Dungeon of the Mad Mage - Interlude 2

Introduction

The players decided to open my Book of Many Things instead of doing Storm King's side quests, and so they were visited in their sleep again by the mysterious Games Master[1][2]. He alluded to people ever visiting his arenas once in their lifetime, but somebody wants the adventurers very dead... and is willing to pay for it. Enter...

... the woods!

Game mechanics

The GM[3] let them know that portals would appear on the map, but only one of the adventurers can escape through each. We rolled randomly for the map corner in which the portal would appear, and I removed the fog of war[4] in that particular spot. I expected the party to go towards the portal... or at least to go as a group. Neah, they split up, "pulling" both a regular group of monsters, as well as the boss protecting the portal. Although in this picture, they did not spot him yet...

Let the games begin!

Okos engaged and fought the 3 monsters he encountered, while Solid and Ireth stood shoulder-to-shoulder against the onslaught. They fought halberdiers and bipedal crocodiles[5], a giant crocodile, as well as a giant bipedal armored crocodile armed with a giant axe[6].

They soon discovered that the crocs' bite can hold them in place, which is what we illustrated by hand drawing brown shapes[7]. My favorite was when Okos tried to leave combat, and a croc bit down as an attack of opportunity, keeping him there.

They also started failing CON saves after each bite, but I told them they're not feeling anything happen... yet.

As the crocs were making headway (both Ireth and Solid falling unconscious), Okos ran in, and teleported them away. Right into another group. 

Although it happened like this: they arrived in a small nook hidden from the things they fought. I had the giant crocodile emerge from the mud. Okos summoned an earth elemental and put it down on the right, pulling another group of 3 into view.

Oh, and the giant crocodile started chewing on the unconscious Ireth, killing her.

But the elemental managed to hold them in place while Okos healed and resurrected his friends. After that, they took them down with lightning strikes and divine smites. 

So back to engage the boss! Although this time they had the elemental (duration: 1 hour) and Ireth was already concentrating on Call Lightning (duration: 10 minutes). She already lost concentration once during the previous fight, so this time she stood back.

... suffice to say that the party ground down the humanoids, but the boss proved too much. Ireth fled back, hiding in the trees, while Okos flew up into the sky. And the giant crocodile kept munching on Solid.

Unable to reach them, the boss turned back, cursing all the way... so the survivors attacked him from afar, successfully killing him, and the giant croc as well.

They cleared the monsters and nobody died. However, it was already 10 PM (IRL)... so the GM appeared next to them, congratulated on surviving, and expressed his disappointment in not completing the mission (and thus not receiving any rewards). But they could still keep the "gifts" they received from his swamp friends, if they wished...[8]

[1] They've seen him before, when I had to improvise a filler session at the end of Storm King's Thunder. Not published yet.

[2] Yeah, it took me very little to come up with the name.

[3] See [2].

[4] I'm making more and more out of Roll20

[5] They were actually all werecrocodiles, but since everybody had magic weapons or was a magic user, nobody discovered their physical immunity. I mean even the paladin's off hand shield attacks are done with a magic item.

[6] An ogre were-crocodile named Diego.

[7] See if you can spot, which one was drawn by the players.

[8] See [5]