Session date: 11/17/2018, Joel’s house

Previously On

The party has infiltrated the lost subterranean temple of the Carnifex, Goddess of Executioners and Torturers, hoping to free her from imprisonment in exchange for overpowered wishes. They now find themsleves surrounded and outnumbered by the Carnifex’s jailers: the tumorous Swords of the Pious (SOPs), led by Azazel of the Light.

Session Notes

• Simoon the Thief has followed the party into the Carnifex’s temple, and sneak attacks the rear rank of the Swords of the Pious (SOPs) (area 1.)

• Azazel (area 3) calls for parlay, and offers to give the party all of the treasure in the temple in exchange for destroying the Jewels of the Carnifex. This will seal the Carnifex away forever, and release the SOPs from the need to stand guard.

• The party agrees (is lying) and proceeds to the temple’s grotto annex (area 2,) where the three Jewels are stored in the mouth and claws of a hideous worm statue.

• Unsure of how to proceed, Marvus prays to the Carnifex. He gets a cryptic response that doesn’t turn out to be useful until much later in the session.

• Flynn, still invisible, heads back to the main room (area 3) to spy on the SOPs.

• Marvus disregards dungeon crawling best practice and tries to grab a Jewel from the claws of the statue. He fails his save as the claws snap shut and sever all but his middle finger from his right hand. This makes him sad.

• Flynn learns that the SOPs plan to betray the party, and are preparing to douse the grotto annex with burning oil as soon as the Jewels are destroyed. Flynn responds with a fireball, which is widened by the barrels of oil. The surviving SOPs, who have no idea where the attack came from, evacuate to unseen areas.

• Simoon tends to Marvus’ wounds, but is more interested in collecting body parts and setting up camp.

• Ovek tries to lure the SOPs back in to the party’s line-of-site with an illusion. The illusion is targeted by javelins, but no SOPs return.

• Grimbok and Ovek leave the grotto to engage the remaining SOPs, some of whom are found to be lurking in out-of-site corners of the main room. While fighting, Grimbok discovers a secret door leading to one of the ambush tunnels. The Justicar (Azazel’s axe-weilding second-in-command) and two more SOPs are hiding in the tunnel.

• After a brief pause to heal Marvus, Flynn resumes blasting at the terrified SOPs with invisibility-induced impunity. He sends a lighting bolt down the ambush tunnel.

• The Justicar emerges from the tunnel and challenges Grimbok to an “honorable” axe-to-axe battle without “your demon” (Flynn.) Grimbok declines.

• Azazel and more SOPs emerge from the other ambush tunnel. Azazel moves to flank Grimbok while the SOPs move toward Simoon.

• Ovek takes the Justicar out of the battle with a phantom betrayal.

• Grimbok battles Azazel, but is hampered by the halving of his non-magical damage.

• Flynn (who has switched from fireballs and lightning bolts to blade singing) finally takes some damage when the SOPs guess his location and get a lucky hit. He protests loudly.

• Simoon is called away, and disappears as mysteriously as he appeared.

• Marvus joins the battle, but is unable to effectively wield Throbbing Heat with a one-fingered hand. He loots the Justicar’s axe, Executioner’s Wand, and hands it to Grimbok.

• Grimbok uses Executioner’s Wand to crit Azazel, ending the battle. Azazel explodes, and the remaining SOPs rapidly age and decompose.

• The party decides to rest before continuing on to the Carnifex. Marvus’ day goes from bad to worse when he attunes a cursed Sword of Vengeance (loaned from Ovek) as his temporary one-handed weapon.

• Ovek and Flynn work together to solve the door puzzle that will unseal the Carnifex’s prison (area 5,) but more information is needed. The response to Marvus’s first prayer was a puzzle clue, so he tries praying again. This time, he learns that another clue can only be sent if a party member commits to serving the Carnifex – by taking at least one level in an appropriate class.

• Grimbok agrees to do this, and another clue is received. Ovek uses it to unseal the door. The Carnifex emerges, kisses everyone, is ready to grant wishes…

Foes Vanquished

• Azazel of the Light
• The Justicar
• All the Swords of the Pious who weren’t killed in the previous session

Loot obtained

• Executioner’s Wand, a +1 keen greataxe. A three-headed raven is embossed on both sides of the blade (the Carnifex’s symbol) and the handle is pommeled with a skull.

• wishes

Goals Achieved

• Free the Carnifex from her prison beneath Quodeth

XP Earned (per PC)

• enough to level up