C2 E78

Starting to think building a little community down here underground was maybe a mistake. Seems like every other day some form of baddy tries to kill us. Oh well.

## **Story**

### Long Story

Ratma Ritmo is gone, having left for Farhold to investigate the rumors of an impending attack that could lead to war. Thaldin Emberbrew has fallen back to sleep, having just cryptically delivered the news to R'Oarc that "They're coming!" Now, she wakes the boy, and presses him for more information. He had a dream that "the bad people" are coming. He can't describe these bad people, but he does draw a picture.

R'Oarc uses her *Animate Dead* spell to create a skeletal hand, which she sends to scurry about and deliver messages to her friends. This hand belongs to, at first, Stephanie, who's currently assigned to Grimshaw Shadowhoof. Then, it becomes the hand of Wally Bonebraids, which is funny because, back in Episode 46, R'Oarc did convince Wally to cut off one of his fingers and gives it to her. This was promptly forgotten about, but now, R'Oarc maybe has Wally's hand. Or maybe not, since it's later referred to as "Stephanie's hand", so who knows?

Anyway, the hand visits T'Chuck first, who isn't too surprised to see it. He makes his way to The Goblin Pit Too. The hand next goes up to Selene's room. In the last episode, R'Oarc and Selene were sharing a room, but now, they seem to be in different rooms. That's fine. Selene goes downstairs to join the others. The hand finally goes to get Screech in his cave.

Everyone gathers in the tavern of the Goblin Pit, where R'Oarc shows them all Thaldin's picture. The creatures that are apparently coming for them are big, spider-like, but also human-like. Kind of half-human, half-spider creatures. Like Driders, perhaps?

Suddenly, they are interrupted by the sounds of screaming from outside. Running to the door, they can see two giant spiders wreaking havoc around town. People are running and screaming. R'Oarc tries to trap them, by creating the *Silent Image* of a cage around them. This cage is not tangible- if they touch it, the illusion will reveal itself to be a fake- but it does at least stall the spiders for a while.

And then everything goes black!

Arrows begin firing at the party from several directions. One by the one, the group makes their way to the front door, or up the stairs, where they are able to see again. Seems to be a zone of magical darkness has been cast in the tavern, preventing them from seeing while standing in it. And who's to blame for this nefariousness? Why, three ugly-looking Drow, of course!

There's a mighty battle. Two Drow at the top of the stairs keep loosing arrows into various party members, while a third in the kitchen swings a sword at others. They don't prove too much of a threat, however. It's not long until Beholder-doodle is able to use his Bear Claws (why does a dog have those?) to kill the kitchen Drow. At the top of the stairs, Selene blasts the other two with a well-timed *Lightning Bolt*. This fries one of them, but the other is still kicking. So, Selene uses her *Telekinetic Shove* to push him off the banister, where he breaks his neck with a sickening crunch.

After the battle, the party feels invigorated enough to become Level 8!

### Short

After Thaldin's warning that "They're coming!", R'Oarc summons the other party members to the tavern of the Goblin Pit Too, by way of Stephanie's (or Wally Bonebraids') re-animated skeletal hand. Together, they look at a drawing made by Thaldin which shows who, or what, is coming. It's spider-human creatures, most likely Driders! Suddenly, the party is attacked by 3 Drow, who use magical darkness to blind the party. Screech kills one, and Selene kills the other two, one with a *Lightning Bolt*, and the other by shoving him off a balcony, which breaks his neck.

## **Trivia**

* The magical darkness caused by the Drow can't even be cut through by Screech's Darkvision Goggles.
* It's unclear if the Level 8 situation happens immediately, or if they need to sleep first.

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

### **Cast and Player Characters**

* Michael DiMauro - *Dungeon Master*
* Tim Lanning - T'Chuck
* Jennifer Cheek - Selene von Esper
* Nika Howard - R'Oarc
* Mike Bachmann - Beholder-doodle (Screech Echo)

### **Non-Player Characters**

* Thaldin Emberbrew
* The disembodied skeletal hand of Stephanie, or maybe Wally Bonebraids

### **Locations**

* The Underground
	+ Mineford
		- The Goblin Pit Too

### **Quest Board**

* [Active] - Find a cure for Thaldin Emberbrew
	+ [On-Hold] - Go to the nearby Drow city
* [On-Hold] - Save Selene's family!
* [On-Hold] - Investigate the mysterious goings-on to the east
* [On-hold] - Investigate "Bill, the Necromancer", in the far off city by the coast
* [On-hold] - Take the disembodied lips to the oceanfront, for a burial at sea

### **Quotes**

* **"Are you a serial killer?"** ~ *Tim Lanning*
**"No! You can't prove anything!"** ~ *R'Oarc*

## **Rolls**

* **R'Oarc** rolls *Perception* to see what Thaldin's drawings look like - Nat 20
	+ They looks spider-y, but also kind of like people.

* Some of them roll *Perception* to see what's going on out the window
	+ **T'Chuck** - 22
	+ **Selene** - 21
	+ **R'Oarc** - 22
		- There are two giant spiders strolling across town

*Combat Begins vs 3 Drow*

* *Initiative*
	+ **R'Oarc** - 21
	+ Drow 1
	+ **T'Chuck** - 20
	+ **Beholder-doodle** - 18
	+ Drow 2
	+ Drow 3
	+ **Selene** - 8

*Round One*

* **Drow 1**
	+ Ranged Attack (Shortbow) vs R'Oarc - ??
		- Miss

* **R'Oarc**
	+ Uses double movement/dash to make it to the staircase, and up the stairs

* **T'Chuck**
	+ Moves to the door, and goes outside
	+ Casts *Emboldening Bond* on R'Oarc, Selene, and Beholder-doodle

* **Beholder-doodle**
	+ Rolls *Stealth* to be hidden - 15
		- He feels stealthy
	+ Moves to the kitchen

* **Drow 2**
	+ Melee Attack vs T'Chuck - 12
		- Miss

* **Drow 3**
	+ Ranged Attack (Shortbow) vs Selene - ??
		- Miss

* **Selene**
	+ She runs to the stairs
	+ Casts *Fire Bolt* on Drow 3 (with Disadvantage) - 22
		- Hit - 7 Fire damage

*Round Two*

* **Drow 1**
	+ Ranged Attack (Shortbow) vs R'Oarc - Nat 1
		- Miss

* **R'Oarc**
	+ Casts *Vicious Mockery* on Drow 3, requiring a DC 14 *Wisdom Saving Throw* - 3
		- Fail - 7 Psychic damage

* **T'Chuck**
	+ Casts *Spirit Guardians*, requiring a *Wisdom Saving Throw* from Drow 2 - 12
		- Fail - 14 Radiant damage
	+ Moves halfway up the stairs, toward one of the Drow, requiring a *Wisdom Saving Throw* - 13
		- Fail - 15 Radiant damage

* **Beholder-doodle**
	+ Melee Attack vs Drow 2 (with Advantage) - > 22, 25
		- Hit, Hit - 36 damage - *Kills It*
	+ Moves toward the stairs

* **Drow 3**
	+ Ranged Attack (Shortbow) vs R'Oarc (with Disadvantage) - 21
		- Hit - 9 Piercing damage, also requires her to roll a *Constitution Saving Throw* - 9
			* Fail - She is Poisoned

* **Selene**
	+ Moves to the top of the stairs to get out of the darkness
	+ Casts *Lightning Bolt* on Drow 1 and Drow 3, requiring *Dexterity Saving Throws*
		- Drow 1 - 12
			* Fail - 29 Lightning damage
		- Drow 3 - < 12
			* Fail - 29 Lightning damage - *Kills It*
	+ Uses a Bonus Action to *Telekinetic Shove* Drow 1, requiring a *Strength Saving Throw* - 6
		- Fail - He is shoved off the railing - *Kills It*

*Combat Ends*