In which the Sigil 6 decide to venture into the Shadowfell once more, this time in order to destroy Acererak forever.

Who are the Sigil 6 – Trundle, Helewynn, Bugwump, Kuru, Jusko and Shepherd what have they been up to?

There was an hour of discussing what to do. They decided to use the 8 Lich’s Soul Jars as leverage to cut a deal with the Lich Congress, getting the Tomb That Walks off their trail and then doing their damnedest to get to where Acererak keeps his Soul Jar before he can come back.

The Lady of Pain brokered a meeting with Kaasary, the Herald of Orcus (thank goodness for the Fantasy Name Generator’s Lich Names) on a magic-dead area in the Maze. They agreed that they get the Tomb That Walks off their trail and the specific way to destroy Acererak’s Soul Jar. The Herals also agreed to notify them if they should learn that Acererak has reincorporated.

Acererak’s Soul Jar is in a heavily trapped volcano in the Winterfell, a mountain that spews negative energy, not lava. The volcano is surrounded by tribes of oathbreaker Frost Giants who owe Acererak some ancient debt. Once they have the archlich’s Soul Jar, they’ll have to take it back to his home, a small Prime Material world. They were given a map to a swamp a few days journey from a city called Greyhawk.

The players are talking about using this item they received from a Gnomish Deity after a previous adventure.

The Lady of Pain gave Trundle a blue-white rose with vicious thorns that was a key that opened a gate to a nearby mountain in the Shadowfell. Trundle wrapped it around his shield. Jusko buried a piece of broken amber from the golem they destroyed in Demi-Plane of Dread’s Amber Temple.

Next Game: The long slog to Mount Acererak, a volcano spewing negative energy. They haven’t rested, not knowing when Acererak will reincorporate.

In which the Sigil 6 used a Wish to avoid Death and then beheaded Acererak.

Who are the Sigil 6 – Trundle, Helewynn, Bugwump, Kuru, Jusko and Shepherd what have they been up to?

Acererak had a strong start. The group was bloodied. Bugwump had died from a Power Word Kill and the only thing that saved him was the ability to re-roll a Counterspell. I described the Pale Frog-Kin, an avatar of death from Bugwump’s homeland. “Are you Bugwump, of the Sigil 6?”

Bugwump signed and then flipped the avatar of death off as he went back to life to get another chance.

Then Jusko closed with the archlich. Trundle had closed with Acererak but hadn’t been able to land a shot.

Acererak attempted to use a paralysis touch ability but did not roll well enough to get by Jusko’s 24 AC. And Jusko rolled a nat 20 with a vorpal sword.

Acererak’s green gem eyes started to lose their glow but before they turned to dust they managed to say, “Well done. I will reform soon. We will see if you are so lucky next time.”

The group looked into some nooks and crannies of the dungeon, found the library and did some research.

Shepherd cast Legend Lore to try and find Acererak’s Soul Jars and/or Lair. I’m thinking that ancient Omuan legendary warriors, folk who were far away from their home when Omu fell to Acererak tried to kill him and never returned.

Next Game: You know where Acererak’s Lair is…now what?

In which the Sigil 6 enter the Tomb of Annihilation again but this time they encounter the tomb’s architect.

Who are the Sigil 6 – Trundle, Helewynn, Bugwump, Kuru, Jusko and Shepherd what have they been up to?

Before entering the Tomb of Annihilation, Kuru met up with Dacaad and offered whatever support he could and when they parted ways the little Halfling Arcane Trickster said, “Keep on trucking.” This became the words of the night.

It was a slow start. I didn’t sleep well last night and didn’t have much energy. We levelled up characters, read up on shiny new 6th level spells and made tentative plans to re-enter the Tomb and get the Lich Soul Jars that they knew to be littered on the floor of the balconies above the Death God’s Nursery.

Trundle had Moa, an Omuan deity in his head again, as he did when they first entered Omu. This gave the Sigil 6 access to the Godroads once again.

They got into an area called the Chapel of Hate, with the altar to Orcus that they had used as a hasty exit a round or two ahead of Acererak. I rolled a d20, thinking that Acererak would arrive on a 20. Whenever the group stopped to do something – I added another 20. Discussion about what to do with the captive lich, 2d20. Looking over the hallway to the north and deciding not to mess with it – 3d20. Cutting away the Ward on the portal to the balconies above the Death God’s Nursey…4d20.

20.

Timestop. Finger of Death on Bugwump. Chain Lightning on everyone (didn’t do anything to Shepherd because he’s in a Flesh Golem shell).

And we’ll roll initiative next week. I described what it is like to know that time has stopped and that Acererak was staring at the staff Bugwump had acquired the last time the group was in Chult – the staff that had once belonged to the lich.

Next Game: Acererak is in the building.

In which the Sigil 6 slay the Queen of Feathers in front of Dacaad and return to Omu, a lost city in the midst of being rebuilt.

Who are the Sigil 6 – Trundle, Helewynn, Bugwump, Kuru, Jusko and Shepherd what have they been up to?

Helewynn’s player always wants to leave her weapons in their scabbards and do some outside the box stuff. I’m worried that 5e’s hit point bloat has attempted to mechanically curb this amazing instinct. Her Moon Elf jumped off her War Raven with a silver chain in her hands, wrapping the blade around the Queen of Feather’s mouth and wrestling her to the ground. When the Queen of Feathers attempted to throw her off, a 20 was rolled in the dueling athletics roll. The Moon Elf Barbarian dragged the legendary T-rex to the ground.

I described the Queen of Feathers desperately trying to get Helewynn off of her, using her Misty Step ability. I described it as stepping momentarily into the Astral Sea returning to Chult 20 feet above the ground but there was no shaking this elven bad-ass.

Kuru put a stone with Immovable Object on it on the back of the Queen of Feather’s head, pinning her in place. Jusko offered his vorpal blade, the one Kuru had ripped from the Queen’s head when they first met, and Helewynn beheaded the beast.

Trundle mentioned checking the corpse for magic items and I rolled on an online random table that generated a pile of magic items, adding in that she also had an undigested Githyanki Silver Sword.

Dacaad warned the group that the kobold cliffs could be dangerous and cautioned against going to the Yuan-ti part of the city. “Turns out, when people worship a hungry snake god who wants to end the world by eating it, diplomacy is tricky.”

The ancient Omu trickster snake god is back in Trundle’s head now that he is back, giving the group access to the Godroads again.

The Sigil 6 hit 11th level tonight. Shit is getting real. I think we’re going to go from 1 to 20. Exciting.

Next Game: A feast in Omu and then getting the Soul Jars they know are in Acererak’s trapped tomb.

In which the Sigil 6 once again travel south across Chult on pterodactyl-back.

Who are the Sigil 6 – Trundle, Helewynn, Bugwump, Kuru, Jusko and Shepherd what have they been up to?

The crew asked their merchant prince friend, Jessamine, whose nephew they saved from Zhent kidnapping and whose sister they have travelled with across the planes and consider a part of their Sigil 6 Family. They asked her if she knew of any of Acererak’s spies in Port Nyanzaru. She said she would look into it.

I described Jessamine’s face losing its smile as they left and she ordered the kidnapping of a merchant who was a known worshipper of Orcus. She got some intel out of this merchant through unkind means and send it to the Sigil 6 in a letter. Acererak does return to the Cradle of the Death God and is not planning on harming the Sigil 6 himself, believing that other forces will do that for him if he just waits long enough. Also they learned that Acererak lost some standing with other liches when his plans to make his own Death God fell through.

They travelled south and met a Ranger leading a group and he explained Dacaad’s leadership, “He seeks to unite the tribes and peoples across Chult as best he can. Dacaad has placed tablets in all of Ubtao’s deserted holy places, with a litany about what he needs to do to apologize to the people of Chult for abandoning them.”

There was a cool moment where this Ranger asked why they were on Chult. Jusko put it in a cool way, “We are being hunted and need help we can only find here.”

The Ranger nodded, “Being prey is a terrible thing.”

The Heart of Ubtao, a floating stone half a mile above the ground, was now being used as a hospital by healers, led by Ebelle, an elder. Bugwump rudely suggested they destroy the Teleportation Circle to Red Land of Thay rather than hoping a stone with a Dispel Magic Rune on it will lock it closed.

Ebelle took his advice and so they used Kuru’s Stone to Mud wand, digging up the circle from its stone roots and throwing it off the Heart. They were gifted a flying steed, a winged zebra, as a thank-you. Trundle loved the steed and so it is his.

Next Game: They could see a man on a hilltop, sipping from a canteen, sword across his lap. The Queen of Feathers, a legendary T-Rex is hunting him nearby, almost ready to pounce. That man is Dacaad.

In which the Sigil 6 Scry the Cradle of the Death God.

Who are the Sigil 6 – Trundle, Helewynn, Bugwump, Kuru, Jusko and Shepherd and what have they been up to?

The Corpseflea formerly known as Failed Soldier is now Shepherd. The player described the character not at all responding to the old name.

Love it.

Some players were missing tonight, so we had a low-key scry and chat. It was a lovely downshift.

Shepherd, the Corpseflea Death Priest, scryed into the chamber where the Sigil 6 had destroyed the Death-God Acererak was growing in the dungeon under the Lost City of Omu. He saw 8 Lich Soul Jars and with a Gem of True seeing, saw an invisible lich, bound by iron over its arms, legs, face and hands.

In the Chapel of Hate, they saw the Nothics chained to the wall and with a solid Arcana check, Bugwump explained that Vecna seeding false manuals that did not turn necromancers into liches but into Nothics, one eyed beasts with only vague memory of their previous lives. They also saw the secret doors down the hallway they hadn’t explored because I messed up and shared a map with the secret doors on it.

* shrugs * Eh.

During their last delve into this mess, they had access to the Godroads. This time they do not. They bought a Teleport Scroll as a safe retreat measure.

I really like re-visiting old places, seeing how things have changed. I’ve got fun ideas about the Lost City of Omu and how Chult has changed in the months since the Sigil 6 was here.

An ambitious tribal leader is uniting factions throughout the continent.

Next Game: Into the jungle. No, really.