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 Recent Posts
The climate of the Desolation is universally dry. A few heavy rainstorms hit in the late fall, but otherwise the land remains bone dry. In fact, the ground stays so dry that there is an almost constant haze from whitish, powder like dust that constantly rises with the ever-present breeze. This haze lends to the overall gloominess and feeling of isolation and despite the vast openness even sometimes claustrophobia on this plain. Occasional dust storms whip up and race south, usually petering out before reaching the Camp. Thousands of beings died here, good and evil, extra planar and mundane, Celestial and Abyssal. It is almost as if the lands retain a memory of that time of strife and countless horrors. The number of voices that were stilled, to never be heard again, is beyond count. The wind seems to sing a funeral dirge, low and constant; or perhaps it is the voices of those lost. The Desolation is first and foremost a battlefield, and you are merely following in the footsteps of thousands of others who have already fought and bled on this land. There is a main road leading north through the Desolation, and it appears that Gurg set out upon it. The road itself is bare hardpan, sunk at least a foot below the surrounding ground from the centuries if not millennia of travel it has seen. Tracks do not linger long on this hard surface, as windblown dust quickly erases them, but if Gurg were to leave the road by foot, you would see his tracks in the soft white sands of the Ashen Waste to the east, or the bald rock, thin soil and brittle bones of the Dead Fields to the west. Alia, I'm assuming that the party is riding, at 4 miles an hour, which imposes a -2 penalty on your Survival rolls. To avoid that, you'd want to be moving at a walking speed, but then you'd never catch up to the giant. Let me know if I need to adjust my assumptions. Close on to noon, you see a clutch of vultures up ahead. As you approach, they scatter, leaving behind come the remains of a collection of enormous red-and-gold spiders, each the size of a bull, all smashed to pulp. The area surround the corpses is covered in a tacky substance, and Gurg’s footprints are clear, having danced around the area. A solid bootprint is embossed into the broken skull of one of the spiders. A mile further down the road, Gurg’s tracks become clearly visible, moving off to the east (into the Ashen Wastes) at a sprint, and swerving erratically. Perhaps he was following something and adjusting his angle of approach. Perhaps something terrifying was pursuing him, and he was trying to dodge its attacks. Perhaps the spiders had poisoned him, and he was hallucinating. There are no other tracks. After several hundred feet, his footprints calm down again, and turn north, running parallel to the road. The horses have difficulty moving in the deep ash-white sand. Your speed here is slowed to 3 miles an hour, and the horses are considered to be moving at a hustle. (They'll fatigue after two hours, at which point, they'll start to take lethal damage. This isn't going to affect Durnast's conjured mounts, who'll likely wink out before the damage proves too much for them, but a flesh-and-blood horse would suffer 15 points of damage by sunset. As you turn north to follow the tracks, Windrazor spies something on the ground, ahead and to the right. It looks like it may be bodies — recent if the red stains visible upon them are any indication.
An adobe house in very poor repair fronts a fenced paddock. A few broken down nags lunch on the sparse grass within, while the sturdier horses which are newly returned are examined by two human stablehands. A large barn of faded planks stands next to the crumbling adobe. A sign painted on its side declares this in large pink letters to be Finn’s Livery. The elf chuckles to himself momentarily and then takes a moment to focus on Alia. "Wha'ever's out there," he replies in a serious tone, "it don't eat horses. So, what would y' have them do? Wander 'round out there and die of thirst or exposure? What would you have me do? I sell 'em, fair an' square. You buy old Bendel, here, he's yours, fer so long as ye both shall live." Anybody who walked with Artimus (and Alia) over to the livery: Heal, DC 17
Spoiler:
Elves enjoy alcohol as much as other races, but continuous intoxication is worse on their systems than on, say, humans or dwarves. "Finn" here is going to kill himself if he doesn't sober up. Heal, DC 20
Spoiler:
A couple of the horses that have just returned have long, jagged scratch marks on their haunches, and most of the horses have similar scars. The ones who've returned also have a lot of damage at the bottom of their legs and around their hooves, particularly their back hooves, as if they were being harassed and pursued by something low to the ground. Knowledge (arcane), DC 24
Spoiler:
Harpies are probably the most well-known monsters that hate the taste of horseflesh. Sense Motive, DC 15
Spoiler:
"Finn", here, is upset with Alia, but he may be one of the most honest men in Camp. He and the stablehands he employs care about the horses.
So I take it that you're heading out of Camp? You've made an appointment with the rangers in town, to speak of their experiences in the Desolation, but as the woman you spoke to is suddenly no more than a smouldering pile of ashes, now may be an awkward time. Richard, Nadequ, Rasina, and Mikka have riding horses and such supplies as they've brought. Durnast's wand can summon mounts for himself Montegue, and Alia which will last a day's travel. Artimus, goes to the stables to fetch his horse, and finds that the farrier / stablehand is momentarily occupied. He's an elf, goes by the name of Finn, and he's already drunk enough cheap wine to carry him halfway to incapacitation. (Come to think of it, he was drunk yesterday, as well.) Please forgi' me, m' good man. But the horses from the Baa- um, the Bard's Gate expedition ha' jus' come back, and some of them are in poor shape. Pretty rotten shape. And they need to be fixed up, afore I can sell 'em to th' next people who wan' to go out into the Des'lation. "Now, what did you want? Oh! You're going out into the Des'lation! "Wanna buy a horse? They'll serve you f-f-fathfully till -- Oh! No, you have your own horse. I 'member now. Hand on, and I'll go get 'im. "It was a 'him', wasn't it?"
Specifically, they left yesterday morning. Gurg returned to Camp yesterday, at sunset, and left to track them down on his own an hour after dawn. He now has an hour head-start on you folks, which is probably important if you're trying to catch up to him while he's still alive.
Durnast, various Camp denizens were coming out onto the streets during the last round of the battle: a peculiar old haggard woman out of the earthen building next to the Bard's Gate Embassy, Sammar himself, some armed ne'er-do-wells out of the Sip-O-Blood tavern. While you're out on the street, the Camp can see you, but the dining hall of the boarding house is private.
Richard, the hobgoblin cleric (whom you recognize as "Father Death", a pleasant-enough priest of Orcus, a follower of Death and Decay but a patient one) and his acolyte (Obuhymnia; you recall that her brother Craw was Orcus' other acolyte) have departed for the safety of their temple. You'd have to call them out if you did want to heal them. Tinthariel invites all assembled to table at the boarding house. The Usurer picks up the fallen ranger's staff and returns to his forge.
Actually, I was a little imprecise with that. You had readied an action, rather than delayed, and by that technicality, you acted a sliver of a moment before the dark swarm. You can Aid Another before it acts this round. The swarm () takes the brunt of Mikka's Flamestrike, which blinds everybody momentarily. ) Even the Usurer, striding towards the fight, takes a step back and covers his eyes. When the blaze fades, the darkness around the peryton's shadow is briefly interrupted, and you see a collection of savage grubs, centipedes, scorpions, and other, less-identifiable arthropods. All of them are scarlet and black, and a pale blue light still plays over their bodies. Most of them are charred and lifeless, but there's still a core that's alive, active, and somehow really angry. Until Alia gets its attention and Rasina's gout of Heavenly Fire extinguishes it entirely. Tinthariel reaches the doorway of the boarding house. "Yes?"
Richard, deathwatch has a 30' cone area of effect, so you can't look at everybody this round.
"You know, Sammar sent his people into the desert yesterday. Why, do you think, didn't he end you with them?"
The Usurer raises his right eyebrow and spares a couple seconds to turn from observing the battle and lock eyes with Montegue. "Sammar kept you back because he doesn't trust you, dear boy. Hugin, Skarja, that fellow with the misshapen ear --Eneloth, was his name? None of them have your talent for combat, your fighting skills, but they struck me as the 'can-do' types. When an axle breaks on a wagon, or someone comes down with dysentery, each of them will do what they can, muddling through whether they have any expertise in the area or not. The Usurer returns to observing the battle. "You, on the other hand, give me the impression of someone who leaves most tasks to others, Montegue, except those which fit neatly into your baliwick. "You ask me what I'm going to do to help them? Why, I'm going to send you back into the fight. If you aren't up to a few hundred nasty little centipedes, then maybe it's better for you to stay in Camp and tend the boarding house." He then passes you by and moves towards the commons. The stout dwarf sees him coming and rushes back to the ranger encampment to the north. Round Six
26 - Rasina, about 10' away from the swarm, with a full-move available: you're up
24 - Chamomile:
19 - The hobgoblin cleric sees the Usurer coming, glances down at his acolyte, and understand what that means. He's willing to die for his beliefs (maybe, if he's lucky, the Grave One will see fit to use him as some wonderful undead thing!) but he's not willing to sacrifice his acolyte, at least not today. He takes a step forward, grabs her by the wrist, and pulls her through the temple archway. 14 - Mikka: 13 - Nadeq: 13 - Durnast: 12 - The peryton's shadow: 12- Alia:
How far is Mikka? Within line of sight? Mikka is indeed within 170', but she doesn't have a clear sight line to the dark swarm. (She could step out into the road, between the ranger's compound and the wellhouse. That would give her a straight line of sight south to the commons. But she can target the square of the peryton's shadow from where she is; there's certainly enough ruckus down there.) And there's a pseudodragon next to her. She hears a voice in her head. <Feeling better?> Did it actually do anything ... and did I notice? No, it's not undead. (As you recall, the hobgoblin cleric with skulls on his robes seemed to injure it with a wave of negative energy.) Round Five
25 - Durnast holds his attack. 24 - Chamomile:
19 - Hobgoblin cleric: he sighs wistfully as he sees the ranger perish. "Died doing what she believed in." He fixes his gaze on the dark swarm. "Let's see if I can manage the same." And he calls forth another wave of negative energy, hitting both the peryton's shadow and Artimus. (Artimus, take another points of damage. A Will save of 15 reduces that to 7.) The swarm (Will save =) spasms, and you hear the cracking of a hundred exoskeletons. The woman Artimus resuced, the acolyte, turns towards the dark swarm and invokes a complementary wave of darkness. (She's closer, and careful to exclude the Paladin from her area of effect.) There's a smaller effect, but still noticable. 14 - Mikka: calls down another lightning strike on it, which seems to do very little damage, and draws forth a horn. 13 - Nadeq: levitates Artimus away from the swarm. 13 - Durnast acts now and hits the area with a flash of fire. (its Reflex save: ) There's some sizzle from the ground, but the swarm appears unhurt. (If your suspicions are correct and this thing is resistant to fire, you may have just not done enough damage.) 12 - The peryton's shadow chitters "Not so fast, manling." It sweeps west to cover Rasina again. As soon as it touches the celestial sorceress, the dark swarm casts poison on her. (Rasina, you'll need to make a Fortitude save, DC 14, to avoid taking of Constitution damage.) It just barely gets to her, with the first fiendish arthropods climbing up the back of her calves, ... 12- Alia acts now and rushes forward, grabbing Rasina and pulling the half-elf free before the swarm can overwhelm her. 12 - Montegue:
Round Four, continued 12 - The peryton's shadow swings to cover Rasina, and looses another gout of hate. 12 - Montegue: you continue carrying the peryton's body to the east, and you come up short as you realize suddenly that you're about to knock someone over. you look up, and it's the Usurer, the gaunt blacksmith who seems to have his hand in most of the Camp, standing about 10 feet in front of you. "Are you taking the corpse over to the Sip o' Blood tavern?" he asks, in a nonchalant tone. "They're fresh up on fiendish meats this week." He turns to glance behind you, and seems to frown without moving much of his face at all. "Death! Sandravia, Brithun! Desist! This is not yet your fight." You look behind you. The priest of Orcus and rangers are looking your way and pausing, consternation crossing their expressions. 12 - Rasina: holds her move action. 12 - Artimus reaches over and heals Rasina 17 points. She is distracted/nauseated and poisoned, but neither fatigued nor (as yet) diseased, so neither of your carrier abilities kick in. 9 - Richard: channels positive energy, healing Rasina, Artimus, and the swarm 11 points each. (you might consider picking up Alignment Channel when you get the chance.) 5 - Windrazor: nothing more is coming from the Desolation. 3 - Rangers: the woman and the dwarf have come to within 25 feet of Artimus and Rasina. At the Usurer's command, the dwarf takes a tentative step backward. "As you say, goodman smith." The woman stand gape-mouthed at the Usurer for a second or two, indignation slowly drawing over her features. "Like hell!" she says. "This monster swept into Camp, and I'll be damned if I let strangers defend --" At which point, a pale green beam of light passes between the Usurer's right pinky and the woman's forehead. And her clothes settle to the ground, empty. Her quarterstaff clatters as it lands. Round Five
25 - Durnast: If this thing is from the lower planes, it may be resistant to different types of energy such as fire or electricity. But a decent-sized fireball might in fact do some damage anyways. You see the halfling in the shadows of the temple of Orcus, preparing a transmutation spell with the half-elf woman as its target. Do you want to delay until you see what that does? 24 - Chamomile, to the north of the rangers' compound:
Round Four, continued
14 - Mikka: you slough off the nausea and, after catching your breath, stand fast against the poison this round. Somehow, you've come down with cackle fever, a brain disease that normally takes weeks to incubate. As the name suggests, you're running a high temperature and the disease attacks the speech center of your brain, giving you a persistent shudder in your breath that sounds like a cackle. In patients where the illness persists, their wilpower and ability to perceive the outside world is damaged. 13 - Nadeq: you can indeed prepare an explosive flask of oil as a full-round action. 12 - The peryton's shadow: So many targets, but the little dragon keeps taking them away! If I catch sight of that little dragon again, ... The woman over there seemed to have some direct connection to heaven, so she's the most dangerous. It swings to cover Rasina, and looses another gout of hate. Rasina, you take points of damage from the stinging bites and from a wave of hellish malice that makes your teeth rattle. You need to make a Fortitude save to avoid poison damage, and a Will save to avoid the terrible distraction of phantom millpedes crawling over your eyeballs, in your ears, and down your throat. 12 - Montegue: you're up 12 - Rasina: casts protection from evil. this thing is certainly evil. You needed to make saving throws this round before you cast the spell, but if you need to make them again next round, the bonus will take effect. Regrettably, this thing is not a summoned creature, so it is not pushed back. 12 - Artimus, with a torch burning:
Round Four, in which a death occurs
19 - Hobgoblin cleric: He's obviously taken aback by the entity's words. "What? The black monolith? But how? Where??" He seems genuinely shaken. 14 - Mikka: you shake free of the nausea this round. (You can take a move equivalent action now, and a full-round action next round.) Make Fortitude saves to end the poison and to clear the threat of the disease (a second success is needed for that). 13 - Nadeq: you're up. 12 - The peryton's shadow: 12 - Montegue:
BTW, Knowledge Check for "Black Rock broken/Dead Beast wandering hungry and strange": Planes: 24/ Religion:25 (Take 10) You can't Take Ten on a knowledge check unless you're a 5th Level Bard. Planes: , and Religion . Spoiler:
The "dead beast" is likely Orcus himself. And sages have theorized that a series of pictograms indicate that ancient, forgotten gods of evil and woe once worked together to create a series of black monoliths, each of which was designed to pollute an area with a moral malaise, allowing evil deeds to thrive and making generous deeds harder. Most of them were lost, but the strength of evil places like Tsar may be due to a monolith's influence.
Montegue misunderstands Durnast's hurried request and hauls the peryton's corpse up and to the east. Richard reveals his holy symbol of Thyr and commands the evil thing to be gone. His dismissal () doesn't penetrate the thing's Spell Resistance. Windrazor sees his mistress in trouble, and shrieks with impotent rage. From north of the Camp commons, two rangers --the woman Chamomile was speaking with, and an overweight dwarf, neither of them armored-- come out of their camp, looking to lend a hand. Round Four, in which a death occurs
Mikka might be able to move away, but she'll need to get up on her feet first, and there's no telling if the swarm of evil will simply follow her. After leading the Acolyte away with the Pattern, I had wanted to move it underground if possible, breaking the line-of-sight effect for her. Is that possible to have done last round? You can't put the effect underground, because you need to maintain line-of-effect with it. But you can end the effect this round as a free action.
Mikka falls to the ground as her mare rears up, crazed by the attack.(Take another points of damage,and you'll be prone.) The poison gives you a fever and --in between the hellspawn vermin rushing between your lips-- a dry mouth. (Take points of Strength damage.) The overwhelming nausea doesn't end the spell duration of call lightning, but does prevent you from taking the standard action necessary to invoke it each round. --+--+-- And drat, I hadn't realized until later that each of those attacks should have done 7 more damage if it was an evil outsider, the smite doubles its bonus damage. Good to know. That's one of the tricky things about starting characters at 7th Level. To be fair to you guys, given how long the peryton took to drop, and rather than trying to figure out whether it would have given Montegue his wound if you had been tracking the full effect of your smite, I should retroactively advance the peryton two hit dice, for purposes of CR and experience points. The advance would have given the creature some more hellish powers and a feat, none of which it had time to use, and slightly spiffier combat stats it didn't end up needing.) This would also make the peryton Large-sized, which means that Nadeq's arrow would have just hit, rather than just miss.
Artimus drops to one knee, catching his breath, before turning and realizing that the fight is not yet over. (holding his action). A thousand, thousand voices, each no louder than a centipede's moan or a spider's cackle, hiss in Common "Keep thy place and hold thy rebuke. The hours have turned, the black rock is broke, and thy Dead Beast shall wander hungry and strange." And with that, the peryton's shadow sweeps over Mikka and her horse. There is darkness then, and horror there, and pain (Mikka, take from a multitude of bites and stings), the same as the paladin and ranger felt, but there is something more: the shadow exerts an act of will and malevolence against Mikka that settles into her very flesh. Moreover, you realize that the back of a horse is not a good place to be, when the Dark Planes shower such attention upon you. Mikka, I need from you, in order:
Rasina's holy fire misses. Durnast and Montegue, you're up.
Round Three!
22 - Swiftpaws, with Alia: still holding, which might be for the best. 19 - Acolyte, on her hands and knees in the Camp commons: Effectively out of the fight. A hobgoblin, dressed in black wool robes decorated with images of ram-skulls, steps out from the temple's door and looks around. He sees his acolye, helpless in the street, enraptured by the rainbow pattern. He sees the dead monstrosity, and he sees all of you turning your attention to a clump of shadowy darkness only 20 feet away from him. "That's quite enough of that," he commands in a low-pitched grizzled voice. (Most hobgoblins have a slight speech affectation when using the common tongue, due to both the consonants in Goblin and the physiology of their own jawline. This hobgoblin has no such accent.) He gestures roughly at the patch of shadows, invoking a wave of negative energy, and the peryton's shadow screams again. The hobgoblin's voice switches to Abyssal:
Spoiler:
"You cannot hunt here. Go back home, beautiful one. Go back to your hunting grounds." Middle Register. (If you're reading this spoiler, you know that Abyssal has three registers, implying a degree of enmity: we are allies in this, or we are civil but guarded, or we are at war. Many heroes who learn Abyssal only learn the last register, because they really are at war against anybody else using the language.) 14 - Mikka, still mounted in the Camp commons, calls down a bolt of lightning on it. The shadow of the head of the peryton turns to you, Mikka. 13 - Artimus, you're up. You've got one action before the peryton's shadow attacks (and you suspect that if it reattaches itself to the peryton, that might be enough to revive the monster). 13 - Nadeq, moves to a higher perch in the shadows of the temple of Orcus: 12 - The peryton's shadow, about 10 feet away from Nadeq: 12 - Durnast, standing back by the boarding house:
Round two, continued 13 - Nadeq: Shoots, misses, hides. 12 - Speaking of shadows, the peryton's shadow splits into two. One part surges to the west, as if it were a wave riding a stream, and settles upon Alia. (This provokes an attack of opportunity from both Montegue and Artimus, but it's immune to weapon damage, so I don't know what you can do against it.) The shadow swarm does 2d6 ⇒ (3, 3) = 6 damage to Alia. Alia you are nauseated, and the peryton's shadow seems to eat away at your body, as well. A thousand little stings and bits have injected an unholy poison into your system. Take points of Dexterity damage. The shadow does, however, turn back towards the spot it just left and cast a spell; the area around the peryton is suddenly covered in a cold, cloying miasma of greasy darkness. Montegue, Artimus, you each need to make a Will save to resist part of the damage. 12 - The hellbred peryton attacks Montegue. 12 - Durnast: and Chamomile team up to teleport Alia back to the entrance of the boarding house. 12 - Montegue, your save means you take only half of the damage: divided by 2 is 13 points of damage, and you avoid being Sickened. You begin an intense series of attacks against the peryton. Again and again you punch and kick it, and again and again its hellbred nature blunts the blows, such that they do trivial amounts of real damage. But it was all a set-up, getting the peryton in position for a sweeping high scissors kick, which does a considerable amount of damage, even after punching through the monster's evil aura.
12 - Rasina: gets into flanking position a second too late. But Artimus and Montegue could use some assistance. They've both taken considerable damage. 9 - Richard: Your primary target is down, but its shadow is still active, about 40 feet away. It () just barely makes its save, and takes half damage. It shrieks with a thousand enraged voices. 5 - Windrazor: the peryton is no longer alive, so the eagle continues to circle, keeping an eye out for any new dangers coming from the Desolation. Round Three!
22 - Swiftpaws, with Alia: still holding, which might be for the best. 19 - Acolyte, on her hands and knees in the Camp commons: Effectively out of the fight 14 - Mikka, still mounted in the Camp commons, with lightning bolts yet to call down: 13 - Artimus, standing in the camp commons: 13 - Nadeq, hiding in the shadows of the temple of Orcus: 12 - The peryton's shadow, about 10 feet away from Nadeq: 12 - Durnast, standing back by the boarding house: 12- Chamomile, next to Durnast: 12 - Montegue, standing in the Camp commons: 12 - Rasina, standing next to Artimus and Montegue: 9 - Richard, still mounted, in the Camp commons: 5 - Windrazor, in the air, circling over Camp:
All right. Time for Round Two, where there is some progress, but also some nasty surprises. 23 - Alia: Sends four arrows flying. It is indeed within 30'. And it is indeed an evil outsider. It turns to you, shrieking in rage. "After I feast on these hearts, I'll eat yours, right in front of your dying eyes," it vows. 22 - Swiftpaws: holds its actions, waiting for Alia's command. 19 - Acolyte: Caught up in the rainbow pattern, holds her action to make sure she can follow it if it leads her away. 17 - Chamomile: holding his action. Out the corner of his eye, he notices that two other humans, probably rangers, have joined the woman he had been speaking with. They're too far away for him to hear their conversation, but they aren't following the behavior patterns of humans who are in a panic, or an urgent emergency. 14 - Mikka: call lightning is complete. With a wave and a vow, she sends a bolt of lightning crashing into the creature. But it has spell resistance, which () she neatly overcomes. The peryton () takes no damage whatsoever from your lightning this round. 13 - Artimus: You're contending with both the peryton and the shadow, which roils atop and around you, draining the color even from the sun. But you shrug off the effects of the shadow, and of the magical whirlwind of lights Durnast conjures up, and strike with both attacks, hitting the hellspawn in both flanks. The peryton staggers, clearly deeply wounded, not quite dead. 13 - Nadeq: By happenstance, the peryton lunges at the man just as your arrow leaves the bowstring. If it hadn't, you would have struck its head or neck, virtually guaranteeing a killing blow. But your shaft goes just a half-inch too high, clattering about in its antlers. The peryton is startled by the noise, but unhurt. You can, in fact, fade back into the shadows. 12 - Speaking of shadows, the peryton's shadow splits into two. One part surges to the west, as if it were a wave riding a stream, and settles upon Alia. (This provokes an attack of opportunity from both Montegue and Artimus, but it's immune to weapon damage, so I don't know what you can do against it.) The shadow swarm does damage to Alia. Alia, you'll need to make a Fortitude save against poison, and a Will save to resist being nauseated by the vague hints of demonic insect parts now sweeping over your flesh. The shadow does, however, turn back towards the spot it just left and cast a spell. (Alia, this provokes an attack of opportunity; again, it's immune to weapon damage.) It calls up unholy power to smite its enemies in a 20' radius spread. That area is suddenly covered in a cold, cloying miasma of greasy darkness. Montegue, Artimus, you each need to make a Will save to resist part of the damage. Notably, the acolyte takes no damage from the greasy smoke at all. 12 - The hellbred peryton: senses that Montegue is the easier target, and wheels around to attack. What remains of its shadow now resembles Montegue's own. It attacks () and misses with its gore, but one of its two hooves (, ) cuts through the material of your robe, just over your left shoulder. It stings, and if you touch your shoulder, your hand comes away with a little blood from the scratch. (Damage: .) 12 - Durnast: your turn. (Do you want to move the rainbow pattern away, driving the acolyte free from further harm? That would be a free action.) 12 - Montegue: you're up next 12 - Rasina: successfully introduces herself into the fight. 9 - Richard: 5 - Windrazor:
Durnast, since you were collecting data about the horror, I'll consider your action "delaying until I have a better idea what it is." You got that better idea once it attacked Artimus and the acolyte, and so I'll move you in the initiative order to immediately after that. (Since we've already established its attack.) Round One
12 - The hellbred peryton attacks: 1d20+13, which just barely avoids being a critical. Its damage: 2d4+10. And it is stopped right in front of Artimus. Its shadow swarms over Artimus and the cleric. Once in the shadow, Artimus and the cleric both take 2d6 ⇒ (1, 4) = 5 points of damage. The woman screams in pain and distress. Artimus, you'll need to make to saving throws: Fortitude save (DC 15) to shrug off the poisonous effects of the stinging and biting, and a Will save (DC 15) in order to concentrate enough to act. 12 - Durnast now acts - You do indeed suspect that it's either from the aches of the Abyss (and thus highly resistant to fire), or else from the pits of Hell (and thus immune to flame entirely). You cast rainbow pattern. The creature has spell resistance, and you can see your spell flicker around the edges of its aura, but your spell does take effect. However, it's strong-willed enough to throw off the effects of the spell. Artimus, make another Will saving throw, please. (And no, neither the rest of the temple staff nor the Usurer have reacted yet.) 12 - Montegue now acts moving to flank the creature with Artimus. Two notes: the hellbred peryton can of course fly, and appears to have preternaturally good command over its own movement, so it might be able to hover above the two of you, denying you the flanking bonus. But for now, you're good. And two, ...
Spoiler:
the shadow seems to be able to move independent of the creature. 12 - Rasina: dismounts, moves to cover (there's a building made of two low silos right next to the commons, a temple of some sort) and quaffs shield of faith 9 - Richard: casts protection from evil on himself, curious as to how this stranger will handle the bizarre horror. 5 - Windrazor: dropping to join Mikka. Round Two
22 - Swiftpaws: 19 - Acolyte: Caught up in the rainbow pattern, holds her action to make sure she can follow it if it leads her away. 17 - Chamomile: 14 - Mikka: call lightning will be complete. 13 - Artimus: 13 - Nadeq: 12 - The hellbred peryton: 12 - Its shadow: 12 - Durnast 12 - Montegue 12 - Rasina: 9 - Richard: 5 - Windrazor:
Round One
19 - One of the temple acolytes, a woman some of you have already met, walks out of the front door of the place wearing her black wool robes and carrying two large, empty baskets, looking towards the market in the south-east corner of Camp. She gets to the center of the commons --within a few feet of the now-empty gibbet-- before she looks to the north and her eyes widen. "Pathways of Damnation!" she mutters, as the baskets fall to the ground. 17 - Durnast: As if the Peryton weren't menace enough, this seems to be some hellbred variation. The blue flames indicate that it has considerable spell-casting power. The shadow, on the other hand, is outside your current experience. It's as if it were independently alive itself. 17 - Chamomile: Speeds back to Durnast.
12 - The hellbred peryton lets out a blood-curdling laugh, a sound like a mynah bird might make. Its gaze sweeps over the Camp, flitting first to the ranger Chamomile was just speaking with, and then fixing on Artimus. It wheels and stoops. As it gets close to you, Artimus, you get the clear impression that this thing is not just vile, but stinks of the lower planes. Its attack roll: , which just barely avoids being a critical. Its damage: . And it is stopped right in front of Artimus. Its shadow seems to be itself alive, filled with an assemblage of insect-like body parts, and swarms over Artimus and the cleric. (Artimus, you get an attack of opportunity against it. AC 19.) In the area of the shadow, the lighting dims to normal indoor illumination. Once in the shadow, Artimus and the cleric both take points of damage. The woman screams in pain and distress. Durnast, seeing it in action, you understand that the shadow really is another entity, a swarm of some type. It seems hell-wrought itself. Artimus, you'll need to make to saving throws: Fortitude save (DC 15) to shrug off the poisonous effects of the stinging and biting, and a Will save (DC 15) in order to concentrate enough to act. 12 - Rasina: dismounts, moves to cover (there's a building made of two low silos right next to the commons, a temple of some sort) and quaffs shield of faith 9 - Richard: you're up, good priest. 5 - Windrazor: dropping to join Mikka. I'll see what I can do to get a map to you folks. But assume that Artimus is 90' from the entrance to the boarding house, and 15' from Richard, Mikka, Rasina, and Nadeq.
Round One
19 - One of the temple acolytes, a woman some of you have already met, walks out of the front door of the place wearing her black wool robes and carrying two large, empty baskets, looking towards the market in the south-east corner of Camp. She gets to the center of the commons --within a few feet of the now-empty gibbet-- before she looks to the north and her eyes widen. "Pathways of Damnation!" she mutters, as the baskets fall to the ground. 17 - Durnast:
How far away is it from the Camps common? The creature is moving in fast. At a simple move, it will cross over the boarder that separates the Desolation from the outskirts of the Camp this round. If it picks up speed, it might pass Gurg's abandoned litterpile, the Wellhouse, the rangers' encampment, and get to the Camp commons by the end of the round, but it won't have an opportunity to do anything else. Round One
Chamomile flies invisibly over to a collection of crumbling adobe buildings, lean-tos, and tents surrounding a patch of surprisingly healthy and bountiful garden. The mud-brick abodes are of obviously
<Hey there. I love what you guys have done with the place.> "What? Who's there?" she demands, looking all around her. Her feet shift to a more stable stance. Chamomile drops the invisibility. <Just the most cunning little dragon as far as the eye can see, that's who. My name is .. well, it's a little bit of a secret. But my friends all call me Chamomile. Like the tea. I'm here on a secret mission, one that only I can succeed at.> "Wh--" the woman begins. But then she stops herself and asks, with a bit more composure, "What can we do for you, Chamomile-like-the-Tea?" <I'd be happy to explain. Last night, one of my allies met with one of your allies --> "Ganelar, he was on watch. He reported meeting with a ranger visiting from the south, one of the six who struck down the giant yesterday evening." <That's right! I knew I was right, coming to speak to you. You're so much brighter and quicker than most humans.> "That's because I'm not human. But do go on." <Oh. Huh. Anyways, one of my other friends asked me if I would come talk to you to see if you still wanted to meet with us, as we ended up killing some people this morning and they were worried that you might not want to be seen with us --which I think is silly, because who wouldn't want to be seen with me and my friends?-- but they didn't want to troop all in here if it would make the rest of the Camp people mad at you, so they wanted to know if it was still all right or if we should meet somewhere else, like maybe, they were thinking, some rendez-vous out there in the Desolation --which I think is silly, because there hae to be safer places to meet outside of the camp, like maybe anywhere (well, anywhere that isn't a pit; you humans have problems with pits) but my friends are men and women of action and danger, so maybe they want to meet up in the Desolation just because it's dangerous. So, what's your call?> She looks at the pseudodragon for several seconds. "Here would be fine. In five minutes?" <Terrific. See you then. And yeah, really: great garden.> --+--+-- Finnelaus, the owner of the livery stables, stumbles as one of his charges, fresh from the Desolation, knocks him aside. "Damn it, girl," he says, his words slurred, "what's the rush? You been injured again?" The elf sways a little as he inspects her for gashes and claw marks, and it isn't until he looks down at her cannons and ankles that he sees the damage, and the blood. "Holy hells!" he breathes, suddenly lucid. Then, having made it back home, the mare collapses on top of the elf. --+--+- Following the halfling's lead, the new arrivals move off to the boarding house on the west side of town. They don't get there. Windrazor sees it first, and screeches an alert. You look up and see, riding the currents out of the north, an enormous creature, an assembly of the body of an eagle, with fathers of an unnatural orange and bright crimson, the black skin wings of a bat, and the head of a stag, wreathed in flickering blue flames. Underneath it, its shadow is writhing and chittering. Anybody who succeeds with a DC 19 Knowledge arcana check:
Spoiler:
The bird-body and stag-head are indicative of a Peryton. You've heard that they tear out people's hearts with their wolf-like teeth. But the reports you've heard never reported the bat wings or bizarre shadow. Initiative
For the new players: feel free to post your actions out-of-order if you like, along with any contingencies.
Tinthariel starts working in the kitchen, preparing the evening meal, and you've never seen him look ... happier, or perhaps fulfilled is a better term. Durnast, Montegue, what are your plans for the rest of the morning? Is anybody going to talk to the rangers, or will you leave that for another day? Montegue, if you know Sammar's mind, he would wish you to get a move on after Gurg in short order.
”If you don't mind me asking, do you know why the Benders killed the paladin? Spoiler:
Pak gives you a blank stare. Weylan replies, in a voice dwarves use for their small children, "Because."
Oooh, awkward. The tension is broken when a rough-looking woman, with more than a touch of hobgoblin blood by the looks of her features, bursts in. "Finn!" she shouts. "Your horses are back! Haul yourself out here and put 'em back in their pen!" The elf tries to stand, fails, and tries again, shuffling unsteadily out the door. The last time you saw someone have that kind of difficulty moving, it was a zombie. Zombies don't smell this bad, however. And if you have been in Camp before, it was only for hours, on your way out toward Tsar, or to pick up Richard. More likely, this is Nadeq's first time here.
Mikka, You can think of the awful trials at the Tombs that way, but there's another perspective, if you like. The battle against the followers of the frog god and Orcus was, like most adventures, violent and costly to both sides. That was warfare. And gods being what they are, the dark powers will take this setback with characteristic fury, but then rebuild their flocks, hopefully somewhere else. But the climactic battle, which cost some people their lives and others some measure of their puissance, was a clear triumph. The Black Monolith had been a moral poison on the area for ages, and it was broken, forever, by goodness and virtue. Not by capital-g-Good, not by celestial hosts breaking demon bones, or godly powers being flung about, but by the selfless and willing sacrifice of decent people. Every mortal dies. But these people died knowing that even at the end, their lives mattered. --+--+-- Nadeq, Spoiler:
Weylan rolls his unfocused little eyes and swears in Dwarfish. "Haven't you been listening? They were trying to trade with things north of the Desolation. Who knows what's up there? Demons, maybe? Or a lost civilization, enslaved to dragons. (Centaurs, who get offended that we're using horses as beasts of burden.) If anybody knew who was up there, Bard's Gate wouldn't be sending such an impressive caravan. (They wouldn't be trying to set up an embassy, either. Who's Sammar supposed to be ambassador to? Us?)
"And, as we say, the paladin was likely killed. The Benders brought tribute to the Usurer at first light, I heard one of 'em making some sort of clatter there with a suit of armor. So, either he's dead, or being held for torture. (Knowing the Benders, I'd say torture might be likely.) Or maybe they're singing gnome ballads to him and his pals. (As I say, torture.)" Pak takes the lead in the conversation. "In any case, if you'd be wanting to hire guards, I'd talk to the rangers. Out that door, down to the gallows, then turn right. They're camped on the left side of the road." Weylan looks at his friend contemptuously. "He said he wants guards, not guides! My friend, you'll want to see the Furious Fourteen, the best sellswords --hell, the only sellswords now that the Pounders are through-- in Camp. And I'd be obliged if you mentioned my name. (I mean, we can't express our gratitude properly for buying us a round of this swine pee, but the Fourteen pay refferal bounties in hard iron.)" --+--+-- Artimus, Well done. Hetman nods. "Dignity and respect are hard currencies around here, but I'll see what I can do."
Nadeq,
Spoiler:
You track down the blacksmith, a gaunt man who looks you over very carefully as he converts money for you. 5 gold coins = 1 iron bit. How much money are you converting? You saunter into the "Sip o' Blood" tavern, a large, L-shaped common room with a small kitchen and living quarters in the northern wing. A menu on the wall sells assorted drinks and meals of roast pigeon, horsemeat, turtle soup, and coyote, and "daily specials" which appear to include clearly moldy bread. The Campies gather here to eat, drink, and smoke their foul local pipe weeds to excess. A constant stuffy haze fills the room from dawn until nightfall when the establishment closes. The proprietor of the place, Lucky Bjorc Balsam, runs the bar with the help of six local wenches. At this point in the day, there aren't more than four or five people there. Not because they're all working, but because most of the Camp hasn't woken up yet. You strike up a passing conversation with two dirty dwarves, who identify themselves as Pak and Weylan. "The the fools down in Bard's Gate installed an embassy here, of all things, a month ago, in the building on the west side next to Mama Grim's shop. (The building is stout and well-standing, but it had been abandonned ever since the team of pyromanic alchemists sought out the fire snake last season. Crazy bastards, the lot of them. I don't image anyone wanted to risk squatting there; no telling what traps alchemists leave behind.) The city set a man named Sammar here as an ambassador. (It strikes us as the kind of post that the "brightest and best" probably wouldn't be grasping at.) "In any case, a consortium of merchant guilds decided to send a large caravan north, through the damned lands to trade with whatever kingdoms might lie behind. They came in about five days ago and made all a fuss around Camp, buying things, consulting Pak here (I represented myself as something of a sage, don't you know) and driving poor Finn to drink." At that, they laugh, and an elf on the other side of the bar looks up, blearily from whatever it is he's drinking. Then he goes back to his cups. "So, two days ago, the whole lot of them finally head out. Finn sells them the horses he always sells people. (They're good horses, too. They always find their way back here, once their riders are dead.) And there's been this tension in town. The Clantock orc band has been our local cut-throats and mercenaries, a well-established presence. (I would hasten to add, we have a mery lot of cut-throats. Clantock's boys are just pro-active about it.) Anyways, there's also this new gang, the Pounders. Ogres and giants, the lot of 'em. And the Bard's Gate people hire the giants to guard them through the Desolation. "And yesterday, one of the giants comes stumbling back into town, half-dead, and the orcs are all smug. Last night, one of them raised a cheer to the horros of the Desolation, for making life easier. "That's the wrong cheer around here, don't you know? "So, yesterday evening, a paladin and his cohort come riding into town, and they kill the giant. 'Cause he's a giant, I guess. (Actually, I thought I saw him this morning. Hard to miss a giant. But I could be mistaken. People move about in disguises all the time.)
Yes, after another hour, Swiftpaws indicates a spot, and you can start digging. After a little while, Hetman the undertaker comes around, and he joins in. Shortly before noon, you can uncover the bodies of Jylan and Chyressa, each stabbed once, neatly, in a carefully-placed killing blow. Their bodies are bound in straps of hard leather. There are other, less fresh bodies there, too. Hetman's face is set with grim determination. "Haven't even finished with them orc bodies from last night. Well, never grew fat wishin' for work. I'll bring a cart over for all these folks. "And you slew the Benderkaupft gnomes as well? Tricky bit there. Couple of months ago, one of 'em took a dislike to a visitor who was shooting off her mouth down at the saloon. He no more looked at her and wiggled his fingers, as she started screaming. Two minutes later, she was dead on the floor. Died of fright, nothing but sheer terror. You could smell it on her."
Not a problem, TDLoCC. (Incidentally, what does that stand for?) All right. Let's set the stage: As the mopping-up work at the Tomb continues, a few acolytes of Thyr arrive from Bard's Gate. They're not prepared at all to combat any of the horrors you've seen, but they're more than capable of sanctifying the crypts, hauling out the slain monsters, and beginning the tedious work of reclaiming the area for the cause of righteousness, now that you've broken the power of the Black Monolith. You spend two or three days helping them. You bury your allies, make arrangements to send tribute to the governor of Bard's Gate and to the kingdom coffers, and come to grips with how powerful you've become. (If you're good-aligned, you might have sacrificed a couple of experience levels to break the Black Monolith. ) But Richard grows restless as the days go on. He abandoned his mission in The Camp, and he longs to get back there and try to establish some kind of foothold for justice there. And the rest of you feel a stirring for Tsar, the fabled lost city of Orcus that lies beyond. Each of you has heard something about the Camp, and the Desolation that lies beyond: Mikka Spoiler:
One of the acolytes met up with some merchants who had traveled to Camp, although the didn't actually make it into the wilderness beyond. He passes along: “There’s something out there in the Desolation that hunts in the night. It devours travelers and even comes to the Camp sometimes in its hunts. It looks like a giant wolf, they say, but seeing it means your death!” "The Camp's main inn is the Sip of Blood Tavern, and it's run by a vampire. His name’s Lucky Bjorc and drinking other people’s blood is how he stays so lucky. Likewise, the town's undertaker is a ghoul, who simply eats the dead." “There an area out there called the Ashen Wastes. This mage I know described it as a desert hellhole of choking dust and evil spirits. If you die there your soul wanders forever without finding rest. The Dead Fields out in the Desolation get their name from the bones of the dead that are stacked like cordwood across the whole plain. Sometimes they get up and walk.”
Nadeq Spoiler:
Once, not long ago, you ran into some loot that had curious, coffin-shaped iron coins, completely worthless. A colleague explained: “You can’t use gold or silver in the Camp. You’ve got to go to their moneychanger and trade it in for ‘bits’, coins made out of iron. That’s all that will spend there.” “A fellow was seen heading into Camp a few months ago, intending to cross out to the Desolation. I recognized him from my days as a bandi…er, I mean merchant. Yeah, that’s it, a merchant. Anyway, this guy was dangerous. He’s wanted in several cities, and I’m sure there’s a nice reward for him.” With a little pressure and a few drinks, you wrung out the bandit’s name: Bartileus, the Butcher of Eamonvale.
Rasina Spoiler:
When the acolytes helping you clean out the Tombs reach the temple where you fought the High Priest of Orcus, one of them broaches the subject of Tsar. The conversation turns to the trackless wastelands that surround the place. “If you travel the roads of the Desolation at night, you’re sure to run into the Lost Caravan…all that’s left of the unluckiest merchants to ever try crossing the wastes. You’ll see and hear things that can’t be explained, but that’s to be expected. Just step aside and let ‘em pass, and they’ll more than likely go on by — though a few people do disappear. Those that bother the Caravan, though, are doomed to join its cursed journey forever.” “The guy in charge of the Camp is the Usurer. I’m not sure what that word means, but it sounds official. He’s also the local moneychanger and blacksmith.” “Nobody ever goes to the old ruins of Tsar and lives to tell of it. They say its walls are still guarded by ancient defenders who kill anyone who comes within a bowshot. How would I know that if nobody who went ever survived to come back and tell? Well, I hadn’t really thought about that…”
Richard Spoiler:
Need supplies or other such things? The place to go is the Celestial Emporium. It was established by angels and has heavenly prices. Need armor or weapons, or money turned to "iron bits", the local currency? Talk to the Usurer. Need horses? Finn’s Livery. A cold drink or a bit of company? Head on down to the Sip of Blood Tavern. If you’re hurt or sick and need help, go see Mama Grim. She’ll fix you right up. Just don’t feed the dire bears. Gurg the hill giant and his ogres run the best protection service in town. The common wisdom in Camp runs: “Don’t go out on the Desolation. There’s no better way to get dead.” One of the acolytes from Bard's Gate is something of an amateur scholar about the great war that took place at Tsar. She relates: “The last Justicar of Muir died in the Battle of Tsar and is buried out in the Desolation. Anyone who locates his tomb and helps him finish an uncompleted task will gain a powerful boon from the gods.”
You can certainly tell your allies what you know about Camp and the Desolation, You each have a riding horse or pony. The trip to the Camp takes a little more than a day. As you settle in for the first night, a safe distance from the road, you look up and see a shooting star passing the meridian zodiac between Vertilaus the Tree and Accipite the Eagle. It's a good omen for journeys and transitions. You arrive in Camp before noon the next day. Richard, your chapel has been torn down, and there seems to be a scuttlebutt of concern around Camp. The Usurer himself was called out of the smithy to deal with some visitors who've been causing havoc. According to some, they killed Gurg the giant. Others say they've slain the Bender brothers who run the local boarding house.
You ransack the three little bodies and find: On Joshiah(the first gnome)
On Jebli (the second gnome)
On Jashanah
(Armor of the puffer-fish grows spikes at will, and those spikes are covered in a mild toxin.) Hidden in the brothers’ room are treasures that have been accumulated from their years of murder and larceny. This hoard includes:
--+--+-- There's a tunnel system that Cam can crawl through, but you don't imagine a human adult would be able to navigate at all. (Even the Benders would have been a very tight fit.) It runs down each of the hallways, with a small trap door opening onto each room. --+--+-- Your search, taking about an hour, turns up nothing else out of the ordinary. There are ledgers in a kind of cipher, and that might take a while to decrypt.
You detect no traps. It's a little tricky getting the door open, but five minutes with a dagger gives you purchase. Hidden in the brothers’ room are treasures that have been accumulated from their years of murder and larceny. This hoard includes: an amulet (weak abjuration), 880 iron bits, 1,200 gp, a dagger (weak evocation), Jylan's Longsword ('Griefgiver,' Medium size +1 Bane vs Undead), a ring (weak transmutation), 3 identical Potions of Cure Light Wounds,a potion (weak transmutation), a set of very fine lockpicking tools, a bag (moderate conjuration), two silver urns (worth 20 gp each), 6 rubies (worth 675, 500, 600, 400, 350 275 gp), and a 4'-by-10' tapestry depicting a griffon rampant on a field of clouds.
You ransack the three little bodies and find: On Joshiah(the first gnome)
On Jebli (the second gnome)
On Jashanah
Tinthariel detects magic in the Benders' cramped personal quarters and finds a cunningly-wrought access panel in the east wall, down by the floor, behind which are several jumbled magical auras.
Clantock looks over the situation carefully. "Last night, two of me best archers, Bethral and Ulan, were kill't on their way back from the tavern. Word out of Hetman's mouth*, is that it was the hanged man what kill't them, and that probably serves us right fer tryin' t' scam people with it. Word 'bout town is that you took care of it fer us. "It was our kill, by rights, but we won't be holdin' that against you. Because we hadn't warned you yet, an' you didn't go whoopin' it up all over Camp. "But I wants to be real up-front with you. We're the killers in the Camp. Used to be we had competition from Granville’s Pyrotechnic Platoon, but they went up against a fire lizard, and that didn't turn out so good fer 'em. This last couple weeks, we been trying to ... negotiate ... a deal with the Pounders. Then they ran into**, oh, something, out in the deserts, and that didn't turn out so good fer 'em. "Now, when folks coming into Camp want guards, there's the Fourteen, and there ain't no other choices. Is we clear on that, neighbor innkeeper man? We're the ones what killed the Cheat, 'cause we're the only muscle people can turn to. Mess with that, and it ain't goin' to turn out so good fer ya. "Oh, and welcome to Camp. Some of my boys like to grab supper at the Benders' every so often, so let us know if you're changin' the menu." * Anyone making a DC 20 Sense Motive roll:
Spoiler:
Clantock neither likes nor trusts Hetman. ** Anyone making a DC 15 Sense Motive roll:
Spoiler:
Clantock stopped himself there, and thought better of what he was planning to say.
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