Odessa333
2019-02-27, 08:28 PM
As our group runs the "tales from the yawning portal" module, we've had many close calls. Yet it is during the 'dead in Thay' part where our first Pc has fallen. Korren, a munchkin of a man, an undead mummy monk, died in battle against some blood thirsty sahuagin and the pet sharks they kept. His body was ripped to pieces by the sharks, and being undead, my cleric's magic to bring back the dead has no hold on him.
My cleric, Sister Mary Anne, is a grave cleric of Jergal. She didn't trust this undead being when they first met, but he proved himself time and again, rushing to her aid when in trouble, even despite her many.....many.....many jabs at him. He became a trusted ally as they put their lives on the line. Yet she couldn't save him in the last battle...
(Story of the battle ahead, skip if you like)
As we entered the room, our barbarian/rogue bumbled her stealth roll, and we were spotted by undead guards, holding humans prisoner. The five of us slowly made our way into the room, taking on the undead on solid ground. We dispatched them easily, and yet a deep pool was at the opposite end of the room, and in the middle of the pool was a pillar where the sahuagin were conducting a rite with human sacrifices. Time was suddenly of the essence, and we had to rush.
Our barbarian/rogue used her flying flute (a magic item of hers) to fly ahead to the pillar. The sorcerer grabbed my heavily armored cleric and cast dimension door, dropping us right in the middle of the pillar and the rite. Our ranger tried to escort the humans away from the room, and was dropped by a spell/curse. And the monk tried to run across the water... and was dragged under the waves by the sharks. The rogue tried to help him, and she was dragged under as well.
On the pillar, the sahuagin were drawing power from the pillar, and hit hard. The sorcerer fled (using another dimenion door) and retreated to safety, leaving me on the pillar. Surrounded, I used my new 'anti-life shell' and tossed all of the creatures off of the pillar, denying them the source of their power. Still, it left me unable to move, for doing so would end the spell. They pelted my position with throwing spears, so I took the dodge action with my shield raised to hold the ground, and used my spiritual weapon bonus action to weed them out as the sorcerer fired spells off from a safe distance.
The sharks would kill the helpeles monk, but the barb/rogue managed to slip free, and finished off the sharks under the waves (she's a storm herald, with a swim speed). The sorcerer and I slowly cut down the sahuagin on the surface, and the rogue/barbarian eventually joined us to mop up. But throughout the battle, I couldn't see under the water through all the blood. I knew two of our party went under, but I couldn't hit them with a spell to help without line of sight. As the battle ended, the barb/rogue dived under the waves and retrieved what pieces were left of the monk.
The curse on the ranger has left his stats drained (his INT, WIS, and CHA scores are 2, 2, and 3) and he's essentially grunting now. The monk is lost to use forever. It's the most bittersweet victory our characters have had yet.
(end story)
As we split up the loot, and pass around the monk's surviving magic items, I'd like my character to honor his character. Between my being a grave cleric, and his being an undead, there's a lot of fun things to work with here. A simple burial and eulogy is a possibility. Yet I have half a mind to keep the monk's skull with me, to cast 'speak with dead' or to make a nice skull mace out of it (he counts as magical at this level, right?). There's a whole range in the middle of keeping a sword and having a crazy big fancy funeral to the boring 'all things die' and not care approach. My cleric.... she's a bit (crazy? broken? mad?) eccentric, and I can see this going in a lot of different directions lol. I was hoping to get some ideas/feedback from others.
Thank you for your time!
Vicky
My cleric, Sister Mary Anne, is a grave cleric of Jergal. She didn't trust this undead being when they first met, but he proved himself time and again, rushing to her aid when in trouble, even despite her many.....many.....many jabs at him. He became a trusted ally as they put their lives on the line. Yet she couldn't save him in the last battle...
(Story of the battle ahead, skip if you like)
As we entered the room, our barbarian/rogue bumbled her stealth roll, and we were spotted by undead guards, holding humans prisoner. The five of us slowly made our way into the room, taking on the undead on solid ground. We dispatched them easily, and yet a deep pool was at the opposite end of the room, and in the middle of the pool was a pillar where the sahuagin were conducting a rite with human sacrifices. Time was suddenly of the essence, and we had to rush.
Our barbarian/rogue used her flying flute (a magic item of hers) to fly ahead to the pillar. The sorcerer grabbed my heavily armored cleric and cast dimension door, dropping us right in the middle of the pillar and the rite. Our ranger tried to escort the humans away from the room, and was dropped by a spell/curse. And the monk tried to run across the water... and was dragged under the waves by the sharks. The rogue tried to help him, and she was dragged under as well.
On the pillar, the sahuagin were drawing power from the pillar, and hit hard. The sorcerer fled (using another dimenion door) and retreated to safety, leaving me on the pillar. Surrounded, I used my new 'anti-life shell' and tossed all of the creatures off of the pillar, denying them the source of their power. Still, it left me unable to move, for doing so would end the spell. They pelted my position with throwing spears, so I took the dodge action with my shield raised to hold the ground, and used my spiritual weapon bonus action to weed them out as the sorcerer fired spells off from a safe distance.
The sharks would kill the helpeles monk, but the barb/rogue managed to slip free, and finished off the sharks under the waves (she's a storm herald, with a swim speed). The sorcerer and I slowly cut down the sahuagin on the surface, and the rogue/barbarian eventually joined us to mop up. But throughout the battle, I couldn't see under the water through all the blood. I knew two of our party went under, but I couldn't hit them with a spell to help without line of sight. As the battle ended, the barb/rogue dived under the waves and retrieved what pieces were left of the monk.
The curse on the ranger has left his stats drained (his INT, WIS, and CHA scores are 2, 2, and 3) and he's essentially grunting now. The monk is lost to use forever. It's the most bittersweet victory our characters have had yet.
(end story)
As we split up the loot, and pass around the monk's surviving magic items, I'd like my character to honor his character. Between my being a grave cleric, and his being an undead, there's a lot of fun things to work with here. A simple burial and eulogy is a possibility. Yet I have half a mind to keep the monk's skull with me, to cast 'speak with dead' or to make a nice skull mace out of it (he counts as magical at this level, right?). There's a whole range in the middle of keeping a sword and having a crazy big fancy funeral to the boring 'all things die' and not care approach. My cleric.... she's a bit (crazy? broken? mad?) eccentric, and I can see this going in a lot of different directions lol. I was hoping to get some ideas/feedback from others.
Thank you for your time!
Vicky