In this session, the player characters fight to prove their resolve and earn new power for the upcoming battle.

In these Campaign Diary posts, I discuss the campaign I play in and what happened in our most recent session!

What’s SBotLL?

That’s the name of the campaign I play in! It’s been running for four years now. There are two parties, one on the Surface and one in the Underdark. I play in the surface squad as the elf bard Finnith, and my two friends play the dragonborn rogue Nala and the tiefling ranger Allora.

Recap

Last session, the group weighed their options and made some plans to prepare for the upcoming battle between their allies (the Awoken Flame and the Moon’s Eye) and their enemies (the Coven of Eternal Light). The party also recalled their various encounters with their mirror selves, entities who challenged them in various ways. The party members split up to make their preparations at the Awoken Flame base.

In this session…

Now, each of the three party members are confronted by one of their mirror selves—the gold mirror self, who represents and challenges the resolve of each party member. They offer great power, but the party must prove themselves worthy first.

After the individual conversations, the party finds themselves transported to an arena. The whole party is there, plus everyone’s mirror self. They have eleven rounds to prove themselves. The fight begins, and that takes up the rest of the session.

It’s been a while since the party fought all together, so they try their best to coordinate.  Each mirror self also uses a power the party can’t use yet. This is the power they are fighting to receive.

After eight rounds, the party is able to defeat the mirror party. The defeated mirror selves dissolve away, leaving only the black mask behind. Allora’s is the snake, Nala’s the lion, and Finnith’s the peacock. A cloaked figure appears—this is the Host, who is responsible for the mirror selves and has called each player character (including the other party) their “chosen.” The Host congratulates the party on their victory and encourages them to take their new power with pride, only reminding them that this doesn’t preclude them from having to prove themselves anew in the future.

And each party member is brought back to where they were previously.

Long combat sessions

As I mentioned, it’s been a while since the good squad had a combat encounter. This was a great chance for everyone to use new abilities, new spells, and new tactics as we get more used to playing at a higher level. We’re also gearing up for another large fight. So, a victory here is a good confidence boost for what’s coming next!

Thanks for reading! Stay safe and take care of yourselves out there.