Session 155: The Ettin's Fall & The Iron Rain

Session Details

Session Date:	2026-08-15 - 2026-08-22
Game Date:	Unknown (Alien World / Crash Site)

Session Overview

Synopsis

Stranded after their vessel crashes on an unknown world, the party makes first contact with the local subjugated Cree tribe before defending them in a high-stakes, multi-phase battle against three Mutated Ettins, concluding with the sudden arrival of a Warforged dropship.

Narrative

First Contact & The Cree Scouts

Surveying the smoking wreckage of their fallen vessel, the reality of their plight set in fast. Realizing they were no longer in Greyhawk, the party took cover in the shadow of a large outcropping of rock and twisted ship debris to scout the surrounding terrain.

Five torchlit figures were spotted picking their way through the gouges and rubble in a line abreast, moving cautiously around unseen obstacles. Choosing diplomacy over a surprise attack, the party stepped out with hands raised:

"Hai! We are humble adventurers... Where am I?"

The lead scout, a battle-hardened veteran, held them at bay and called out for them to halt over the hissing and creaking of the dying ship:

"Halt! Stay where you are. Don't come any closer!"

Durmen called out: "What is the name of your people?"

As the party looked about nervously, Egon considered whether an attack might be prudent, prompting Durmen to shout a warning to his allies: "Are you guys stupid?"

Aldran then asked again: "Where are you from?"

A voice responded haltingly in what seemed to be a variant of the Common tongue:

"From the hill. Can't understand you... You have drinks? Something that's wine or mead?"

Realizing the scout was motivated by food and drink, Durmen suggested offering their trail rations to appease him. Pulling Durmen in for a tight shoulder-hug, Aldran embraced the absurd survival strategy: "Goddamn dammit, you son of a bitch, you may not be the smartest one here but that's a brilliant idea!"

Offering rations instead of mead—which the scout misidentified as being "like meat"—the party brought the scout in close. Bending down to take a bite of the offered food, the scout squinted at the party with narrowing eyes: "Yuck. The truth: you do not look like the Masters said you would look like. They said you would all have robes and no armor. You all look like us."

Identifying his group as members of the Cree Clan, the scout explained that his people were subjugated by "the Masters" (or "Old Ones") and lived in a village further down the mountain. The Cree Elder explicitly instructed the party to stay close to their fire perimeter at the Zephyr'on Spaceport, warning that strange, dangerous creatures roamed the surrounding forest—beasts that feared the firelight and refused to cross into the spaceport boundary itself. The Old Ones had commanded the tribe to locate any crash survivors and secure them at the spaceport to be judged.

While agreeing to wait with the party, the Cree warned that they would not be allowed to return once taken below: "We do not disclose our names... it gives power to our enemies. For today, you may just call us Cree." Because the scouts refused to share their individual names, Aldran assigned each Cree member a number so the party could keep track of them.

When questioned about a fleeing woman, the Cree mentioned a wizard had been spotted high in the sky riding a "metal dragon," roughly half an hour before they found the party.

Ambush of the Mutated Ettins

As the party struck up a conversation with the Elder while awaiting the Old Ones, unsettling screeching echoed from the deep shadows beyond the firelight. Glancing into the dark, they caught glimpses of three massive, multi-headed monsters stalking through the gloom between the spaceport and the crash site. The Elder revealed that another detachment of his tribe had been sent to secure the crash site directly.

Suddenly, a magical ball of iridescent purple and red light exploded into the night sky near the fallen ship, illuminating two of the Mutated Ettins slaughtering Cree warriors near the wreckage. After debating their options between waiting for judgment from the mysterious Old Ones or taking their chances against the mutant two-headed giants, the party resolved to act and headed back toward the crash site. While two of the beasts were occupied at the ship, the third Ettin—a solitary hunter—stepped out of the forest shadows and attacked the party directly.

Grabbing burning pieces of wood for makeshift torches, the party engaged the hunter:

Poision Egon opened the assault with Chill Touch, searing the brute for 29 necrotic damage across two blasts (15 and 14 damage) and preventing its irradiated flesh from regenerating.
Aldran Stormheart waded straight into melee, unleashing a Sword Burst for 13 force damage and hacking with his +1 Greataxe (9 damage).
The Ettin retaliated with its Roar of the Unhinged, emitting a disorienting, alien psychic shriek that dazed Nail and Durmen Tredan, before bathing the frontline in a 30-foot cone of Corrosive Bile (dealing 33 acid damage to Nail).
Recovery was swift: Nail unleashed a flurry of heavy divine smites for 39 damage (26 and 13 damage hits), while Durmen Tredan brought down the first Ettin with a critical Ray of Frost (15 cold damage).
As the brute collapsed, Egon attempted to use Fungal Infestation to raise the corpse as a fungal zombie, but the monster's massive frame exceeded the spell's size limit—and Aldran immediately decapitated the creature with his axe to ensure it stayed dead.

Chaos & Execution

Having dispatched the hunter, the party rushed toward the ship where the remaining two Mutated Ettins were finishing off the Cree guards. The party focused their fire to systematically eliminate both brutes:

Poision Egon locked down the battlefield with Entangle and summoned a massive Cloudkill fog (31 poison damage) before casting Confusion. The targeted Ettin failed its Wisdom save (rolling a 13 against DC 15) and rolled a 2 on the behavior table, forcing it to stand completely dazed and unable to take actions.
Durmen Tredan scorched the mutant with Fire Bolts (23 fire damage total via 11 and 12 rolls) and an Ice Knife (10 damage), enduring the beast's explosive Reactive Blood Burst (6 fire damage).
Reeling from the spell assault, the Ettin attempted a heavy swing with its Salvage Hammer but suffered a devastating Critical Fumble (rolling a 1 to hit, fumble roll 52/44). The brute took 8 self-damage and recoiled 50 feet backward, provoking wild opportunity attacks.
Nail and Aldran capitalized on the retreat. Aldran utilized his Savage Attacker feat to reroll his damage dice (hitting for 16 and 17 damage), while Nail landed consecutive strikes for 55 total damage across his turns (33 and 22 damage hits).
Poision Egon delivered the execution on the dazed giant with Poison Spray for 22 poison damage, before the party combined forces to cut down the third and final Mutated Ettin, leaving all three monsters dead at the crash site.

Iron from the Sky

With all three Ettins dead and the party tending to their wounds, a low rumble echoed from above. A dropship descended through the haze, its plasma jets briefly scorching the night sky. Six Warforged shock-troops dropped simultaneously from the hull, landing heavily in the rubble around the crash site. As the surviving Cree scouts stared in sheer terror, the party readied their weapons for an immediate confrontation.

Session Results

Experience

Party Experience

Treasure

Salvage Hammer (Ettin Weapon)
Emergency Torches (Improvised Wood)

Tasks or Quests

Intercept or negotiate with the 6 Warforged shock-troops that dropped from the sky.
Protect the surviving Cree scouts from further threats.
Locate "the Masters" / "Old Ones" down the mountain.
Track down the female wizard seen flying overhead prior to the crash.

Rumors or Intelligence Gained

Strange, multi-headed forest creatures fear firelight and refuse to step inside the spaceport boundary.
The local population consists of subjugated tribes serving enigmatic "Masters" or "Old Ones."
The Masters expected newcomers to arrive dressed in robes without armor.
A female wizard escaped via the sky roughly 30 minutes before the Cree found the PCs.

NPCs of Note

Cree Scout / Elder (Leader of Cree Clan)
Cree Clan Members