My daughter is receiving her Master’s Degree in South East Asian Studies from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The graduation ceremony is on May 17. The wife and I are going to be there! We are leaving for Hawaii on the 13th and will be back on the 20th and, honestly, posting will not be high on my list of things to do while I am there ;)
So there will be a break. I hope everyone can put up with it.
Don't forget to wish your Mom a Happy Mother's Day (here in the US) and on the outside chance there is a Mom playing in one of my games,m Happy Mother's Day to you!
I had hoped to get another update in before I left for Hawaii, but it has just been buckets of crazy sauce getting ready, my carry-on was broken when I got it out of storage and now I have to go shopping for a new one tonight, eek! Being old is hard enough, being old and traveling sucks.
tomorrow I will generate a pdf file showing everywhere you have explored on this level (and open passageways to places you haven't!) and get it posted above
Gnome* Wizard/4, HP 15/23 (2 NL), AC 13 (T-13, FF-11), Fort +0 Ref +5 Will +4 ---- Init. +8, Perc. +2
Hey, the Lockdown has ended after over a week of craziness. Which means my schedule is working toward normal and I can jump back into this. Again I apologize for my absence and am quickly catching up so I can make some posts!
Got that map built, took it home and forgot to post it last night, doh!
So tonight for sure.
Also, we seem to hit another one of those awkward stalls where I kind of get the feeling the party wants me to be the one to decide what will happen next, but at the same time i am sort of wanting the party to do something decisive, you know. Let's make a decision.
M Dwarf Rogue 5, Init 5(7), P10(12traps), HP 35/35, AC 15(16), 13 T, 10 FF, Save F: 3(5 pos/sp), R: 7, W: 3
I think we are at a point of resting. What we are waiting on is the map, so we can decide the location. Once we have the location down, we rest, then decisively press forward in the morning. I understand there is quite a bit remaining in the dungeon, and that is the way Rownig and Windel intend to go.
Okay the Level 1 overview image is posted (at the top of the page)
Keep in mind that the areas that are shaded in grey are NOT necessarily what they appear to be as you have not explored down these passageways, where there are Doors and side passageways that you haven't encountered.
M Dwarf Rogue 5, Init 5(7), P10(12traps), HP 35/35, AC 15(16), 13 T, 10 FF, Save F: 3(5 pos/sp), R: 7, W: 3
Any chance that you can mark each room that we have explored with a Letter or Number for reference?
I assume we are a the top of the map, that looks like the room we are currently in. If that is the case, Rownig will suggest that we backtrack past the 4 ways intersection, heading to the next room on the left hand side of the map. The room with the hallway and door that leads into a room. We can defend the hall and we can spread out in the room. Basically it is easily defensible as we channel the enemy into a hall way.
If nobody objects that is where Rownig will lead the party, so they can rest.
Doh, I took the numbers off cause it looked to much like a DM's map, I'll put them back on tomorrow, and in this thread I'll post a synopsis of each room. The room you want to use is the only room the party, as group, hasn't been in before but is on the map because Miagnik has been there on his own
M Dwarf Rogue 5, Init 5(7), P10(12traps), HP 35/35, AC 15(16), 13 T, 10 FF, Save F: 3(5 pos/sp), R: 7, W: 3
ok...it didn't look familiar. I recognize most of the others.
All my character(s) are interested in is finding a relatively defensible room to rest in for the evening. Once they have rest, they can push on with their exploration.
Again, I throw my vote to King Heelggod's chamber and rest there for now. I believe he mentioned he had some power to keep the room safe. Or if nothing else, he's a friendly, unsleeping pair of eyes.
Gnome* Wizard/4, HP 15/23 (2 NL), AC 13 (T-13, FF-11), Fort +0 Ref +5 Will +4 ---- Init. +8, Perc. +2
I like the idea of King Heelggod's chamber as well. It's a creepy prospect, likely even more so if you're a dwarf, but as far as safety it's likely towards the top.
M Dwarf Cleric 5, AC 18, T 10, FF 18, HP 10/41, I 0, P 4, F 5, R 2, W 8; +2 vs. fear, +2 vs. poison, spells, and SLA
Windel, especially, would be hard pressed to sleep in chamber with a ghost. Even if it's Casper, it goes against his understanding and religious beliefs.
M Dwarf Rogue 5, Init 5(7), P10(12traps), HP 35/35, AC 15(16), 13 T, 10 FF, Save F: 3(5 pos/sp), R: 7, W: 3
Thanks for the map and key, it all makes sense.
We'll go to 9) King Heelggod Jing room and seek permission to stay there the night. If that is refused or we get freaked out then we will move to room 21) Empty Room. Assuming Miagnik would tell us that about the ghoul pit room (RM 17), so we would not stay there.
M Dwarf Rogue 5, Init 5(7), P10(12traps), HP 35/35, AC 15(16), 13 T, 10 FF, Save F: 3(5 pos/sp), R: 7, W: 3
I'll move the what next comments over here in the discussion thread.
I think we should continue exploring the room on this level which we have not searched. As I understand the riddle, we need to gather all the wedding parties favors, in order defeat the Vampire Queen. Is that correct or am I mistaken.
DM can you provide everyone a short synopsis of the "mission" and "riddle." There has been some party turn-over, so that would shed some clarity for group.
Well, the mission, specifically, came from three Knights, each selecting one of their own (a retainer from their staff) and tasked these three with searching out the source of the undead plague
It started here
The first riddle, the one spoken by the blind oracle at the restaurant in the capital
“Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. She would raise the one whom the Helmsman loves. But the three argue over the weight of the wealth they imagine would be theirs. Among you are the eyes that seek, and the hearts that will know the fear of those who would oppose Karuk. Seek the water that must rise before it falls and the door to the Palace will reveal itself to you.”
Now this riddle led the party to find the location of the Palace of the Vampire Queen
The second riddle spoken by the oracle was this
”Voices of the eyes that seek, yes? Are these the hearts that will know the fear? What is it you seek? The Legend of the Vampire Queen, yes she will show you fear, and the void beyond. She is the one who would raise the one whom the Helmsman loved, but of that I am forbidden to tell you. Know that she, the Queen of the Dead, is not the Bride. She is the bridesmaid, and her curse is great. Her curse can be undone, but the secret lies within the Palace. You must find the place where the water rises before it falls. It is a place south of Witches Valley, where the Great Goblin Warlords of the ancient times are buried. You will find them there, the dead who walk the sands of Karrita Morianna. They are not like any you may have heard about. They are the Forever Dead, and they have been the doom of many eyes before yours. Each of you servers a different master, but you must learn to serve something greater. The three will send you on your way, if the right questions are asked. Their victories are bound up within your eyes, but beware the one who would betray the other two. Ambition will be the undoing if that one does not know where the heart truly lies. There is another who will oppose you, but she cannot be seen at this time. When all seems against you, it will be the ones who you understand the least who will come to your aid. I can say no more. Seek the path that is set by the king for the three and you will know the fear of those who oppose Karuk. Ask your questions. I will answer what I know, but of the Palace and the Vampire Queen I can say no more.”
When asked about the nature of the Vampire Queen, the oracle spoke this
She is the bridesmaid, but not the bride
And when asked to talk more about the curse
”Tell you about the curse of the Vampire Queen?” the Oracle whispers. But no one knows what words were spoken. It is only known that the call went out to the walker of the Human Dead, she who is known to the Human folk as Elmopona Shadow Seer. She is a maiden of Karuk, this is true, but she is a stranger and a strange god that is beyond my sight. The curse? Yes I, and many I have known, have tried to see into the nature of the curse but that way is hidden even from the eyes of Bescort, the wild one who sees into the deep places. What I will tell you is this. Beware the touch of the handmaidens of the Vampire Queen, for their touch is the cold hand that brings never ending darkness and pain. The dead that walk under the curse of the Vampire Queen cannot be destroyed, and this is what is meant by the name ‘Forever Dead’. They can be stopped, but only for a while. They will always return, until the curse is lifted.”
He also spoke about the Three Knights, but I’ll stop here
Now King Heelggod said this the first time you met him
”But, a curse was upon this place, a curse older than the fathers of my father’s and the kings of ages past. Over the centuries this curse has waxed and waned in power. At times the dead rested quietly here, and at other times the dead disturbed the world driven by the power behind that curse.”
”I died many years ago, and rested for many years undisturbed, but recently the curse has found a new host, and through her it was brought back into this world. Many of the people of my generation and the generations before me who are buried on this level of the tomb were called to her service, but some, like me, resisted, and so her call only brought me forth, and I denied her the privilege of putting my family to her tasks.”
And when asked about the nature of the curse
The Ghostly Goblin King, smiles, and says, ”Yes the mind of a goblin is like a tide pool when the swells of a storm sweep into the bay, yes. There is chaos, confusion, but life and order as well. It must be watched with curious eyes to be understood. The dead rise, because of the curse, my young Dwarven hero. It is a curse placed upon these tombs some three hundred sixty years ago, in the time of my great-grandfather. It is a story that is long in the telling, and it has been all but forgotten. I know the story, only because as a ghost I can move about this place, but even I must be cautious for the power of the Vampire Queen is greater than anyone suspects. Yet, for all her power she is not the one to blame, no, not for the troubles you speak of, for this is the work of the Dwarven Woman, Omara. She is the one who stirs the ancestors and kings from their graves. Galinea is merely her pawn. Omara seeks to place herself at the right hand of the Vampire Queen. She seeks to call forth the drowned one. There is an old legend, older than this tomb, that speaks of a bride of the one who delivers the dead to their final rest, and the Vampire Queen would raise the drowned one as an homage to the Mistress of the god of death, and if she succeeds she may have her darkest desires, but what will be the cost, for even the oldest spirits in this place do not know.”
And finally this
”You would know my history, it is short, and meaningless, but I was a king for a while. I was placed here almost two hundred years ago, and I was one of the last to be given this honor. Below us are two levels of tombs of Goblin Kings going back to Outogal, the First. His tomb is on the third level, below us, as is his throne and the Arch of Kings, but there is more below this, deeper, and deeper still there are older tombs, Dwarven Tombs, and tombs of a people not seen in these lands for a thousand years. It was to these levels that the People of Handwind carried the dead taken from the sea on that day three hundred sixty years ago, and it is there that the curse was born. You speak of the goddess Rath’Zeen, and her transformation to a warrior queen who will lead our kind to glory, but know this little one. There has been no such transformation. Zeenthia is a creation of the priest of Rath’Zeen, the goddess of discord and treachery. They seek to stir the land to bloodshed, and lead our people to a greater place of trouble. Seek out the followers of Een’Droth, the spider queen, and her consort Fath’Reen, he who survives, for these are the gods of our people who protect us. This land is not the place where our kind was brought forth, nor does it belong to the Dwarun. There is no place in the future where our kind and theirs will not be found together, and only in peace will either of our people survive.”
So it seems that some Living Person (A female Dwarf in league with Anrollo Guise) has raised the power of the Bridesmaid once again. This Bridesmaid (The Vampire Queen) seeks to return the bride to the land of the living in hopes of fulfilling some promise that was made (a promise you still do not know the details of). In order for the Vampire Queen to raise the Bride, she must collect all of the wedding gifts (and some of these gifts are in the hands of the group of people that Hallister and Miagnik are working with). However, the Goblin King is certain that if this ritual is concluded, a great catastrophe will take place. Currently you know where some of the Wedding Gifts are. You do not know how many gifts there were originally or where they could be (lost anywhere on the island). How you can stop the curse, permanently, is also still a mystery.
HP 38/38 , AC 15*, CMD 18, Fort +5, Ref +2, Will +4, Init +0, Per +0
Clearly the next order of business is to get Princess Stephanie back home so she can have a fight with her father (and hopefully get us some much-needed support).
Well, Father's Day is this weekend, her in the USA, and I don't know how many of you are Fathers (I am, and a Grandfather to boot!) so if we drag a bit over this weekend that is fine with me.
When we come back though, I hope you, as a group of players, have a plan for what you will do next
So quick question about Prestige classes in your game.
Are there any restrictions or reservations about Prestige classes in your game? Would you like those of us planning to take them have it make sense in your world, such as preparing for it in-game or does that not matter to you so much as long as we meet the pre-requisites?
Well, I'd like to keep some sense of verisimilitude, but I also do not want to limit anyone’s options for things that will make the game more fun for you. Also, I do not like everything that I’ve been introduced to that comes from that other site (d20psfrd?) so why don’t we talk about it.
I don’t expect the party to stay in the dungeon for the entire play of the game, so getting back to a town or village is an option if your prestige class carries with it some kind of “exposure” to a different kind of person or behavior.
For example, I originally requested that there be no monks, as that trope just doesn't fit in with this setting, but I think Hallister had a good build in mind so I let that rule slip under the mat.
