Here’s the write up from our latest Tomb of Annihilation session in which we finished my adventure Rainforest Reckoning from Tome of Beasts 3 Lairs, and resumed the hex crawl as the party headed west towards Camp Righteous.
Begin here with Session 0 – Caves of the Cockatrice
21st Eleint, 1495 DR (contd.)
The party leave Wadumu with the aziza and walk through Emerald Cascade towards the rocky outcropping where the dryad Aminata lives. Against Certes’s advice, they investigate a ruined building where they are attacked by a tripwire patch. The plant monster grabs Eysleigh and pulls the druid into its maw, but he manages to crawl to safety. The others come to his rescue and Tharhul slays the creature. They find a +1 shield in the ruins.
When they reach the outcrop, the characters notice bright orange fruit growing on the vines that cover its walls. Eysleigh identifies the plant as a dangerous monkey’s bane vine, and the adventurers find a safer place to climb up to the top.
Rhamash sneaks ahead and peers through an opening into the negoogunogumbar’s cave. Korug the ogre notices the kobold and throws a spear at him, but Rhamash leaps back in time.
The group approach Aminata’s mahogany tree. Eysleigh tries to communicate with Tayo, the dryad’s moon weaver ally, but the bird responds in Moonsong which the druid can’t understand. Aminata steps out of the tree and Eysleigh and Rhamash explain that the villagers are very sorry for what happened to Aminata’s sister Derende and won’t fell any more trees. The dryad agrees to meet with Mayifa, the village elder, but tells them she has no control over Korug. The characters must kill the ogre to stop it murdering villagers.
After some discussion, the characters agree to follow Certes’s plan to ambush the ogre from the top of the outcrop as it leaves its cave at nightfall. When Korug and his giant boar companion appear, the adventurers attack.
Eysleigh summons Birdie, then casts spike growth, Tharhul casts hunter’s mark and fires his arquebus, Rhamash throws a dagger, and Certes launches a fire bolt. When the ogre climbs up to the top, Rhamash uses his Draconic Cry, giving Certes advantage on his scorching ray. Unfortunately, this doesn’t kill Korug and he takes a bite out of Tharhul to regain some strength before knocking Rhamash unconscious with his spear and transforming into a giant boar. Eysleigh heals the kobold and summons Birdie again. The pterodactyl swoops down and kills the ogre. Korug’s giant boar ally runs off. Tharhul climbs down on a rope to loot the cave.
22nd Eleint
Aminata and Mayifa meet at Emerald Cascade and work out how the villagers of Bukoka and the fey can live together peacefully.
The characters hear tales of Ras Nsi, the warlord who led an undead army to attack the city of Mezro 100 years ago. The remnants of his army still wander the jungle but in recent months, undead dinosaurs, girallons, and other beasts have started appearing.
23rd Eleint
The characters stock up on gourds of insect repellent and say goodbye to Wadumu who heads back to Port Nyanzaru. Isoba guides the party west towards Camp Righteous.
Later that day, the characters spot a tyrannosaurus skeleton lying in a crater. Its teeth are glowing. Certes advises caution and uses mage hand to pick up one of the bones. Eysleigh identifies the dark mass inside the ribcage as a black pudding.
The characters decide to attack from the rim of the crater, but the black pudding soon reaches them, corroding Rhamash’s shortsword and damaging Certes’s armour. It splits in two when Certes casts shocking grasp. Once Tharhul finishes it off, the characters remove the glowing teeth – one tooth still glows and works a +1 dagger.
26th Eleint
Eysleigh spots two hooded figures –yuan-ti purebloods – watching the characters as they trudge through the jungle. He and Rhamash sneak after them, while Tharhul circles around from the other direction. The minotaur steps on a fallen branch, snapping it loudly, which spooks the two figures.
The yuan-ti make a run for it but Eysleigh and Rhamash are in the way and a fight ensues. Eysleigh restrains one of the yuan-ti with entangle and Tharhul and Rhamash close to melee. The characters kill one, then Tharhul knocks the second one out.
Interrogation reveals little – the yuan-ti claims to be based in the nearby ruined city of Bulubo which the characters have already visited. Eysleigh dips his scimitar in poison and dispatches the creature.
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Richard Green | Game Designer 