3077 Subterrannean Victory
on October 9, 2017
Chapter: Down in the Deep Dark
Characters: Cuddles the Cloaker, Queen Nephilia of the Drow
Location: Gloombelt Caverns
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Neph is now Queen of the Troglodytes. As well as Queen Under the Mountain.
Being Queen of Trogs is a lot like being mayor of a multi-generational trailer park with a population of 100+, but only three last names.
In other words… probably not a title you’d whip out in a bar trying to pick up women.
Bone appetite, Cuddles!
You will be assimilated. Your biological and magical distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile.
Oops, wrong queen.
Similar results, though…
Neph is the superior Queen.
By a mile.
Oh. She’s just dead, then.
I didn’t know Cuddles was that powerful. X)
Granted, it’s been a while since I’ve faced down a cloaker in D&D.
"He could’ve chosen to not be a dick. Now he’s cloaker chow. Let this be a lesson to all of you."
She.
Well, that was… decisive.
My favourite part of this ‘conflict’ was getting to see one of my favourite characters – adored for his cuteness – prove himself a stone-cold (and efficient!) killer.
And then he’s STILL cute!
t!
Munch munch munch
Love that from the background.
I hope for Cuddles’ sake Burnice didn’t taste of stupid.
Imagine if Izquxxisquid had done this instead…
"Hmm… the chieftain’s brain has a bland uninteresting taste, with a strong aftertaste of bravado and intense stupidity… Now can someone pass me a bucket or their hat as I’m about to be sick."
Next time I get a Rottweiler, I’m calling it Cuddles 😀
ive got a pittbull named cuddles. its also the fact that she LOVES to cuddle that she got her name. of course, when we got her, she was freezing, malnourished – literally skin and bones – and we figured she wouldnt last long.
6 years later, shes still going strong, loves to roll around in blankets till she looks like something out of Dune, and is the fastest tongue (and willingness to share it) in the house.
Hmm.. I’d forgotten about the cloaker’s ability to moan (one effect being a Hold Monster), so Cuddles could easily drop a Troglodyte Chieftain (not a great Will save)…
The result was what I expected, but not how it went down.
Agreement with t! up there–with Cuddles, it’s easy to forget that cloakers are predators, and very effective ones.
We haven’t even seen him use some of the other abilities they have, like shadow manipulation, and, as others have mentioned, the moan. (Old-schooler speaking from 1st ed. experience here–more than willing to be corrected if some of that has changed.)
Clearly, he doesn’t need them. 😀
They still have a shadow manipulation in Pathfinder called Shadow Shift, lets them in dim illumination to use the following abilities at will; blur, mirror image and silent image.
And I’ve played Editions 1-3.5, and Pathfinder, not touched 4th or 5th.
Next match, the opponents have to fight totally nude (to avoid killer clothing) 😀
"For the next match, the combatants must abide by the following rules
1. Combatants must remain in the fighting ring or be deemed beaten.
2. No magic or supernatural abilities.
3. No killer clothing, this include such creatures as Ragamuffins, Sheet Ghouls, Cloth Golems and Cloakers… I’m looking at you Neph and Cuddles."
Aw Aaron, I bet you would have come up with this rule whatever happened.
Absolutely, more entertaining that way 😀
We could have a inflatable pool and mud 😀
Hail Queen Nephillia, the smartest and most devious Queen Under the Mountain!!!
And after suffering the losses they did, you want the smart and sneaky one as your ruler. Although Maula was pretty smart too, but not as sneaky.
They had more beholders than I thought, they could have done it the hard way, but this way is much more efficient. She gains strength for her kingdom (queendom?) and establishes that she is not someone to be trifled with. The trogs will respect her sneakiness, and the other monsters already loyal to her will be pleased with her victory.
The art of tyranny. Adding your enemy to your own army.
Alexander the Great had a go at this. Got quite far across India before realising it’s a big place.
Then became Alexander the Spat On as they returned to Rome with their tails between their legs, passing by those they had conquered on the way. Ended up Alexander the Dead.
It is a delicate balance to walk. You have to make your enemy *want* to be part of your army and think this is a better deal than they had before – without ending up with a knife between your ribs.
Its not an easy task by any stretch. Usually only works for one person, and then their successor can’t pull it off and the whole thing falls into chaos.
*Twitch* Alexander wasn’t Roman, he was Macedonian.
I named the The Cloak of Levitation in Doctor Strange "Cuddles" the moment I saw it move in its glass case.
Late, but Alyx, thank you for the clarification regarding Cloakers in later editions.
Keep your friends close… and your enemies on their knees…
Now I feel bad for the trogs… I hope they're treated fairly.