DM Wandering Loremaster's page

Hi Bergur - I'm really sorry to hear that, but I completely understand.

I've really enjoyed gaming with you, and wish you all the best for a full recovery. If you ever make it back to these boards please do send me a PM to say hi.

Merry Christmas to you and everyone else reading this - may 2021 bring better news for all of us.

Oh, that sucks. Sorry to hear it.

I've heard from Sarah - she's come down with a vomiting bug and is just now getting over it. She should be back with us today/tomorrow.

Even more ironically, a lot of this 'chapter' (discovery of long-lost Dwarven fort) was for Onar's benefit!

I'm busy this weekend but what I will do is wrap up this bit on Monday with a post that moves us forward to the conclusion where you report back to Viglund. We can then take it from there.

...not sure what to do here. With Bergur and Harry both away (temporarily I hope) we are down to 2 players which isn't really enough. I'd love to keep this going, it's a lot of fun to DM but we should probably talk about what to do.

Thanks - please pass on good wishes for a quick recovery.

I'll give Bergur a bit longer to post before I move things on and bring Illyria back to consciousness.

@Morwen - did you say you're still in contact with Harry's player? Do you think he might come back soon-ish? If not then I need to pick up a fourth player as three is not really enough.

Morwen's arrow strikes the shade before Illyria's sword plunges deep into the thing's formless body, severing for good its connection to this world. The Dwarf gives a howl of anguish, giving voice not merely to the rage that has kept it here beyond its time but to the grief that it was never able to express for all those years. It evaporates, but not before shattering Illyria's sword into pieces.

Illyria herself turns white and falls to the ground. Only the faintest pulse at her neck indicates she is still alive: her breathing is too shallow to be seen.

Illyria is unconscious and will recover in 1d4 ⇒ 2 hours

The group's attacks all hit, tearing away at the Dwarf's shadowy form even further, although it again manages to repair slightly. Its axe once more strikes Illyria, although with much less force than previously.

Illyria takes 3 slashing (halved to 1) plus 1 necrotic for 2 damage total

I'll bot Morwen today if she doesn't post in order to keep things moving.

Heh, good tactics - you're obviously familiar with the 5e system :)

Another round of the group's attacks continue to shred the Dwarf's spectral form, although it concentrates for a moment and some of the tears start to repair themselves slightly. It hisses wordlessly at you and swings its axe into Illyria, the unearthly chill again seeping into her soul.

Illyria takes 5 slashing damage, halved to 2, plus 3 necrotic damage for 5 total

This time, everyone manages to land a hit on the Dwarf, your weapons passing through its shadowy form and tearing away some of its essence. The ghostly creature gives a mocking laugh as you argue semantics. "Your words hurt me not, and see! Nor do your blades."

Its glowing eyes glare at each of you in turn, with the promise of death.

Everyone needs to make another Wis save DC 14 or be Frightened next round (disadvantage on all attacks)

Illyria's sword slices through the Dwarf, and as it exits it trails some of the phantom's essence, like inky shadow wrapped around the blade. Morwen and Bergur both miss with their attacks. In response, the Dwarf's axe bites into Illyria, filling her with a chill that leeches into her soul.

Illyria takes 3 slashing damage (halved to 1) and 4 necrotic damage

Unearthly, hollow laughter spills from the inky void of the Dwarf's spectral mouth, echoing to the rafters of the great hall. "You cannot defeat me. I am death to all the race of Men." The shadow of its axe brushes past Illyria once more, bringing a chill to her veins but not causing her any harm as she again ducks out of the way.

The only good news for you is that whatever got into the dicebot has affected me as well.

Illyria's sword passes through the dwarf, although it does disrupt the thing's spectral form slightly. Morwen's arrow also manages to hit, despite the Dúnedain's obvious fear, passing through the dwarf and taking some of its essence as it travels through. The dwarf gives a harsh laugh, obviously glad to have someone to vent its wrath against. Its axe, still gleaming with a keen edge despite the passage of so many centuries, lashes out at Illyria but the horse-woman manages to duck.

You guys are up. The Frightened condition no longer applies. Illyria got a nat 20 on the fear check so I'm giving her a point of inspiration

...I've gamed with Ever_Anon a fair few times now so I hope I'll be forgiven for saying this, but if your plan A is relying on him to roll well than I hope you have a plan B!

I'm not sure how combat in 5e is going to work with 3 of you. I will bot Onar if I think the odds are falling against you.

As you venture further into the great hall, the darkness does not fall back from the light of your torches, but instead seems to linger, becoming more solid, drawing itself around you like a net. As Bergur asks his question about a curse, a mocking, hollow laughter rings out across the hall.

"A curse? Cursed be the race of Men! Oathbreakers! Death-bringers!"

Standing in the doorway - between you and the questionable safety of Mirkwood - is the shimmering form of a Dwarf. Clad in a hauberk of silver and with jewels on his helm, he was once great. Now, he is but a memory, if a dangerous one: you can see through his form to what is behind him. He starts to move towards you, striding right through the table as if it does not exist. He continues to rage at you as he moves.

"We showed you friendship, and swore an alliance against the hated orcs - but it was not they who took this place, greedy for treasure! It was not orcs who slew my kindred even as we drank together, who burned the hall of my ancestors. A curse on you! Death to ALL the race of Men!"

With that, he is upon you. A fell dread infects your spirits as terror washes over you all.

You guys are up! You need to make a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or be Frightened for 1 turn: Disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls and you can't willingly move closer to the source of the fear

Glad you are still with us!

I'm really sorry to hear that. MS is a horrible, horrible disease. No easy decisions there at all.

Thanks for the update on Bergur.

Bergur: I know you can see in the dark but none of the others can so I am making the assumption that the group lit torches to explore. The alternative is you going in alone, which doesn't fit with your genre-savviness :)

Sorry all for the disappearing act. I am around and will pick this up again

With the consensus being to stay here and continue exploring, the next bit to explore is the keep. The double doorway is wide and no light can be seen within the passageway beyond. Thick cobwebs trap the dust of centuries, except where they have more recently been broken showing that you are not the first to try and explore this place. The hallway is stone, interrupted along each side by arrow slits and above by murder holes. All is blackened with soot and scorch marks. Evidently the dwarves who lived here did not surrender the place without a fight.

A series of doorways - the doors long since broken and lost - lead off on each side and at the end of the hallway. Exploring each room in turn, you find ancient guardrooms, long-abandoned storage rooms, a cold forge with rusting anvil and mildewed bellows. Like the hallway, the same marks of ancient violence are seared onto the walls and the same pattern of disturbed cobwebs shows that you are not the first to have explored this place.

Only when you open the door at the end of the hallway do you find something of more interest. The double doorway - the doors here again lost to fire and time - is wide enough for you all to walk through at once, and this room is large enough that your torches fail to illuminate the whole of it. It is clear that this was once the great hall: the remains of an ancient feasting table (solid oak and ebony, now riddled with rot and woodworm but still standing) dominates the centre, while at the far end you see the high table where the lord once sat.

Scattered across the table, glinting in the torchlight, are a number of gleaming golden coins...

Hi Onar/Black Dow

I completely get what you're sayin and I hope that things go well with you in RL. Do get back to me in 2021 if your batteries recharge, you're a great player and I'd love to DM for you again some time.

@Everyone else: ironically/sadly, Onar is dropping just as my own batteries are starting to recharge and I'm ready to get this moving again. Given Harry/Decimus hasn't reappeared, we are down to three.

Are you all up for continuing? I hope the answer is yes. If so, i suggest we finish this encounter at the keep and get you back to something resembling civilisation where we can start thinking about finding another PC to join us. (If you have any suggestions for players, do PM me).

"What about the gold coins the boy mentioned? Not many people carry gold. They should still have those with them."

It's always a pleasant relief to know that someone is reading what I've put the work into writing :)

FYI, it is Drusilla's group, although how you'd prove that is unclear. But you are not in the wrong castle!

Illyria's idea, good though it is, proves fruitless: there is no sign of the gold coins that were mentioned. If they were ever here, they have disappeared along with the people. All Bergur can find is evidence that whoever was here belonged to Viglund's people (the quality and style of their belongings matches what you have seen elsewhere in the region); and that the leader of this group was a woman, evident from the gear she left behind.

Nothing else of interest in the watchtower.

Hi all - sorry for delays in posting, am having RL motivational issues (for want of a better word). I'll get something up now and will try to do better.

The makeshift door to the watchtower gives way easily. Inside, the air is stale, and the dust of ages which was disturbed by the recent occupants has re-settled somehwhat; although it is easy to see where a group of perhaps a dozen people have cleared a space inside. The ashes of a wood-fire still linger in the fireplace, although the fire itself is long extinguished. The internal walls and stairway are still in good order having survived the weathering that has eroded the external masonry. A quick exploration reveals that the occupants had divided the rooms up among themselves, with most sharing. The top-most room has only a single bedroll, of slightly better quality than the others. If you had to guess, this was the leader's room.

There is no sign of anyone: personal effects, bedding, even weapons and armour lie where they were left. It is as though whoever was here went to bed one night and simply vanished.

Sorry to hear that Harry. Sending good wishes your way.

S@~!. I've committed that rookie GM error, haven't I? A door. Two doors.

What the f*!! was I thinking?! I know better than that :(

Illyria disturbs the flies enough that they swarm away briefly, allowing her to see the rotted, festering corpses of almost a dozen horses. She and Harry would guess that the beasts have been dead for several weeks, perhaps a month.

A shudder passes through you as walk under the arch and into the courtyard: a premonition of doom.

Everyone needs a Wis DC 14 check or gain 1 Shadow Point. Bergur's Woeful Foresight grants him Advantage on this roll

The fort's muddy courtyard once held a number of buildings. The timber that held them up has long since collapsed and looks burned in places. A stone parapet once ran along the battlements, but is broken in many places and the stairs that granted access now look unsafe.

A vast, thick cloud of flies buzzes over one of the ruined buildings. The stench of rot and decay wafts towards you from whatever they are feeding on.

The keep still stands strong, a monument of stone, testament to the building powers of the Dwarfs. A squat, two-storey building, the upper level bears the marks of age and some of the masonry has fallen away. A pair of stout iron-bound doors once warded access to this building. Now both lie in pieces on the steps leading up to the entrance, broken by mildew and woodworm and the passage of so many centuries. The pieces of timber that are still visible bear similar marks of fire to the ruined buildings that once lined the courtyard.

The old door to the watchtower is similarly ruined. However, more recently efforts have clearly been made to create a barrier. It does not look siege-resistant, but it at least keeps out the wind and rain. The watchtower itself still looks solid, although like the keep it bears the marks of the passage of time.

Apart from the buzzing of the flies, the place is deathly silent.

EXPLORATION MAP Entrance to keep and watchtower highlighted with red arrows as it's not clear from the map. Grey circle to the north is the cloud of flies

I'm sure it's OK. Dwarves are famously forgiving and don't hold grudges for long :)

30 APRIL 2947

Dwarven construction is sturdy and even the great forest of Mirkwood has not managed to reclaim this keep in its entirety. As you climb the hill, the remains of a stone pathway guides you towards your destination and at the top of the hill you find yourselves in a clearing. The stone fort is unmistakeably old, but it still stands. An outer wall with a single guard tower surrounds the central keep. Dwarven runes, still legible with the passing of centuries, run around the edges of the archway where the gate once stood. The iron portcullis is partially descended, but clearly jammed long since and rusted in place. The gate itself is no more, pulled off its hinges by some unknown strength. A quick reconnaissance confirms that the outer wall is still intact - short of climbing over it, the only way in is through the front gate.

Although you are in a clearing, the air is still that of Mirkwood: thick, heavy, hard to breathe and oppressively still. There is no sign of life from the fort. No birds sing. No squirrels chatter. No animals graze in the surrounding meadow.

Illyria, that postimages site you were using is great. Happily stealing it as a resource! :)

Harry spends ten minutes treating Morwen's injuries, and then you are ready to move on.

Morwen restores 1d8 ⇒ 6 x 2 + 3 = 15 hit points

OK, I will give others a chance to chip in before moving us along

Not quite sure what you want to do here. Stay where you are for a bit - and if so, how long - or move to explore the keep?

The Spider hisses and chitters in pain as Illyria and Onar strike it and Morwen's arrow wounds it. With its companion dead, it decides to flee in search of easier prey. Trailing viscous ichor from its many wounds, it withdraws into the forest.

End of combat (no AoO as it Disengaged)

Waiting on Harry and Onar

Bergur, Morwen, Onar - go for it. If the spider's still alive when Harry checks in he can post then :)

The Dwarf misses with his attack, but the wild swing of his axe-head fends off the spider yet again. For how much longer can his luck hold?

Harry & Illyria, then Bergur, Morwen, Onar, then Spider 2 if still alive

Yes: you're travelling with a scholar who has a healing ability that recharges with every short rest. You've been on the road for days, and each day has at least one short rest, even on a Journey - unless I tell you otherwise.

There's been enough short rests for Harry to bring everyone back to full health.

There is a hideous crunching sound as Bergur's arrow punches straight through one of the Spider's many unblinking eyes, and sinks to the very tip of its feathers. The creature's many-jointed legs thrash horribly for several moments, but it is quite dead.

Another well-time critical! Morwen, Onar then Spider 2 then Harry & Illyria

The spider ignores Harry's missed shot, and Illyria's sword. It bites Morwen again, badly wounding her. Morwen takes 9 damage, 4 hp remaining. DC 13 Con save or be Poisoned

Morwen, Bergur, Onar then Spider 2 then Harry & Illyria

Ónar once again stands fast, as a Dwarf should and is unharmed. He hits the spider attacking him. Morwen and Bergur's attacks fail.

Harry & Illyria are up

29 APRIL 2947

A good deed shines brightly even in a wicked place. Giving this man whatever funeral you can manage in these circumstances helps to lighten the burdens you all carry, lifting your hearts slightly as you find what meaning you can in the ritual.

Everyone loses 1 Shadow Point

30 APRIL 2947

Even at its edges, the forest of Mirkwood is an oppressive place. The trees hang menacingly over you, cutting off the light of the sun and deadening the breeze, although the rain still manages to get through, splashing on your hood and cloak, making the dirt at your feet muddy and treacherous. Beneath the tree canopy, the foliage is thick and dense - trailing vines that have to be cut through, tree roots that seem to move in order to catch your feet, and dense thick clumps of ivy and other bushes that limit your vision. Today, however, luck is with you - in part. Clambering through something that you thought might be a path but turned out not to be, you end up at the bottom of a steep hill... and at the top of the hill, you see it: choked with weeds and overgrown with vines, the remains of a stone fort; ancient and partially crumbling, but unmistakably dwarven architecture.

You have very little time to celebrate your find, however, as your searching has attracted attention. Not all the Spiders of Mirkwood spin webs: some take a more active role in finding and stalking their prey. In the dense undergrowth, the first thing you know about it is when two large spiders, with too many legs and bodies the size of a wolf, jump out at you! Morwen is bitten before she can react, but Onar's armour protects him from harm.

There are 2 spiders: Spider 1 in combat with Morwen, Spider 2 in combat with Onar. Morwen takes 8 damage and needs to make a Con save DC 13 or be Poisoned. No map. Morwen, Bergur and Onar are up, then the spider 2, then Harry and Illryia and then spider 1 for the next turn.

Illyria - in case it matters, you are dismounted for this combat

Unfortunately Harry's ministrations are not effective. As soon as the rocks are removed from his legs, the man instinctively tries to move them - and drives the broken bone straight into an artery. Despite Harry's best efforts, he bleeds out in moments.

Illyria and Bergur gain Inspiration

Temporary. I'm evil, not sadistic.

That turned into a bit of a marathon - I honestly didn't expect it to take nine rolls for you to hit a DC 15 Survival check!

Also, these journey rules are amazing - worth the price of the books alone. I've never seen wilderness travel actually be fun to GM (and, hopefully to play as well)!

22-30 APRIL 2947: The Search for the Lost Keep

Even with a map, your information is second- or third-hand at best and there are key clues that you simply don't have. From Cedwin's sketch and Harry's recollections, it looks as though the keep will be on the edges of the Grey Mountain Narrows, where it joins with Mirkwood and the plains you now stand on. It is no more than a day or so away, but reaching it is one thing. Finding it is quite another. The foothills of the mountains are treacherous places, with steep ravines and gorges, and where it meets the land of Mirkwood it is heavily overgrown. You could pass within 500 yards of the keep and not see it if luck is against you.

And luck, it seems, is against you. Morwen is a skilled tracker and guide; Bergur is an experienced scout. But the trail you are following is weeks old, and even though you may know what to look for and - approximately - where, you are still searching an area that is tens of square miles of rough terrain. Days pass. Tempers shorten. As if that weren't enough, the weather turns against you. Cruel, biting winds blow from the Grey Mountains, chilling you to the bone. Damp mists obscure vision and make everything perpetually soaked.

Everyone gains Exhaustion 1: Disadvantage on skill rolls

25 APRIL 2947

Somehow, Bergur finds it. Neither wind nor rain nor gloom of mist prevents him from spotting a vital bit of shelter - a dry cave. Perhaps something once hibernated here, but it is long gone and you are able to pass a good night's sleep and even dry out slightly.

Everyone loses 1 level of Exhaustion. Bergur made a DC 15 Investigation check with Disadvantage and gains a point of Inspiration

26 APRIL 2947

This place is cursed. You feel it even as you wander into it, your path having gone awry (yet again!). Either something evil once lived here, a servant of the Shadow, or some vile act took place. Perhaps the Necromancer worked dark magic on this very site. Whatever the cause, a presence haunts you for the whole day and the dark nature of the place lies heavy on your hearts. Only Bergur manages to throw off a black mood.

Onar gains 1 Shadow point. Harry, Illyria and Morwen gain 2 SP

29 APRIL 2947

How long have you wandered here, now? Surely you must have counted every rock, root and branch twice. And yet, every place you explore looks unfamiliar.

It is Morwen who notices them: buzzards, circling on the thermals that rise off these hills. Shortly after, you round another corner of another interminable ravine and spot the reason why - a thin, emaciated man, gaunt with starvation, lies partially buried under a rock fall. Some of the braver carrion birds have landed, but the man brandishes a knife weakly, driving them off - for now. Soon he will be too exhausted to continue, and the birds will feed whether he is dead or not.

The man sees you, his eyes flashing wild as he utters a cry. It might be a warning, it might be a plea, it could be anything. There is a madness in his eyes, someone who has seen and endured far too much. The knife moves to point in your direction.

If you want to help him, it's a DC 15 Persuasion (or Intimidate) to let him help you, a DC 15 Athletics to free his legs from the rocks and a DC 15 Medicine to help him. According to RAW, different people are supposed to make each roll but I'm easy. (If you don't want to help him, no rolls are needed but you gain 2 points of Shadow)

Harry remembers stories that when Erebor was first ruled by the Dwarves almost a thousand years ago (long before the coming of Smaug), they built a series of stone keeps along the foothills of the Grey Mountains to keep watch on the pass (and an eye on the border with the forest, although it was not yet Mirkwood by then and the Elvenking still dwelt in the South). Of course, back then they were masters of the Grey Mountains, and several of their lost holds are the stuff of legend: the Greydelve and the Firestone Mine in particular. It is possible that Drusilla has stumbled across one of these ancient keeps.