The Erovast Codex

2026.07.14#

Summary#

This session was almost entirely the continuation and conclusion of the Crown Gauntlet from 2026.06.23, picking back up at countdown 8, Cheer Marks 7/10, Mud Marks 2/10. Source: Transcript.

The party crossed the spinning logs (Odine 22, Azrith 15 while maintaining Bless, Aldric via a running jump). Odine Dunmere cast Mold Earth to bury the mud-stuck guard to the waist, effectively restraining him for the rest of the fight. Cassian flew to the platform and used Thaumaturgy for a booming “Are you not entertained?"—a Performance roll of 19 (+4) that maxed the crowd’s Cheer Marks at 10/10, granting the whole party (barring Azrith, who couldn’t benefit from his own Bless) a permanent stacking +1d4 on all remaining Gauntlet rolls. Source: Transcript.

At the sheer plank wall, Azrith rolled a natural 1 followed by a natural 20 (with advantage) on Investigation, coaching the team and dropping the climb DC from 18 to 15 for everyone. Aldric still needed his one Heroic Inspiration reroll to clear it; Odine barely made it, caught by Cassian’s grip. Beyond the wall, gear-driven platforms rotated around a central tower, guarded by a knight throwing heavy sacks from above and another who jammed his jousting stick into the gears to freeze the mechanism. Azrith’s improvised intimidation with his Ring of Fire Breath (natural 1) failed to scare the guard loose but still applied 6 fire damage; Aldric’s bluffed “magic” threat (rolled a 1) and a missed javelin throw both failed. Cassian ultimately flew down and used the mystery chain—given to Aldric mid-combat the prior session, its exact properties still unidentified by the table—to yank the guard’s stick free with an advantage-boosted Strength check, freeing the platforms. Source: Transcript.

Odine’s Gust cantrip forced the top guard back 5 feet (failed to knock him off); her deliberately low-hovering Fog Cloud blinded the pursuing ground guards without blocking the party’s own elevated sightlines. Aldric took a natural-20 sack throw for 8 bludgeoning, nearly fell, and clawed back to the ledge. Cassian then engaged the top guard directly: a Thaumaturgy-flame-plus-perfume-bottle “flamethrower” (hit, but rolled a 1 on damage), a Taunting Step teleport that forced the guard into disadvantage against anyone but Cassian, a dodged grapple, and finally a contested shove (guard rolled a natural 2) that knocked him to a lower platform for 2d6 fall damage. Cassian draped the chain over the ledge for Aldric and Azrith to climb up. Source: Transcript.

With the guard back on his feet, Odine landed an Eldritch Blast (Repelling Blast) for 9 force damage, knocking him 10 feet off the platform entirely—the fall left him incapacitated (Odine is multiclassed Warlock 2 / Sorcerer 2, so Eldritch Blast is one of her own cantrips). With the countdown at its final round, Azrith lowered Cassian’s chain to Odine as her platform rotated out from under her; Aldric’s “Brutus drag” (14) hauled her partway, and Cassian’s assisted pull (15 vs. a lowered DC 10) finished the rescue. All four party members reached the top platform together and rang the bell with six seconds left on the clock—the Crown Gauntlet is complete. Source: Transcript.

The crowd erupted. Duke Tristan Blackwood, watching from the sponsor’s box, gave only a slow, reserved clap—“amused and amazed” rather than jubilant. In the victory roleplay: Cassian rose above the bell tower and delivered a bombastic speech naming Rory by name as a loser of the crowd’s bets (Rory is shown in the crowd throwing his hat in the mud); Azrith taunted the crowd with his scimitar drawn; Odine, feeling guilty for having blasted the final guard twice, cast Healing Word on him; Aldric asked to retrieve his lost javelin from the mud. The GM closed the session here, promising to pick up next time with “the after-effects of winning.” Source: Transcript.

Open Threads#

  • The mystery chain: used extensively and effectively throughout the Gauntlet (climbing aid, rescue line, advantage-granting tool) but its true properties are still not disclosed to the table. Last actively used by Azrith/Cassian during the rescue; nominal holder is Aldric.
  • Duke Blackwood’s muted reaction to the win is uncommented-on in-fiction; possible hook for later.
  • The party’s 50 gp Gauntlet wager and Cassian’s counter-bet against Rory should now both pay out, pending confirmation next session.
  • Duke Tristan Blackwood’s promised intelligence on House Godrin is now due, contingent on this win.
  • Aldric’s javelin retrieval was mentioned but not shown.

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