The swamp clung to them like a living thing—mud sucking at boots, branches clawing from the dark, and the endless chorus of guttural moans trailing them through the night. The stench of rot hung heavy in the air, laced with the sharper tang of fear. They had tried to rest, but the restless dead gave no quarter. Now, ghouls and ghasts pressed close, their shepherded horde stalking the adventurers with predatory intent.

The group pressed on toward Baroldson’s farm, yet dread gnawed at the edges of their resolve. Pebblesong’s dwarven lungs burned with the effort of forcing calm through the terror clawing inside her chest. Beside her, Bartholemeow padded close to Bhakris’s armored side, the feline bard whispering encouragement, a strange mixture of bravado and desperation, as though words alone might keep the paladin from faltering. Hat muttered curses under his breath, goblin hands twitching with nervous energy as his inventions rattled at his side. Even Waer’dara, cloaked in her devotion to the Spider Queen, could not fully mask the panic in her eyes. Only Thalmiir seemed unfazed, though his stillness was born not of calm but of rage held in check, waiting to be unleashed.

The shadows closed in. From the murk, one ghoul lunged, but Bhakris’s blade met it mid-stride, severing its head with a clean arc. The decapitated body spasmed once, then fell. Their reprieve was brief. More splashes echoed in the black water, the sound of clawed feet hurrying through the muck. They had been found.

The swamp exploded into chaos.

Ghasts barreled into the clearing, their rancid stench enough to sicken. One struck Waer’dara, claws raking deep and teeth sinking in before her magic could answer. Another slammed into Hat, forcing him to stumble backward as he conjured his cannon, the mechanical construct barking fire into the night and shoving the creature back. Pebblesong raised her staff high, muttering a prayer to Chauntea as motes of starlight burst outward—Bless settled over her allies, glowing faintly against the dark. Still, the enemy came.

Thalmiir’s roar cut through the din. Axe in hand, the old dwarf waded into the fray, rage spilling from him like molten steel. His strikes cracked bone, split flesh, and even as the foul smell burned his lungs, he pressed on. His reckless fury drew the ghouls’ attention, but their claws scraped uselessly across his armor as he hewed one down in a brutal cleave.

Bhakris fought fiercely, his vow of enmity binding his fury to a single ghast. Yet even divine wrath could not wholly shield him; a sudden flurry of claws tore past his guard, sinking deep. Blood spilled. With a guttural cry, Bhakris staggered, then fell, the light of his oath flickering as darkness claimed him. His companions cried out, the sound sharp against the swamp’s oppressive weight.

Bartholemeow’s magic surged in answer. Radiant sparks leapt from his drum, searing into undead flesh and bursting it apart in flashes of holy light. He hissed defiance into the night—mocking, fearful, determined all at once. Pebblesong’s starry form blazed suddenly, arrows of celestial radiance lancing from her constellation-marked body to strike down a fleeing ghast. The creature collapsed, its skull erupting with light as it fell face-first into the swamp.

Still, the tide threatened to overwhelm them. Hat’s firebolt seared into another ghoul, fury of the small amplifying the strike as the creature collapsed in fire and shrieks. Waer’dara, now in her spider’s monstrous form, lunged at her enemies with venom-dripping fangs, but her poison found no purchase in the dead. Instead, she sank her fangs into rotting flesh, holding the line despite her dwindling strength.

Through it all, Thalmiir was unrelenting. When Bhakris fell, the barbarian’s wrath grew silent and deadly. With a single terrible swing, he split a ghast from crown to sternum, its corpse falling apart into the water with a grotesque splash. “None will touch another dwarf,” he growled, his voice low and dangerous as he pressed forward.

The battle teetered on a knife’s edge. Waer’dara’s blood ran freely, her strength waning. Pebblesong’s spells dwindled, her voice hoarse with effort. Hat’s inventions sputtered dangerously, and Bartholemeow’s radiant strikes flickered like a candle in storm-wind. Bhakris lay broken at their feet, breath shallow, life’s thread slipping thinner with each heartbeat.

And still, more moans rose in the distance—the slow, mindless chorus of zombies drawn by the clash. The swamp was alive with death, and the heroes stood bloodied, desperate, and half-spent, locked in a struggle that would either break them or bind them more tightly together than ever before.

As the final round of blades and spells struck into the muck, the last ghoul reeled but did not fall. The horde pressed closer. Survival hung by a thread.

The night was far from over.

Session Notes
  • The party is in a swamp at night, having angered an unknown antagonist (possibly a necromancer) earlier; they attempted to nap after digging holes, drawing pursuit from a horde of zombies shepherded by smarter ghouls and ghasts. The group aims to reach Baroldson’s Farm (to the southwest).
  • The group had a short rest before night travel; casters (notably Bartholemeow) still lacked spell slots. Night travel imposes disadvantage on travel-related ability checks due to darkness and difficult terrain (shallow water counts as difficult terrain).
  • Plan: avoid a stand-up fight and sneak toward Baroldson’s Farm. Pass without Trace had expired (it was a once-per-long-rest innate feature used previously), so they proceed without it.
  • Travel leg challenge (Charisma—resist panic, DC 13, at disadvantage for night):
    • Bartholemeow gives himself a quiet pep talk and passes (roll 14).
    • Hat, Bhakris, Pebblesong, Waer’dara each fail.
    • Thalmiir later rolls and is adjudicated a fail as well.
  • Group Stealth check (also at disadvantage due to night):
    • Initial tally shows two successes, three failures; if Thalmiir succeeds it becomes a success. GM rolls for Thalmiir and the group ultimately succeeds on the stealth check.
    • Mechanic: number of travel-check failures = DC the hunters (ghouls/ghasts) must roll under on a d6 to catch the party; successful stealth imposes disadvantage on their catch roll. With five travel fails, the DC is 5.
    • Despite disadvantage on the catch roll, the enemy finds the party; combat begins.
  • Battlefield setup: a patch of swamp with shallow water (difficult terrain), scattered trees, and mist. The party came from the northeast; Baroldson’s Farm lies southwest. Most characters have darkvision; Bartholemeow (a cat-shaped fey bard) does not, causing initial attack disadvantage for him until light sources are established.
  • Enemy wave: multiple ghouls and at least one ghast close in. Earlier, the party had silently dispatched a lone ghoul during travel (decapitated by Bhakris), but now several arrive together.
  • Initiative & early moves:
    • A ghoul rushes Pebblesong and misses with its claws, then hits with its bite (damage applied; later corrected after temp HP discussion on Waer’dara).
    • Another ghoul engages Hat; first attack misses, second hits (6 total damage after the sequence indicated 4 then 6, GM applies 6).
  • Waer’dara’s pre-combat temp HP (False Life via Fiendish Vigor):
    • Table recalls Waer’dara should start with 12 temporary HP (maxed False Life via feature). GM retroactively restores Waer’dara to 21 HP + 12 temp; after earlier bite damage, Waer’dara shows 4 temp remaining at that moment.
  • Thalmiir (Dwarf Barbarian) Rages and Recklessly Attacks a ghast that “smells dangerously bad,” hits, forces the ghast’s CON save (DC 13), it fails, and Thalmiir knocks it prone (helmeted headbutt flavor).
  • A ghoul attacks Bhakris: first bite misses off heavy armor; second attack is a critical hit. Damage handling is corrected mid-stream (crit adds extra dice). Final applied total on that crit sequence is 22 damage (11 + 11 after correction).
  • Hat (Goblin Artificer):
    • Deploys Eldritch Cannon (Force Ballista) on the ground (not on Bhakris). The cannon hits the ghoul threatening Hat for 8 damage and pushes 5 ft; Hat moves back to the back line.
    • Fire Bolt follows on the same target; hit for 3 fire damage. Fury of the Small adds +2 damage (proficiency), finishing the target (“take that, you big stinky ghoul”).
    • Puppet (Hat’s construct) moves to intercept, Dodge action; no reactions/attacks of opportunity available to it unless commanded on Hat’s turn.
  • A ghast dashes across the water (difficult terrain) to close with the party.
  • Pebblesong (Dwarf Druid):
    • Must CON save DC 10 vs Ghast Stench on approach; dwarven advantage vs poison applies to the save (mechanically not poison, but stench save is handled as CON vs poisoned condition—Pebblesong succeeds).
    • Raises the Staff of Insects to create a cloud; rules clarification: the staff should lightly obscure / create dim light (not heavily obscure/blind). Given that, Pebblesong does not use the insect cloud here.
    • Instead casts Bless (last slot) on Thalmiir, Bhakris, Waer’dara (final placement after UI hiccups).
    • Bonus Action: adopts Starry Form (Archer); emits 10 ft bright + 10 ft dim light, aiding visibility. Archer shot at the ghast by Bhakris: hit for 11 radiant (noted as radiant); damage applied to the ghast harrying Bhakris.
  • Bhakris (Earth Genasi Paladin):
    • Uses Vow of Enmity on the adjacent ghast (advantage vs that target); longsword +1 hit for 12 damage and applies Sapped (the ghoul/ghast has disadvantage on its next attack; the table uses “sapped” as a status).
    • Drinks a Healing Potion as a bonus action (per updated rule); +9 HP restored.
  • Perception note: Those with passive Perception > 12 faintly hear the shambling horde still approaching from afar.
  • Ghast vs Thalmiir: gets advantage vs Reckless; misses on the first sequence.
  • Ghoul vs Waer’dara: rolls a critical hit; the crit total is 17 damage (GM fixes crit roller and applies 17, first into temp HP). Waer’dara remains standing with reduced or depleted temp HP (HP restored earlier to 21; temp adjusted).
  • Ghoul vs Cannon (Hat’s): Attacks the cannon (AC 18), hits for 10 total (piercing + necrotic), cannon remains functioning.
  • Bartholemeow (cat-form bard, no darkvision) makes a disadvantage ranged spell attack through darkness; miss. He then repositions across a water gap to safer ground.
  • Thalmiir, still Reckless, attacks the prone ghast again with the greataxe:
    • Hit, then a spiked-boot bonus attack (hit) for extra damage; the ghast is still up but reeling.
  • Waer’dara (currently in Giant Spider form):
    • GM corrects token to spider form and applies a critical hit with spider attack on the ghast (total 11 damage after rolling an extra d8).
    • Poison component is not applied/irrelevant to undead (immunity to poison/poisoned).
  • Ghoul vs Bhakris: First attack misses (the sapped one has disadvantage on its first attack), second attack hits for 8 (5 necrotic of that), applied to Bhakris.
  • Hat’s turn:
    • Cannon shoots the ghast threatening Bhakris, hit and push 5 ft; Fire Bolt adds more damage (now “on its last legs”).
    • Fury of the Small is noted as expended earlier; no second use here.
    • Puppet holds position, Dodge.
  • One ghast attempts to flee (self-preservation):
    • Waer’dara tries an opportunity bite but misses (opportunity attacks must be basic melee, not Spider’s Fervor effect). The ghast dashes away across the river.
  • Pebblesong:
    • Bonus Action Starry Archer shot at the fleeing ghast: hit for 6 radiant, kills it (light emits from its face as it falls).
    • Action: Guiding Bolt at another enemy: miss (disadvantage/darkness factors and roll results).
  • Bhakris shifts Vow of Enmity target to a damaged ghoul he can reach without provoking; hit, applies Sapped again, then adjusts position to maintain pressure and to allow space for further ballista pushes.
  • Far edge development: Two zombies emerge from the muck and fall upon the corpse of the recently slain ghast, feeding (visible to those with sufficient vision range).
  • Ghast vs Thalmiir: Uses advantage against Reckless; claw hits for 3 damage (noted as low), then forces CON save vs paralysis; Thalmiir succeeds (Bless available).
  • Another ghoul, smelling Bhakris’s blood, shifts to attack Bhakris:
    • First attack (sapped) at disadvantage misses; second attack hits and deals 6 (clarified) and later another sequence hits again, eventually dropping Bhakris to 0 HP (Bhakris is downed).
  • Bartholemeow:
    • Now benefiting from Pebblesong’s Starry light, attacks the nearly dead ghoul over Bhakris, hit, radiant damage, and kills it. He urges retreat: “They’re coming; there are more.”
  • Thalmiir:
    • Makes his start-of-turn CON save vs stench (with Bless if needed), succeeds.
    • Goes silent, then delivers a critical greataxe cleave killing the ghast over Bhakris; narration: a vertical cleave “chunk,” then a savage boot, axe ripped free.
    • Bonus Action spiked fist into another nearby ghoul (hit), adding damage; it totters but remains up. Thalmiir moves to help pin remaining foes (no opportunity provoked thanks to pathing through allies).
  • Waer’dara:
    • Rolls CON save vs stench, succeeds; HP on the correct spider token is updated to reflect earlier 17 damage application.
    • Attempts to toggle Spider’s Fervor (bonus AC buff and poison synergy); UI hiccup, but AC is treated as 17 for tanking purposes.
    • Bites a ghoul; poisoned condition would apply on fail, but undead are immune; normal damage applied.
  • Ghoul vs Thalmiir (Reckless): two attacks; damage halved for Rage on the piercing portion. GM corrects rounding; net applied reflects rage resistance properly.
  • Hat:
    • Cannon fires at the more damaged ghoul (hit) and kills it (float HP error message noted, but GM confirms death).
    • Fire Bolt at the remaining ghoul (hit) for additional chip; Puppet continues Dodge.
  • Pebblesong:
    • Archer shot at the last ghoul (hit) for 11 radiant.
    • Action attack (spell) afterward misses again. Pebblesong holds position behind Waer’dara and within self-generated light radius.
  • Bhakris (down): rolls a Death Saving Throw with Bless available; success.
  • State at pause (end of round, session end):
    • Enemies down: multiple ghouls and at least one ghast slain (one ghast killed fleeing by Pebblesong; one ghast cleaved by Thalmiir). One or more ghouls remain; one took recent radiant damage from Pebblesong’s archer shot and fire from Hat.
    • Zombies are visible further out, feeding on a ghast corpse and approaching more slowly.
    • Party status: Bhakris is unconscious at 0 HP (one success on death saves); Waer’dara absorbed a 17-damage crit earlier but remains up (temp HP had mitigated part); Pebblesong is in Starry Archer form providing area light; Hat’s cannon is still active; Puppet is intact; Thalmiir is raging, has taken hits but is standing; Bartholemeow is at range, now attacking without darkness disadvantage thanks to Pebblesong’s light.
    • The group is low on resources (Bless active; few/no slots otherwise), still engaged, and can hear the distant horde. The session pauses after finishing the round.