The party’s Hexploration rolls have been lucky so far, and they wake the next morning with Maelen regaining another hit point, now at 19 of 20. Otherwise, they’re at full strength except for Vessa missing one point of Luck off her max. Clearly the good fortune will continue, right? Let’s see!

I make my weather roll for the day and the fog remains in effect. The party has one more day west, then will swing south for two days. For the next Day Shift, I’ll roll again for Maelen’s ability to Guide them, making an Int(Wilderness Lore) check. She get a 6, which is a Great Success. I’ll say that a) whatever confusion they gained leaving Leandra’s Rest they’ve regained and she’ll have a +1 to the next day’s Guide roll, and b) there are plenty of markers letting them know they’re on the right track.

It’s time to Consult the Bones for the day: The Twins roll Yes/No, and the Judgment die bumps it up to a Yes. The Fortune die has one of those ominous Skulls, so Travel Event incoming! I roll New Lore, meaning that the party learns something new (myth, rumor, local legend, or piece of lore) to flesh out the setting. That’s cool, and I’ll use—for the first time!—the Tales of Argosa Deck of Signs to help me. I have a physical Deck of Signs (which you can purchase here, but there is a cool free online version here too), and shuffling/drawing cards is always fun. What I draw could easily have explained the campfire scene from last week:

For me, it feels like the party is bonded like a family after the last couple of days, but both the Tome of Unlit Paths and the mace Bonebreaker will begin “awakening” as they near the Starless Rift. Whatever the Rift is, these two artifacts are tied to it in some way.

That’s all wonderful, but I feel the party has gotten off too easy for my Travel Event roll for the second time in a row. As a result, I’m going to GM fiat a Random Encounter into the mix as well. Rather than make up my own table, I’ll roll on the juicy ones provided in the Tales rulebook, choosing the Forest table. I roll a nat-20! That gives me: “Light: Wisps of light circle high out of reach in the tree branches above, following the party. They seem to resonate an ethereal hum, a sorrowful dirge that rises and falls with the breeze.” Ooo. I think that I can combine this result with my Deck of Signs interpretation. Fun fun!

Any TTRPG veterans will recognize the description from the Random Encounter rolls as will o’ wisps, described in the Tales rulebook as “malicious, translucent spheres of eerie light that hunt in remote wilderness, luring travelers to their deaths.” I’ve rolled 2d4, and Maelen’s count is correct: There are 6 of the undead creatures. Needless to say, this encounter is an incredibly dangerous one.

Will o’ wisps always win initiative, so no need to roll for the party. Their Reaction table is also quite easy: It’s either sadistic or mischievous and I roll “sadistic.” The little lights are coming in for the kill.

There are six of them, and they don’t yet have Vessa as a target. I’ll make it easy and split the attacks, three each, on Maelen and Alric. That’s a scarier threat for Alric, so I’ll roll his attacks first. The wisps have a +2 to hit each attack his 10 AC, and I roll 7, 16, and 10. That’s two hits, each at 1d10 damage: 3+4=7 hit points of damage, and he’s down to half his hp at 7 of 14. Next is Maelen, and my totals are 12, 4, and 15, so only one hit! Four damage brings her to 15 of 20 hp.

Alric, realizing how vulnerable he is, will attempt a Mend Flesh on himself immediately. To do so, he must successfully make a Int(Arcane Lore) check, or hit a 16 or under. He rolls 13 and succeeds. It will heal him 1d6+2 hit points and I roll a 6! He’s back to full strength. But now his Dark & Dangerous Magic number is 3. Can he roll a d8 without getting 3 or under? He rolls a 5. Alric’s DDM score is now 4. It’s worth noting that Alric only has one additional spell to cast before a rest.

Maelen will do what she does best and swing her weapon, the Bonebreaker. Two-handed, she swings her mace and rolls 13+4=17, which hits the wisps’ 16 AC (!). That’s 4+3=7 damage, versus the wisp’s surprisingly hearty 14 hp. It’s now at half.

Vessa moves to Far range and lets an arrow loose on another wisp. She rolls 14+4=18, which also hits. Sadly, both Finisher and Backstab are melee only (I’m beginning to have an idea on what her 3^rd-level custom ability might be!), she will do 1d6 damage only. She rolls 4, leaving the second wisp at 7 hit points (yes, I’m rolling individual hp for each wisp).

At the end of Round 1 we have:

• Maelen at 15 of 20 hp
• Wisps 1 & 2 at 7 hp each
• Everyone else is uninjured

All in all, I’d say that was a better-than-it-could-have-been round for the party. But there is a long way to go.

Round 2, and the wisps again automatically go first. This time I’ll have two attack each of Maelen and Alric, and two will close the distance with Vessa.

Here we go again: The wisps facing Alric roll 15 and 6, hitting once and doing 3 damage. Not too bad! He’s now at 11 of 14. Against Maelen, I roll 13 and 17, though, and with their +2 to hit they both hit. Amazingly, though, each d10 rolls a 1! That leaves her at 13 of 20.

Alric will swing his staff two-handed against the wisp nearest him. He needs to roll a 15 or higher to hit and rolls a 7. Nope. Maelen has better chances. Against the wounded wisp she rolls 15. Her damage roll is 7+3=10, and she kills one wisp. That triggers her Opportunist ability, and she’ll immediately roll to hit the other wisp near her. She rolls 17! Amazing. This time, her damage roll is merely 1+3=4, versus 14 hp. That wisp is at 10 hp.

It’s Vessa’s turn, now facing two wisps, including the one she injured. It’s time to enact one of her Tricks for the first time… she’ll throw a Smoke Bomb into the fray, rendering everyone in Close range with her Blind for (rolling d4) 4 rounds! She’ll then attempt to move quietly out of the smoke cloud towards her companions. To do so, I’ll make a Dex(Stealth) check. She rolls 13 under 15. Success.

We can probably squeeze Round 3 in before narration. The wisps will continue to zap Alric: Rolling an 18 and a nat-1! Alric will take 6 damage from the first attack but will get a free swing with his staff for the fumble. He rolls a 10, though, and misses. He’s now at a scary 5 hp remaining. The two versus Maelen roll 18 and 10, also hitting once and doing 5 damage. She’s at 8 hp herself. Not looking good, folks!

The two in the smoke cloud will search for Vessa blindly. The wisps have 15 Perception, and I’ll make the rolls at disadvantage because of the smoke. The first rolls a nat-20, which is a Terrible Failure. I’ll say it loses next round searching in the smoke. The second wisp rolls a 5 & 6 on its two rolls, succeeding with a Great Success, and will follow Vessa out, able to attack next round.

Alric is facing a real possibility of death. Does he run or fight? He’ll try swinging one last time before he withdraws. He rolls a nat-19! Wow, what a hero. That’s 1d6 damage, plus a roll on the Blunt Trauma table. He rolls 6 damage… nice. On the Blunt Trauma table, I roll “Damaged Gear,” which doesn’t make sense per se, so I’ll say the blow knocks the wisp’s AC down 2. Well done, Alric.

Maelen sees Alric’s plight and will try and kill the wisp he’s just hurt and trigger Opportunist. She rolls 11+4=15, which would have missed if not for the Blunt Trauma result. It’s dead after another 8 damage, and now she’ll swing on the other one near her. She rolls 18 and hits, doing 4+3=7 damage and leaving it at 3 hp.

What a miraculous and amazing turn.

Vessa, now unseen in the forest, will attempt to close to the other wisp near Alric, using Backstab. Doing so gives her a total of +6 to hit and she rolls 16! That’s a hit, and will do 1d6+1d8+1 damage. She rolls 11 total damage versus its 12 hp. So close!

Here is how things stand after three rounds:

• Alric at 5 of 14 hp
• Maelen at 8 of 20 hp
• Vessa unharmed
• Two damaged wisps near the PCs, 1 hp & 3 hp
• One unharmed wisp coming for Vessa
• One wisp at 7 hp lost in the smoke Far away.

It’s probably time to make a Morale roll for the remaining will o’ wisps, since as far the three in the fight are concerned their numbers have been halved. Their Will is 15 and roll 13, so they won’t flee from these tasty living mortals yet.

Round 4, and the end is nigh, one way or the other. The wisp lost in the smoke stays there, confused. That leaves three will o’ wisps versus three PCs, and the wisps strike first as always. Each one will choose a random target, as they’re all effectively in melee with each other. The first tries to zap Maelen and rolls a 10+2=12, missing. The next aims at Vessa and her 13 AC, rolling 9 and missing. Finally, the last also shocks Maelen, and this time rolls a 19 total, hitting for 4 damage. She drops to 4 hp, one average hit away from death. All in all, lucky for our three protagonists.

It’s the PC’s turn, and I’ll have Alric try and off one of the wounded undead. He rolls a 6 and misses. Maelen’s turn, and she follows his lead, rolling 13+4=17 and hitting (does she ever miss!?). Her +2 damage will automatically kill the wisp at 3 hp, and she’ll strike the other one with Opportunist. Nat-18 and she bashes it to wispy light as well. Whew! Vessa gets the last strike in the round. She’ll slash out with her shortsword, rolling a 6 and missing.

Two untouched wisps against 2 badly hurt PCs and Vessa. Let’s do another morale check on the wisps, and this time I’ll give them a -2 on the roll, as this prey has proven to be much deadlier than they anticipated. I roll a 12, just under the 13 target. Apparently, they sense they’re one good round from killing their victims.

Round 5, and first I’ll deal with the wisp in the smoke. I’ll again roll Perception at disadvantage: 16 fails. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the smoke bomb will dissipate after this round.

Who will the remaining wisp in melee attack? I roll Maelen again, which makes some sense since she’s been the deadliest of the group and is the closest to death. I roll an 11+2=13, which just misses her 14 AC!

Now that there’s a single target, it makes sense for Maelen to spend a use of Adaptable and switch to her Two Hander style. She rolls 12+5 (an additional +1 because the PCs now outnumber it 3:1)=17, hitting. Thanks to Two Hander, she will gain advantage on rolling damage, and because she’s wielding her mace two-handed, that’s 1d8+3 damage. I roll and 6 and 8 so that’s 11 damage and she one-shots the wisp! Without Two Hander, the wisp would still be (barely) alive.

Vessa sheaths her sword and readies her bow, watching the mists. What will the lone will o’ wisp do now that the smoke has dissipated? I’ll roll another morale save, this time at -3. A 16 fails, and it floats mournfully away, unseen.

Wow, what a dicey combat. It’s a reminder that when I flippantly say I’m going to force a random encounter roll, shit can get deadly! For now, let’s do a quick Short Rest check. All three PCs make one of their two Will rolls. Alric will choose to recover half his hit points, rounded down. That puts him at 9 of 14. Maelen will do the same, now at 12 of 20. Finally, Vessa will gain back her Trick slot.