LF nerds for D&D 5th edition

It started slow but progressed very fast into a spider pit of doom, I figured having 5 players for this wouldn't have been that a bad after all, I saved kevah 3 times+twice with inspiration that's how hard it was, the 1s were strong today, too strong ...

 

D&D turned roguelike today.

Taufen Hall is dead.

 

These rolls man, might wanna make a halfling bard with the lucky feat next for times like these. But I didn't expect us to survive either, tbh ...

 

Bleeding from innumerable wounds, Taufen sighed as the spider landed with a thud beside him. Kevah had revived just in time, it seemed. But she would need time to get clear, and Taufen couldn't make it past those bristly legs unscathed anyway.

The blood dripped from his elbow as he raised his mace again and his voice raised in prayer, not a hymn this time nor a blessing, but a dirge. Bloody saliva flecked from his lips as with a roar he brought the weapon down. The monstrous spider's battered body took the blow head on, and it hissed in pain, though it still stood.

Kevah turned from her sprint to see Taufen faltering, but on the brink of death herself, she knew she would be too late. With one last gambit, she called out the spider's weakpoint, her superior knowledge of war giving her insight where the cleric found only the inevitable. Hearing her words, Taufen rallied to attack the spider's left side - where it was now crippled.

But he was too tired. His left leg buckled beneath him and he fell to his knee, even as the blow went wide. Defenseless, he raised his shield against the monster's fangs, but it was twisted away and the bite sank deep into his chest. Taufen fell to the ground, his last sight Kevah's mighty maul staving in the spider's head. He tried to gasp, "Run Kevah, run..!" but couldn't find his voice.

The cave was falling to pieces around them. The colossal spider matriarch crashing wildly into everything and anything in blind fear and anger. Though charmed, its lack of sight and the screams of its dying brood only whipped the mother into a frenzy and it ran this way and that, wounding itself and annihilating anything that stepped into its path.

"No, you fool! I can't carry you like this!" Kevah roared at the fallen cleric. "Get up and heal me, so I can get us both out of here!" Stalactites and rubble crashed around them, and Kevah was forced to scramble out of the way as one impaled Taufen's leg. Her face grew grimly determined, and she reached out to carry the cleric to safety, cracking her thick arms back into place and spitting blood. "Always comes down to this." She muttered bending down. That was when the boulder hit. Her orcish endurance already spent, Kevah's tough body finally succumbed to the incredible punishment she had taken.

Sirius saw her fall. The roguish elf wondered how it had come to this. They had been free and clear, or so they thought, handling the spider infestation in the usual carefree manner they took. Flint getting webbed, Kevah mounting the charmed spiders and having the time of her life, her maul still deadly even as she straddled the vicious creatures, and Sirius himself, darting in from the shadows to cut the scuttling monsters - barely shadows themselves - to pieces. Taufen had his work cut out for him, sure, but they were surviving, as they always did. A little rough and tumble, a little fun on the side, and a dash of danger for spice.

Then it had all gone to hell. Sirius blinked past the moment, vaulting the rubble as time caught up to him. "Flint! I could use some help!" Sirius yelled as he easily navigated the maze of fallen debris, his elvish feet finding footing in the most precarious of places. He reached Kevah's side in no time at all. "Come on, you two! Stop sleeping on the..." His words faltered as he saw Taufen, face down in a pool of blood. His chest was crushed under a large piece of rubble and he was not breathing.

Sirius's face went grim and quickly he searched the body, looking for anything that could aid them. He stepped aside as another spike crashed down and looked down at his hands that held only two holy symbols. "Fool cleric!" He growled. "Not even a resurrection scroll to get your back on your feet!" He grit his teeth and turned away, no time for the dead now.

The frustrating bandages and herbalism he had learned as a child proved scant use in the chaotic scene, even as he dodged rubble the matriarch's screaming set his teeth on edge, and despite his efforts, Kevah's breath remained shallow. In the end, Sirius opted for the half-orc's own technique and, hoisting the warrior unceremoniously to his shoulder, pelted towards safety.

At the far end of the cavern, Flint struggled with his bonds, the webbing tying tighter around him with each twist. "By Reorx! I've had bloody enough of this!" He roared, and with a mighty rip, the steel-like webbing tore asunder and he emerged from the cocoon, seething with anger. Sirius pelted towards him, carrying Kevah of all people, and screaming for him to run.

Just then, the spider screeched out again, and they scattered as the crazed monstrosity rammed against the wall beside them. "By all the gods, this beast has to die!" Flint roared and opened fire with his longbow, the arrow penetrating deep into the wounded spider's fleshy hide. Sirius dropped his burden and danced aside as the spider turned its milky-white eyes in his direction, and he opened fire with his own bow.

The two adventurers flanked the beast, peppering it with arrows as it charged at them. It was Sirius who scored the killing blow, though Kevah's poor body gained a few more bruises before he found an opening. The great beast, bristling arrows and stalactites, finally fell to the ground and was still.

Sirius turned and picked up Kevah's unconscious body and, watching every shadow, Flint and he made a mad dash for the exit and the sun they had left what seemed like a lifetime ago.

A hundred gold richer, but one man poorer, the trade hadn't been fair this time. Not at all.

 

Great writing, the reward really wasn't worth it, (I've got a longbow not a crossbow, btw).

 

I always produce the better stuff at a late hour. I think it's because it gets quiet and I just stop thinking about stuff. Really just wanted to write an end scene, since it was a pretty epic battle too. Great setup, just a bit ( :p ) too hard

I honestly thought you had a crossbow, Kane. My bad!

 

Didn't realise, but dwarves not only have advantage on saving throws against poison, they also have resistance which means they take half the damage. Not sure if that was taken into account, but something to remember for next time

 

Yeah, I know. Just something to remember...and since I finally found out what resistance actually is, lol, I thought I'd share :p

 

As long as there's no webs you'll be fine :p I'm kind of interested to see how it goes without a cleric in future. Maybe there'll just be lots of sleeping...and no damn spiders

Edit: I also realised that the race rules are a little confusing. Some races have subraces, and when the subraces get ability score improvements, you get both the subrace improvement and the race improvement. So for instance dwarves get +2 to con, but a mountain dwarf also gets +2 to str. A hill dwarf gets +1 to wis instead of that (as well as the +2 to con). Not sure if you guys included those...since, well it's confusing. I didn't really look at it because my human gets +1 to all six stats, but in that light it makes sense to have more than one bonus.

 

What happened to your live session? And is your sister in this time or no?

 

So you're doing a friday session after all? I'm in, gotta meet Ikalx' new character

 

If you want to make the new char tomorow, 9pm UTC+0 would actually wirk better for me.