![[Publish/Assets/Session Headers/2026-07-01 — The Great Distraction and the River Styx.png]] # 2026-07-01 — The Great Distraction & the River Styx > [!quote] Session Hook > The exploding infernal machine did its job — Zariel's flying citadel is coming. Now the party must kite a fortress into a demon lord's army, slip back into the emptied war camp, free the prisoners, and escape Avernus by boat before anyone notices they never joined the battle. --- ## Overview The party lured the gigantic basalt citadel — a fortress shaped like a sword — back to Baphomet's war camp on the River Styx. The gambit worked beyond all hope: Baphomet and his entire horde charged the descending citadel in a mindless blood rage, devils poured out to meet them, and a massive bloodbath erupted just over the eastern hill. At [[The Party|Damon Charles]]'s suggestion, the party slipped away from the spectacle and doubled back to the near-empty camp to rescue the prisoners and reclaim their boat. The rescue went sideways fast. Damon crept toward the cage alone against everyone's advice, a prisoner's gasp gave him away, and a goristro dunked him into the River Styx — the current carried him off, unconscious, his fate unknown. Negotiation and divine commands both failed against the two hulking goristro guards, and the session ended mid-battle in a demonic circus tent: both demons badly burned and bleeding, but still standing. --- ## Key Events ### 1. Kiting the Citadel The party retraced their path toward Baphomet's encampment, the strange distances of Avernus mercifully short on the return. As they reached the camp's edge, the citadel broke through the clouds above the River Styx — *a gigantic basalt citadel shaped like a sword*, screaming demons scurrying madly onto its bone platforms as fly-like demons clung to the sky around it. ### 2. Baphomet Takes the Bait The sight of the fortress threw the demon horde into a frenzy. Baphomet and every demon in the camp charged toward it in full blood rage — whatever battle plan they had was out the window. The citadel set down and devils poured out to meet the charge. Amid the chaos, [[The Party|Damon Charles]] observed: *"I don't think anybody's watching us. We could escape if we're careful... or you can go fight — it's up to you."* [[The Party|Casanova Frankenstein]] argued for leaving immediately, but the table's conscience won out: *"We made a deal — those are our prisoners now."* The compromise: skip the bloodbath, sneak back for the prisoners, then take the boat. ### 3. The Goristro Guards The camp was nearly deserted — the demons had forgotten everything in their blood rage, leaving the prisoners in a hastily assembled cage guarded by two **goristros**, hulking minotaur-like demons. The party overheard them grumbling: *"I can't believe they left us here guarding these stupid humans. We ought to just eat them."* ### 4. Damon and the River Styx Damon announced he could sneak behind the goristros and unlock the cage. The whole party said no — that's stupid — and he took off sneaking anyway, leaving his plate armor behind to quiet his steps. As he reached the cage, a prisoner gasped. A goristro seized him — *"I'll show you for sneaking off"* — dragged him to the River Styx, and held him under. Unconscious, Damon was released into the current and swept away. The party could only watch. If the Styx's reputation holds, he may surface somewhere in the Hells with no memory of who he was. ### 5. Talk Fails, Command Fails The goristros noticed the rest of the party: *"What are you doing here? You are supposed to be fighting in the last battle."* [[The Party|Lilly Pallywally]] tried to negotiate, but the demons wouldn't budge: *"If you do not go fight, there is no negotiations. I will not cross Baphomet."* [[The Party|Unit-NULL]] invoked divine authority and cast Command — *"Obey"* — but the goristro shrugged off the compulsion. *"No obey. We fight."* ### 6. Battle in the Circus Tent [[The Party|Casanova Frankenstein]] opened with a fire bolt to test their defenses — it hit, it hurt, and it earned him a goristro's personal hatred. The fight sprawled into a large demonic circus tent containing a magical cage. Highlights of a brutal slugfest: - [[The Party|Dr. Herbert Who]] flew up and dropped a 60-foot **Wall of Fire** across the field, then followed with **two Fireballs** — the second searing both goristros at once as the session closed. - One goristro **gored [[The Party|Unit-NULL]] for a massive charge hit** — the biggest blow of the night. She answered with divinely empowered shortsword strikes. - [[The Party|Lilly Pallywally]] became the demons' favorite target — enduring fists and a hoof that should have flattened her while her **Spirit Guardians** shredded them every round. She negated one blow with Silvery Barbs, never lost concentration, and never went down. - [[The Party|Tahara Rahma]]'s upcast Guiding Bolt ricocheted off the cage's edge in a spectacular misfire, briefly scrambling her magic. She recovered, slid down the tent on her trench coat, and laid **Death Ward** on Unit-NULL with a prayer to Osiris. - [[The Party|Ara-Ara Avannatto]] landed Guiding Bolt after Guiding Bolt and, at the fight's low point, cast a **mass healing** that restored half the party in one breath. - [[The Party|Celeste Valentin]] ran hit-and-run flurries across the whole battlefield — charges, kicks, and three-punch combos — and finished the session without a scratch. Her attempt to grapple a demon two sizes larger ended with it "very firmly hugged." - [[The Party|Casanova Frankenstein]] hurled an unidentified potion at a goristro (see [[Random Potion Table]]) — it granted the demon a free dodge. *"I wish I knew what these potions did before I threw them at people."* --- ## Notable NPCs | NPC | Type | Notes | |-----|------|-------| | [[The Party\|Damon Charles]] | Ally — missing | Swept away down the River Styx, unconscious; possible memory loss; fate unknown | | Goristro ×2 | Enemy | Prisoner guards; refused negotiation and Command; both heavily wounded but fighting | | **Baphomet** | Referenced | Charged the citadel with his entire horde; the party forfeited his "reward" by fleeing | | **Zariel's forces** | Enemy (distant) | Devils pouring from the basalt citadel into battle with the demon horde | --- ## Locations - **Plains of Avernus** — Crossed while kiting the flying citadel back to the camp - **Baphomet's War Camp** — Nearly emptied; site of the prisoner cage and the goristro fight - **River Styx** — Damon Charles submerged and swept away; the party's boat still waits to the south - **Demonic Circus Tent** — Large tent with a magical cage; current battleground; purpose unknown --- ## Decisions & Consequences | Decision | Consequence | |----------|-------------| | Lured the citadel into Baphomet's army | Massive demon-devil battle erupted; perfect distraction achieved | | Returned for the prisoners instead of fleeing or fighting | Direct confrontation with the two goristro guards | | Damon snuck to the cage against all advice | A prisoner's gasp exposed him; dunked in the Styx and lost downriver | | Lilly negotiated, Unit-NULL commanded | Both failed — the goristros would not cross Baphomet; combat unavoidable | | Tahara chose Death Ward over Blight | Unit-NULL protected from a fatal blow for 8 hours | | Fled the deal with Baphomet | The promised reward is forfeit — and the demon lord may remember | --- ## Open Threads > [!warning] Unresolved > - [ ] **The goristro fight is ongoing** — next session opens on Tahara Rahma's turn > - [ ] **Damon Charles** — swept down the River Styx; alive? memory intact? where will he surface? > - [ ] **The prisoners** — still caged; rescue incomplete > - [ ] **The clock** — will Baphomet's forces return from the battle before the party escapes? > - [ ] **The boat** — still waiting on the Styx south of camp; the escape from Avernus hinges on it > - [ ] **The circus tent** — why the cages? What ritual was performed here? > - [ ] **Undisclosed news from Baphomet's camp** — still never delivered --- ## Combat Summary ``` Encounter: 2x Goristro (prisoner cage guards, Baphomet's war camp) Status: ONGOING — session ended after Dr. Herbert Who's turn; resumes on Tahara Rahma Initiative (approx.): Tahara → Goristros → Ara-Ara → Lilly → Unit-NULL → Casanova → Celeste → Dr. Who Pre-combat: Goristros drowned Damon Charles in the Styx (round 0) Lilly negotiation failed; Unit-NULL Command "Obey" resisted Notable mechanics: - Wall of Fire + 2x Fireball (Dr. Who) — goristros have magic resistance but no fire resistance; heavy burns on both - Goristro gore charge on Unit-NULL — 54 piercing, hit of the night - Lilly: Spirit Guardians attrition engine; Silvery Barbs; survived fist + hoof barrage without dropping concentration - Tahara: nat 1 Guiding Bolt → mishap (bolt ricocheted off cage); Death Ward on Unit-NULL (prayer to Osiris) - Ara-Ara: mass heal restored Lilly, Unit-NULL, Celeste & Dr. Who - Celeste: Mobile hit-and-run all fight; zero damage taken; "grappled" a Huge demon = very firmly hugged - Casanova: fire bolts from cover; thrown mystery potion gave a goristro a free dodge End state: Both goristros standing — one bleeding badly, one "still pretty happy to be fighting" ``` --- ## Loot & Acquisitions | Item | Who | Notes | |------|-----|-------| | High-quality plate armor | Party | Damon Charles's plate, left behind before his sneak attempt | | [[Claw of the Abysal Tide\|Claw of the Abyssal Tide]] | [[The Party\|Unit-NULL]] | Demonic longsword finalized this session — carries a curse and a strange "demonic resonance" | | Potion of healing (expended) | [[The Party\|Lilly Pallywally]] | Drunk mid-fight | | Unidentified potion (expended) | [[The Party\|Casanova Frankenstein]] | Thrown at a goristro; granted it a free dodge | > For a full loot breakdown see [[Session Loot]]. --- ## Party This Session | Character | Highlights | |-----------|-----------| | [[The Party\|Tahara Rahma]] | Stealthed like the night itself; nat-1 Guiding Bolt ricochet; Death Ward on Unit-NULL via prayer to Osiris | | [[The Party\|Ara-Ara Avannatto]] | Twin Guiding Bolts; clutch mass heal that pulled the party back from the brink | | [[The Party\|Casanova Frankenstein]] | Argued for the escape plan; fire bolts from cover; mystery-potion chaos; earned a goristro's personal grudge | | [[The Party\|Celeste Valentin]] | Untouchable hit-and-run flurries all fight; zero damage taken; hugged a demon | | [[The Party\|Unit-NULL]] | Commanded demons to "Obey" (resisted); took the night's biggest hit (54); answered with radiant smites | | [[The Party\|Lilly Pallywally]] | Failed diplomacy gracefully; Spirit Guardians anchor; tanked a brutal barrage; Silvery Barbs save | | [[The Party\|Dr. Herbert Who]] | Wall of Fire + two Fireballs — the fight's damage engine | | [[The Party\|Damon Charles]] | Suggested the getaway; snuck off alone; dunked in the River Styx and swept away | --- ## Table Notes - Optional rule under vote: long rests in the Hells may require a DC 14 Wisdom save against a slow slide toward lawful evil (cured only by Dispel Evil or 1d4 days outside the Nine Hells). Vote still open. - Sessions move to **Wednesdays** going forward. --- *Session recorded on Plaud · File ID: `6661e56755897769d30bb38065a1dc3a` · Duration ~2h 16m*