Running Tomb of Annihilation (Return of the Lizard King)

We’d reached the climax of the Return of the Lizard King, as the adventurers braved the ancient ziggurat wherein dwelled the Lizard King who had raised up the Akabkan lizardfolk against the other races of Chult.

The adventurers were guided by a yuan-ti pureblood, Salida, who opposed the Lizard King, though for reasons of her own; she wasn’t entirely trustworthy. The Akabkan tribe were gathered outside the ziggurat, waiting for their King to emerge transformed from a dark ritual. The adventurers had to work out a plan to sneak in.

The adventurers worked out the details of a plan. It was terrible. They abandoned it and came up with another plan. It was also terrible. Their third plan was the worst: Pieron Agosto, their bard, would distract the lizardfolk with a loud spell, then sneak in with rest of the party. The distraction part was fine. Unfortunately, the spell had such a short range that Pieron would instantly be discovered and lead the lizardfolk to the other adventurers. This plan, after some mockery, was also abandoned.

Eventually, they just drew their cloaks around them and tried to move unnoticed around the outskirts of the tribe towards the entrance of the ziggurat. It didn’t go terribly: they were noticed, but slew a couple of parties of attackers and managed to slip into the temple. Salida didn’t accompany them. (I hate running NPCs who accompany the party!)

Once inside the temple, they had to face mystical tests of Strength and Resolve to proceed. Not everyone passed the tests. The adventurers who failed were crushed by invisible forces or attacked by demonic lizards. By this time, the party were tired and wounded, and they had not reached the heart of the ziggurat. Several challenges still barred their way!

It was just as well that they chose to turn left at the next intersection. This led to an abandoned shrine to Semuanya, the lizardfolk deity of survival and harmony; not a god worshipped by the lizard king and is followers! The druid recognised the deity, and the group made offerings to the shrine. Semuanya blessed them. The adventurers healed and refreshed their spirits. (DM Note: In very dangerous areas where the party is unable to rest, it’s advisable to use encounters or items that give the party the benefits of a long or short rest. I’m very glad Shawn used one here: this section of the adventure is extremely dangerous!)

After returning the way they came, the adventurers came to a corridor that had several side-passages. Creeping past a chamber where lizardfolk were distracted by a strange lizard, they discovered a shrine to one of the evil lizardfolk gods. The first adventurer to enter discovered that the shrine was active. It began to drain his life force! The party decided to retreat and try another side passage. (This encounter inflicts two levels of exhaustion on adventurers that fail saving throws. That’s not good for their survival chances!)

They next discovered a prison. Within were an elderly lizardfolk druid and a yuan-ti malison. After some discussion, the party released both. The yuan-ti immediately fled the temple. The lizardfolk, who introduced herself as Sylia, was dying. Nothing could save her at this point, but she blessed the adventurers and requested they return her holy symbol to a friend in Port Nyanzaru. This they did – and Pieron found himself possessed by part of the druid’s soul when she died. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but Pieron did show more interest in nature than he had previously.

The adventurers, at this point, decided to return to the room where they’d seen the lizardfolk and the giant lizard and deal with them so that they wouldn’t be attacked from behind. They were in for a surprise – the lizard, which was wearing a mask, was a basilisk! Something that Argian the Ranger confirmed for the party as he was turned to stone!

If you’re going to have something bad happen to you in Tomb of Annihilation, being petrified is one of the better results. You’re not technically dead, so your soul isn’t picked up by the Soulmonger. It’s much better than if you’re killed, or your maximum hit points are reduced by an encounter with undead. The party did find a magic item – a necklace of prayer beads – that held the spell to restore Argian. Unfortunately, Nathan, who plays the cleric, was absent for both sessions of this section of the adventure. There are two other ways of restoring a petrified character, both of which the party had already encountered and used for other benefits. Oh dear. I used the special text in this adventure that allowed them to use the necklace without first being attuned to allow the party to restore Argian, but it destroyed the necklace in the process. Thus, we could continue without being a man down (and Rich didn’t have to miss a session).

There were still several chambers to explore. A room with several sarcophaguses promised treasure, but also undead. Jonathan the Paladin confirmed their presence by using his divine senses, and the party wisely chose not to unleash an encounter that could go very badly for them.

The next chamber could not be bypassed, and the adventurers needed to deal with some Gila Lizardfolk and their Abyssal Lizard pets. It wasn’t an easy battle, especially as the party needed to preserve their magic for the final encounter. After they defeated the lizardfolk, they realised the room contained four inactive magical portals. Where did they lead? There was no way of telling, and the party had no time to investigate.

Finally, the adventurers reached the centre of the ziggurat, where lizardfolk priests oversaw a ritual that was infusing the lizard king with abyssal power. Much to the adventurers’ surprise, the lizardfolk overseeing the ritual gave them an offer: he’d let them past and fight the lizard king, as it would be a final test of his strength. The adventurers were fulfilling the divine will of Sess’innek! The adventurers were suspicious, but they didn’t want to waste time fighting the lizardfolk above. They descended into the pit where the lizard king, Kes’thak, was being transformed. He’d grown a second, demonic head, and dretches poured from everywhere as the adventurers fought him.

It wasn’t easy. A great shout from Kes’thak’s demonic head dropped two of the adventurers (45 damage on a failed save is no joke!) and left them within a breath of death. The adventurers were very glad that almost all of the party were able to heal – four of the five characters present were able to cast healing spells, and their cleric wasn’t even with the party! With the ability to restore those who Kes’thak had knocked unconscious, the result was not inevitable, but they had a much easier time of it than other groups would have. After a brutal fight, they slew Kes’thak.

The party could hear screaming from above. Emerging from the pit, they discovered something large and powerful had broken through the side of the ziggurat to the outside. What was it? They had no idea. However, once they emerged they found something had destroyed the Akabkan tribe; most of the lizardfolk had been sliced apart by claws belonging to some large beast, and the remainder were running around in the grips of madness. Their minds had been broken by what they’d witnessed. A new, dark force now stalked the land of Chult.

For the time being, the threat posed by the Lizard King and the Akabkan tribe was over. The adventurers had been successful. Their next task was to return the holy symbol of Sylia to her friend in Port Nyanzaru.

The only problem? They stood in the Valley of Dread, countless miles to the south of Port Nyanzaru. It was time to cross the jungles of Chult!