Heathy's Isle of Dread Thread

Game Master Heathansson

"OOO....." he points at your chest, Altai; "ooo...am.....GAD?"

"Uh, well, that depends on your conception of divinity, I guess." He flashes a weak grin at Oso. "We, ah, did, uh... Let's put it this way - were these your gods?" He points at the corpses of Denthead and the freshly caught gharial. "We did kill them, so that certainly makes us powerful."

"So, do you know anything about the squid-headed man back there?" He gestures towards the corridor.

A little more explanation of what a squid is helps the confused hominid.

I'm going to ditch the speech impediment now in the spirit of clarity.

"The mindflayers are with the drow who took over the Lotus Dragon hideout. These drow catch other drow, and sell them to......" points to the mangled rakshasa(s) on the deck of the barge.
"These drow say to them: you like eat elves best of all; well, we get you these drow. You like to eat them too!!! And yes, they do like to eat the drow too."
"Them say they are friends of Bear God. Bear God say he OUR friend, but me think Bear God now the devil. Bear God take us here from our land. Gave us candy. Say he take us to land where candy grows on trees.
We don't get much candy any more.
Friends of Bear God give mindflayers metal flower. Say they will like metal flower; tell them it good because they got....good brains. Mindflayers take metal flower; that's all I know about that."

He looks around;
"There IS Bear God. The REAL Bear God IS real.
These MEN (he refers to the rakshasa) not friends of Bear God though. Bear God...DEVIL God. These MEN are DEVILS."

The Revelation of the Neanderthal....
LOL!!!

heathy's Isle of Dread retcon #1:
there are neanderthals on the Isle of Dread.

#2
there are rakasta too (not rakshasa....well sounds like there is now, but....that's not what I'm calling a retcon).

"We've killed three of the devil men. Do you know if there are any more? And do you know anything about the creatures trapped in black bags back in the prison?"

"Many more devil men. Many more. Who trapped in black bag? KAGG not understand that talk."

"Here, let me show you." Altai starts to walk back to the cells before suddenly changing his mind. "Um, they are men trapped inside black material, much like spiders trap their prey in silk. But, I almost forgot - where were you going to take that boat?"

"Come here, from mansion on Parrot Island. Pick up drow. Take back to mansion. Drow supposed to have MORE drow for rakshasas by now."

just a handy dandy reminder; I think you remember; the "men in black bags" were drow.

Parrot island is an until recently uninhabited little chunk of rock in the main "lagoon" of Sasserine; however, within the last few years, a highly successful clan of Vudran silk merchants created a splendid pleasure palace thereupon.

"Hmmmm... The plot thickens. Let's go see if we can get a bagee out of his sac. They may be drow, but nobody deserves to be trussed up that way to be rakshasa food."

I remembered that. Let's see if I can cut one out of his bag. Perhaps Stig and Gittik can cover me in case something unpleasant happens?

Uninhabited, that is, save for a mob of splendid macaws that gave it it's name.

Legend has it that the sorceress Sasserine marveled at their colorful splendor when she first entered the lagoon, and as such, it was until recently left barren of development as the city bearing her name rose up around it.

"Hmmmm... The plot thickens. Let's go see if we can get a bagee out of his sac. They may be drow, but nobody deserves to be trussed up that way to be rakshasa food."

I remembered that. Let's see if I can cut one out of his bag. Perhaps Stig and Gittik can cover me in case something unpleasant happens?

It's doable; the bagdrow, if you will, tries to scuttle away from you; easy enough to catch it though.

As the dagger is put to the "bag" if you will, it draws blood. The "bag" bleeds, and the drow struggles trying to get away from you.

*In undercommon*

"Seriously, morons, you can't crawl away fast enough, so just stop. It's just annoying. If we wanted to kill you, we could do so easily, but that's not why we're here. So relax. I'll need your help to et you out of the sacs."

"So let's start with the basics. Is your skin conected directly to the sac, or are you free to move around inside it?"

To Kagg:

"Does this look familiar? Did you row things like these out to the island?"

Kagg replies, "I never saw this before."

*In undercommon*

"So let's start with the basics. Is your skin conected directly to the sac, or are you free to move around inside it?"

The drow nods it's head yes, then shakes it's head no, then tries unsuccessfully to wriggle away like some great larval grub.

Kagg replies, "I never saw this before."

"But you took drow out to the island, right, and they didn't look like they were recently flayed? That leads me to think that the mind flayers took the sacs off these guys before putting them on the boat. Now, how the hell do we remove it without killing the guy inside?"

"Some glues are dissolved by water. Let's try that first."

"Nope. Them drow we took, them drow had their skins on them."

The water doesn't seem to do anything one way or the other.

"Hmmm... Next step, I guess."

Are the sacs magical?

They detect sort of as "transmutation." It's psionic though; transmutation is the closest thing to it I reckon.

"Maybe I can supress them with magic. I'm out of the relevant spells, though. Hmmmm....."

WTF....Pip's around for one last hurrah; hasn't quite left yet; want him to cast a dispel or something?

OH, and there's also the tent that was dragged from the room next to where Stiggy was doing his Buddha on the Lotus Leaf imitation. The tent that was dragged to the beach. I left that out of the battle loot description at 1 in the morning...

WTF....Pip's around for one last hurrah; hasn't quite left yet; want him to cast a dispel or something?

That's a good idea. I assumed the boat and tent were both ordinary, ut I'd love to be wrong. ;P

Pip dispels, as I dispense with the roll....
the sack of drow turns into a beauteous nubile drow woman, who quickly darts to a standing position; seeing the dwarf and the hobniz ready with fleshripping and bonegrinding implements, she doesn't seem to make any quick movements aside from quickly standing erect.

"Aaaaaaaaah. This feels so much better," the nude drow hisses sibilantly in undercommon.

I almost had her say "thankyou," had to correct myself real fast.....I sorta doubt that the drow even comprehend the concept of giving thanks.

<Rummaging around for rum.>

Oh,.....minor potable retcon for th' Stiggmeister....
one of the neanderthals had him a backsatchel made out of a young dimetrodon, complete with the backfin still on it;
within he had a few odds n ends; and two fifth's of rum spiced with tasty, tasty esoteric Vudran spices...really good, that, for clearing out the ole sinuses, arrrrr!!!

*SLORP, SLORP*

<Feasts on the dead.>

After consuming the pineal gland of the white tiger headed rakshasa, Tenser now has a unique power: his canine head can turn into any humanoid head he wants.

I never tought I'd say, much less write, this, but: LOL!!! That is awesome! Also, if Tenser assumes a human face, can he talk properly?

"Aaaaaaaaah. This feels so much better," the nude drow hisses sibilantly in undercommon.

"I can imagine. Why don't you sit down and tell us a bit about yourself - you know, where you come from, how you ended up in the sac, that sort of thing. I'm afraid we don't have any spare clothing or gear for you, though."

Important question - area or targeted dispel?

It's ending up to be targeted.

I think I know what you're getting at; just this one drow is affected, you haven't inadvertently released them all...

dungeonmaster heathy wrote:

"Aaaaaaaaah. This feels so much better," the nude drow hisses sibilantly in undercommon.

"I can imagine. Why don't you sit down and tell us a bit about yourself - you know, where you come from, how you ended up in the sac, that sort of thing. I'm afraid we don't have any spare clothing or gear for you, though."

Important question - area or targeted dispel?

"Pomarj. I was born under Pomarj.

Stiggy remembers her in the dream; she would have been one of the lesser drow, in chainmail, leveling a bow with two nocked arrows at him escorting him to the trollpit.

"Behave and be useful, and you'll live a long life. Now, you wouldn't happen to know anything about the drow that dwell underneath the town and apparently are killing people and removing their hearts?"

How about this plan: We pick up all the bagees and load them onto the barge. Someone (I'm thinking that'll be Pip's last hurrah) goes topside via the bar and runs off to the temple of Kord and tells them to send a couple of covered wagons to a remote area of the docks. We transfer the sacs there and bring them to the temple, where we spend the next couple of days dispelling the bags. We then turn the thugs in the bar and the undergrounders over to the Sasserine cops, who'll jump at the opportunity to interrogate someone from the Underdark. At the same time, we need to give the giantess' case of scrolls and maps to the Sasserine army.

"Hmmmm.....that wouldn't be drow doing that to my knowledge.
We're not here to start a hot war with Sasserine. That'd cut into our profit margins. As for behaving, well...." she laughs a little; "when I'm naughty, I'm more useful...."

"Gittik likes the naughty girls." Altai nods at the gore-spattered halfling. "Usefulness starts now. Grab a bag and help us load 'em onto the barge."

If someone(say, Beldan and Gittik) could climb topside and retrieve the thugs (just dump them down the chute), that would be useful as well.

She says, "as you wish,....thought it'd probably be easier for us all to gut the lot of them. They're really quite wicked....I'll do it, if you don't have the urge to do so."

Right on; at this point I shall have to wait for whoever to chime in and say who's going back up topside, and who's on the loading detail. Guess it'll be a little bit of a breather and whatnot;
anybody got any questions for the drow archer or the neanderthal, let me know.

<Tensor's head changes into a human head, albeit a rather comedic, heavy jowled, droopy eared version of humanity...>

"This is great!"

<Changes back into a dog and moves on to the Rakshasa's guts.>

<Belts back some VUdran rum.>

"Yessssssssss. <muttering to himself... or the rum...> Who's your daddy?"

Beldan has been staring in a happy daze at the naked drow lady. “Uh, yeah, sorry, no spare clothes … oh gods…”

Then he notices Tenser with a human head. “Gah! What happened there? Altai, Stig, they did something to Tenser!”

"What are you talking about? Are you...seeing things, Beldan?"

heh heh....

<Glances at Tensor when his head changes, then goes back to his rum as though nothing had happened.>

<Then, after a couple of good draws on the rum Stig is able to focus on the drowess. He points at her.>

"Eh. Dornt Ah ken ye, lassie?"

"Hmmm; yes, I think so."

Who, if anyone, is going to retrieve Baldy and Not-Baldy up topside?

We all go to the dump room. However, in case they've wiggled free, it should be someone who can hold them off until the rest of us can climb up and help out. So I was thinking Beldan and Gittik climb up; if bad things happen, I cast Fly on Stig before the rest of us climb up as well.

Right on....it's a party of six now. Pip has now officially headed out; nothing untoward happens to him.....

Again, it's a 10 by 10 room, some stained mattresses on the floor.
Hallway out to the left, heading west;
25 foot climb up a narrow 5 foot wide shaft;

who climbs up first??? Second??? Positions in the room/hallway???
climb rolls please....

Just to simplify things, can we say we told the caveman (who seems somewhat trustworthy) to make sure the drow doesn't do anything untoward? That way, he's watching her in the cell.

She's allready gone.
Just kidding.
Yeah; he nods. "Watch her good. No tricks, drow..." he says to her seriously.
She squints her eyes at you all; "what....makes him so trustworthy?"

it's the big yellow exclamation point hovering over his head, stupid drow!!!

Synopsis for Aubrey:

after freeing Stiggy from his Lotus dreaming couch, the party went further into the dungeon; the room with the tent from Stiggy's dream visions proved empty; though to the trackers of the party it appeared that the tent had been drug out of the room further into what is now realized to be the old Lotus Dragon hideout.

The party followed to an underground lagoon, just as a barge with a Vudran and 10 neanderthal servitors were laying anchor therein. A few short rounds later, the vudran turned out to be a gharial headed rakshasa, and one of the neanderthals turned out to be a white tiger headed warbreed rakshasa (a la Eberron manual), who were joined by a darksphinx in melee......
the sole surviving neanderthal imparted to the party that they were dupes of someone claiming to be a bear god and had come to Sasserine in service to the bear god's friends (i.e. the rakshasas). The rakshasas live in the new manor on Parrot Island, recently built by a consortium of highly successful Vudran silk merchants.
They had brought their barge to pick up some drow captured by the drow and mindflayers until recently in control of the Lotus Dragon's old flop. Apparently, and this was corroborated by a female drow prisoner, the mindflayers had backstabbed their erstwhile drow allies in this endeavor by turning them into fleshy bags of melded drow. Pip's dispel magic turned one normal again for further interrogation.

Altai has decided to round up all the drow bags onto the barge, to take them to the authorities along with the intercepted fire giant invasion plans; first off, he and the rest of the party have decided to go retrieve the krimps "baldy" and "not baldy" who were tied up in the bar/krimp new sailor ambush place.

So at this point, waiting on a decision of who out of Beldan and Gittik wants to climb up first as the rest of the party waits below, which brings us to........