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Previously on Tomb of Annihilation

Starring:
Mannix, level 6 Human Inquisitive Rogue/Wizard
Khaless, level 6 Half-Drow Assassin Rogue
Gillian, level 6 Triton Bard of Whispers
George, level 6 Tortle Battle Master Fighter/Rogue
Therin, level 6 Hill Dwarf Druid of the Moon

With the major battle for Hrakhamar subsiding, both sides retreated and regrouped. The party went back to rescue the prisoners and scout out the rear path to assault the firenewt-fortified armory.

The party took the hint to back off from the session-long battle against the firenewts, using Theirn’s summoned allosaurus as cover while they retreated back to the initial cave tunnels they first entered.

That meant dealing with the prisoners and the lava-hot iron bars keeping them in place. Khaless used a severed arm of a firenewt along with its fiery sword to switch the latch and open the gates.

The two prison caves held bound and gagged albino dwarves, having been  tortured by the firenewts who desperately wanted into the dwarves’ vault. Laz was grateful for the rescue, though Malkar’s mind had been broken, and began screaming uncontrollably.

Mannix acted fast to feed him some dancing monkey fruit, forcing the poor dwarf into a euphoric, but much calmer, state. The two dwarves began making their way back to their kin in the tunnels.

D&D

The party took a much-needed short rest there in the caves. Mannix used his owl to scout the eastern part of the forge, noting there was another way around to the forge that didn’t involve exposing themselves in the well-covered smelter, though they first had to fight a pair of mounted warlocks, which involved Khaless mounting a strider and being rescued by George’s vine whip sword when it jumped into the lava river.

While hopping across the bridge to the ramparts, the smoke mephit that Khaless had spared appeared around her, playfully chanting “smoke?” Khaless liked the impish creature, and when it playfully suggested blowing smoke at the nearby firenewt guard, she instantly used the distraction to sneak in and assassinate them, the rest of the PCs close behind.

The party charged the few guards posted on the eastern balcony. It took most of the party to take down one of the warlocks, while Khaless continued murdering firenewts all on her own with deadly one-hit-kills.

The final firenewt in the area ran to the back door and pounded an alarm, the door opening right when Khaless sword slid in and killed a surprised firenewt.

Khaless used the opportunity to intimidate the firenewts in the forge room. Considering she was looming over a freshly dead body, blood dripping from her rapier, and punctuated by a roaring Therin-saurus in the background, it was quite effective.

D&D

The firenewts deliberated briefly. They were trained professionals, not stupid nor bloodthirsty. They accepted the surrender, the final dozen firenewts filing out of the forge with military calm and precision. The war for Hrakhamar had been won.

I teased them with the opportunity to loot Hrakhamar sans albino dwarves, but the party opted to hold off and wait to welcome the dwarves home. The dwarves were grateful for their liberated home, especially as neither the firenewts, nor the PCs, broke into their treasure vault.

The PCs were rewarded with several adamantine ingots, and the iconic artifact of Hrakahamr, Moradin’s Gauntlet. I turned it into a magic item that had 3 charges with the Burning Hands and Heat Metal spells, which Mannix greedily grabbed.

Five party members yet not a one of them wears heavy or even medium armor. Instead an intrepid albino dwarf, perhaps even a bit mad, told Therin they had an experimental procedure that could put armor on the inside, rather than the outside. You up for it Therin?

One liquid metal, needle-piercing, iron maiden procedure later, Therin aced all the CON saving throws to end up with an Adamantine skeleton. A completely original idea, I assure you!

The Adamantine Skeleton has the following traits:

  • All critical hits against you are treated as normal hits.
  • You gain a permanent +1 to AC that persists through any wild shape.
  • All unarmed or natural melee weapon attacks gain +1 to attack/damage and deal an extra 1d6 bludgeoning damage
  • Every time you wild shape, you take 2d10 psychic damage (no save) to your original dwarf form, due to the trauma of reshaping the adamantine skeleton.
  • Whenever a hostile creature damages you while you are wild-shaped, you must succeed on a DC 15 WIS saving throw or go berserk. While berserk you must use your action to randomly attack (or multi-attack) the nearest creature. You remain berserk until you start your turn with no creatures within 60 feet of you that you can see or hear.

That is the reward for Therin officially completing his very lengthy personal quest, which just happened to coincide with the interconnected dwarven dungeons. Next up, the party finally emerges back onto the surface of Chult to make their way toward the lost city of Omu!

Streamed, recorded and uploaded every week. Subscribe for our weekly adventures. Join us live on Fridays at 7pm Pacific/10pm Eastern! 

Support my channel via Patreon!