I recently completed a solo SoN campaign with the following heroes:
Maliki - Tactician
Mirala - Pirate
Lyssa - Spell Blade
Okaluk - Blacksmith
I thought I would put together a session report for the finale. Maybe someone will enjoy it.
It had been a long struggle to save Nerekhall, but the end was near. After some limited success the heroes found themselves entering the Black Realm for one last confrontation with the demonic force known as Mirklace. There was four of them, Maliki, Mirala, Lyssa, and Okaluk. As they ventured deeper into the realm they could feel themselves being corrupted and pulled to the obedience of the evil Mirklace. They emerged into an abandoned sewer system with a closed gate before them. To their right they could see a swarm of rats and they could hear the scheming words of Verminous. It would seem the final battle was about to begin.
Round 1
Lyssa with her feline agility and speed shot forward and an electrical blast from her Doom Hammer destroyed the rat swarm in a massive arc of raw magical energy. Immediately, Verminous was upon her with blade and claw. Mirala was quickly to the aid of Lyssa, but Verminous’s stealth made him a difficult target to pin down. Okaluk attempted to assist, but he could not land a blow as Verminous easily avoided his futile attacks. Unfortunately for Verminous he failed to notice Maliki move into position and he suffered grievously from an onslaught from the Rune of Blades. In the distance, the Heroes could hear the sound of gates being opened and the dark curses of Mirklace. Soon they could hear the chanting of changelings somewhere in the darkness.
Round 2
Verminous attempted to continue his attacks on Lyssa as more rats emerged from the dark sewer waters but the Rune of Blades flashed out and all fell lifelessly onto the ground. The heroes then made their way to the gate that initially blocked their path as Okaluk stayed behind to open it. Before them they could hear the maniacal laugh of Tristayne Olliven and the smug voice of his brother Rylan giving orders to unknown assailants ahead of them. As the others move forward, Lyssa struggled, her battle with Verminous had cost her dearly and she was wounded and fatigued. She could not remove the curses of Mirklace from her mind and she felt something inside her change. She knew that she did not have long before she was overwhelmed and lost to the darkness.
Round 3
At this point, Rylan, Tristayne, and a horde of changelings emerged from dark passages. Knowing that she did not have much time, Lyssa sprang forward and engaged Tristayne, her hammer striking him and cursing him with doom. Okaluk moved up behind her and applied a healing potion he had found and Lyssa suddenly felt greatly refreshed. Okaluk and Lyssa found themselves assailed by the changelings with their terrible laughter and ruinous whispers that compelled them to fall back. Maliki, ignoring the changelings, then attacked Rylan and greatly dented his arrogant smirk as the rune of blades scored multiple hits. A bright blue light brought their attention to Mirklace who was floating to their left. They watched him draw power from an aenlong shard as bane spiders took form in the energy surrounding him. They knew then they must find the shards in the area and destroy them before more monsters appeared from Mirklace’s dark summoning. Mirklace did not give them time to react, he immediately charged through them and left Okaluk collapsed motionless on the floor.
Round 4
There was great confusion as the heroes scrambled about trying to escape the changelings and slow down Mirklace who had reached yet another shard. During the scramble, Maliki struck down Rylan but missed Tristayne who was chasing after Mirala. Mirala had spotted two additional shards and was trying desperately to reach them before Mirklace could draw more power from them. Lyssa, bleeding and weakened from her fight with the changelings tried attacking Tristayne but he eluded her so she took a moment to rest as Okaluk pulled himself from the ground.
Round 5
The bane spiders quickly attacked and Okaluk fell back routed, into the shadows. As he did, he felt the terrible presence of Mirklace in his mind and he knew the same desperation that Lyssa also felt. In response, Lyssa summoned all of her available reserves and unleashed a powerful attack that obliterated the bane spiders, reducing their massive bodies to smoldering hulks on the floor. She then grabbed a nearby lever and shut the gate behind them, temporarily locking the changelings away. Meanwhile, just as Mirklace was summoning the forms of Nagas from a shard, Mirala sprinted past him, suffering greatly from the blistering magic that enshrouded him, and destroyed the shard in a blinding flash. The nagas faded and did not appear. Maliki also shouted in triumph as Tristayne’s legendary elusiveness was brought to an in as he joined his brother in death. Maliki was then immediately beset by the changelings who had opened the gate and were now attacking. Mirklace immediately moved towards the final shard and the race was on.
Round 6
Mirklace and Maliki found themselves in a race to the shard, but the powerful lion legs of Maliki delivered him first and the shard was quickly destroyed. In response, Mirklace attacked Maliki and then retired to the chamber of despair to wait for those foolish enough to approach him. Mirala moved up, trying to rest but the changelings were in pursuit to kill anyone who threatened their master. Their attacks were devastating and Mirala fell back seeking shelter, somewhere to hide as the evil voice of Mirklace broke her soul. There was only one left now, if he fell to the corruption, all would be lost.
Rounds 7 - 8
Mirala struggled in the darkness, she felt hopeless and broken, but somehow she emerged from her hiding place in the shadows and beheld an amazing sight. On the balcony of the chamber of despair she could see brave Maliki surrounded by the changelings. They smote and slashed at him but he would not fall. She watched him concentrate all of his efforts on Mirklace as the two traded attacks. Suddenly, Mirklace slammed the ground in frustration and the earth was split open! Poor Maliki stumbled and fell into an open portal of dark energy and was lost. Mirala gasped, sensing the end, she unleashed an attack on the changelings above her and dashed for the balcony stairs.
Round 9 – The End
Maliki had barely caught himself; he was suspended just inches above the lethal boiling energy below. Dark terrible thoughts flooded his mind. The overwhelming will of Mirklace commanded him to let go, surrender to death and accept the inevitable. Maliki grew weaker and he was ready to bend to the dark will. Suddenly above him, Mirala appeared! Her appearance gave him new hope and reaching towards her, Maliki was pulled from the pit. Lying on the floor, he could see the shadowy presence of the changelings and Mirklace standing behind preparing for the final assault.
Mirklace knew that he had nearly won, the lion was brave but helpless before him, and he raised his hand for the killing blow when he was beset with great pain from behind. Turning he realized he had forgotten the feline warrior called Lyssa! She had approached from the rear and struck a near fatal blow with her hammer. With a massive release of rage, Mirklace crushed Lyssa with a single blast, leaving her heaped lifelessly on the ground. Mirklace, staggering, turned to face the lion who was now standing and taking aim with the wretched rune that had struck down so many of his servants. Mirklace did not see the killing blow for he was wracked in pain as his body was consumed by fire. As Mirklace fell into the darkness, the pain quickly subsided and was replaced with fear for he knew that he must now face his own dark masters …..
The Heroes Win!
This was my third SoN campaign and the only one that I won. I would also like to thank BJZSN for his custom classes they were fun to work with during this campaign.
Thanks
Dan Howell
