For those that can't seem to get enough of these harrowing tales of defeated heroes beneath the depths of the the Dourstone mine...
Chapter Two: Three Faces of Evil
Cast of Characters
Beorm - Male Human Druid of Obad-Hai
Drugan - Male Hill Dwarf Psychic Warrior
Halysthel - Male Raptoran Cleric of Obad-Hai
Throrethan - Male Grey Elf Wizard
"Stone" - Male Goliath Barbarian
Violet - Female Human Spellthief
Narrative
As fate would have it, Smenk contacted the party before they could contact him. When they went to see him, he told them a tale of woe that might have seemed preposterous had there been no evidence to confirm it. Smenk claimed he had been forced into aiding an evil cult operating in town against his will and that he had swiped the worm from their temple in order to see if he could learn more about what they were up to. He seemed to genuinely be fearing for his life and promised to provide the party with the location of the cult's temple if they would help him. Since it appeared the cult might be the source of these strange worms, and therefore the unkillable undead as well, the party agreed to investigate.
The cult had taken hold in a chamber beneath the mine of Ragnolin Dourstone, a dwarven mine manager who had apparently been in line with the cult the whole time without anyone's knowledge. The party snuck into the mine and found a secret elevator leading to the temple as Smenk had told them, and thereafter they discovered the temple.
Upon descent into the temple, they were immediately attacked by a pair of planetouched guards. These guards had fiendish blood and fought with ferocity but were quickly dispatched. The cult apparently consisted of three different factions, each worshipping a different dark god, the Whispered One, the Herald of Hell, and the Lord of Slaughter. These factions sought to bring the power of their gods together to create a super deity that would usher in a new era of darkness.
The party decided to approach the temple to the Herald of Hell first. The incursion was a bloody one. The priests and followers of the Scourge of Battle lived well up to their grim lord's name. Their response to the attack was swift and organized and the party soon found themselves in over their heads as they battled a dire boar, more planetouched, and a trio of powerful priests. Just as the battle appeared to be over, the party was saved as the three adventurers from the Free City of Greyhawk, the rogue Tirra, the warrior Auric, and the mage Khellek stormed into the temple and made short work of the remaining defenders. Although they claimed a majority of the spoils in exchange for the information recovered in the temple and keeping the party alive, it was better than death, and the party counted their blessings. The Free City Adventurers returned to the surface and the party licked their wounds. Unfortunately, the party was unable to revive Stone, and he became the first fatality of the group.
Returning to the surface themselves, the party immediately went to the authorities with evidence of Dourstone's complicity. Not trusting the governor-mayor's pet sheriff, the party went straight to the garrison and the temple of Heironeous with their information. After conferring with a lesser priest named Tasilo who appeared a bit fed up with his sedentary lifestyle, the party was allowed to speak with High Priest Valkys Dun and Captain Tolliver Trask. The Captain grilled the party for information and in the end requested that they return with more evidence implicating Balabar Smenk. Valkys Dun insisted that the party be accompanied by a temple paladin named Melinde on their return. While the party prepared to return, Captain Trask had Dourstone arrested for his involvement in the cult.
Below the Dourstone mine again, this time accompanied by the overly pious Melinde, the group made their way next to the temple of the Whispered One. They hoped they had arrived before the worshippers of the Spidered Throne were apprised of their arrival. The maze-like temple of the god of secrets was treacherous and inhabited by vile bird creatures called Kenku who used the dark corridors and a system of secret doors to their advantage. When they had been slain, the party discovered a pair of dwarven captives. One was Gar Blitzhame, nephew of Dulok Blitzhame, leader of the dwarven Greysmere Covenant. The other was a guard for the Greysmere Covenant named Drugan. The pair had been kidnapped by the kenku while guarding a shipment of gems. The party returned the dwarves to the surface. Drugan offered to continue the fight with them while Gar went to report to his uncle.
On their return, the party breached further into the Whispered One's temple. They found evidence of Smenk's duplicity. Much supplies was found within with his company's sigil upon it. It seemed he had been cooperating a bit more than he let on. Beyond, they found a worship chamber seemingly haunted by numerous mad souls. There, they were attacked by a pair of wizards and their allip guardian. Though the wizards were dispatched the allip brought on a terrifying fight and its maddening touch nearly drove several to insanity.
Finally, the party charged into the final chamber, a laboratory where many arcane experiments bubbled and boiled. A battle ensued with a faceless man and his two acolytes. Spells were slung left and right. Webs entangled friend and foe alike as monsters summoned from the pits of the Hells surged forward to attack the intruding heroes. Drugan had already succumbed to madness in the previous chamber, Violet was the next to fall as a fiendish ape thumped her over the head, and the battle went sour after that.
Fiendish apes hounded the remaining party members at every turn. When finally Beorm was brought low by a lightning bolt, Throrethan and Halysthel tried to muster up a retreat. They made it as far as the elevator, but the pursuing cultists caught them in a web and brought them low with their hellish apes. Finally, Halysthel felt his grasp weaken as a blow from an ape sent him reeling. He loosed the grip on the elevator train and as he did, the cultist who had cast the web spell dismissed it, causing the elevator to crash to the ground. Throrethan was the last to fall as he valiantly tried to stave off the beasts. They were never heard from again.
|
Ouch! That is by the far most epic way I've seen a TPK presented. I want to harken back to the good ol' days of Shackled City, but then I remembered that the second installment of that Adventure Path was "Flood Season" which had just as many TPKs as 3FoE.
So what are your plans for your party? Did they at least have fun with that epic battle? Perhaps the garrison will send reinforcements which will include new PCs?
Ahh. A shame. Nice writing, though!
;)
WaterdhavianFlapjack
Here's the epilogue. I keep an online journal for the campaign. Basically, they created new characters and went back and housed the remaining Vecna followers.
A week or so later, Auric, Tirra, and Khellek were bragging to a group of adventurers in the Green Dragon Inn about how they sheisted a good bit of loot from an underground temple in the town of Diamond Lake. The adventurers, a motley band from various regions in and around the Domain of Greyhawk found the tale intriguing, especially at the mention of other temples in the complex and the story that the other heroes had gone down a third time and never returned. So Jerricho the ranger, Aeselyn the sorceress, Karris the healer, Gyorgg the ugly scoundrel, and Morland the dwarven warrior all set out for Diamond Lake to seek this temple.
The town was wary of visitors, but when they mentioned interest in the temple, they were quickly shown to the abandoned mine where it was said evil things had been stirring since the last party failed to return. The townsfolk were more than happy to allow the heroes a chance to return things to normal, so the party entered the mine and began searching for the passage to the temple.
Upon reaching the elevator, it was deathly cold. They descended slowly in two groups, first examining the temple of the Herald of Hell. Finding it deserted, they proceeded to the temple of the Whispered One. As they entered, they found themselves under attack by a band of human mercenaries led by a gruff half-orc. The thugs were quickly subdued, and the rest of the maze explored before the group moved into the dark cathedral. As they poured into the ante-chamber, they found themselves face-to-face with a vicious band of gnolls. The creatures proved resilient, but ultimately, their fate was the same as the mercenaries. Finally, the group pressed into the laboratory where the Faceless One remained with his lone surviving acolyte, attempting to rebuild the artifacts damaged in the last fight.
The ensuing battle was gruesome and frought with blood and sweat. The Faceless One summoned horrible centipedes of monstrous proportions from the vile reaches of the planes and tossed powerful spells the party's way to slow them down. However, the Faceless One was weak, and his cadre of acolytes depleted. Though he arrogantly defied the invaders with vile threats, they turned out empty and he wound up with several bludgeons on his skull from the flail Gyorgg had recovered from one of the gnolls. The fight was over and the cultists of the Spidered Throne were defeated.
To be continued...
Cool! :) Awaiting the next installment. In about an hour and a half having D&D. Better prepare. Wish me luck.
(Sorry about the fragmented sentences) ;)
WaterdhavianFlapjack
For those that can't seem to get enough of these harrowing tales of defeated heroes beneath the depths of the the Dourstone mine...
Chapter Two: Three Faces of Evil
Cast of Characters
Beorm - Male Human Druid of Obad-Hai
Drugan - Male Hill Dwarf Psychic Warrior
Halysthel - Male Raptoran Cleric of Obad-Hai
Throrethan - Male Grey Elf Wizard
"Stone" - Male Goliath Barbarian
Violet - Female Human Spellthief
What level were your characters? My party of 8 is nearing the Temple of Vecna and most are still 3rd level. I'm fearing a similar TPK in my group, as it looks like you didn't include Melinde in your cast of characters (my party is 7 + Melinde).
The PCs were mostly level 4 when the TPK happened. The goliath had died in the Temple of Hextor and the player of that character didn't return until a few sessions later when he brought Drugan, the dwarven psychic warrior into the mix. Drugan was the only level 3 character in the group at the time of the TPK, but he had already been driven insane by the allip so he was out of the picture. The others were all 4th, and Melinde didn't return with them after Drugan was found (I NPCed her in since the party needed a front-liner while the goliath/dwarf player was in absentia).
Had they not been so depleted of resources, or had they stocked up a little better in town before going down, I doubt it would have been a TPK. It was really close.
I want to harken back to the good ol' days of Shackled City, but then I remembered that the second installment of that Adventure Path was "Flood Season" which had just as many TPKs as 3FoE.
Oh good, I'm glad mine isn't the only party having trouble with "Flood season". It completely freaked me out when my cleric met the Spawn of Kyuss down there, as I'm DMing AoW!