DND Blog

A place to keep DND session recaps, from various campaigns.

The Forty-Eighth Session

July 10, 2021, Campaign: As the ground quakes, evil wakes

The Party ventures into the spiders' caverns. They discover antimagic spiders, phase spiders, swarms of spiders, lair actions, and the dungeon boss: The Flesh Weaver, an Aberration of Drow and spider and tentacles. Much combat happens, downing Jerry and Vurguron, who are both revived.

Table of Contents

  1. Last session
  2. Into the cave
  3. A soft landing
  4. Into the maze
  5. The dread antimagic spider, and some others
  6. Jerry spots the boss
  7. Next session

Last session

Bugfood disappears to take care of Remmy the Squirrel. The Party leaves Quadroads with a send-off from the Ascendants, and with a small party of escorts for the trip. After many days' hike, and a battle through the spiderwebs, the Party enters a cave, pursued by spiders, and carrying three cocoons.

This cave is anticipated to contain the source of the spiders' corruption.

Into the cave

The spiders are approaching, and we need to close the 10' x 6' cave entrance. And we're falling tumbling down a chute. Thrai, falling last, set a Moonlight Guardian behind us.

Salris, Vurguron, and Jerry are carrying cocoons.

Everyone makes an Acrobatics check; everyone except Jerry takes 10 points bludgeoning; she takes 5.

A soft landing

We fall into a pile atop a stack of other cocoons. We fell about 20 feet onto the cocoons; none of them seem to be alive. But two of our cocoons cracked open as well, and the bodies inside them are not alive, either.

Thrai admits to medical skills, and starts cutting open the cocoons. Jerry assists as well.

Thrai recognizes the Human. The rest we loot: 250 gold.

Above us, we hear the screeching and pounding noises of the Moonlight Guardian walloping the spiders, and then a soft sounds of the spiders' retreat. Thrai says it will last for eight hours, if not defeated.

Into the maze

Ryltar's Dancing Lights light the way for us. Left, left, into a room piled with obsidian pumice crystals of all sizes, from shards to basketballs to coffin-sized balls. Atop it is a big Phase Spider.

  1. Round 1: It dies.
    1. Salris Eldritch Blasts the spider twice for 30 damage.
    2. Jerry Hunter's Marks the phase spider, then stabulates it.

We advance past the obsidian.

The dread antimagic spider, and some others

We come around the corner to see a large black orb in the center of a spider's head, with a single diamond-shaped rock in the center, from which white iris-like glare moves.

  1. Round 1: The Psychic Fang Elite Spiders have an anti-magic field, and there's another Phase Spider, and a small swarm of spiders. Ryltar turns the PFES into a turtle.
    1. The Psychic Fang Elite Spider advances 10 feet towards the Party, and Ryltar's Mage Armor dissipates. It attacks Jerry twice with a tentacle, missing once, for 14 bludgeoning, grappling and restraining her. It approaches, and bites for 21 piercing and 24 psychic, getting Stunned.
    2. Vurguron tries to cast a spell, and the spell fails.
    3. Ryltar nimbly climbs the crystal pile, escaping the antimagic field, and casts Polymorph on the Psychic Fang Elite Spider to turn it into a red-eared slider turtle.
    4. Thrai casts Healing Word at second level on Jerry for 9 health, and thus we discover that the antimagic field is gone. Then she advances, and sees another Phase Spider, as well as a small swarm.
    5. Jerry does not much damage to anything.
  2. Round 2: The turtle dies; the PFES is back. Vurguron is in the heart of the swarm.
    1. The turtle tries to attack Jerry, and succeeds in biting her for 2 piercing.
    2. The Phase Spider bites Thrai and disappears.
    3. Vurguron casts Ice Knife on the swarm, for 4 piercing.
    4. Ryltar sets the turtle under some rocks, and accidentally drops the rock on the turtle. The turtle explodes into the spider, and it's pissed at him. He's back in the anti-magic field.
    5. The swarm envelops Vurguron.
    6. Thrai advances to the Psychic Fang Elite Spider, and attacks it twice.
    7. Salris attacks the PFES for 29.
  3. Round 3:
    1. The Phase Spider attacks Vurguron, but misses: the swarm blocks it.
    2. Vurguron again casts Blur.
    3. Jerry moves Hunter's Mark onto the PFES and slashes it twice for 34 damage.
    4. The PFES turns to face Jerry and Salris. The eye's orb pulses and flexes, and an ear-piercing rip goes through the air. Jerry and Salris take the full 6d6=10 damage; Thrai and Ryltar take half.
  4. Round 4: The PFES is revealed to contain a tear between realities of some sort.
    1. The Phase Spider attacks Vurguron for 12 before phasing into the Ethereal Realm.
    2. The PFES' turn moved the antimagic field, so Ryltar is free to cast Mind Spike on the PFES. The PFES takes 3d8 = 13 psychic damage, and Ryltar hears an ongoing ripping, tearing noise: there's something in its nature that conflicts between realities. As a bonus action, he converts some sorcery points into a 4th-level spell slot.
    3. The spider swarm fails to attack Vurguron. They can't get through his armor.
    4. Thrai deploys her maul against the PFES for one hit, then casts Spiritual Weapon, dealing a total of 16 damage with a flying sword.
    5. Salris quaffs a healing potion, but is in the antimagic cone, and takes 0 healing. He attacks twice with a now-regular sword, dealing 23 slashing to the PFES.
    6. Jerry makes to quaff a healing potion, but is stopped by Salris. Jerry stabs the spider for 19 damage.
  5. Round 5: The PFES downs Jerry. Vurguron kills a Phase Spider.
    1. The PFES has recharged its Psychic Scream, and uses it. Those who fail take 24 damage, and Jerry goes unconscious. It turns to face Ryltar and Thrai.
    2. The Phase Spider phases in, attacks Vurguron, and tries to deal 20 damage before he casts Shield.
    3. Vurguron attacks the phase spider, hitting once then critting on the second for a total of 18 slashing and 4 radiant, killing the Phase Spider. The swarm continues around him; he moves towards the PFES, and takes a little damage from the swarm's attack of opportunity: 7 piercing.
    4. Ryltar Disengages and then runs away from the PFES, exiting the antimagic cone. As a bonus action, he flips off the PFES.
    5. The swarm approaches Thrai.
    6. Thrai, in the antimagic cone, attacks the PFES with two successful maul strikes, dealing 20 bludgeoning to the PFES.
    7. Salris casts Staggering Smite, dealing 4d6 = 31 psychic damage on a stab wound to the PFES, halved to 15. The PFES has a disadvantage on attacks and abilities until its next turn. And then his second stab kills the PFES, gutting it with his khopesh.
    8. Jerry passes her first death save.
  6. Round 6: Ryltar resuurrects Jerry, and Vurguron kills the swarm.
    1. Vurguron Firebolts the swarm, then slashes it to kill it.
    2. Ryltar runs over to Jerry, rummages in her Bag of Holding, and finds a potion of superior healing, for 8d4+8 = 28 healing.

Thrai casts Mass Cure Wounds for 12 points healing. Salris and Ryltar take some healing.

The pile of obsidian pumice are all jagged and dirty. Jerry takes one for her bag.

The PFES has one egg-shaped obsidian pumice rock in its neck, and one diamond shape in tis single eye. Ryltar takes both.

Thrai says that we'll take care of this pile on our way out; Ryltar is confused because he thought we'd be teleporting out.

We move into the room where the Phase Spider came from, and see a descending path, a narrow slot path, and a stack of pumice to the right.

Jerry spots the boss

Salris and Jerry advance into the room, followed by Ryltar and Thrai. A phase spider advnaces from both left and right.

  1. Round 1: Jerry sees a scary spider-lady, who is assembling a new spider. A phase spider disappears.
    1. Jerry advances to the phase spider, Hunters Marks it, and stabulates. She sees a hole coming down from above, and some pumice. She kills it with her first attack, and advances into the room to see a workshop. There's a pile of dead spiders with their legs curled up. There's a long workbench, where a spider is squeaking in pain. And working on that is what looks like a Drider: a humanoid with dark skin and light hair, an extra joint on each arm, an array of four legs coming out from her waist, and where normal legs would be, a mess of tentacles. Some tentacles write, some limp, and oh by the way she's got two standard Drow legs in there too, hanging limply. Jerry retreats out of sight.
    2. A comforting voice flows from the creature: "It's okay, little one. The pain is temporary. You will be stronger soon," she says in Undercommon. Only Ryltar understands it. A long arm drags a dead spider towards the bench.
    3. Vurguron advances to the Phase Spider and stabs it, but it phases out.
    4. Ryltar casts Mage Armor, and advances towards the hole where he heard the voice coming from.
    5. Salris walks towards Ryltar and Jerry, seeing two descending caves. He sees the spider lady, and holds an Eldritch Blast if she turns and looks hostile.
    6. Thrai moves towards Vurguron and his Phase Spider, and holds Sacred Flame until it returns.
  2. Round 2: Vurguron discovers a preggers spider. Jerry spooks the weird drow spider into moving, revealing another portion of her aberration.
    1. Jerry stealthily moves the Hunter's Mark onto the drow spider, who turns her head slightly. On the side of her face, there's an additional human eye.
    2. The not-so-stealthy Salris, upon seeing the third eye, says "augh."
    3. Jerry retreats carefully, beckoning Salris and Ryltar away from the aberration.
    4. Vurguron advances past the Phase Spider area, and sees a large spider, gravid with hundreds of fleshy egg cases. And lots of cocoons. He retreats as stealthily as possible, with a 5, and clanks towards the party.
    5. The Phase Spider returns, and is Sacred Flamed by Thrai. But it survives, and attacks Vurguron, for 20 piercing and poison.
  3. Round 3: The Flesh Weaver has noticed you, owo, what's this? The Party tries to negotiate and/or stall. She is not well. Ryltar saves the Party with dispells, and Salris summons a Tanarukk.
    1. The Flesh Weaver turns around. She doesn't look actively hostile, thinks Salris. She surveys the room. There's a dead spider. She starts slowly walking towards Salris, on her spider legs, with the mess of tentacles following her. Salris misses the held Eldritch Blast, and shouts, "Those were warning shots! Don't come any closer!"
    2. The Flesh Weaver speaks, in Undercommon: "Why…." Ryltar translates. "Now this is curiroioirius," her voice warbling and her neck wobbling. Her front is bare and covered in scales; her face has pedipalps, and she has three extra eyes. "I was wondering wheeeen I would see what has come to my laaiaiaiaiair."
    3. "Stay back! I'm warning, you!" shouts Salris.
    4. The Flesh Weaver casts something, but Ryltar counterspells at level 3, and he succeeds. She turns to look at him, and he says that "Just like you wouldn't want us casting spells on you in your own home, we don't want you casting spells on us in your own home. You have beautiful walls."
    5. Ryltar casts Cone of Cold on the Flesh Weaver, who passes the save, halving the 8d8 = 32 to 16, reduced to 8 because she's resistant to cold damage. He moves to 30 feet away.
    6. Salris summons a Tanarukk.
    7. Thrai smashes the Phase Spider, killing it, and moves towards her
  4. Round 4: The Flesh Weaver has lair actions, and they're paralyzing. The Tanarukk is the only one who can attack.
    1. The Flesh Weaver strokes her hand across the air in front of her, alighting on invisible webs, and Jerry, Thrai, Vurguron, and the Tanarukk become entangled in place, vision reduced to 15 feet, movement reduced to 0. Everyone else is fine.
    2. Jerry can't see the Flesh Weaver, but casts Silence where she last saw the Flesh Weaver, because she heard the Flesh Weaver cast something there. The webs are thick and all around her, permeating the entire room. She can't think of a way to get out of the webs.
    3. Vurguron is ensconced in the webs, and so he heals for 8 points. He hears nothing, and only barely sees Thrai among the webs.
    4. The Flesh Weaver takes a legendary action to attack the Tanarukk, critting it with Poison Touch, dealing 28 damage to the poison-resistant creature.
    5. The Tanarukk makes a reaction attack with advantage, dealing 11 nonmagical slashing.
  5. Round 5: We continue whittling away at the Flesh Weaver's health. She summons some more spiders. Thrai gives everyone in range some radiant damage to attacks, but the Flesh Weaver is beyond her spell's reach. The Tanarukk dies.
    1. The Flesh Weaver uses another Poison Touch and Bite attack against the Tanarukk, dealing 12 poison, 17 piercing, 5 poison. It dies.
    2. Ryltar Mind Spikes the Flesh Weaver at fourth level, for 20 psychic damage. As he releases the damage, the connection transfers the feeling to him that there's something inside of him that she wants to release. Something crawling inside him, that he wants to release. He takes a greater healing potion, bringing him to full HP.
    3. The Tanarukk bites her for 7 piercing (reduced to 3), missing with the longsword.
    4. Salris regains a third-level spellslot from the Pearl of Power, then cantrips her with Eldritch Blast, missing.
    5. Thrai casts Crusader's Mantle on her mace: everyone sees a glowing aura emanate from a blue-white aura in a 30-foot radius, affecting the whole Party. Their weapons glow with radiant damage.
    6. The Flesh Weaver does another Poison Strike against the Tanarukk, again dealing 8d6 = 33/2 = 16 to kill it.
    7. The image of webs fades away. She gestures, holding a beacon of darkness, as if summoning spiders, but no words come out due to the Silence.
  6. Round 6: A Splitcaster appears, but its web does not phase Thrai. Ryltar summons his shadow hound, and more combat happens. Thrai banishes the Splitcaster. The Flesh Weaver is slowed by Salris' newly-summoned Ghostly Undead.
    1. Jerry advances 20 feet, attacks twice and hits once for 14, and retreats 20 feet. The Flesh Weaver is beyond Unnatural now; it's an Aberration. And when she stepped outside Thrai's aura, the radiant glow left her weapon.
    2. A summoned Splitcaster attacks Vurguron and Thrai with webs, and Vurguron casts Shield. Thrai is restrained but does not phase. Then it misses two tentacle attacks on Vurguron.
    3. Vurguron attacks the Splitcaster for 14 slashing, 8 radiant, and then Action surges for 16 slashing 8 radiant, and then 12 slashing 8 radiant. It looks very roughened.
    4. The Flesh Weaver moves towards Ryltar and Jerry, coming within 10 feet, lashing out at Jerry with Poison Touch but failing to connect. And then she bites at Ryltar, who casts Shield.
    5. Ryltar summons his shadow hound behind the Flesh Weaver, and the Flesh Weaver is slowed, and Ryltar runs away.
    6. Salris summons a Ghostly Undead as he retreats, and casts Eldritch Blast twice to hit once for 18 damage.
    7. The Flesh Weaver uses the Command Underling legendary action to tentacle attack Vurguron, but it splashes against his Shield.
    8. The Ghostly Undead makes one Deathly Touch attack for 10 necrotic damage. The Flesh Weaver is now frightened of the Undead until its next turn.
    9. Thrai, no longer restrained because of Freedom of Movement, but still focusing on the Crusader's Mantle, casts Banishment on the Splitcaster, which disappears to its native plane. The Crusader's Mantle fades out.
    10. The Flesh Weaver uses another Legendary Action to cast Eldritch Blast, but because it's slowed, all three blasts are at disadvantage, and only the third hits. Jerry takes 10 force damage.
    11. The webbing reappears for a moment, as translucent wisps hanging in the air. Drifting filaments in the air are Proliferate Pain.
    12. The hound gets Pack Tactics from its proximity to the Undead, but nothing happens.
  7. Round 7: The Party attacks the Flesh Weaver some more. She summons a PFES, which is annoying.
    1. Jerry casts Lightning Arrow, stabs the Flesh Weaver for 10, backs up some feet, and throws a dart for 8d8+2d4+5 = 10 pierce + 40 lightning, dealing 16 overflow damage to the dog and 6 to the Undead.
    2. Vurguron, the Splitcaster dead, now moves 50 feet towards the Flesh Weaver.
    3. The Flesh Weaver reaches out to touch Vurguron, casting a spell. Ryltar Counterspells at level 4, and thus blocks the Enervation, which would have drained his life. The fright fades, but she still has disadvantage on all attacks while she's within 5 feet of Ryltar's dog.
    4. Ryltar casts Ray of Frost, reducing her speed to 5, dealing 3 cold damage.
    5. Salris advances to the Flesh Weaver, hits with one attack, expending a hit die to deal 2d6 = 9 extra fire damage, plus 4 from Hex, totalling 27 damage from fire and slashing.
    6. The Ghostly Undead deals 7 necrotic to the Flesh Weaver, and frightens her again. The Undead's attack draws an additional damage die of necrotic energy from the floating webs.
    7. The Flesh Weaver makes a Poison Touch attack on Salris, who is resistant to poison, and thus takes only 11 damage.
    8. Thrai attacks.
    9. The Flesh Weaver makes a Poison Touch attack on Salris, again, missing.
    10. The mist goes away, and she Calls the Kindred, summoning another Psychic Fang Elite Spider.
    11. Ryltar's direwolf temporarily winks out of existence, because of something the PFES did.
    12. Ryltar's hound bites, and misses.
  8. Round 8: The Flesh Weaver reaches half health, and begins casting a slowed spell. The PFES's antimagic cone is an annoyance.
    1. Jerry pops Hunter's Mark on the Flesh Weaver, dealing 24 slashing, bringing her to half health. She sees the new PFES, and tells Ryltar and Thrai about it because they would not see it.
    2. The Flesh Weaver makes a Poison Touch against Salris, and because the doggo is gone, the attack lands.
    3. PFES advances to within 15 feet of Vurguron, facing him, and the hound reappears. Vurguron is attacked and restrained, and in the antimagic field.
    4. Vurguron is restrained, grappled, antimagicked, and flanking the Flesh Weaver. He attacks with his mundane sword, for 21 slashing. Bonus action: healing potion for 7.
    5. The Flesh Weaver moves out of the antimagic cone, and Vurguron misses his attack of opportunity. She casts a spell; Ryltar's counterspell fails. But she's slowed, and the spell takes longer to go off. We have until her next turn to disrupt her concentration.
    6. Ryltar's arcane knowledge tells us that her form is shifting. He spells for 5 cold but fails to slow her by an additional 10 feet.
    7. Salris steps outside the cone of antimagic, and attacks twice with his now-magicla sword, missing twice. He moves away and then Tolls the Dead for 2d12 = 17 necrotic.
    8. Thrai moves 20 feet, outside of the cone of antimagic, and hits the Flesh Weaver with Sacred Flame, and while she does 15 damage, she doesn't deal enough damage to break the Flesh Weaver's concentration.
    9. The Flesh Weaver uses Command Underling to make the PFES move right in front of Vurguron, and face into the corner with Ryltar and Thrai: the antimagic field now envelops a warlock and a cleric.
    10. The all-encompassing webs return, affecting many people.
    11. The hound bites the Flesh Weaver, and misses.
  9. Round 9: Vurguron is downed momentarily, but survives to lie in the webs. The Flesh Weaver phases out of existence. The PFES is still alive.
    1. Jerry throws two darts at the Big Bad, dealing 16 piercing. Jerry is webbed and in an antimagic cone and can't do much.
    2. The PFES bites Vurguron, who is restrained by webs, dealing 12 psychic and some bludgeoning and stunning him, bringing him to single-digit HP, and then attacks again for 16, downing him, then attacking again but missing.
    3. Vurguron's death save revives him with a natural 20, at 1 HP, stunned, prone, and still in an antimagic field.
    4. The Flesh Weaver's spell goes off, and she fades from this plane, just like the Phase Spiders do.
    5. Ryltar moves out of the antimagic field to cast Ray of Frost on the PFES, slowing it and damaging it.
    6. Salris attacks the PFES.
    7. Thrai attacks the PFES, nonmagically, for 4d6, but it's still alive.

Next session

We're still in initiative, and pretty tired. Still need to kill the PFES and heal Vurguron.

Ryltar's Hound of Ill Omen is still dead-set on attacking its quarry. Will it follow the Flesh Weaver to another plane?

What's down below? What happens if we kill the gravid spider and her egg sacs?

Other stuff: