High Rollers DnD - High Rollers: Aerois #101 | Mindflayers and Mecha Ninjas (Part 2)

Episode Date: February 11, 2021

A new level in the Shadowsong Pinnacle reveals some more incredibly dangerous foes! Support the High Rollers and get early access to podcast episodes (and more) on our Patreon: www.patreon.com/HighRollers Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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found within Fortnite. It's not just Fortnite Battle Royale with minifigures. It's an entirely new experience that combines the best of Lego play and Fortnite. Created to give players of all ages, including kids and families, a safe digital space to play in. Download Fortnite on consoles, PC, cloud services, or Android and play Lego Fortnite for free. Rated ESRB E10+. We rejoin the party inside the weapons facility, the research and development part of the tower of Shadowsong Pinnacle. Whilst trying to explore what appear to be a series of labs

in the top floor of this tower, the party have just heard a muffled scream and cry for mercy from behind one of the doors. What, my friends, would you like to do? Oh, I mean, just go.

Troubles in my life, I'm walking away. I was going down the elevator singing. Can I see through any portion of this door where the moaning is coming from? No. It is a kind of like wooden door flushed to the stone. There is no keyhole or anything like that.

Looking up at the ceiling, is there any sort of ventilation system which would, you know would cross over all these rooms there is there does appear to be a series of kind of stone chutes that go across the roof and it seems maybe under the floor

of some of these rooms yes inspired you hear another like from the room we all hear that do we and not just yeah yeah no no no yeah yeah it's loud enough that i would say that maybe lucius doesn't but ayla nova quill and moon star definitely would um you guys are all close enough that yeah you can hear the sounds of violence coming from the lower right room. The Aayla is the closest to the door.

I think if... Nova's there right now. I don't know why. Is Nova actually there on the map? Yeah, I was up. She's up above, yeah. Oh, on my map, she's outside the door. Sorry.

For some reason, she's literally right beside the door So I thought she'd move there I don't know if that's updating it On the On the messenger ring I will just say Do you want me to just barrel in this door Votes for yes votes for no

Not a bad idea No No Okay We gotta be quick Someone's been hurt votes for no. Not a bad idea. No, no, no. Okay, well, we've got to be quick. Someone's been hurt. Moonstar kind of slides up next to it and is, like,

pressed up against it. You can see her kind of, like, readying her gear. I hear it, too. Yes, some strange, like... And I turn around and notice that everyone's at the other door. Oh, right. Yeah. Different. Yeah, screaming in pain. I can reduce my size.

Maybe I can go small and maybe get into that ventilation system above us somehow. I think, Adéa, can you just quickly open the door quietly and let's get a look, maybe? Are you asking this in, like, not a messenger ring? Because she doesn't have a messenger ring.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, can I whisper it to her? I'm right next to her. Yeah, you can whisper it to her. I'll try and do it without alerting anyone. And then she will do it. I'm just also setting something up here. Give me a second.

All the enemies or? No. Why would there be any enemies? Just friends. No. No. Friends with martinis for us. Sorry, I will be back in a second. So when you make snow angels, Sentry,

are they trying to recreate the prime with the wings? Is this messengering? I just do what the princess does i normally just copy her she has a great time oh i was just wondering if that was like a guardian tradition oh as uh you're having that conversation moon star gently try it starts tipping the door open um and uh yeah this time as soon as the door is opened uh you hear what a kind of blood curdling like i think he's okay too late or she she could be a they i think they're okay could be a they i think they're okay okay i think maybe burst in healer burst in ayla charge fucking burst in then i guess i thought it

was just a bad stomach problem but this is so when you when you step in ayla you can see this is very clearly to ayla i think you'd be like oh this is what you would think of as a sort of laboratory there are desks covered with um you know the the similar kind of like slates these kind of like magic uh glass slates that you've seen starbane using before as well as a mixture of like open physical eros books with like parchment and ink um you can see maps you can see little devices with like little kind of like magic runes and engraving tools scattered along the desks there's actually a series of desks kind of zigzagged with each other with these larger kind of glass uh kind of windows with all sorts of like runic

magic script on them um and but more immediately perhapsla's interests, is there are a number of corpses. All of them appear to be citizens or scholars. They appear to be wearing loose shirts and trousers, no battle gear, and they're just slumped over desks or in chairs, and one of them is currently just seemingly hovering in the air and blood is just pouring out of their chest. And then they kind of drop to the ground.

Is there any other creatures in here? You see a shimmering of the air and then kind of appearing from invisibility, you see a creature I don't think you've ever seen before. Their skin is a kind of yellowish-orange, like a mottled yellowish-orange, flecked with brown patterns and stripes and dots in a strange pattern.

Their nose is almost completely missing. They just have like a space where their nostrils are, and they have these kind of like long, tall kind of foreheads. It is a Githyanki, if you know D&D, but obviously Ayla doesn't know what that is. But this one is seemingly wearing... their body is almost partly metal you can see like sections of their torso and chest have been replaced by like metal armor and plates and they have an entirely uh construct like arm one of their legs and then their their face is kind of

molded so that only one of their eyes is organic anymore. And they are holding this long, thin, bladed silver sword that seems to be vibrating in the air. Ah. I did wonder how long it would take for someone to discover what Democles was up to.

You're the ones that Lord Calus has files on. I should have known. Can I move? I want to move in so that other people can also move in with me. Yeah, if she will... You're going to back me up! No!

It is... I will say that you can tell that they are feminine in a in a certain manner uh i'm just gonna throw this down as like a type as an icon okay and yeah they're they're positioned like if you guys get like that you're not going to be able to surprise them with an attack like if you go to attack you're going to be rolling i think we're slowly moving into the room like yeah and she's like got her softly she holds the blade over her head balancing the tip and it's like long this is like not sephiroth long but it's like naigatana kind of like really long katana blade um and she's kind of holding it over her head in a defensive position um a pity i was hoping that i would be able to return to lord callus's service

but it seems that perhaps i might have to well a valiant death here perhaps i've heard much about you especially you wild elf and the guardian You're reported as extremely high-level threats in combat. Sad face. There's normally five of us? Okay. Oh yes, the rest of you are noted as spellcasters. I'm not too concerned with you.

Just leave that. So. Bye. I'm not too concerned with you so if you were hoping to take any of these if you were hoping to take any of these powerful spellcasters and I'm here with like reasoners yeah Ayla's just like what are you talking about If you were hoping to take any of these... Powerful spellcasters, and I'm here with like... Grease nudges. Huh? Yeah. Aayla's just like, what are you talking about?

Uh, if you were hoping to take any of these scholars prisoner for their knowledge, I'm afraid I've had to rob you of that opportunity. My orders were quite clear. Why are you killing them? They hold too much information, Guardian. These were the ones who worked on the project here we couldn't risk that information falling into enemy hands and now that their work is done it was my duty to finish them you have what you sent here because you knew we were coming? No. No. I am aware of you.

I keep myself updated with all of Lord Kallus' major threats. Who sent you, Zarkira or Kallus? Ah. I serve Lord Calus Zarkira is she throws her lot in with those disgusting creatures

that mutate the flesh, warp the mind my ancient enemies I would never serve such a woman her methods are despicable Lord Calus is a man of honor I know that his work serve such a woman. Her methods are despicable. Lord Calus is a man of honour. I know that his work

needs to be carried out. None of this makes sense. Then why is it present here in this facility? I don't understand. You have it's quite the uh quite the predicament here you seem to have already assumed how this is going to play out i quite like i know how this will play out if you think that there is any hope of some treaty some peaceful negotiation i know what my duty is.

You are enemies, and I will strike you down. But that does not mean that we cannot at least converse politely and battle with some degree of honour. Unless you're kind and the people of Arois are not worthy of such matters. I mean, you're striking down all these researchers, all the people working on this project, I guess.

It's safe to assume the project is finished. It is. There's no need for them anymore. Exactly. This is wasting our time. I don't suppose you know the deal with the brain in the tube, do you? Ah, Cathine. Yes, that is a servant of Xantis. That disgusting mind flayer, the Illithid.

If you are here, I hope at least you have ended that thing's pathetic life. you ever ended that thing's pathetic life. If you side with Kallus, and that is against everything, Zarkira, then why is it present here? You are a naive fool, obviously. Do you think that two people that may have different methods

cannot work towards the same process? I serve Lord Kallus. Xantis served Zarkira. They work towards a common process. I serve Lord Calus. Xantis serves Zarkira. They work towards a common goal. Even if I do not like it, my honor is enough that I will at least abide by my lord's wishes. Very well.

So, uh... That is enough. She kind of swishes the blade in the air. Let this be the end of it, then. We're going to roll an issue. Oh, let's have a nice conversation first, though. Like, get to know the person. Know their name.

Can we have a cup of tea? Can we have a cup of tea for an hour? Nope. Maybe eight hours. Oh, come on, D&D Beyond Dice Roller. That's cock. Damn it. I don't think it is.

I don't think it is, Tom. I don't think it can do that. So 10 for Quill. Nova, is that 16 total? 16. Yep. Total. 16 total.

Nine for Sentry. Yep. Lucius, six. Six. Really good. 9 for sentry yep lucius 6 really good speedy boys 17 17 hey

i mean i thought i was low i have advantage on initiative none of you guys go first this person kind of glances around the room this gith person kind of glances around the room. This Githyanki woman glances around the room. And she will kind of... Quill, you've been talking.

You're currently outside the room. So could you kindly put yourself in the room, please? Oh, sorry. Or at least at the door. She will kind of, her form seems to shimmer and then she appears right in front of Lucius almost like short

teleporting as per Misty's step and then she's going to slice him twice that is going to be a 28 and a 29 to hit. Oh. I know. Are you waiting for a response?

No. No, I wasn't. No. That's going to be 12 points of slashing damage. And then 11 points of slashing damage. And then 11 points of force damage from the first attack. As this blade cuts into you,

Lucius, it feels like it is vibrating, like it is almost forcing your flesh apart as you're trying to move away from it. Like the energy around the blade is creating like a field of energy. The next attack is going to be 13

points of slashing damage and 7 points of force damage. And then she will use the rest of her movement to skirt around to this way. Onto the other side of you. She does like a backflip.

Kind of lands. And that's her turn. Ayla. Hello. I will rage and just run at her and hit her. You come barreling forward like a rhino.

Big hammer swing coming in um 25 to hit she is gonna no she won't use her action that does hit only like she nearly dodges out of the way of this strike as you swing this hammer 25 she very yeah she very nearly manages to kind of like and like you see sparks fly as the sword connects with the Howling Tempest, but you manage to kind of force it through and it slams into her side. Interesting.

13 damage on the hammer. 13 damage. Second attack. Second attack is a 27 to hit. No, 28. That hits, yep. Yep, that hits, yep.

And that will be 17 damage on the hammer and a dex save. 17 damage. I will give you a dex save. She does seem very, very dexterous, I will tell you now. That's only a 14, though. I rolled a 4. So she fails. She takes 11 lightning damage.

11 points of lightning damage. Two big swings. Like, she's desperately trying to parry these blows, but Aayla's hammer is just striking at her with enough force that it kind of, you know, even she can't defend the blows, and then this blast of lightning surging down your scars, Aayla. This lightning, you know, erupts into her and she's like,

Yes, I was told you were quite the warrior. Finally, perhaps a worthy opponent. End of your turn. Your's close. Still. She's going to use a legendary action. Let's see how well if you can't see what you're trying to hit and her

form just disappears and she turns invisible uh moon star will call out well there goes my idea uh and then she will

do her own kind of flips and hops um she will try and stand on top of these tables uh to kind of be able to like put her back to the wall so she has like a good range of vision and then she's gonna ready her snare launcher so you see her like cock something on her wrist and then she's aiming it she's gonna hold an action until she can see this target and then fire her snare launcher at her to try and entrap her. Nova. What is this on the map? There's like a kind of chain link behind that we're pressed up against. What is it?

It's like kind of glass. It's like this kind of wall of like glass. And then behind it, you can see a series of bookshelves um but they actually have like doors on them like they're sealed and you can see you know a couple of like scrolls and books and stuff like that inside there um but it's like a solid kind of like piece of glass okay um can i can I so you know roughly where she is but obviously with invisibility you do have disadvantage on attack rolls against her

yeah and she's pretty high anyway um can I hold my action that if she reappears I will eldritch blast her um can I like that if she reappears, I will Eldritch Blast her. Okay.

Can I, like, bonus action shove some scrolls in my bag? If there's any near me? You'd have to move around, because you're currently on the other side of the glass wall. You'd have to move around the side of them. So there's this kind of, like, line of glass, and then at Quillet Ends, you'd have to

move around and get to the other side. I'll wait for this woman to turn up first, then, and I'll deal with that Just and then a quill it ends you'd have to move around and get to the other side Nova you do hear like the sounds of the armored footsteps you heard coming in one of the other rooms you do kind of hear them beginning to make as if they're coming closer to you and a Durga this one it's not like one of the machine Durgars. It just looks like a regular Durgar. You can hear them kind of like coming like, what was that? What was that noise?

Quill. Okay. I would like to cast Beacon of Hope and I'll hold that on Future Quill, and then I'll use a bonus action. So you're summoning Future Quill as well, I'm assuming. Can you do that again today?

Yeah, I think you can, until you use the effect. Yeah, I think you can. Yeah, I haven't used the effect yet. So he's holding that, and with a bonus action, I will harness divine power to recharge a level 3 spell slot okay that sounds great who are you casting

beacon of hope on does it stick with you or is it like a burst now it's a burst now anyone within 30 feet of me okay so it hits everybody basically yeah cool sentry I'm gonna cast enlarge use my final uh matrix charge and uh get big

yeah you kind of not quite have to hunch but this space becomes infinitely small compared to you um nice um i'm gonna stay where I am for now try and keep actually I'm going to move down a little bit here try and keep that doorway blocked and yeah defend Lucius and over in Quill at the end of your turn century

the figure the Githyanki is going to use their legendary action to do agile movement you don't see their movement but Ayla you hear something very quickly perform some flips. You see papers skid off this desk. You don't get to make an opportunity attack because of the ability.

And then you hear some scuttering, but you don't know where the figure is currently. So I'm going to move them to the GM layer. And then it is Lucius' turn. So they totally disappeared. And there's just stuff. All these papers go flying off the desk

as somebody very rapidly ran across them and then you've heard the sound of air whistling but you're like, where have they gone? You can make a perception check to try and locate them. Yeah, I'll do that as i kind of walk around 20 to the back of century um perception yeah yep i got a 19 i believe yeah 19 yes in fact actually you just happened now you don't know exactly where they are but you don't counter the invisibility but you have a feeling that they're behind

Quill like that you kind of felt like a piece of movement like brush past you and somebody kind of yeah just like move past you think they might be right behind Quill okay in which case I'll call out to Quill.

I think she's behind you, watch out! And I'll fire a... Remember you have disadvantage because she is still invisible to you. Not if I just hit an area, right? No, that's true.

Vitriolic sphere casted behind Quill, which is a 20-foot sphere. Which would still hit Quill. A 20-foot sphere is going to be like this. This is a very cramped room. 20-foot radius. You can't place it behind this wall.

It has to be at very minimum on the wall, like the impact point so that's as far away as you could cast it from quill um even if you put it like in this corner you might just be able to do it if you put it in the corner of the room even then it's actually still okay quill i'm not going to do that then i will okay um do tasha's ca stick through I'm going to do it on a 30 foot line like this ah ok sure that works that's great it's a 5 foot line yeah

5 foot line I'd say that will miss Quill then and deck saving throw if they're in that line 17 to B that basically catches that deck saving throw to get them in the line okie dokie that's saving through he's going at fourth level man she's really dexterous but not

when i roll like shit that's a 14 that's a hit wow nice let me roll the damage. So that is 20 acid. Yep. For a fail. I'll also dichromancy for 8 points. You have to be able to see the target to use dichromancy. The acid doesn't reveal her. There's like a spray of acid.

You see it coat something and then it's almost like she does a flip in the air and the acid sprays off her. And you then it's almost like she does a flip in the air and the acid sprays off her um and you you're not quite sure where she is again um okay but the acid definitely hit her and you can hear like the sizzling and the burning um and you do hear like and she'll be getting some damage next turn as well cool okay that's nice all right it does does damage on her turn as well yeah okay hey um she can't do anything at the end of her turn and because her other legend cost

two uh so that's it uh uh that at the end of her turn though it goes to her turn anyway um and she will make two sword attacks against quill so she becomes visible um and so two readied actions go off. Nova and... Can I protect Quill? You can, because you're still big enough that you are able to impose disadvantage.

I'll do the second one. You're going to disadvantage on the second attack against Quill. Yeah. Okie dokie. So Nova, do you want to take yours before I do Moonstars? You're muted. My three beams go off.

Can you do one beam? Yeah, can you do each beam individually, please? I've rolled them all. I've rolled them all, so the first one is 22 to hit. Yep, that will just barely hit her. So you see as she appears, you fire this first beam, and almost bending out of the way, it just barely catches her shoulder.

Wow. And that is... Hold on, I'm looking at one thing. Five, six, seven, eight points of damage. Second one was a natural one, so it's not. And the third beam is a 22 to hit. hit okay on that one you watch as the third one comes in she brings this silver katana like right into the middle of the beam and deflects it back at you that is a 29 to hit yes Yes, that will hit me, Mark.

You take two points of force damage from the Eldritch Blast, but she just deflects it right back at you. Would she get resistance from my aura? Does it work that way? It is a spell, so yes, she would. So you take half damage. So you take one point of damage and it just fights it back at you. Every point counts.

Almost probably like Sentry kind of like half catches the blast and just a little bit of it still strikes Nova as it gets redirected back at you. Yeah, that was pretty lame. Yeah, but then pretty lame. Yeah. But then Moonstar's ready to action goes off. She launches her snare launcher. The Githyanki

woman cuts it in half as it comes down. She misses. It just like swipes out the air as this bowler's like... Badass. And then she makes her two attacks against Quill, the second one being at disadvantage. Yeah. So the first one would be with advantage

because she was invisible when she did it. So that's going to be a 21, Quill. If it's equal, I win, right? That's a hit. Nope. Oh. a hit. Nope. Oh. All right. Cool.

Yeah, that hits me. That hits you. So that's going to be... That's 13 slashing damage plus... Ooh. 11. 14 force damage. So that's 27 damage total.

And I need a concentration check for Beacon of Hope yes concentration this would be DC 13 that's a failure Beacon of Hope goes the second attack is made at disadvantage as Century imposes

with her defense that is a 22 lowest. God. I rolled quite well. I rolled quite well. By his face, I'm going to assume that hits. That's nine.

That's 16 slashing damage and not very good on that one. Seven force damage, so 23 points of force damage. Total damage, sorry. 23 total damage from the attack. As this blade cuts through, you can feel it

tearing into your armor as she does it. Ayla. Wow. That was pretty helpful. Oh my god. Okay. I will barrel towards the now visible. You'll have to either I will barrel towards the now visible

you'll have to either like slide on the sentry's legs or like leap off the desk to get around the big sentry I'll leap off the desk so you're like jump over Lucius's head

bringing the hammer down. Yeah, pretty much. That is going to be a 26 to hit. I rolled a 13 plus 13. That's going to hit her. Yeah, she brings up the sword to parry it again, like trying to strengthen herself, but your immense

strength just overpowers hers. I rolled a 10 on my d10, which is exciting. So 11 plus 10 is 21 damage with the hammer on the first shot. Yep. Second is a 14 plus 13 to hit, so that'll hit too. 27, you said? Yeah. Is that the total, 14 plus 13?

Yep. No, she can't boost her AC to get past that, so that hits as well. 27, you said? Yeah. Is that the total? 14 plus 13? Yeah. Nope, she can't boost her AC to get past that, so that hits as well. Oh, an 8, so 11 plus 8. 19 damage on the hammer. 19 damage. Man, yeah, Aayla is absolutely slamming this warrior. Like, every blow

is resounding against her, and you can see her, like, little pieces of, like, metal breaking off with each blow of the hammer. And a deck save. And a deck save. Right, this one is 23.

Okay, so half of nine then. So, four half of 9 then. So 4. She's blasted by a blast of lightning. At the end of your turn, Ayla, if that is you indeed done, Yep. She is going to make another attack against Quill.

Protection. 18. 18. Yep, 18. 18 off shield. So you shield this, so this one, what's that boost your AC to? 21.

So the shield kind of erupts in this desperate attempt as this blade is just about to kind of skewer you and the point just hits the air kind of humming and vibrating in the air. Well, well, clever bird. And then she spins the the sword back um we're different moon star will attempt to get a hit in uh with her lightning gauntlet

uh she makes two attacks actually uh first one's a natural one uh the second one is a 20 she goes to punch her and you can see lightning crackling all up the first blow swings overhead she lashes out with the second one uh but ayla like as you're fighting she kind of spins the blade and just casually flicks it back and like forces uh forces moonstar off guard and then avoids the attack uh nova vija would moon stars uh snare attack have gone off in the previous round when um when she held her action yeah yeah she held her action i did that but i until i did it okay i did it yeah no you you took yours and then i did moon stars

it she it missed like i rolled a six and it just got cut out the air she has to make an attack to do the snare um can i i want to move so my back is against this door um and uh quickly shout over the messenger ring like I think other guards are coming and then I'm gonna I'll just blast stuff cuz why not um first oh the first one is a 24 to hit yeah that'll hit I rolled 10 on my damage plus 5 is 15 points of damage second roll is a 15 plus 10 is a 25 to hit 25 will hit yep and that is 5 6 7 8 is five, six, seven, eight, nine points of damage. Yeah, okay, I'll take that one as well. And the last one is probably a miss. It was a 20, 18, 18 to hit.

18 doesn't hit. Same thing, she kind of deflects it, almost parrying the blast with the blade. Shame, I rolled a 10 on that one as well. And then that's me! Cool. At the end of your turn, Nova, she does the same thing where her form shifts and she becomes invisible.

Oh. Oh, that's annoying. Nice. You hear Nova. You hear footsteps as a guard, Durgar, appears at the door. It's like, hurry up, she's under attack! And will basically swing a big pick at you.

But the door is shut. Here we go. I imagine the door is shut. Oh, all right. In that case, they will open the door or try and shoulder barge against the door if you've pushed yourself against it. So make a strength check for me.

Yep. I'll keep the same roll i rolled yeah i rolled a 13 minus 2 is 11 oh my god it's not saving throws oh yeah it's not saving throw it's not saving throw. It's not saving throw. So I also got 11 total. So it is this kind of like shoving match of the door is like half open, but Nova is like pressing against it. Like this guy is like shoving against it. He will, if that's his movement to try and shove open the door, he will use his enlarge ability. And like Sentry, he grows big and is trying to push the thing open with reduced strength.

You don't hear... Here we go. Tealek. Titans will clash. We're both outside the room, so we'd be like poking each other through the door. Just punch through the door. You can squeeze through the door,

but it's just, it slows you down because you have to literally like squeeze through it. Yeah. Enlarge even more and wear the house as armor. Put your arms through the windows. Tom, turn. enlarge even more and wear the house as armor put your arms through the windows turn I would appreciate if people would get this thing away from me and I'm going to cast heal at 7th level

and heal 80 hit points yeah nice to be fair that still doesn't mean a full so I need that that was a good one I think that's still what I need that was a good one

that's pretty much it isn't it yeah bonus action have I got any cool features bonus action cry

century and then Lucius after century can I bonus action cast shield of faith on quill

and give him a plus two to his AC you can I shall do that that's your bonus action cast Shield of Faith on Quill and give him a plus two to his AC? You can. I shall do that. And then I can't really move up, so I help Nova hold the door shut.

Okay, yeah, give me a strength check. Just roll a d20 plus strength modifier. Will do. 14. 14 is still good. Okay. I'll have to beat that 14 basically to try and force open now um so that's the way that'll work lucius uh lucius is going to take this turn to back up and cast armor of agathys on himself. Okay. Because he is not in a good way. So he's kind of acting defensively right now.

So that's what he's going to do at level two. Okay. That's his go. All right. Start of a new round. This Githyanki, who is yet unnamed uh they have a name uh you you see just like a flash uh she's currently invisible so she will have advantage on these attacks uh is going to use the spell steel wind strike yes lucius unless she takes an action to

remove this acid she also takes the acid damage at the start of her turn as well okay roll the acid damage for me thank you uh that just caused it through what now steel wind strike that's very cool

it's a whole whopping two two points of damage. So what happens is she teleports between everybody and makes an attack against all of you. And it would all have advantage because she's invisible.

It's like... She's like nipping. I need that. Nipping around the room. Yeah. I love when games have that skill. He's like nipping. I need that. Nipping around the room. Yeah, it's pretty cool. I love when games have that skill. Against Quill.

That is a 27, 29, sorry. 29, that'll do it, yeah. All right. You take 916 slashing and 12 force. So that's 28 total, I believe. Century. Hello. That is only 22.

That will hit. Okay. You take eight. 15 slashing and 11 force. So 26 total. 26. Nova. That is 26.

Yes. Yes. 6. 13 slashing and 10 force so what's that? 24?

Can I say 14? I've got it. Yeah, you got it. Lucius. And I know I'm going to take some cold damage from this. 24. Can I? Oh, it's too late.

Okay. Well, actually, no, I'm going to. I'm going to try and protect. Okay. Well, are you both doing it? Because, yeah, like Because if this is reactions, you both have to decide to do it at the same time.

Yeah, mine has to be before the roll. Oh. So you're going to use disadvantage. Okay, I'll reroll. That would still be 26 to hit. Tommy, you portents? No, not portents.'ll uh send my elder self to uh force that attack to miss so this is cool we've not seen this before yet so meanwhile in this battle there's

been this like spectral elder quill that's just going to be stood by his side like just kind of like holding the spear concentrating on this spell um as this blade sentry tries to stop this blade from like impacting into lucius and then in like an instant we see this spectral form of quill like surge rushing forward and brandishing the spear like a warrior it stands in front of lucius and it just gently tips tips the spear out the sword out of the way so it like misses to the side and then the spectral version of Quill vanishes that is you can't use that

again for a long rest now Tom the whole um yeah the future self ability uh and she that does that definitely seems to throw it off it does mean that the attack doesn't hit Trot so the armor of Agathys doesn't explode. I'm barely getting hit, right?

Aayla, attack against Aayla. That is a 31. What? That's great. That's hit. So Aayla, as a note, your barbarian slashing resistance, you don't get it against this damage.

So this blade, as it's vibrating, ignores slashing resistance you don't get it against this damage so this blade as it's vibrating ignores slashing resistance it's like tearing your flesh as it cuts through you um it's not much though i rolled pretty bad so that's 12 slashing and then uh oh that's really bad seven force so 19 damage total none of it resisted and then after still wind strike i believe i can teleport to an unoccupied space within five feet um oh fuck okay i did that damage wrong um i don't think it matters i i cocked up there the damage for the spell is actually different well would you like me to take it back, Kim? Would you like me to take back all that damage I just did? No?

No. That's good, because what I should have been rolling was 6010 damage for each hit, rather than her normal weapon damage. What, but each hit? Yep. What? Yep.

I'd really like to see it. I say do it. 6010 damage. If this ever happens, and carry on. i'm just interested oh my god so i would have done so on 2 17 oh my god um 25 30 uh that would have been 43 points of damage on a hit if I'd rolled that properly. I cocked it up. I cocked that up.

My fault. She will then end her turn. Where's going to be annoying? That's so much scarier. Behind Lucius. Behind Lucius. And she just like appears behind Lucius. She Lucius. And she just like appears behind Lucius. She's not invisible anymore though, yeah?

Yeah, okay. She is not, no. And annoyingly, I can't take a legendary action until the end of one of your turns and your next, Aayla. So annoying! I want to be invisible for Aayla to attack. It's so frustrating. Okay. Is it my go?

Yes. That was her whole action was to use that spell. I would hope so because it was insane. It's damn good. A high level ranger spell. I hit the woman please.

That is a 15 plus 13. Yep, you hit. I can't deflect it. Six, 11, no, wait, wait, wait. 17 damage with the hammer. Bam. Second is, oh no, this might not hit. 13, 14, 15, 16,

17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22. So with that, she's going to parry it, which adds 5 to her AC, which will cause it to miss. So actually, as the hammer's down, she like... properly blocks it this time. Deck save.

That's a natural one. So, 11. Oh! She takes nine lightning damage. Nine more points of lightning damage. She staggers back. And you can see, like, sparks from the magitek that's, like, being infused into her body.

It's, like, sparking off. And, like, her body's, like, twitching unnaturally. Just like, ah! Damn it, mine flares! Tech! fused into her body is like sparking off and like her body is like twitching unnaturally just like damn it mind flayers tech and she's like trying to get it under control like I won't must keep fighting at the end of your turn Ayla she is

going to oh I think I might have deleted Ayla by accident at the end of your turn she's going to oh I think I might deleted Ayla by accident at the end of your turn she's going to make go on no I think my map's glitching because I put Lucius wasn't I've got two Ayla's on my map

yeah no worries my tokens must be underneath Lucius yeah it is see if that new token helps tokens must be underneath Lucius. Yeah, I think so. Yeah, it is. See if that new token helps. I will... At the end of your turn, I will... Hmm.

Lucius, you look pretty rough, you said, right? You've got the armor of Agathys, but you're bleeding and stuff. She'll make an attack against you then at the end of Aayla's turn. 26 to hit. Yeahes fire yeah scrapes by 10 points that's gonna be ice damage she takes 10 points of ice damage as the armor of agathys uh hits her as she does you're gonna take uh six uh 13 slashing and oh my god even with the armor of Agathys

sorry yeah 10 temporary hit points from the armor okay then you're gonna take 8 more points of force damage after that initial amount which I just said was it 13 14 oh man

oh my god so like that breaks the armor right the armor of agathys breaks at that point so it's just like yeah yeah then i took a real hit after that uh moon star will kind of leap in lucius and then she i pressed the wrong one uh she will uh bring up her braces and these two uh gemstones lit with fire will blast out uh first one misses the second one and she's already parried in attack this turn uh what's her bonus will hit so this kind of blast of fire will shoot through. 2d10 fire damage. For nine.

She can reroll ones, but I didn't roll any. So nine points of fire damage as this blast of fire comes rocketing past your shoulder, Lucius, and slams into this gith yankee. Awesome. and slams into this gith yankee. Awesome. At the end of Moonstar's turn, the gith will turn invisible once again. Nova Vita.

Try and keep up now! Is the duergar trying to push the door open still? Oh, this Durgar is going to try and get in this room. Yeah, he's going to try and get in this room for sure. Hurt me more. Hurt me more. You got it. You got it. You got there. I'm going to keep rolling.

Yeah. Keep this door shut. Yeah. Well, I can't really do much on that apart from assist century. Sure. I'm just trying to... Do you know what?

I'm going to roll with disadvantage. Okay. Yeah, so each roll with disadvantage. Okay. So each attack with disadvantage. Sure. Okay, so... First one is a natural 20 and a 9, so that's a 19 to hit. Doesn't hit.

Just strikes the wall behind it. Doesn't find purchase. Second one is an 18 and an 11. And the 11 will be 21 to hit. 21 will just hit, but I'm going to try and reflect it back at you. 21 to hit. She doesn't. So this one actually hits.

This one she tries to reflect it back at you, but it still hits her. That is nine points of... Yeah, nine points of damage. Yep. Yep. And then a third blast. You hear a big spark,

flash from nothing. Damage doesn't break invis, unfortunately. Yeah. Thirteen is the lowest, so that's 23. She'll try and reflect that one. 13 points of damage. That is going to be... Nope, she fails to reflect that one as well. I am having some bad rolls.

Some good rolls and some bad rolls. So 13 points of again you hear like another spark of things good rolls very very good attacks for being at disadvantage so you mentioned to kind of like see these like sparks of magic tech kind of flying off of her as we go I'm sorry my chrome crashed again the Duggar is next and we'll try and force the door open. I've got to beat a 14. I get an extra D4 because I'm enlarged.

So he does sentry. In fact, actually, sentry, you forgot to add a D4 for your enlarge as well. I forgot that you were enlarged as well. Three. Could Nova use her bonus action to assist in any way? No. Help action is an action unfortunately um so even with 17 though that's going to be 15 16 it's actually even again it's both 17 so at this

point nova you're crouched under century's big arm and this durga wrestling over this door um and you just hear this voice just like what are you you doing? Come on! Come and help! Kind of echoing across the lab. And, yeah, seems to be calling to a companion that's not there. Kelek. Right, I am going to run up to Lucius and at 5th level cast a Cure Wounds, which is 5d8 plus something. I'm running out of spell slots, my guy.

Oh, my God. Oh, dear. Oh my god. Oh dear. 18. Jesus. Thank you. That was really bad rolls. Oh my god. 2, 1, 3, 1, 5. Awful.

Lolly. Lolly lols. And that's me. I will nudge. So I'm next to... Oh no, I'll stay next to Sentry. Sentry.

I'm gonna keep this door shut and turn to the guys and just say, there are more coming this way. Take refuge wherever you need to right now. I know it's difficult, but there's more coming. This isn't over yet. Sure.

All right, so you want to make another strength chest? D20 plus strength plus D4, because you're enlarged. Oh, God. 10, 13. Okay, 13. All right, I'm going to try and beat a 13 next time. Uh, Lucius. I'm going to

disengage and move behind Quill. Which I'm going to move up here. And I'm going to use my bonus action to do some font of magic sorcery points for spell slots. all right uh you just hear a voice kind

of echoing over just like you can't get away from me uh as uh this kind of you hear this grunted painful movement um yeah i can still Misty Step. Misty Step. Still invisible. Yeah. And I think this is going to be a double attack. So we're going to make one attack against Lucius and then one attack against Quill. Sentry, if you have a reaction.

I do. I'd like to protect Lucius, please. Lucius, and then one attack against Quill. Sentry, if you have a reaction. I do. I'd like to protect Lucius, please. Lucius, okay. Disadvantage. My lowest roll is unfortunately a 23. My damage rolls, though, are terrible at the minute. So that's 12 slashing lucius okay followed by yeah so bad eight force damage that's enough to bring me down

so you go down on that attack and then she swings back and attacks Quill with the next attack. That's actually pretty bad. That's 21. Yeah, I'll do it. Okay. Even the shield won't save me. Oh, my God. These damage rolls.

Nine slashing damage and 11 force a 20 damage total cuts to the side and then that was a bonus action she technically still has movement left but with with big century there and she also this still this is another go with her legend no this is she's bonus actioned to misty step made an attack made in the two attacks with earth action and then she has movement left right yeah this is the yeah this is the start of a new turn, so you can roll the acid damage. Yeah, a little bit of acid. Is that concentration, or is that just as long as the acid's there? She has to wipe it off. So that's actually five, because I keep forgetting my elemental adept feat.

You rolled an extra one. Five points. Nice. Okay, yes, the acid is just burning away as she swipes and cuts down Lucius and then swipes back to Quill, and then she'll risk an attack of opportunity. No, she won't, actually. She wants to try and finish off the healer.

Ayla. I will move next to hire over heal. Damn you, Barbarian. Go I know I know I'm gonna wait like you 18 plus 13 to hit was my highest was that off man yeah fucking hell that hits so underneath my microphone and 11 toss any 14 damage on the hammer 14 damage Damn it my highest is still just an 18. It's the same as before 18 plus 13 didn't get that 20 Yep, so 13 didn't get that 20 yep so 18 damage with the hammer and then a deck save your damage rolls are way better than mine

natural 20 30 I'll take off damage please I get a natural 20 there I don't get it when I'm attacking with steel wind strike. Do I know so it's 10 damaged half to 5 5 Okay, all right At the end of your turn Aylala, she's going to use her agile movement, legendary action. She basically

backflips to the end of the laboratory, this kind of research center. And you see her, like, you can see her, like, clutching her side, the sword kind of hanging loosely and she's kind of staggering. There's blood covering, like, her organic parts.

She's just like, well, the files did say you were quite the warrior and I must say, I'm impressed, even trying to take down your spellcasters. You still managed to get the better hand of me. Still, I at least

have this for Lord Calus. And she stabs herself in the chest. Oh! I was going to burn a spell slot on you. She twists the blade, and you see as she twists the blade, she crushes the handle, and the blade just begins falling apart in her hands, like turning into a fine silver dust,

and then she just slumps down. At last, Grey Foxara can rest. And she just sort of breathes heavily. She slumps down onto the ground. That one is so on the nose. Foxara? That's a perfectly good Gith yankee name tom hazel folks are and what you're talking about you know

well she was part metal she was partly made of gray it makes sense uh but yeah she she's still alive but is gonna like there's you know she's dying basically she's like like blood's coughing up you think that only the magic tech is really kind of keeping her conscious okay and then wait yeah no deal with the dwerg are all right yeah I forgot about those I honestly I forgot that is yeah yeah that this guy is kind of not really an issue Moonstar will oh yeah Gem you got bamboozled hard

Moonstar will dart off round to the side and when the door is just open enough she will try and snipe the doger on the other side with her flame projector her flame bolt AC16 the firstgar on the other side with her flame projector, her flame bolt. AC16. The first one misses, the second one hits. Rerolling ones. Oh, that's better.

14 points of damage. You hear like a yelp as this kind of blast of fire catches the Durgar on the other side. Ah! Nova. Can I move slightly underneath one of Century's big old arms and instruct her to open the door quickly? And as the door opens quickly, just jab Tiangong out and Green Flame Gatom as well at the same time?

Because why not? Yep. Yep. Sure. Sure. So, Tian Gong... So that is a 12 plus 12 to hit.

12 total. Oh, 12 plus 12. No, so 12 plus 12 is 24 to hit. So a D8. I rolled an 8 plus 7. It's 15 points of Tiangong damage. He's dead.

He's dead. And there's nothing outside for the green flame to get to. So you kind of stab and you just catch this guy in the chest. He's like... And he just slumps to the ground dead. He's just a guard. He just kind of like collapses to the ground. But He was just a guard. He just kind of collapsed to the ground. But he was big!

All duogar can make themselves big. Were you still in combat? No. So at this point, you just hear the last splutter as the githyanki fully, her eyes close, and she just collapses. The duogar kind of slams into the ground and there is a moment of stillness i'll do a quick healing to you lucius better with 3d8

than 5 apparently thank you i got 18 on injury check as well so no injury yep yep you're good oh thank you uh any more guards incoming? Was that just the only one? Can I go and investigate? Yeah, can I just poke my head out and make sure that there's nothing else? No?

Yes? No In the stillness you maybe hear like No. Yes? No. In the stillness, you maybe hear like a very faint kind of, I can't. I'm going to just take this time to sit up and kind of sit against this pane of glass and just gather my breath.

And just go back to consciousness. consciousness nova looking in the cabinets for like these books and scrolls you can see that there are more tables uh near down where the gift died on the southern end of the room there are more tables there are more desks all covered with um what do appear to be schematics and things but the the bookshelves are these appear to be their manuals um and instructions uh for a lot of Magitek construction, things like that. Nothing immediately useful, like no, like, how to build a bomb book. But it's all kind of like theory books, like engineering books on Magitek in general.

Some of them look like they are definitely not from Eros, even though they're not on slates. Others appear to be Erosian Ethereum processing manuals and documents and books on Ethereum use, airship design, magical enhancements, and things like that. The kind of stuff that would be very valuable to a full-time Ethereum company or a Magitek artificer, but nothing you can immediately use. You do

hear, Quill, you would hear this as well, one of the lockers is shaking. Bad news, guys. There's something in there. Something in that locker. I'll open it. It's the one nearest Nova. Yeah. Aayla just goes and opens it. Fuck it. It's the one nearest Nova.

Ayla just goes and opens it. Fuck it. Why not? Okay. You open it and out tumbles a young fire ganassi. His hair is very unruly and it's kind of like these coiling flames. It looks like it would be quite long but it's very very messy.

He appears to be wearing a kind of white loose shirt, and as he stumbles out, he's like, Please! Please don't kill me! Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Don't kill me! Let the rest... Before we begin, what is your name? I'm not here to kill you. My name?

I'm one of the researchers here. I'm one of the researchers. My name? I'm Malatyr Emerus. I'm one of the researchers. My name. Malatea Emerus. Malatea Emerus. Okay. I don't get the reference on that one.

I don't understand. Are you here to kill me? Where's the gith? Where's Foxara? Did she kill the others? Pray, Foxara. She's over... Don't look in that direction. Do not look in that direction.

We're hidden. Oh, thank goodness. Oh, I thought I'd... She's... The other researchers, they went out to see what she was doing and I heard her kill one of them out outside she started attacking them and i hid in here i think the others didn't i thought they

might give away where i was hiding it's why are you here who are who are you people well actually is he a good guy, technically speaking? I'm a good guy! I'm a really good guy, I promise I'm a good guy! We're here to take charge of the project. Well then why is... well... Make a deception check for me. Okay, first one I think Nova's had to make. Plus five, though.

Eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. That can't be possible. If you've killed Gray, then you don't work for Calus, and if you don't look like the kind of people that would work for Zarkir, you're not here to take control of the project. I know that much.

Who are you? Why are you here? You're pretty familiar with Calus. Evidently, you wouldn't be here if you didn't know who or what he was up to

why on earth would you stumble into a place like this look they were going to kill me if you're not here to do that then I'm on your side and I'm willing to help

I can help. I know things about the project here. I could give you this, and he holds up a keystone. And what level is that exactly? It's a rank six keystone. It will get you into the main facility in the basement. There's not much to find down there, but apart from

some of the schematics and the designs, but the project has already been shipped out. It was taken a while ago. Where's it going? I don't know. I'm just a researcher. I'm a magitek engineer. I build constructs.

Golems. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. It was the main project. This is good. Hey, we're going to be taking everyone safely back somewhere soon, and you can come back with us and tell everybody.

Somewhere on your planet, on this Erois planet? Oh, you're not from... Okay. How did everyone get here? No, I'm from Ganas. Yes, I'm from Ganas. I was a scholar there. I was conscripted.

I guess is a word. Conscripted. I don't really know another way to call it, but yes, I was taken for my expertise. Lucius will stand up, kind of raspy. Look. Your friend doesn't look very well. We're not here to kill as much as what you see before you.

We're here to save as much as you, what you see before you. We're here to save people's lives and we're not in the business of killing someone locked in a locker and working unwillingly for Calus. So please try and help us to help you by working with us. Yes, of course.

What do you need to know? I'll give you the keystone. We need to take some evidence of proof of what's going on here, that there is a coordinated attack on people coming from this base. Some technology that's being used for nefarious means. Well, I mean, yes. No, but yes. Technology, Magitek, yes yes we're building that here that's the the purpose of shadow song pinnacle is is to develop weapons um for for valkyria for callus using this this

wondrous ethereum this this it's incredible its properties i've never seen anything like it it can only really be found here so we So we've been harvesting it and using it. We've been making weapons for war, machines. Other uses. I didn't want to build war machines. I wanted to build things that could help people. But Lord Valkyrian wants to use them in battle. But an attack, what do you mean?

It doesn't matter. What does matter is you and your workers have created something that's going to potentially hurt and kill a lot of innocent people. Yes, yes, I know. I know. We're here to stop it. And if you have any moral fire in your being, you'll help us. You can't. You can't. It's not here. The only thing that's still here is some of the Reverend's firearms.

You must understand, this operation, it's not just one project. Well, it is one project, but the people that were brought here, they've worked on their own things. This Magrona, this Democles, he's been using our technology for his own project. that were brought here they've worked on their own things this this um this mcgroner this this democles he's been using our technology for his own project um and and the reverend he's been building firearms and explosives uh that that that mind flare the illithid has been building uh magitek organic creatures but the work, the real project was here. It was what me and my team were working on, Project Vanguard.

But it's gone. It's already left. It was taken maybe several weeks ago now. It was shipped out through a gate spell. I believe... What is it? Yes, what is it?'s uh a golem um a a construct but large larger than any scale i've i've ever built um huge uh it is a walking armament it carries arcane turrets upon it. It can be crewed. It can store troops.

It's a weapon. A weapon to surpass all of our guardians. A weapon to surpass your guardians. You're not too wrong about that. They pose a great problem for the Valkyrian army. The Guardians are reportedly excellent warriors. We have many fine soldiers and troops. I say we, he has them.

He has the battleships, but he knows that Arois has its own protections. You have airships, you have technology and magic that has been developed since Lord Valkyrian last came here. He needed something new. And with Ethereum, we were able to create Project Vanguard. How are you brought here?

On the ship, several ships. I came aboard the Tassadar. And then, well, we don't know how, but Lord Valkyrian has a way past your barrier, your shield, the cradle, some sort of portal device, like a gateway spell, but it seems to only connect to your world.

I don't know the details. It's not my research department. But how did you get from the ship onto the planet? Like I said, through this gateway. But where did you come out? We have a portable... Here? Well, not here, but I was teleported shortly after arriving to this place. I remember a room, a grey stone room. We arrived through that, through a gateway. It looked ancient, old.

Old stones and old glyphs with a dais. But we emerged into a large chamber. I was led aside and I didn't see anything apart from that initial chamber We have limited time we need to take something of evidence here working with either the Magronas or this Project Vanguard

I have Falxra destroyed most of the evidence here, we have a few schematics as all this Project Vanguard. I have... Falxra destroyed most of the evidence here. We have a few schematics of things like the reverence weapons, the explosives, the firearms. I have a few things like that here. But the evidence of Project Vanguard is all below in the lower basement levels. But there shouldn't be any guards remaining there.

They've all been shipped out. Really, this was just a skeleton crew left to finish a few loose ends. And he kind of looks at the dead bodies of his companions when he says the words dead, dead ends, loose ends. Let's focus on staying alive. We're going to take what we can from this room. And shall we all head down to where the Project Vanguard was and try and gain something

there before we leave i'll take you i'll show you what you need the what information is there i'm happy to show you um can i walk down there just like dead in front of him yeah he is terrified of ayla like he's like and i

will let the lightning sort of crackle along my arms a little bit while I say this. Listen to me very carefully. That's actually quite fascinating. How are you doing? Sorry. Yes, I'm listening. If you screw us over while we're trying to save thousands of innocent lives,

I will come for you. And it won't end well. I can imagine yep yep yep okay great out of interest how are you generating that lightning you don't appear to have any

sort of magic Ayla no I'm just going to grab Ayla's arm as I imagine it twitches I'm like nope Ayla no and with that we are going to win today's episode the high rollers oh juicy boy man we are just back to back bosses today aren't we or in this dungeon i mean it's always like i'm testing your capabilities

I'm testing your capabilities. Oh, that one almost did it. One creature with legendary actions isn't enough to pose a challenge? Interesting. Oh, God. Really, the research and development was on us. Dun, dun, dun.

Oh, dear. That's a deal.