A low-stakes, high-charm session. The party patched up Venris's broken silver prosthetic arm (he had to make a solo dash to Otari and got ambushed by an elite miss stalker on the beach to get Carman Rajani to fix it). Following music through a hidden door, they descended a garbage-choked stairwell into the Warp Brood Tavern — a hidden Darklands speakeasy run for "underdwellers" deep in the Gauntlight. Instead of a fight, the house band challenged them to a performance contest, which the party won handily (Veve's guitar solo, Venris juggling chakrams, Cid's feat of strength, a group finale). That cemented friendly relations with the band, who spilled lore about the owner Vishari, the flesh-warping Sagathi who rule the area, and the surrounding map. The party pocketed a small coin reward, Venris hustled a Morlock at gambling, and they left through the double doors toward the Sagathi's territory.
Last session the party fought in the arena, beating a "just teeth as a face" beast and a chakram-wielding foe on a lower floor, then took a teleporter back up to a safe room. Venris's prosthetic arm got broken in the fighting, and Abbas (Visigok) had glimpsed a worm-like shadow and wanted to pull back somewhere safer to regroup.
| 00:00:02 | Pregame: PC overclocking, webcams, and a quick recap Table tech chatter (server region, RAM/XMP overclocking, whether to use webcams) before the GM gives a short recap: last session the party fought in an arena, defeated a beast that was 'just teeth as a face' and a chakram-wielding foe on a lower floor, and took the teleporter back to the room above so Venris could repair his broken prosthetic arm. Visigok (Abbas) noted he'd seen a worm-like shadow and wanted to retreat to somewhere safer. [S47 · 00:01:35 · turn 0011 · scene 001] |
| 00:04:46 | Repairing the shifter prosthesis (and a silver-grade rules dig) Back in the safe room above, Venris casts a mending scroll on his Shifter Prosthesis (item level 6) and the party heals over repeated ten-minute rests. A long rules discussion: what grade/material the arm is (settling on standard-grade silver, hardness 7, 28 HP, 14 broken threshold), the higher repair DC for working one-handed, and the fact that the level-1 mending scroll can't actually repair a magic item (needs heightened 3rd). Venris fails his Crafting repair checks (DC 25/26) twice, wasting twenty in-game minutes, even with an aid. Carman Rajani briefly teleports in to ask if they want another arena run; they decline and he leaves. [S47 · 00:05:28 · turn 0055 · scene 002] |
| 00:30:54 | Venris's solo dash to town and the miss stalker ambush Rather than waste the day, Venris splits off to run back to Otari alone (using his cave lore and double speed) to get his arm professionally repaired. On the beach an elite miss stalker ambushes him from the water for 34 damage and grabs him; he uses Word of Freedom for a free-action escape and runs 80 feet clear. He reaches Carman Rajani's shop in Otari; Rajani fully repairs the prosthesis (crit success, expert crafter, 40 HP healed), gives him a minor healing potion (1d8), but has no 3rd-rank mending scrolls. Venris runs back to the party (avoiding the miss stalker), getting a quick Heal to top off; the whole detour costs about an hour. [S47 · 00:40:25 · turn 0351 · scene 003] |
| 00:50:15 | Tracking the music to a hidden door Reunited, the party treks across already-cleared vault rooms toward the music they'd heard coming from the poltergeist room area. Veve, searching as the party moves (with Thorough Search and Investigate), crit-finds a hidden secret channel in a wall that opens, cutting their travel time. As they approach, muffled music in Saqqroth (the Darklands tongue) grows clearer; Veve confirms it's a small band — drums, a lute, and a bass lute. The party decides to investigate together. [S47 · 00:54:36 · turn 0485 · scene 004] |
| 01:01:05 | Through the trash stairs into the Warp Brood Tavern Venris opens the door onto a foul, garbage-strewn stairwell (greater difficult terrain — animal carcasses, broken flagons) descending to a tavern. Inside is a band of four flesh-warped/subterranean performers on a stage, a crowd of Morlocks, a bartender, and a big terrifying bodyguard near the western double doors. The creature locks eyes with Venris but only flips a page of its book. The party enters warily, weapons stowed, pretending to be patrons. Abbas (Visigok) recognizes the bodyguard as a flesh-warped 'Dritter' (a drow-and-giant-spider hybrid). The bartender tells them they're in the Warp Brood Tavern and to not bother the boss. [S47 · 01:01:21 · turn 0551 · scene 005] |
| 01:35:01 | The performance challenge: party vs. the house band Rita the rat (the band's singer) recognizes the party from the arena and proposes a friendly head-to-head: each side faces off in pairs with performances — music, acrobatics, feats of strength — and the crowd judges who's best overall. It's a non-combat skill contest. Veve wows the crowd with a guitar solo (nat-20 lute performance); Venris juggles chakrams with sleight-of-hand tricks against Nox; Cid does a one-handed feat of strength balancing Veve on a chair against the dwarf (Drashkin); and the whole party closes with a group number (Venris's acrobatics and Occult light-show, Abbas on triangle, Cid on drums) that wins the day. The contest dissolves any remaining suspicion between the two groups, and an approving onlooker (later revealed as the owner) watches from a back door. [S47 · 01:57:40 · turn 1018 · scene 006] |
| 02:39:25 | Talking with the band: the Sagathi, the owner, and the lay of the land The band hangs out with the party and answers questions. The tavern is a haven for Darklands 'underdwellers' who came to the arena; most of the Morlocks here are hoping to be flesh-warped by the Sagathi (the big alien worms, led by Jafuki/'the cigar') whose territory this is. The owner — a rough, grumpy woman named Vishari — opened the place and keeps a wary deal with the Sagathi. The band identify themselves: Rita (rat/singer), Nox (a Caligni dark-folk), Griz the lizard 'Zulgath' (smelly subterranean reptile), and a Drashkin (subterranean evil dwarf king type). A long out-of-game discussion clarifies Venris's heritage: he is a cavern elf (remastered drow), surface-raised and 'whitewashed,' sharing language and some ancestry with this evil-leaning crowd but not aligned with them. Veve knocks on Vishari's office; Vishari rudely throws them out, and they back off politely. [S47 · 02:41:15 · turn 1399 · scene 007] |
| 03:02:10 | Snooping the back rooms: dressing room loot and the dwellers' offer The party explores the tavern's back rooms — a private dining room where Nox and Griz are eating, a 'performers only' dressing room, and a backstage. In the dressing room they find the band's well-kept instruments, including a +1 striking battle lute (Venris identifies it but the party leaves it, as it belongs to the owner); a velvet curtain worth ~5-10 gp is noted but left. The band sketches the surrounding map: tunnels into the caverns, a viewing room for the arena, and long hallways with two sets of double doors that are the only way the Sagathi come in. The party debates how to win over Vishari (she only cares about the tavern and is short on supplies/good ale) and whether to deal with or avoid the Sagathi. [S47 · 03:07:33 · turn 1611 · scene 008] |
| 03:25:00 | Reward, a gambling hustle, and the double doors out The band scrapes together a small reward for the great show — a bag of coins (5 gold, 11 silver, 8 copper). Venris notices two Morlocks gambling at a crude 1v1 card game called Towers, joins with 10 gold, and cheats with Thievery/sleight-of-hand to fleece one of them (winning ~5 gold 4 silver), then tosses 5 silver back out of pity. He morphs his prosthesis into a giant thumbs-up on the way out. The party advances toward a long hallway with two sets of double doors; the spider bodyguard closes the doors behind them as they leave. The GM calls it there for next time. [S47 · 03:25:48 · turn 1775 · scene 009] |