DD Chapter 3: Unrestrained Violence

Opening

Darkjaw, Lamarva and Warvillus travel for a week through the swamps to get back to Queen Medusa's Library, Darkjaw navigates the whole time, successfully foraging for food & ingredients 5 out of 7 days during travel. Darkjaw gathers enough food for passive meals and acquires enough Crackle Beans, potent frog & snake toxins, and organic acids to convert 15 regular arrows into Poison, Toxic Fume & Acid Rain arrows. During one of their nights, while Lamarva hunts for big game & Warvillus tends to his undead soldiers, Darkjaw crafts a Fletching Station from the  environment and gets to work. 

Crafting: Poison, Toxic Fume, & Acid Rain Arrows 

• Poison Arrows: Succeeded on Blacksmith/Fletching check (18/19 with advantage), crafts 5 regular arrows into Poison Arrows
• Toxic Fume Arrows: Succeeds on Nature check (19/3 with advantage) to understand where to disperse the poison herbs. Succeeds on Blacksmith/Fletching check (25/8 with advantage) to craft small notches in the wood of 5 arrows and plant a mixture of poison herb/crackle beans in each one, but doesn’t figure out how to activate the dispersal of fumes. With a 17 Animal Handling check, he decides that he could attach small animal bones, such as teeth, to the arrowhead that press in when they connect with a target, activating the dispersal chambers. He will hunt after this session to gather what he needs
• Acid Rain Arrows: Unfortunately, this task proves much harder, and he ends up destroying 5 of his regular arrows with the acid he attempted to plant inside. Deduces that animal bones may serve as better arrowheads & shafts, so he resolves to find some on his hunt. Used up all his acid, but could forage more.
• Total outcome: +5 Greater Poison Arrows, +5 Incomplete Toxic Fume Arrows, -15 regular arrows, +3 organic acid servings. He loads up the completed arrows in his quiver and rearranged things as necessary (16 poison, 4 explosive, 8 vine grapple, 12 regular)

The Hunt

Darkjaw sets off into the woods alone, preferring to catch his own prey. With a 17 Survival check, he picks up the scent of a Young Black Dragon, then casts Animal Messenger as a ritual on an iguana. He tells the iguana to find Lamarva and tell him to follow his trail, as he may need backup for this hunt. The iguana goes off to find Lamarva and Darkjaw sets off on his trail, traveling for an hour and figuring out that there’s one dragon about a mile away. Darkjaw approaches where he has tracked it to and hides, nat20 the Stealth check and disappearing into his perch. He spots the Young Black Dragon and notices that he is also hunting, so he takes care to stay in the shadows until Lamarva arrives. 
Eventually, Lamarva catches up, but the dragon notices his presence and begins stalking for the hunt. Darkjaw sees this opportunity of distraction and looses an Explosive Arrow into the dragon’s neck, dealing 18 extra piercing on top of the 4 piercing/4 fire/7 thunder/4 Favored Enemy damage (37 total to dragon). This initiates a Surprise Round for Darkjaw, and combat begins.

Combat: Darkjaw & Lamarva vs. Young Reaper Dragon (2,900 XP)

Initiative

• Darkjaw: 22 (21/69 HP, AC 17 unless in Werewolf, Werebear or Wereboar form, which is AC 18)
• Lamarva: 17 (95/110 HP, AC 17)
• Young Reaper (Black) Dragon: 15 (0/127 HP, AC 18)

Surprise Round

• Darkjaw: Fires an old Poison Arrow at the dragon, dealing 5 piercing/2 fire/4 poison/4 Favored Enemy damage (15 total to dragon, who resists poisoning). Darkjaw fires a second old Poison Arrow at the dragon, dealing 7 piercing/6 fire/2 poison/4 Favored Enemy damage (19 total to dragon), then uses his movement to switch to a new tree (-2 Poison Arrows)

Round 1

• Darkjaw: Fires another volley of arrows, this time cocking two poison arrows simultaneously. However, only one hits, and while Lamarva was near enough by to almost get hit, he successfully Dex saves out of the way. Therefore, one Poison Arrow hits the dragon for 9 piercing/5 fire/3 poison/4 Favored Enemy damage (21 total to dragon). He moves around the tree and fires an Explosive round with a regular arrow dual-cocked, dealing 9 piercing/2 fire/5 thunder/4 Favored Enemy damage with the explosive arrow while the regular arrow misses (20 total to dragon)
• Lamarva: Soars in for a bite & tail combo, but misses both attacks. Is now engaged with the dragon
• Young Reaper Dragon: Swears at his unseen attacker in Draconic, then successfully tracks down Darkjaw and breathes his Acid Breath directly at him. Darkjaw succeeds on the saving throw, taking 27 acid damage

Round 2

• Darkjaw: Embraces transformation as it fills him, turning into a Werebat and leaping from his tree. As he glides down, he performs a swoop, dealing 8 slashing and dashing away, barely dodging an opportunity attack from the dragon.
• Lamarva: Fires his Toxifire Breath at the dragon, who succeeds on the Dexterity saving throw and takes 6 poison/11 fire damage (17 total to dragon). Dragon does not look good
• Young Reaper Dragon: fails to recharge breath, bites at Lamarva for 12 piercing/3 acid damage (15 total to Lamarva). Then takes to the skies and claws at Darkjaw twice, dealing 21 slashing to the Werebat

Round 3

• Darkjaw: Soars down and uses a Bonus Action to transform into the Werebear, chomping down on the Dragon, dealing 18 piercing/4 Favored Enemy damage (22 total to dragon). Kills the mighty beast via throat rip from the jugular. Scavenges the body for acid-immune bones, getting 24 on the Medicine check and extracting 9 Reaper Dragon teeth + 9 bones long enough to make arrow shafts. Digs into the body with a 23 Medicine check and finds the dragon’s acid glands, extracting enough for 15 arrows. Satisfied, he then carves up enough meat for 7 rations. 
• Lamarva: digs in and feeds on the exposed Reaper Dragon flesh, consuming loads of it before satisfaction. Darkjaw carves more meat and places it in Lamarva’s saddle jars, giving the drake 10 stored rations. Noticeably, Lamarva’s saddle contains a pack area behind Darkjaw’s seat, which contains a bag of Nolya’s bones. Darkjaw skins the dragon, rolling 17 on Sleight of Hand to peel the scales and 18 on Medicine to know where best to carve. Takes 17 Young Reaper Dragon scales, intending to improve his armor.

After the Hunt

Darkjaw returns to the campsite, seeing Warvillus tinkering with his gilded kobold skull. He explains that he uses this as an additional arcane focus for spells he doesn’t ordinarily have the power to cast, but Darkjaw doesn’t care. Instead, he returns to his nature forge and spends the rest of the night working on his arrows (currently has 7 old poison, 5 new poison, 2 explosive, 8 vine grapple, 11 regular. Has 5 incomplete Toxic Fume arrows, 14 acid-immune teeth, 14 acid-immune bones, 14 Reaper Dragon acid servings, 17 Reaper Dragon Scales)

Crafting: Acidic Injection, Acidic Explosion, & Toxic Fume Arrows

• Acidic Injection Arrows: having practiced this earlier, Darkjaw rolls a 10 and is able to successfully figure out how to design the injection mechanism (use sharp chips from the bones carved into arrow shaft, attached to the arrowhead and designed to inject acid from the arrowhead when the arrow hits a target). Warvillus rolls a 17 Arcana check to assist with the magical “circuitry” needed to make this work, granting Darkjaw this skill permanently. Rolls a 21 on Blacksmith’s Tools, successfully crafting 7 Acid Injection Arrows. (-7 Reaper Dragon Acid, -7 Reaper Dragon teeth, -7 Reaper Dragon bones) 
• Acidic Explosion Arrows: wanting to spread the idea of his Toxic Fume arrow, Darkjaw uses his knowledge of the Acidic Injection Arrow & his Explosive Arrow to successfully design a similar mechanism, where the arrow will explode upon contact with a target. Rolls 21 on Medicine check, successfully concocting a stable mixture of Reaper Dragon acid and crackle beans. He then uses his 25 Blacksmith/Fletching tools check to craft 7 Acidic Explosion Arrows (-7 Reaper Dragon Acid, -7 Reaper Dragon teeth, -7 Reaper Dragon bones). 
• Toxic Fume Arrows: understanding how to craft the release mechanism, Darkjaw gets a 21 Blacksmith/Fletching tools check and is able to fix complete all 5 Toxic Fume Arrows. Using this knowledge, he takes the last of his crackle beans and poison herbs and makes another concoction (20 on the roll), then applies it properly to 2 more arrows (22 on the Fletching roll)
• Total outcome: +7 Acidic Injection Arrows (deals 1d8 acid damage, opponent makes Con save or takes 1d4 acid damage every subsequent turn until cured of disease/poison or making a successfully Con save afterwords), +7 Acidic Explosion Arrows (deal 2d10 acid damage to a 10 ft AoE), +7 Toxic Fume Arrows (deals 2d12 poison damage to a 10 ft AoE, anyone who breaths it makes a Constitution saving throw or is poisoned for an hour.), -all foraged ingredients, -2 regular arrows.
• Currently arrow inventory: 7 poison, 5 greater poison, 2 explosive, 7 acid injection, 7 acid explosive, 7 toxic fume, 8 vine grapple, & 7 regular in the quiver (61 regular arrows in reserve)

Satisfied with his work, Darkjaw settles down for the night and slumbers. The remainder of the trek goes as normal, with expert navigation and plenty of rations. During the trek, he forges his Draconic Essence into his dagger, and also communed with nature for an hour to change his spells (exchange Hunter’s Mark for Cure Wounds, Beast Sense for Conjure Barrage).

Return to the Library

Upon their return (during the daytime), Darkjaw’s Hunting Party comes across a large group of yuan-ti (30 total) looting the library. While Darkjaw prepares to attack, Warvillus stops him and states that fighting wont be necessary, at least not for him. With that, the kobold orders his zombies (200 strong) to “Feast”, siccing the zombie horde onto the unsuspecting yuan-ti. Darkjaw, Warvillus & Lamarva casually walk to the door as the yuan-ti are ripped apart and devoured around them.
Once inside, they see the mess of half-empty or checkered shelves many rows high, picked through for the most valuable knowledge. Warvillus investigates with a 18 roll, using his flight to snuff out the highest rows. While he does that to search for any research needed to complete his work, Darkjaw searches for secret passages to hidden knowledge, but is unable to find any. Instead, he searches for a forge to work on his armor, getting a nat20 and spotting one in the warfare section of the library. He works for hours while Warvillus collects the knowledge he requires; the zombies stand guard outside and devour anyone in sight (except the Hunting Party). He gets an ok understanding of dragon scale anatomy (12 roll), but combined with his Draconic Blacksmith capabilities and nat20s on his Blacksmiths tools, he successfully fuses the scales and his fiery Draconic rage into a new set of Draconic Scale Mail (resistance to fire & acid damage, 15+Dex mod, disadvantage on Stealth unless in your Favored Terrain). He dons it, then heads to the main chamber to find Warvillus with a stack of books, saying they must find the magical study for him to complete his work.
Darkjaw feels the presence of the night’s moon, successfully passing the Wisdom check and willingly transforms into his werewolf form. Together, they search for truth; Warvillus rolls Arcana (21) to sense a mage chamber’s residual magic, while Darkjaw uses his Keen Smell to sniff for secret passages (16). They finally found it, down an secret hallway behind one of the wall bookshelves (it moved when they moved the right book). In the chamber, Warvillus takes a seat at the lab desk and gets to work on writing or learning the spells necessary to retrieve a soul and place it into a new body. Darkjaw sniffs around the chamber, looking for anything that could enhance his magic (16). He does, indeed, find a book on Draconic Energy Projection, taking it and studying while Warvillus works. They spend at least a day in here; Darkjaw studies the book and with a 12 Int on understanding the arcane science/history & 16 Wis on medical and spiritual techniques he could apply to gain the power to unleash his Draconic power more directly. He meditates, and with a 17 Arcana & 14 Medicine, successfully learns the power to channel his Draconic essence in two more ways; his Bite/Claws in were forms & a Breath Weapon like the Dragonborn (15 ft cone of fire, DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6+1 fire damage, half upon success.)
Finally, Warvillus has completed his work; with a little guided alchemy and wizardly know-how, he has crafted a Soul Beacon (blue soul crystal atop a retractable metal stand). He explains to Sharpjaw that, if charged with enough spiritual essence or physical samples of Nolya, they can draw Nolya’s spirit from the Underworld. However, even with the piece of Nolya’s soul that resides within him, they require ample Daidrin magic/dark energy to complete the task. The best place to find any sample of that stuff would be in Cyregnor, or an enchanted artifact from there. Darkjaw states that North is where they must go, for there is nowhere too far if it means bringing Nolya back. 
They leave the study and find the maps they need to plan their expedition; with a 12 Survival from Darkjaw and 20 History from Warvillus, they learn that it will take 2.5-3.5 weeks to reach the northwest-most point of the Northeastern coastline, then a few days-one week of air travel over Forsalk’s Sea (body of water between the closest points of Cyregnor & Vulsemar, named after the Frost Dracolord that ruled over that territory in the past). Then, they can explore the arctic wilderness and hunt down a Daidrin Gaioforce-user, or an artifact with Daidrin magic. However, as the three walk out into the night, they find most of their zombies slain, the most recent merely seconds ago as the Dragonborn removed his Glaive from its husk. Together with his men, he exclaims in excitement and surprise, “Well well, and here we thought we’d be clearing out bandits to secure this library, but we also get to kill the Swamp Scourge himself; it must be our lucky day!” With that, he and his 15 remaining soldiers ready their weapons and charge Darkjaw’s forces, who pulls out his Greatsword and orders his zombies to feast as he points towards his adversary, Captain Dhamash of Morithus’ Army.

Combat: Darkjaw’s Troops (Darkjaw, Lamarva, Warvillus, and 15 zombies) vs. Captain Dhamash and 15 Soldiers (4,800 XP)

Initiative

• Darkjaw: 21
• Lamarva: 15
• Dhamash & 15 soldiers: 10
• Warvillus & 15 Zombies: 8 (32/32 HP & AC 13 for Warvillus, 20/20 HP & AC 8 for zombie horde)

Creature	HP	AC	Condition
Darkjaw	62/69	17	Werewolf
Lamarva	59/110	17
Dhamash	0/90	16	dead
Warvillus	32/32	13
Soldier Horde	13/405 (27 each, 1/15 alive)	18	2 became zombies
Zombie Horde	214/300 (20 each, 11/15 alive)	8

Round 1

• Darkjaw: takes a deep breath, feels all the rage of his loss and betrayals, and exhales those feelings into his first Fire Breath, hitting Dhamash & 2 men from the soldier horde. All fail, so he deals 18 fire damage to each of them (18 total to Dhamash, 36 total to soldier horde and kills one). Uses his movement & Dash bonus action to get towards the trees
• Lamarva: attacks with Toxifire Breath, following suit with his master. This hits Dhamash and three soldiers (one soldier passed, the rest & Dhamash failed), dealing  12 & 24 damage accordingly (24 to Dhamash, 60 to soldiers, incinerating 2 of them)
• Dhamash & Soldier Horde (12/15): Dhamash slashes Lamarva with his Glaive for 8 damage, then fires a light crossbow round at Darkjaw but misses (8 to Lamarva). Soldiers split; 3 fire crossbow rounds at Darkjaw, dealing 5 piercing. 5 attack Lamarva with longswords, 2 hit and a third crits; 14 & 16 slashing to Lamarva (30 to Lamarva) The other four attack the zombie horde, dealing 21 total damage to them and ending one
• Warvillus & Zombie Horde (14/15): Warvillus casts Mage Armor and flies up to a tree. The zombies attack the soldiers, 5 hit for 25 piercing and viciously consuming one.

Round 2

• Darkjaw: Bonus Actions into a Weretiger, then pounces at Dhamash (12 slashing to Dhamash). He fails his Strength save and is knocked prone, prompting a vicious bite from Darkjaw with advantage. While he misses due to Dhamash moving his head back and forth, he gets another bite attack and sinks into Dhamash’s face (13 piercing to Dhamash). He resists lycanthropy, but is still prone and has a raging Darkjaw on top of him
• Lamarva: bites and swings at his attackers, missing the bite but smashing someone with his tail for 19 damage, killing him.
• Dhamash & Soldiers (10/15): Dhamash uses his Action to push Darkjaw off, but Darkjaw resists. 3 soldiers fire at Darkjaw, 2 of the 3 hit for 11 piercing to Darkjaw. The four soldiers attacking Lamarva slash again, 2 of the 4 hit for 13 slashing to Lamarva. The 3 soldiers fighting zombies continue, all three hit for 21 slashing to zombie horde, killing another one
• Warvillus & Zombies (13/15): Warvillus casts Ray of Sickness on a soldier, but even with advantage it does not penetrate his armor. The zombies attack again, with 8 of the 13 hitting for 21 piercing, nearly devouring another soldier

Round 3

• Darkjaw: Atop his prey, he Bonus Actions into a werebear, swipes Dhamash across the face with advantage, dealing 15 slashing to Dhamash. Knowing what comes next, Darkjaw savors the killing bite, dealing 17 piercing and crunching the flesh & bone of Dhamash’s face into his mouth. He gains 9 HP from eating Dhamash’s face, and bum rushes the crossbow soldiers with a blood soaked mouth to end his turn.
• Lamarva: Wing flaps soldiers twice for 16 damage; this kills one and knocks the other over, who then gets bitten by Lamarva for 8 damage (24 total to soldier horde)
• Soldiers: (9/15): 3 soldiers attack Darkjaw with their swords, but none hit. 3 soldiers attack zombies, 2 of the 3 hit (the mangled one is too busy being mangled) for 28 slashing to zombies, demolishing another one
• Warvillus & Zombies (12/15): casts Negative Energy Flood on one of Lamarva’s attackers, dealing 40 necrotic damage and killing the two still standing. They become zombies, who instantly rushes the prone soldier, dealing 4 piercing (44 total to soldier horde). The other zombies munch down for 20 piercing, completely devouring their captive and getting started on another

Round 4

• Darkjaw: Slashes with his claws, but the soldiers are surprisingly evasive and dodge the swipes. With one look to Lamarva, he moves to the side without disengaging from his targets
• Lamarva: finishes off his prey with 22 damage, ripping off his head and swallowing the mangled chunks whole. Then wings up and exhales Toxifire Breath at the soldiers & Darkjaw; Darkjaw & two soldiers pass, one fails, taking 15 & 30 each (10 to Darkjaw, 60 to soldiers). This incinerates the 2 who failed.
• Soldiers (3/5): The final Darkjaw opponent swings his sword bravely, landing a crit on the werebear. Deals 17 slashing to a surprised Darkjaw. The other two fight against the zombies for 5 damage, but even they seem to understand their fate. 
• Warvillus & Zombies (12/15): Warvillus starts inspecting any bodies that are intact enough to be reanimated, choosing not to fight. Meanwhile, the zombies feast ravenously, dealing 17 piercing initially and 8 more when the new zombies jump in for a bite. This kills the soldier they were working on and demoralizes the final one

Round 5

• Darkjaw: Becomes a werewolf, Vine Whips the soldier with advantage from Pack Tactics, and petrifies him. He then sheaths his whip and draws his greatsword, dealing 15 damage to the wooden shell of a man
• Lamarva: slams the petrified soldier for 21 damage, splintering him to smoldering pieces thanks to the fire damage. Spends the remainder of his turn feeding on Dhamash’s corpse with Darkjaw
• Soldier (1/15): Slashes frightenedly at the horde of zombies that has eaten his comrades, hits for 11 slashing and beheads another zombie. However, he ends his turn completely surrounded by the remaining 11 and 2 newbies (his other comrades).
• Warvillus & Zombies (13 total): “You’re lucky, just as you always are as a Dragonborn, handed everything in society that you haven’t shown to deserve. You would make a perfect lieutenant for my soldiers; willingly accepting the transformation to undeath will help keep your mind somewhat intact and sharper than your troops. So as a grace, I give you two options; join Darkjaw Company as my top ranking soldier, or be devoured by your would-be subordinates right now. Whaddya say?” The soldier rolls poorly on Wisdom and gives into his fear, accepting the offer. 

Aftermath

• Darkjaw sets up camp for the night effortlessly; meanwhile, Warvillus prepares a ritual to transform the soldier, surrounded by zombies. Warvillus cuts a zombie’s hand off and applies the blood to the skull, having the soldier grasp the skull while lying in the center of the circle. The zombies close the circle and Warvillus flies above, chanting incantations in Draconic. Eventually, the necromantic dark energy of the night channels through the ritual and successfully transforms the Reaper Dragonborn into Captain Deadnok, who immediately takes command of the 13 zombies in his ranks.
• Warvillus gathers the 4 yuan-ti corpses & 3 Dragonborn corpses that weren’t completely mangled and casts Create Undead on them, giving them 30 HP each & +4 to their ordinary damage rolls. In total, Warvillus has an army of 21 soldiers; Captain Deadnok and his Reaper Elites (4 Dragonborn zombies total), 4 yuan-ti zombies, and 13 lizardfolk zombies.
• Darkjaw reads more from the book on Draconic Energy Projection, rolling well enough to fall asleep learning how to channel his fiery Draconic essence into bite & claw attacks.