Forty-Second Session - The Battle of the Catacombs

Descending back into the catacombs, Max and Ishaq terrify their new allies with stories of how perilous the catacombs can be, impressing upon them how hazardous this mission is. They do a damn good job of it, as Max intimidated the crap out of an Intimidate check.

Markoris and his map take the lead on the return route to the portal and finds his way without difficulty.

March order: Each of them with their two associated NPCs (except Raul)
 * 1) Markoris
 * 2) Alice
 * 3) Max
 * 4) Ishaq
 * 5) Alana
 * 6) Celia
 * 7) Raul

Alice and Markoris notice there are signs of things having been present in this area since they left (scrape marks, disturbances in the dust) - doesn’t appear to be the same Huge creature. As they near the rift, Markoris hears something like singing, or a Gregorian chant. Lluso the Illusionist turns Markoris invisible to go check it out (cross off a 3rd level slot for Lluso, Concentration engaged).

Markoris moves forward. He sees the rift is still there, and the voices are coming from down the hall from where the Nightwalker emerged last time. The  voices do not sound human. He notices that the Rift is looking weaker than it was, and perceives it may not be around much longer.

He follows the sound around a couple more corners until he reaches a door, perceiving there’s at least a handful of chanters. Markoris pokes his head in the door and sees FIVE FUCKING DREAM DEVOURERS in a circle conducting a fucking ritual, then returns to report in. He’s been gone about fifteen minutes, Invisibility is still on.

A quick consultation follows, and everyone agrees stopping the summoning takes precedence over the rescue - plan is to kick in the door and light up the circle with AoEs. The combined force rolls Stealth as they creep down the hall toward the door. Ishaq and Celia speak Undercommon, hear: ‘Lord of Nightmare, Creator of All, Bless us Again, Bless us Again’. It appears the Nightwalker is being summoned back from its banishment, which cannot be allowed.

ROLL INITIATIVE
 * 1) Max, Bucca, Lluso - 22
 * 2) Raul - 21
 * 3) Alice, Kasakas, Emerson - 21
 * 4) Markoris, Nalsa, Thian - 20
 * 5) Bad Guys  - 16
 * 6) Ishaq, Jerry Paladin, George Cleic - 9
 * 7) Alana, Robbie, Dora - 7
 * 8) Celia, Bob F, Bob G - 6

ROUND ONE (Surprise Round!)
 * 1) Max - Moves to K7, two javelin attacks miss on Squid 1
 * 2) Bucca opens the door
 * 3) Lluso moves to O5 and casts Phantasmal Killer on Squid 1, target saves, no more 4th-level slot for Lluso
 * 4) Raul - enters the room and attacks with bow, misses
 * 5) Alice - enters room
 * 6) Emerson casts Fireball between Squid 1 and 3, 22 damage to one, 11 to the other
 * 7) Kosakas moved into range but didn’t take an action this turn I believe since I believe he had to dash.
 * 8) Markoris -  slips in, still invisible, bow attack on Squid 3, 17 hits, 21 damage to Squid 3 - concentration is not broken, chant is continuing -
 * 9) Starred Guard move to flank Markoris around M5
 * 10) Nalsa holds action and invokes Thunderous Smite
 * 11) Thian  casts Firebolt on #3, misses
 * 12) Bad Guys  - Surprised!
 * 13) Ishaq - busts in with a level 5 Fireball that hits all five enemies, 32 damage to the assholes who don’t save, 16 to those who do, follows up with Quickened Spell Chill Touch, which misses. He then moves to half-cover behind a partial wall -
 * 14)  two squids lose concentration but keep chanting
 * 15) George Cleic moves to O4 and casts 3rd level Dispel Magic to make squid #2 stop chanting
 * 16) Jerry Paladin casts Sanctuary on Markoris
 * 17) Alana - moves in, casts Moonbeam on Squid 2, 22 damage but target keeps concentration
 * 18) Robbie moves to O2, casts Firebolt on Squid 2 and misses
 * 19) Dora moves next to Raul and casts Enhance Ability on him (advantage on WIS checks, Concentration engaged for Dora)
 * 20) Celia - casts Guiding Bolt at lvl 5 on Squid 3, misses
 * 21) Bob F moves in and casts Mage Armour
 * 22) Bob G moves in and casts Chromatic Orb on #4, 21 damage on #4, doesn’t lose Concentration

ROUND TWO ROUND THREE END OF SESSION
 * 1) Max - javelin attack, 14 (halved) points of damage on #1
 * 2) Bucca moves into the room
 * 3) Lluso moves closer to Max and casts Magic Missile at level 3 (-1 3rd level slot) for 21 damage on #1
 * 4) Raul - bow attack, 21 damage (halved) on #1
 * 5) Alice - casts Bless at 3rd level on everyone in the party except Max (+1d4 to attack rolls + saving throws, Concentration engaged) and moves forward
 * 6) Kasakas takes longbow attack on #4, 5 damage, no loss of concentration
 * 7)  Emerson moves to Q10 and casts Slow on all targets!  #1 fails the save and is Slowed
 * 8) Markoris -  At this point, none of the enemies look rough, which is terrifying, and it’s becoming clear that Rollbot is cursed tonight. Markoris moves to L9 and bow attacks Squid 1, 9 damage (halved)
 * 9) Nalsa moves to N10
 * 10) Thian moves to M8 makes bow attack against Squid 1, misses
 * 11) Bad Guys  - #2 fails Moonbeam save, takes 20 damage, maintains chanting
 * 12) #1 closes into melee with Nalsa and triggers a melee attack with Thunderous Smite, 12 damage (physical halved). It makes a Tentacle attack on Nalsa, 24 Psychic damage,
 * 13) #2 and #4 keep chanting
 * 14) #5 resumes chanting
 * 15) #3 advances on Nalsa and attacks her as well, 18 Psychic damage
 * 16) Ishaq - moves to G5 for three-quarters cover, casts 4th-level Magic Missile on Squid 1, 16 damage
 * 17) Jerry P moves to H5 and casts Branding Smite
 * 18) George moves to L9, casts Dispel Magic on #5 but fails
 * 19) Alana - moves Moonbeam to Squid 4, 5 damage
 * 20) Emerson casts Firebolt on #2, misses
 * 21) Dora stays put and casts Hypnotic Pattern on #3 and 4, both of them save
 * 22) Celia - moves to K9, 4th level Guiding Bolt on #2, misses
 * 23) Bob G casts Invisibility on Bob F, who holds a crossbow attack while dashing closer to the enemy
 * 1) Max - Mace attacks on #1, 5 points of halved damage
 * 2) Bucca flanks and attacks #3 with advantage and misses all strikes because rollbot is cursed tonight
 * 3) Lluso Magic Missiles #2 for 22 points of damage, without stopping the chant (Lluso has 1 3rd level slot left)
 * 4) Raul -
 * 5) Alice - Advanced, took two swings at #2. One miss, one hit. Used a first level divine smite, bringing the damage to 2 for the strike itself and 12 radiant damage.
 * 6) Kosakas. Advanced, took a shot (not sure at which one). Hit for 8 damage.
 * 7) Emerson did something that hit for 11 damage I think based on rolling rink but I don’t know which one on or what exactly.
 * 8) Markoris - shoots at Squid 1 again, 20 damage halved, Nalsa attacks but misses, Thian attacks 3 with sword but misses
 * 9) Bad Guys  - 5, 4, 2 keep chanting (round 3 of chant)
 * 10) 4 takes 19 damage from Moonbeam without losing Concentration
 * 11) 1 attacks Nalsa again but misses
 * 12) 3 uses Mind Blast, 25 damage to those who fail the throw (Lluso has 13 HP left)
 * 13) Ishaq - Magic Missile at 4th level on Squid 1, 24 damage, target is DESTROYED and leaves a rift behind, while Ishaq is still taking three-quarters cover
 * 14) George casts Guiding Bolt on Squid 5, misses
 * 15) Jerry swings at Squid 3 empowered by Branding Smite, 11 damage
 * 16) Alana - Moves Moonbeam back to Squid 2, 10 damage, moves to M5
 * 17) Robbie shoots at #3 after moving to P7, misses
 * 18) Dora finds out they’re immune to Charm which makes Hypnotic Pattern useless, attacks #3, fails
 * 19) Celia - casts Silence into the center of the ritual, silencing the chanting!
 * 20) Bob F attacks #2 from hidden, misses, loses Invisibility
 * 21) Other Bob casts Magic Missile on #3 at level 3, 19 damage