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Previously on Rime of the Frostmaiden
Starring:
Valravn, level 10 Eladrin Bard of Eloquence
Fray, level 10 Halfling Barbarian of the Beast
Celeste, level 10 Half-orc Sun Soul Monk
Edmond, Level 10 Human Alchemist Artificer
Thimbleweed, level 10 Gnome Swarmkeeper Ranger
Initiative can be everything in a big boss fight. If you’re the DM, it helps to have over a dozen monstrous insects at your disposal! Shockingly my little Kruthiks average 15-22 for initiative rolls. They pour out of the little room, tunneling through floors and bursting out of walls to quickly surround the party.
The Kruthik Hive Queen clacks, chirps, and sings a soothing song, granting all her little brood temporary hit points. It wouldn’t do much good when Valravn casts Synaptic Static, killing all the juveniles and wounding the adults, as well as tagging both Fray and Thimbleweed.
In trying to avoid the psychic damage, Fray triggers her Wendigo transformation, revealing her upgraded Ravenous Wendigo form. Surrounded by enemies isn’t a bad time to trigger it, however!
Thimbleweed would spend much of the battle inside the chrysalis created by the queen, rolling saving throws and transforming into an all-new form.
The queen shrieks for reinforcements, calling in more insects to surround and nearly down Valravn in the opposite room.
Valravn survives and gives their last Good Mead-branded Potion of Growth to Celeste, then Misty Steps out of there as Celeste begins swinging with her enlarged mop.
Edmond lucks into summoning a damn polar bear from his Bag of Tricks, which instantly becomes a huge help in the fight. Valravn casts Slow from behind his trusty pegasus, greatly lowering the kruthiks’ offensive capabilities.
The Fray-digo tries to curse her former allies, but they stand strong. She kills a few adult kruthiks, then teleports behind the increasingly fearful queen, only to miss with all three claw attacks.
Still, the queen is rather upset about this monstrous demon trying to eviscerate her.
Then a bipedial insect emerges from the chrysalis.
Introducing Thimble-kreen!
Thimbleweed has transformed from a gnome into a Thri-Kreen, with four arms, chameleon carapace, and telepathy.
Thimble-kreen is conflicted. He can hear and feel his queen commanding him to aid her. And to his credit, he wants to stay loyal to both his queen and his companions.
Thankfully the Fray-digo provides the perfect excuse. Thimble-kreen negotiates a quick truce between his shocked party and the queen. She agrees to pull her few remaining forces back toward her to help kill Fray-digo, while the Marshals will presumably do the same.
Celeste gets the memo and charges along with the bugs (careful not to step on them) and begins swinging at an increasingly wounded Fray-digo, who’s been tanking blow after blow from the bulk of the brood.
Edmond moves Thimble-kreen aside with his telekinesis, aims his arm cannon, and fires a blast of energy across the room, slamming into the queen and Fray-digo.
Truce broken!
The queen shrieks in rage. But the cannon blast also downs the Fray-digo, ending the frightening curse and transforming her back into Fray.
Thimble-kreen desperately casts Fog Cloud, still trying to keep his queen safe. His conflicted loyalties and stellar role-playing earn him Inspiration this session (along with Fray for her extra-scary Wendigo descriptions).
The Queen digs through the floor and begins to escape, calling her last surviving brood to follow under the fog cloud cover.
When the fog dissipates, the rest of the party sees an angry, tired Fray staring menacingly at the whole. Ultimately she decides to let them go, and the rest of the party nearly collapses from their wounds (except Thimble-kreen, who’s looking, well, very different!).
After grappling with their friend’s transformation, the party heads out the back. The docks are beneath a cliff over 150 feet down. The nearby elevator rises on its own, as a wounded Vellyne pleads for help on the platform.
Fray’s stellar Insight roll senses something very wrong. The last time the party saw her, she had been possessed by Nass Lantomir, and was recently responsible for unleashing the horrific kruthiks on this prison.
Edmond doesn’t take any chances, leveling his arm cannon and firing another blast. The energy beam slices right through the illusory image. Ohh!
The image stands up and chuckles, revealing the cruel trap of the missing platform that would’ve seen a PC tumbling down the cliff.
Vellyne/Nass confirms that she and Vaelish escaped the prison via the ship that was at the docks. She invites the PCs to come join them at the Island of Solstice. The Isle holds a temple of the Frostmaiden, and the key to reversing the everlasting Rime, and getting beneath the Reghed Glacier to plunder Ythryn, the ancient lost city.
MVPC – Thimbleweed
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