Ah ok, no problem :) didnt know that :/
Thanks
DM Shane
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Hi All, Does anyone have a list of the Local Traits and what they do? Dm Shane
thanks for the info mate, i really apreciate it :) it gives me some ideas which i will try to work into the AP..... Thanks DM Shane
I am running a game monthly and we have just reached assulting the Vecna Temple and are coming to the end of the second part of the AP. My players are aware of the trio who were also seeking the WC but have not met them yet. I am planning to make my own NPC's to resemble the trio, but i don't know exactly how important these are to the AOW AP. Is there any experianced AOW DM's who can let me know just howe important these guys are, and if there are any things i should be aware of. Thanks in advance DM Shane
My group did the following to solve the ''No Rest'' situation. They assulted the Hextor temple and went on to assulting the Erythnul temple next, after killing a fair few grims, someone scouted ahead to ensure there would be no futher confrontations in the imediate to near future. They then baracaded themselves in the tunnel leading from the bridge area to the caves. This way they had rest and obviously a watch was set up. This gave them options, if something happened, they could retreat if needed. As for level's, my party are close to level 5 with only the vecna temple and aspect to go :) - They are doing very well.
Hi All, I am looking for a place on a Fantasy Grounds campaign. I have been playing for 7 odd years now and i am DM'ing a Campaign in the real world at the moment. I am interested in playing during the week, for a few hours. Does anyone have a space going?? Shane
Hi Guys, i am interested in playing a FG Campaign, preferably on a weekday, once per week. Anyone know of an opening or campaign due to start with places going? Shane
fest, do you have any spaces going on the AOW campaign, for a player? I DM in real life but would like to play a game weekly. DM Shane
Hi guys, I am interested in getting a Lite license for Fantasy Grounds, however i am not really sure on how the games work?? Ie. How long they take to play?, do we play for a couple of hours per week?? Is it in real time, or is the game updatd when you logg on? Any help and advice would be appriciated DM Shane
LOL :D they have both, however, they have no wizard with Identify and the Sorceror has not taken the spell.... Mwahahaha
Sounds great to me guys.... They will need to climb i think. Thanks DM Shane
Hi guys, I have a question about the wooden elevator in the mine?? I have to scale my adventure up because of my Party Level at moment being high. Therefore 2 Ebon Aspects will be emerging... howerver, one is bound to destroy the elevator, in this case, how can the PC's escape the mine?? DM Shane
I am currently DMing the 3FoE path, my PC's have taken down the Hextor temple and will be moving onto the others this weekend. One of my PC's has been taking it upon himself to do a write up based on the events from each meet we have had since the start of AOW, I feel it is great and would like to share it with all who visit these message boards. Let me know what you think. DM Shane PLEASE SEE BELOW; Age of Worms The Whispering Cairn After each receiving an invitation to meet at an abandoned mine shack outside of Diamond Lake, the party come together to meet a mysterious woman called Orca. She reveals that there is an old tomb nearby that is rumoured to contain hidden treasures and has attracted the attention of adventurers from the Free City of Greyhawk. However, she happens to know that these adventurers are looking in the wrong place and she knows exactly where to go. The party quickly agree and make their introductions. Soon they are heading off with Orca in the direction of the tomb known locally as the Whispering Cairn. On arriving there, they make their way through some rough brush before entering a 20’ wide opening. The party quickly work together as a team, with Orca casting Mage Armour on the fighters and then establishing a marching order as follows: HekTor Halfling Rogue Male
Several side passages are encountered as the party progress into the tomb and their formation changes to limit the effects of a surprise attack. Nothing much is found except that in one is a strange device. It resembles half of a circle that is obviously broken. Covered in strange symbols, it is quickly realised by Orca that this was a transportation device and the symbols represent the Elemental Plane of Air. Small black shards of a material resembling glass are found near the device. It is presumed that they were part of what made up the middle of the circle. A copy of the main symbol is made for future reference. The opposite passage is blocked by a cave-in. Further up the main tunnel, a crossroads is encountered and HekTor scouts out the west one first. It ends in a dais, which highlights a sophisticated mural of seven passages leading to seven suspended lanterns. Each lantern represents a colour of the spectrum. Turning to the opposite passage, HekTor becomes aware of animal noises ahead. He heads back to the party who take up a battle formation and move to close in but Fortuitor’s armour gives them away and they are charged by an angry pack of wolves. After one nasty dog sinks it’s teeth deep into Bully and trips him to the floor, Fortuitor makes amends for giving the party away by wrapping his spiked chain around it’s head and pulling it clean off. Two more wolves are quickly dispatched before the party is safe once more and Bully can be healed to full strength by some cure potions that the party have. Amongst the rags the wolves were living in, the party find an ornate blue lantern and a marble human sized finger, which they presume has come from a statue. Carrying on up the tunnel, it ends in a large stone stairway. The party proceed downwards into a massive chamber. In its centre is a stone sarcophagus inlaid with a bas-relief image of a bald humanoid, one of whose fingers is missing. The ceiling is domed in multi-coloured glass, which reaches a height of about 30’. Coming off of the chamber are seven passages that come to a dead end again after 30’. Five of the passages end with a lantern hanging from a chain, one of which, the green one, is lit with an ever-burning torch lying inside it. The two passages that do not have lanterns show just empty chains. The party quickly deduce that this is a representation of the mural they had seen earlier and attach the blue lantern to one of the empty chains. Now only the red one is missing. For the moment the party decide against lighting the lanterns. A more thorough examination of the sarcophagus shows that it sits on the shaft of an arrow shape design. Testing if it can move, they find out that it turns on the spot to point in the direction of any of the seven passages. They also decide to see if they can open it. HekTor searches for traps but does not find any, but HekTor has failed, as when the party lift off the lid, a swathe of fire streams out to burn them. However, most of the party escape major injury. Looking inside, they find the sarcophagus empty and replace the lid. It is a struggle to turn the sarcophagus, but doing so to all points reveals three elevator type shafts that spring from the floor inside three of the passages. They are only big enough to fit one person of human size inside and two of them do not appear safe. HekTor again decides to search for traps, this time on one of the shafts and locates and disarms a deadly crushing trap. This elevator otherwise appears to be a decoy. The party congratulate him on his skill. Suddenly there is a horrible scratching and scrambling noise as the elevator under the green lantern collapses through the floor. The party move into battle formation just in time to see an abomination make it’s way out of the elevator shaft; a small creature that can only be described as an eye with legs shaped like scimitar blades. Staying in position and holding the line, the party await the foul creature and anything else that is to come out of the floor, as the noises are still occurring. HekTor lets loose with a bullet, which hits but just bounces off of the creature. However, Fortuitor’s bravado gets the better of him and he charges, swinging his chain in a wide arc and bringing it down on the mutant, killing it with one blow. He gets back into line just in time to see the horrible sight of a swarm of beetles racing out of the shaft. The situation looks grim as the beetles begin to overcome Lucien and Bully, who becomes nauseated, their weapons having no effect on the swarm. HekTor and Fortuitor then decide to pour oil on it and set it alight. This has the desired effect and the swarm is quickly perished. After the party gather themselves together, they explore the rest of the room. Bully, discovers that the passage with the blue lantern has a heightened ceiling. With his Darkvision, he is able to see to its top, which is about 60’ away. HekTor decides to climb the lantern chain to find out what’s up there and finds another passage. Investigating this, he sees ahead of him that the passage ends with a sculpture of a large face with its mouth wide open. Whilst trying to get closer he sets off a trap and the eyes of the face light up and change to different colours, which seem to match the colours of the lantern. He shakes off the feeling of some enchantment and realises that a wind is now emitting from the face’s mouth. This then gets stronger and HekTor realises that if he does not get out of there he will be blown out of the passage to a 60’ drop and certain death. He manages to get out just in time to avoid an untimely doom and reaches the rest of the party as the wind gets to hurricane force above before coming to an end. After HekTor relays how he thinks the trap should be disarmed with the lanterns, the party decide to search out the lower levels first. The shaft that the swarm came out of seems the easiest to enter so they all takes turns to climb down into a large room with the remains of the elevator lying on the floor. A passage leads north, which HekTor scouts out to find a crossroads. To the east he spies what seems to be the swarm nest and goes against going that way. His movements seem to agitate the beetles whose activity increases but does not turn into an attack. Moving west, he finds another large room in which there are eight stone cots, on one of which a skeleton of a man lies, and a large statue of a bald man holding a staff stands at the far west of the room. Also, a giant beetle ambles about the room lazily. HekTor goes to get the rest of the party who tiptoe past the swarm without alerting them. Fortuitor does not want to attack the beetle, as it has done no wrong nor anyone any harm. However, HekTor wants to check out the statue and loot the corpse. As soon as he enters the room he starts to feel extremely fatigued. Suddenly, the beetle fires a cloud of acid that HekTor finds difficult to avoid. Fortuitor, now freed from his moral high ground, acts quickly and charges the creature, dealing a massive blow. HekTor makes an excellent recovery to act next and kill it off with a bullet from his sling. The human corpse is quickly looted, and some valuables are found. The statue is searched for traps but none are found. The staff is wooden and made to look as though it was made from seven parts. Since it is well made, the party remove it and take it with them. Moving back to the main passage, the party continue north. The passage ends suddenly at a large staircase descending into a black pool of water. Whatever is beyond is obviously submerged. Orca casts light onto a couple of objects and Bully and Fortuitor volunteer to plunge into the water. Fortuitor is warned of the fact he is wearing full plate but tells his comrades to have faith in Heironeous. He holds his breath and disappears beneath the surface with Bully. Their light shows that the stairs end in a massive room with four large columns. Two passages lead east and west. Bully moves around the room by swimming whilst Fortuitor stays on the bottom because of his weight. Orca, Lucien and HekTor cannot see what is happening. Suddenly, an amorphous shape racing at them from within the water attacks Bully and Fortuitor. They withdraw to the bottom of the steps to attract the attention of the others and Lucien reacts by charging into the water. All three of them deal with the elemental quickly and Lucien stays with them once they have all retrieve their breath by making a quick visit to the surface. They decide to visit the passage the elemental came from first, which was the west. Another corpse is found with a symbol of some on his armour of an eight-pronged star. He also has a ring with this design on. More importantly, he also has amongst his belongings the red lantern. This is removed along with all other loot from the room. The elf, dwarf and human then visit the east passage and are immediately attacked by a creature of undead. Fortuitor uses his smiting ability and deals grievous damage. As the Ghoul tries to close in, Fortuitor gets in a quick attack that sends it to undeath. The Ghoul’s room is looted and the party return to the surface to join back with Orca and HekTor. They all decide that this level is explored and that they should go back to the lantern room. Heading towards the final elevator, Fortuitor volunteers to go first as it can only hold one person at a time. The door closes and the lift goes down, opening onto a large room. Once, Fortuitor has worked out how to send the lift back up, which involves rotating the sarcophagus again, the rest of the party follow him. The room they have arrived in has a passage leading off of it which heads west but a huge slab of rock has blocked this off. Above it in the ceiling is a hole of about the same width as the rock. The party assume that it was an old trap and has fallen onto some poor unfortunate soul. However, their assumption turns out to be incorrect… Above the rock is a small space that Bully decides to try to climb through to see what’s on the other side. It’s difficult but he does so and sees a passage leading away with statues standing in alcoves every 10 feet. The party decide to try to topple the slab and after several mighty efforts they do so. This sets off the real trap, a cloud of strength sapping gas. However, all of the party apart from Orca are able to fight of its effects. Orca feels extremely weak but is able to carry on. Before heading up the passage, Fortuitor Detects Evil up ahead and senses a presence on a statue close by. Without hesitation he charges and smashes it to bits with his spiked chain. However, it was not the statue but a horrible aberration behind it, which looked like two floating eyes attached together by a thick rope of muscle. The party quickly close in and are more than a match for the beast. Moving further down the tunnel, the party arrive in a huge room, which is obviously a disused workshop from long ago. In the north and south of the room are exits leading to other chambers. A large brown mould that emanates frightening cold blocks the north exit. Exploring the south exit first, the party find that it opens onto another good-sized room, in which they find another corpse of creature wearing the same type of clothes that had been seen before. A good amount of loot is found as well as a couple of ornate sticks that Orca is convinced are wands. They head back outside into the main chamber and try to decide how to confront the mould. It is quickly surmised that since the mould is cold it could be defeated by heat. Fortuitor volunteers to go out of the cairn and gather some tinder for making a small fire to burn some rags with. These are thrown onto the mould, which instantly grows to double it’s size. It is then that the party realise that the coldness is due to the mould feeding on any heat in the room and decide that making the creature cold may harm it. Orca instantly releases a deadly Ray of Frost that destroys the mould on contact. Now that the room beyond can be entered, they find within a well-decorated room that was obviously of some importance. Amongst several treasures is a black egg-shaped sculpture, on which is a device depicting a triangle with two lines cutting across each side. Fortuitor Detects Evil and finds that it radiates a small aura. Before anyone can stop him, he lashed out at it with his chain and it falls to pieces. Closer inspection shows that it was a small Earth Elemental. The room is looted and the party move to head back to the lantern room to face the wind trap and whatever is beyond. After attaching the red lantern and lighting all seven of them, HekTor heads back up to the level with the large face and wind trap. He immediately sees that it is gone and the way beyond is open. He quickly lets the rest of the party know that they can come up. The party make their way up and into an area beyond the now disappeared face. They find themselves on a ledge of a long room with an ornate door at the other end. There is no floor to the room apart from a 3’ beam, which leads to the door. Under the beam in the pit below are hundreds of iron spheres. As HekTor is the lightest, the party agree that he should be the one to try and cross the beam. However, once he is halfway across, several iron spheres shoot out from holes in the walls and knock him off into the pit. A sudden movement in the spheres alerts the party to the fact that they are not alone. Fortuitor decides to dive into the spheres and face his enemy, which turns out to be a Grick. Together with missile support, the party defeat the beast. Before the party can react to their victory, they hear the sound of a young boy laughing. Looking around in horror, Fortuitor sees an incorporeal spirit materialise next to him and try to enter his body. The spirit, looking like a young teenage boy with an obviously broken neck, is unsuccessful and has more luck with HekTor. Through the unwilling voice of the Halfling, the Ghost says that he is called Alastor Land and that he died here many years ago trying to enter the True Tomb beyond. He says that he is cursed with remaining here unless his bones, which are under the spheres, are buried alongside his family’s graves at the Land Farmstead. In return, Alastor says that he will pass through the door and open it by throwing a lever on that side. He warns that it is the only way through. The party agree to the quest and Alastor removes himself from the bemused HekTor. The party set off for Diamond Lake and the Land Farmstead with Alastor’s bones. Soon they arrive at a dishevelled old farmhouse that used belong to Alastor’s family. Inspecting the grounds reveals several gravestones that belong to the Land family. Alastor’s is empty but so are four others that have obviously been recently excavated. They belong to Alastor’s family. The party is surprised by this turn of events but place the bones into the grave nonetheless. Hektor then suggests that they explore the farmhouse, which the party set out to do. They approach with caution and Hektor decides to scout ahead. However, they quickly disturb an Owlbear that has taken refuge in the dilapidated property. Hektor makes good his escape by sprinting to the safety of the party, but the Owlbear closes the gap and crashes into Fortuitor, dealing a terrible wound. The group quickly begin to work together to dispatch the beast and it falls surprisingly quickly. The reason for this is quickly apparent as they see that the Owlbear has wounds from a previous fight. A more detailed inspection of the farmhouse reveals a half eaten limb of a humanoid with a tattoo, which Hektor recognises as belonging to members of a gang associated with Balabar Smenk. The party quickly surmise that this gang had something to do with desecrating the Land graves but are keen to get back to Alastor and gain access to the final room of the cairn. However, they also find an Owlbear cub that will obviously die without its mother. The party take the cub to find a way to help it. Arriving back at the cairn and Alastor’s lair, Alastor asks if they are trying to trick him, as he knows that he has not been buried alongside his family. It is then that the party realise that they must find the bones of the rest of the Lands and replace them too. With the tattoo being the only clue they have, Hektor suggests that they make their way back to Diamond Lake and frequent The Feral Dog, a tavern of foul reputation. He mentions that Balabar’s toughs can be found there on most nights. Arriving back at the lake town, the party decide to rest up. First though, Orca says that they should visit Allustan, the local wizard, for information about the magic items they found during their adventure. However, Lucien and Fortuitor wish to visit the druid’s grove and see if they can hand off the Owlbear. They soon go their separate ways, with Buli following the warriors and Hektor scouting out the town. Allustan answers his door to Orca after a long delay. She finds him stoic, but kind and willing to help. He is eager to hear about the findings in the cairn and happy to help identify treasures in the name of research. Once Orca is armed with new knowledge, she heads off to the abandoned minehouse to await the rest of the party. Fortuitor, Lucien and Buli arrive at the stone circle in the north of town and are greeted by a woman who is obvious attuned to nature. After a short discussion she agrees to take the Owlbear off of the party and take care of it. The group set off to the minehouse as previously arranged. The next day, the party go their separate ways to pick up bit and bobs from the markets of the town. Later, they meet up in The Feral Dog and try to find out who would know about the people who stole the Lands bones. Fortuitor tries to speak with the barkeep but his obvious righteousness offends the man serving drinks, who won’t speak unless something is bought. Once bought, then man is still of no help and directs the party to the punters. This provides some good information as Hektor finds out that the gang usually comes in at about 8pm. Sure enough, at around 8pm the gang arrive, led by a huge half-orc the party have seen around town in the past. He orders some fare and sits down with three others. They are loud and brash and look as though they think they own the place. Fortuitor can’t bear it for long and strolls over to the group to ask if they were involved in the removal of the Land family bones. The half-orc laughs at him and replies with a sneer that Fortuitor had better move away before there’s trouble. Fortuitor persists and lets the half-orc know that if he continues in his bad ways he will feel the pain of punishment forever in the hereafter. The half-orc mocks him and tells him to go away. Feeling a little aggrieved, the party leave, but Hektor stays behind to see the half-orc and his group leave a little later, presumably to deal with the PCs. Fortuitor, Orca, Buli and Lucien are happily walking back to their minehouse when suddenly a ray of necromantic energy hits Fortuitor. His strength heavily drained, he spins around to see the half-orc and his crew bearing down on the party. Despite Hektor’s efforts, he was not able to get ahead of the gang and warn the PCs about the ambush. A heavy melee ensues, but the party concentrate their attacks on the magic user, bringing him down quickly. Another gang member quickly falls before the half-orc is able to enter the fray properly. However, superior tactics prevail and the leader falls, whilst Hektor rounds up the last member, an archer, who was attempting to run away. The party question him quickly to avoid any patrols and find him extremely willing to help. It turns out that they were sent by Balabar Smenk to help out a strange man called Filge move into the old observatory in the north of town. Filge has strange tastes and had an even stranger request; to be brought skeletons from nearby graves to be turned into servants for his home. Although, distasteful to them, the gang carried out the job, losing a member in the process to an Owlbear at the Land Farmstead. After listening to his ranting and assuming they have all the information they need, the party let the man go and he goes running off into the night. The party decide to head towards the old observatory at first light. Next morning, the party gear up and head towards their target. They approach quietly and see that the observatory is a large structure without any windows below the 2nd floor. Getting closer, they notice the entrance is preceded by a flight of steps. Under this is what appears to be a door to a utility area, possibly a shed. The party decide to open this door first and are immediately attacked by a Tomb Mote, a horrible, tiny creation of bits of dead things and necromantic magic. It is quickly dealt with and the shed is searched but nothing is found. However, the party are now sure that foul things are afoot at the observatory. The steps are climbed quickly and the front door is opened. Again the party are immediately attacked, this time by a group of skeletons. Whilst destroying the undead creatures, the party are certain that these are the Land family. Once the battle is one, they decide to press on and come back for the bones later. The rest of the ground floor in unremarkable. The party head up the stairs to the 1st floor and find it to be a living area. A bed and other personals are found here. Whilst searching, they come across a macabre sculpture of a party of dinner guests around a table. The guests are all dead and rotten but suddenly spring to life when someone sits at the head of the table. However, they do not attack and carry out a sickening scene of eating their meal and complementing their host, who obviously is not present. Food and wine pass through their bodies and land on the floor, the creature oblivious of the fact that they are dead. Fortuitor finds the scene an abomination and sets about destroying it. The creatures do not retaliate and are totally annihilated. Meanwhile, Hektor finds a statue of a mummified goblin holding a plate with a severed head with a single silver coin resting on the outlayed tongue. Before Hextor can stop him, Fortuitor garbs the coin to examine it. This sets off the magic trap to scream that intruders have entered the building. There is nothing for it but for the party to storm upstairs and take on whatever awaits them upstairs. Rushing to the 2nd floor, they are greeted by what is obviously some kind of laboratory catered to the dead. At the far end is grouped a mix of undead and what looks like the owner, a foul looking necromancer. A vicious battle ensues, starting with ranged combat. This proves ineffective as the party do little damage to the group, who seem intent on surrounding their wizard master to protect him. Fortuitor shouts to Lucien to join him in a pincer attack to damage the group’s flanks and force them to break. It takes a while but it works, and Orca and Hektor continue with ranged attacks as Buli attacks the centre. The undead are soon returned to death and the wizard is knocked unconscious. When he comes to, the party question him and ask what he is doing here. The necromancer, named Filge, proves rather co-operative as he reveals that he was invited to Diamond Lake by Balabar Smenk, a notorious mine manager and the richest man in town. He was instructed to help find out what is happening in a competitor’s mine, as foul creatures and strange green worms have been seen around the outskirts of Diamond Lake. He hands the party a note, written by Smenk, that tells them what they need to know. It also confirms that the half-orc and his cronies were working with Smenk. Filge asks to be let go but the party have other plans. After searching the rest of the observatory and looting it, as well as taking the Land bones, they take Filge to the local sheriff who, although is detected as evil by Fortuitor, is pleased to have something on Smenk. Filge is taken off the party’s hands a put in custody. The party are pleased with their progress and decide to rest before heading back to the Land farmstead to bury the bones. However, they acknowledge that they have no idea how to separate the bones into different individuals and so go to see Fortuitor’s mentor, Velias of the chapel of Heironeous. Velias proves helpful and separates the bones easily. He explains that they belong to two adults and two children. All seem to have died of a disease. Fortuitor thanks Velias on behalf of the party and makes arrangements to stay for the night for the party. Although, before they rest, Orca heads back to Allustan to find out about some more of the treasure they have come to find. The next day, the party head to the Land farmstead and bury the bones. They then head to the Whispering Cairn to see if Alastor has opened the door as he promised. This proves to be the case as they arrive and watch Alastor disappear but not before he passes through the door and an audible click is heard. Orca casts spells on Fortuitor and Lucien to protect them from any impending attack and the party pass through the now open door. A large chamber lies beyond. It’s a circular room with 4 alcoves displaying sculpted images of times past at equal intervals around a walkway that surrounds a large pit. 4 equidistant walkways positioned at the cardinal points meet in the centre on a 20’ platform. In the middle of this platform, a circle of wind seems to stay in place, reaching up to an area about 50’ above, passing through the ceiling. The party examine the sculptures first and find that each of them animates. They tell the story of the ancient civilisation called the Wind Dukes of Aaqa and how they faced ‘Mishka the Wolf Spider’ at the Battle of Pesh during the Chaos Wars. Several depictions are shown, the most interesting of which is when the Rod of Law is broken and Mishka is destroyed. Soon the party are ready to examine the centre platform. To be certain that no accidents occur, they split up and come at it from two directions, joined together with a rope. This proves to be a bad idea as the party reach the platform and are attacked by two humanoid creatures, which seem to manifest from the column of wind. They wear ceramic armour and wield a sword in each hand. They must spend time cutting the rope before they can fight effectively, during which the Wind Warriors attack them mercilessly. One closes in on Fortuitor and clangs it’s swords together, from which emits a cone of sonic force and damages the paladin. Fortuitor replies with a damaging blow himself and deals a grievous blow but the creature remains standing. On the other walkway, Lucian does his best to protect Orca and deals the second Wind Warrior several wounds but it stills does not go down. Meanwhile he becomes hurt himself. Orca does her best with spells but they have little effect. On the other walkway, Fortuitor and Hektor are having more success and land telling blows; Fortuitor with his spiked chain and Hektor with his sling. A moment later the Wind Warrior collapses into a pile of dust. Fortuitor quickly sprints towards where Lucien is facing off the other Wind Warrior but he needn’t have. Lucien deals a slashing blow and brings the creature to the same fate as the previous. All party members feel well enough to carry on, so they examine the column of air. Hektor drops a coin into it and they all watch as it floats upwards to the hole in the ceiling. Fortuitor volunteers to go first and steps into the air chute, which sends him floating upwards just like the coin. The others follow and they all find themselves in a rich chamber, which is obviously a tomb of a respected Wind Duke. Several treasures are found; including a couple of artefacts that the party think would interest Allustan. The party then leave the tomb in a good state by jumping back into the air chute, which lands them back on the platform below. The party are pleased to have come through their first adventure alive. The Whispering Cairn has been conquered but there is a feeling that this is just the beginning. Three Faces of Evil The party arrive back in Diamond Lake and immediately go to see Allustan. He looks at the items that the party have found and mentions that a couple of them are very powerful and need further inspection. This, he says, will take about a week. This leaves the party with no choice but to leave the goods and return later. Whilst leaving Allustan’s home, they are met by a messenger boy who says that Balabar Smenk would like to meet for a quiet word and that he is waiting at his residence. With nothing else to do and with it being one of the things the party were going to do anyway, they set off to meet with the most powerful man in town. Balabar is a pompous, overweight man with a superiority complex. However, he also seems to be a man who isn’t easily intimidated. He trades good banter with the party, who find him to be an unsavoury sort. Fortuitor detects that he is evil and is immediately put off of him. The mine manager explains that he has become aware of terrible things taking place at a competitor’s mine, owned by a dwarf called Ragnolin Dourstone. The Dourstone Mine is now said to house deeds so evil that it is now a concern of not just himself but of Diamond Lake. The party see through his false concerns and highlight the profit he would gain by their interference. They also begin to interrogate him about his association with Filge and his filthy habits. Balabar makes no excuses and says that he is a friend with strange habit but that’s no concern of his. But the concern of the town should be that Dourstone Mine needs to be investigated as soon as possible and that the party are the people to do it. The party can do nought but agree, but they also agree that they are not working for Balabar, they are working for the good of the town. Later that day, the party are once again in the Feral Dog, this time looking for miners who work in Dourstone. The barkeeper greets them with scorn, for he knows that it is them that have robbed him of a regular group of customers; Balabar’s heavies. Asking around, the party meet with a scrawny excuse for a man who looks like he doesn’t have another day’s life in him. He explains that he works in Dourstone and that strange things are indeed happening. Miners have gone missing and there are areas, which the miners are told not to go. Fortuitor takes pity on the man and when satisfied with all the information they receive, offers the man a platinum piece and a chance to get out of town. The man is delighted and cannot contain himself as he hops out of the dirty tavern. The party make plans to try to enter Dourstone Mine the very next day. They head back to the minehouse to prepare and sleep the night. The next Evening, as they arrive at the mine, a young guard who approaches them from a nearby shack greets them. Several others lounge against the side of the rickety outpost building, watching the party but far enough not to be able to hear the exchange. The young man tells the party that they are not allowed to enter. Fortuitor tries to talk the man around but this fails. He then resorts to bribery and some coins are exchanged. Fortuitor is hit with a sudden pang of guilt as he realises that he just committed a dishonourable act. He promises himself that he must try to do better if he is to succeed at being the arm of Heironeous. Despite the immoral method, the party are now able to enter the mine. They locate some miners and ask the way to the place where they are not to go. A friendly miner helps them out and the party pay him with a platinum piece. The man runs off, unable to contain himself. The party have been brought to a wooden elevator that works on a pulley system. It can only take three people at a time so Fortuitor will go last. As Orca, Lucian and Hektor are lowered to the bottom, they hop off to be confronted by a large room from which leads three exits. Before the party can do anymore, they are attacked by two teiflings. Lucian calls for Fortuitor to get down quickly, whilst he and the other two close in on their prey. However, the teiflings act out a plan, with one holding the party off while the other runs to the eastern door for help. This door has the symbol of Hextor emblazoned on some scarlet banners. Fortuitor arrives after the first teifling has fallen and tries to get to Lucian, who is being held at the door by the other teifling plus numerous skeletons. These skeletons have bells attached to them and it is not long before more occupants of the Hextor complex come to join the fray, many of them human cultists. Orca uses her spells to devastating effect, making the floor greasy just inside the doorway and causing several of the enemy to fall over. Lucien advances slowly and lets Fortuitor into the room and both set about bringing the enemy down, while Hektor fires bullet after bullet from his sling. Just when it seems like the pressure is easing off, more cultists arrive, followed by the bellowing of a large beast, which reveals itself as a dire boar. Mercifully, the cultist’s tactics are poor and the boar cannot get close enough to hurt anyone. Orca uses the confusion to once more cast a grease spell and the boar goes down and is unable to get up. Fortuitor advances to the boar quickly, wanting to take it out before it can be brought into play. He deals it grievous damage before it is finally killed. Meanwhile, the others finish off most of the cultists but a few run away down passages that come off the room. The party regroup quickly but decide to make haste and press on before too much preparation can be made against them. They wade into the complex, killing a cultist here and there before finally reaching what looks like some kind of battle arena. In the middle stands a statue of Hextor, which offends Fortuitor. But the party are still intent on clearing out the complex and press on further. It isn’t long before they find the last group of cultists making a last stand against them. Troglodyte zombies form a wall of defence between the party and a couple of battle priests behind them. The priests cast silence spells to stop Orca from using her magic, reducing her to crossbow fire. Lucien wades in but is held back by the Hextorian line. Fortuitor looks at the situation and runs off, thinking that he can approach this room from another angle and flank the enemy. Orca thinks this is a good plan and follows him. It takes about half a minute but soon Fortuitor and Orca are attacking the Hextorians from the other flank, although Lucien has still not made it through the line. One battle priest brandishes a scroll at Fortuitor and casts a sonic blast spell. He holds on to his senses but the sound is so powerful that his body is racked with pain. Orca is stunned by the noise. His attacks on the second battle priest are unsuccessful so when this happens a couple more times, Fortuitor is in real trouble. Orca has also taken a lot of damage. With both attack not able to break through, Lucien makes a bold move. He charges into his immediate opponent, knocking him over and get to within striking distance of the casting priest. A few seconds later she is dead, just before Fortuitor is able to cut down the other one. After this, the concentrated attack on the zombies only has one outcome and the battle is quickly won. Before looting the bodies, there is just one more door to go through. Before opening it, Fortuitor takes several curing potions to get him close to full health. When the door is opened, he is immediately attacked by what is obviously the high priest. Another telling grease spell from Orca sends him prone and Fortuitor is able to deal with what would have been a difficult adversary with ease. The complex is defeated and the party swoon and rest. They make a quick search of the obvious before Orca insists that they carry on with the other two doors urgently, as they may now be aware of our presence. The rest of the party are reluctant but see the sense in this. Outside in the elevator room, the other two doors beckon. One with the symbol of Vecna and one with no symbol at all.
The only thing i have changed in the 3FoE is give the PC's the impression that resting for 8 hours in a Hextor temple, whilst a Vecna temple and an unknown temple or door lay just outside is a BAD idea.... They seem to have taken the bait and as such will be moving on immediately ... Mwahaahahaha...>< They have cures and wands so it wont be too harsh. DM Shane
Hi All, Just wondering if anyone has thought about running a Character and AOW at the same time.... I have heard of DM's doing this and it sometimes helps to navigate the AP without the DM giving to much away etc.. Thoughts? DM Shane
Hi All, I run a game in London once per month, am also interested in playing more, looking for a group in East London?? DM Shane
Hi Guys, I have a question: My party have requested to lock down the Hextor temple and take 20 on the complex to loot all the items?? is this realistic? considering there are 2 other temples and it would take a long time to spend 20 on each and every room. What should i do? Thanks DM Shane
sorry, just so i have this right, it is D&D online - Stormreach??
Ok great stuff, i will pre-order the game and register on the website listed above :) Thanks again DM Shane
I am interested in doing so.... sounds great :) How do i get onto the beta test for D&D Online? Dm Shane
Ah ok thanks, phew!! glad to see i am getting it right :)
Hi All, Question: Does theldrick need to stay alive?? Coz my party killed him :( they found him in his room and as a result he attacked them and died!! DM Shane
My group killed Kullen and his gang also, so they have the +1 greataxe and shortsword +1, however No-one is using them !! LOL. They have just finished the Hextor Temple in the Dourstone mines. I must say they have got this far without even one death! :p DM Shane
I am currently running AOW - in Greyhawk setting. Myself as DM and 5 Players. We play in London/Leicester. Thats another 6 to the count :) DM Shane
i am going to be running 3FoE this weekend,and my PC's are not really the Blitz type either. However i have a paladin of heironious in the group and they pretty much hate Smenk already. In fact i would be surprised if they didnt try to kill him lol :). My Paladin is definately ''Smash the Evil Doers'' at all costs, so that helps. Surely you could make the Hextorites betray the PC's?? if that happens they should in retribution - kill the Hextorites and start on the rest?? DM Shane
Just so i am clear on this, There are vertical battles ahead?? :/ lol My PC's cant climb for anything. But it will be fun to see there faces when they realise they will have to hold on to the wall with one hand and fight with the other!! :)
I am yet to play that adventure but i would assume they move at normal rate instead of 1/2 movement.
In my game, i have dealt with the treasure situation by making the NPC's ask for items. To start the game, each PC recieved an Invitation to Visit the Whispering Cairn, in return for time off work or the knowledge of the meeting in the abandoned mine house, they need to appease thier peers. One PC works for Osgood, Osgood aranged with the PC, ''for time off work'', to be given any unique or fine looking items of Armour or Weapons. The other PC's are in similar situations and this has reduced the amount of treasure avaliable for them. To balance this out - i have given some of the PC's - one magic item to the value of 2000gp, as long as it stays in line with there Class and has been incorporated into the history of the PC as a gift.
Hi all, I have nearly finsihed the WC with my group and we are due to start TFoE this weekend. I have told them about Dragon Chess being a big part of the gambling scene within Diamond Lake and i have a feeling some might want to play for cash..... I have in response told them, they may take 'Dragon Chess Playing' as a skill, ie it would work like all other skills and they would need to make a better check than their opponent to win. I would like to know if anyone else has done this, or any thoughts on this being a good idea or not?? Thanks DM Shane
Please forgive my ignorance, are the WOL suggested in the TFE or AOW campaign? or is this a move us DM's can adopt? Thanks DM shane
Hi all, It is true this is an unlimited source of money, however i feel you may be forgetting the tomb only resets itself once per year. So in order to make serious money from it, you will need to be an elf :) LOL. at least i think its every year??!! :/ DM Shane
Hello All, I am starting the Age of Worms campaign for my players in 2 weeks, characters as follows; Human Paladin of Heironious - Lvl1
I must admit this is my first time DM'ing but i have played for a number of years. I also think Age of Worms is a great campaign to start Dm'ing with :) Can anyone give me advice on the Whispering Cairn?? tips on surviving it etc..? One of my players is a experianced DM and the others have played as long as me, however most of them miss simple things as they have a hack n slash approach or a search absolutly everything approach on any given day it could be either. thoughts? Thanks DM shane |