Episode 98

This is Episode 98 of Dice, Camera, Action.

(Holly) Strix - Tiefling Sorcerer

(ProJared) Diath - Human Rogue

(Nathan) Paultin - Human Bard

(Travis McElroy) Magnus Burnsides - Human Fighter/Rogue

#### Battle With the Mind Flayer

This session starts with the group in the middle of a battle. The waffle crew is fighting the mindflayer and two trolls with balls and chains. Floating around them are spores and two zombie beholders, surrounded by beholder-like balloons.

The players roll initiative. Diath gets to go first. Jared says that we hear a record scratch. "Yep, that's me. You're probably wondering how I got here..."

The group has lost a total of 100 hit points. Chris says that they can divide it up amongst them however they like.

Magnus takes 30

Naska takes 10

Strix takes 10

Diath takes 15

Paultin takes 20

Evelyn takes 15

The battle commences and almost immediately, Magnus drops the mindflayer. The players realize all these bad guys are here because Magnus is so powerful.

Paultin is hit by an eye ray. He takes 45 force damage and he is reduced to 0 hit points. It's a disintegration ray! He's a pile of ash. He's dead.

Strix *polymorphs* a beholder zombie into a rat. It was hovering 20 feet up. The rat falls, takes damage, and reverts back into to a beholder.

Evelyn is hit with a *disintegrate* ray. She's still up.

Evelyn finds a symbol of Lathander. It has magical properties. The symbol is so bright, it could reflect the sunlight coming down through a grate in the ceiling. She reflects it and tries to blind the beholder. It works. Then, she charges it and rolls a natural 20. It's dead.

The other beholder yawns, and a tiny beholder pops out of its mouth and disappears into a pipe. The bad guys have been defeated.

People in the chat are joking around about Paultin's death. They say that he is on the Drunk off my Ash Tour.

#### Father Sunbright

Evelyn gets a magical message from Father Sunbright. He wants to meet with her.

The group is a bit distraught over dead Paultin. Magnus has a pocket dimension/workshop. He goes into it and grabs 2,000 gp. He comes out and gives it to the group.

The heroes learn that the mindflayer's true lair is in the Xanathar guild's hideout, which is apparently a dungeon complex. There's one flaw in it.. Xanathar's pet fish. The Xanathar would go crazy if anything happened to the fish.

The heroes go to the spires, a temple of Lathander. Inside, the heroes see that there are alcoves with statues in them. One alcove contains a very newly-made statue of Evelyn. A priest is describing Evelyn to a group of tourists. The money to make this statue was donated by House Amkathra, a family linked to a child who had the death curse.

Father Sunbright is chastising an acolyte. He once served in Daggerford.

Strix produces a *true resurrection* scroll that the group had gotten from the Sewn Sisters.

Evelyn goes off with Father Sunbright to speak in private. The rest of the group sits on a bench. The bench has designs related to Amaunator. The heroes notice that a lot of iconography in the church related to Lathander is being replaced with Amaunator.

Magnus thinks that this whole thing feels "hinky" and he suggests that Diath sneak around a bit.

Father Sunbright brings Paultin back to life. He wakes up and curses the name of Perkins. Evelyn sees him awaken and starts weeping.

When the group asks why Lathander is being downplayed in favor of Amaunator, they are told that Lathander is the reincarnation of Amaunator. It is he who is the foundation of the faith. They are one and the same. Evelyn asks why the change. Is it a rebrand?

Father Sunbright says that they are bringing forth the past so it never gets forgotten.

#### The Waffle House

Magnus has to leave, but he wants to give the group a gift. He owns a mansion in a wealthy section of Waterdeep. He offers to let the group stay there.

The main floor is a tavern fully stocked with alcohol. It has four rooms, including one on the uppermost floor which lets in lots of sunlight.

As the group runs around in it, giddy, Magnus pulls Diath aside and gives him a magic stone that will allow the two to stay in touch.

Inside, Paultin begins drinking. He watches a bottle of wine float around. Apparently, the mansion is haunted.

End of Session.