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View Full Version : My new favourite monster: Darkweaver



Eldan
2017-03-12, 12:25 PM
I finally got to use it. Most of its abilities, too.

The group is lost in the spirit world and bargains with a djinn for a way out. He lets them choose between a short way and a safe way, and they choose short.
Minutes later, they find themselves lost on an almost vertical cliff, overlooking a grey forest, in perpetual twilight and stormy wind. With spider climb and earthen grasp for handholds, the group slowly makes their way up the mountain, as the djinn told them to get to the top.

After hours, the spellcasters of the group are ready to collapse when they find a ledge and a cave. The cave is dark. Perfectly dark. The sorcerer, hesitantly steps inside. After five feet, he can't see a thing, not even the outside. He tries to step out again, and struggles. The darkness is holding him in. But there is no resistance as he steps deeper inside. He calls to the others to pull them out, they are all roped together from the climb.

For a minute or so, the group decides what to do, when the sorcerer suddenly changes his mind. "I can't be having this wind anymore. Let's go inside, how bad can it be?" and walks back in. The others pull him out.

The dragonblooded martial artist looks a bit confused for a second. "No, he's right", she says. "It's so damn cold out here. Let's go inside".

The cleric becomes worried. This can't be normal. Luckily, there's still three of them whose minds are their own and the barbarian and the shaman can pull the other two out. The cleric tries a spell on them to shake mind control, and fails. Then he hears a voice in his head: "I'm so tired I can barely stand. Let's go out of this rain."

It's not his voice. He shakes it off. Definitely mind control. As he explains, slowly and carefully, the others listen and the sorcerer shakes it off. A circle of protection is drawn, as they debate what to do. Though bone-weary and cold, they decide to climb on, as they notice that the darkness is moving. TEndrils of it are creeping over the ledge out to them, and up the walls. Hastily, they renew their climbing spells and move on, barely ahead of the boiling darkness that follows them now.

The shaman calls an ice storm into the middle of the darkness. Fist-sized hailstones slam the cliff, and something shrieks. A few more spells find no target in the darkness. The sorcerer summons a giant owl, but it slams into the cliffside as gust of wind catches it and falls into the dephts.

The martial artist shrugs. She's had enough of this. She cuts the rope connecting her to the rest of the group and leaps down the cliff as claws grow from her hands and then burst into flame. Deep in the darkness is something big, and slimy. She slashes at the creature, the flesh smoking from the fire on her claws, but tentacles, each as thick as her body, lash out and pin her to the rock.

The barbarian can't be undone by this. He turns into a bear and rips the rope connecting him to the casters and leaps over the cliff as well. In the darkness, he misses the creature and tumbles past it, emerging from the darkness on the other side, confused.

The cleric calls on Taros, god of storms, and the wind answers. A huge shape, sleek, and stormcloud grey on four legs leaps from the clouds, lands on the cliff with a thundering impact, and vanishes in the dark. Fangs and teeth rip into tentacles, tearing the martial artist free to continue the fight.

Except... she forgets what she was doing. Oh yes. That spiny, black, houndlike thing that came from the clouds. With a snarl, she lunges at it and rips its head off with a swipe of her claws. It vanishes into mist.

The barbarian finally finds his footing and runs up into he darkness again, thundering up the cliff. This time, he pays attention to where the darkness gets thicker and where it pulls him and he finds the black thing, just about to finish off the martial artist, tentacles poised to strike. Under his onslaught, it just about bursts, splattering the cliffside with ichor and slime as he roars in triumph.

And then the martial artist leaps at his throat, claws spewing flame. But now, the darkness is lifting and the sorcerer has had enough. Invisible force hammers the martial artist and bear both to the ground, motionless.

Everyone stands panting. One creature of this shadow world done, but how many to come? THey are still standing in darkness, on a windswept cliff face. They are cold and their limbs ache, and they may not find a chance to sleep.

Maybe they should have chosen the easy way.

So, in short, one epic fight. Have to do this again, with some other group.

Yora
2017-03-12, 12:57 PM
Darkweavers are awesome. They are a very early example of a monster not just being a single encounter but a whole small adventure. And they are some 20 years before 5th edition got it's Lair actions.