S032: Curses! Bunnies! Ugly Giants!

General Summary

Summary

After leveling up from their encounter with the Wizard Tharros the Wanderer and his Doppelganger test, the party took time to distribute their newly acquired magical treasures. Barlo attuned to an Animated Shield that would hover protectively around him, allowing him to wield his weapons with both hands. Another companion claimed an amulet that dramatically enhanced their constitution, granting them newfound vitality. They also sorted through their collection of fireworks—dwarven bottle rockets, Goblin fire trackers, flying dragons, and warrior candles—that they had purchased for future use.
  The party continued their journey through the Feywild toward a forest rumored to house a Hag who might help resolve the planar issues plaguing Skola Vale. Shadow expertly tracked their path using the Sun's unchanging position in the strange realm, guiding them as the tall grasses gradually descended to ankle height. They approached the edge of a dense forest where a high canopy blocked much of the sunlight, creating an ominous dimness that matched the descriptions they had heard of the Hag's dwelling.
  As they neared the forest trail, Bastion and Shadow spotted several unusual rabbits emerging from the grass—large creatures with distinctive spiral horns protruding from their foreheads. Calliope recognized them as Almiraj and used her magic to speak with the timid Beasts. The rabbits nervously mentioned seeing something matching the Hag's description near a house deep in the forest, but their warning was cut short as they frantically spoke of things pursuing them.
  Suddenly, two massive, hideously deformed Giants burst from the treeline. These Fomorians stood nearly eighteen feet tall, their purple-gray skin covered in grotesque warts and their heads misshapen with one eye significantly larger than the other. One of the creatures lunged forward, snatching an Almiraj in its massive hands, snapping the rabbit's neck with a sickening crack before beginning to devour it. Shadow immediately drew her swords and shouted a warning as the remaining Almiraj scattered in terror.
  The battle erupted with Shadow striking first, her flame tongue sword blazing as she cut into the Fomorian's tough hide. Barlo charged forward in a rage, his face transforming into a Draconic visage, though his initial strikes failed to connect. Calliope hurled devastating insults that caused one Fomorian to wince in psychic pain and drop its meal, while Sas summoned a swarm of parasitic mites that covered another giant, forcing it to stumble erratically. Bastion marked one of the creatures with a curse and pelted it with frigid beams, while Artie the Owlbear savagely tore into their flesh with beak and claw.
  The Fomorians retaliated with terrifying force. One struck Barlo with its massive club, and its oversized eye glowed with malevolent yellow Light. Though Barlo's magical cowl absorbed the worst of the psychic assault, he began developing grotesque deformities—patches of fur fell away, pimples erupted across his skin, and his movements became sluggish and awkward. The second Fomorian turned its attention to Shadow, and with a devastating swing of its club, it struck her down in a single catastrophic blow. As she collapsed, the creature's evil eye burned into her, causing her skin to boil and peel as the curse took hold.
  The party fought desperately to turn the tide. Calliope commanded one Fomorian to sit, forcing it Prone and vulnerable, while Sas rushed to Shadow's side and spoke words of healing that brought her back from the brink of death. Bastion entered a Bladesinger's trance, his movements becoming a deadly dance as he combined precise rapier thrusts with freezing magical beams. Shadow rose with fury, conjuring a Healing Spirit and striking back with her flaming blade. Artie attempted to claw out the Prone Fomorian's eye but instead tore its nose clean off, leaving a skeletal cavity in its place.
  Bastion delivered the killing blow to the first giant, his rapier slicing it open from belly to chest as its body collapsed in two pieces. The remaining Fomorian, wounded and desperate, attempted to flee after struggling to its feet. As it ran, Bastion, Shadow, and Artie all struck at the retreating creature. Shadow's flame tongue found its mark one final time, the magical fire searing through the Fomorian's neck and separating its head from its body in a burst of flame and charred flesh.
  After the battle, Calliope shared her knowledge of the Fomorians—a cursed race that had once been beautiful but now dwelt in Darkness with ruined bodies and evil minds. The party carefully harvested valuable components from the corpses: the large yellow eyes that might serve alchemical purposes, and the thick pus from their pustules that could be used in various concoctions. They also claimed the spiral horn from the Dead Almiraj, recognizing its potential value.
  Sas found a suitable clearing where Calliope conjured a magical dome for them to rest safely. The party established watches throughout the night, and during Sas's shift, several Almiraj cautiously approached the shelter. The grateful rabbits pushed a small, rough gemstone toward the dome before darting back into the woods—a gift of thanks for saving them from the Giants. When morning came, both Barlo and Shadow felt the Fomorian curse lifting from their bodies. Their deformities receded, their fur and skin healed, and their natural grace returned. Overcome with relief and joy, the two Tabaxi sprinted circles around their companions at full speed, celebrating their recovery with what could only be described as the midnight zoomies before the party prepared to continue their journey toward the Hag's dwelling.

Scenes

Post-Level Up Inventory and Attunement

The party discusses and distributes newly acquired magic items, adjusting their attunements and hit points after leveling up.

The DM presents new magic item cards: Amulet of Health, Instrument of the Bards (pan flute for Calliope), Ring of Protection, and Animated Shield.

Barlo attunes to the Animated Shield, allowing him to use two-handed weapons while still having Shield protection.

A party member attunes to the Amulet of Health, increasing their Constitution to 19 and gaining 14 additional hit points.

The party discusses removing Amulets of Proof Against Detection and Location to free up attunement slots.

The party takes inventory of fireworks purchased: Dwarven Bottle Rockets, Goblin Fire Trackers, Flying Dragons, and Warrior Candles.

The DM recaps recent events: the party is heading to find a Hag in the Feywild, having previously investigated the Mean Locks where they found Shadow's brother and a mysterious book, encountered Tharros the Wanderer who tested them with doppelgangers, and received rewards that led to their level up.

A Potion of Greater Healing and the Half-Sphere Blue Gemstone (in Shadow's possession) are noted and added to inventory.

Journey to the Hag's Forest

The party travels through the Feywild toward a forest believed to house a Hag who might help with Skola Vale's planar issues.

Shadow successfully tracks the party's path using the Sun's position in the Feywild, demonstrating her growing understanding of the plane's navigation.

The party approaches the edge of a large, dense forest with a high canopy that blocks sunlight, matching descriptions of the Hag's dwelling.

The grasses gradually descend from knee-height to ankle-height as they approach the forest trail.

Almiraj Encounter and Fomorian Ambush

The party encounters timid horned rabbits called Almiraj, which are suddenly attacked by two hideously deformed Fomorians.

Bastion and Shadow spot several Almiraj appearing from the grass - large rabbits with one-foot-long spiral horns on their foreheads.

Calliope casts Speak with Animals and communicates with the Almiraj, asking about the Hag's location.

The Almiraj warn of 'things coming after us' and mention seeing something like the Hag near a house in the forest.

Two gigantic Fomorians emerge from the trees - hideously deformed Giants with purple-gray skin, warts, misshapen heads, and one oversized cat-like eye.

One Fomorian lunges at an Almiraj, snapping its neck and beginning to eat it.

Shadow yells and draws her swords as the remaining Almiraj flee, initiating combat.

Fomorian Battle - Opening Rounds

The party engages the two Fomorians in brutal combat, with Shadow and Barlo taking the Lead while others provide support.

Shadow strikes a Fomorian with her flame tongue sword, dealing piercing and fire damage after speaking the Command word.

Barlo rages, his head transforming into a dragon-like appearance, and charges forward but struggles to land hits initially.

Calliope uses Vicious Mockery, psychically wounding a Fomorian and causing it to drop the Dead Almiraj in pain.

Sas casts Infestation, covering a Fomorian in parasitic mites and forcing it to move erratically.

Bastion casts Ray of Frost and Hex on a Fomorian, slowing its movement and marking it for extra damage.

Artie attacks with his beak and claws, tearing into the Fomorian's flesh.

A Fomorian strikes Barlo with its great club, then uses its evil eye - Barlo's cowl absorbs the psychic damage but he develops Fomorian-like deformities, his speed is halved, and he gains disadvantage on strength and dexterity-based actions.

The second Fomorian critically strikes Shadow with its great club for massive damage, knocking her Unconscious, then curses her with its evil eye, causing her skin to boil and deform.

Desperate Combat and Recovery

With Shadow Unconscious and Barlo cursed, the party fights desperately to turn the tide of battle.

Shadow makes a successful death saving throw while Unconscious.

Barlo continues his reckless assault despite the curse, landing hits on the Fomorian.

Calliope casts Command on the second Fomorian, forcing it to sit Prone on its next turn.

Sas casts Healing Word on Shadow, bringing her back to consciousness with restored hit points.

Bastion activates Blade Song and unleashes a devastating combination of rapier strikes and Ray of Frost spells, dealing massive damage.

Shadow casts Healing Spirit and strikes back at the Fomorian with her flame tongue.

Artie savagely attacks the Prone Fomorian, attempting to claw out its eye and successfully tearing off its nose.

The Fomorian retaliates against Artie with its great club.

Victory Over the Fomorians

The party defeats both Fomorians through coordinated attacks, with Bastion delivering the killing blows.

Bastion strikes the first Fomorian with his rapier, disemboweling it and killing it.

Bastion moves his Hex spell to the remaining Fomorian and attacks with Ray of Frost.

The party continues their assault on the remaining Fomorian with various attacks.

Calliope attempts to shoot the Fomorian in the eye with her crossbow but hits its cheek instead.

Sas charges in with her Shillelagh-empowered club, attacking in melee.

The wounded Fomorian attempts to flee after standing up from Prone.

Bastion, Shadow, and Artie all make attacks of opportunity as it flees.

Shadow delivers the final blow with her flame tongue, searing the Fomorian's head off and killing it.

Harvesting and Knowledge

After the battle, Calliope shares knowledge about Fomorians while the party harvests valuable components from the corpses.

Calliope explains that Fomorians are a cursed race that were once beautiful creatures, now ruined with evil minds and dwelling in the Underdark.

She notes that the evil eye curse can be removed after a long rest or with a Remove Curse spell.

Calliope identifies that Fomorian pus and their large cat-like eyes could be useful for alchemists.

The party successfully harvests two Fomorian evil eyes, each weighing three pounds.

They collect Fomorian pus in an empty bottle, noting it weighs one pound.

The party notices the spiral horn from the Dead Almiraj, recognizing its potential value as a collector's item or makeshift weapon.

Artie eats the Dead Almiraj rabbit, avoiding the horn.

Rest and Almiraj Gratitude

The party takes a long rest in a Tiny Hut, during which the Almiraj leave a gift of gratitude.

Sas finds a suitable clearing for the party to rest.

Calliope casts Tiny Hut, creating a magical dome for the party to rest safely.

The party establishes watch shifts with Sas, Bastion, and Calliope taking turns.

During Sas's watch, several Almiraj approach the hut and leave a small gemstone near the dome before darting back into the woods.

Sas investigates and discovers the rough, uncut gemstone appears to be valuable.

Bastion and Calliope's watches pass uneventfully, observing only typical Feywild phenomena like glowing lights.

Upon waking, Barlo and Shadow attempt charisma saving throws to shake off the Fomorian curse.

Both successfully break the curse, feeling their deformities recede and their abilities return to normal.

Shadow and Barlo celebrate by sprinting around at full speed, experiencing the 'midnight zoomies'.

 

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Rewards Granted

Missions/Quests Completed

• Got to the Edge of the Spider Forest of the Feywild.
• Defended a large group of almiraj from two hungry fomorians hunting them.

Character(s) interacted with

Characters

• Tharros the Wanderer

  A Wizard whose hideaway the party previously stayed in. He recently reappeared, claiming to have been following the party and expressing concern about impending dangers. He tested the party by having them fight doppelgangers before rewarding them with a chest of items.

• Almiraj

  Timid, large rabbits with a one-foot-long spiral horn emerging from their forehead. They are Beasts, not Fey Creatures. Several were encountered near the forest edge, fleeing from attacking Fomorians. They later showed gratitude to the party by leaving a gemstone near their Tiny Hut during rest.

• Fomorians

  Two hideously deformed Giants standing 16-18 feet tall with purple-gray hairless skin covered in large warts. They have misshapen heads with one eye significantly larger than the other, featuring a cat-like iris. Their bodies have disproportionate crooked limbs, humpbacks, and crooked mouths with varied-sized teeth. They possess an 'evil eye' ability that curses victims, causing physical deformities, halving speed, and imposing disadvantage on strength and dexterity-based actions. They wield great clubs with 15-foot reach and speak limited Common. These two were hunting Almiraj when they encountered and attacked the party.

Creatures

• Almiraj
• Fomorian
• Hag

Created Content

12 (Fellnight)

• Around... Fellnight 8, 2020 KC, Late Evening (☣️Feywild Time☣️)

• The Menagerie get to the Feywild Forest

— Timeline of The Mighty Menagerie

 
 

Locations

• Feywild Forest Edge

  The boundary of a dense forest in the Feywild, where tall grasses transition to ankle-height vegetation leading to a path. The forest has a high canopy that blocks much of the sunlight, creating a dim atmosphere. This area is believed to house a Hag and was where the party encountered Almiraj and Fomorians.
• Feywild Fields North of Skola Vale A suitable open space found by Sas within the Feywild forest where the party set up Calliope's Tiny Hut for a long rest. The clearing was visited by curious Almiraj rabbits who left a gemstone as a gift.
• Spider Forest of the Feywild
• Feywild
• Kampos
• Skola Vale
• The Dark Rain Forest

Items of Note

• Ruby Weave Gem

Factions

• The Mighty Menagerie

Misc

• Fellnight

Related Reports

Original Notes

Off to the Hag, again...
  The party found the Feywild Forest North of Skola Vale, the Spider Forest of the Feywild and a trail that leads into it... then a bunch of Almiraj begin to appear. Shadow in the Snow speaks with animals -- they are running from something.
  2 Fomorians are chasing them, and as they crash out of the forest one grabs an Almiraj and breaks it in half then begins to gnaw on it.
 
 
 
  Almiraj approach and leave a gemstone.
 
 
  Shadow in the Snow & Barlo end their Fomorian curse.
 
 

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Notes

Notes

 

Transcript

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