Wherein a hero’s mind is finally flayed.

Thanks Gary.

If this is your first time checking out our little D&D Adventure Blog, you might want to check out this post that explains the setup and format of the game.  You can check out all “Big Fish” content on this nifty landing page. And if you’re enjoying our little GameTale Adventure Blog, please tell your friends on whatever platform you interact with them.

Also! Pardon the long delay between updates on this one, the D&D game has been on a bit of summer hiatus and we intended on writing some filler content but hot damn have we been busy.

Keith (me, Jim Clocks) is writing again this week, and just like last time it’s going to be a little fast and loose. I’ll be in black, Jon (our DM) is in blue.

This session featured: Jim Clocks the Half-Elf Rogue, L’Eau D’ur the Genasi Warlock and Brubax the Goliath Barbarian.

This is a Bonus Adventure where Jono takes old classic modules and updates them for 5e. Jono spent seriously something like 30 hours converting “The Expedition to the Barrier Peaks” for us and we seriously only saw about a third of it before escaping with our lives.

And by “our lives” I mean some of our lives. People died.

First Things First: The Dead Cleric

So if you’ve been keeping up to date you are probably wondering how we dealt with the fact that we had a very dead Triton on our hands.

Normally this would be a situation where the party could hole up somewhere and have the Cleric raise the dead party member. But the Triton is the Cleric. So that’s a problem.

Despite the fact that the player of the Cleric isn’t here, I feel like a PC death is still something that kind of needs a resolution. The active players need to decide what they’re doing with the body, etc.

Yeah we had discussed at the very start of the game character deaths and how I had hoped it would come into play more than it typically does in our games.  Once the party has access to Raise Dead adding death to a list of available consequences only really opens storytelling doors.  This Couatl was essentially a filler encounter with a non-hostile, and now he’s almost become part of the team.  Thanks, death!

The episodic format particularly lends itself well to letting players get their characters raised from the dead offstage between games.

The party decides to lug Tidus’ body back to the Couatl to see if that magic-ass divine snake can help us out.

What we see is the Couatl spiraling around what appears to be a projection of Tidus. 20 feet tall and looped in a scene of epic combat. Ducking and weaving in a never ending heroic battle. A sense of (small) relief comes over the party to see that the immortal spirit of our Cleric is not some place horrible. The Couatl explains that what we are seeing is a glimpse into the Elysian Fields.

Jim Clocks, seeing an opportunity to weave his wordplay with a divine being beseeches the Couatl:

When we met, you looked upon us and saw us to be good.
There is no better among us than Tidus.
He was a good Triton, pure of heart.
And he deserves better than the fate that has befallen him.
Killed by some unknown poisonous explosive, wielded by an aberration of the far realm.
Who knows what good deeds will never be done if his story ends here in this place?
He will certainly never fulfill his promise to rid the world of Mardak Frostwhisper, a fiend pact warlock he once called friend before Mardak succumbed to darkness.
When you met him he asked you for a token, this was not just for his personal gain, but I know that he desired that token as memento of meeting you, one of the most pure and good creatures of our world. A creature that he no doubt aspired to emulate.
So now, we offer YOU a token. A token of Tidus. The enchanted Trident called Violet Marlin. A token we offer freely, but with the hope that you will find it in your heart to resurrect our companion.
I don’t even know if this is something within your power. It may even be impossible.
But I live by a set of words mighty Couatl… and I say, nothing is impossible!

(applause break)

Maybe Jim should have been named John.  This will have consequences. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…