The Depths of the Sunless Sea
15 May. Kvothe, Agatha, Ubo, Dravona, Sylvara, Caldris.
This session ends mid-combat. It is picked up and resolved on 7 August. Nobody died.
Scavenging the bridge
Picking over the waterfall chasm and the wreck of the rickety bridge, Ubo's survival instincts turned up crates and bags left by recent kuo-toa patrols:
- 20 rations — dried fish wrapped in salt-heavy seaweed
- Mysterious kegs of an unknown liquid
- A 100 lb iron strongbox, lock picked by Sylvara: 600 silver and 400 gold, earmarked as capital for keep renovations
The island
To find a defensible rest site, Ubo made a silent dive down the eighty-foot chasm, shifting into a giant octopus to use sixty-foot darkvision in lightless water.
Below: a subterranean lake covering fifty to sixty acres, with a small rock island roughly five hundred yards from shore.
Getting everyone across was a logistics exercise. Ubo ferried the party in giant eagle form; Caldris simply walked the lake floor, needing no air.
During the long rest, a search for a lost magical shield failed — even Caldris's undead senses could not find it in the murk. The strongbox was cached on the island to cut encumbrance for the march south. The seaweed rations were split among the living members.
"There you are"
Four miles south, the mind flayer's presence started to press on them.
Scouting invisibly, Kvothe ran into a psychic brush — a telepathic sweep that got through. A 15 was not enough. A cold voice said "There you are," and ripped a 4th-level spell slot out of his memory.
The party ate dried Yew Claw bark in response: +1d4 to Intelligence saving throws for an hour. Caldris declined, relying on his undead resistances.
Weakened but braced for mental combat, they advanced on the enemy outpost.
Round one
Formation: Caldris and two summoned dire wolves leading to draw fire, then Agatha with the Chain Breaker, Dravona, and an invisible Kvothe.
- Kvothe opened with a sneak attack that nearly dropped a kuo-toa outright
- Dravona burned three kuo-toa down with a 2nd-level Scorching Ray
- The dire wolves moved to intercept; Agatha readied for anything that got past
The enemy escalated hard. The kuo-toa leader summoned a water elemental out of the cavern floor and warded himself with Mirror Image. Then a chuul came clattering in.
The tentacles, and the Derro
The kuo-toa leader cast Evard's Black Tentacles, trapping Dravona and Agatha and forcing the party onto the back foot trying to break his concentration.
- Ubo stripped the Mirror Image with Dispel Magic
- Caldris engaged the water elemental
- Dravona's control attempt was Counterspelled
- The chuul killed one dire wolf; the elemental started working on the druid
Then a second group of Derro arrived — and were nobody's allies. They threw fireballs indiscriminately into the melee, hitting kuo-toa and party alike. Kvothe had to dive for cover.
The turn
- Agatha, still restrained, crushed a kuo-toa with the warhammer and put a Spiritual Weapon on the caster
- Sylvara hit the kuo-toa leader for 41 with the Oathbow
- Dravona landed a 4th-level Slow on the chuul and several Derro. The mind flayer resisted entirely
- A Derro fireball killed the kuo-toa leader, dropping the Black Tentacles
The price: the water elemental slammed Ubo twice, knocking his octopus form out from under him and reverting him to humanoid at badly depleted health.
The Mind Blast
Frustrated at losing its thralls, the mind flayer opened up. A cone of psychic energy, DC 15 Intelligence saves.
| Resisted (helped by Yew Claw bark) | Kvothe, Sylvara, Dravona |
| Failed | Ubo — already broken by the elemental. Unconscious, one failed death save |
| Failed | Agatha — despite the Chain Breaker's advantage. Reduced damage, but stunned |
Where the session ended
- Ubo unconscious on the cavern floor, one death save down
- Agatha stunned, paralysed, and grappled by the chuul
- The mind flayer standing over what was left
- Derro still throwing fireballs into the room
- Kvothe, down a 4th-level slot, with Sylvara and Dravona, still up
Roll initiative.