Tales from Turbo's Tables (Patreon)

I'm in the fortunate position to be playing in and/or running a lot of TTPRGs. This helps me stay energized, lets me stretch my creative skills in new ways, and keeps my social batteries charged even as COVID refuses to actually go away.

And today brought me an especially exciting story during the Call of the Netherdeep game I play in (using D&D 5e). The story has only light spoilers for an early part of the campaign, but be forewarned.

I'm playing a half-orc Battle Master Fighter because I love playing Martial Artists and I've been hearing how cool the Battle Master is for years but have never had the chance to play one. So now I am. She's a Great Weapon specialist using a Halberd as her primary weapon. We're level 4 in this session, and there's six of us in the party.

--

Our party was starting the long trip to Bazzoxan and the evening of the first day, we were attacked by a hungry desperate Gloomstalker, a shadow-wreathed creature that's more than a little like the desert cousin of a drake/wyrm. It raised a half-dozen skeletons from the sandy earth around us using its terrifying howl.

All of a sudden, things were going very poorly. The Gloomstalker flew in and downed our Bard in one flurry of blows, and the skeletons started closing in to pin us into place. 

My Battlemaster KOed a skeleton in one hit, choking up on her halberd and smashing through the skeleton's ribcage. She pivoted, turning and leaping to take a mighty hew at the flying shadow-beast, using the bonus action extra attack provided by Great Weapon Master. 

Nat 20. 

As a half-orc, she also got to add an extra weapon damage die. And I added a Tripping Attack for another d8 of damage. After doubling, I did 38 damage and then action surged for another hit, dealing 11 more damage. So I did over 60 damage in one turn  as a level 4 Battle Master (having killed the skeleton up at the top of my turn). I felt amazing and the other players were cheering me on and grateful for the huge damage I was putting down on the Gloomstalker. As the only non-caster in the group, I absolutely feel like I need to carry a ton of weight in fights, and this was very validating.

But that great turn wasn't enough on its own to take down the Gloomstalker. Our Cleric brought the Bard up with a Healing Word, but that put him to the Gloomstalker's attention. The Gloomstalker soared over, Bard still in its talons, diving on our party's Cleric and downing him too, even with some interference from our Arcane Trickster in the form of Silvery Barbs. With two meals in-claw, the Gloomstalker let out another terrifying cry, raising another half-dozen skeletons. We continued to rain fire at it, but it flew off, bloodied, trying to return to its nest to feed.

But our Rogue and Ranger stormed off in pursuit, loosing arrows, weaving between rocky outcroppings and out-maneuvering the shoddily-armed skeletons. 

My fighter was surrounded by two, then three skeletons, their rusting weapons laying in to her with the death of a thousand rusty cuts. (edited)

The Bard tried to down the creature with a Sleep spell, but it was still too strong. But doing so inspired the Arcane Trickster, who was able to bring it down after the Ranger and our Sorcerer landed a couple more hits between their arrows and a lightning chaos bolt.

The Trickster repeated the Sleep spell and the thing dropped into a slumbering slump, releasing our Bard and Cleric. And when the beast dropped, asleep, the skeletons crumbled back into piles of bones and we were safe.

For the time being.