Here’s the write up from our latest Tomb of Annihilation session, in which the characters defeated Ras Nsi and obtained the final puzzle cube. Next time: the Tomb of the Nine Gods!
The players (well, one of them) threw me a curveball at the start of the session but I go to use my cool hydra mini for the first time 🙂
Begin here with Session 0 – Caves of the Cockatrice
2nd Hammer, 1496 DR (contd.)
Rather than pursuing Ras Nsi through the secret door in the throne, an invisible Certes and Vorn return to the Fane and then head south towards the underground river, hoping to cut off Ras Nsi’s escape. Somewhat confused and unsure of the wizard’s plan, the other characters follow.
Certes opens the door from the Venom Distillery and sneaks past the broodguards and climbs into one of the rowboats. The others attack the yuan-ti. Eysleigh uses his wand of fear which frightens two of them; the rest are quickly taken down by melee and ranged attacks.
Vorn joins Certes in his rowboat and starts rowing north into the darkness, the cowbell attached to the front jingling merrily. Tharhul uses his feather token earring to summon another boat to carry himself, Eysleigh, Loro Pag and Tyke, while Rhamash, Valdro and Eku pile into the other rowboat. Eysleigh lights a torch so everyone can see where they are going.
When Certes’s rowboat passes a side passage to the east, a six-headed hydra surfaces from the water, summoned by the ringing bell, and attacks the vessel. Not keen on fighting such a large creature on the river, the characters attempt to manoeuvre their rowboats and escape back the way them came. Unfortunately, the hydra is fast and soon destroys Certes’s boat, leaving the wizard floundering in the water and Vorn sinking to the bottom.
The other characters make it to shore but the now visible Certes is still desperately swimming for his life. Eysleigh sends his earth elemental into the river to keep the hydra busy and Rhamash hauls the wizard to safety. The party abandon the river and have a short rest before returning to the throne room.
Once the characters have found the secret door, they take it in turns to check for traps. Finding none, Tharhul opens it. Ras Nsi is inside his lair, surrounded by piles of treasure. The minotaur shoots him with a deadfall arrow and succeeds on knocking Ras Nsi prone, pinning him under a large log. The yuan-ti leader misty steps to the entrance, wrapping his large tail around Tharhul, constricting him and slashing at him with his flame tongue sword.
Loro Pag, Tyke, Rhamash, Birdie, and a fire shielded, bladesinging Certes join Tharhul, surrounding Ras Nsi. Certes goads Ras Nsi into attacking him but is most upset when he’s the target of a blight spell rather than a melee attack! Once the characters have destroyed his flying shields, Ras Nsi is bloodied by the party’s many attacks. He attempts to bargain for his life, offering the characters a deal, but is killed by Certes.
The characters loot the room, gathering up the treasure and finding Nangnang’s puzzle cube – the last one they need to enter the Tomb of the Nine Gods.
The party return to the corridor outside Fenthaza’s chamber and tell her guards they have killed Ras Nsi. They enter the oracle chamber where three yuan-ti priestesses preside over a pool of viscous black and purple liquid. Certes stares into the pool and receives a nightmarish vision of being swallowed whole by a giant snake. The priestesses ask Certes if he’s ready to undergo the transformation ritual and become a yuan-ti pureblood. He says he is.
The gong sounds, summoning everyone to the Fane. Fenthaza preaches to the assembled congregation from the north balcony as mesmerizing incense burns in the wall sconces. Certes, Tharhul and Valdro enter a dreamlike stupor; the others resist the effects and keep their wits about them. The characters hear the dying screams of sacrifices in the chamber to the north, then fresh blood pours into the pool. Two purebloods step forward and empty jars of snakes into the basin, then Certes is called forth to bathe. Eku casts lesser restoration on the wizard so he can make his decision with a clear mind. He steps into the pool and bathes, triggering his transformation into a yuan-ti.
Certes thrashes around in the blood among the snakes, before crawling out, forever changed. He has five levels of Exhaustion and can barely stand. Fenthaza tells the characters it is time for them to leave. Vorn picks up Certes and the party exit the Fane of the Night Serpent, returning to Bag of Nails’s lair to rest and recuperate.
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