Having a long history of giving in to my players' wishes and running Evil campaigns in my exclusive-for-the-past-25-years world of Greyhawk (yes, 25 continuous years of playing the same campaign setting...), I was forced to modify the Adventure Path series for my rather large group of players (ranging from 8-13 people) who prefer exotic races and predominantly Chaotic, non-Good alignments.
Set the campaign in one of the older, more Evil-inclined Cities in Greyhawk (Rauxes), tweak the plot, boost the CRs of the encounters...and this old-timer was finally making the jump to the 3rd Edition rules!
What originally started out as an email update for those who missed the last game session evolved into a chronicle of the adventures of the group, in narrative format; I'll be posting it by individual game session, starting from September 2004 to the current session that I run tonight! We're barely into the fourth module in the series and we've run for over a year!
What a way to break in a new rules system - we've got a huge group of 20-30-somethings, playing the full spectrum of classes (some played several, following their grisly death...) and a DM running the 3.0 (then 3.5) rules for the first time, incorporating alternate, adult-oriented variant rules (taken from an ancient document originally created for 1st Ed. rules, updated for 2nd Ed. then for 3rd Ed.), multiple NC-17 rated character side plots, modified module storylines to make the Adventure Path palatable for Evil characters...needless to say, it's been fun, or I wouldn't have 13 full-time players with more being turned away regularly...
The title of each week's synopsis incorporates ACTUAL PLAYER OR CHARACTER DIALOGUE FROM THAT WEEK'S SESSION! This is important to know later on, trust me.
The first few synopses are relatively dull recounts of character activities, but they get better with time; you can see where practice improves my writing!
The first episode to follow...
Marc
Tallahassee, FL
3/9/2005
Well Marc, don't keep 'em in suspense...
If you're going to embarrass us all in "public" you might as well get started. ;-)
Chris
Hey, nice Avatar ;-)
Yes, the viewing public will be treated to Player commentary!
We're a full-service game group, with over 140 years of collective D&D experience and game-time!
Marc
Prologue: The Set Up
- DM's note: The Adventure Path is not set in the City of Cauldron; it has been modified to be set in one of the larger cities in the World of Greyhawk; the time period being played is a year following the Greyhawk Wars, immediately before the rise of Vecna as a God.
Street-Denizens with common greed and hate converge in the low-life alleys and back streets of Rauxes - the decrepit and decaying capital city of the former Great Kingdom, a once sprawling kingdom of men that has become fallow and diseased with the passage of centuries; the Overking is never seen in public and the influence of the crown extends no farther than the city walls. The power over the serfs lay in the hands of the local nobles - in the city's case, the lord mayor, who is seen rarely himself but who commands troops equal to a small army; some rumors have it that he is a mere puppet to the Imperial Palace, and that the Overking consorts with the Undead...
Three small groups of friends band together with a common purpose:
- Todok, a Durzagon acolyte of Erythnul, who has been tasked to hunt down rumored heretics who align with a cult known as The Ebon Triad; he has thus far survived the streets by simply being fearful-looking and difficult to kill. He meets Zuthara, a human woman trained as a soldier, and Charaine, a recent Wizard's Academy dropout with a penchant for chaos.
- Indarin, a Half-Elf acolyte of Vecna, who has also been tasked to hunt down rumored heretics who align with a cult known as The Ebon Triad; she networks on he street with Henry, a local human rogue trying to work his way up the ranks of one of the three competing Thieves' Guilds.
- Sizul, a Half-Red Dragon/Elf, a trained warrior but currently a grey-market blacksmith; he lives in a run down smithing shop that he "inherited" from his mentor. With him lives Raulanie, a werepanther, and Rahl, a Half-Ogre who home brews as a hobby.
These three groups band together and use Sizul's home as a base after the two priests meet and discover that they are pursuing the same mission.
The chronicle begins about one-third of the way into the first module, as the party completes clearing the abandoned Gnome settlement of Zhadirune and begins to assault the Malachite Fortress, below...
Marc
We're a full-service game group, with over 140 years of collective D&D experience and game-time!
Oy, I thought I was the one selling ... er, things! No pushing in on my turf! Though if you'd like, I can offer you a job. :D
-K
PROLOGUE CORRECTION: Todok has not joined the group yet - he will join the party following his rescue from the slaver Kazmojen.
Here begins the chronicling of the dread followers of Erythnul and Vecna, who have been charged with hunting down and eliminating heretics from their respective faiths, as well as Hextor’s, who have banded together in a Schism known as the Ebon Triad…
These events begin here, presented verbatim as of the time they were written, except for minor edits for the sake of historical accuracy:
12/17/03:
For Chris and Rob's benefit, this is a synopsis of events so far in the assault on the Malachite Fortress:
(some details may not be accurate due to difficulty recalling all the events in their entirety)
- Descending on the platform to a depth of 200' from where you were, you observe the stone becoming more shiny and black; the bottom of the shaft presents the party with a single heavy wooden door out.
- You enter a 20' wide by 50' long hallway with vaulted 20' ceilings, from which hang 2 empty cages to a height of 5'; there are 2 stony masses in the hallway that feature 4 crystalline appendages each...as the party silently files along the left wall of the hallway, Zuthara senses a secret door behind her as she passes - but before you can investigate, the stony masses come to life and attack!
- A brief but brutal fight commences, as Charaine fires magic missiles into one, Raulanie Ray of Frosts the other and the big fighters (Rahl, Zuthara and Sizul) engage directly along with Indarin (who is caught in melee by virtue of her location); Indarin is caught by a vicious critical blow and is squished like a bug against the wall...she crumples to the floor in a manner similar to that of Neo after getting perforated my Mr. Smith... fortunately, she is dragged away and healed before life leaves her...she quickly heals herself after regaining consciousness.
- The stone creatures are defeated within a minute, but the battle attracts from an adjacent doorway - a horribly worse duplicate of Rahlian - a filth-encrusted Ogre wielding a weapon even larger than Rahl's greataxe! The front 3 fighters block this abomination (and his stench) from the rest of the party, as Henry moves around to flank... but to his horror, he encounters 2 Carrion Crawlers emerging behind the ogre!
- Henry and Zuthara are quickly paralyzed by the crawlers, but the party is raining damage onto them, while Sizul keeps the Ogre busy in a dance of missed strikes...the Ogre, following a massive opening blow on Zuthara, misses for the next consecutive 5 rounds...as does Sizul...
- Indarin's summoned pair of fiendish scorpions are dazed by the relative size of their targets and fail to hit, even with 3 strikes each... Rahl survives a tentacle blow...Charaine and Raulanie exhaust their spells on the crawlers...things are looking grim, but the damage is accumulating on the crawlers...slowly...
- Sizul, in growing rage and frustration at his weapon, throws it to the ground and goes 'primal rage' on the ogre with a claw/claw/bite attack! He rakes the ogre, and in the next round, finishes him off with a claw/bite!
- Rahl is fading into a flurry of missed strikes, but Sizul finally finishes off a Carrion crawler after picking his weapon back up...and after the first summoned scorpion poofs away (it was the wimpy one anyways), the other saves collective face by finishing the other crawler off!
- Rahl extracts a goop-covered chest from the lair (only half covered, compared to the first 2 chests he found), which contains coins, 2 gems and a flask; the coins are left to be retrieved later.
- Following the party's crude map, they proceed through a second secret door into a large chamber that features a large statue of a dwarven heroe, covered in chains that are detected as magical by Indarin; the party cautiously avoids touching either the statue or the chains...they quickly deal with the 4 hobgoblin guards in this incense-smoky room, remaining undetected.
- Without spells and having most of the party below 50% hit points, the group decides to rest in the main chamber after hiding the bodies in the filth-room... After 3 hours of sleep, an alert Rahlian hears the shift-change guards approaching - after waking Zuthara to alert the others, he moves to the iron doors as they open...3 of the 4 hobgoblins think that this may be their ally for a moment, and are caught flatfooted; one foe is swift, but his blow misses, and Rahl cuts one down immediately.
- Rahl mows down another hobgoblin before the party can join the fight, as the last 2 turn and flee down a wide hallway...but Rahl can outrun them, and he passes them to set up his next blow...with the party following in a long trail - Sizul, Zuthara, Henry...followed by Charaine and Raulanie, who expect to do nothing but watch...
- A trap! 2 hobgoblins concealed in the darkness at the end of the 60' hallway throw levers and open 2 pits that span the floor! Rahl is trapped in between them with his 2 opponents that are retreating into a side passage, while Sizul narrowly avoids falling in - unfortunately, Henry and Zuthara, lacking darkvision, don't see the pit until it's too late...they fall 20' onto several spikes...ow.
- Henry and Zuthara, showing amazing luck and grit, successfully climb 15' up the walls of the pit as Rahl cleaves a hobgoblin and the remainder of the party comes under bow fire from the guards at the end of the hall...
- The party's luck turns bad, as Henry and Zuthara both fall in successive rounds upon failing to reach the top of the pit's wall and Sizul's attempt to jump the pit falls short by 1'! He's left hanging on the edge, a draconic Indiana Jones, begging for a root to grab... while Rahl, valiantly fighting his last quarry, is unaware that a door has opened behind his target and 2 more hobgoblins have emerged...however, their surprise does not yield a killing blow...
- Everyone struggles on for a full 2 minutes, as Indarin summons a fiendish hawk to harass the hobgoblin archers after taking an arrow (or 2), Sizul finally joins Henry and Zuthara in the pit after failing to climb out (they spend a few moments healing with potions delivered by Sizul via gravity), Charaine & Raulanie withdraw around a corner when Charaine catches a well aimed arrow in the head while peering out to assess things (natural 20), and Rahl is slowly giving way to fatigue and multiple small injuries after cutting his opponents down to a single hobgoblin...
- Indarin turns the tide when she casts Light on a dagger and throws it across the pits, illuminating the 2 archers and presenting Raulanie with targets! Under cover fire, Indarin throws rope down and assists her 3 comrades in climbing out of the pit, while Rahl goes into a berserk battle rage and finally finishes off his opponent.
- Upon hearing the impending arrival of more hobgoblins, Rahl successfully jumps the pit and retreats under the cover fire of Raulanie; the party is too drained and weak to take on more of this garrison and has decided to fall back to the platform to rest...
- But... the party had forgotten about the first secret door that Zuthara detected... They are attacked yet again as they are retreating! 3 goblins emerge from the secret door, with 3 more hobgoblins following behind in the hall..!
- The warriors are in a fury, however... Zuthara quickly cuts down a goblin and Sizul flies into a bloodlust, grabbing the other 2 goblins by the necks and snapping them as he bites the face off of the lead hobgoblin!! OW!!
- VICTORY! The remaining 2 hobgoblins flee at the horrific sight of this carnage, leaving the party to barricade itself in the elevator platform room...and to collapse in collective fatigue...more than half of the group is in single-digit hit points, and the rest are not even above half...
Our next session will begin as the party attempts to rest a full 8 hours, so the spellcasters can recoup spells and heal the party for the final push...to the Slaver's Bazaar...
Sizul, in growing rage and frustration at his weapon, throws it to the ground and goes 'primal rage' on the ogre with a claw/claw/bite attack! He rakes the ogre, and in the next round, finishes him off with a claw/bite!
(snip)
- The warriors are in a fury, however... Zuthara quickly cuts down a goblin and Sizul flies into a bloodlust, grabbing the other 2 goblins by the necks and snapping them as he bites the face off of the lead hobgoblin!! OW!!
Ah yes, Sizul looks back very favorably on such things! Mmmmmm...goblin flesh: kinda...tangy! :-)
Rob #1
Rahl has a faint recollection of dropping 1 if not both, between him and Rauline, of the arrow shooters at the far end of the hallway while Sizul had his afternoon snack, but hey it's all fun. That battle was a riot. Of course rahl didn't end up in the pit is probably why it was sooo fun :)
I'll be posting it by individual game session, starting from September 2004 to the current session that I run tonight! We're barely into the fourth module in the series and we've run for over a year!
By the way, I just have to point out that this game started in September 2003, not '04. Methinks the DM is so excited to show us off that he fumbled his dates a little.
No worries, Marc. We love you anyway!
Chris
By the way, I just have to point out that this game started in September 2003, not '04. Methinks the DM is so excited to show us off that he fumbled his dates a little.No worries, Marc. We love you anyway!
Thanks for the correction; I wish I would've started the journal in 9/03, instead of 12/03...
Love you all too,
M
There is a break for the holidays; the game resumes on 1/1/04, New Year¡¦s Day:
Adventure Synopsis, Marathon 1/1/04 session:
Rejoining our intrepid adventuring band of Evil conquerors and mercenaries, they were cowering - um, resting on the elevator platform, building their strength and spells for the coming second assault on the Malachite Fortress...
After a tense but quiet 8 hours of dark silence and muted activity tending your wounds and eating the last of the rations that Zuthara had thoughtfully carried with her into the underground, you estimate that you are over 2 full days removed from the world above...your food is exhausted and your water skins are dry. Indarin exhausts her full compliment of curative spells immediately, yet the party still lingers at 50% hit points; it is time to see what lies beyond the door you had earlier jammed shut with broken blades.
The hallway where you defeated the stone spikes before is unchanged; strewn with their broken rubble, the hall is dark and quiet, save for one difference - their is a mass of chains on the floor halfway down the hall that resembles those that hung on the dwarven statue you had seen in the entry chamber earlier. Henry slinks along the right hand wall to scout ahead as the rest of the party waits anxiously in the doorway...
As Henry approaches, the mass of chains rises up into a column and begins to spin, throwing chains around it - Henry beats a hasty retreat back into the elevator room! The party formulates a quick plan to outrun it when it enters and scatters along the inside walls as the chain creature advances slowly on the doorway. Slowing its rotation as it enters the room, the chains begin attacking, whipping Rahlian and slashing Raulanie deeply...who screams in pain and falls to her knees - rage builds in her, she begins to tremble, and the party realizes that they are soon to have more than one foe as she begins to go through a rapid metamorphosis!
* (Chris, you are under no obligation to read further) ļ
In half-panic and half-tactic, the party sprints through the doorway as the chains advance, braving it's attacks as they run past; Rahl is hit as he holds the door for the rest of the group (Indarin is the last one out as she had moved cautiously and defensively instead of sprinting) and slams the door shut heavily as he groans from the pain of his wounds - the last horrific image the party sees behind them as the door closes is the fully transformed Black Leopard that leaps onto the spinning chains in a fit of rage and bloodlust...joining with the metallic mass in a furious, violent mating...
*slam*
Everyone looks at each other for a moment, panting, searching for guilt; surprisingly little is found - they move on.
The party follows where they saw the Hobgoblins retreat before, through the secret door and down the hall. Beyond a second secret door is an armory; suits of armor and a variety of weapons are found here - the party picks among them and finds another secret door exiting. Beyond is the forge; Henry alertly closes the door before the 4 Hobgoblin guards inside notice him. Forming an ambush strategy, everyone is given an assignment and they rush into the room; the ambush goes mostly according to plan, as 3 of the 4 hobgoblins are dealt with rapidly. However, there are 3 goblins working along with the 3 slaves here (a female dwarf, and a pair of Halflings, male and female), who attempt to flee; Indarin kills one, but the party fails to catch the other 2 as the last hobgoblin falls. Knowing that they have again alerted the garrison of their presence, they quickly begin to barricade all the exits as they free the slaves and ask them urgent questions about how many attackers they will face any second. Sizul makes a shrewd tactical decision and rips a cage from the ceiling (actually, Rahl does it for him), throwing it in front of the one remaining door left unjammed - the one the goblins fled through; they soon return - but this time, the party is ready and waiting...
In a scene reminiscent of the Moria scene in 'FotR', Rahl's notched arrow is the first thing to greet the lead goblin entering the room, followed by Charaine's Magic missiles, as goblins pour into the room and pile upon the sage barricading the doorway; the fight begins! Unfortunately, Charaine makes a tactical blunder and Color Sprays the doorway, catching Sizul and Zuthara as well as 2 goblins and a hobgoblin; all drop except Zuthara, who is left stunned and blinded... Fortunately, Sizul's hasty barricade slows the advance of the enemy long enough for Indarin and Rahl to hold them off until Zuthara can shake her head and clear her eyes; she joins the front as Henry fires his hand crossbow from behind them. As they kick Sizul awake and he joins them, they've turned the tide - the humanoids' morale breaks, and they drop all but one as they turn to flee!
Rather than pursue, the party braces for another onslaught - which never arrives.
With the guidance of the female Dwarf slave, Sondor, the party moves into the dining hall (where the attack came from) and the adjoining storage rooms, where they find food, water and the human slave cook - who refuses to join the party until he knows things are safe. Filling their bellies and packs with edible food, the party plans it's assault on the main chamber where Kazmojen apparently awaits them; they decide to rush the room, based on the description of it given by Sondor. In the forge, they leave behind a male Halfling who is a mass of quivering jelly and of no use, and a female Halfling who has now disappeared in the ruckus.
The slave bazaar contains Kazmojen (who is holding a young boy chained by the neck, haggling with a fiendish-looking dwarf), a horrific creature identified as a Howler behind him, 3 remaining hobgoblin guards and a metal post, of which chained to it are 3 children and a bat-winged, fiendish-looking dwarf! As he asks why the group is interrupting his sale, they answer by charging the room - Sizul jumps up and rushes the platform, Indarin advances to the ledge and summons a fiendish giant centipede to harass the howler, Zuthara cleaves the hobgoblin guard nearest to the door, Rahl runs into the chamber to cut off the other guards and Charaine holds the doorway along with Henry. In retaliation, Kazmojen throws a hand axe at Indarin (missing her) and orders the howler to attack; luckily for the group, the centipede successfully attacks the howler, poisoning it before being rapidly eaten by it. Indarin quickly summons a second centipede but it it just as quickly devoured by the howler! However, the delay has given an advantage to Sizul, who makes a risky decision as Kazmojen advances down the steps to dispatch Indarin and Zuthara - he rushes to the platform edge and grapples him! Barely succeeding in his attack, he wrestles with Kazmojen as Zuthara advances and runs him through with her long sword - he drops to the ground in a heap!! Unfortunately, the howler attacks Sizul from behind with a brutal bite and 4 long quills...and in a miracle of bad dice-karma unseen in ages, all 5 attacks fail to hit! The party meanwhile finishes off the hobgoblin guards, but the durzagon has disappeared! Indarin casts Detect Magic to attempt to locate him, while Sizul and Zuthara fight the howler. The fight is close - Zuthara falls to the howler, but Sizul finishes it off when it stops attacking and falls back for an unknown reason; he finds out when he realizes that the room has come to a sudden, horrified stillness and turns around...
A Beholder has appeared in the chamber!
...It speaks:
"I have come for Terrem Kharatys; the boy should not have been taken. I intend to see him safely back to his orphanage; you can keep the others - they are of no consequence. Come, Terrem, you will be safe with me."
With a quick glance among themselves, the group allows the boy to join the aberration among quickly offered platitudes. Indarin can tell something is amiss, based on the multiple magic auras in the room besides the creature, but no risks are taken with such a powerful creature in your midst. After the boy and the beholder disappear, stillness fills the room, save for collective exhales...
Indarin breaks the silence - "There is still an aura of magic near the door!" The Durzagon slave buyer!
At that moment, a globe of darkness envelopes the main doorway to the chamber, which the party soon engulfs in a web spell and the flames of no less than 6 flasks of flaming oil, all of which narrowly miss Henry, who was near the door and obscured by the globe of darkness! Sizul investigates the dark region and finds nothing - the durzagon has escaped. He and Indarin grope their way into the hallway beyond in pursuit, as the chained half-fiend identifies himself as Todok and begs release so he can assist the party.
Realizing the manacles are too touch to break or lock pick easily, Henry moves to search Kazmojen's body for the keys - and jumps back in horror as Kazmojen reaches up and attacks him!! The two begin to grapple as Rahl tries to free Henry - he's too strong! Fortunately, the slippery rogue breaks free, but the enraged Kazmojen picks up his urgosh axe and is a flailing madman - in quick succession, he defeats a weakened Rahl and then Henry as Sizul and Indarin rush back through the magical dark to save them after hearing the cries of panic... Charaine and Sondor flee, but turn back after Charaine decides to sacrifice her spellbook to save her friends.
Things are looking grim, as the half-dwarf TROLL looks to overpower a weakened Sizul and Indarin, but Indarin's attack - splashing oil and attacking with a torch - makes Kazmojen's only fear a reality - FIRE! As he burns, he turns his rage on her and quickly cuts her down; but he is afire and must act quickly - as he pats himself out, Sizul seizes the advantage and attacks... Charaine adds to Kazmojen's misery by casting Flaming Sphere out of her spell book; he dodges aside in a panic, but Sizul, being immune to fire, pursues Kazmojen and finishes him off once and for all with a vicious bite to the head - while being engulfed by a rolling ball of flames. Sizul casts the remains into the forge...it is over.
The survivors release Todok, who casts his single Cure Light Wounds on Rahl; he claims to be able to save them all from certain death in such a weak state here in the Underdark. He leads Sizul, Rahl and Charaine to where the prisoners are, leaving Sondor to guard their helpless friends; there, Todok reclaims his equipment, among which he has a Wand of Cure Light Wounds! Assaulting the torture chamber where the last guards and the Jailer have shut themselves in, Todok has a measure of justice and rescues his cellmate, Coryston Pike, a retired adventurer and kindred soul during their imprisonment.
Retreating back to the main chamber, Todok proceeds to heal the party back to full strength with his wand, expending no less than 30 charges in the process. Gathering the other freed slaves, they begin to move out, back to the elevator shaft; they will make it back to the surface after all...
But they worry about what they left behind, shut into the room that is their only exit...they have to still deal with that¡K
...And what they left shut in there, with it...
OOh, this is interesting. Sounds like some interesting player dynamics you have. Do tell more.
OOh, this is interesting. Sounds like some interesting player dynamics you have. Do tell more.
Just you wait...as the characters gain levels, the players get better acquainted (about 50% of them met at the table) and my writing style evolves, they get a lot more entertaining!
A recent Synopsis came in at NINE pages...
More to follow,
Marc
Everyone looks at each other for a moment, panting, searching for guilt; surprisingly little is found - they move on.
"Surprisingly little"? I didn't feel guilty, at all.
Heh heh, sorry Chris!
-K
*shrugs* I had a hard time feeling anything either, especially considering this happened on a night I couldn't attend. I didn't really have much time to get attached to her anyway.
Now if Marc kills off my current character (again) when I'm not around to defend her...
Chris
1/7/04:
At the end of last session, the party had liberated the slaves of the Malachite Fortress and was making plans to attack the chain creature that guards the exit shaft; a well-laid plan was made, but never executed...
The chain creature, unknown to the group, had splintered the door down and returned to its original location for lack of targets to pursue; when they begin to emerge from the secret door, it rose again to attack! A fierce battle, lasting a full 2 minutes, ensues - but the party is victorious. All the fighters suffer wounds, but none are too serious.
The doorway to the elevator shaft has been scraped around its edges and the door lay in splinters, evenly spread over the surrounding area; inside, bits of blood, flesh and fur lie scattered around the tattered corpse of what used to be a humanoid...it now would be all but unidentifiable, had the party not previously known its identity...
Leaving the freed slaves on the elevator platform, the group elects to explore the rest of the fortress in search of Kazmojen's quarters and whatever loot he possesses. Starting in the only area left uninvestigated, the party finds an empty barracks area and gruesome yet extravagant quarters - Kazmojen's lair! They also locate a hidden room beyond that is piled with wealth - 3 chests, 3 casks full of coins and other items...Indarin detects magic on one of the chests, a short bow and a walking cane; she quickly declares them off limits.
When further investigating the pile of loot, Indarin is attacked by a mimic shaped as a gong - but its incompetent assault is quickly ended when the rest of the group rushes in and chops it to bits without it scoring a single hit.
Piling loot onto a makeshift litter made from a table, the party clears the room except for the chests; the two non-magical ones are opened by Henry - one contains gold coins concealed under black iron coins and the other is overflowing with silver coins. Todok volunteers to smash the last lock with the rest of the group in the next room for safety. After breaking his own great morning star as well as a war hammer, his efforts to smash the first lock is eventually successful - and rewarded by a ghostly dagger that emerges and attacks him...fortunately, his resistance to magic dispels the dagger before it harms him. The party is soon departing, fully loaded with chests of loot...
But they find the elevator platform gone and the freed slaves missing! They've been left behind!
Knowing how to operate the elevator, however, the party throws the level, the platform soon returns and everyone exits the Malachite Fortress back to the gnome settlement of Jzadirune - where they find Coryston Pike and Sondor waiting. They tell everyone that the freed slaves have fled up the staircase to the surface...
Coryston sees Charaine with her walking stick and asks for it back, but the party's rapid change of demeanor tells her that pressing the issue is a bad idea; realizing that being freed was more an act of convenience than redemption, she accepts the obvious, unchanging truths about this group and leaves, taking a visibly disappointed Sondor with her, who casts a last, hurt glance at her short-lived friend... Charaine, downcast, says nothing...
Returning to Ghelve's Locks through the secret tunnel under the stairs, the party finds a guard who identifies herself as Topaz; she appears to be at least part fiend (due to the small horns and the generally uneasy feeling that seems to lurk around her) and Todok senses kinship in her right off - he immediately takes her under his literal, if not figurative, wing... The 3 child captives are here also, gorging themselves on the contents of the kitchen.
Finally able to see the evening sky through the shop's windows in the last, fading purples before nightfall, it is determined, with Topaz's help, that the party has been moving close to the Underdark on its outer fringes for almost 4 days; it is now time to rest safely - after returning the 3 children to the orphanage.
And splitting an immensely profitable foray into the Underdark with the Thieves Guild...
...or not.
*DM note: Charaine, being Neutral and not evil, quietly and secretly returned the walking stick to Coryston Pike several days later... (MC 3/05)
1/14/04, the DM’s birthday - and a mostly administrative session:
Thank you, again everyone for an enjoyable Birthday gathering;
Rather than a short story this week, I will feature a summary of the business activities you’ve all engaged in and your scheduled activities for the week that some of you are in training.
Rob, Sean, Chris and Rob: There was some more discussion among the rogues and a different agreement has been reached with the Guild following your departure last night, so this version is the most recent and has been agreed to in principle (pending Scott’s concurrence with my representation of his opinions).
- When you arrive home that night, you discover it ransacked; whatever possessions you had stored there are lost.
- After liquidating your loot through a Guild-affiliated trader/fence the day after your return, you divide the proceeds and return to your home. Sizul, ‘Stinky’ and Indarin are busy training through the rest of the week, while the rest of the group begins the process of negotiating your assets to the guild.
- After some business dealing and weighing of ideas with the Guild, you strike an accord with them regarding how the secret stair in Ghelve’s Locks is to be administered: (treat this as a paraphrasing of your verbal “contract” with the Guild regarding the ‘Trail to the Underdark’)
- The adventuring company will remain separate from the Guild and continue to deal with them as a ‘contractor’, as has been the norm;
- The building that housed ‘Ghelve’s Locks’ is to be turned over to the Guild, who will use it as a safe house and convert it into a “private residence”; the vial of Universal Solvent originally offered as purchase of the building will instead finance the moving of “Ghelve’s Locks” as a business to another building, pending the safe return of Ghelve’s familiar.
- The secret door under the stairs will be relocated to the opposite wall of the stairwell; it will open into the back room of the first floor, which will be sealed off from the rest of the building and with a new exterior door added in the back of the room, which will be accessible by the party only.
- The secret stair and the safe house will be two separate entities, with no mutual ties save for the monitoring of the general area for the sake of mutual security; the party will control access to the stair and the trail to the Underdark.
- The Party agrees to allow the Guild exclusive rights by their representatives to access the Underdark through the Trail, when notified of such need and presenting authorization from Thelios (a Guild officer) or his superior; the party also agrees to allow the Guild the right of first-refusal of any sale of information, trade-goods or booty brought forth from the Trail and the payment of a 2% tax on trade goods or booty refused by the Guild and sold otherwise.
- The Guild agrees to keep knowledge of the Trail secret in the interest of maintaining exclusivity for both parties and will ensure the security of the entrance; the Guild will also make mundane purchases and maintain supply lines to the party in order to maintain secrecy.
- Taxes paid by the party will subsidize regular supply deliveries to the Trail; these deliveries will be left in the room that abuts the entrance to the Trail for the party to transport at their wish.
- The group intends to complete clearing out Zhadirune and the Malachite Fortress to secure it and to convert it into their own lair; Sizul will take up residence in the forge; Henry will move his lab into the former torture chamber (which will have a wall removed, making it effectively a balcony over the underground lake) and start selling poisons to Underdark customers; Rahl will clear out (somewhat) the Ogre room and make it his chamber; Indarin wishes to settle Zhadirune with converts and build a temple there; Charaine will set up a library and lab in an open chamber and begin research; Todok will likely build a shrine or temple in the main chamber of the Fortress; Zuthara and Topaz will reside in remaining rooms and will likely command any future garrison, if so hired.
- During the rest of the week, those who are not training may return to the lair to clear it, do some R&R, or organize construction crews for renovations. See below.
- The Malachite Fortress will soon belong to its third owner; the original has yet to be seen in several years after leaving into the Underdark, and the second now permanently resides in the forge…
Upon popular approval of this summary, I will plan out and map your new lair and generate new plot based on your taking up residence here; please reply me your intentions, based on this summary, of what you plan to do the week of training and immediately after (those of you in training will only need to tell me what you wish to do after you’re done). Use the format previously mentioned for group plans, but you need only include “this week” and “next week”.
1/22/04 – Thursday game:
Thank you, Chris and Rob for handling dinner this week;
As the night begins, your evil band of mercenaries has been either training at their profession, negotiating terms with the Thieves Guild over the safe house, or relaxing at the local taverns. On the final day of training, you all have agreed to meet behind the safe house for your trip back to the Malachite Fortress. Earlier in the week, Todok had found Ghelve’s rat familiar in a cage, guarded by a mimic that appeared as a chest underneath the cage; he informed Topaz upon returning the rat that, after some conversation with the mimic, it turned the rat over in exchange for some hobgoblin bodies and a promise of more every couple of days. Todok is confident that it can be persuaded to remain a guard for the right amount of regular ‘food’.
On the day of your gathering at the safe house, some of you had strange stories to tell:
- Charaine had confronted a goblin that was following her; he denied it and moved on…she followed him but after a while, he was gone.
- Indarin had a similar story…she also confronted a goblin, followed him and lost him in the crowded streets.
- Sizul’s experience was slightly different and involved a 1/2Orc; he managed a rather competent impression of a rogue – turning the tables and following his shadower most of the way back to the safe house…until breaking off to meet the rest of you.
As you share the details of your encounters in the street, you await the arrival of the others; soon, you are all together and you walk around to the back of the building – but are greeted by a bugbear and a 1/2Orc at the far end of the alley, and by a gnoll in the right-hand alley who has a short bow!
Acting quickly, Henry beats everyone to the draw, firing a hand-crossbow bolt into the bugbear while Topaz and Zuthara prepare their bows; Indarin casts Hold Person at the Gnoll – it is held! Rahl runs at the bugbear and 1/2Orc, while the Charaine prepares a spell…
Meanwhile, the bugbear points a wand at the ground next to Indarin (!) and there appears a fiendish dire rat! She promptly stakes it to the ground with her rapier… The 1/2Orc throws a hand axe that goes wide, glancing off of the wall to the left of the group… And suddenly, 2 goblins pop up from the rooftops of the adjacent buildings and begin firing at the party!
Next… Henry moves to dispatch the held gnoll, but he is too focused on the gnoll and misses the hobgoblin lurking in the shadows nearby – which runs him through as he moves past, backstabbing him down to a single hit point! - AAAAHH! Indarin summons her own fiendish scorpion on front of the bugbear and Sizul rushes it also, but he doesn’t realize that the goblin archer he runs underneath gets to sneak attack from such close range – AAAAAHH! Hearing Henry’s cry of pain, Rahl makes a quick decision, leaving Sizul to the bugbear…he turns and runs to Henry’s defense. In a familiar error, Charaine has color sprayed the goblin archer, affecting Zuthara and Topaz as well… Zuthara recovers quickly, but Topaz is left blinded and groping for the wall to her left…all she can do is activate her prayer bead and wait. Fortunately, Charaine is giving them both cover fire, hitting both goblin archers with magic missiles in 3 consecutive rounds in a row. Zuthara begins to exchange bow fire with one of the goblins, hitting an impressive 50% of the time – not bad, considering the goblins have 75% cover.
The 1/2Orc throws a hand axe at Sizul, hitting him once, and another at the summoned scorpion, killing it; the bugbear enters melee with Sizul, hitting once – before Sizul decides to end it decisively with a breath weapon! The bugbear is incinerated at point-blank range, but the 1/2Orc survives; Sizul is hit a second time by a goblin archer sneak attack and is weakening, but both he and the 1/2Orc pause to drink potions…they stare at each other as they drink, a silent truce for the moment – but only one of them has fear in his eyes…
In the other alley, Rahl defends against the hobgoblin as a shaken Henry attempts to dispatch the held gnoll; he hits for damage but fails to outright kill his target, given his clobbered state. As he clears his head, he tries again – but the hobgoblin intercepts his coup-de-grace with an attack of opportunity, dropping Henry! Rahl tries to intervene, but fumbles badly (he would’ve decapitated Henry, had he still been standing!) Rahl now faces two opponents, as the gnoll is now unheld; Indarin, after summoning a couple of fiendish centipedes (one behind the hobgoblin, the other on the roof next to a goblin), rushes to assist. Both centipedes are quickly dispatched – the goblin drops his bow and fights his off and the hobgoblin hacks his, but not until he’s poisoned by it); Indarin and Rahl are holding the line against the gnoll (who drops his bow and switches to his battle axe) and a weakening hobgoblin.
Charaine summons a spectral hand over the remaining goblin archer, Topaz clears her eyes and begins to fire on the remaining goblin archer (missing her first shot); Zuthara drops the first goblin and then switches weapons, expecting to enter battle soon; as Sizul engages the 1/2Orc once more, he gains the advantage by hitting his opponent hard on the first swing… He breaks, calling for his comrades to flee!
The attackers break off – the last goblin ducks on the roof, leaving Charaine with no target to cast burning hands at; Sizul gets his bow out and fires once at the 1/2Orc and missing before he runs out of sight… Indarin misses the hobgoblin as he staggers away; Rahl has kneeled down, rushing to save Henry’s life as the gnoll retreats – Indarin pushes Rahl after him, taking over with Henry… Rahl catches the gnoll and drops him, but the hobgoblin gets away. Sizul fails to notice one of the goblin archers has climbed down the wall right behind him – he tiptoes across the busy street and disappears; the other goblin has, also…
The ambush is over. You have time to think, and to realize that the goblins are the ones that were following you earlier; Henry is healed back to consciousness by Indarin… you have the charred body of a bugbear and the slashed body of a gnoll at your feet.
As quiet returns to the alleyways behind the building that used to be Ghelve’s Locks, crowds begin to form at the edges of the adjacent buildings and the ends of the alleys, as passersby watch you all drag the two bodies deeper into the alley to search them. You can see that most of them appear to be strangers to the city – travelers, merchants, laborers, vagabonds…who gawk at the bodies as well as the blood-spattered Sizul and Rahl.
The locals have seen this before…they walk on.
1/29/04 – A Thursday game:
Thank you, everyone, for the chili accessories and drinks - game nights are good eatin', which is the point, after all.
Our session this week opens with the rogue ambush aftermath... Crowds of street denizens and onlookers witness the party's searching the slashed and charred corpses of the 2 victims - a bugbear priest/mage and a gnoll. Deciding that entering the secret door with so many witnesses about is a bad thing to do, the group retreats to their original home for the day to heal up and rest. They will catch up with Todok the next morning.
During the night, Henry is awakened by a sound outside...someone is rattling the door! A few casual threats drive off the ruffian, but upon opening the shuttered window, he discovers a young street urchin who seeks to give a message to Indarin - she quickly hustles the youth behind the house and receives news (that she later passes on to the party) that one of the rival guilds is seeking a powerful magic item that has entered the city, and a race is on to find it... a Ring of Wishes! The group decides to rest the night to regain spells and to go to where the carrier of the ring is staying at daybreak; Rahl and Zuthara case the inn at the edge of the city that the informant specified, with Zuthara returning to the party's home later on, so they know where to find Rahl (who has remained for the rest of the night watching the inn for suspicious activity).
As the night passes, Rahl begins to nod off... A sudden noise startles him awake, and he resumes his watch on the Inn...but something is different...wrong. There is noise in the formerly still building - screams of death!
With the morning twilight approaching, the group rises and sets out early along deserted streets; Zuthara leads them to where an urgent, impatient Rahl is waiting to take them across the street to the "Lucky Monkey"... As they approach, they realize that they are too late; there are broken windows, and splatters of blood inside the open door; as they enter the establishment, invisibility is cast on Henry (he intends to scout the second floor) and Bull's Strength is cast on Sizul (who can now bend iron in his hands with a Str of 28!). The party finds ten ruffians gorging themselves on the contents of the bar in the main room... They wear the red scarves of their rival guild, the "Alleybashers"!
Sizul and Rahl don't wait for threats or introductions...they both charge in, impaling and slashing their targets, dropping both! As the swifter, rapier-wielding ruffians engage the brutes of the party, the rest of you enter the room and form a front as the slower, longsword-wielding rogues advance. Indarin ties up a couple of them in the back with a summoned centipede, but only for a few seconds as they cut it down...which is enough time for Charaine to put a couple of magic missiles into one of them (the first of three pairs of missiles that will torment this particular rogue). Zuthara and Topaz engage a pair of opponents near the doors, Charaine and Indarin remain in the doorway and Henry sneaks past the battle to the staircase up.
For a moment, the battle runs about even, with Rahl eventually getting surrounded by foes after rushing in with glee initially; his motivation begins to flag after he takes several hits, some of them from his flank and one of them critical... Sizul holds his opponents off with his glaive and tries to support Rahl as best he can, and Zuthara descends into battle frenzy, dismembering her first fallen opponent! Topaz is a model of efficiency and grace, scoring several deft hits in a row with her rapier while staying at the edges of the brutal melee where Rahl is the epicenter. Even Indarin gets invlolved in the bloodlust, sprinting up to the rear of a longswordsman fighting Rahl and running him through!
Eventually, the 'Alleybashers' weaken and fall, one by one, until none remain; Indarin has saved Rahl by healing him as he fought, Charaine peppered her foe with 6 magic missiles (hitting no one else) until he was run through by Topaz, Zuthara hacked and mutilated 2 herself, and Sizul was quite happy with no less than 2 victims spread around the room in pieces...and Henry, all by himself, sneaking about upstairs with Alleybashers ransacking adjacent rooms...
...But Indarin hears something going on still, in one of the private rooms off of the main tavern; with little regard for stealth, she draws back the curtain - and finds two ruffians on top of the large table en flagrante delicto! Being well on their way to drunken ecstasy together, neither of them has noticed Indarin as she approaches behind the gleefully bouncing female, blood-dripping rapier in hand... With a growing grin and an emerging cackle, she runs the near-orgasmic woman through from behind!! By the time the man on the table notices anything amiss amid the screams of his mate, Indarin has run her through a second time, killing her - as the rest of the party (minus Henry) gathers curiously towards the curtained entrance to the room (...while wondering what could have possibly been so amusing as to make Indarin, of all people, laugh)...
The now panicked man sobers up rapidly - he throws the woman's now slumping body off of him, rolls off of the table and gropes madly for his sword as Indarin continues to stab at him. In her cruel bloodlust, she aims her attacks for an unarmored, obvious (but rapidly shrinking) target - stabbing him in his thighs twice before he gathers his weapon and strikes... Indarin's hideous, cackling assault has left her overconfident; his strike is true as he runs her through, stopping her assault in its tracks! However, his respite is short as a suddenly sobered Indarin finishes him off with a final, third stab in the torso.
Well, at least the lady got her 'big O' before dying.
The party watches Indarin turn to face them with a satisfied, maniacal smirk on her face over these two murders...a look never before seen in the dour priest. Before a word is spoken, the sounds of crashing furniture in the rooms above draws the group's attention back to Henry - who is still alone, upstairs...
2/4/04:
Considering we had full attendance for the first time in a while, the synopsis is redundant and will be little more than a summary of what occurred and a preview of future plans.
The search of the 'Lucky Monkey' turned up little of value except for a prime sacrificial subject in the form of a half-Drow Monk/Priest by the name of Shensen; she seems resigned to her fate and refers to your plans with a dry, typically Drow, sarcasm. She casually addresses the two priests as you all shuffle her down to the Malachite Fortress (before Todok cuts her tongue out).
"If you plan on summoning a Demon to carry out your plans of domination", she says in mock awe,"...you appear to be both woefully under-prepared and greatly outclassed by the undertaking.
My only fear in dying, is knowing that it will have been for such a futile cause; but at least I can die happy in the thought of what you're going to face afterwards."
The group is now settling into the fortress; it can soon be assumed that all your personal belongings (if not carried) will reside there and you will have no ties on the street. Chances are that Sizul's old blacksmith's shop will be settled by squatters or taken over by the Thieves Guild as a safe house.
You didn't find the ring, but you might have gotten a more than suitable consolation prize in your prisoner. We'll see how this turn of events will affect your 'pursuit' of Triel and her apparent cohorts in the Alleybashers. The next session will also be the big ceremony, and its aftermath...
Kudos for Todok in converting a majority of the party :-P
This is good stuff, keep it coming!
Thanks, Flushmaster; I'm still in early last years' episodes - posting a week's synopsis per day, it'll still take me over a month to catch up to the present day!
That's great news, Erik - I better save my pennies and renew my subscription, pronto!
Marc
2/11/04: A special triple-issue; one for the group and one for each of the two players with a special story to relate...
Thank you everyone, for participating in dinner; it was a success, as always.
With full attendance, there is no need to recap minute-by-minute; I'll summarize the first of the three stages of last night's session ("Holding the Door") and break down in more detail for Chris and Rob the unfolding of the last two stages ("Elevator Pursuit" and "The Sacrifice").
[BOLD]"Holding the Door"[/BOLD]
Everyone was present for this, as Zuthara quickly but discreetly departs Todok's ceremony for the entryway - her 'Alarm' spell has been triggered... just as Sizul and Indarin spot interlopers in the elevator hallway! Sizul is startled to come face to face with a ½ Gold Dragon Paladin, his squire, and some fellow goody-goody Elves!! After some grandiose challenge, the epic battle is joined - and Sizul is quickly cut down by the Holy warrior, just as his friend Rahl charges in to save the day. The half dragon fries him good with his breath weapon, but he goes down (valiantly, of course) under a hail of hits (and Magic missiles).
With the paladin fallen, the rest of the crusaders begin to fall back; but under the raging advance of Rahl, Zuthara and Topaz, the dwarf soon falls and the two female elves are left with no choice but to break and flee... The mage casts 'invisibility sphere' (not caring to catch Henry also) and the two flee...
[BOLD]"Elevator Pursuit"[/BOLD]
Charaine has cast 'flaming sphere' and blocked the archway to the elevator platform; the fighters have created a rank and are sweeping the hallway for the invisible Elves - things are looking grim for them... But, they have slipped out through the secret door before Rahl had a chance to close it and guard it (unbeknownst to them at the time). A game of 'Hide and Seek' ensues, as Indarin casts 'detect magic' and hunts for the invaders while Topaz and Charaine watch the elevator platform with the 'flaming sphere'; a 50% chance of heading them off fails you - as both groups circle each other... A couple of failed listen checks later, Topaz and Charaine are both backstabbed - Topaz by the rogue, and Charaine by the mage (who does a whopping 2 points of damage, as opposed to the rogue, who runs Topaz through for over 20 points, dropping her). Charaine lets out a panicked scream, catching Zuthara's ear half-a-complex away...
Rahl finds the two women and begins first aid, as the other three (Henry, Indarin and Zuthara) rush to the elevator platform... Sizul, meanwhile, is feebly feasting on some paladin-faces... *ew*
(mmmmmm...... sweeeet, but crunchy...)
In the elevator room, the party sees the Elven mage, standing perpendicular to the floor, on the wall... and the Elven rogue hanging from a chain 15' above; a new battle ensues - Indarin summons a spider to pursue the mage, and Henry begins to fire the first of many bolts at the rogue (all of which miss...about eight shots in all). Rahl stabilizes Topaz and Charaine as Sizul finishes his snack and limps over to assist; he then leaps into the elevator room just as it begins to rise...
As the platform begins to lift towards the Elf mage, she is forced to climb to avoid the party - but not before she casts 'invisibility' again from a scroll onto the rogue; Rahl and Zuthara begin to violently shake the chain, but not to any apparent effect after several rounds (they had not seen the invisible rogue above barely succeed a difficult somersault DC onto an adjacent chain).
Over the course of the two minutes it takes for the platform to rise (that's 20 rounds), a drawn out ranged battle takes place, as:
- The spellcasters empty themselves of spells;
- The Elf mage casts invisibility on herself also (leaving the party with no visible targets);
- A thunderstone landing on the platform (as Indarin reads one of their minds and being forewarned);
- Rahl finally passing out after his rage subsides;
- Zuthara attempting to climb the chains after the rogue (which fails, leaving her on her butt);
- The Elf mage cursing the rogue for not grabbing Charaine's wand of Mag. Missiles on the way out;
- The Elf mage casting 'web' on the whole party, then proceeding to burn everyone with it (including a passed-out Rahl);
All the while, the platform rises...
Meanwhile...
[BOLD]"The sacrifice"[/BOLD]
At the same time, Sizul has begun to drag Topaz and Charaine back to the main chamber, where Todok is in the throes of chanting and pleading for the unholy blessings of Erythnul upon his new temple - even the stoppage of enthusiastic drumming won't stop him! His two Gnoll pilgrims assist Sizul in moving the disabled women and are then called forth by Todok himself to assist in preparing the prisoner for sacrifice.
He makes a final plea for Tharizdun to hear him and to grant him power...
...as the platform begins to complete its movement and the ceiling is beginning to come into view far above, the Elves realize they need to get off the chains - now.
The mage climbs off and to the doorway easily (as her 'spider climb' is still in effect), but the rogue must make another attempt at tumbling to the doorway... (being invisible, the party never sees her fail and almost fall her first attempt, but before she can be ground into juice by the huge pulleys looming nearer, the second one succeeds - she executes a textbook trapeze flip onto the quite surprised - and squished - mage).
Zuthara, Indarin and Henry can do nothing but stare at the dark, yawning doorway...and wait for the platform to arrive...
The Gnolls begin to cower; as Todok is in a euphoric trance, even he doesn't see that his masterwork great-morning star has begun to glow... as he raises it above his head and chants the final words in his unholy mass...
...All other means taken away from her forcibly, and completely, the ½ Drow Bard/Druid/Monk known as Shensen prays in the only manner left to her; one, long tear runs from her eye...to the cold stone below...
...Indarin can't wait - she climbs the chain! Unfortunately, her timing is a bit late; she must scramble back down to avoid being crushed into paste by the pulleys and lands on her feet...as the platform comes to rest. The three survivors rush up the stairs and to the Guild safehouse; Henry briefs the resident rogues on events, as Indarin hits the streets to give word to her associates about the foes they wish to find on the dark streets.
After a few minutes, they realize that their last foes have escaped with their lives, if nothing else; Indarin remains on the streets, to gather word of whom these crusaders were and where they might be, while Zuthara and Henry return back to the Fortress below.
But, they will not arrive until after Todok's ceremony is over.../
[ The swinging weapon in Todok's hands glows an infernal red and appears to have grown in some way...As his last, desperate, frenzied scream to Erythnul ends, there is silence in the great hall - except for the single sound of a huge weapon whistling through the air...the moment is frozen...
The large hall's acoustics echo the shrill sound, making it resonate...like an empty, futile scream coming from a deep, dark place...
*e....e.....e.....e...e..e..e..e..e.e.e.e.e.eeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEE-
[bold]* THUD!*[/bold]
2/11/04: The last paragraph was inadvertently left off of the last post:
The swinging weapon in Todok's hands glows an infernal red and appears to have grown in some way...As his last, desperate, frenzied scream to Erythnul ends, there is silence in the great hall - except for the single sound of a huge weapon whistling through the air...the moment is frozen...
The large hall's acoustics echo the shrill sound, making it resonate...like an empty, futile scream coming from a deep, dark place...
*e....e.....e.....e...e..e..e..e..e.e.e.e.e.eeeeeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEE-
* THUD!*
2/11/04 Supplemental synopses for Todok and Sizul...
2/11/04 - Special supplement for Todok:
You listen to the impact echo until there is silence in the chamber; the sick, melon-like crushing of the victim's skull has left the lifeless body twitching for a moment, on the blood-drenched altar...
You look out into the room, and it seems to darken a bit; the fire beetles begin to move... they rattle about in their cages some, and the orange, fiery glow they emit turns darker... redder. The beetles look like they are undergoing some kind of change...their smooth, chitinous shells appear to grow mottled and covered in small spikes; after a moment, they return to rest.
You feel the ambience of this room changing...it feels like something is growing here, in the air, in the walls... you can't place it, but it feels.....nice. The scent of the fresh, cooling blood that runs in rivulets from the altar is filling the room; you feel it seeping into the very stone. The body on the cold, stone altar is desiccating quickly, as if every drop of blood is being sucked out by the very room; the blood covers the altar, runs onto the floor and spreads in a wide pattern of rivulets, joining with many of the runes you painted.
For a moment, you feel a wild urge to kill... anything...everything around you; only your respect for your new followers, as well as Sizul, prevents you from attacking them. You even resist the urge to murder Topaz and Charaine, who lie unconscious and fitfully dreaming at Sizul's feet... You realize, after exchanging glances with the others in here, that they probably felt the same urge as you - but you can tell that they easily resisted the urge to face you.
The two Gnolls also appear to be entranced...they stare at the altar, blankly.
Euphoria enters you...a wave of rage, blood lust and satisfaction from satisfying it...all rolled together...you hear words - no, you feel them...rushing into your head, faster than can be spoken, but clear to you as if they had been spoken into your ear:
"Destroy anyone who would take what is yours away from you. Covet that which you do not own. Blessed is he who can take something from a rival. Maim those you cannot destroy, and cause fear in the hearts that you cannot maim. Bloodshed for its own sake is reason enough, and if you shed the blood of a hated enemy, so much the better. When Erythnul' s gift of blood rage comes upon you, be sure to use it well."
Knowledge pours into you; raise your Knowledge (religion) skill rank by one. I have attached a document that may update your current knowledge of Erythnul. You gain a new skill: Torture; you have one rank, plus any Wis bonus. Check to see if your Domains match the document; we'll discuss any discrepancy.
Deep in a rapturous blood lust, you pass out.
When you awaken, the Gnolls are caring for you; you immediately demand writing implements and begin to furiously write down what you have learned, using spilled blood for ink - you order the Gnolls to prevent ANY disturbance to his writing and for them to clear the room and guard it until you are done. Sizul will take Topaz and Charaine to their quarters and care for them.
In the minutes following the sacrifice and the clearing of the room, the body will completely desiccate, leaving a semi-mummified, headless corpse on the altar. From it, appears a Quasit - who will dictate you to all the knowledge represented in the attached document, as well as other details of Erythnul yet to be comprehended; the presence of this knowledge tears at your sanity...you welcome it.
When you emerge from your temple after six hours (following the departure of the Quasit), you will learn that the rest of your party returned from the surface after three hours; the last two attackers have escaped and they have commissioned Thieves and Evil associates to track them down.
Game Specifics:
- You are blessed for 24 hours.
- You receive 600 Dark Craft XPs; party XPs will be awarded at game time.
- This temple is now an unholy area, as dictated by the 'unhallow' spell description.
- The fire beetles in this area are now fiendish.
2/11/04 – Special supplement for Sizul:
You listen to the impact echo until there is silence in the chamber; the sick, melon-like crushing of the victim's skull has left the lifeless body twitching for a moment, on the blood-drenched altar...
Todok appears to collapse in ecstasy, falling to his knees, dropping his glowing weapon and then passing out.
The room seems to darken a bit; the fire beetles begin to move... they rattle about in their cages some, and the orange, fiery glow they emit turns darker... redder. The beetles look like they are undergoing some kind of change...their smooth, chitinous shells appear to grow mottled and covered in small spikes; after a moment, they return to rest.
The two Gnolls also appear to be entranced...they stare at the altar blankly. In a few moments, they advance and assist Todok to a kneeling position and begin swearing their undying loyalty to him and ask him how they can learn the ways of Erythnul.
You feel the ambience of this room changing...it feels like something is growing here, in the air, in the walls... you can't place it, but it feels.....nice. The scent of the fresh, cooling blood that runs in rivulets from the altar is filling the room; you feel it seeping into the very stone. The body on the cold, stone altar is desiccating quickly, as if every drop of blood is being sucked out by the very room; the blood covers the altar, runs onto the floor and spreads in a wide pattern of rivulets, joining with many of the runes painted by Todok.
For a moment, you feel a wild urge to kill... anything...everything around you; only your allegiance to Todok and respect for his new followers prevents you from attacking them. You even resist the urge to murder Topaz and Charaine, who lie unconscious and fitfully dreaming at your feet... You realize, after exchanging glances with the others in here, that they probably felt the same urge as you - but you can tell that they easily resisted the urge to face you. When they eye your comrades, their gaze returns to you also - and they calm themselves.
In the hour following the sacrifice, the body will completely desiccate, leaving a semi-mummified, headless corpse on the altar. The Gnolls will stay with Todok, who will awaken and immediately demand writing implements; he begins to furiously write, using spilled blood for ink - he orders the Gnolls to prevent ANY disturbance to his writing and orders the room to be cleared and guarded until he emerges.
After three hours, the rest of the party returns from the surface; the last two attackers have escaped and they have commissioned Thieves and Evil associates to track them down.
Game Specifics:
- You are blessed for 24 hours.
- Receive 300 XPs for witnessing the sacrifice. Party XPs will be issued at game time.
2/18/04:
Considering that last night was mostly administrative except for a midnight rendezvous between Indarin and an anonymous informant, there isn't a lot to rehash. Todok got a free meal out of it (in the form of an unfortunate vagabond who was sleeping in an alley too close to the safehouse) and Zuthara got to practice her newly raised skills on the dark streets, but otherwise the meeting went smoothly and you got the information you paid 500gp for.
The first scroll is written in common; it tells you several things:
- Triel is associated with the Alleybashers in much the same way that your group is associated with Henry's Guild (which is in dire need of a name) and maintains contacts in the city guard;
- Her hideout is located in the Underdark, two days away on foot - it has a surface entrance and an Underdark entrance;
- The hideout is an ancient ruin of a race known as the Kopru;
- Triel has allied herself with two cultists, who are at this time unknown;
- Triel and her allies intend to ransom the ring to the highest bidder and use the funds for some kind of dark project;
- Triel knows that her thugs who attacked the Lucky Monkey were intercepted, but she doesn't know by whom - but she doesn't care, because she got what she was looking for (and saved payroll in the process).
The second scroll is a map to the surface entrance. There is a sinkhole a day's walk north of Rauxes, off of the road; there is an opening at the bottom that leads to the Underdark, with connecting tunnels to the Kopru ruins.
The next session will open with the completion of Sizul's and Rahl's third and last week of training and the departure of their trainer from the Fortress; the party will then be free to pursue Triel or attempt revenge on the Elf women who escaped you earlier.
2/27/04 – A Friday night game:
This week's session was comparatively short and featured only one, violent encounter. Early in the evening, we took care of the third and final week of training for Sizul and Rahl; during that time, Charaine conducted research in her new abode and Indarin kept in constant contact with her minions on the street as well as conducted research at various city libraries. Todok has been training his acolytes and making his newly-desecrated temple homier, Henry has been rebuilding his lab in his new quarters and Topaz, Zuthara and the Gnolls have been training as guards for the Fortress.
The decision has been made to seek out Triel's hideout and assault it... Provisions are purchased and the party sets out through the Underdark passage along a trail mapped out by one of your Gnoll allies; you travel by lantern light for almost two days in a "backwater" region of the Underdark known more to bandits and slave traders than to Drow or Illithids - the trip is uneventful.
Flying ahead of the party in the caverns, Todok finds an ancient lava tube that cuts through the passage and turns in the direction marked on the map; the passage travels in a straight, slightly descending path until it ends suddenly on a ledge that overlooks a huge, underground lake 100 feet below that glows a pale green, due to the phosphorescent algae that grows in wild clumps on its surface. On the opposite side of the cavern, at the water's edge are what appear to be remnants of ancient ruins jutting from the lava wall that plugs the far side of the cavern; an iron and wood cage suspended on ropes bridges the cavern.
After making a scouting run through the cavern, Todok turns to return to the ledge as the party begins to debate various methods of traversing the cavern - but something HUGE leaps out of the lake and snatches Todok in the air as he passes low over the lake! Todok drops his unholy morning star into the water below and frantically claws at the creature as it grapples him with bony fins and sharp-toothed jaws, slowly dragging him into the lake...
In a moment of terror, you see Todok disappear into a splashing, flapping spray of water and glowing chunks of sludge, all the while still ripping and biting at the head of the creature... A moment later, the splashing ends, leaving circles of waves emanating from that spot which slowly shrink - he is gone...
The group looks at each other, horrified...and then back to the water...and then back to each other again...tense seconds pass...
More moments pass... dread begins to set into the party...
Almost a full minute later, Todok bursts from the water and begins to fly up to the party*(see footnote) - he is pained and struggling... Indarin casts a few Cure spells from her new wand as he arrives, and a few moments later, he is feeling better - but before he can answer any of the group's questions about what attacked him, he dives off of the ledge and back into the water!
He returns several minutes later, gasping for air; he explains that he wished to retrieve the corpse of what he describes as a 'fiendish fish-demon-thing with four razor-clawed tails', but that it has sunk too deep for him to reach. The lake is over 160 feet deep (as far as he saw) and apparently fed by a hot spring of some kind. Realizing that he dropped his unholy focus into the lake, Todok returns to the point of his attack and dives into the lake for a third time to search for it; he is fortunate - he sees it resting on a ledge over 120 feet down! The party improvises a rope, ties it to Todok's leg and pulls him back up after he does a free-dive to recover the weapon - almost passing out in the process.
Todok proceeds to search the lower winch-house to operate the pulleys and transport the rest of the party to the ruins; he triggers a trap entering the building, dropping a wall on himself. A few more cure spells later, he carries Indarin down to the winch-house to release the mechanisms (after failing to do so himself); the first load of Topaz, Henry and Zuthara arrives a minute later with Todok pulling the pulleys to lower the cage. However, the last load of Sizul, Rahl and Charaine proves to be too much for the lift to handle - the ropes break, dropping the three of them 75 feet into the lake below! They are all shaken pretty severely, but Rahl is a good swimmer and Todok does air-rescue duty for the others - all are recovered, battered but alive. Several more cures, and you are all ready to enter the ruins...
*Footnote: Todok, being at such a low hit point level at the time, should not have been able to fly any more, but this point was overlooked; I'll rule that it was sheer panic that motivated his exit from the lake. Normally, if a flight-capable creature loses more than 1/2 of their hit points, they are considered too injured to fly and must heal until they are flight-capable again. This is based on 2nd Edition rules but will be enforced until the current rule can be located. *This rule has since been verified.
Coming tomorrow morning: The single most famous session synopsis in the campaign chronicle!
Stay tuned!
Marc
Here it is, the Gold Standard and prototype for all of the narrative synopses that followed...
3/3/04 – Thank you, Kelly, for the strawberries & chocolate!
The session this week picked up right where we stopped before - on the "beach" facing a selection of six doors that enter the ruins of the 'Kopru' village...
The party this week will find itself, literally, in a tight spot...
"The Butt - Plug Gambit"
Deciding to enter through the door closest to the group, Henry finds that the stone doors here apparently pivot on a central axis like the shorter square doors in Zhadirune; he begins to search for secret doors, moving counter-clockwise, as Todok does the same in the opposite direction and Sizul moves into the center of the room to cover - and promptly falls right through the illusionary floor -
*splash!*
Sizul has fallen 10' into a pool of warm water; he splashes and treads water for a round as the party ascertains what happened and begins to formulate a plan, then begins to drown as the weight of his armor and equipment begin to drag him under...
Playing the role of "coast guard rescue" for the second time in as many hours, Todok leaps into the pit and brings himself to hover just as his feet hit the water; Sizul happens to be right under him and grabs his legs. The group sees a furiously flapping pair of wings begin to emerge from the "floor", followed by a quickly tiring Todok and a dripping wet Sizul; Zuthara and Topaz grab him and drag him onto the ledge, as Rahl begins to trace the floor edge with chalk to mark where the illusionary floor is. Finding some odd, fried-egg-like, protoplasmic organisms attached in various places all over himself, Sizul asks for some assistance in scraping them off of his armor and clothing - just as they begin to sting where touching exposed flesh; they are removed in a couple of rounds by the party and there is no apparent ill effect.
Proceeding into the complex through one of two other doors in the pit room (the second led back outside), you find barracks on either side of the hallway that could house a dozen humanoids each - but they are empty. At the end of the short hall is a simple meeting room, also empty. Adjoining that is a mess hall that sits unkempt and also unoccupied.
Moving on down the next hall that exits the room, the party finds a crossing hall with a door on the right and four doors left; deciding to clear their path behind them, they go right.
The room they enter connects to a door leading out and has a 5' wide balcony that circles the room 20' up; the ceiling is 40' above. Other than a rope that leads to the balcony, the room is empty and bare; fearing another trapped entryway, Henry has the 'willies' and insists that the group leave this place - which they do.
Going down the hall in the opposite direction, the first room on the left appears to be a small jail of some kind, due to the iron bar cages that rest on the floor; Todok and Rahl make notes to return here later and transport them to the Malachite fortress, for their own use. The adjacent room sets Indarin and Todok drooling with delight...as they find a room that contains a rather well made torture rack! More notes are made...
The large room across the hall appears to have caved in (or melted), but two lava tubes lead away into larger caverns; the group decides to not pursue these and turns back to investigate the last door at the end of the hall, which opens into a long room:
DM: "There is a short step down into this room; the hewn stone floor seems to be pockmarked with hundreds of tiny holes and is, overall, rough and unfinished."
Scott: "Oh, like Chris and Rob's." *(They were in mid-project at home, refinishing their wood floor)
Group: "Ooooooooooooooooo."
DM: "Daaaamn, that's cold."
Employing Todok's slippers of Spider Climbing, Henry investigates the door on the opposite side of the room (avoiding the floor); there is a long hallway beyond that is caved in at the end - a single door is on the left wall almost at the end... The party declines to advance any further here and turns back.
Back-tracking to the mess hall, the party exits the second unexplored door left behind earlier, which connects to a long hallway; it has a door at the corner where it turns left and a door on the left wall. After investigating the door for traps, Henry pushes it open - he sees a light source here, as well as people... A woman in black plate mail steps out among 5 other humans who are dressed like those you found in the Lucky Monkey some time ago; she carries a silver heavy flail and has short, spiky red hair... Triel!
"Who are you, and why have you come here!?"
With no answer, Sizul steps up at Todok's urging, to 'clear' the room in the way you all know and love; however, as he enters the doorway, the stone door suddenly swivels shut - trapping Sizul as blades poke out of the door edges! Although pinned in the doorway, he still faces into the room; he breathes a cone of fire, filling the room completely...
After the flames and smoke subside, the party peers through the gap on the opposite side of the rotating door; they see only two survivors of the Sizul's attack, one of whom succumbs to their injuries within seconds. However, Triel (who was standing next to a bubbling pool of water at the time and had dove in) emerges with lesser scorching; the following round, as the party begins attempts at pulling the door open, she heals herself from a wand she carries in her belt. The door proves to be more difficult to move as anticipated, as Zuthara (assisted by Sizul and Rahl) fails to move it enough to free Sizul (who is healed of his damage from the door by Indarin); the following round, Triel casts again as Zuthara, Rahl and Todok again are stifled (by bad rolls) in their attempts to free Sizul... Topaz is giving them room to push at the door and covering the rear, Charaine draws first blood on Triel with her first volley of Magic Missiles, Henry searches the adjacent wall area for a catch to release the door, and Indarin summons a fiendish scorpion to attack - which it does poorly, actually hitting itself with its stinger tail as Triel deftly dodges it.
Swinging her silver flail for the first time, Triel crushes the scorpion in a single smashing blow as she readies to advance on Sizul - who's eyes bug out in the sudden 'urgency' of his situation and the power in the swing of this mere human woman; she seems all of the trained soldier her reputation spoke of - and more. The party begins to weigh wild options, as she moves out of view of the door gap on the right - and into full view of a pinned Sizul on the left...
Charaine: "I'll color spray the room - Sizul, close your eyes!"
Indarin: "You can't see her from our side of the door; the cone won't reach her."
Charaine: "Hey - I'll fireball the room! Don't need to see her for that!"
Todok: "Yeah...and Sizul is immune to any damage. Do it!"
Charaine: "Fw%@me! L3&@tho#!!"
*fwoooooOOSH!*
Triel is rocked by the fireball, but she still advances on Sizul rather than pause to heal herself - bloodlust is showing in her eyes... Sizul - helplessly watching her approach, urges the group on with a bit more panic in his voice; but after 4 consecutive rounds of (bad rolls, and) failing to move the door, desperation is beginning to set in:
Rahl: "I've already tried raging and the door still didn't move - why don't I try a bull rush on Sizul from behind, to push him into the room?"
Todok: "Yeah, pop him into the room like a butt plug!!!"
DM: "Everyone look out, Rahl is gonna butt plug Sizul like a bull - and he's not even lubed!"
At first, Sizul has clear consternations about the radical tactic dubbed "The Butt Plug Gambit"...
But, following the first painful swing of Triel on Sizul for severe damage (which Indarin promptly heals partially back), he reconsiders. Rahl will push Sizul through while Todok pulls the opposite side of the door; Zuthara will charge in as soon as the gap will allow, followed by the rest of the party...
Rahl: "Ready??"
Todok: "NOW!!"
Sizul: "Wait, you might want t-(*BAM!*) - AAAAAAAAAAGGGGHH!!!*
The gambit works...in principle...
DM: "I warned you that Sizul was likely to take damage if forced through the doorway with those blades there..."
Zuthara: "Ow, [Rahl] didn't even spit first..."
The door is finally forced open... however, (due to two unfortunate die rolls) Sizul takes maximum damage from the trap's blades and is left sprawling into the room, bleeding - where Triel waits, and swings... Having lost almost half his hit points to the door blades, Sizul is dropped by Triel's first, crushing power attack and sprawls, ass-up, on the floor - like a spent, 13 year old Phillipino male prostitute after 5 rounds with 'Bubba'. Having the cleave feat, she uses her free power attack on Rahl and hits again with a glancing blow as he enters the doorway; using the remainder of her full-round action, she uses her final power attack on Rahl also, hitting for maximum damage and leaving Rahl clobbered and with very few hit points left...
But, the tide is now turning; from the safe side of the door, Henry has rushed into the room and is moving around to flank, Zuthara has rushed in to engage Triel from where Sizul lies splayed out, Charaine puts a few more magic missiles into Triel from the hallway and Topaz and Indarin are lining up to follow everyone in as soon as room opens. Todok holds the door open with all the might that his short, round frame can muster. Triel begins to regret not pausing earlier to heal herself back up after that fireball...
The following round, Henry gets the first strike before Triel can swing again; he successfully flank attacks Triel and scores near-maximum damage with his dagger! She stiffens upright from the blow, her sizeable breasts almost leaping from her armor - than collapses in a heap next to Sizul. They make a picturesque pair on the floor...
...Triel’s silver holy symbol falls to the floor after she is beheaded by Rahl in a rage; Todok inserts it into her [vagina] - seconds before being POUNDED even further into her - then, after *FINISHING*, rips her torso open with his claws, rummages through her entrails and EXTRACTS the defiled ornament [from her sodden womb] - still dripping with his own secretions - and saves it, freshly defiled, to be remade into a holy symbol of Erythnul at a later time.
The battle is over. Most everything in the room has been well-torched; all that remains in solid condition is a large chest (that Triel's body has keys for) that contains clothing that ranges from militaristic to downright slinky, some grooming items and several wooden items that appear to be strangely contoured wands, except that they are quite thicker...
Henry quickly drops them back into the chest.
(You find no ring here...)
After healing up wounded party members, you all move on to the next room down the hall, which is locked, but you now have a key for. It is an armory; the fighters drool... There is also a wine rack at the rear of the room that contains many bottles - Rahl appraises them as having some value; notes are made to return here later.
The next room at the end of the hall is a storeroom; it contains ration-style foodstuffs for several weeks. Zuthara detects a secret door on the back wall, which leads into some kind of guard room with 4 arrow slits - there are 5 guards here! A messy battle ensues; Charaine hits the room with her last fireball as the rest of you prepare to advance, but the room is smaller than it appears from the doorway - she injures herself, Zuthara, Henry and Indarin in the backblast. Only 2 guards survive the blast, and the party quickly enters to finish them off; but another stroke of bad luck finds Zuthara slashing Henry across the back for major damage before the last guards fall to Rahl and Charaine's magic missiles. Overall, the party injured themselves more than the two guards did.
The group decides to cut their losses at that point and close for the night.
*Dialogue may have been paraphrased for dramatic license; the author accepts no liability for timeline or player action discrepancies, as this synopsis was written cold, from memory, as a first draft.
3/7/04:
"Double Battle Royale"
or,
"Rahl Pouts"
Picking up immediately where we left off following the fight in the guard room last session, the party moves on to an adjoining hallway that leads from the arrow-slit room and the connecting storeroom; the hallway ends in a door 30' beyond that is set at an angle.
Henry searches the door and finds a double-catch on it - some kind of trap trigger, he believes; he successfully disables them and the party enters an empty room that is oddly shaped. The exiting door on the opposite side of the room is discovered to have similar triggers, but while attempting to disable these also, Henry triggers the trap in this room! Rapier-thin spikes, spread barely a foot apart over the entire roof and floor, rapidly shoot up and downwards, stabbing everyone in the group (Sizul is hit critically); everyone is wounded, and several people take additional STR loss due to a contact poison on the spikes.
There is silence, as everyone glares at Henry...
He shrugs and swings the door open.
Beyond is a large chamber with a domed 40' high roof overhead; Todok flies and scouts the area - other than the long table, dozen or so chairs and the two lamps on the wall here, the room is empty. It's obvious according to your map that two of the exiting doors lead to the outside of the complex, so everyone decides to exit through a door on the opposite side of the room of one you entered; while Henry investigates this door, Indarin and Charaine have ceased taking jabs at each other's respective brands of magic powers and have joined forces in belittling Henry's particular abilities.
The room beyond is obviously rigged with a sheet of dense webbing strung 6" off of the floor and hanging from the ceiling; the group decides to burn it away by igniting it and shutting the door. A few moments later, the door is reopened; numerous tiny bells are found lying on the floor - some are gathered by the group as Henry begins investigating the door that exits the room.
When he opens the door, Henry finds warriors! Backing away quickly, he avoids attacks - but as Zuthara quickly rushes in to attack, she is hit by two vials of thick liquid thrown by the foes within the room (one other vial misses her and hits the wall in the room where the guards are and a last vial breaks on the floor behind Zuthara in the doorway); Topaz fires an arrow and misses, Sizul rushes in next with his Glaive - Todok and Rahl follow... Indarin and Charaine look on from the main chamber behind the second doorway, as Henry hides behind the door, his task complete for now.
The following round, Zuthara finds herself cut off from the party - as she bursts into flame from the Alchemist's Fire thrown on her! She tries to grapple her nearest foe (to share her pain), but he dodges her, leaving her behind her foe's ranks and flaming... Sizul steps through the fire on the floor with not even any discomfort and Todok charges into the room, bull rushing his opponent back and withstanding several attacks.
As the battle rages for several rounds more, the fires burn out, leaving Zuthara collapsed on the floor behind the guards; Indarin tried to hit her with a healing ray from her wand, but instead healed the guard fighting her!
The party finds these guards to tougher than anticipated, as they take several hits before the first one falls - Ironically, Zuthara manages to impale one from the ground after being hit with a successful healing ray by Indarin; meanwhile, Topaz and Charaine have been offering indirect fire support with arrows and magic missiles and Henry has been staying in the shadows in reserve. Eventually, the tide turns against the guards and they are taken down in turn by Sizul, Rahl and Todok; but the lingering effect of the spike trap is manifesting stronger now and eventually everyone in the party has lost between 1 and 4 STR points...
Finding little of interest in this guard room, the party moves on quickly - finding a storeroom adjoining this one; leaving through one of the two doors here, they find an empty mess hall that connects to hallways leading right and ahead. Rahl stands guard at this intersection as Henry and Todok scout the hallway ahead, which turns slightly left and has three doors at the end of it; the left door opens into an empty barracks and the center door opens into a large square room - that contains two more guards and two Alleybashers taking cover from behind an overturned table!
Henry attempts to dodge missile fire by entering the room and running to the corner, out of the lane of fire - but the two guards throw daggers at him, hitting him both times (one critically)! As Henry leans backwards into the corner, seriously wounded, the Alleybashers fire short bows into the hallway, hitting Todok (who barely flinches at the hit); Zuthara charges into the room past a surprised Todok, decapitating one of the Alleybashers in one swing! Indarin, in a surprising act of compassion, rushes into the room to shield Henry from missile fire as he drinks a potion of healing; Sizul enters and strikes across the table, missing badly, and Topaz advances to the doorway, looking for open lanes to fire her bow. Rahl has been oblivious to the melee up until now...
The table has prevented battle lines from forming and several flank attacks are made; Henry, having healed himself partially, rushes around Indarin's attacker and flank attacks - but then, he himself is flanked and stabbed by an Alleybasher... he drops! Indarin herself would be flanked by a guard, but he is dropped before he can swing; Todok makes several flanking attempts also, suffering several attacks to do so but avoiding any serious hits. Topaz has been slowly walking across the room, sweeping for opportunity fire throughout the battle but not scoring any hits, as Charaine casually fires magic missiles at her leisure. By the time Rahl realizes there is a battle going on down the hall and runs to join in, the fight is over...
Todok is gleefully stabbing fallen opponents as Sizul is prying teeth as souvenirs...
Rahl pouts.
3/17/04: Since there was full attendance last session, this synopsis will just be a summary of what transpired, as a matter of record.
"I'll just have a Slaad"
After recovering from the battle in the guard room the Rahl missed, it was unanimous that everyone needed to rest; you all retreat to the armory and blockaded the door to rest the night. Other than a moment where some sounds were heard (possibly from passing traffic), there were no interruptions and nothing disturbed the door.
After casting some spells to recover most of the strength you all lost to the spike trap, the party regrouped and proceeded to explore the remaining areas of the complex. After discovering a storeroom and another armory (without a wine rack), the party finds an empty room... Knowing that there was a matching guard post with arrow slits on the main hallway (where they had attacked the guards on the opposite side the previous evening), you all searched for and found the secret door that led to the opposing guard room - however, you found it empty.
It would appear that during the night, remaining Alleybashers had discovered their lair breached and either fled or made an orderly exit of the complex...
Moving on, you discover a partially collapsed room filled with webs; burning it away as you go, you follow a tunnel that splits several dozen feet ahead. Turning left, the tunnel doubles back into another room that adjoins the hallway you left minutes ago - but this room contains monstrous spiders, that attack the party as it moves down the tunnel single-file! A short fight ensues, but the spiders are a light threat and are dispatched in less than a minute.
The party chooses to leave the remaining tunnel unexplored and moves on. Zuthara had noticed a secret door in the hallway earlier and the party follows it to where it ends, at another secret door that opens into a cavernous room that appears to have been a huge workroom at some time in the past. Six long tables are piled with a staggering array of tools, bits of metal and machinery, and various arcane supplies often found in any mage's laboratory. As the party takes in the dimensions of this huge space, they hear sounds - then are pounced on by two huge, semi-reptilian monsters!
For the first time in many days, there is a palpable feeling of danger here, as one of the monsters screeches and causes terrible pain to everyone in the group; a second screech from the other creature is avoided, as Charaine's Color Spray has stunned it (and no one else, miraculously). As it regains its surroundings, the warriors descend on the other one; the upper hand is being gained, until one of the slaads summons a third into the fight before falling!
Things are looking grim for the group; but the second screech by the newly summoned slaad has little effect. In short order, both of the remaining creatures are defeated, but the party has taken quite a beating themselves.
But there remains a great hall to explore, and beyond...
3/24/04: We had full attendance this session, which was excellent - for action abounds! This synopsis is just a summary of what transpired, as a matter of record.
"Colon Blow"
(or, 'The Ben Wa Maneuver')
Following the defeat of the three Mud Slaads in the great hall, the party takes some time to explore the cavernous chamber; various bits, pieces, refuse and tools are found (many of which show faint traces of enchantments) but nothing of value is here. The party fills a sack with some enchanted bits of metal, for future perusal...
After some debate over whether or not to rest again, despite just having done so last night, the group decides to press on after Todok exclaims that "There has not been enough blood spilled yet". The group backtracks and returns to the caves where they encountered the spiders before, in order to completely explore those areas. Having two tunnels to choose from, the party forms a single file line and begins to burn their way down the left tunnel with their 'ever-burning torch', with Todok at the lead, followed by Zuthara, Sizul and the rest of the party.
While burning away webs that loom near all around them, the party begins to enter a cavern area; they are suddenly attacked by three ettercaps, who trap Todok, Zuthara and Sizul in thick webs! A quick but fierce battle breaks out, but soon Todok has burned his way free - and Rahl, underestimating the strength of the webs, has embedded himself in the thick, gooey strands mere feet from Henry after charging forward in an attempt to dislodge the three tangled cohorts ahead of him...a failed "colon blow". Despite the webs, the three attacking ettercaps are soon dispatched with little actual damage to the group - except for Zuthara, who is left with 9 fewer points of Dexterity due to poisoning from a successful bite from one of the ettercaps.
But, the party soon exhausts both of their healing wands following the fight; they are left to their own devices from here on. As the group reforms their single file line in order to exit this cave and enter the one beyond (beginning again to burn webs away as they go), a muffled but shrill voice is heard in the distance... But as the party looks among themselves, wondering where it came from or if it was even real... A lightning bolt fills the burned-out tunnel, searing everyone in the group! Massive damage is taken by everyone, save for Zuthara and Topaz (who take half damage); without the wands of healing, they have no choice but to pursue their assailant despite the damage.
(You forgot Charaine's bold attempt: fireballing the tunnel before we knew what was down there... THEN later I did the flaming sphere...) ~ Denise *Added as a correction of the above paragraph
Entering the next cave, Zuthara spies a monstrosity emerging from the darkness and charges it before the rest of the party sees it; however, the creature bites her, drawing the first blood. As Todok and Sizul rush in to assist, another ettercap is seen in the adjacent cave - it blocks the cave entrance to where it is, immediately after two rays of fire emanate from behind it; Rahl is burned badly, but Indarin manages to dodge the other one. The ever-burning torch is thrown into the webbed wall to burn out a hole, and charaine casts a flaming sphere to accelerate the process. Meanwhile, the warriors of the party are taking the battle to the 'harpoon spider', scoring good hits and avoiding its attacks.
The tide of battle seems to turn in favor of the party - the ettercap falls to Sizul the round after the harpoon spider falls to Todok (which annoys Zuthara immensely); however, there is still an unseen threat... As Todok follows the flaming sphere into the final recesses of the cave in search of the hidden mage harassing the group, a beam of crackling, black energy strikes him from the rear of the cave - he stiffens, as his innate magic resistance is defeated and he is bathed in a glowing shadow of dark, cold fire...
When the beam ends, Todok is completely still...he doesn't even turn to face the party. He falls to his knees, silent...and slumps to the bare ground like a sack of potatoes.
Several, horrified seconds pass in total stillness... the party stands motionless, in horror, as the only (formerly) unwounded person among them now lays still and unmoving on the cold rock...
From somewhere in the shadowy cave, you all hear a soft sound echoing among the dozens of nooks and cracks within this series of connected alcoves... the smooth, alto sound of a soft voice, almost like that of a young boy..
"...heh... Heh, heh... Heheheheh....... Heh heh heh heh heh......"
3/31/04: And now, the conclusion of an epic battle…
"Hobbit Hoagie"
(or, 'I don't see anything!')
Chaos breaks out in the chain of small caves, despite the killing of the 'harpoon spider' a moment ago; Zuthara seems to have shaken off the malaise that overcame her from the spider's venomous bite, but the danger in the adjacent cave is escalating at a rapid pace...while Henry rubs his hands in glee over the twitching corpse of the spider...
Topaz rushes through the hole in the web wall and kneels over Todok, performing quick triage; he is alive and breathing. She takes out a Cure Lt. Wounds potion, but reconsiders after noticing that Todok has no visible wounds; meanwhile, Rahl and Sizul have advanced into the cave, searching for their hidden foe with no success.
This pattern will repeat itself many times over the next sixty seconds...
Indarin, in pain and seriously wounded, takes cover behind the body of the ettercap lying near the hole in the webs and casts Bane on their opponent; Charaine continues to move the Flaming Sphere around the back of the cave, hoping to hit their enemy - she had seen something move a moment ago, so she rolls it to the back right corner of the cave, hoping to catch it. Zuthara moves into the cave also, but doesn't find anything either; she covers Topaz, as she begins to drag a semi-conscious and weak Todok out of the cave area.
Something brushes Zuthara's leg, but she doesn't see it - but she feels a cold energy enter her body... she fights it, and resists the painfully cold sensation. Henry covers the party's rear and takes a flanking position opposite the hole from Indarin. Rahl, Sizul, Indarin and Charaine still are unable to spot anything amiss in the cave, although they can hear a high-pitched mumbling constantly...
Zuthara feels some gravel fall on her and looks up - and sees him! A Halfling, in red and black robes, is standing on the cave ceiling, hiding behind a stalactite! Lacking a missile weapon, she points up and yells to the rest of the party, "THERE HE IS!" She throws water from her water skin in an attempt to mark the diminutive Halfling. Zuthara again feels something brush her leg, and again the stinging energy enters her body; this time she takes damage, but she is still standing. Henry covers the only exit as Topaz continues to drag Todok out and to the back of the main cave.
Guided by Zuthara, Rahl makes the first direct attack on your foe, hitting squarely - but missing! The Hobbit seems to blink a foot away every few seconds! Sizul, however, has better luck - hitting with his glaive for damage, just as the hobbit appears in his new location; a scream of pain confirms the hit...
Indarin, realizing a second threat in the cave beyond, searches as the warriors are focused above; she sees a black cat darting amongst their feet! She points this new foe out to the party, but they are too occupied to see it.
Sizul sees a shadowy form emerging from the roof of the cave; oddly, no one else can see it... It takes form... Sizul is gripped by fear - fear unknown to anyone else in the group. He freezes...his eyes grow wide - he suddenly screams in horrible pain and closes his eyes in fear! Just as suddenly, the cloud passes... Sizul winces and tends to a grisly wound that no one else can see... but at least he has avoided death...
Trying to save Sizul, Henry makes an attempt to blindly fire his hand crossbow at the roof of the cave through the opening; he misses. Topaz leaves Todok and returns to the cave, seeing the hobbit above; she fires her bow at him, but his cover blocks the arrow. Rahl and Sizul resume the attack, but both make bad swings and miss also. This opponent is well concealed by the myriad stalactites and crevices on the roof of the cave...
Indarin continues to track the movements of the cat and keeps the party informed; as Charaine's Flaming Sphere comes to an end, she looks for the hobbit or the cat to fire a spell at - she finds neither. Zuthara makes sweeping swings of her sword along the ground in the hopes of hitting the cat, but hits neither the cat nor the feet of the others in the cave.
A group of four Magic Missiles appear from the ceiling, striking Sizul, Rahl, Zuthara and Topaz! They try to return the attack in vain, failing to spot neither the wizard nor his familiar... Several seconds later, a second burst of missiles hits the four of them again!
Meanwhile, Henry has concluded that the group has this situation under control and returns to the cave where the harpoon spider corpse is; he lights a torch and begins to burn away the remaining webs in the back of this cave.
Topaz continues to search for the mage and his cat, Rahl spies it behind a rock and makes a mighty cleave at it - he cracks the rock but the cat escapes... Sizul, seriously wounded, decides to drink a healing potion and take a short break. Indarin, acting as a spotter, sees both the mage and the cat; she directs the party to them... Charaine, being on the other side of the web wall, doesn't see them, but Zuthara finally gets a good hit on the cat, sending it squealing out of the cave! It finds Indarin blocking the exit and attacks in a panic, hitting her with one claw attack - but the Chill Touch cast by the mage adds cold damage, which drops her! Topaz tries to hit the cat with her bow, but misses narrowly; Sizul swings on the hobbit, missing also because of the extra cover of the stalactites.
As Topaz grabs Indarin to move her to safety, Todok has been cowering in the back of the adjacent cave; after a few moments, he realizes who he is, what he believes in and what he must do...battle rages in front of him! It all comes back in a rush - he leaps into action, picking up his great morning star and attacking the cat that just dropped Indarin! He makes a mighty swing (which everyone notices is heavily lacking in technique) - and misses grandly, throwing the weapon several feet away in the process..! Todok growls with rage and confusion; what has happened to him?
Another burst of Magic Missiles is fired - two warriors are hit with a pair of missiles each! Henry has been clearing the other cave (and finds a cache hidden far above the ground in the back), but at the urging of the party returns to the fight. Topaz, in true team spirit, casts Cure Lt. Wounds on Indarin; Rahl takes a short break, exiting the cave and drinking a healing potion as Sizul covers him, failing to spot the mage. Indarin, active again, casts Detect Magic to better spot the hobbit; Charaine has been calling for the party to evacuate the cave so she can use her final Fireball in a desperate attempt to decisively end the battle... She immolates the entire rear cave, including Sizul (who soothes himself in the warmth), and burns away the web wall (slightly burning a couple of party members and nearly herself in the process); however, screams of pain indicate that the hobbit has been cooked a bit as well - Todok, who flies up into the cave to attack, has visions of Hobbit hoagies dancing in his head...surprisingly, a majority of the rest of the group begins to weigh the possibility of joining in the grisly feast, should they all survive!
Zuthara, having first resisted the initial numbing of the harpoon spider's bite, finally falls ill to the toxin; she slows and becomes clumsy in her movements. But the group returns to the attack amongst the smoke on the cleared cave - they are greeted by yet another volley of Magic Missiles! Topaz returns fire, hitting with an arrow - Sizul inhales deeply and tries to force out as much flame as he can muster, hitting the hobbit with a short burst of breath; he leaves the hobbit somewhere around medium-rare, having already lost much of his clothing, possessions and body hair to Charaine's Fireball earlier.
Indarin has spotted the magical auras on the mage and studies them, hoping to gain advantage in the fight. Charaine has lost her target in the smoke, as has Zuthara; but Todok ferociously presses the attack with claws and bites - he narrowly misses his target, who is taking cover behind anything he can in a panic. Meanwhile, Henry has returned to loot the spider lair in the next cave, climbing up into the niche where he spotted the glint of coins earlier. Topaz, Rahl and Sizul collectively have a miserable round; Topaz fails to spot their quarry, while the other two miss with blind attacks at the roof of the cave. But Zuthara gets a lucky hit with her bow while firing blind at the roof!
Charaine sees swirling smoke near Todok and spots the mage - she fires three Magic Missiles into him, but he doesn't drop; Todok continues to grab at the hobbit amongst the crevices on the cave roof, still failing to hit.
Suddenly, in front of Todok's very eyes, the hobbit casts a spell - and disappears!
Frustration is setting in now (dice are beginning to fly); the warriors of the party are now making blind swings at the cave roof among the stalactites while trying to avoid Todok - who is flailing at the last place he saw the mage... he hits something with a claw - agonized cries confirm the hit! Indarin, who can still see the magic auras around the mage, tells everyone that the invisible hobbit is trying to exit the cave and flee; she directs them by pointing to where he should be, although the group sees nothing but hanging stalactites...the warriors continue to make wild swings at the roof...
Sizul's glaive connects with something soft - a scream...blood runs down the polearm!
*THUD*
The Halfling mage's body falls from the cave roof to the ground, brushing Sizul on the way down.
Everyone collapses to catch their breath; since the first bolt of lightning struck the group as you entered this cave area and the battle commenced, over two full minutes of frantic activity have passed. You all begin to think of retreat and where to secure yourself for some much needed rest and treatment of your burns and wounds.
Henry has looted the spider lair; you all retreat to the second armory to barricade yourselves in. You will begin a long rest as the warriors take guard.
As you shut the door, you hear a single sound in the distance, echoing through the empty hallways...
A cat yowls...
(*DM note: The cat was yowling over the scattered bones and entrails of its former master, since Sizul, Rahl and even several non-monster player characters took part in the mutilation and cannibalization of the Halfling mage who tormented them…there were ‘hobbit hoagies’ for dinner that night.)
3/31/04: And now, the conclusion of an epic battle…
"Hobbit Hoagie"
(or, 'I don't see anything!')(*DM note: The cat was yowling over the scattered bones and entrails of its former master, since Sizul, Rahl and even several non-monster player characters took part in the mutilation and cannibalization of the Halfling mage who tormented them…there were ‘hobbit hoagies’ for dinner that night.)
You realize that I personally will never be able to walk into our local Hobbit Hoagie sandwich shop with a straight face ever again.
Chris
You realize that I personally will never be able to walk into our local Hobbit Hoagie sandwich shop with a straight face ever again.Chris
This might ease your pain; my 7yr old thinks the place is named "Hobbit Hoagie" because they have Hobbits making the food in the back.
I tell him, "Yeah, that's why you can't see them behind the counter."
Then his sister chimes in, "No, you can't see them because they're IN the food!"
Oy.
Marc
While I am greatly enjoying this chronicle, I'm a bit confused. What is a Hobbit Hoagie sandwich shop? Is this a real establishment, a nickname you've given to a Subway or Blimpie type shop, or what? The way my mind works this may keep me up tonight...
That aside I must say that your players sound quite fun...what I'd give for a group with good senses of humor and an actual cooperative mentality. Actually, a regular group would be nice, but the circumstances of my current gaming situation would distract from this thread. Keep them coming!
While I am greatly enjoying this chronicle, I'm a bit confused. What is a Hobbit Hoagie sandwich shop? Is this a real establishment, a nickname you've given to a Subway or Blimpie type shop, or what? The way my mind works this may keep me up tonight...
Clarification: "Hobbit Hoagie" is a small, local, non-chain sub shop/sports/bar/college hang out in the heart of Florida State University's student 'suburbs', right in between the campus and the nearby Tallahassee Community College; the logo is a portrait of Bilbo - as in the Ralph Bakshi-animated hobbit from the original "The Hobbit" film. This place has been around about that long and has no affiliation with the recent LoTR Trilogy films.
The gag from that session was that the encounter with Skaven was so frustrating for the group (he died because he had exhausted his spells and was caught trying to leave, not because he was fleeing!) that when he was finally killed, the half dragon's first urge was to eat him - at which point, several other players said, "Yah, I'm having some, too!" (even several characters who are not normally cannibalistic...)
Thus, the party had a "Hobbit Hoagie" party to celebrate their victory.
Comparatively, the fight with Triel (see "The Butt Plug Gambit" above) was intense and memorable, but relatively short; the fight with the Gnoll/Huecuva Priest turned out much worse... (stay tuned...)
Marc
P.S. - Thanks for reading, Flush (and anyone else out there); if we've entertained just one person outside of the group, then the journal was worth my weekly efforts - and it looks like you're the one guy!
What makes the game work for me is that we have no player under 21 in the group - which means the dialogue and Evil roleplay can get as NC-17 as we like with no issues (once my kids go to bed, at least).
4/6/04 – A Tuesday game: Following a short admin session where you all received XPs and prepared to train upon your return home, we resumed with your challenging venture into the Kopru ruins...round three...
"Run Away!"
(or, 'How many do I affect..?')
After a long and mercifully quiet rest, the party ponders its options as everyone begins drinking the last few healing potions and petitioning the priests for healing spells. Todok again feels like himself, but is still left frustrated at his less-than-acceptable performance earlier. Recovering to about 50% of your hit point total on average, you all decide to journey into the rough-hewn, hole-filled-floor room and into the tunnels beyond. It is determined by Henry that the floor in that room is safe to walk on (the trap is not completely built and is not dangerous); Zuthara confirms this when she notices multiple tracks on the floor leading across to the opposite door. In the hallway beyond, a door leads to a partially melted room; a tunnel leads into the rock face. In single file, Todok leads the group into the tunnel as it bends to the right; except for a lack of webs, this area looks eerily like the one you were in before...
*BOOM!*
A concussive blast rocks the single-file line as it enters a cave, as Todok, Sizul and Zuthara have triggered a glyph! Only Todok fails his resistance and save (but he gets damage reduction anyways), so damage is not severe...
*BOOM!*
However, a second blast hits the line as you all exit..! This time, only Sizul fails and he takes the most damage...
Reeling, you move on and choose to go left when the tunnel splits ahead; there is a foul odor here - not the decaying fungus and slime smell of the cavern...this one is more, fleshy... A pile of spider corpses is piled high in the back of this adjoining cave, their decaying juices pooling in depressions on the floor; as you all flinch in disgust at the sight, you are horrified further when eight of the broken corpses begin to unfold onto the floor, moving to attack!
The party springs into action, forming a rank and scoring quick hits on the slower spider-zombies; they bite Zuthara and Henry in return, but fortunately they are no longer poisonous. Topaz blesses the party, Charaine blasts them with a Magic Missile and Indarin rebukes half of them to finish the opening round. Todok crushes one shortly after, while Sizul changes to his double-sword in the closer confines and Henry backstabs one (and realizes it doesn't matter if these are flanked, since they're dead); Topaz joins the battle but misses her opening swing, but Rahl hits and Charaine blasts them with a second Magic Missile.
The next round opens well, as Todok and Sizul both drop their targets and Zuthara starts cutting down one of the cowed spiders in the back of the cave (which then negates the rebuke); Henry, again feeling the party has this one under control, has begun to scout the next cave over - which appears to have a single flame as a light source... Meanwhile, a spider bites Zuthara after her attack on it, Topaz hits another and Rahl drops a fifth one. Charaine again casts a third Magic Missile on the remaining targets. All the warriors hit the next round, as both Sizul and Zuthara drop more spider-zombies, leaving one on Todok for last...
- but Henry has spotted something in the next cave over...
The small cave glitters on the walls, roof and floor, as sparkling gem-like surfaces cover everything here except for one object in the center of the floor: a dull, flat black stone slab that appears to have been carved out of the very bedrock...behind from which emerge three dried, skeletal dwarves! Indarin sees them and rebukes two of the three, but these are not just skeletons or zombies...something about them makes them much more dangerous and horrifying - they are neither slow nor clumsy, and they seem almost intelligent as they assess your group for a moment...
At the thirty-second mark, while Todok and Sizul finish off the last spider-zombie, Zuthara drinks a potion of healing and Henry flees to the back of the cave, screaming like a bi-otch(edited for dramatic license); Topaz, Charaine and Rahl move to support Indarin against the new undead threat, but the party is washed over by a wave of magical Fear as Indarin casts Spiritual Weapon and Todok casts Magic Weapon...
Panic grips the party and people are running for the exit! Soon, all who remain to face the remaining undead dwarf are Indarin, Todok and Zuthara...
The skeletal dwarf attacks Indarin, missing badly as she notices the small, greenish worms that writhe all over the skull of the animated corpse... she recalls something about them from one of her unholy texts...an old scroll from an ancient time, buried deep within one of the libraries where she once toiled as a scribe...unholy writings of an ancient God...
As Zuthara steels herself and Todok cackles in glee at the impending brawl, Indarin struggles to recall the name...
" Kyuss..."
A wonderful tale, Mark! You should be aware that I'm also eagerly reading your journal and, since my own players are now working their way through "Life's Bazaar", I'm gaining the benefit of seeing how someone else runs the encounters before my team gets to that episode.
Your team may be an evil one, and they seem to enjoy the RP'ing and have a flair for the unusual, but they aren't approaching the encounters much differently than I expect my own players will. I would not choose to run an evil game, but it's VERY interesting to see how that sort of campaign is handled!
Thanks for letting me tag along! :)
Hurm.
The character actions, reactions, and interactions are what keep me reading this. Even paraphrased dialogue or just a summary thereof conveys a lot more than "this PC did this then that PC did that" and keeps it interesting. Yeah, fighting monsters can be really cool, but RPG stands for roleplaying game, and beating those monsters is a lot more fun if your character has a motivation for it (asides from "winning" treasure). I think some people focus too much on making D&D like an old sidescrolling hack 'n slash NES game: fight the monsters, grab treasure, fight more monsters, fight a really big monster, get power-ups, go to the next level, repeat. That's more monotonous than fun, and some interesting characters are the start of an interesting RPG. This group seems to have figured that out (as well as the all important concept that you make a group effort and no individual ever "wins"; I've had problems with a person or two about this in the past). Quite honestly, I'm jealous; three quarters of the people I usually play with haven't the slightest clue how to roleplay, and most of the others are jerks who can't roleplay either. I'm looking to starting a new group to remedy this defeciency (and get away from the jerks).
But I digress. Keep those recappy report whatsit thingies coming.
Thanks for the kind comments, gents; trust me, the player interaction is more than half of the fun - remember, each title is a direct quote from someone at that week's session!
Another entertaining factor is that all of the characters have little to no loyalty to each other (Evil party), so should the right number of characters fall in battle, the rest will flee and the game will end right there - it adds a bit of edge to the game, I think...
M
Note: The 4/14 game was cancelled - business trip by the DM:
4/21/04: After a week off, we return to where you all left off... Indarin, Todok and Zuthara face off against three Spawns of Kyuss as the rest of the party flees in fear-induced panic...
"The Early (Fiend) Catches the Worm"
(or, "The good news is, you're all still alive")
Beginning on the seventh round since encountering the undead spiders, Indarin is currently in melee with a spawn, with Zuthara just to her left and behind, and Todok 10' behind them both; going first, he charges past Zuthara and strikes the spawn with a mighty blow! In return, the spawn hits Indarin as she backs out of combat (depositing a worm automatically) and also deposits a worm on Todok (a free action). Zuthara waits for Indarin to back out of combat (while squashing the worm on her), then steps in to strike down the lone hostile undead as its two partners cower in the rear of the cave.
As Todok kills the worm on his body, Zuthara waits for Indarin to cast cure spells on her and Todok, who then rushes to attack the two remaining spawn while Indarin heals Zuthara; she misses...
Meanwhile, the rest of the party has fled to the subterranean beach outside the Kopru ruins; they hide in and around the winch house as the magical fear begins to subside. Charaine, having been affected first, feels the magic fade before anyone else and begins to rally the group. They will all realize that they were ensorcelled and begin the arduous sprint to save the compatriots they left behind.
Back in the cave, Todok has been surrounded by the two remaining spawn; one hits and one misses, but they deposit a total of three worms on him! Zuthara waits for Indarin to enchant her sword, then rushes in to flank one of them herself; however, her hard swing goes wild - and shatters her +1 long sword on the hard, black stone sarcophagus, leaving her with a single remaining longsword! Todok drops his weapon, opting to kill all three worms on his body with his claw/claw/bite... EWWWWWW...
Zuthara begins scoring hits on her opponent, but she and Todok are kept busy killing worms that get thrown off by the spawn; Indarin casts Lahm's finger darts at one of the spawn - two of her fingers fly off and strike the spawn! She follows up by casting Bane on them as they pair off on Todok and Zuthara; while killing worms, they manage a couple of hits on them, but Todok eventually misses one - which then burrows into his flesh! As he considers his fleeting options of treatment, he flies into a rage, scoring three hits on his target...
Rahl and Charaine are the first to return to the battle scene, where Indarin tells them to stay back and avoid their fear effect; at that moment, Zuthara kills her opponent with her one good sword, leaving them with one more on Todok. Charaine casts Magic Missile from her wand, killing the final one shortly after. With quick thinking and some medical skills, Zuthara then successfully treats Todok's worm infestation, removing it and killing it; Todok's innate toughness has prevented him from suffering further from it.
With the minute and a half battle over and the threat finally ended, the party levels an Evil glare at Henry, who turned two separate encounters into one with his curiosity...
With the entire party depleted of spells and healing within two hours of setting out this morning, you elect to withdraw back to a safe room again, to heal and rest. The room you choose is closer to where you're currently located - it's the interrogation room; Indarin claims the rack to sleep on... the rest of you are OK with the floor... The morning passes quietly, as the warriors take turns guarding the door and tending their bandages and the spellcasters nap and study quietly. In what you all guess to be early-afternoon of your third day underground, you set back out to complete exploring the cave complex deep behind the Kopru ruins.
Following the one exit left unexplored in the cave you were at before, the party forms a single file line as usual; as Todok rounds the first corner, he sees movement in the darkness beyond...not just movement in the room, but movement of the entire room! In typical fashion, he rushes into battle, taking a literal flying leap into the air in the high cave...
As the rest of the party follows Todok's battle cry and rushes around the corner, their light sources reveal the contents of the cave - a single, animated Tyrannosaurus skeleton that fills the cave!
Fearlessly, Todok flies up to swing at the great beast's skull - and misses wildly... Releasing a ghostly roar from some long-dead time, the skeleton grabs Todok from out of midair with its huge jaws and crushes him in its toothy maw as he screams in agony! As the party rushes in to engage the gargantuan beast, it drops Todok in order to attack another; the 20' fall from the Tyrannosaur skeleton's mouth is too much for the gravely wounded Todok...after a sickening thud, he groans and rolls over, unconscious. After landing a good blow to the skeleton's leg, Zuthara is bitten next; fortunately, she is still left conscious after being dropped back to the ground - but with only a single hit point..! Indarin rushes under the monster and heals Todok and Zuthara - but is herself attacked next - with a panicked shriek, she goes limp in the skeleton's mouth! A moment later, she is dropped to the ground, limp...
But, the party has been chipping away at the Tyrannosaur - chunks of bone have been flying as Rahl, Sizul and Topaz (yes, smaller chunks, but still chunks, Topaz) have been hacking away at the monster's thick bones; Henry has moved to the opposite exit of the cave (to cover for possible approaching creatures...yeah, that's the ticket...) and Charaine has been raining Magic Missiles into the skeleton. After a final bite at Rahl (which neither drops him nor picks him up very far off of the ground), the great skeleton falls to the ground with a huge crash - from which Sizul narrowly escapes by diving aside...
Several party members are perilously close to unconsciousness and there are few remaining healing sources...so everyone retreats, for the second time in half a day, to your safe room to rest. Fortunately for you all, the complex by now seems deserted; there have been so signs of any other inhabitants since yesterday.
After resting another 8 hours, you estimate that it is the evening of the third day; again, you set out to explore the cave where you left the gargantuan skeleton and beyond. The next cavern over seems to have caved in; rubble covers the floor in a huge pile, but there is a gap above where you can climb over. Oddly, some arms and legs can be seen protruding from the rubble, in various states of decay, of course.
Climbing over and moving past the cave-in, you all see movement again in the darkness; this time it is slower and not covering the full height of the cavern, but the movement still fills the area. Emerging from the shadows of the next cave, are shambling humanoids of mixed varieties - humans, dwarves, orcs, gnolls, goblins... all zombies...
A shambling mob... headed towards you...
That whole series of battles was a lot of fun, plus I missed the HH episode so I wasn't as nearly frustrated. HEheh it's zombie time!
Damn Marc…25 years of playing the same campaign! I don’t know how you could do it? Have you been the DM that whole time?
Just a quick question, how do you keep the parties together? And you probably don’t have too many Paladins playing in your campaign? I have only played in one campaign where all of my fellow players were evil characters…a Neutral Druid/Ranger (we tweaked the 1st Edition rules a bit) was the farthest I could go over to the “Dark Side”…and it was the worst campaign I have ever played in! There just was no comradely or unit in the party…there is no way we would have stayed a team in a “real world”. I spent the whole campaign trying to lead-turn any attempt to rob me, mislead me, or have me assassinated by my own party! What kind of smeg is that!
Anyways, I don’t know if I should pose this to your players instead…you obviously are doing something right if you are turning folks away…but I would be curious how you could keep a group of evil folks working together for a common purpose for more than a few gaming sessions? And what level are these folks? Do you force them to retire after a certain level? After 25 years you must have some folks who are now Deities by now?
Best of luck with your campaign and cheers for sharing it with the rest of us.
Stay Frosty!
Damn Marc…25 years of playing the same campaign! I don’t know how you could do it? Have you been the DM that whole time?
- Nooo...certainly not the same campaign for all 25 years; I've moved through three different cities, gotten married, had 3 kids and at least five jobs in that time! I've run a new group in each new city, sometimes after a short break (to find players), but I've never 'retired' from the game or fell out of touch with the gaming community as a whole. I've had approximately a dozen distinct player groups since leaving home (when my brother DM'ed our group as teens), most of whom were Chaotic or Evil to some degree, save one.
Just a quick question, how do you keep the parties together? And you probably don’t have too many Paladins playing in your campaign?
- How do bandits, brigands, goblinoid tribes and villain NPCs stay together? You have to make your players understand that Evil characters might be self-serving, but they're not stupid - NO single character, Evil or not, will survive for very long ALONE. My players openly insult each other and doubt their abilities, but they also recognize that they are valuble (or at least useful, for the time being) to have as allies; yes, Evil characters can have allies! This is the key to having a group play Evil characters - remind them that they NEED each other; teamwork = more power, more loot, more fear of the masses! What villain could resist that? How could a thief survive an encounter with that Umber Hulk if he's picking the fighter's pockets? How can he escape the lich that just found him if the wizard refuses to help the guy who stole his wand?
And what level are these folks? Do you force them to retire after a certain level? After 25 years you must have some folks who are now Deities by now?
- My most recent group (the one you've been reading about)started in September of 2003; they are currently 8th-9th level and have become the highest level characters I've ever run!
Yes, you read that right - I've NEVER run a game over 10th level, ever.
Lower level games are intrinsically more fun, since survival is such a strong motivator for success... I've noticed that once you hit epic levels, there just isn't as much "Oomph" in the game; I mean, how many dragons or demigods do you have to kill to save the world? I'm sure my tune will change as the group makes it to the end of the Adventure Path, but for now, lower level characters have a wider range of opponents and adventures to experience.
Thanks for the comments,
M
Just a quick question, how do you keep the parties together? And you probably don’t have too many Paladins playing in your campaign? …but I would be curious how you could keep a group of evil folks working together for a common...
Marc said it pretty well in that the more we work together the more chaos/evil we can impose on the world. Our old main base just got raided by the crown. We only had minimal guards and 2 small groups of adventurers got taken out and a third large party struggled with it. If we had been there it would have been bloody murder. Rahl (my original PC - now brewer and sublime influencer of Erthynul) is watching the city and in the future as his brewing business grows my hope is to make him the groups semi-patron.
We definetly have our evil tendincies but we tend to take them mostly out on our enemies. Of course the occasional missed spell or attack can provide amusement or our "joining" requirement or such. My current PC is a riot, he will probably end up a Corrupted Elf, but for now he is a psycho NELF (Not a a@#$!! ELF!). 2 times we've come close to breaking the whole party due to near deaths and such but survived by stupid luck.
4/28/04: Happy Birthday to Kelly, welcome back to Charlie and welcome back after a long break to most everyone else! What an exciting game we had, as Todok faced off against his first competition for dominance among the faithful of Erythnul...and was subsequently left on his back...
"I could have been a Contender..."
(or, "...But my fortitude is b!*&@in!")
As we left off last session, the party had returned to the caves after resting and healing up; clambering over the rubble-filled cave you saw earlier, you exit into a smaller cave that appears to have some damage and soot on the ceiling. Beyond, you spot a mob of zombies approaching from the next cave over; Todok and Indarin act assertively, taking most of them under their command as they attack. Only three zombies attack the party, but they are quickly dealt with, and they never land a blow. Indarin then commands her six new bodyguards to cover the rear of the party, as Todok commands his seven zombies to advance into the next cave. Following behind the shambling corpses, the party can see that the short tunnel exiting the cave opens up 30' beyond into a much larger cave; however, a curved wall of mist blocks any view beyond the entrance... The zombies have marched out of sight into the mist - Todok commands them to stop, and he walks up onto the roof of the cave using his slippers of Spider Climbing (Henry did so also, but returned for lack of a light source); he returns to the party about a minute and a half later and reports what he saw...
The cave used to be a well-appointed temple, laboratory, or living quarters (or a combination of the three), but a horrific explosion has thrown everything up against the sides of the cave in twisted piles of wood, metal and stone rubble - save for a solitary stone altar in front of the exit at the opposite side of the cave. Deciding to move through the mist to the other side, Todok and Sizul lead the party in two ranks into the cave; with visibility at 5', they encounter the zombies that Todok had lost - but they attack! A short, three-round fight ensues, but the seven zombies are no match for Todok and Sizul...they fail to hit either of them before being destroyed; the question on Todok's mind is why did they turn on him?
Emerging from the mist on the opposite side of the cave, the party is startled to find a Wild Elf standing next to the altar; he introduces himself as "Slain" and says that he is the last survivor of a battle between his profiteer-band and a priest who happened to have a holy symbol that matched that of...Todok; he was searching the altar when a field appeared, which then teleported him here. This side is obviously destroyed, so it seems he is stuck; asking to join (at least for the time being), you all look amongst yourselves and agree - Charaine immediately takes a liking to the new sorcerer for his religious philosophies. But, before you can discuss much more... a deep, haunting growl is heard emanating from the cave beyond; the newly expanded party is quickly whipped back into alert mode.
Suddenly, in the cave mouth that exits the cave, a small creature - barely 18" tall, but a striking miniature-version of Todok - appears hovering near the roof of the tunnel; a magic pulse emanates, and panic grips about half of the party as Topaz, Charaine, Henry, Rahl, and Sizul fail their will saves:
- Rob B.: "...my will bonus is only +1...but my fortitude is b*#@!in!"
Acting quickly, Zuthara drops her swords and readies her longbow as some people begin to flee the cave and others react to the new threat; she fires and scores a perfect hit, which drops the creature from the air! After hitting the ground, it rolls over and goes still... Slain walks over and picks it up to inspect what it is, but he is hit by a ray of black energy coming from the darkness beyond, which staggers him badly! He drops the creature, which immediately goes invisible... As Indarin casts Magic Weapon on one of Zuthara's swords... Todok rushes into the cave, knowing who he is going to face there...
Zuthara puts her bow away and picks up her weapons as Slain casts Light on the end of his staff to illuminate the far cave; Indarin drops her torch and casts Bane to assist Todok, who enters melee with an undead Gnoll...who wears glowing chain mail that is wired directly to his decayed flesh and bones, and wields a glowing, spiked chain that is wired directly into his arm! A shimmering, multicolored field emanates from him, as well. Before Todok can close to make his first swing, the Gnoll raises his wand and hits him with the same black ray that struck Slain; wincing in pain but reveling in the battle, Todok makes a mighty swing - and misses.
Zuthara is now sprinting to assist Todok; Slain sends a bolt of fire from his hands, hitting the Gnoll priest and burning him...Indarin casts Spiritual Weapon and begins attacking the Gnoll - but it lands a huge blow on Todok, dropping him to the ground! Zuthara rushes in and makes a return hit as Slain repeats his fiery attack for more damage; meanwhile, as her Spiritual Weapon continues to attack, Indarin makes an assertive attempt to turn the creature - she barely fails. The Gnoll lands a first, huge blow on Zuthara...she misses her return swing; Slain repeats his spell for the final time for even more damage...and the Spiritual Weapon scores its first hit.
However, the Gnoll happens to have Elves as a favored enemy...he hits her again; she misses again. Slain hits the Gnoll with two Magic Missiles, as Indarin begins to have doubts about this engagement; she sends three of her zombies to attack and keeps three as a walking shield in front of her as she begins to back out of the cave, seriously concerned for her life. Her fears are doubled as the priest lands a third heavy blow on Zuthara and she crumples on top of Todok, their spilled blood mingling on the cavern floor in small puddles...
Meanwhile, the rest of the party has (for the second time in a day) retreated to the beach and realized that they've again been magicked; Charaine considers staying there... but still follows as everyone turns around and begins the sprint back to where they left their comrades. She and Henry lag behind the others, however...
Slain is left alone to face the charging Gnoll - he send a second pair of Magic Missiles into the advancing priest, but is then attacked by the Quasit that has recovered and hit him from above with claws and a bite! Its venom begins to slow him...he casts Invisibility to make an escape. Fleeing back through the mists, he passes Rahl, who has returned to the main cave first after passing a retreating Indarin; as the rest of the party returns, Rahl, Sizul and Topaz form a rank (right to left) at the edge of the mists, awaiting the monster they hear approaching loudly, beyond. Charaine moves up behind Sizul and sends a Fireball straight through the mists, hoping to blindly catch the Gnoll...
You all wait, tensely... ten seconds..... the monster approaches in the mists... twenty seconds... Charaine follows up the Fireball with a Flaming Sphere, which she rolls across the cave into the mists and beyond to the far side of the cavern...
It appears in front of Topaz! The front rank is caught by surprise, as they were watching the flaming sphere rolling away ahead and the undead Gnoll appeared to everyone's left; it hits Topaz with a horrible swing - she returns fire with her short bow, but misses. Sizul, having dropped his glaive earlier, attacks with tooth and claw; he hits with his claws, but the priest doesn't even flinch as tufts of mangy fur are ripped out. He hits Sizul with his spiked chain as Topaz falls back to fire again (...missing, again); Charaine casts Dispel Magic, causing the monster's chain mail to go inert...she rolls her Flaming Sphere back towards the fight, but grazes Rahl, who had been running around behind to flank the Gnoll. Indarin has taken refuge in the next cave behind you the fight; she hides behind her three zombies as her mind races, trying to think of any weakness this creature might have. An invisible and gravely wounded Slain hides next to Indarin as Henry advances to the right, looking for an opportunity to flank and attack if one of the last remaining warriors falls; Topaz pauses and casts Bless, seeing that it is badly needed.
As Sizul continues to rake the Gnoll, it seems to ignore him, attacking Rahl and hitting the raging half-ogre twice - Rahl is staggered, but in his rage he barely notices. Charaine adds three Magic Missiles to the damage that the burning sphere does to the Gnoll; it is beginning to burn...his legs are on fire and it is spreading...but he doesn't seem to care at all! Sensing the desperation of the group, Slain risks death and rejoins combat; he successfully hits the Gnoll with a Shocking Grasp, rocking the monster and eliciting a genuine scream from it! Rahl soon lands his own mighty return blow on the Gnoll priest...
The tide is turning... But the Gnoll still rages on - now on fire from head to toe, he lands two hits on Sizul, who is now struggling to stay in the fight; and, to make matters worse, the Quasit reappears and attacks Slain - who, poisoned and clawed a second time, falls to the ground!
But Charaine finally brings the flaming beast down with three more Magic Missiles; the Gnoll priest slows, falls to his knees, bends backwards and finally falls as the flaming sphere parks itself on top of him.
However, there is still a threat out there... Indarin casts Detect Magic to search for the Quasit, as Rahl chops at the burning carcass in anger and Sizul wades into the flames to rip at the charring bones. A bolt of black energy appears from over Henry's head and strikes Indarin as she turns her detection to the right; now visible, the Quasit is hit by three of Charaine's Magic missiles. Henry fires his hand crossbow straight up and misses, but Topaz's short bow shot hits true, almost in the same spot where Zuthara had hit it earlier! Returning fire, the Quasit fires its former master's wand again, hitting Indarin again - but then remains visible long enough for Charaine to put three more Magic Missiles into it, which blast it from the air; it narrowly misses Henry as it falls to the ground, limp. It is soon torn to shreds by Sizul and Rahl and added to the pyre of its master...
A third of the party lay bleeding on the ground; the two standing warriors are leaning on each other for support. The rest of you are catching your breath...some of you are near, or in shock...Todok and Zuthara are lying over 200' away, in the dark cave beyond...and they haven't been seen since the moment they fell - almost two minutes ago.
M
Cheers!
I guess it just comes down to having a common goal and realizing you can get farther as a group than as an individual. I certainly wish my old gaming party could have realized that...unless they couldn't stand having a neutral "good-doer" in their party?
Don't you guys wonder that you might be giving into your inner demons playing evil characters? I have always wanted to be the hero and make a positive differance in the world, maybe a bit of a rogue hero like Batman or even a tragic one like Elric, but a hero none the less.
Hey, if you guys are comfortable with it, no problem. It is interesting to see the interplay amongst the characters and see them occasionally say, "sorry bub, you're on your own!"
Keep up the play-by-play commentary...
Stay Frosty!