The asshat farmer's look of smugness turns to shock and then anger as Rain sheathes his swords and enters the hut. It turns out that the not-cultist was a member of the original elite L'Eau Noire team sent to Orlane, but Rain's group was ambushed by a Shoggoth summoned by the Mask of Nyarlathotep. The Mask thought that he had converted Rain, the only survivor, but the brainwashing didn't take for some reason.
Rain is, of course, my reskinned version of Derek Desleigh from N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God, whom I thought was too generic. I'm also a bit skeptical of Desleigh's scam of the cultists, seeing as there's a number of ways it could go sideways.
Rain decides to help the party and the PCs also recruit Ranme for the boss fight. Leaving the asshat farmer bound and gagged, the party heads to the fort in the swamp.
K asks, "How and why did they build a fort in the swamp?"
D makes the obligatory Monty Python joke.
[As DM] I ask, "So how do you want to get into the fort?"
The party decides to pretend to be Rain's prisoners. After a successful Charisma roll, the cultists and their pet zombies pay the PCs no heed and Rain leads the party to the Mask:
As the party approaches the Mask's chamber, they notice several statutes on the ground with contorted with looks of shock and pain. Asking, the cultists explain that the Mask has a new bodyguard, a Medusa.
After Rain presents the "prisoners," the Mask laughs evilly and starts his Bond Villain speech:
As the Mask is pontificating, the nameless Thief slips his bonds, hides in shadows and backstabs the Mask!
Although injured, the Mask survives and the Medusa takes off her burlap sack to fight the nameless Thief. Meanwhile the nameless Fighter and Aleena have a two-on-one majority against the Mask as Rain and Ranme fight off the rest of the cultists.
The nameless Thief fights the Medusa without looking and misses!
The nameless Fighter misses!
Aleena crit fails and drops her weapon!
The Medusa misses!
K asks Ranme to cast Web over the Medusa, and a mass of sticky fibers envelop her (and the nameless Thief) preventing her gaze attacks.
The remaining melee combatants keep missing and Aleena crit fails again and drops her weapon!
K asks Ranme to cast Stinking Cloud, and the noxious fumes prevent the Mask from casting Hold Person.
As his mirror images are dispelled, the Mask flees for the secret door but the nameless Fighter overtakes the still gagging avatar and cuts him down from behind!
The Medusa surrenders and leaves, as do the now confused ex-cultists. Among the treasure, the party finds a Ring of Feather Fall, which the nameless Thief takes, and a Wand of Lightning Bolts, which the nameless Fighter takes.
For a job well done, I credit the PCs with experience for overcoming two major challenges:
* solving the mystery of Orlane, and
* defeating the Mask of Nyarlathotep.
Rain is, of course, my reskinned version of Derek Desleigh from N1 Against the Cult of the Reptile God, whom I thought was too generic. I'm also a bit skeptical of Desleigh's scam of the cultists, seeing as there's a number of ways it could go sideways.
Rain decides to help the party and the PCs also recruit Ranme for the boss fight. Leaving the asshat farmer bound and gagged, the party heads to the fort in the swamp.
K asks, "How and why did they build a fort in the swamp?"
D makes the obligatory Monty Python joke.
[As DM] I ask, "So how do you want to get into the fort?"
The party decides to pretend to be Rain's prisoners. After a successful Charisma roll, the cultists and their pet zombies pay the PCs no heed and Rain leads the party to the Mask:
As the party approaches the Mask's chamber, they notice several statutes on the ground with contorted with looks of shock and pain. Asking, the cultists explain that the Mask has a new bodyguard, a Medusa.
After Rain presents the "prisoners," the Mask laughs evilly and starts his Bond Villain speech:
As the Mask is pontificating, the nameless Thief slips his bonds, hides in shadows and backstabs the Mask!
Although injured, the Mask survives and the Medusa takes off her burlap sack to fight the nameless Thief. Meanwhile the nameless Fighter and Aleena have a two-on-one majority against the Mask as Rain and Ranme fight off the rest of the cultists.
The nameless Thief fights the Medusa without looking and misses!
The nameless Fighter misses!
Aleena crit fails and drops her weapon!
The Medusa misses!
The Mask casts Mirror Image.
K asks Ranme to cast Web over the Medusa, and a mass of sticky fibers envelop her (and the nameless Thief) preventing her gaze attacks.
The remaining melee combatants keep missing and Aleena crit fails again and drops her weapon!
The Mask of Nyarlathotep is slain!
The Medusa surrenders and leaves, as do the now confused ex-cultists. Among the treasure, the party finds a Ring of Feather Fall, which the nameless Thief takes, and a Wand of Lightning Bolts, which the nameless Fighter takes.
For a job well done, I credit the PCs with experience for overcoming two major challenges:
* solving the mystery of Orlane, and
* defeating the Mask of Nyarlathotep.
I let the players know that I particularly liked their creative use of the spells Ventriloquism (to confuse Gendarme Wiggum) and Web (to nullify the Medusa's gaze).
This takes our intrepid PCs up to 2nd level, so they are nameless no longer!
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