In our Extinction Curse campaign, we are just about to wrap up Chapter 3, with the group assaulting the Xulgaths (troglodytes) at the 3rd Aeon Tower in the Swardlands. The Xulgaths have consolidated and reinforced, and their leader was hiding out in the tower, waiting for the group that have harassed their forces over the last few weeks.
I have opted to not continue streaming this particular campaign, mainly due to the additional technical challenge involved with local and remote Discord players. It adds a lot of additional complexity to the layout, and makes it that much more challenging for our other campaign setup.
The group is now level 11, having dealt with numerous other threats beyond the Xulgath activity, including defeating a coven of Night Hags feeding on the nightmares and guilt of the locals. In the prior game, we actually lost a character, the monk Scarlet Jackal was polymorphed by the Hags into a cricket, and then squished by the creatures. After some consideration, the player opted to return as a new character, playing a kobold dragon-barbarian.
This last session started off with some gear and adjustments to their new level 11 abilities, and another character swap with the druid exchanging for another fighter. This was beneficial, since our usual cleric and fighter duo was unavailable for the game – with the new barbarian and fighter, they compensated for a bit of the damage ability of the group (at the loss of some healing).
The story quickly advanced to the assault on the tower, in which the group secretly observed the ruined Aeon Tower. This particular one had collapsed partially in the past, leaving the Aeon “light” floating in the air 300 feet in the sky. Below, the main structure was intact, but the primary tower had crumbled, and fallen into itself on the temple. Guarding the area, the group readily identified numerous threats. In the surrounding countryside, they new of at least a single patrol of several Xulgaths and a Tyrannosaurus Rex “pet” – easily avoidable, but able to respond quickly to any tower alarms. Around the base of the tower, a pair of Stone Golems walked a steady but slow orbiting circle, apparently not caring or potentially aligned with the Xulgaths. On the lower towers, a half dozen Xulgaths maintained watch, guarding the entrance stairway to the tower. Finally, far above on the balcony leading into the temple, the group observed a Xulgath far larger then the previous ones encountered – obviously the tribes leader – and as the group surmised, a spell caster due to their lack of weaponry. In all, a very formidable force against the group of 6 would be heroes.
The group debated for a bit, but then opted for a distraction assault. The ranger would stay behind, bolstered with a dust of disappearance and a fly potion, to provide a distraction and draw out the guardians. Meanwhile, the rest of the group would teleport to the top of the tower with the bards magic, and try to defeat the leader quickly. Ideally, they could cut the head off of the snake fast enough, to defeat the rest without direct confrontation. The plan itself was risky, the landing spot for the group was a bit uncertain and unsafe, and the ranger was more than nervous about the rather large force that he would have to engage.
As expected, the plan rather quickly went south, though not as bad as feared. As the teleport activated, the bard’s targeting was slightly off (he had a 50/50 shot of being off by 5 feet, with the group arranged randomly around him). With the use of his only hero point, the new barbarian managed to avoid materializing inside a stone wall. Then the sorcerer slipped and cursed (due to a lack of stealth), alerting the enemy to their presence. Outside, the ranger began sending arrows towards the guard Xulgaths, quickly gaining the attention of the guards. As expected, they quickly sounded the alert, blowing loud horns, and then began moving into the wilderness towards the archer. However, in the process, they activated another golem, a previously unseen one on one of the lower towers.
With most of the defense force racing towards the ranger, the T-Rex patrol arrived on the scene at a distance, moving at first towards the tower, and then shifting towards the source of arrows. Almost all of the guards had left the tower as well, except for a single large xulgath who climbed the stairs to help the leader. Meanwhile, the group moved quickly to drop down and engage the spell-caster, who had retreated into the tower, to near the first chamber. Acting quickly, the warriors quickly converged on the enemy, surrounding and striking at the creature, and managing to wound him initially. Unfortunately, this triggered the chiefs secondary defense, as a pair of ghostly entities engaged and attacked the group – and with another round of severe luck, the new kobold barbarian died to a Phantasmal Killer spell. The sorcerer saved his life with a Breath of Life spell, but then he was downed a second time with an AoE spell.
By the end of the session, the group is on the ropes. Most of their big spells and abilities are gone, and the chieftain is remarkably durable – he has evaded most of the spells or resisted the effects, and is highly resistant to physical damage, while his physical bite and claws are accurate and deadly. In addition, he can command the stone, and strike out at the group from range with deadly force as well. Meanwhile the other xulgath has reached the group, and has engaged the champion outside on the balcony. The ranger managed to injure several of the guards, and then eventually donned the dust of invisibility and flying potion, and is now flying as quickly as possible to the group. Meanwhile, many of the guards are searching the grounds for the archer, while a portion head back to the tower.
