Episode 128 - A Lakeside Encounter

I am always looking for an excuse to make a new friend. Sometimes I will go to the local tavern and just start talking/ arm wrestling folks if I am feeling frisky. Sometimes fate sends you back to your favorite lake and you get to meet a brand new friend. But, what if your new bestie is what they seem to be? Can’t let a few mishaps get in the way of friendship, right?

## **Story**

### Long Story

The characters begin the episode surrounding Zird's dead body. Aludra and Harper mention that they want to loot Zird's body, but Ros informs them that she has already looted them, and all he had was butterscotch candies. Harper screams that he "feels friggin' weird," and the Fortress of Yeenoghu is starting to crumble. The characters feel a noticeable drop, because the magic that was holding it together is gone. Jaela mentions that she does not feel necessarily Good anymore, and she is reluctant to give up Blood Drinker to Thom.

Ros pulls Thom aside and tells him that he must get Blood Drinker back from Jaela. Thom intimidates Jaela into giving Blood Drinker back to him by trying to show intense concern, saying that she cannot handle Blood Drinker. Jaela says that Thom can take Blood Drinker, but it wasn't necessarily the right time. She grudgingly gives Thom the sword, although Thom is hesitant to take it (while really it is Mike who is hesitant to take it from Nika). Jaela forces Thom to take the sword, as the building around them starts to crumble.

The adventurers jump on the backs of their Griffons, as the Fortress of Yeenoghu crumbles on top of the gnome slaves that are carrying the fortress. They head toward a pond, where Harper walked on water previously. They notice a small, dark figure huddling against the trunk of one of the tress near the pond. They believe it to be a Drow woman. Harper attempts to communicate with the woman in Underdark, when the woman opens her mouth, and blood begins to pour out. The figure that appears to be a drow then moves towards the adventurers, and moves to initiate combat.

At the beginning of combat, Harper attempts to dominate the creature in front of them, and the dark elf woman begins to morph into another shape. It turns out to be a Yochlol, a servant of Lolth. This creature appears to be almost tree-trunk shaped, mustard-yellow in color, and almost waxy in appearance. It is known to be a shapeshifter. Harper then flies away from them. Thom then moves to attack the Yochlol with Blood Drinker, and rolls with advantage because he rages. He misses the creature with both of his attacks. Jaela names the creature as her Vow of Enmity, sacks a third level spell to add additional damage. She does 40 points of damage. The Yochlol then casts *Dominate Person* on Jaela, but Jaela makes her saving throw. Aludra decides to cast Moonbeam on the Yochlol, and hits for 16 points of radiant damage.

Harper then decides to cast Magic Missile at 5th level, which shoots 7 darts at the Yochlol and hits for 21 damage, and flies away from the monster. Thom then tries to redeem himself, and hits the creature twice for 37 damage. Jaela then moves to hit the creature, which does 24 points of damage. The Yochlol moves to attack Thom, which critically hits him for 5 bludgeoning damage and 21 poison damage, which is the halved numbers because of Thom's resistance to those damage types. At the end of the second round, Aludra does Branding Smite before attacking with a melee attack, and hits the creature for 14 damage, killing the Yochlol, dispersing it into a Yochlol mist...

### Short

They escape the moving city as it falls apart. Jaela and Thom argue about Blood Drinker before she gives it to him, though both are reluctant about it. Escaping on griffons, the group reaches a lake, where they are met by a fearsome fiend, a Yochlol! They make short work of it, however.

## **Trivia**

* This is the first, in continuity, full episode of them playing fifth edition. Plus some other qualifiers I probably forgot.

## **In This Episode...**

### **Cast and Player Characters**

* Michael DiMauro - *Dungeon Master*
* Tim Lanning - Lord Titus Harper
* Jennifer Cheek - Aludra Wyrmsbane
* Mike Bachmann - Thom Vidalis / Steve Meloncamp
* Nika Howard - Jaela

### **Pets/Familiars**

* Blood Drinker
* Daisy

### **Locations**

* Yeenoghu's Moving City
	+ Yeenoghu's Fortress
* Some Lake

### **Quest Log Updates**

* [On-hold] - End the Demon Apocalypse / Kill Fennekin
	+ [On-hold] - Destroy the Demon Portal device with the Hammer of Sundering
* [On-hold] - Find Adira Harper
	+ [On-hold] - Investigate the "Devil" situation northwest of Mastwick
* [Optional] - Clean up Drunkeros
	+ [Optional] - Investigate the Mind Flayers in the Swamps of Ichtaka
	+ [Optional] - Investigate Pyre ruling Mastwick
	+ [Optional] - Investigate the Church of Bahamut's army
	+ [Optional] - Recruit the assistance of the Dwarves in Deephome
	+ [Optional] - Recruit the assistance of the Elves in Galanthis
* [Backburner] - Find a way to get Steve Meloncamp out of Thom's head

### **Quotes**

**"I feel friggin' weird!!!"** ~ *Titus Harper, after the change to the Fifth Edition of Magic*

## **Rolls**

* **Recap**
	+ Bachmann - 2
	+ Jennifer - 10
	+ Tim - 5
	+ Nika - 14

* There is a roll-off for Blood Drinker, Thom's Intimidate vs Jaela's Wisdom
	+ Thom - 26
	+ Jaela - 17

* **Jaela** rolls *Persuasion* to get Thom to take Blood Drinker - 20
	+ Against Thom's *Wisdom* - doesn't roll, since he would get -1 for his Wisdom, which means it's a max 19 so it's pointless (Although, if he got a Nat20 he would win anyway).

* **Harper** rolls *Perception* to look upon the figure at the lake - 14
	+ He thinks it looks like a Drow woman

*Combat Begins vs the Drow*

* **Initiative**
	+ Harper - 18
	+ Thom/Steve - 17 - Roll-off - 4
	+ Jaela - 17 - Roll-off - 2
	+ Drow
	+ Aludra - 6

*Round One*

* **Harper**
	+ Uses Dominate Person on drow, requiring a DC 16 WIS saving throw - ??
		- She transforms into something different!

* **Harper** uses *Arcana* to see if it is a Yochlol - 19
	+ Yeah, it is a Yochlol. (He also knows it is immune to poison)

* **Thom/Steve**
	+ Uses Blood Drinker on the Yochlol - 13
		- Miss
	+ Attacks Twice - rolled worse

* '*Jaela*
	+ Names it as her Vow of Enmity
	+ Melee Attack (x2) - 21
		- Hit - 6 damage
	+ Uses a 3rd level spell slot to add damage
		- 25 + 9 + 8 more damage

* **Yochlol**
	+ Casts Dominate Person on Jaeler, requiring a DC 14 WIS saving throw - 18
		- Success - It does nothing

* '*Aludra*
	+ Uses her new Moonbeam power, requiring a DC 15 saving throw - 2
		- Fail - 16 radiant damage

*Round Two*

* **Harper**
	+ Uses Magic Missile at 5th level - Automatic Hit
		- 21 damage

* **Thom**
	+ Melee Attack (x2) - 22, 19
		- Hit, Hit - 16 + 18 damage

* **Jaela**
	+ Melee Attack - 20
		- Hit - 24 total damage

* **Yochlol**
	+ Attacks Thom - Nat20
		- Hit - 5 bludgeoning damage, 21 poisoning damage

* **Aludra**
	+ Uses Branding Smite along with her hammer melee attack - 16
	+ Hit - 14 - kills it!