Aerois - Episode 150: The Horde of Vine and Rot

Tom Hazell as Aila

Kim Richards as Nova V'ger

Rhiannon Frost as Sentry

 Tom Hazell as Qillek Ad Khollar

**The Horde of Vine and Rot** is the 150th episode of the Aerois Campaign. It was broadcast live on the highrollersdnd Twitch channel, and hosted on the Yogscast Twitch channel, on 19th June 2022 from 5PM to 8PM BST.

*The battle gets desperate as the Stormchasers face off against the horde of vine and rot!*

## **Summary**

### **Announcements**

* Mark welcomes everyone and introduces the players.
* Katie is away this week because she has Covid. Kim is back from her travels but is very tired.
* HR will be at TwitchCon Amsterdam on 16th and 17th of July. They will be doing a live 90-minute show at 2.15pm on Saturday 16th July on the main Glitch Stage. There will be costumes, props and sets, and they will be joined by Myre and Smajor as special guests. Kim will not be there. They will play a prologue for campaign 3: the game is set in the continent of Ilmera (in the world of Altheya. It is possible that the characters, if they survive, may live on as NPCs in the final world. There will be chat and audience voting that will affect what happens in the live game. It will be streamed live to Twitch’s main channel.
* Reminder that HR is on TikTok with almost 10k followers (there is something cool planned for 10K followers – maybe some story continuation or a little Q&A). Please follow dndhighrollers (https://www.tiktok.com/@dndhighrollers). Thanks to Sarah from YogTok who puts these together.
* If anyone works at or knows someone at CapCom, please tell the team about or get them involved in Dragons Dogma 2 because Mark, Tom and Trott are big fans. Dragon’s Dogma is a game that is inspired by TTRPGs like D&D.

### **Recap**

*"Travelling aboard the Stormchaser towards the northern jungles of Jakkesh in pursuit of the titan, Kellara, who has fallen into despair and grief and has turned her holy knights into mournful killers and hidden away in a demi-plane of unknown means and purpose. On the airship, there were attempts to train the Wolf Pack, including magical lectures and a game of ‘dodge the rock’ that did not end very well, as well as an incident involving beautiful, rare, magical birds that we will speak of no further. On arriving in Jakkesh, the area of the Grovebloom(sic) Valley seemed to be enshrouded in magical darkness. Descending to a camp outpost set up by the Guardian scouts, the champions found it abandoned, and from the tree line, a mass of skeletal creatures wrapped in black vines and roses emerged in vast, vast numbers. And now, the battle continues…"*

### **Part 1**

*The Stormchasers hold off against an ever increasing horde of undead!*

As they prepare to face down the endless skeletal hordes that have been attacking them, the darkness around them seems to tremble and waver for a moment. Suddenly the trees buckle and sway before they are hit with a gale of rushing air and a horrifying wailing shriek that seems to come deep from within the jungle itself. The black roses and vines within the skeletal creatures seem to swell – the roses grow in size, but the creatures appear to become more brittle and vulnerable. As they advance towards the party, a supernatural aura of sorrow and loss seems to follow them(see Trivia). (Mark reminds them that this is the top of turn four, the players also re-rolled initiative since last game).

Sentry heals Lucius and readies for the next onslaught as she takes damage from the minions surrounding her. Another pack comes scrambling over the nearby supply dump to try to surround them. Lucius takes damage from the skeletons surrounding him as their claws, bones, and broken weapons are used to slash at him, and even the vines within them whip out to lash him – he moves away from them to an area of safety before quickening a *Vitriolic Sphere* and throwing that at one of the packs, destroying seven skeletons and injuring another with dichromancy. As the acid explodes, it melts the minions, and they explode in vegetation – Quill receives a stack of grief rot from one that dies nearby. Another pack charges forward, bringing an aura of grief and sorrow with them.

Aila attacks a minion nearby, killing it, then moves to the pack surrounding Quill and Sentry before killing another two – Quill is affected by another stack of grief rot, being saved from another by the positive energy from Sentry’s matrix. Another pack moves in towards them and Nova catches them, Quill and Sentry in a *Reverse Gravity* spell, causing them to oscillate 100 feet up in the air. Quill takes slashing damage, poison damage from the grief rot and gains another stack of grief rot, then casts *Word of Radiance* and destroys four of the skeletons. He takes another three more stacks of grief rot, now cannot move and starts to oscillate 100 feet in the air. Quill heals himself which removes a stack of grief rot – the divine magic disperses the black miasma that had started to envelop him.

Sentry receives a *Sending* spell from Harper, the Guardian that had originally contacted her: “*Sentinel Prime, please hold out just a little longer – 30 seconds. Preparing extraction route and suitable distraction. Over.”*

As the message ends, another three minion packs come from around them as well as another Dead Root, a mass of plant life embedded with skulls and black vines that has almost come to life on its own. Sentry uses *Plant Growth* to create a thick bed of spongy moss that she will be able to fall on when the *Reverse Gravity* spell ends. Lucius is attacked by another group of minions, and they overwhelm him, knocking him unconscious and affecting him with grief rot. Another pack moves in towards Nova and Aila, Aila moves to defend Lucius and destroys three of the skeletons, screening him from the remainder of that pack. Yet another pack moves forward, Nova heads away from the incoming horde and casts *Eldritch Blast* at the minions near Lucius and Aila killing one, then another in the horde further away. She summons Tiangong and then drops the *Reverse Gravity*, dropping the minions to the ground – all of the skeletons that were 100 feet in the air die immediately, the ones that were dangling under the canopy fall to the ground, prone and injured, but still alive; Sentry falls on her sponge and takes damage, Quill falls to 5 feet above the ground and flaps his wings to remain in the air.

Aila and Lucius’ body are almost completely surrounded by another incoming pack. The Dead Root moves up and pulses – a barrier of green energy surrounds the minions near it, enhancing them, and it attacks Quill and Sentry with its vines. Quill is poisoned and is given another stack of grief rot – he falls to the ground, unable to move, Sentry dodges the attack. Quill casts *Mass Cure Wounds*, healing everyone and removing a stack of grief rot from everyone, and a horde surrounds Tiangong’s echo, believing it to be another person.

Another pack of skeletons arrives at the clearing. Sentry *Misty Steps* over to Aila and then casts *Sunbeam* to destroy three of the skeletons, but the bright light attracts another group. Lucius and Sentry take another stack of grief rot and six skeletons swarm towards Nova. Lucius takes slashing damage before he quaffs a healing potion, removing a stack of grief rot, then moves away from the undead, and casts an acidic *Chromatic Orb* at the Dead Root, the acid melting away skulls and bones to display tubers and blackened roots pulsing like hearts within the cavity. The Dead Root turns its attention on Lucius.

Another pack swarms in towards Lucius and is empowered by the Dead Root as they get closer to it.

### **Part 2**

*The battle gets desperate as the Stormchasers face off against the horde of vine and rot!*

Aila takes slashing cuts from the minions around her then moves over to the Dead Root and starts whacking it with her hammer – she strikes at the gaping wound that was left by Lucius and it is barely standing by the time she has finished. Another pack swarms in to surround Tiangong, the ones surrounding them destroy it, Nova takes damage and gets a stack of grief rot, and she manifests Tiangong again. Nova swings wildly, missing with her first attack, and Tiangong hits one next to them. Nova hits with her last two strikes, killing three more skeletons and getting another two stacks of grief rot.

The Dead Root attacks Aila, Quill and Lucius: Lucius is hit, gaining another stack of grief rot, Quill and Aila are missed. Quill takes damage from the surrounding skeletons, uses *Expeditious Retreat* to move into the middle of the pack and casts *Destroy Undead*: the flowers on the Dead Root open up and pull the divine energy of the spell into it and it is destroyed from the inside along with two of the minions. Three more skeleton packs and another Dead Root enter the fray. Sentry casts *Sunbeam* again, tearing six of the skeletons apart before another pack charges towards her. Lucius is hit once more, being rendered unconscious and gaining another stack of grief rot. Aila and Quill are surrounded by a surge of skeletons: Aila swings her hammer, slaying three skeletons but being affected by two stacks of grief rot, Quill also takes two stacks and now cannot move again.

Nova is slashed by the skeletons surrounding her – she manifests Tiangong, destroys two skeletons and wounds one, then Tiangong finishes that one off. Nova takes another stack of grief rot. The Dead Root moves into centre of the camp, empowering the skeletons nearby, and Quill (badly injured) casts *Mass Cure Wounds* again, healing those around him and removing a stack of grief rot. Many more skeletons move in, and they are totally surrounded and outnumbered.

Sentry takes massive damage from the surrounding horde that immediately cuts off her sunbeam as her concentration is broken, she swings out with her lance and cleaves through five of the skeletons. Lucius is once more overwhelmed by the scrabbling horde and sinks into unconsciousness yet again. Aila is totally surrounded by skeletons, and she removes another three of the undead from the fight.

Tiangong is destroyed and re-summoned nearer to the Dead Root, Nova then swaps places and hits it with multiple blows. The Dead Root retaliates with attacks against Nova, Quill and Aila – Nova gets Tiangong to take her massive blow, Aila takes a hit and gets more grief rot, and Quill avoids the blow on him before taking enough slashing damage from the skeletons that he is downed. The remaining skeletons pile into the fray, slashing at Sentry – she is almost downed until the Prime Matrix bursts with light, bringing her back with *Undying Sentinel.* Sentry uses her *Lay on Hands* ability to heal Quill and quaffs a healing potion. Aila is scratched and clawed by a dozen minions, getting another stack of grief rot, she throws caution to the wind and lays about her with her hammer, destroying all those around her. Aila then moves to Lucius and destroys another two of the hive undead.

Nova activates *Tomb of Levistus* to survive before the Dead Root attacks Quill, missing, and Aila, injuring her badly. Quill notices movement in the treeline – cloaks covering plants, metal, and stone. He begins to see the reflection of light as twenty plant-covered metallic creatures take careful position around them. Quill casts *Mass Cure Wounds* to heal them all and reduce their stacks of grief rot.

As the healing light washes over them, the packs of the skeletal minions surge forwards again with new packs coming in from the distance. Suddenly, an incredibly loud and bright explosion detonates  few miles away – they can see and hear it even through the thick, tangled mass of the trees in the valley. The earth beneath their feet almost shudders as if in pain, and the trees and plants nearby spasm, creak, and groan. The Dead Root starts to decompose, turning to moistened mulch and scattered skulls and bones at a rapid rate. The undead react in panicked anger, seeming distracted. From the forest around them, flights of arrows, magic projectiles, and beams of force all fire at once in great volleys – they hear the call for a second and third volley and instructions for them to duck. With their combined efforts, the undead are decimated.

Emerging from the shadows, their bodies covered in moss, mud, and hastily made camouflage cloaks, comes a force of twenty Guardians. One, with a hint of pink and lavender peeking out from the smeared mud and camouflage cloak, has wheels built into her feet – she comes over to them and urges them to leave with them through the exit route. She wants to take them to Commander Hotshot at the second outpost, and the Guardians assist those who are too badly affected by grief rot to move. They do notice that the effects of the grief rot begin to pass after a few minutes, however. The wheeled Guardian (Gearshift), Harper, and another called Wayfinder (who casts *Pass Without a Trace)* help them make a slow and stealthy journey to their second outpost.

## **YouTube Timestamps**

0:00:00 - Intro
0:07:56 - Dun Duns
0:08:54 - Part 1
1:17:44 - Part 2

## **Featured Characters**

#### **The Stormchasers (Player Characters)**

* Aila (played by Tom Hazell)
* Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto
* Nova V'ger
* Qillek Ad Khollar
* Sentry

#### **New NPCs**

* Gearshift
* Wayfinder

#### **Returning NPCs**

* Dowser
* Harper

## **Featured Locations**

* Jakkesh
	+ Graveblooom Valley

## **Trivia**

* Mark refers to the “Grovebloom Valley” in the recap. He has always referred to it previously as “Gravebloom Valley”.
* After the introduction, Mark explained that this was his in-game explanation for a couple of tweaks that he made to combat. Some of the changes came about from chatting in the Discord, others from MCDM’s new book, “Flee, Mortals!”
	+ For melee wariors, Mark introduced the concept of “overdamage” – if a creature was killed, the extra damage would then move to the next target in reach (if melee), or the next creature behind (if ranged). Spells and cantrips are unaffected.
	+ Mark increased the damage that the minions do (8 points per minion instead of 7), but the total damage done is reduced by the player’s AC, e.g., if a PC had an AC of 15 and took 35 damage, they would reduce the damage by 15 and take 20 damage instead.
	+ There is a change to what happens when the minions die, but Mark would not spell that out at the start. Everyone started as unentangled.
	+ The Stormchaser’s fire support: if the PCs create a single source of bright light 20 feet across (but no more or less) – a light spell or a torch, for example, the Stormchaser can use that as a target. Sunbeam is too bright and they cannot pinpoint the target. Any minions caught in the blast will be destroyed, PCs will have to roll a Dex saving throw or take damage.
	+ Anything that causes flammable materials to ignite (such as *Fireball*) will now also summon more minions like other things that cause light or loud noise.
	+ Taking more than 25 damage from the minions gives a stack of “grief rot” – an overwhelming sense of sorrow and loss begins to sap away at your soul. Each stack of grief rot reduces your speed by 5 ft and causes 1 point of poison damage at the start of your turn.
	+ Minions still automatically fail saving throws. They are immune to certain effects that are unknown.
	+ Restoring hit points via a spell or an ability removes one stack of grief rot.
	+ Minions are unaffected by difficult terrain if that is caused by natural means (e.g., *Plant Growth, etc),* and no longer leave difficult terrain when they die (but have a chance of giving grief rot stacks instead).
	+ Giving disadvantage to minions (e.g., through a Paladin’s Protection reaction) makes that one minion’s attack do half damage.
* Kim points out that Trott has grazes on his hand this week. Trott’s explanation is that he put a plate away in the cupboard and the cupboard attacked him. It may have been a mimic.
* This episode is the first where there was a proper miniature for the Tiangong echo – it was Nova’s old mini that had been painted with blue holographic paint.
* Mark admits that he constantly forgets to use the Dead Root’s boost.
* Kim has an issue that a lit torch creates 20 feet of bright light, but the *Bonfire* spell does not say that it creates any light. Tom reminds her of *Travel via Plant*. Mark suggests that she writes a “strongly worded email” to Jeremy Crawford about it. Nightjar suggested in Twitch chat that they make a TikTok of Kim writing a polite email of complaint.
* At one point, Aila is surrounded by enough minions that even with a quarter damage, she takes 38 points of damage – Tom declares that she is down. Mark looks confused and denies this – until Rhi tells Tom that he is looking at Quill’s character sheet and hit points.
* Quill takes so many stacks of grief rot that at one point he is at negative speed, and Tom asks if that means that he can move backwards.
* Mark gets a message from Nina mid-stream which makes a very loud “ding” through his laptop. She is asking if Mark wants fish and chips.