Session 62: The Dead Beholder Report

General Summary


 
NEED TO FINISH & CLEAN UP!!
09/16/2023

09/16/2023

The Mighty Menagerie (3)

Redfall 14, 2023 KC, around Noon

Heyton Family secret room, Outding Refuge Recap

They party dug up the corpse Viggie Storr, found that their Captain Meklan had buried the Professor Meklan of Toril Professor Orb in here as he expected them to do this... He is an expert on many topics, and he brings up Vecna being Dead and he has knowldege on an unknown species called the Spellweaver. As well as the Plane of Time, Dragon Prophecies, and Dendar the Night Serpent -- a name they had heard from Grognard when he visited them last. The party spoke with Kyleanna Heyton, learned that there is an issue under the church seems to be affecting her and another new Ghost on the island, the one that seems to reside on their property. They went to investigate and found the rooms under the Outding Refuge Church have long been demolished and some strange new room exists here... with a large undead Beholder, a Death Tyrant

The large chamber is full of a watery pool and two connected islands, as well as a thin bridge on the edge of the room encricling the entire room. The "water" seems as if it is liquid universe and as it laps at the edges of the two "island" it seems there is a darkening shadow creeping where the meet on the large island they are on and a strange Light seeping at the edge of the smaller island -- which seems to have a bunch of items that they won't have time to explore yet. The waters are filled from the pipes on the side and it is glowing a bit. In the center of the large island they are on there seems to be a large obelisk, this one is made of the same Crystal which is all over this island. Carved, but black on the top and that black is oozing into the bottom half which is red and that red is seeping into the ground with a strange Symbol of red Light carved into the stone. There are wisps of shadow coming from that edge of the large island, and wisps of gossamer Light and they are all going into the backside of the obelisk. The obelisk looks shaped, and that black is corrupting it. In the dark wisps they see what appears to be hands, claws, and tentacles from time to time, but made of the shadow and they all dissipate as soon as they formed it seems. as well as other spectral shapes and faces. Faces in both types of wisps, the shadows and the Light. From behind the obelisk they see the danger begin to peer around... and we have initiaves.

They also see some dark spectral shadows break out of the dark wisps, and some creatures of Light come out of the other ones. Two shadow demons and four motes of Light seem to make themselves available outside of the mist and streams. The Death Tyrant is unaware as it looks at the party and says

You are the ones that killed him. My other self. This makes a little bit of sense, and I think you have that orb with you. And that is probably why I'm stuck here.
— The Undead Creature

As they enter, and take in the sites both Calliope Galanodel and Bastion Bladesinger freeze. They feel something pull deep within them. (Wisdom saves, Calliope fails and Bastion succeeds) Calliope freezes and then vanishes... She reappears floating on the other island, about 20' in the air. Her head is down, her hand hang down by her sides. It seems as if she is asleep. Bastion feels the strong tug in his chest, but something stops it. He feels a warm sensation in his chest and he feels the feeling he gets when he does his trance.




Death Tyrant, and various "spirits"

The Battle:

R.1

Sas W.T. Rayce: (Quick Perception Check, they seem incorporeal), and casts Shillelagh on one of the undead spirits. Kills it ☠️ Barlo: (looks how high it is flying, the room is 100' tall. The obelisk is 80' tall. The Death Tyrant is 10' wide and 60' above the ground). Rage and charge - climbs up the obelisk, then jumps on the Death Tyrant. (fails grapple check to get on, so he falls) He then looks at possibly jumping... too high. Throws a Javelin, it misses and hits the obelisk. As it hits the obelisk (perception check success), he sees a sword about 5' off the ground. It is stuck in the back of the obelisk and it seems the shadows and Light tendrils are seeping into the obelisk. Seems it might be what is corrupting the obelisk, especially as it seems the blackness comes from the sword's intrance up to the top. It is a very nice looking sword. Shadow in the Snow takes one of the beads off of her Necklace of Fireballs and gets under the creature, lobs it straight up and detonates it near the creature. He passes the save, but takes half damage. The obelisk seems to stop the spell from touching it. Casts Ensnaring Strike to use the thorny vine on him. Then Feline Agility to get out of the way. Bastion Bladesinger: Casts Hex, putting the disadvantage on his STR Save. Then Scorching Ray which seems to Work even though it is a leveled spell ;) (4th-level) Some of them shot into him, others missed. A shadow creature reaches out at the Death Tyrant, does nothing. The Light creatures surround it, and all pull out shortswords of Light, but do no effect. Bastion realizes they never got the name of the Unnamed Beholder North of Skola Vale. The Death Tyrant has one of its floating lights fire a ray at the shadow creature (grey beam), gets afraid and dies. Bastion which knocks him with Telekinesis all the way back to the wall. Luckily does not fall in the water. He is now Restrained. A ray shoots at Chucko, he saves as the beam of Light turns grey and hits the ground -- it seems to momentarily turn it to a gray stone... They both take damage... because DM screwed up.

Show spoiler

At some point I noticed the statblock says they are to get damaged with rays... later I learn that should have read "bite" as the multiattack... Additionally, the Telekinesis should not have been so easy to get out of. I also need to watch out for double-leveled spells in the same round... So some errors for and against the party. note on combat errors

The shadow and Light creatures begin to fade just as new ones break free.

r.2

Sas: Moves and throws a Chill Touch, which connects. It shoots a beam of Light at the dark shadow and destroys it. Barlo runs to the sword, and pulls it out. As it comes out the smoke begins to fade to mist. The tendrils of red Light below begins to fade, as well as the black on the rim of the large island and the Light from the small island. Some other issues occur at the small island, but the shadow and Light creatures still remain... Barlo holds out the sword to them "does this belong to you?" (persuasion check...) no reaction, he does see they are appearing to evaporate at the edges... He then holds the sword over the edge of the starry liquid. Bastion yells "Throw it to me!!" As Barlo looks at the water, it is like looking at space, but slight waves where ripples occur... He then decides to hold on to it after all, moves towards Bastion "Alright, I hope you know what you're doing with this thing." Activates his Animated Shield All of a sudden a tear occurs in reality and out steps Captain Meklan/Grognard, about the same (give or take) age as he was when they saw him under Skola Vale. He goes right where Bastion was, looks down and then to the party (with a smile) "good, you didn't do it." It would seem in a timeline he chased they did it. He then jumps in the water, and disappears. It does act like water in some ways, but he is nowhere to be seen. Shadow: Moves and attacks with the bow (and hoping for ensnaring strike), miss then hits (along with swarm). He succeeded the Ensnaring Strike attack. She has Arktos just take a dodge action. Bastion: Uses his action to get out of the hold, then moves towards it. The Death Tyrant, large orb goes out and shoots black energy at Bastion. The black Light misses (see note on why this occured). Another Light (yellow) goes at Barlo, he succeeds the Enervation ray since Shadow throws him an inspiration she has long had. he does take damage. Another ray, it blasts apart the shadow. Barlo almost takes a knee. The shadow evaporates as he runs to the Death Tyrant and takes the hit, the others begin to fade out as well. It is just the Death Tyrant. Bastion also saves against the pull which seems to have taken Calliope out of the battle. and now the last tendrils holding her up release their hold and she falls to the ground.

r.3

Sas attacks with a Chill Touch that connects. Barlo leaves the sword for Bastion, then thinks about taking a Healing Potion... rages. then takes off running to the obelisk, climbs up and jumps on the Death Tyrant, even with his 20, he fails. Barlo is now on him, and attacks. Going for an eyestalk... crits!! The creature saves on the special effect... Second attack also crits. Infection Fury again, succeeds this time. It is getting bloodied... It shoots a slightly green ray, a wave hits Barlo and puts him to Sleep... on top of the creature. (this is also where I started to find out that my character sheet for the creature had a typo... it was supposed to be a bite. So I gave them two some hps back) Bastion receives a Message

you hear a Message in your head, it is meklan -- thank you for coming down here, I am now in the Astral Plane where time can't affect me. Don't come here, not safe. thank you

Shadow casts Healing Spirit, and this spectral Owlbear appears on top of the undead Beholder. Her concern is a possible anti-magic ray, which it turns out is not the case with this creature. She casts the spell on top of the creature, and it seems to appear... spells don't always offer damage/Heal at the casting

Discussions were had on entering the area. https://www.sageadvice.eu/entering-in-spirit-guardians-area-of-effect/

Shadow then attacks with her bow... hits both times. These did not cause Barlo to get hit or to fall. A ray, shoots out at Sas... she is able to suceed against the Fear. Bastion: casts Scorching Ray and some hit. Then picks up the sword and crits on an arcana check.

The Sword. The hilt as it goes into the blade has multiple tuning forks on tuning forks "carved" into the blade. VArious runes and each seem to symbolize a plane. This seems to be a Sword of the Planes. It is a legendary weapon that changes its attack and damage based on what plane it is on and who it is fighting. It can also create a portal to any plane.
You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic sword. This sword can tear the fabric of reality, creating a temporary rift between planes. You can use your action to choose a different plane of existence from the one you're on and slice through an unoccupied space within 5 feet of yourself, creating a rift to that other plane. The rift can be up to 10 feet high and 10 feet wide, and it lasts for 1 minute. Once this property is used, it can't be used again until the next Dawn. You can specify a target destination, such as the City of Brass on the Elemental Plane of Fire or the palace of Dispater on the second layer of the Nine Hells, and the rift opens in or near that destination (DM's discretion). If you are trying to reach the City of Brass, for example, the rift might appear on the Street of Steel, before the Gate of Ashes, or facing the city from across the Sea of Fire, at the DM's discretion. Anything that enters the rift is instantly transported to the other plane, appearing in the unoccupied space nearest to the rift.
— BMT, 68

Then Bastion moves towards Sas. As the creature moves, realizing it can now move, Barlo passes a check and stays on. It shoots a wave, same as the one that hit Barlo, at Sas. She saves. Shadow passes a dexterity save as the black energy goes at her. Bastion fails his save and this was a new color, pink. He feels every limb tighten and he is Paralyzed. It looks around.

r.4

Sas attacks with a Chill Touch that fails. It also did not hit Barlo, but gets close. Another ray shoots out (we had a brief discussion on how telekineses should not have had a save... so I did give a chance to see if Barlo could wake up. He failed). Another ray shoots at Shadow, the black one, she succeeds. Shadow moves the Healing Spirit to Barlo, which I gave him both (not correct either...) she thinks about using Mage Hand, but it can't attack... Steps over and two arrows. fails (1) on the first, but second hits. HOW DO YOU WANNA DO THIS? The arrow goes straight into the big eye, it falls to the earth and hurts Barlo. The skull breaks and the 10 eyes Shatter like shards of glass. Barlo wakes up, Bastion slowly gets his movement back as Arktos licks his face. Shadow looks to who needs health, just Barlo and so she moves the spirit over him.



☠️Death Tyrant killed by Shadow in the Snow

 



t Combat Experience: 11,500 (2,300 Each) | Total: 84,425 (Next Goal: 85,000) t

She looks for her arrows and asks Bastion to mend the broken arrows. She was able to find them all (nat 20). They see the whole layout now...

There are 16 tables in a circle, a cross table in the center with three tables at the top. Each table has a unique material for a "tablecloth" which seems to have possibly been more ethereal but is now solidifying as the bowls atop each has some liquid gas becoming solid. Each table has a bowl and in the bowls is a tuning fork of matching materials with liquids becoming like a gelatin. On the crosstable is a construct made of stone, Wood and Metal. Bastion examines the construct, his arcana check and research leads to it not being like any construct or golem he has read or heard about. The party attempts to waken up Calliope, to no effect. She is alive, breathing, but Unconscious. Shadow gets a high investigation check, it seems the tuning forks were floating above the bowls each with its own note. Bastion notes, due to his check on the sword. The tablecloths seem to resemble the planar curtain, and each plane has its own fork and note... the sword does not need a tuning fork, but Plane Shift does. It seems the tables on the outside correlate to the outer realms, three tables are for the Material Plane and the two Inner Planes, Feywild and Shadowfell. The bowls on the cross table for the four elemental planes (Elemental Plane of Fire, Elemental Plane of Water, Elemental Plane of Earth, Elemental Plane of Air) Bastion remembers the Message he got mid-combat and tells the party, Barlo says it seems nowhere is safe, Bastion asks if they should Jump in then... Shadow says Meklan said it isn't safe. His spell and response should not have worked as they are on different planes... oops. "beholder is Dead, got the sword. We'll get all the forks."

The bowls and tuning forks are made of the following materials with corresponding notes... Each bowl weighs .5 lb. Steel (C♯) Steel (C) Steel (C♭) Copper (A) Zinc (A) Lead (A) Tin (A) Silver (C) Gold (C♯) Gold (D) Gold (E♭) Gold (E) Gold (F) Gold (F♯) Gold, (G) Nickel (C) Iron (C♯) Iron (D) Iron (E♭) Iron (E) Iron (f) Iron (F♯) Iron (G) 21 fabrics of various types, 90" round cloth unique: Metallic Silver Opalescent white dusky gray White Pale yellow Brilliant yellow Dark yellow Dark green Emerald green Bright blue Purple Swirling black Crimson Swirling red Gray-green Dark red Bright red Red & black Metallic red

Barlo examines the construct more. It seems parts are rotted Wood, but there are parts with the Petrified Wood they have seen so much here. Bits of Crystal inserted in places. On the forehead is a runic Symbol made of some material like the Crystal. Never before seen rune. Barlo tells them to push it with the sword. It is heavy, but doesn't react. He then suggests putting the sword in the hand... just as Shadow has picked up the bowls and stuff... As they put it in the hand... they also see that there is a large "cavity" in the center of the chest. but they put the sword in the hand and nothing occurs. they discuss how they have two orbs, in the same container, and one is cracking. There are two professor orbs they have as well. Bastion and Shadow check their memories... shadow gets a nat20... She remembers ... A Tabaxi "Guest at Home" when she was younger, he came back and had long been gone. He seemed to not have aged much. He fell into a hole and fell for a very long time, saw different colors of Light. On a beach he met a construct that sounds like this that could perform Magic Spells. She remembers it was called a warforged that told him he was from a different realm and it sent him back. It was constructed for a major war there. 6' tall, around 300 lbs. The creature was mostly destroyed from the fall. The large eye has an arrow hole. The teeth may hold value, they can get 15 lbs. Guidance and help -- the next hour is spent getting it all. value of 500 gp They wonder if there is a reward for this killing or if someone wants the parts... Barlo climbs the obelisk to draw out the patterns on the ground. (Dex check, with Guidance: he has a drawing of the marks. 2 garnets each worth 100gp are found by bastion. they wonder who they just pissed off. Bastion gets another Message from Meklan..."i do believe the Meklan Orb can be helpful. Time is funny, .... need to check my notes" Shadow wisdom (18) to put pieces together about recent events... Beholders manifest reality with Dreams. it seems that something caused it to manifest a new Beholder here. the pipes have Crystal rings Barlo takes the construct, by dragging it... they get to the top... Kyleanne is able to manifest again. "I would say that it seems you guys have once again fixed whatever's going on here. It seems that I'm able to control myself better." Barlo: "Something else messing with an obelisk down there. where that last Crystal was. She then told them the Ghost was the real Ursa




 
t Milestone Experience | 1575 ea Total: 86,000 (Next Goal: 100,000 ) t

Rewards Granted

2 garnets each worth 100gp are found by bastion.
teeth may hold value, they can get 15 lbs. value of 500 gp
corpse of warforged
Sword of the Planes
a bunch of materials from the "experiment"

Experience

t Milestone Experience | 1575 ea Total: 86,000 (Next Goal: 100,000 ) t

Missions/Quests Completed

defeated the undead beholder

Character(s) interacted with

Characters

Creatures

Created Content

2023

10 (Redfall)

Redfall 14, 2023 KC

The Wild Cards disrupt some sinister project that helps Kyleanna, and learned that the ghost on their property was the real Ursa.

— Timeline of The Mighty Menagerie