GM of the Mines's page

Hey guys, I’m sorry to do this, but I believe I have to call this game, for now.

I think I bit off more than I can chew, trying to create a campaign from scratch with only the mines’ entry in Dungeons of Golarion as reference. I may revisit this idea in the future when I have the chance to actually get a coherent plan together, but for now I will put it on hiatus. I’m going to mark it inactive after a few days, once everyone has a chance to see this.

So sorry about this, just felt it wasn’t right to drag you along a lackluster experience without a real idea of what I’d do. Thank you for the game so far, I enjoyed it greatly!

Everything okay guys?

The path up the mountainside continues without much other distraction beyond the temple, with plenty of rocky surfaces impeding your progress making it a slow and arduous journey.

Luckily for you, a storm seems to be brewing and rain starts to drizzle down as the group makes its way to the top of the ledge. The rain climbs in intensity steadily alongside you as you climb, the darkness of the storm growing as well.

After about another half hour of climbing you finally make it up to the top, and see the edges of the fortress that you saw on the map. A handful of gnolls look like they're guarding the right entrance but don't seem all that interested in actually keeping a look out, mostly huddling inside the doorway around what looks to be a firepit with some sort of meat roasting above it.

The western entrance is a little more hidden amongst the rocks, so you'll need to try and make your way over there without being noticed to see what awaits you there.

Is the discussion here donw? Ready to move on towards the mine entrance?

Hey, sorry guys. Had a bit more trouble recovering than I thought I would, been resting more, like I should've been. Apologies for the silence, I'm feeling much better now.

Onwards to adventure!

Alright, and we're back! Not quite done recovering, but good enough to get things started again.

Appreciate you sticking with me through this!

Had the dental surgery today, everything went well and even through the pain and aches I feel much better than my previous state. Gonna take a few days off to rest and recover, and then I’ll have my games back up shortly thereafter!

Thank you all for your patience.

Hey guys, just letting you know I'll be having a minor non-life-threatening surgery on Tuesday, so I might be out of commission for a few days thereafter.

I'll try to post as soon as possible after it!

"Those terms are...acceptable. Bring me the flesh of the gnoll heretics in the mine, and I will not attack you on your way back down. Presuming you make it back at all, that is."

The thing laughs, sounding more like a hyena's cackle than a true laugh, and flies off into the ruined temple, leaving the path ahead open for you.

It is a Ghul, an undead jann whose eternal existence was twisted by fate and wrought through the displeasure of Ahriman, Lord of the Divs. They can take the shape of a hyena, and feed on the flesh of living creatures, favoring the recently dead.

Ahriman is a demigod of nihilism and destruction, whose cults have plagued Kaladesh for many years. Sarenrae's followers purge the cults every now and then, but they always seem to crawl back.

"The temple was dedicated to him, yes. Before the gnolls in the mine above were lured away from his worship. A lot of blood was spilled that night." it laughs again quietly before shaking what passes for its head, seeming almost regretful.

"Any flesh will do, good enough for me to eat. Though I think I'd prefer it if it was from that group of traitors."

It laughs, which is more of a dry croak in whatever passes for its throat than an actual laugh.
"Fresh flesh, of course." the thing says in its strange broken voice. "To the master of this desert, the Lord of Divs. And less metaphorically, to me."

Knowledge Religion would be helpful here, both to identify it and who this Lord of Divs is.

Forgot to add that you could see the ruined temple for a bit before you actually came on it, like a few minutes. So any prep or spells you wanna do ahead of time is fine.

The night quickly drops the temperature in the edge of the desert as the sun disappears beyond the horizon and the moon slowly rises into the sky. It takes nearly half an hour to reach the actual mountain itself, and every passing minute brings you deeper into the shadow of the Zolurket Mines. A chill wind picks up as you travel, blowing across the dunes.

A path slowly climbs this side of the mountain, curving several times before it reaches the actual entrance of the mine.

About halfway up, however, you discover what looks to be a run down temple. It doesn't look like it's seen any use or even visitors in many many years, as most of the buildings and walls have been eroded or outright destroyed. Either with time or malice, you cannot tell. As you approach the path beside the graveyard of a temple on your way up the mountain, you hear an eerie howl echo through the ruins that sends chills down your spine.

Ahead of you on the road, next to the temple, a four legged canine creature steps out from behind a broken bridge it had been hiding behind. Even as the howl repeats, obviously coming from this creature, its shape begins to stretch and distort unnaturally. At the end of the surprisingly quick transformation, what stands before you is a figure draped in fine dark robes. Its skin appears to be made of equal parts bone, leathery flesh, and blood-red smoke.

Here's a picture of what it looks like.

"You will pass no further, unless you have the proper offering." the thing says in broken common, its horned skeletal face seeming to struggle with the words.

The two dwarfs listen to the party discuss for a few minutes before Travis speaks up again.

"I think whichever entrance you take, you better be prepared for a fight. They have guards stationed to patrol around the edges of the fortress and even as undisciplined as they are, they'll likely see you coming from far enough away to prepare some sort of defense."

Truther nods, agreeing.
"You'll want to get up there as soon as possible, as well. They know we're here now, and will be expecting you."

Hope everyone that celebrated it had a great Fourth of July! That's where I've been, my apologies.

Posting now!

Apologies, internet has been out for a bit, a wind storm did a number on some of the infrastructure in our area. It's back now though!

Travis seems a bit overwhelmed by the influx of questions from John, but quickly recovers and answers.
"That is mostly correct, yes. There are two main entrances into the fortress, the southwestern holes in the walls and the remains of the front door to the southeast (circled in black). The fortress is set inside the actual mountain, with this staircase (circled on the map in red) leading down into the level below the fortress, the Grand Transept. The areas immediately behind and below the first level will most likely be empty, as it was a former residential area and not able to be effectively fortified."

"I think both entrances will be well-guarded, just depends which you'd prefer to use."

"The few southern entries are how you'll get into the fortress level. The southeastern-most hall area is where the original entrance used to be, but the fortress itself has been attacked and changed hands so many times that any original defenses have long since eroded."

The dwarf continues, moving his hands over the southern entrances that are marked with the rubble.
"We aren't sure about any recent additions the Cracked Hammers have made to the fortifications, as we haven't had an agent up there in a few months, but gnolls aren't exactly known for their defensive strategy so there shouldn't be anything you can't handle."

"Actually, we do have a map of the first upper level of the fortress levels. We used to have more maps of the deeper levels that we had explored with Tibbers, but they're either with his remains or lost.

Threw it up on Roll20, not to scale obviously.

"As far as actual information on the Cracked Hammers, we know they're led by the witch matriarch, Khuhr Bloodsmirk. She's a real piece of work, became head of the tribe by killing and eating the previous warlord.

And we know they are close to the typical gnoll warband, with children and pet hyenas and everything else you'd expect from such a place. It'll be a tough job, but I know you can accomplish it."

Your guide this far smiles at the question, then answers.

"I will be staying at the camp for now, yes. After you clear out the top level of the fortress of the gnolls that live there, I'll be part of the team that sets our forward base up there. It's been a pleasure so far, and I look forward to working with you more." with that, she disappears off into the camp to attend to her other duties.

The command tent stands tall in the center of the camp and is full of activity, with a group of employees constantly about. Inside awaits the pair of dwarves, and as you enter they turn towards you.

Travis calls out enthusiastically, greeting you.
"Ah, there you are. Glad you could make it. We have much to discuss. Our agents in this camp have been doing their best to gather as much info as possible on the gnolls in the top layer of the fortress."

The caravan takes another half hour regathering itself before it's ready to leave, but they're on the way soon enough.

The rest of the journey, both the end of this day and the majority of the next, pass without any more problems. The desert is searing hot during the day, but you are nearly forced to light fires with what wood supplies the caravan brought during the night, as the temperature drops intensely.

If you want to do anything during the night, or have different preparations for the next day, feel free. I think we've dawdled enough, and it's time to get to the mines!

The next morning sees you arrive at the base camp set at the bottom of the mountain range leading to the Zolurket Mines. It's a busy show of workers and miners, performing all sorts of duties.

Within 10 minutes, Alidelia comes up to you and interrupts any activities you may have started.
"Truther and Travis are waiting in the main command tent at the center of the camp. I expect they'll brief you, answer any questions you may have, and then send you on your way."

"As our friend here says, I think the most likely explanation is they were given it to mark their targets. Like I said, we have a few operations in this area, it could've been any number of gnoll tribes in the area. I'd put my bets on the Cracked Hammers, but I imagine we might find more when we get to the mine."

The dwarf nods and laughs at John's suggestion.
"That's a wonderful idea, actually. I'll get a sending sent back to Katapesh immediately."

Not any banners or flags, per se, but there is the occasional logo on a piece of gear or the like.

"Who said we hadn't been in these parts?" Truther says, laughing. "We have multiple operations going on in not only these parts, but all across Katapesh! It is a bit of a concern that they are targeting us specifically, how do you figure that?"

They don't look very official, and certainly aren't currency. More like target designations, if you were to guess.

When you make your way back to the rest of the caravan that has gathered together at the center of the rock formation, you are relieved to see that Truther, Travis, and Alidelia are all in mostly good condition; a few scrapes and cuts here and there but nothing major.

Travis calls out in excitement when he sees you approaching, and claps his hands together as he moves to meet you.
"What a wonderful fight that was! I hope everyone is safe and sound?"

A quick search of the dead gnolls left behind turns up a few nonmagical spears and some leather armor, but the most interesting part is that each of the gnolls carry a small piece of parchment with a symbol on it: a trio of T's overlined with each other: the symbol of the mining company you work for.

Before you go chasing after him, John's spellcraft check reveals that the gnoll used the Agile Feet power of the Travel domain. He is also under the effect of an expeditious retreat spell, meaning his base speed across the desert is a quick 70 feet (30, +10 base from Travel, +30 expeditious retreat) for about two and a half minutes or so. If you want to continue, feel free, but this will be a harder chase than it first appears.

Yasmin’s combined bird attacks, added to the swift strikes of her scimitar are enough to finish off the other two gnolls. The bow gnoll, the apparent leader of the group, sees his troops dead and decides better of taking any more action against these troublesome foes.

With a quick phrase in a language you cannot understand, he makes his way out into the desert, sprinting along on all fours until he disappears into the sand dunes behind the rock formation.

He Runs, as in the full-round combat action. You can tell he activated some magical effect, but it would take a Spellcraft check to identify what allowed him to Run over difficult terrain.

Combat is over! Unless you’d like to take chase after him, into the deep desert. Which is possible, probably.

Emercy's acid dart manages to finish off a second gnoll, and it collapses into the sand.

Yasmin and Anovat are up again, followed by the gnoll bowman.

John's bomb just barely misses the gnolls, and lands next to it. Luckily, it is still enough to take that one out, and it falls to the ground dead.

Reflex: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (6) + 0 = 6

Waiting on Emercy.

The gnoll with the bow aims at emercy, his face a snarl of hatred and rage as the rocks clash around him wihtout stopping his arrow.

Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27
Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

It strikes true, hitting the dwarf hard, and the obvious leader of the pack howls out in triumph as he seemingly commands his pack forward. THe four gnolls move, albeit slowly, towards the hill the party is defending.

Emercy and John are up!

Glad to see you're back! I thought I already had the Roll20 link in the header, my bad. It's there now, though.

As you sit on the higher ledge and prepare yourselves for the inevitable attack, the foes you are waiting on come into clearer focus. Running across the sand towards you are four gnolls wielding large pointed spears, and one gnoll that seems to be more elegantly equipped holding a longbow.

The gnolls cry out in ecstatic glee when they lay eyes on you, and start running even faster towards the small outcropping you have been assigned to hold.

init, Yasmin: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19
init, Anovat: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19
init, Emercy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
init, John: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
init, 4 gnolls: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (11) + 0 = 11
init, gnoll bowman: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

Anovat's 'prepared action' goes off, and he casts the Stone Call to start off the combat, as he's first in initiative anyway.

Stone Call dmg: 2d6 ⇒ (1, 4) = 5

Yasmin is up next, followed by the bow gnoll.

I don't want to bot John for you guys, but we are waiting on any of his preparatory actions before moving on. So he'll do whatever you guys want him to with his spells and infusions both before and during combat.

I'm going to set up the fight and put the gnolls up on Roll20, just feel free to say what you want John to do unless he comes in and says otherwise.

It is gnolls, and gnolls are 100% evil. At the very least, the ones in this area are.

"Not tailed specifically like this, but we have encountered gnoll raiding parties before. That or slavers." he replies, his face darkening as he seemingly remembers past meetings with the bandits of the desert.

"I am not afraid of whatever they might be, but I certainly hope we can make the marker before they catch up, it'll help our position."

I gave you the two hours prep time, in case you had any specific ideas for preparation. You will make it to the stone formation before the other group catches up with you, and I'm getting the map set up for the fight now. Once you reach the stack of rocks the group will have around ten minutes before they arrive.

The rock formation appears right before the two hour mark, and you can see the group getting closer and closer. The two dwarves and their company employees quickly pull the supply wagons and camels into the center of the rock formation. Alidelia approaches you to coordinate the defense, should it be neccessary.

"Whoever they are, they're approaching quickly from most directions. It doesn't seem as if they're friendly, most likely a gnoll warband looking for plunder. We have the rest of the circle covered, we need you to hold this direction. Do you think you can do that?"

Put the map up on Roll20, and put you on a raised hill. Your group of gnolls appears to be headed from the southwest (bottom left of the map), and you have about five minutes left of prep time before they arrive, should you wish to prepare anything.

The caravan leaves as soon as everyone is sure they are ready. The sun rising only leads to a hotter and hotter desert as the day passes and the sun climbs to its apex. The first half of the day doesn't seem to have much in store for you, as the most interesting non-traveler thing you see in the first few hours after you leave Solku is a pair of jackals fighting over the carcass of some great packbeast. Scorpions, sand, and the heat of the sky fills the rest of the morning.

Around noon, that seems to change, as Truther falls back on his camel from where he was at the head of the group to talk to you.

"Don't react when I say this, but it seems as if we've picked up a tail. Around an hour ago our scouts noticed some dots on the horizon directly southwest of us. Seems as if they're following us, and whoever they are, they are faster than us." his tone is serious and clipped, but no hint of fear appears there.

"There's a natural rock formation that we use as a landmark on the way to the mine about two hours ahead, if we're fast enough. We're trying to push the caravan harder to get there in time before whoever it is catches up to us. The rocks there will help us defend if they're hostile."

"Just thought you'd appreciate a heads-up, so you could prepare yourselves.”

With that, he begins to head back towards the front of the caravan.

Most certainly! As one of the most common adventuring items, there are a ton of partially charged CLW wands. 15 gold per charge, as per the division of the normal fully charged wand.

The sun rises the next morning, just as hot as the previous day. Sarenrae's temple reflected the rising sun into glorious patterns on various prepared glass shrines across the city, lighting up the streets of the waking city.

Truther and Travis met you in the same meeting room as yesterday, and had a surprise prepared: a full course breakfast! Eggs, toast, bacon, and a wide variety of stranger breakfast foods spread out on the long table.
"You better enjoy, this will be the last meal we all have like this for quite a while!" Truther had said, laughing.

The group departed within the hour, the supplies you needed prepared by porters and other laborers. Camels await outside, and the caravan leaves through the main western gate shortly after you gather. No huge speeches, no massive morale boosting rants, just a quiet sleepy mustering of forces for a long trip to the mountains. The guards at the gate only take a cursory glance at you before letting you through and the seemingly endless sands of the desert stretch out before you.

"And so the journey begins, eh? Should be about a two day's journey to the bottom of the mountain, and then another half day up to the edge of the fortress." Travis says, looking out over the desert sands.
"This is your last chance, anything else you need to do before we head out?"

Absolutely! I’ll get a post up after work about the start of the next day, but if any of you have specific actions you want to take before you leave, feel free to write them up in the meantime.

Yeah, that is partially my fault, and I am sorry for that! There isn't much to be found, was mostly throwing out some details for a post or two before we left the city and moved on.

If you want to skip to leaving the city the next morning, can absolutely do that!

"Like I mentioned, we do have spare rooms here. They're not the most furnished, so if you want to have more than the neccessities, I'd reccomend the Breakstride, Solku's largest and most comfortable inns. They are quite well known for their luxuries and amenities."

They nod politely when you make your leave, and turn to handle the preparations.

Anything you'd like to do in particular? If you have any specific activities or places you're looking for, I can point you in the right direction. Solku is well-furnished with a background and names of businesses for me to use.

"Of course we do, we are prepared for the journey. Do not worry about that part, let us handle the preparations." Truther says.

Travis answers the second half, enthusiastically.
"There's this one market stall down in the New Market, they have the best fried scorpions in town. You have just got to have one before we head out." he says, pausing to take a calming breath before continuing. "It's right out front of Thrice Blessed, the best coffee shop in the city. You should get one of their coffee ceremonies done, if you can afford it! They're truly magnificent to behold."

Truther cuts in, less enthusiastic, and more business-like.
"Whatever you choose to do, just be back here ready to leave at dawn. I want to be on the way as soon as possible."

"We do have all the tools and food necessary for the two-day trip there, and about a month's worth once we're there. Any more time than that and we'll have to arrange resupply from the city."

"We leave tomorrow morning, at first light. Feel free to rest or explore the town. We have extra rooms here for the night, but you have about half a day until the sun goes down. Plenty of exotic goods in the markets, but try not to get into any trouble, or talk about what you're doing here too much. There are other groups interested in the mines, and we need to be careful with revealing too much info." Truther concludes.

"Once there is a safe foothold inside the fortress layer, we will need to take the time and use our resources to clean and fortify the fortress. The gnoll tribe won't go unnoticed even if we wipe it out completely, and even human raiders will want to take the chance to make their mark on the mine." Trathis says, with an almost reluctant look towards Truther. "When we do secure the fortress, the expectation is for your party to continue down into the mine to clear out the upper layers while the Company holds the fortress and pushes away any further gnoll attacks."

"Very good question, I'll give you that. The Company's main interest in the mine itself lays in the rich strains of platinum we have found inside the mountain. Even what little remained in the upper levels was enough to fund our deeper incursions into the lower layers. With that in mind, any 'loot' or other artifacts you find that wasn't in Mr. Tibblers' immediate possessions is yours to keep. As long as our operation secures the platinum veins, the Company will be more than satisified." Truther continues, smiling at John.

Apologies for my long absence, internet has been on and off. Glad to be back and stable though!

"Well, the first step of the plan is getting to the fortress." Trathis says, thoughtfully. "It may sound obvious, and even easy, but gnoll raids and roaming warbands have made the area quite dangerous. Not even getting into what other dangers one might find in the desert outside the city walls." he continues, his voice serious. "Once we arrive at the mine, we'll find out what we need to do to establish a base camp in the ruins of the fortress level. From there, it's just about clearing out the gnoll tribe that holds it at this very moment. The next steps we'll take are useless to discuss until we hold the upper level."

Truther picks up after the last sentence.
"We know this journey and the task that lays at the end of it will be dangerous. I don't want to put you under any false pretenses, we are hiring you on for an extremely hazardous job. But the rewards will be great. The mine is full of old dwarven treasure from ages past, and upon delivery of Tibbler's remains and belongings, we are offering a 4,000 gold reward for each of you."

Just stopping in to say power and internet is back, I’ll have a post up tomorrow after work! Glad to get this started again, sorry about the interruption!

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of posts, we had a tornado come within 2-4 miles of our house Friday afternoon, and our internet and power has been out for a bit. Everyone is fine, and there was no damage or injury to me or my family, thankfully.

I’m out connected to wifi to make this post, but it may be a bit until I can continue properly.

I’ll keep you updated!

"No concrete plan, no. It's been nearly a year since our last attempt at entering the mine again, and have next to no intelligence about the area or its' inhabitants." Truther answers, sadly.

"The only thing we do know is that Khuhr and her warband of gnolls hasn't been pushed out of the somewhat fortified upper fortress layer. It shouldn't be too hard to assault them directly, but part of our opening mission should be to scope the fortress out and devise a plan."

"Ah, yes, the principal matter at hand." Trathis says, his voice betraying some past pain. "Tibbler was one of the three founding members of this very mining company with us. About ten years ago, there was an unfortunate incident inside one of the deeper levels of the mines. The area seemed to serve as some sort of meeting hall, or a living quarters. We hadn't explored that much before a cave-in of one of the sections above us regrettably killed both Tibbler and several more of our company."

Truther steps in, his face emotional alongside his business partner.
"I won't lie to you, there are several reasons we want to recover his body and possessions. The most important is to put his body to rest peacefully, as he deserves. The second is that he had the map that held most of our knowledge of both the levels we have explored and the ones beneath, gathered from previous expeditions throughout the many years since the mine closed. Was abandoned."

"We have made many attempts to claw our way back down to the level where his body lays, but all sorts of obstacles have hindered our path. Most recently the gnolls of the Cracked Hammer tribes and their witch leader, Khuhr. They've occupied the top fortress level of the mine for the past four years and have been causing all manner of issues for both Solku and the numerous trading routes that use this area as a path to their own fortune."

Truther fishes a few drink glasses out from the cabinet and does actually manage to find a rather large bottle of Thuvian brandy, bringing it out and setting it on an ornate table in the middle of the room.

"I'm glad to hear that you were treated nice, but we will have to discuss those sea elves with the captain later. They have been quite troublesome in the past. But, enough of that, and sit, sit, I am sure we have much to discuss." Trathis says, moving over to take a seat at one end of the table.

"Yes! So many questions I'm sure you have." Truther agrees, sitting down next to his business partner.

Making your way through the crowded trade plaza isn't easy, but with the help of some of Alidelia's guards you manage to push aside enough traders and merchants to make it to the mining company's headquarters in good time. The number of peddlers who recognize you as newcomers to the city and offer you all sorts of relics or "purified holy water" is quite alarming, however. It's easy to see how less experienced visitors could get swept up in all the excitement.

A sandstone building like all of the rest of them, the Truther & Trathis Mining and Excavation Company's headquarters in Solku is surprisingly less opulent than you expected, given their base in Katapesh. It is mostly focused on the storage of various equipment and tools, although you do find yourself in a somewhat well decorated parlor with enough comfortable seating for a small party such as yourselves. The guards remain at the entrance to the building, but Alidelia enters with you.

Inside the parlor sit two well dressed dwarves, presumably your employers. One stands upon seeing you enter, and nods politely towards Alidelia.
"I assume you are the help we are bringing in for this delicate matter? I'm Gravlet Truther, and my companion here is Kip Trathis. We're the original founders of the T&T mining company, along with our prematurely passed member, Tibbler Rocksledge. Before I go too in depth, however, can I get you a drink?" he says, waving to a rather large ornate drink cabinet.