5e WNW: Waterfalls - Alternate Take

5e WNW - Session 18 of the weird new world campaign was played on Friday 7/10

The party consisted of the following:
Nessendra, Wood Elf Cleric 5 (Erindale)
Kethra, Human Fighter 5 (Nikki)
Bach, Dragonborn Warlock 5 (Erik)
Riia, Human Ranger 5 (Hanna)
Guy Noir, ½ Elf Rogue 5 (Nadia - Absent, kindly played by Julia)
Anya Bowen, Tiefling Ranger 5 (Allison)

Previous report of this session here. This report was written by Nikki:

SO... Expanded recount.

Last Friday we had wiped out a clutch of gargoyles. One was attempting to flee. As we resumed, our Warlock (dragonborn who seems to think he's a barbarian) was giving chase. The fighter (basic human me) was following the warlock because omg. Two rangers (one ranger and a "city ranger" *coughROGUEcough*) an -actual- rogue *coughManWhorecough* and the cleric are also following.
The two rangers are encumbered by carrying a sarcophagus (what happens in dungeons, stays in dungeons) so they miss the action. I manage to catch up to the gargoyle as it exits onto a balcony. I body slam that sucker (which we have decided looks like Brooklyn) and start choking it with my great-maul. (As much as one can choke a stone thing. The maul is from a "small" giant's leg bone. Many bone jokes. Many, many bone jokes.) As the gargoyle is stone and clearly not having any issue with the choking, he decides to launch himself off the balcony with me on his back.

I shriek for help. The party pours out the hall door onto the balcony (except the rangers who are at least three rounds behind us because sarcophagus). The warlock fires a few eldrich blasts at the beastie, one of which bounces off the shield strapped to my back. I begin to include the warlock in the set of vile curses that had previously been reserved for the gargoyle (the cleric reminds me about my language in her best Captain America tone).

The gargoyle moves to leap off the balcony, which is over a waterfall and a hundred foot rocky drop to the pool below to the tune of rushing water and free-flowing cussing. The cleric smites the gargoyle with some kind of holy fire crap that amazingly doesn't hurt me (Yay D&D and cleric spells meaning no friendly fire!). The gargoyle begins to disintegrate, with me still on it's back, as it's falling off the railing.

My bone-maul goes flying into the nothingness and drops down to the pool below. I try desperately to run down the gargoyle's spine and back onto the railing. Or jump off it's tail. Or... Something... But fail my dex save. I use my inspiration point, and CRIT fail my dex save. I fall. I hit rocks. I bounce off rocks. I splash down in the pool a hundred feet below. I sink. I -don't- fail my constitution save. I remain conscious... ... ... For now.

The rogue (man-whore-thing) not-so-selflessly throws himself off the edge to save me. The whole party speculates what he'll do to "resuscitate" me when he gets to me, while he hits the same rocks I hit on the way down. He splashes down in the pool, managed to take less damage than I did (which is fortunate, because he has fewer hit points than I do), and flounders in the bubbles a bit. He quickly comes to realize that the bubbles... tickle... Oooh...

One of the rangers (the real one) drops her end of the sarcophagus and joins the rest of the party on the balcony. The cleric prays for help from Korlon. The warlock retrieves rope from his pack and throws it over the edge... The warlock pulls FIFTY feet of rope back up from the ONE HUNDRED foot drop, demands someone else's fifty-foot rope and begins to tie the ends together.

I remain conscious! I can tell up from down, but not much else. Everything hurts. I think my armor is dented up into my spleen. I grasp at the rocks on the bottom of the pool and start dragging myself... somewhere... I hope it's toward the shore. Not sure how long I'm going to stay conscious...

The ranger (real one) takes up the double-length rope and throws herself over the side to repel down to my rescue. The warlock's eyes must have gone pretty wide when he saw this, since he hadn't managed to tie the end off anywhere yet. Warlock fails strength check, and the rope tears through his hands for ten points of rope-burn damage ("They look like big, strong hands, don't they? I always thought; that's what they were...") The ranger realizes her mistake, makes a dex save like a boss, and turns that free-fall into some Olympic diving action. She spots the rogue and my helpless self right off the bat. The rogue appears to be … erm... Enjoying the bubbles, so to speak... I don't seem to be having such a grand time, so she swims my way, while the cleric heals the warlock's hands.

The cleric prays to Korlon further for divine intervention, convinced she's killed one of her allies, as I fail to realize that the tugging and pulling is someone (the ranger) trying to save me and fight to cling to the rocks that I'm using to pull myself... To shore? I hope that’s the way to shore... The ranger probably hates me for resisting, but that's the way the bitter bastardly dice roll.
The other ranger finally manages to push the sarcophagus out onto the balcony above the cliff with the warlock and the cleric. “Where is everybody? And what was all that screaming about?” The warloc takes rope from the cleric and the other ranger *coughRoguecough* and the they spend even -more- time fumbling with tying these ropes together since “I'm not that kind of ranger!” Though to their credit, they secure this rope. >.>

I finally pass out, making it much easier for the ranger to drag my dead weight to the shore. The cleric, quickly descending the latest rope, rushes right over for some much needed healing. The rogue quits playing with the bubbles and pulls his pants up. The “city” ranger devises a clever pulley system, which the DM points out we lack the materials for and is thus nixed. I'm stabilized, and everyone is climbing back up to the balcony. The cleric is down to one healing spell and we're all damaged to some degree or another.

But wait! Where is the warrior's bone (great-maul)?! I tell the rogue (man-wore-thing) that if he can find my bone, he can touch it. The rogue quickly descends the rope and spends an hour swimming around the pool below to find my weapon. But he does persevere and return with my great-maul. So we head back to the vault where we found the sarcophagus, toting the sarcophagus with us, to set up camp for a full rest to restore hit points and spell slots.

That, my friends, is how a dead gargoyle almost killed half the party.

Next week: Plot advancement... We hope. XD