View source for Session 48 - Inside Oyaviggaton (2026.04.12)

== Session 48 - Inside Oyaviggaton ==

=== Summary ===
Following their rest on the ice hunter village plateau, [[Deez Nuts]] enters the lair of [[Arauthator]] through a secret passage revealed by [[Bone Carver]]. Before descending, the party works through its guilt over having killed the enslaved ice fishers on the way north — [[Xanphina]] especially — steadying themselves with a group hug and a motivational speech from [[Alexios]] (granting temporary hit points, a ritual he repeats through the session). [[Bone Carver]] and the ice hunters provide a hand-drawn map, crampons, and warnings of kobolds, toads, trolls, and treacherous ice.

Rather than carve through the lair by force, the party chooses diplomacy. They first find and cure a diseased ice hunter, '''Mend Nets''' (Alexios's Lay on Hands), sending him home — a small redemption. Descending the spiral stair past murals of draconic propaganda and giants frozen in defeat, they win over the lair's oppressed inhabitants one community at a time: the giant ice toads led by the scholar '''[[Marfulb]]''', then the ice trolls led by '''[[Ralph]]''' (with Gunner and Blade). Both peoples serve [[Arauthator]] only out of fear and want him truly dead; they become guides and, in the trolls' case, allies recruited for the coming assault in exchange for magic weapons.

The party reaches '''[[Maccath the Crimson]]''' in her tented study, who delivers the session's great lore dump on the [[Draakhorn]] and on Arauthator himself, and gifts the party cold-warding gear and dragon-slaying arrows. In her scriptorium the [[Eye of Gilbraxis]] "demands" a black necromancer's spellbook; [[Shade]] bonds it into the book, creating the '''Improved [[Eye of Gilbraxis]]'''. The party then revives a [[Frost Giant]] frozen among Arauthator's trophies — '''[[Hrimthur]]''' — using "circle magic" to thaw him and Revivify to restore him; he pledges his axe to the cause.

Finally, with troll allies, a frost giant, and full cold resistance, the party descends into Arauthator's lair. [[Shade]] attempts a parley; the dragon reveals he wants a tiefling wizard to ride his mad mate (see [[Arauthator's Mate]]) and offers Shade the role. She refuses — "I'm just gonna start blastin'" — and the battle is joined. The session ends only a round or two in, mid-combat, with the slaying of Old White Death deferred to the next session.

=== Notable Events ===
* [[Bone Carver]] led the party through her hut into Arauthator's caverns; provided a map and crampons
* The party cured the diseased ice hunter '''Mend Nets''' ([[Alexios]]'s Lay on Hands) and sent him home
* Befriended the giant ice toads led by the scholar '''[[Marfulb]]''', gaining guides through the upper tunnels
* Befriended the ice trolls led by '''[[Ralph]]'''; recruited Ralph, Gunner, and Blade for the assault by trading away magic weapons (Corpseslayer Mace, Dagger of Venom, Glimmering Moonbow)
* Found [[Maccath the Crimson]] and received her [[Draakhorn]] research, a Ring of Cold Resistance, and two Arrows of Slaying (Dragon)
* [[Shade]] bonded the [[Eye of Gilbraxis]] into a necromancer's spellbook, creating the '''Improved Eye of Gilbraxis''' (no attunement slot; 5 charges of necromancy spells)
* Revived the frost giant '''[[Hrimthur]]''' from Arauthator's trophy ice via "circle magic" + Revivify; he joined the assault
* Maccath revealed [[Arauthator's Mate]] — a mad ancient white dragon with a dead tiefling rider — and that this is why Arauthator hunts tiefling wizards
* [[Keyleth|Key]] asked Maccath about the "Prophecy of the Thorn-Born Star" ("five heads rising from the shadow's root"); Maccath agreed to research it
* Redistributed cold-warding gear so all six party members have cold resistance
* Cleared multiple kobold swarms throughout the tunnels
* Descended into [[Arauthator]]'s lair; [[Shade]] parleyed, refused the "rider" offer, and '''the battle with Old White Death began''' — the session ended mid-combat
* Confirmed the [[Draakhorn]] is at the [[Well of Dragons]], sounded continuously by the [[Cult of the Dragon]]

=== XP Awards ===
* Total XP earned: Not recorded
* Current level: 9

=== Notable Characters ===
* [[Alexios]] (Richard) - Cured Mend Nets with Lay on Hands, gave morale speeches (temp HP), front-line; used Jaunty Boots to fly Xanphina to the dragon
* [[Xanphina|Zan]] (Amber) - Wrestled with guilt over the killed fishers; in the lair, raged and grappled/restrained Arauthator with [[Garmok's Flail]]
* [[Karma]] (Shanna) - Led most NPC negotiations (toads, trolls, Maccath); cast Revivify to restore Hrimthur; cast Wall of Fire on the dragon
* [[Shade]] (Sarah) - Bonded the Eye into the necromancer's spellbook; parleyed with Arauthator and refused his offer, starting the fight; planning a Bard→"dark wizard" respec
* [[Gootcha|Gooch]] (Ashley) - Explored and fought through the tunnels (joined under Patty's account)
* [[Keyleth|Key]] (Patty) - Scouted and sniped; raised the Thorn-Born Star prophecy; landed a crit on the dragon with Worm Reaver
* [[Bone Carver]] - Ice hunter shaman who led the party into the lair and provided the map and crampons
* [[Maccath the Crimson]] - Tiefling wizard of the [[Arcane Brotherhood]], held ~3 years; delivered Draakhorn lore and gifts; revealed Arauthator's plan for his mate
* [[Marfulb]] - Giant ice toad scholar; allied guide through the tunnels
* [[Ralph]] - Ice troll leader; recruited with Gunner and Blade for the assault
* [[Hrimthur]] - Frost giant revived from Arauthator's trophy ice; pledged his axe
* [[Arauthator's Mate]] - The dragon's mad consort, with a dead tiefling rider (revealed, not yet seen)
* [[Arauthator]] - Ancient white dragon "Old White Death"; parleyed, then attacked
* [[Barking Seal]], [[Orca Heart]] - Ice hunter leaders (mentioned)

=== Locations ===
* [[Oyaviggaton]] - Arauthator's massive iceberg lair in the [[Sea of Moving Ice]]
* Bone Carver's Hut - Conceals the secret entrance to the caverns
* Arauthator's Caverns - Circular tunnel system: ice walls with frozen corpses, 20-ft ceilings, slippery sloped floors
* Ice Toads' Room - Marfulb's scriptorium-like workspace
* Ice Trolls' Room - Ralph's domain
* Frozen-Trophy ("Statues") Room - Giants frozen in clear ice as Arauthator's conquests; where Hrimthur was revived
* Maccath's Study & the Scriptorium - Her tented prison-laboratory and the salvaged-spellbook archive (much laced with diabolical lore)
* Arauthator's Lair (below) - Large cavern of ice pillars, ledges (four height levels), traps, and water pools; the dragon's hoard frozen into the ice
* [[Well of Dragons]] - (Mentioned) Cult stronghold where the Draakhorn is kept

=== Factions ===
* [[Arcane Brotherhood]] - Maccath's organization; Arauthator looted its items and spellbooks years ago
* [[Cult of the Dragon]] - Negotiated the [[Draakhorn]] from Arauthator ~6 months ago; now sounds it at the [[Well of Dragons]]
* Ice Hunter Clan - [[Barking Seal]]'s people, held hostage by Arauthator
* The lair's oppressed peoples - Ice toads ([[Marfulb]]) and ice trolls ([[Ralph]]), allied to the party; the [[Scrag|Scrags]] remain loyal to Arauthator

=== Items ===
* '''Ring of Cold Resistance''' - From Maccath; no attunement required
* '''Arrows of Slaying (Dragon)''' (2) - On hit, the dragon makes a CON save or takes 6d10 (half on success)
* '''Improved [[Eye of Gilbraxis]]''' - The Eye bonded into a necromancer's spellbook; no attunement slot, gains 5 charges of necromancy spells
* '''Frostbrand Scimitar''' and '''Acheron Blade Scimitar''' - Identified in party inventory
* '''Magic weapons traded to recruit trolls''' - Corpseslayer Mace, Dagger of Venom, Glimmering Moonbow (given permanently to Ralph, Gunner, and Blade)
* Cold-warding gear redistributed (rings of warmth, ring of cold resistance, a Protection from Energy scroll) so all six have cold resistance
* Scriptorium scrolls offered by Maccath: Gaseous Form, Protection from Energy, Water Breathing, Evard's Black Tentacles, Fire Shield, Wall of Fire, Hold Monster, Chain Lightning, Disintegrate

=== Creatures ===
* '''Kobolds''' - Fanatically loyal to Arauthator (worship him as a god); weak, breed prolifically; fought as swarms
* '''Ice Toads''' - Intelligent, cold-aura'd; not loyal to Arauthator; allied via Marfulb
* '''Ice Trolls''' - Cold-attuned, terribly strong; two subtypes present; allied via Ralph
* '''[[Scrag|Scrags]]''' - Aquatic troll-kin loyal to Arauthator ("true believers"); three in the lair
* '''[[Frost Giant]]''' - Immune to cold; one (Hrimthur) revived as an ally
* '''[[Arauthator]]''' - Ancient white dragon: cold breath (CON save), Frightful Presence (Fear), rend/claw, conjures an ice elemental, terrain/illusion spells, legendary resistances and actions, lair effects

=== Maccath's Draakhorn Lore ===
* Arauthator possessed the [[Draakhorn]] for years; the [[Cult of the Dragon]] negotiated it away ~6 months ago and now sounds it at the [[Well of Dragons]]
* Its call reaches all dragons within roughly 2,000 miles; it was originally built to signal danger to chromatic dragons, and is now being misused to summon
* It is over-broad enough to be reaching metallic dragons too (the party's copper-dragon report)
* The horn is not a ritual component itself — it gathers powerful dragons to guard the horn and the Tiamat-summoning site

=== Session End ===
The party has descended into [[Arauthator]]'s lair with troll allies and the frost giant [[Hrimthur]], and the fight with Old White Death has just begun — [[Shade]] having refused the dragon's offer to make her his mate's rider. The session ends mid-combat (round one or two), with the dragon about to summon an ice elemental and [[Gootcha]] yet to act. The slaying of Arauthator is deferred to [[Session 49 - Old White Death (2026-04-26)|Session 49]]. (Out of game, the DM offered players an optional mechanical respec; [[Shade]]'s player intends to shift from Bard toward a "dark wizard.")

[[Category:Sessions]] [[Category:Rise of Tiamat]]