and leading the charge of Praxis, Adele, and Fina. We listen intently while Oris and Logan hang in the darkness.**

* + **Adele looks at the summoning circle nearby, which has a ring of text. Fina and Durk read it together (friendship!). The text around it has something to do with a colossal ritual that gets this tomb into the Shadowfell’s transdimensional space. We infer that we are in the Shadowfell.**
	+ **Tarlenheim peeps up the stairs and sees a wight holding up the huge slab of stone that encloses its sarcophagus. It’s purple eyes make direct eye contact with Tarlenheim as it flicks the stone slab off of its hand. Nine tons of rock smash into the floor. Kang pulls Tarlenheim back.**
* **The whole area falls into darkness, the wight dispelling the illusory magic that comprised all the features of this place. The circle, etc. are all gone. We hear a “foomp” noise (a la Nightcrawler) that implies the wight is moving. The table with the topographic map near Oris is still there, although the magic is wearing away quickly.**

* + **Praxis chucks a bottle of holy water at him, but the wight dodges. He dashes back toward the consecrates circle. Logan bravely backs away, away. The baddie attacks Fina and disappears. Adele calls for everyone to retreat to the consecrated area and runs back, a halo once again appearing around her head. Tarlenheim runs back to sanctuary and taunts the baddie. Durk returns. Kang scoops up bloodied Fina and returns to the consecrated area. Oris heals Fina.**
	+ **Praxis returns to consecrated area. Logan readies his action. The baddie strikes Durk with a fiery sword, catching nearby Logan on fire. Logan’s readied action happens, doing some damage. Adele swings her hammer. Tarlenheim stabs a bunch. Oris shouts for us to lure him inside the circle. Durk burns through all of his luck to pull the noncorporeal creature into the consecrated area. Kang rages, attempts to smash two vials of holy water into the baddie’s chest but misses, magical axes him in the goddamn fucking face, knocks him fucking prone, and entangles him for a bunch of fucking damage fuck this guy. Fina tesla-coils the motherfucker for a bunch of fucking damage DOUBLE FUCK THIS GUY. Oris misty steps her way to the baddie and dragonsbreath lighting all over this fucking asshole. Gilda appears, weaving between the legs of the party, and speaks: “The great hero who killed Barbazall sends his greetings.” and then claws into his burning purple-fire eye sockets. Oozing liquid energy splashes out of his eye sockets all over Gilda’s paws, draining the last bit of life from his now-corporeal form. Gilda cleans her paws.**
* **A luminous ghostly figure appears by the head of Barbazol’s corpse. He is Sigfred, the hero depicted in the frescos outside of this chamber. He says to Gilda, “I have held to my bargain. So it is and it is done.” in Sylvan (which Fina understands). The ghost regards the party, pointing towards the back end of the chamber.**
* **We are still in Shadowfell.**
* **We loot Barbazall’s corpse.**

* + **Barbazall’s Black Gauntlet**
	+ **Barrowraiser – returning to Tarlenheim! It’s necrotic aura dies away, leaving behind a shadowy resonance. It now inflicts cold damage instead of necrotic damage. It may also strike a creature partially in shadow as if it exists on the same plane as the sword’s wielder.**
	+ **A belt – looks to be of incredibly ancient make. Has stood up most suspiciously to the rigors of time. Should we take to Nimrond?**
	+ **A ring of two hands clasping gently – Oris takes that.**

**XP from this session:**

* **Take 175 per person for the Lightning Lord.**
* **Take 875 per person for defeating Barbazol.**

**NEXT TIME:**

* **LOOTING ALL THE GEMSTONES AND MONEY AND WHATEVER IS IN THIS TOMB.**
* **LOOTING THE ALTAR AT THE TOP OF THE TOMB.**
* **Also maybe do the window thing to loot the material plane tomb.**
* **RETURNING TO TOWN TO TALK TO NIMROND AND IDENTIFY SOME ITEMS.**
* **RETURNING TO TOWN TO SELL A BUNCH OF STUFF AND GET RICH RICH RICH.**

**Loot from Slack:**

* **Chime of opening- 10 uses. Opens locks, doors, treasure chests**
* **Mysterious black cloak (Oris)**
* **Amulet of health (Durk)**
* **Animated Shield Praxis (Kang as backup). Uh- Adele wants! Think about this shield flying around when Adele is all angel-ly and shit.**
* **Arrow-Catching Shield- Adele maybe**
* **Bracers of Defense Oris or some other caster should probably have these.**
* **Belt of Dwarvenkind (Durk)**
* **Cape of the Mountebank (Oris will take if nobody wants. he can add it to his cape collection.)**
* **Cloak of the bat Adele? For extra sneak-flying???**
* **Dark shard amulet (warlocks only)**
* **Cloak of billowing (action: cloak will billow)**

* + **https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/cloak-of-billowing**
* **Dread helm (makes your eyeballs glow)**

* + **https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/dread-helm**
* **Clothes of mending (elegant outfit, won't get wrecked) Kang**

* + **https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/clothes-of-mending**
* **Enduring spellbook (can't be destroyed) (Oris if Fina doesn't want it)**

* + **https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/enduring-spellbook**
* **Magic replacement eyeball (let's hold onto this just in case one of us loses an eye)**

* + **https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/ersatz-eye**
* **Staff of Swarming Insects (tentative Oris dibs)**
* **Cloak of Arachidna (tentative Oris dibs)**
* **Bag of holding (Oris, just temporarily while he SHOVES IT FULL OF GOLD AND LOOT)**
* **2k guilder jewelry**
* **Stone of good luck (Tarlenheim)**
* **Special magical ring (Oris)**
* **Circlet of blasting (Serafina)**