Seven players were present:
- Bruno FaceSmasher
Male Dwarf Barbarian - Mortos
Male Tiefling Druid - Garrus Ironside
Male Dwarf Paladin - To’Mas
Male Human Fighter - Lupin Damakos
Female Tiefling Rogue +
Willow, Cat Animal Companion - Mithraax
Male Githzerai Battlemind - Ffion Tanwen
Female Dragonborn Cleric
Sariel, the Eladrin head of security, quickly orders all of the entrances locked for both safety, and in case the murderer is still in the room. Garrus approaches Silversmith’s daughter, Sappha, and asks if she saw what happened. The distressed Dwarven Damsel declares that she turned and found him lifeless on the ground.
As Rhonda begins to disintegrate, Mortos grabs her jawbone and places it next to the bitemarks on Silversmith’s throat. Rhonda’s teeth appear much larger than the marks on his neck, but the jawbone quickly turns to ashes.
Mortos transmogrifies into a giant snake and tightly constricts around Midas. The Prosperous Plutocrat protests and demands to know what the meaning of this is. Ssssstressssing hisssss “Esssssssses,” Mortossss accusessss him of murder. The Indignant Aristocrat arrogantly announces that he slayed the Vampire that just killed Silversmith. The Demonic Detective denotes that Rhonda’s fang marks didn’t match and enquires if he makes it a habit of murdering innocent people. The Cunning Capitalist claims that the marks may have stretched or shrunk due to the drainage of blood. And even if she didn’t kill him, she was still a Vampire.
Gathering the assemblage into a tight circle, the four clerics, Antigone, Aunt Lilly, Sappha, and Ffion stand equidistant from each other and cast overlapping fields of “turn undead.” To their surprise and relief, no one is affected by the spells.
When To’Mas enquires where they should search, Sariel assigns The Heroes to scour the dark, empty, scary corridors of the United Center. Entering the corridors, they notice, scrawled on the walls, a series of puns about Father’s Day.
HORRIBLE FATHER’S DAY PUNS (Classics) All have some form of the word “Father” in the answer.
1: His Bed was too Hard.*
2: Fast Food Pizza.**
3: California Baseball Team.***
4: Test to Find Out Who the Father is.****
5: Fail to Pay Child Support.*****
6: Rich Boyfriend.******
7: Lord’s Prayer Beginning.*******
8: Head of Church.********
9: Type of Spider.*********
10: George Washington.**********
11: Carbonated Soft Drink.***********
12: Exploding Kernels.************
13: Jam Filled Pastries.*************
14: Annie’s Adopted Father.**************
As The Heroes warily traverse the dark and dank corridor, To’Mas takes point. Approaching a “T” intersection, he comes to an abrupt halt when a small child steps from the shadows. Addressing him as “Daddy”, a stunned To’Mas sees that the spirit of his wife, Shia, spoke the truth when she revealed that their daughter had been turned into a Vampire (see Conflicts of Interest).
A wary To’Mas tells her to come to him, claiming that they can cure her. The Little Lady laughs and states that she doesn’t want to be cured, that she likes what she has become. The shaken Iron Infantryman isn’t certain what to do anymore.
To’Mas steps back and braces against a wall in preparation of battle. Garrus does the same on the wall to the right. The other Heroes prepare for defense behind him. As the six Vampires rush them, the Armored Adventurer orders The Heroes to capture Ca’hne and kill the rest. Mortos transmogrifies into bat form and attacks from above. The rest of The Heroes engage the Vampires in deadly close quarters combat.
Mortos transforms back to Tiefling form behind the enemies and Lupin teleports over to join him, as Bruno and Mithraax hold the pocket between To’Mas and Garrus.
The Two Tieflings try to trap the Terrible Toddler without harming her. Unfortunately for the Demonic Duet, the Deadly Daughter has no doubts dispensing damage to them. As the Pious Paladin pivots to flank the Diva with his Iron Ally, the remaining minions rush Bruno and Mithraax. Using his spear, the Otherworld Outsider impales another minion through the heart. As To’Mas and the Diva battle toe-to-toe, the Steel Sentry succeeds in successive strikes against the Sexy Sylph, subjecting her to scads of superior suffering.
With the battle over, Garrus turns to To’Mas and asks if he is alright. With his faceplate still lowered, the Silent Soldier sheaths his sword, pivots, and walks away without a look back.
To be continued? ? ?
Lupin showed initiative by seeking advice from her father/former vampire. Her trying to capture Ca’hne instead of outright slaying her showed she can implement restraint when she really wants to. Garrus expressed compassion when questioning Sappha. He also tried to get assistance by asking King Mork if any of the Vampire Resistance were around. Having the ring of Clerics cast overlapping fields of Turn Undead was a brilliant solution to make sure there were no Vampires in their mist. Ffion didn’t get too much of a chance to play due to the difference in time zones. But she was still sport enough to stay awake and help solve the puns. We’ll try to start earlier in the future. Mortos seemed somewhat upset with Rhonda’s death. His transmogrifying into a snake and sssstressssing hisssss “Esssssssses” was just the latest in his amazing repertoire of vocal performances. To’Mas verbal showdown with Ca’hne was intense. The fact that he admitted that he didn’t know what to do, both in character and out, made me happy that I can still offer challenges to our most seasoned D&D player. Going toe to toe with the Diva showed just how powerful a fighter he is. Bruno didn’t have too much to say in-game this session. However, his strategic fighting style showed that he is getting used to being a brut in battle. Flanking the Minions, he severely pummeled two and took out a third. Mithraax’s take on the Sesame Street Count was quite hilarious. Instead of flailing in the dark like last session, he actually got to show off some of his fighting prowess. Even managing to slay one of the Minions. Bravo to all!!!
* His Bed was too Hard: – Papa Bear.
** Fast Food Pizza: – Papa John’s.
*** California Baseball Team: – Padres.
**** Test to Find Out Who the Father is: – Paternity Test.
***** Fail to Pay Child Support: – Dead-Beat Dad.
****** Rich Boyfriend: – Sugar Daddy.
******* Lord’s Prayer Beginning: – Our Father.
********Head of Church: Pope.
*********Type of Spider: – Daddy Long-Legs.
**********George Washington: – Father of Our Country .
***********Carbonated Soft Drink: – Pop.
************Exploding Kernels: – Pop Corn.
*************Jam Filled Pastries: – Pop Tarts.
**************Annie’s Adopted Father: – Daddy Warbucks.
Next: Chapter 73 - Party Politics
Previous: Chapter 71 - Political Intrigue