![[Publish/Assets/Session Headers/2026-06-24 — Avernus and the Phylacteries.png]] # 06-24 Game Session: D&D - Avernus and the Phylacteries # Session Overview The party has learned that the souls of their lost loved ones are trapped within phylacteries scattered across the Nine Hells. To free them, they must either persuade Asmodeus to open the phylacteries or defeat him. Before they can act, they must first determine the locations of the phylacteries that hold the souls they seek. Concurrently, the party finds themselves in Avernus, engaged in a desperate battle against a group of devils near a fortress, with some members having just arrived in this hostile realm. # Key Events The session began with the party clarifying their personal motivations. Each member identified a "lost soul" they sought to reclaim or avenge. One sought their mother, another their own soul, another a "sacrificed client," one a mentor, and another a brother. One character declared a vendetta against an oath-breaking traitor. A newly arrived knight confirmed his quest to find the dragon-goddess Tiamat (known locally as Takasis) but found himself conscripted by demonic forces. The party was presented with a list detailing phylactery locations across the Nine Hells, each associated with a specific sin. They were told to choose the one that "speaks to them." One member reasoned that his lieutenant, who had sold his soul to a cambion for the power to defend a sacred portal, had acted out of pride, and his soul would likely be found in a phylactery tied to that sin. The scene then shifted to a fierce battle already in progress in Avernus. The party faced two chain devils and a larger horned devil. The horned devil had just murdered Ara's mother and captured her soul. Celeste, enlarged by Herbie's magic, was grappling the horned devil, while a chain devil had grappled Casanova. Tahara, Celeste, and Faith all had *spirit guardians* active, their combined holy energy harming the fiends. Casanova attempted a draconic cry to frighten his captors but failed to break free from the chains. The horned devil tried and failed to summon reinforcements. Tahara's radiant energy seemed to have little effect on the chain devils, but Celeste landed a solid punch on the horned devil she held fast. As the chain devils advanced, they were seared by Tahara's *spirit guardians*, and one struck back, maintaining its grapple on both Casanova and U-no. The fight continued near the outskirts of a devil-occupied fortress. One chain devil's chains became tangled mid-swing, rendering it helpless. Unit Null seized the opportunity, pulling the devil to the ground and executing it with a short sword. The remaining horned devil, choking Casanova, was struck by Casanova’s hammer and Doctor Herbert's magic missiles but shrugged off a blast of Sacred Flame. The devil suffered greatly from the party's overlapping *spirit guardians* and, visibly haggard, broke its grapple to flee a short distance. During the melee, a solemn knight arrived, out of breath, with urgent news from Baphomet’s camp but waited for the fighting to subside. He was followed by another knight, [[Characters/Damon Charles|Damon Charles]], who announced his intent to defect from Baphomet's forces and join the party. Damon invoked his sacred weapon and prepared to engage the horned devil. The focus shifted to the final moments of the battle. Tahara cast a spell to illuminate the remaining chain devil, granting her allies an advantage. Celeste grappled the fiend, holding the grievously wounded creature upright. The devil retaliated, striking Cobalt and Tahara, who maintained her concentration despite her wounds. After several frustrated attempts, Lily, mounted, drove the javelin Longinus into the devil's chest. Radiance consumed the creature, and it burst apart, leaving Celeste holding its crumbling horns. With the death of her brother's killer, Tahara withdrew to her brother's body, overcome with grief, and vowed to recover his lost soul. A flying party member cast Frostbite on the last remaining devil, which shrugged it off, before Damon moved in and slew it with a decisive sword strike to the head, ending the combat. In the aftermath, the party took a moment to recover at the old campsite. Damon, the paladin of Bahamut, formally joined their cause. Herbie harvested "devil's bile" from the horned devil's corpse. At Aura Aura Avanato's request, Lily placed the body of Aura's brother, Oruo, into a bag of holding. Timmy the cleric investigated a patch of magical darkness near floating eyeballs; after feeling a profound sense of being watched, he reached in and retrieved a soul coin, feeling a scaly presence brush his hand. Upon touching it, Celeste felt the abject terror of the soul trapped within. Elsewhere, Unit Null and the new paladin investigated a pile of gold, triggering an acid trap. The paladin healed Unit Null's injuries, and they recovered 100 gold pieces from the damaged pile. Leaving the campsite, the party continued north toward the Stygian Dock. They discovered a large, chugging infernal contraption ringed by fire, with two charred corpses and a dead imp nearby. The machine was actively running and appeared to be producing an unknown substance. After a brief discussion, Celeste pulled a prominent lever on its front. The lever snapped off, and the machine began to run faster, spraying a foul-smelling ichor before exploding in a massive fireball. The blast injured those standing too close, though Lilia and Damon shielded themselves from the worst of it. The explosion attracted the attention of a devil's floating fortress, which was seen on the northern horizon, now heading directly toward them. # Notable NPCs - [[Asmodeus]] — Lord of the Nine Hells. Believed to be the only one who can willingly open the phylacteries; his defeat is also said to release the trapped souls. - [[Characters/Damon Charles|Damon Charles]] — A solemn knight and paladin of Bahamut, formerly of Baphomet’s camp. He has defected and joined the party. - [[Aura Aura Avanato]] — A celestial being rescued by the party. Her brother, Oruo, was slain by devils. - [[Tiamat]] (also called Takasis/Tacasis) — A draconic deity sought by a knight who was conscripted into demonic service upon arriving in the Hells. - [[Baphomet]] — Referenced as the commander of the forces that [[Characters/Damon Charles|Damon Charles]] and another knight defected from. - [[Tahara]] — A divine spellcaster in the party whose brother was killed by the devils. She has vowed to recover his lost soul. - [[Celeste]] — A party member who grappled and held fiends in place, aiding in their defeat. - [[Lily]] — A mounted combatant who wielded the javelin Longinus to deliver the killing blow to a chain devil. - [[Oruo Avanato]] — Aura Aura's deceased brother. His body is now being carried by the party. - A [[Cambion]] — A fiend to whom a lieutenant sold his soul for power. - **Two [[Chain Devil]]s** — Infernal fiends fought by the party. One grappled Casanova and U-no. Both were slain. One was identified as the killer of Tahara's brother. - **One [[Horned Devil]]** — A powerful devil that murdered Ara's mother and captured her soul. It was defeated and its corpse harvested for bile. - **Unnamed oath breaker** — Betrayed a brotherhood and is the target of one party member's vengeance. - **Unnamed sacrificed “client”** — The subject of a bounty-style recovery or act of justice. - **Unnamed mentor** — A guiding figure one party member feels a duty to protect or redeem. - **Unnamed Paladin of Bahamut** — A knight who arrived with urgent news from Baphomet's camp during the battle. - **Demons (unnamed)** — Forces that conscripted a knight upon his arrival in the Hells. # Locations - [[Avernus]] — The first layer of the Nine Hells, where the recent battles and exploration took place. - [[Avernus Battlefield Campsite]] — A small, bloody encampment where the party recovered after the fight, finding a soul coin and trapped gold. - [[Devil Fortress Outskirts]] — The battlefield where the party confronted and defeated the devils. - [[Infernal Junkyard]] — A location the party departed from before discovering the infernal contraption. - **An unnamed clearing** — The site of an infernal machine that the party discovered and accidentally destroyed, leaving a scorched crater. - [[Devil's Floating Fortress]] — A flying citadel that spotted the party's explosion and is now moving toward their position. - [[Krynn]] — Referenced as the distant homeland of a knight in the party. - [[Local lands of Tiamat]] — A region in the Nine Hells where Tiamat is sought. # Decisions & Consequences - **The party chose specific relational anchors for their quest.** Each member selected a lost soul to pursue (mother, brother, mentor, etc.), providing clear personal stakes and defining their individual paths forward. - **One party member reasoned his lost loved one's soul is in a phylactery of Pride.** This decision will guide his search and determine where he must travel in the Nine Hells. - **Unit Null executed a disabled chain devil.** This removed a major threat from the battle, allowing the party to focus their efforts. - **The party maintained overlapping fields of *spirit guardians*.** This severely weakened the horned devil, forcing it to retreat and buying the party breathing room. - **Lily used the javelin Longinus to destroy the chain devil.** This avenged Tahara's brother, though his soul remains lost. - **Tahara withdrew from combat to mourn her brother.** After his killer was slain, she chose to grieve, impacting her readiness for the next threat. - **The party accepted [[Characters/Damon Charles|Damon Charles]], a paladin of Bahamut, into their ranks.** This provided them with an additional ally and healer but also ties them to his defection from Baphomet. - **Timmy retrieved a soul coin from a font of magical darkness.** This added another trapped soul to their collection but exposed him to an unsettling scaly presence. - **Celeste pulled the lever on an unknown infernal machine.** The lever broke, causing the machine to explode. This injured nearby party members and alerted a distant floating fortress to their location. # Open Threads - The party must individually select which phylactery holds the soul they seek from the provided list. - The identity and whereabouts of the oath breaker who betrayed one member's brotherhood are unknown. - The soul of Ara's mother, captured by the horned devil, remains trapped and its fate is unknown. - Tahara's brother’s lost soul remains unaccounted for; she has vowed to find it, making it a personal quest for the party. - The party is still in possession of multiple soul coins and must determine how to free the souls within. - A solemn knight arrived with urgent, undisclosed news from Baphomet’s camp. - [[Characters/Damon Charles|Damon Charles]] seeks to escape Baphomet’s control; his integration into the party is ongoing, and the threat of Baphomet's forces still looms. - The scaly presence Timmy felt when retrieving the soul coin from the magical darkness is unidentified. - A devil's floating fortress has been alerted to the party's presence and is approaching their position. - The party still intends to kite devils they are being pursued by back to Baphomet.