Dungeon of the Mad Mage: Angel of Death

Having allied with Ezzat, the adventurers descended to level 21, into a maze of caverns, with tracks lining the floor. Taking a direction at random, they reached a duergar forge. Groin stepped in first, and the duergar greeted him in Dwarfish, telling him where to find the boss. After talking to a guard, then a captain, the party was led to a duergar prince. Valtagar told the story of his people slaughtered and enslaved by a mad angel dwelling here, and enlisted the adventurers against it.

Eager to aid the beleaguered dwarves, the party cooked up a plan: assault the angel's demonic lieutenants one by one, before taking on the boss. The duergar prince also considered this a good plan, a proper test for the adventurer's mettle. And he needn't get involved, just in case the adventurers fail. 

Valtagar lead the way through the mines, and the party got introduced to his wife, Stalagma, riding a robotic bullette and feeding pet xorn with gold coins. Nothing extravagant at all. Anyway, the dwarves pointed the party towards an abandoned corridor.

Warned about the invisible fiend, the adventurers explored each room carefully, with Ireth casting Faerie Fire at anything amiss. She did reveal an ultroloth, and the surprised fiend quickly summoned nycaloths to aid it. The adventurers clobbered the lieutenant with surprising efficiency, and the ultroloth decided to teleport away. While the party finished off its minions, Brienne teleported after the fiend - only to see it converse with the dwarves angrily. Valtagar and Stalagma nodded in agreement, then assaulted and dispatched the thing - with nobody the wiser. The revolution had begun!

With things calming down, Valtagar praised the party, and set their next targets: a couple of shape shifting demons. The dwarves decided to gather in the mess hall, so the adventurers could hunt down the fiends and kill anything or anyone they encounter.

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Next session, the adventurers explored the abandoned mines, in case the demons were there. They first fought a pair of Fomorians. The misshapen giants cursed Tari with deformity, but Groin was quick to restore her physical form. The giants then tried to clobber Szivem, but were quickly overwhelmed.

As blood continued to seep from the walls and dark choir music continued in the background, the party knew something was up. Zombie beholders floated down the corridors, attracted by the sounds of battle. Groin outwitted them with an anti-magic field. Without their eye rays, the monsters posed no challenge.

With the abandoned mines explored and thoroughly cleaned, the adventurers rejoined the dwarves for an ale and a short rest. Then, they went through the already known areas - the active mines and the dwarven quarters. They found a pair of duergar in the temple of Laduguer, cleaning blood off the walls. The priests were friendly enough, but the adventurers realized these must be the shape shifters, and attacked. The demons teleported and ran away. The party followed...

...right into the fallen angel's throne room. Cue boss music.

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Ireth replaces Tari for the final boss battle. Or you know, try the diplomatic approach? Neah. Approach full speed and pepper the angel with magic missiles.

The angel was unimpressed, merely turning on his lair effect. All creatures had disadvantage on saving throws, perfect for the fox demon's chain lightning spell. The demonic bodyguard lurking behind the throne summoned a friend to decapitate Gasus. Battle was joined in earnest.

With the dwarves battling demons, Szivem shot disintegrate spells at the angel. This finally caught his attention, and he cut her down.

The angel was bleeding, but so were the adventurers. Unable to regain hitpoints, Groin was reduced to spamming sacred flames. The guardian of faith he summoned helped with the demons...

But the angel cut down the casters in the meantime. Szivem had one more cast at 1 hp, but the angel resisted. Ireth found out that it is resistant to radiant damage, before falling unconcious.

The dwarves decided to run. The angel's flame strikes did damage them, but Brienne's death ward saved her twice. Each dwarf picked up one fallen companion and made their way outside. However, the angel conjured an insect cloud in the doorway. Brienne fell, and Ireth died. Groin made it through, along with the unconscious Szivem, who had stabilized through good rolls.

The angel pursued, deciding to cripple and humiliate the surviving adventurer. Molten light flowed from his eyes, but Groin resisted the blinding effect. He healed his companions, and Szivem cast a disintegrate...

FOR 112 DAMAGE!

The angel turned to dust, his final words begging Torm for forgiveness. Brienne quickly revivified Ireth, and the battered party retreated to the dwarf section of the dungeon level, electing not to experiment with the objects of interest in the throne room. The duergar did rejoice in their dour way, and their prince showed the party the hidden room behind the throne. It contained the remains of the cleric who had summoned the angel, including a mace of smiting.

Relishing their victory (and level up) but reeling from their injuries, the adventurers did rest in a chamber provided by their hosts.