Dolmenwood Session 09: Music, Magic, and Men
Thoughts
Well I never would have thought that a bunch of Level 5s could have taken on the AC20, +8 to hit, bile breath beast that was the wyrm. And if they had fought any other way but with ruthless trickery and hail mary experimentation they would have died.
There are few things that saved them from certain death:
- Tomumbolo casting bless on everyone let their weapons actually harm the beast.
- No Name and Milktongue distracting the dragon away from hunting for Wumbus and then engaging the rest of the force in an open area it could fly.
- Wumbus playing the pipes to stop the breath from happening at all.
- Milktongue thinking to use the Rose to put it to sleep and daring to do so from inside the beast's mouth.
All of these incredibly pivotal moments were a mixture of player ingenuity and the dice rolling in their favor. It was a fantastic session and I can not express at how proud I am of them for overcoming what was going to be a TPK if they brought anything less than their best.
Session
- Tomumbolo, Level 5 Mossling Cleric
- Prince Milktongue, Level 3 Grimalkin Enchanter
- No Name, Level 5 Woodgrue Thief
- Wumbus, Level 5 Woodgrue Hunter
The party responds to a summons from the Duke of Brackenwold. During their week of rest in the Bitter Rose they saw riders coming from Prigwort telling of a massive dragon layering the fields in bile under the light of the moon.
The Duke sends them with the knights to lead them to the chasm entrance of the lair. At night they rest along the road. Prince Milktongue and Tomumbolo steel each other's resolve before the battle with a prayer and some tasty moss. Wumbus meditates in a trance. No Name looks to the woods and wonders if he'll survive what comes next.
At night the great wyrm comes and blasts the fields with bile.
The sun rises and the party heads back to the Mossling village of Shotton. They stop to buy another mushroom from the merchant child.
After coming to the chasm Wumbus and No Name look for an alternative entrance to the lair. They find a small passage they can rappel down a ways away. The party comes up with a plan to goad the wyrm into getting stuck in the smaller secondary entrance and then having the knights come from the main entrance to wail on it. Tomumbolo blesses everyone's weapon before they depart.
Wumbus, Prince Milktongue, No Name, and the hirelings descend the secondary entrance. Tomumbolo goes with the 30 or so knights sent by the different houses at the main entrance.
Wumbus sneaks in and uses echolocation to avoid making much noise kicking any of the piles of treasure. Wanting to test how the wyrm drinks, Wumbus poured a small amount of water on the beast's snout. It's eyes open. Wumbus tries to stab but the dragon blinks. Instead Wumbus dives into the treasure to hide.
No Name launches an arrow as Prince Milktongue starts hurtling insults at the wyrm. The wyrm is enraged by the words of the small cat and rushes across the chasm to chomp it. Milktongue is crushed in the jaws! But transforms into the feral form of the Grimalkin.
As this happens Wumbus dives from a pile of treasure to a top the beast's back. Tomumbolo blesses his ally's dagger with the Miracle of St. Sedge! Bile begins to build up in the beast's belly threatening to flood the small tunnel--- which would kill Prince Milktongue, No Name, and the retainers instantly.
Wumbus sees a moment and pulls out his set of pipes to play a bawdy song that makes everyone cackle and laugh. The dragon's bile sputters apart in its mouth as Prince Milktongue conjures the Rose of Death! The dragon inhales and passes out. The forces of man hack the beast to strips. Chaosbraith is no more.