Run Date: March 21st, 2023
PCs
Rebel: Lv5 Monk
Malak: Lv4 Priest of Laurenia
Richard: Lv4 Fighter
14x Hench
Black Death: The Final Battle
Our third player finally managed to make it, and it was a good session for it. We spent the opening minutes reviewing the overall plan and giving Richard's player a quick run down of what she'd missed. After that, it was on.
The party headed to their usual route at the Oldtown Graveyard, though something had changed. The grave that usually greeted them now had a marble statue at its head, just behind the still-glowing lantern and cairn. Rebel stepped up to view the inscription, "I'm not a soldier, but I'm fighting. Can you hear me through the silence? I won't give up because there will be a day we'll meet again." James was a mentor of sorts, and reading the inscription hit her hard. Once she gathered herself, the party went on their way.
The descent into Blackwall was abnormally quiet; much of the soot remained, though there were no signs of patrols or monsters roaming around. The group navigated to Lazarus's sanctum and found the bathhouse void of any of the animal monstrosities they were used to greeting. As they moved to the spiral tower, they also discovered the crystals had faded. Inside an archway at the ground level, however, they spotted a scintillating light.
The group stepped into the hall they'd previously conversed with Lazarus in and found a crystal blade lying on the table. There was no sign of the patron. The players discussed what to do with the blade before touching it, and settled on Richard being the wielder. As he picked it up, it imparted its knowledge, and powers, to him. After noting down the mechanical bits (posted later), the group marched for Blackwall.
The party walked to one of the main streets and set their battle lines, then marched straight toward the center plaza where the Black Death would be found. As they reached their destination, the torchlight revealed a small garrison of sludge abominations. For simplicity, we'll refer to them as Spear, Dog, and Warbeast. The moment the group's light touched the first rank, the fight was on.
The party released a volley into the abominations they could see, dropping several of the Spears. The frontline decided to hold rank and prepare for the coming charge. What they didn't expect, however, was the pulsing of the Black Death to send out tremors. The party was still between several tall buildings, and those began to crumble. Each beat of the evil heart would bring down more debris as the fight progressed. For now, a few chunks hit the middle ranks for some chip damage. Meanwhile, the Dogs and Spear charged. The frontline held strong, and between Richard's barbarian crew and extra defensive bonuses from two of the Priests (Watched Over probably shouldn't stack), they were unlikely to drop anytime soon. The party could also hear wild bellows moving around to their flank. Malak commanded his fighter line to shift to the rear and prepare for a counter assault, meanwhile the barbarian crew shredded the enemy Dogs.
Though nobody had fallen, the impending collapse of the nearby buildings tested the henchmen's resolve. They held fast and true, and another volley went out, tearing away at another wave of Spears. As the walls continued to crumble, more hits went out and the terrain became rough. The Warbeasts were up as well, and charged straight into the middle ranks. They mauled anything they could reach, but the earlier command by Malak had the fighters at the ready. One of the henchmen hacked off an arm, and the others obliterated them. The player's side still held strong, and with the frontline clearing they could press forward.
A hard push and the continued flailing of the barbarian crew saw the party through, though not before the Black Death could continue it's tremor assault. More chunks fell as the walls began collapsing, knocking out one of the barbarians and another, weaker hench. Once the party broke free, Rebel turned to try and rescue her hench. She managed to get her out of there before the rest of the building crumbled. Richard attempted the same with his barbarian buddy, but couldn't make it in time and nearly got buried himself.
Their rear was escape route was blocked and the assaults had worn them down, but the party pressed on. They tore threw the remaining minions of the Black Death and marched across the bridges to the center platform where it had been originally released. The Black Death, over the course of the last week, had attempted to pool all of its resources into its own protection. The result: an amalgamation of bone, stone, and metal shielding.
The battle lines shifted a bit as the melee crew worked their way to the Heart. Volley after volley flew forth, chipping away at the shield. Meanwhile, the melee crew hammered away. The Black Death was not without defenses, however, and began releasing shockwaves and launching its plates. Vance was thrown into the water, and the others started taking hard hits. Nonetheless, they persevered.
As soon as an opening appeared, Rebel used her fist to plunge a Solvent into the sludge, melting a significant chunk of it away and revealing a tiny crystal shard. She immediately followed up by trying to grab it. The Black Death, in desperation, launched and all out assault and attempted to consume her. Rebel withstood blow after blow, refusing to let this little shard get away from her.
Legends say that Fate has a way of intervening in a tabletop game in ways that nobody can expect, but everyone secretly hopes for. Today was that day for us.
The party knew there was only one way to kill the Black Death, and Richard was the wielder of that weapon. He plunged the Blade of Lazarus deep into the sludge and felt the slight grind of glass against glass. Then, the Black Death melted. Massive chunks of its shielding began to collapse and rain down on the group, but they fled to the safety of the plaza. Vance managed to swim away just in time as well. A black rain began to pour all around them and collect within the pond. Richard, with the blessing of Fate, rolled a final critical hit.
While the rain fell down, a sense of relief washed over the group (both IRL and in game). They checked the bodies of their wounded allies and found that both had died; one succumbing to her wounds and the other being crushed by the wall. Finally, once the plates finished splashing, a massive metal ball crashed into the center platform. It destroyed the crystal that had been there and locked into its old base. As the group moved their light to check it, they found a beautiful prize: a huge ball of valuable metals. Rebel asked where the shard she grabbed onto went, and it was at this point Richard saw a new piece on his blade. With that, came one final piece of information: "Lazarus, the man who could heal wounds, the God that could extend life, has one final spark left to offer: Resurrection." The table roared.
The party quickly checked their supplies and set up a plan. With everyone helping, especially the raging barbarian crew ("You want your pay? Time to earn it!"), they managed to rope the heavy ball up and drag it through the water and onto the plaza walkways. After that they threw together a shield sled and marched home, victorious.
I'm a narrative guy at heart, and each step toward the surface was a mix of jokes (moving the ball up stairs) and relief (cool, fresh air and the drizzle of rain on the mausoleum's roof). I am also fond of a satisfying ending; and as the party moved their prize through the mud and worked toward the graveyard entrance, they found a familiar face.
At the base of James's new statue was a boy adorned in a traveling cloak with a small backpack. He greeted the party and asked how they were. They gave him the cliff notes and said that they hope everything can finally go back to normal. They then asked what his plans were. He replied by saying that he wanted to do more for his people (Nüra) and stop hiding in a stinky basement. With that, he walked out of the gates and turned a corner. The party got one last glance as a strange bill popped out of the boy's backpack: "The otterduck!"
We wrapped up the session with the usual calculations, a bit of back and forth roleplay, and discussion about "What next?"
We have been running using 1:1 time for about 8 months or so. The style was a first for all of us. With a major arc over, it was time to review. There comes a time in a game master's life where they can finally step back and bask in a job well done. For me, today was one of those days.
"This is probably the most fun I've ever had playing an RPG."
"I can't wait to see where the next adventure is going to take us!"
"I want to try out new characters. Maybe we should make a party of thieves or rangers and just go nuts."
There were some other things I wanted to chat about, but things got away from me. Oh well. Mission Success.
Rewards
15xp
890gp (PCs)
445gp (Hench)
10x Potions of Healing
Notes
Blade of Lazarus
-Max damage vs Slimes
-Suppress Slime special effects (regeneration, splitting, etc)
-Witchblade 1/wk
-Resurrection (Once)
Slimekiller Solvent (50gp): This solvent is tough on stains, especially the sentient sorts. You may spend an action to hurl a glass container up to 40ft, splashing a radius of 10ft for 2d4 damage vs amoebas, slimes, or similar creatures (no save). Damage dice that roll a 4 are rolled again and accumulate. If the multiple containers are combined into a single trap, each additional glass alternates between adding 1d4 damage or increasing the splash radius by 5ft (max 20ft).
The glass containing the solvent is formulated to shatter and burst when interacting with the enzymes in slime-like creatures.
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