Hidden Path D&D Night. Episode 4: The Abyss

 

Our five adventurers found themselves yanked through the Astral Plane, hurtling into the blistering and sulphurous landscape of "The Abyss." The sudden jolt left them disoriented and vulnerable, surrounded by six towering demons. Goristro, the first to step forward with a prepared speech, stumbled over his words, creating an awkward moment. However, Balor, the mightiest demon among them, intervened and demanded the adventurers bow before Tiamat, the all-powerful ruler of the Abyss. The adventurers, perplexed and defiant, pleaded with Balor, nicknamed Barry, to understand their predicament. They insisted there had been a mistake, and they needed to return to the material plane urgently to halt the enigmatic machine responsible for their forced journey to the Abyss.

The adventurers followed Barry through the twisted and treacherous landscapes of the Abyss.  They arrived at a hellish saloon, its walls adorned with grotesque trophies and the air thick with sulfurous fumes. The group settled around a scarred, table of writhing souls as Barry ordered a round of infernal spirits for everyone. The conversation veered from one bizarre topic to another, from the nature of souls in the Abyss, the best techniques for tormenting lost souls, to Barry's violin adroitness.

Amidst the fiery ambiance, Barry's interest piqued when Diajin mentioned his deal with "The Fiend." With a toothy grin, Barry revealed that he knew of this powerful entity and acknowledged its reputation in the Abyss. He agreed to guide the adventurers to meet "The Fiend," but first, they needed to retrieve a mechanized "Hell Car." Barry explained that the Hell Car was the key to traversing the Abyss quickly and safely, ensuring their escape from this wretched plane. With newfound hope and a tinge of excitement, the adventurers embarked on their next quest, eager to find answers and make their way back home, by stealing the hell car.

Aided by Midjourney

Hidden Path D&D Night. Episode 3: The Arena

 Our heroes stepped through a portal into a new world and found themselves in a city on the edge of an active volcano. Smoke filled the air, and people were screaming in terror. As they made their way towards the city, they encountered a bridge over a boiling, smouldering river.

As our heroes stepped onto the bridge, they were met with the sight of four undead soldiers blocking their path. These skeletal soldiers looked to be reanimated corpses, their eyes glowing a sinister red. The heroes knew they had to act quickly if they wanted to make it across the bridge and into the city beyond.

Praxis, with a flick of his wrist, unleashed the spell Asha's Hidious Laughter. The spell caused the first undead soldier to collapse into hysterical laughter, unable to move or defend itself. Diajen saw this as the perfect opportunity and, with a swift strike, sliced through the ribcage of the second undead soldier, sending bone fragments flying in all directions.

Trenton, not one to be left out of the action, saw the laughing undead soldier and took advantage of its state. With a wave of his hand, he used his powers to coax the soldier towards the edge of the bridge. The undead soldier, still laughing uncontrollably, walked right into Trenton's trap and tumbled over the edge, disappearing into the boiling, smouldering river below.

Drogan, the last of our heroes, was faced with the final undead soldier. With a mighty swing of his axe, he cleaved the soldier in half at the waist. The two halves fell to the ground with a sickening thud, the red glow in the soldier's eyes fading into darkness. 

As the dust settled and the sounds of battle subsided, our heroes knew that they had successfully navigated their first challenge in this strange new realm. They looked at each other, silently acknowledging their success, before continuing on their journey into the city beyond.

They made their way towards the arena, where they encountered a minotaur fighting a gladiator, completely unaware of the chaos happening around them. Magical energy seemed to be funneling down below the arena, so the heroes went underground to investigate.

As they approached a large set of double doors, Drogan leaned in to listen. But before he could hear anything, the doors opened, and they were confronted with a mechanized crystal whirling with what looked like another planar verse inside it. The crystal was protected by four large golems, and the heroes knew they had to act fast.

While Diajen, Drogan and Trenton fought to distract the golems, Praxis attempted to rewrite the sigils on the crystal to shut it down. But instead of stopping the crystal, the inside of the device swallowed up Praxis, and one by one, the heroes were pulled into the swirling vortex.

Aided by Bing AI  and Midjourney

Hidden Path D&D Night. Episode 2: The Fey Forest

Deep within the Fey Forest, our six adventurers pressed forward through the dense foliage. They had been hired as mercinaries to investigate the strange occurrences that had been happening in the woods as of late. As they trekked further into the forest, they began to hear eerie whispers in the wind, and the trees around them seemed to be alive with movement.

Suddenly, the adventurers were ambushed by several undead Blights, led by a giant Blight leader. The Blights moved with an unnatural, jerky motion, and their eyes glowed with a sickly purle light. The group sprang into action, each using their unique skills to take down the undead creatures.

Praxis the Tiefling wizard quickly incapacitated the Blight leader with Asha’s Hideous Laughter spell while Diajen, the Fire Genasi warlock, summoned a Hellish Rebuke that engulfed the Blights and set them ablaze. Trenton, the Human rogue, dodged and weaved through the trees, picking off the Blights with his crossbow while Gamma-46a3, the Autognome artificer, used his mechanical prowess to spray bolts at the Blights. Falkin, the Half-Orc barbarian, charged headfirst into the fray, his great axe finding purpose.

Drogan Stonefist, the Mountain Dwarf barbarian, grabbed one of the undead Blights off the back of Trenton, his muscles bulging as he lifted the creature over his head. He then proceeded to behead the Blight, but not before taking a significant amount of damage.

The battle was fierce, and the undead blights spewed ichor as they were eviscerated, only to reanimate after they had supposedly died. However, the adventurers were determined to rid the forest of this evil and finally succeeded.

As they caught their breath and tended to their wounds, a curious humanoid creature appeared on a structure in the forest, which seemed to be the center of the necrotic power that drove the undead Blights. The creature whispered, "You are too late," and disappeared.

The adventurers were puzzled by this, but their curiosity got the best of them. As they inspected the spot where the humanoid creature vanished, a portal to another world appeared, and without hesitation, they stepped inside, eager to continue their adventure.

My new character, Drogan Stonefist.  Mountain Dwarf Barbarian 

Entering the Fey Forest

Undead Blight Encounter

 Drogan Stonefist beheads an Undead Blight with a hand axe

The mysterious cloaked figure and the source of the nectrotic power

Our heroes fearlessly step through the portal that appears to another dimension

Aided by Mid Journey

Blah the Barbarian and Deedah the owlbear cub

 

Dreams of D&D

 Looking forward to when the hiatus is over.  

Work from Hidden Path is featured in this year's UE Sizzle Reel, GDC 2023.

Mammoth and Dope Mocap Sessions for Republique Episode 4. Late 2015.

Republique Episode 4: God's Acre.  Mocap session for the new villian in the series, Mammoth (Me).  Lead Animator Kaitlin Spangler performed Dope (not the real Hope)