What resources the Hells have going into Episode 118
With Liliana saved and Ludinus temporarily caged, Bellβs Hells may now have a moment to regroup as they get ready for the next phase of the final battle. While we hold our breath waiting to see what comes next, weβd like to take a moment to take stock of where our beloved party is in terms of resources.
To start, letβs look at the items they have at their disposal. While Imogen used the Hellsβ biggest healing potionβa homebrew version of a Potion of Supreme Healing, which healed Liliana for 16d4+16 rather than the RAW 10d4+20βthe party is still fairly well-stocked on that front. They have six Potions of Greater Healing and two Potions of Superior Healing between them, as well as two Reef Moss Balms, which are equivalent to Potions of Greater Healing. They also have a whopping four Potions of Possibility on hand. Neither Orym nor Laudna ever used their potions from that first, fateful crate recovered in Bassuras, and the Kryn Dynasty gifted them two more for this mission. Given that the motes from Potions of Possibility stick around for a full 8 hours after the potion is imbibed, now could be a good time for a couple of them to be usedβespecially by the Ruidusborn Hells who might be faced with some high-DC checks or saving throws as they get closer to Predathos. The Hells also have a Potion of Invulnerability, currently with Orym. That potionβs effects donβt last nearly so long, only a minute, but whenever he does take it, that minute will give him resistance to all types of damageβsomething that could be incredibly useful down the road.
In terms of non-potions, there are also a couple big items of note. The Matron of Ravensβ mask in Laudnaβs possession is the biggest one, of course, and we canβt wait to find out what it does. Also huge, and perhaps easier to forget because of everything that happened after they received it, is the Ruidian Glass arcane battery that Ludinus threw to Delilah, which contains arcane energy equal to nine spell slots. The Intuit Charge Caleb gave to Imogen and Laudna is still in play as well, and could do 10d10 psychic damage to creatures within a 300-foot radius if set up with a successful arcana check. Fearne also has a poultice made from the blue perennem flowers which negates the effects of the anti-resurrection toxin, should any of Ludinusβs lieutenants other than Otohan have that at their disposal.
The most timely (pun certainly intended) item at their disposal, however, is the Sphere of Dunamantic Restoration gifted to the party by the Kryn Dynasty. As the Hells put a lot of themselves into the fight to save Liliana, and the cast discussed using it in the 117 Cooldown episode on Beacon (9:52), we will likely see them use it in the next episode. Weβll run through what resources each of the Hells individually have left at their disposal, and what they have to gain from using the Sphere, in a moment. First, though, hereβs a reminder as to the specific properties of the Sphere: when it is shattered, everyone within a 15-foot radius of the impact point regains half of their hit dice; spellcasters regain 1d4+4 spell slots, distributed as they choose; and everyone gains the benefits of a short rest. (Episode 110 03:13:23)
First up, letβs look at where Ashton currently stands. Unfortunately, since parts of their build are still a mystery, we canβt say for certain what they will gain from the Sphere. Ashton used up five Chaos Bursts during the fight to save Liliana, and while we know what Chaos Bursts do, we do not know for certain how many they have, nor do we know for certain whether they regenerate on a short rest. The Archivists suspect that Ashtonβs number of Chaos Bursts may correlate with his proficiency bonus, as they started with two and we know that they now have at least five, since thatβs how many they burned in the fight to save Liliana. We also suspectβor perhaps more accurately, hopeβthat Chaos Bursts will refresh on a short rest, since Ashtonβs other major resource, Rages, only refresh on a long rest. Our other martial class players all have at least one major resource that refreshes on a short rest, so it stands to reason that at least one of Ashtonβs might, too. As for Rages, Ashton has used three of his five for the day. Ashton has not had to use Relentless Rage yet (which allows him to stay up at 1 hp if he drops to 0 and succeeds on a Constitution saving throw), so its DC is still at 10, and the Aspect of Dusk Hunger he received from absorbing Zathudaβs sword is still available as well, which means he can choose to add 3d6 fire damage to one of his melee attacks. Perhaps most astonishingly, Ashton is one of two Hells to still be at full health, which, given the plus 7 to max HP bestowed by Heroesβ Feast, puts him at 155 HP.
Braius is also in pretty good shape; heβs only down 3 spell slots total, and despite taking the most damage out of any of the Hells, heβs still at 90 hit points (given that Heroesβ Feast put his new max to 125 and he gained an additional 10 temporary hit points of top of that from the Slickshimmer oil). Heβs down a 1st level, a 2nd level, and a 4th level spell slot, which means no matter what they roll for the Sphere of Dunamantic Restoration, heβll get at least two of those back (and if they roll a 7 or 8, his spell slots will be fully restored). He wonβt be getting his two spent Bardic Inspirations back, as heβs not at a high enough level in Bard for those to restore on a short rest, but he still has two to spare. He has spent a charge for Poison Pen as well, and we donβt know how many of those he has, nor do we know whether they recharge on a short rest. Most of the rest of Braiusβs kit hasnβt been used at all yetβhe still has his Channel Divinity, Sorrowful Fate, and the charges on his Battering Shield. The last thing he has made use of is his Lay on Hands pool; he used 17 points of his 90 to heal Fearne. The 73 remaining points in the pool are still more than he would normally have at level 12 as a Paladin (the pool is calculated as 5 times your Paladin level, which for Braius would be 60), so shout out to the armor Truthbearer for making his healing pool so stacked.
Chetney has used one of his two Hybrid Transformations and one of his Blood Maledicts; those will both refresh on a short rest, so he should be in a good place with his primary resources after using the Sphere. Travis also mentioned that the Staff of Dark Odyssey was fully recharged after their teleport into Kreviris, too (Episode 112 00:24:49). One thing thatβs unclear is whether the spell slot restoration that the Sphere provides can also refresh Feat spells. Chetney has used his Fey Touched Misty Step; it would be quite useful for him to regain that with the Sphere. However, the wording Matt used specifically mentions spell slots which, technically, Fey and Shadow Touched spells donβt provide. One might make an argument for their refresh, but as written, Chetβs Misty Step is probably gone until a long rest. Weβll see how Matt rules it when the Sphere gets used, though!
Dorian, as the first full caster weβre looking at, is going to have a bit of variation as to what the Sphere will give him in much the same way as our other full casters. He has hours of flight left from his winged boots and is at full health, plus his Bardic Inspiration will refresh with a short rest from the Sphere. The remaining gains he will receive rely on what the Hells roll when they use the Sphere. Itβs possible to roll anywhere from 5 to 8 spell slots restored, distributed how the caster sees fit. Because of how Dorianβs used slots are dispersed across levels, no matter what they roll, he will only be able to regain one or two slots. On a five, he could either get his 5th level back or his 2nd and 3rd; on a six, he can get his 2nd and 4th back, or choose to not use one slot and get his 5th; on a seven, he could either get his 7th back, or his 3rd and 4th, or his 5th and 2nd. On an 8, he could either get his 5th and 3rd back, or his 7th. Thatβs a pretty wide gamut of potential spell choices.
Fearne is down to 88 hit points from a maximum (with Heroesβ Feast) of 104, with no Wild Shapes (thanks to needing to shoebill and summon Mister) or 3rd level spell slots remaining. She is also down a 1st level and a 4th level spell slot. She has yet to activate her Gloomscale Breastplate, and she also has not yet gone into Titan form (which weβve not listed as an expendable for her or Ashton, because the number of times they can do it is dependent on how much exhaustion theyβre willing to take on, rather than a discrete number of expenditures). She also has all five uses of her Cauterizing Flame reaction still available. Using the Sphere will refresh her Wild Shapes and grant her between two and three of her spells back. On a five, she can regain a 1st and a 4th level slot. On a six, she can either choose to get that 1st and 4th level, or take two 3rd levels. On a seven, she can either take a 3rd and a 4th, or a 1st and two 3rds. On an eight, she could take one of each or any of the previous configurations. Regardless, sheβs still sitting on her biggest guns in terms of spell slots, and in terms of her Titan transformationβplus Mister is now with her for the next hour, buffing her spells and giving her more chances to use Cauterizing Flame.
Imogen is arguably the most spent in terms of resources that wonβt regenerate on a short restβunderstandable given that she needed to use the most spells prior to the battle starting, and had the biggest motivation to pour everything into saving Liliana. Sheβs got her 8th level spell still at the ready, but Laura might have the hardest choices to make in terms of distributing spell slots after using the Sphere of Dunamantic Restoration.
Imogen also has the fewest hit points left of the Hells, unsurprising since she has the only total under 100 (99 with Heroesβ Feast); currently, she has 61 hit points remaining. Sheβs also down the most spell slots out of the Hells: one 1st level, three 3rd level, both 5th levels, and her 7th level, with Sending having eaten up those 3rd level slots before the battle got started. We hope for her sake that the Hells roll high enough that she can get at least one 5th level and one other slot back. If the party rolls a five, she could either take the 5th level slot or a 3rd and a 1st. Weβd favor the 5th level slot. Rolling a six creates a bit more of a question: sheβd gain either a 5th and a 1st or two 3rds. If the party manages to roll a seven, Imogen would likely want to get her big 7th level spell backβbut there is certainly an argument that could be made for taking two 3rds and a 1st, opting for stamina over power. Rolling an eight would of course be the best-case scenario, in which case Imogen might either opt for a 3rd and a 5th level slot, or her 7th and a 1st level slot.
Imogen has the Bloodwell Vial attuned (which we know for sure because she mentioned getting Sorcery Points back when discussing the possibility of a short rest in Episode 112 02:00:44). That means that sheβll be able to regain 5 of her Sorcery Points. Remember, sheβs able to convert spell slots into Sorcery Points and vice versa, so that also gives her additional spell slots potentially back in play, not to mention the ability to Twin spells, use her Form of Havoc (the reskinned Revelation in Flesh), and the like.
One thing Imogen wonβt get back, alas, is her Robe of the Midnight Rune activation, which lasts for a minute and increases her Spell Attack modifier and Spell Save DC by 2 (making them +15 and 23, respectively). The battle to save Liliana lasted 3 rounds and the party is still technically in initiative order as of Episode 117βs end, so if Ludinus attempts to teleport out right away and the battle picks right up again, she would have 7 more rounds of the effect. However, given where we left off, it seems more likely that Ludinus will talk for at least a few minutes, which means that that particular feature of the Robe will not be at play in the battle to come, knocking her Spell Attack and Spell Save DC to the (still impressive!) +13 and 21.
We have recorded Laudnaβs hit points as a range, since we donβt know what she rolled for temporary HP when she went into her Form of Dread. In any case, sheβs still above 100; the range we have for her is between 101 and 110 HP.
One of Laudnaβs expended slots (2nd level) is a Warlock slot and will regenerate on a short rest, which means that no matter how the Hells roll for the Sphere, she will come out of the pseudo-rest at least two spell slots up. She wonβt regenerate her Sorcery Points, Void Puppet usage, or Form of Dread usage, but she has a decent number of each still ready to go: six Sorcery Points, two Void Puppet usages, and four Form of Dread usages. If the Hells roll a five for the Sphereβs spell slot restoration, Laudna will get back her spent 3rd level and two 1st levels. If they roll a six, sheβs almost certainly going to choose to get her 6th and highest-level slot back versus taking all the rest of them, since Marisha specifically mentioned when casting Disintegrate (a smart move that took out the last Exaltant holding up the forcefield that protected Ludinus, making him vulnerable to Dorianβs clutch Forcecage!) that she was hoping to get it back with the Sphere (04:15:39). That suggests that so long as the Hells roll above a five for the Sphere, Laudna will be taking her 6th level spell back, and the rest of the slots will go to her 1st levels.
Orym is arguably both the most spent and most easily restored to almost-full by a short rest. He has used both his Action Surge and five of his six d10 Superiority Dice; luckily, both of those things refresh for a fighter on a short rest. He also still has his 1d6 Superiority Die from Superior Technique. Heβs sitting at 136 hit points out of a maximum of 168, so with his hit die pool of d10s, he should be able to use the Sphereβs short rest get back up to full easily, assuming average rolls. The one thing that wonβt refresh is his use of Indomitable, but he still has one more to burn. He also hasnβt used either of his feat spells from Nana Morri, so he can still Misty Step and Hex if needs be.
All in all, the Hells still have quite a lot of gas left in the tank (we miss you, FCG!) so they should be able to put up quite the fight, whatever the red moon has in store for them next!
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