DND Blog

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

The Hundred and Forty-First Session

June 6, 2026, Campaign: As the ground quakes, evil wakes

We enter the sixth portal in the basement of the Auctionhouse, and discover even more weird stuff beyond the revelation that the Gods might be mere expressions of mortals' collective wills.

Table of Contents

  1. Last session
  2. The Third House
    1. The Fifth House
    2. Morning
    3. A.R.N.
    4. The Soul Coins
    5. The Sixth Portal
  3. Next session

Last session

The tapestry was the biggest thing. Why was this knowledge hidden?

Conclusion was that this should be released, at the right time, as a way to remove a weapon from Belladonna.

The Third House

We're in the banquet hall of the Third House, discussing what to do next.

Bahamut warned us not to pass the sixth portal, but Bahamut wasn't answering questions about this tapestry. Ryltar now questions the gods, including Bahamut. He doesn't question that they do good in the world, but says that the mortals now need to work together with the gods as peers.

"So we're forming a union," says Percival.

Vurguron's dad, Valinor, sits on the floor, starting to pray, stopping, starting again, and stuck in a loop.

Jerry doesn't know whether she wants to go through that portal. She sits down next to Valinor and wraps a hand around his shoulders.

"This changes everything about what we knew about what the Gods were, or to do. It is my position to say that we are channels of the divine. Diverting from that path is dangerous," he says. "Chaos."

"Diverting from that path would bring ruin to the world," says Ryltar.

Valinor turns to Vurguron and says, "This is your choice, now." To determine how the religions will handle the knowledge that the gods are expressions of society, that they are a mirror held up to the world.

"So then we must emphasize that everything bad, everything good, that comes from the gods, is something that comes from within us. We must be so temperate, merciful, charitable, honorable, [ and so on]," says Jerry.

The Fifth House

The Fifth House delivers a letter requesting our audience at our earliest convenience.

We decide to rest in the Third House that night, and see them in the morning.

Ryltar, feeling unsettled, writes down all that has happened in his book, for Denier.

He realizes that Moon, who cannot speak, must write, and all writing is in a way a worship of Denier. She speaks to him.

Morning

At breakfast, Valinor is indisposed.

We go to the Fifth House with Vurguron, riding the luxurious carriage to the Fifth House's main entrance, where we arrive during Aezu's breakfast. He greets us from his breakfast table, in a silk bathrobe.

He is … displeased to see us at this hour, and casts Lesser Restoration upon himself to freshen before greeting us more appropriately. He's curious what brings us back, and gossipingly asks what we've been up to. We hint at things, and browse his breakfast tables.

Jerry presents him with a bottle of Lanthet wine, implying strongly that he should spend more time in church if he wants to be prepared for things to come. But he spends his time outside of church, because the patrons he services are outside of church.

Generally, he asks us to give us a heads-up the next time he's in town.

A.R.N.

We arrive at the Hunter's Table. Winifred meets us and ushers us to A.R.N.'s house. The automaton greets us at the door and guides us to A.R.N.'s office. A.R.N. is half-awake, in a wine-stained shirt, in his office chair, maintaining a gentle inebriation.

Awkward.

"What happened?" he asks.

We explain that we wanted to be unobtrusive, and then take maximum surety that the item was destroyed. We explain what all went on, and that we've wrapped up all the ends that we can wrap up.

We give him the Jack-in-the-box, and Ryltar manages with a 30 Persuasion to convince A.R.N. that we did the best we could, and that we're committed to cleaning it up. He receives a quill that will help us teleport back to A.R.N.'s place in the future.

On our way out, Jerry gives him a bottle of her Lanthet ice wine.

A.R.N. asks which beholder. We don't know, but it had a fish. "Heroism," says A.R.N.

The Soul Coins

Percival sends a Sending to Rezzik Brazzik offering some Soul Coins for Ryltar's soul.

Rezzik replies directly to Ryltar: "No deal."

Ryltar puts 19 in his Handy Haversack, and holds only one in his hand: he's not affected. He can old 2 coins and not get damaged.

The Sixth Portal

From Setton, we go to the treasure room.

Percival implants a tooth from the jar. It's a rainbow donkey molar: "The Donkey's Dream", with three charges. Expend 1 charge to return 2d8+2 HP and remove diseases. When you use this, a shimmering unicorn's horn appears. Regains charges at dawn. Gain a flaw: "When I see wickedness in action, I must oppose it."

And then, just to see what happens, he pulls out another tooth, and inserts it. It's a human tooth. There's a palpable hum to it. This is the Dahlver-Nar's Tooth: the mage who created the eponymous magic item. At any point, Percival can say, "I use an action to use the tooth."

Jerry steps through the portal. With a 13 Nature, she steps into an instantly-recognizable space. She smells stagnant air. The earthy mineral-rich stagnant air. It's a cave, and it's pitch black.

There's a shifting, dull, silvery light that flows through the room, ebbing and flowing in the southern corner of the room.

Ryltar steps through: this is a natural cave. The silvery glow is from silvery blood, from a blue-teal-skinned humanoid with black twisted bars piercing its body, arms and legs twisted beyond limit. White angelic wings broken, pinned at odd angles, and an iron mask covering to the edge of the nose, with spikes going through the mask and body. It's a Planetar: a Celestial, an emissary of the Lawful Good gods.

In another corner: a metal cylinder, chained with silver to the walls, capped in gold.

In another corner, more black iron bars at all angles coming from every single part of the wall, forming a deathtrap at the center of which is a plain white mask, with one chip, with bars sticking through the holes.

In the southright corner, a fence of chains and bars and barbs separating us from a small chest.

To the far right is a pitch black void, floating at head height.

In the bottom left corner is another chain, coiled in around something, heavily locked to the floors and walls.

No one has been down here for ages.

"I can not abide this wickedness," says Percival.

"What the fuck" says Ryltar's player.

We stealthily, quietly step in.

Ryltar pulls out the Wand of Secrets and uses it to detect traps. No traps in 30 feet, or at least none detectable.

Percival starts to move towards the trapped celestial. As he starts to move forwards, everyone hears a shifting of stones. The stalagmites on the floor are, upon second inspection, mineral dripped over a reclining humanoid. It stands up. A cloak protecting a creature from mineral deposits, smelling of death as it breathes out from a void-filled open mouth with gangly limbs and not much of a torso.

  1. Round 1: We learn that the Bodaks are going to do a lot of damage to us.
    1. Percival looks into its eyes, and loses some health from the call to the void.
    2. From the being emanates a field of draining health, 30 feet in radius. He feels that he must stay here, that he must fight against its influence.
    3. Embersia doesn't avert her eyes. She has that same feeling. She Channels Divinity, bringing the light of the Sun to this sunless space. The thing has pale greenish-black skin stretched over a voidful mouth, existing only to bring annihilation. She takes 15 points necrotic damage.
    4. Jerry: This is a Bodak, a worshipper of Orcus, the Demon of Undeath, giving its life to seek out the annihilation of everything that lives. She pops Ashardalon's Stride, attacks twice, and steps out of the damage aura.
    5. Ryltar takes his Umbral Form, then Ray of Frost for 20 damage. The creature is less-affected by damage. He exits the damage aura.
  2. Round 2: Four Bodaks now. We learn that the Bodaks really don't like radiant damage, and ignore nonmagical damage.
    1. Percival doesn't avert his eyes. He tries to flee the aura, but now three other stalagmites have hatched into Bodaks, each with their own death aura.
    2. The first Bodak steps forward. Embersia takes 38 necrotic.
    3. Jerry takes 37 necrotic, then 26 necrotic: total 63. Loses concentration on Ashardalon's Stride. Shoots for Conjure Volley to deal nonmagical damage, which does nothing. Flees the auras.
    4. Embersia deals 27 Radiant damage to two of the Bodaks, and takes 30 necrotic.
    5. Ryltar casts Cone of Cold at the eastern two.
  3. Round 3. Tentacles? Embersia makes a tactical blunder. Percival becomes an angel.
    1. Percival plays an impressive series of chords in the lyre, becoming mor eharp-like as a light comes down from the heavens as Percival spins in the light, each rotation looking more like a Planetar. He flies up, and takes damage from only one aura. A deep bellow greets him.
    2. A tentacle emerges from a pool in the corner, investigatorily, and sretreats into the water. Another does from another pool.
    3. The Bodaks move closer, dealing aura damage to Embersia and Planetar!Percival. The latter takes only 43 Necrotic. Embersia takes 73.
    4. Embersia averts her gaze, She casts Holy Aura and then steps out of three auras, taking a little aura damage, but dealing none herself.
    5. Jerry does a Lightning Arrow at one Bodak, and yells at Embersia for not attacking.
    6. Ryltar does some Cone of Cold damage to three.
  4. Round 4: Embersia down and up.
    1. Percival does some Planetar attacks: he creates a swarm of magical locusts, affecting two Bodaks. He exits the auras.
    2. A tentacle comes from the water, feels around, and withdraws.
    3. Embersia falls unconscious from gazes.
    4. Locusts chew through two Bodaks,
    5. Jerry heals Embersia for 12, then steps to a point where she can take only 15 necrotic.
    6. Ryltar does some Cone of Cold to two Bodaks.
  5. Round 4: Embersia dies; Jerry gains a new ability.
    1. Percival does some Planetar damage with a Radiant broadsword to one Bodak, destroying it.
    2. A tentacle knocks Embersia down, and then she takes 12 necrotic from aura, downing. Ryltar takes some aura damage. Percival takes 21 Necrotic from aura.
    3. Embersia dies, again.
    4. Jerry sees this. She swings the Moon Scythe, cleaving the Bodak with Hunter's Mark. Her gauntlets awaken. +1d4 to attacks, advantage on Strength, Strength to 24 (+7), and so on. She destroys that Bodak. Then she kills the second. She advances towards the third, and roars at it.
    5. Ryltar kills the remaining Bodak.
  6. Combat complete, we begin our assessment of the room.
    1. Percival withdraws from Planetar-y existence, and begins to try to heal Percival.
    2. Three tentacles feel around and withdraw.
    3. Jerry moves Embersia away from the water.
    4. Ryltar examines the imprisoned Planetar. It doesn't appear to have magical restraints; it's maybe not breathing. The metal is something Ryltar has seen before: a tuning fork to the Hells. Avernus metal, cold to the touch.

Ryltar asks: "Are you alive?" But there is a spike coming from the Planetar's mouth.

Percival uses Revivify to bring Embersia back. She gains another scar from dying once more.

Ryltar and Jerry examine the imprisoned Planetar. It's laid out in such a way as to cause the most pain and distress possible. Jerry lays hand on one stake and takes 36 psychic damage, pulling it out with a natural 34. The Planetar's head shifts.

Titan's Stone Knuckles: Awakened

For the next 9 minutes, Jerry should work on withdrawing those spikes.

Next session