Chapter 1 - Intellect Devourer Battle
Initiative was rolled. Kaedyn rolled an 11+2=13. Vexir rolled a 9+2=11. Ryth-Shan rolled a 2+2=4, and Shadowheart rolled a 16+2=18. Intellect Devourer 3 rolled a 19+2=21. Intellect Devourer 1 rolled a 14+2=16 and Intellect Devourer 2 rolled a 13+2=15. The Initiative Order, therefore, was Intellect Devourer 3, Shadowheart, Intellect Devourer 1 and 2, then Kaedyn, Vexir and Ryth-Shan.
It was Intellect Devourer 3's turn, and it used Dash Action to move 80 feet right up to Ryth-Shan. It had no ability to do any other action. Then it was Shadowheart's turn. The DM determined beforehand Shadowheart's stats at Level 2, choosing all her starter skills and Abilities and spells.
Shadowheart was created using the Point Buy system for Ability Scores. She had 12 for Strength, 14 for Dexterity, Wisdom and Charisma, 13 for Constitution and 8 for Intelligence. Her skill proficiencies were Deception, History, Insight, Medicine, Religion, and Stealth. She actually wore Custom Plated Armor that mirrored Scale Mail, giving her 14 + Dexterity (max 2) for AC. She also had a shield, giving her a total of 18 AC when she wielded her shield and 16 if she did not have her shield in hand.
She had 15 Gold Pieces (GP), a Mace, a Light Crossbow, a Priest's Pack, a Holy Symbol, a Prayer Book, 5 Sticks of Incense, a Vestment, a Set of Common Clothes and a Belt Pouch. Her automatically prepared spells, due to her Trickery Domain, were Charm Person and Disguise Self. She also had Blessing of the Trickster special ability, allowing her to use an Action to touch a willing creature other than herself to give them advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks. The blessing would last for 1 hour or until she used it again.
Upon leveling her up, the DM rolled a 6 for hit points. Her Constitution bonus was +1, so she got an additional 7 HP for a total of 16 HP. She also learned Turn Undead, and Invoke Duplicity. With Invoke Duplicity, she could create a perfect illusion of herself that lasts for 1 minute, or until she lost concentration. The illusion could appear in an unoccupied space that she could see within 30 feet of her. As a Bonus action on her turn, she could move the illusion up to 30 feet to a space she could see, but it must remain within 120 feet of her. For the duration, she could cast spells as though she was in the illusion's space, but she must use her own senses. Additionally, when both she and her illusion were within 5 feet of a creature that could see the illusion, she would have advantage on attack rolls against that creature, given how distracting the illusion would be to the target.
The DM chose the following spells for her Cantrips: Thaumaturgy, Toll the Dead and Word of Radiance. Then the DM chose for her Level 1 Spells: Bane, Command, Guiding Bolt and Inflict Wounds.
Seeing the Intellect Devourer within range of Ryth-Shan, Shadowheart moved to get a good shot at Intellect Devourer 3. She decided the best way to probably save him was to hit the creature with the Command Spell. With this spell, she could order the creature to either Drop, Flee, Grovel or Halt. She chose flee. The Intellect Devourer made a Wisdom savings throw. If it failed, it would have to obey her command on the next turn. Her spell save DC was 12, so it needed to roll 12 or higher. It rolled a 5 and got no bonus for Wisdom Savings Throw. It failed. On its next turn, it had to flee.
Intellect Devourer 1 and 2 also used Dash to try to get to Ryth-Shan, but they were not close enough. They would be next turn. Now it was Kaedyn's turn. Also seeking to try to save Ryth-Shan, he used Guiding Bolt. He rolled a 9+4=13 to hit. Devourer 3 had AC of 12. Hit! He did 4d6 damage off and rolled a total of 18. The next attack roll against this target would also get advantage thanks to the mystical dim light glittering on the target until the end of Kaedyn's next turn. The Devourer had 22 HP. It now had 4 HP.
Vexir's turn. With her greataxe, she rushed Devourer 3, getting into melee range by only moving 30 feet. She was now within the shadows of the ruined nautiloid, thus her sun sensitivity had no affect on her. Ryth-Shan really hadn't gone far before he was spotted. She rolled a 4+4=8 to hit. Miss! Ticked that she missed, she chose to use Action Surge. She attacked again with a 17+4=21 to hit. She did 1d12+2 damage and rolled a 3+2=5. The Devourer was resistant to her weapon, similar to the imps on the nautiloid. Therefore, it only took 2 damage. It still had 2 HP left. Vexir was NOT happy.
It as Ryth-Shan's turn. He slung his bow over his shoulder and drew both of his shortswords. Then he attacked Devourer 3 with his main hand. 12+4=16. Hit! He rolled 1d6+2 for damage and rolled a 2+2=4. 2 HP damage. Devourer 3 died. He could still hit with his off hand, but in order to do that he'd have to risk getting close to both Devourers 1 and 2. Instead, he chose to retreat. He backed off, leaving Vexir alone to potentially face the two Devourers. He ran 30 feet away so that next turn he could pull his bow back out and hit with it. By doing this, his Relationship Score with Vexir was reduced by 1. She had tried to save him, but he had fallen back to leave her alone against 2 enemies.
Round 2. It was Shadowheart's turn, since Devourer 3 was dead. "Guess I wasted that last spell," she said, a bit frustrated. Then she decided to use Guiding Bolt on Devourer 1. She rolled a 1. Critical Miss! She only had 1 spell slot left now.
Devourer 1 ran up to Vexir and attacked. It rolled a 12+4=16 with its claws. Vexir's AC was 16. Hit! It rolled 2d4+2 and rolled 4+2=6. Vexir's HP was reduced to 14. Then it used Devour Intellect. Vexir had to roll a 12 or higher with her Intelligence Savings Throw. She rolled a 6 with no bonus. The creature, therefore, did 2d10 psychic damage to her. It rolled an 11. She now only had 3 HP remaining. Then, the creature rolled 3d6 to see if it could render her stunned. It rolled a 14 total. Her Intelligence was reduced to 0 and therefore she was stunned. With a scream of agony, Vexir fell to the ground.
Devourer 2 then used Dash to run up to Kaedyn. It could not attack because it did this. If he tried to use his Guiding Bolt at that point, he'd get a disadvantage on his roll because the creature was too close. Therefore, he chose to simply attack with his mace and use Shield of Faith to help protect himself. That would give him +2 AC for up to 10 minutes as long as he maintained concentration. He attacked with a 10+4=14. Hit! He rolled 1d6 and got a 6+2=8 HP off. Again, damage resistance halved the damage, so he only took 4 HP off. It was down to 18 HP.
"These things are full health!" he cried, fear gripping his heart.
It was Vexir's turn, but she was out of the fight, utterly stunned until someone healed her Intelligence Score by at least 1 point. Ryth-Shan then went next. He pulled his bow out and fired at Devourer 2 who was on Kaedyn. He rolled a 1. Critical Miss! "Son of a..." he started to say, but he didn't complete the phrase as he tried to maneuver into a position further away from his foes. If he could just keep them away...
It was Shadowheart's turn again at the start of Round 3. She liked Ryth-Shan's idea of getting further away. She backed up and launched her last Level 1 Spell; Guiding Bolt again. She rolled a 12+4=16. Hit! She did 14 total damage, reducing it from 18 to 4 HP.
Devourer 1 rushed Kaedyn. It attacked with claws and rolled a 1. Critical Miss! Then it did Devour Intellect on him. He rolled a 6 with no proficiency bonus for Intelligence savings throw. It did 2d10 psychic damage to him, rolling a 10. He now had 8 HP left. Then it rolled the 3d6 against his Intelligence Score. It rolled an 11. Kaedyn's Intelligence was 10. Like Vexir, his Intelligence was reduced to 0 and he was rendered stunned and on the ground. He fell with a cry of anguish.
Now it was Ryth-Shan's turn. He fired his longbow again at Devourer 2 in the hopes of finishing it off. He rolled a 10+6=16 and hit. He then did 1d8+2 damage. He rolled a 5+2=7 and did 3 points of damage total. It only had 1 HP remaining. He then moved 30 feet away from the Devourers again.
Round 4. Shadowheart decided to use Invoke Duplicity. Then she fled 30 feet away from the enemies, leaving the illusion of herself standing there to face them. Then, she had the illusion run 30 feet using her Bonus action in a direction that would draw the creatures away from her and Ryth-Shan.
It worked. Both Devourer 1 and 2 rushed the illusionary Shadowheart and attacked. Both seemed confused. Though they could detect the location of any creature within 300 feet of them, their sight registered that there was a target close to them that they could attack. Thus, they tried, in vain, to kill illusion Shadowheart. It was Ryth-Shan's turn. He attacked again with his longbow and rolled a 4. Miss.
Round 5. Shadowheart pulled out her crossbow and fired at Devourer 2. She rolled a 13+4=17 and hit. She did 1d8+2, and rolled a 7+2=9. 4 HP off. It only had 1 HP remaining. Devourer 2 died. "Thank the gods!" she cried. "One more to go." Then she used her Bonus action to move her illusionary self again to lead the Devourer on a chase. It used its reaction to take a swipe, but missed. Sure enough, the Devourer followed the illusion and tried attacking again. On Ryth-Shan's turn, he rolled a 6+6=12 and hit. He rolled 1d8+2 damage and only rolled a 1+2=3. He did 1 HP off of it. It was the strongest of them all with 24 HP. Thus, it still had 23 remaining.
Round 6. Shadowheart attacked again, this time with a Cantrip called Toll the Dead. She pointed at Devourer 1 after moving within 60 feet to be in range. The sound of a dolorous bell filled the air around the creature for a moment. It rolled a 5 for Wisdom Savings Throw and failed. Since the creature was already injured, even by 1 HP, it took 1d12 damage instead of 1d8. Shadowheart rolled a 12 and reduced its HP from 23 to 11. She then used her Bonus action to move illusion Shadowheart again to try to distract it.
It didn't work this time. The creature rushed her, now viewing her as the most dangerous opponent. It used Dash to get to her, but it could not attack.
Ryth-Shan's turn. He fired his longbow again, hitting with a 11+6=17. He rolled 2+2=4 damage, reducing the creature from 11 to 9. He then moved another 30 feet away to try to put some reasonable distance between himself and it in case Shadowheart fell.
Round 7. Shadowheart was now too close. She used Toll the Dead again. The Devourer rolled a 6 and failed. She did 1d12 more damage off. She rolled a 9 exactly. The creature heard the dolorous bell and died. The party gained 337 XP each.
Shadowheart slumped to the ground in relief, allowing her illusionary self to vanish. Ryth-Shan gawked at her a moment. "I think I'm in love with you," he told her. "I think you are my new favorite person right now."
Shadowheart laughed to relieve some of the stress. "Oh really?" she said after she recovered. "Well, I..." She stopped. Her expression hardened. It was clear that she had forgotten who she was talking to. She sneered. "Oh. Right. It's you. I'd rather kiss an ogre's backside, thank you."
Ryth-Shan was stunned. Words could not form in his mind. What had he done? Why had she turned on him like that?
She read his expression and said, "I don't trust your kind, Gith. If it was up to me, I wouldn't even continue with you. I only tolerated you coming because you were with the other two. Speaking of which, we should check on them. I hope they're not dead." She then ran up to Kaedyn without another word to him. Ryth-Shan's Relationship Score with Shadowheart decreased by 4 to 47.
He watched her go and felt fire burning in his veins. She was obviously not someone to mess with. If it hadn't been for her, they'd all likely be dead. However, her prejudice and obvious sudden mood swing made him want to put an arrow in her back. "Oh, you are definitely a tricky one, aren't you," he muttered to himself. "I better warn the others about her. Sweet as pie when they were all around. As soon as we're alone, she's as nasty as a swamp hag." Then he hurried to catch up.
"They're just stunned," she told him as he approached. She was already dragging Kaedyn over to Vexir so that they were in one place. "We'd better get some rest and try to recover." She was talking to him in her sweet voice again. "Why don't you see if you can find us a camp or something. We should try to call it a day. I don't think we can go on right now."
Ryth-Shan nodded. "I'll see what I can find." Then he took off back towards the river, bow ready. When they had first met Shadowheart, he thought he saw a small path around the eastern side of the ruins hidden behind some rocks and such. It looked like it led to a cozy, little dead end that might make a defendable campsite. He hated leaving the others with Shadowheart, but he didn't have much choice. She was right. There wasn't any real way they were going to continue at that moment. They needed to find some sort of camp.
Sure enough, he skirted around the shore and waded only a little in the river to a dry spot beyond. It was removed enough that enemies shouldn't find them too easily, and even if they did, it looked pretty defendable. He hurried back to Shadowheart and helped her carry the two back. When they arrived, he said to her, "This looks like just as good a place as any. Yes? Let's get some rest."
Shadowheart only grunted as she lay Vexir down on the ground. "Fine," she replied. Then Ryth-Shan lay Kaedyn next to Vexir, and the two began to lay out bedrolls and set up camp.
