RPG Superstar 2010 Top 32
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I've put each of the baddies on a printed sheet, and I'm going to hand them off to the other players, and let them do the work. I've included tactical notes, so they'll know what to do with them.
That's a great idea! Nice thinking!
Now go get some rest. At your age you should know better! /mom
I will probably be taking a similar tack with encounters ahead of the group in the Savage Tide.
Which ones I shall not disclose at the present time - but perusal of other encounters in other journals proves fairly enlightening. ^_^
Game Session 40, part 3 (Plans and bad times on the Abyssal Ocean: Enemies of my Enemy contnued)
Back on Oerth the party pays a visit to King Skotti at his castle. There they discover that the noble king has undergone some changes of late. Though, he has only spoken of the shadow pearls to a small few, the weight of the threat to the Flaness has begun to weigh heavy upon his mind. He seems to feel as though the end of world is imminent, and he has responded to this fear by hosting night after night of lavish feasting and drinking. When the party arrives in Niole Dra they are welcomed into his hall, and seated at his head table where they partake in a night of drunken revealry.
The next morning they convene in the war room to discuss their progress. The council is small, consisting only of the heroes, King Skotti, Mage Grayhill, and two of the king’s champions. One is a knight, and nearly legendary paladin named Roland Pommelpoint. Sir Roland earned his fame during the Greyhawk wars fighting against the fiendish forces of the demigod Iuz (Iggwilv’s son) in the north. He is one of the highest ranking members of the Knights of the Chalice and was a member of the adventuring party that was responsible for using the Crook of Rao to banish so many of Iuz’s fiendish minions back to the Abyss. His hatred for the demonic is deeply rooted to say the least, and King Skotti introduces him with pride.
The second of Skotti’s champions is a thespian calling himself Libris. Libris has long been one of Skotti’s favourite Courtier’s and entertainers, and he has travelled the Flaness extensively, where he engaged in all manner of political intrigue. Desipite his rather foppish disposition, Skotti ensures them that he is a highly capable individual who could be a great asset to their quest.
With introductions made, much discussion ensues. Most of this revolves around the heroes explaining what they have learned in the past few weeks. Skotti in turn, informs them that he has met with the Mordenkeinan and the Circle of Eight, and that they have begun to take measures to locate and capture as many of the Shadow Pearls as they can. However, because of the pearls’ innate resistance to divination magic, they are proving incredibly difficult to find, and progress has been slow to say the least.
It is decided that to expediate things the party will split up. Breca will go alone to the Court of Stars to negotiate with Gwynharwyf, while the rest of the party travels to Thanatos to meet with Orcus. King Skotti urges Libris and Sir Roland to accompany them to Thanatos. Sir Roland is hesitant, for it is not in his nature to negotiate with fiends for any reason. However, given the circumstances he sees the necessity in it, and the idea of having two of the Abyss’s most infamous demon lords destroy one another holds some genuine appeal.
Breca leaves Argent to captain the Pelican into the Abyss using the wake portal, while he plane shifts to the Court of Stars. A few days later, the party is ready to set forth. The coins of Charon are affixed to the Pelican’s figurehead and the wake portal is activated. Soon Argent, Yvy, Tommen, Sir Roland and Libris along with Harliss, Lavinia, Vex, Jaheria and a few more brave sailors find their ship on the Abyssal seas. Thanks to the coins of Charon, the ship seems naturally drawn towards the mouth of the river Styx. However, the journey takes a few days, and there is no shortage of danger to be had on the Abyssal ocean. On the second day they encounter their first storm. It is a terrible thing to behold, and without Breca to manipulate the weather and add his sailing expertise the ship is tossed around effortlessly by the tremendous squalls and mountain high waves. Argent stays above deck doing his best to pilot the floundering ship, as rain and wind lash him. Waves crash over the vessel forcing the crew below deck to save themselves from being swept overboard. Rigging snaps, sails are tattered and soon one of the mast’s breaks like a twig. Argent quickly realizes that the little ship is lost, but he tries his hardest to deny the inevitable. Then a huge wave lifts the ship and sends it toppling end over end. For a moment things go dark, and Argent quickly realizes that the ship has gone under.
Desperately the heroes seek one another out. Argent uses his fly magic combined with his ring of freedom of action to glide through the water with speed and agility. It doesn’t take him long to gather up his companions, and as the ship sinks down into the depths of the abyssal ocean, the heroes plane shift home. Unfortunately, they are forced to abandon several crew members, leaving them to cold watery deaths.
The survivors find themselves back on the material plane, and they head to Gradsul. There Argent falls into several days of depression over his failure and the loss of ship and crew. He spends much of his time stumbling drunkenly about the docks district. Hopping from one tavern to the next, scuffling with anyone foolish enough to get in his way.
Fortunately, Breca returns form a successful journey to the court of Stars. He doens't initially share all the details, After speaking with Tommen, he quickly learns of the party's misadventure at sea. Annoyed, but not overly surprised by the news, he sets out down to the docks in search of Argent. It takes some doing, but eventually he finds the gensai half passed out in an alley. Argent is pretty much happy to sit their and wallow in his self loathing, and Breca has to slap some sense into him to get him off his feet. On this occasion the dwarf decides not to make use of his teleportation magic, and decides to help him back to his room at the Gray Malkin academy the old fashioned way.
The next day Argent is more able to hold a conversation, and Breca offers his forgiveness regarding the loss of the Pelican (his first ship). It takes a couple of days, but eventually the dwarf convinces him that they need to try again, but this time he'll be at the helm.
They return to Scuttlecove and easily hire a crew and commandeer a ship. It becomes their new vessel, and they instal the wake portal and the coins of Charon. It is renamed Charon's Blessing. This time Breca, Argent, Tommen, Yvy, Alannah and Sir Roland all take part in the expedition. Libris the thespian, decides that he's had enough sea voyages for now, and remains in Niole Dra to keep the King's mind off of impending doom. The wake portal is activated, and again the heroes are sailing on the Abyssal ocean.
With Breca at the helm they are able to sail to the river Styx successfully, if not easily, and after some time they have found their way to Thanatos.
Here is the first character journal written by our newest player Steve. Steve just joined the campaign last game session. We now have maxed out at six players, which is a bit cumbersome for my liking, but I think I'll manage.
His character is Sir Roland, a human paladin and knight of the chalice.
The following account is submitted in accordance with Order precept 473a: 'On Documentation and Preservation of Crusade Activities.' All hail the Wheel of the Law.
As per Bishop Norn's instructions, I proceeded to King Scotti's castle and awaited the arrival of the contacts. King Scotti is ever the gracious host and sympathetic to the cause of the Light, and accomodations have been provided for me. In the interval between my arrival and that of the contacts, I undertook to gather some level of intelligence on the subjects, in order to better gauge the type of action necessary.
Information provided by castle staff, as well as local merchants of arcane goods provided several key pieces of information:
- The contacts in question appear to be independent agents, and not affiliated with any formally existing organization, either mercenary or otherwise. In this regard it appears that our existing intelligence was correct.
- The nature of the contacts appears to be compatible with the requirements set forth in Order precept 21a.4: 'On Acceptable Standards of Behavior by Allies of the Order.' At this time, please void all Prospective Contact Termination Forms associated with he root document for this assignment. Formal assessment will be submitted at the time of actual contact with the party using Schedule 145: 'Agent Assessment of Ally Suitability.'
- The party composition falls outside the boundaries of the Order's recommended war party composition rules. Although they possess a significant number of arcane spellcasters, the group posesses only one member primarily identified as a front-line combatant. In this regard, it appears Bishop Norn was correct to send a knight on this assignment, and I currently estimate a contribution coefficient of between 1.0 and 1.75.
-----------
Roland's Personal Journal
King Scotti's hospitality has been sufficient, and today I made first contact with the group. The members I have met so far consist of a doughty and rather pious seeming dwarf, a rather bookish mage-type, a somewhat suspect female mage, and an air gensai of all things. There seems to be some sort of interpersonal friction between the dwarf and the gensai, and shortly after I met the party, the dwarf (Breca?) retired to his quarters, and we were joined by a rather flamboyant gentleman who apparently fancies himself a fighting man, though he appears to be little more than a dandified fop.
In any case, King Scotti gave me a very nice introduction which seemed to be all the credentials I needed to become a full-fledged member of the company. I was briefed on the party's mission and current short-term goals, and they set off to make preparations for the next leg of the trip. Having been stationed in town for the past several days, I was of course ready to depart immediately, but the rest of the party needed to re-supply. I spent the intervening time doing some reflection on the mission and the methods the party plans to use.
In one of the earliest briefings I attended as a Knight of the Chalice, I remember Brother Sotho, himself a veteran of several crusades into the Abyss speaking on the subject of evil, and how as Knights of the Chalice our duty is to strike at the heart of evil, if we can. Sometimes it requires you to get closer to the source than you might otherwise want to, but if you can maintain a pure heart, and strike at the right time, it can be worth it. I have decided to stay the course with this party, despite their methods, which stand to risk their very souls. To see the Prince Demogorgon brought low would be a worthy objective indeed. I will not compromise my own virtue, but I am willing to see where this road leads. A violent death surrounded by fiends seems the most likely outcome anyway, and there is glory in such an end.
From the sounds of the household staff, my new companions have returned. I'd best make my final preparations.
GAME SESSION 40 part 4 (an audience with Orcus)
With Breca at the helm they are able to sail to the river Styx successfully, if not easily, and after some time they have found their way to Thanatos, a plane of perpetual night.
Orcus is known to make his main residence in the city of Everlost. Everlost is far from the river styx- over barren hills and across the bone meal desert. Fortunately, the party commands powerful magic, and they are able to teleport from their ship to the city with ease. Thanatos proves to be a hostile plane towards the living. It naturally drains the life force of living creatures who set foot on the plane, and even demons are not immune, though the demons in the service of Orcus have adapted to these harsh conditions, and bear a necrotic look about them as a result. The party has to take steps to protect themselves, and ample use of deathward spells results.
Everlost turns out to be a rancid city of decaying stone buildings infested with undead and demons, and it bears only a passing semblance to a real city. Breca casts a wind walk spell, and the heroes assume gaseous forms and fly with haste towards a great palace of bone that acts as the hub of the dead metropolis. A vast line stretches out from the palace's main doors, and at the entrance a pair of Balors seem to be busy deciding who gains entry.
The party descends and lands in an alley. They take material form, and Yvy summons forth various gigantic fiendish vermin to wreak havoc on the line of undead. In a plane of chaos, chaos is not difficult to create. Mass anarchy ensues, and the companions take advantage of the distraction to fly to the front of the line, where they confront the Balor doormen. They present their letter from Iggwilv, and it does indeed seem to carry some clout, for after relatively brief negotiations they are permitted to enter the palace and gain an audience with Orcus.
They make their way down a vast hall bustling with undead courtiers and eventually they arrive in the cavernous throne room of the Demon Prince of the Undead. Orcus is in the midst of observing a trio of ghoul lords demonstrate a horrific torture device that seems capable of capturing liquid pain. Secured to the horrific machine is a nearly dead celestial. The stench of death and burned flesh makes the air rancid. Sir Roland boils with rage, and it takes all his will power to maintain his composure. Breca reminds him that this is the Abyss, and that he needs to be prepared to witness all manner of evils, but stay focused on the goals of the mission.
Orcus himself is a hulking, bloated demon lord with a ram skull head and goat-like legs. His mid section is all demon, and sprawling batwings extend out from his back. In a clawed hand he holds a terrible skull tipped rod, an artifact that is said to be able to slay a man with a single touch.
Time passes and Orcus finally grows bored of the demonstration, and he motions for the ghoul lords to be on their way. The heroes then step forward and are announced. Orcus orders them to approach his throne, and as they do they feel some sort of invisible force pushing down on them, forcing them to their knees. He then orders someone to bring forth the letter from Iggwilv. Argent attempts the task, but is unable to get too far before he can't proceed any further, despite his magical ring of free movement. Yvy is forced to send the letter to Orcus with her ring of telekinesis.
The demonlord breaks the seal and reads the letter. He then chortles with unholy laughter and maggots come tumbling out of his mouth.
"It is a rare thing for mortals from the material plane to gain an audience before me. Explain yourselves. Why have you risked coming here?"
Breca and Yvy do the talking. They are quite forthright and explain that they have learned of plot by Demogorgon to increase his power. They also explain that they have learned secrets about his weaknesses, weaknesses that they could be willing to share should Orcus be willing to form an alliance with them.
They then go on to say that they are hoping to arrange an invasion of Gaping Maw, and that they would like Orcus to have a chance to settle his war with Demogorgon once and for all."
All this is quite amusing to Orcus. After all, he and Demogorgon have been at war for thousands of years, and now a group of mere mortals from the material plane show up saying that they are planning to organize an invasion of Gaping Maw that could potentially dethrone the Prince of Demons.
"You mortals truly are arrogant. Yet, with the aid of Iggwilv's magic and my armies the goal you have set forth may be achievable. However, you will need to prove your worth. I have never mobilized my armies at the behest of mortals in all my existence, and I have no intention of doing so now, unless you can truly show me that you command a measure of power that sets you far above the rest of your wretched kin.
One of you will fight in my arena for my entertainment. Pick your champion. That champion will be facing three of my own- two of my death giants and my crawling head. You have one hour to prepare. Be at the grand entrance to the arena in one hour. If you succeed I will give you my aid. If you fail I offer you an eternity of undead servitude for wasting my time.
Now go, before I come to my senses."
The heroes then teleport back to their ship. On board there is a heated discussion about who should be the one to go into the arena. Argent volunteers right away, as he feels as though he needs to redeem the party's respect after the loss of the Pelican. It is decided that though Breca may be a good choice, he is too important to the party to risk in battle. Yvy and Sir Roland both volunteer as well.
Argent looks to Breca and says his piece, "I have the best chance of survival here. Yvy would have been the obvious choice but her summons are
damaged by being in this plane. As was shown in
this week, Breca you're too important to risk yourself
in this battle. The paladin I am sure is a competent
fighter and fearless, but can he face these three
opponents alone? Any spells or blessings you can cast on him you
can cast on me, and they will only add to the magic I
already have.
Honestly, I am the best choice for this. I have the most mobility, the
best armor and due to my recent training I can hurt
them enough to win this. I am your best chance.
I know I have been an embarrassment lately, I know
that I have lost everyones respect. I want this
chance to earn it back.
Let us ask to see our enemies. I have a Contingency
that makes me immune to magical metal. If I have
Stone Skin then they will cause less damage, and if they
use metal it won't hurt me at all. If I use Silence
Bolts I can negate their fearful screams.
I have humiliated us in our dealings with the demon
princess, I have shamed you in our meetings with the
King, and I have sunk the ship and almost cost us our
entire mission in the one time that you were absent.
This is what I was made for though. I need to fight
this battle to gain back your respect, or die trying"
As Breca thinks things over, Yvy adds her opinion on the matter:
"Argent - You present a compelling case for yourself, and for once I
am inclined to agree with you. I have no doubt in our newest ally's
ability, but your incredible resilience might be our best chance at
pulling this off. You have my vote."
She pauses a moment and smirks.
"But don't think I won't be helping you out, either. Before the battle
I will grant you True Sight, Haste, and perhaps something
approximating a mount should it interest you. Furthermore, I am
willing to loan you my Cube of Force should you need it, and I would
like to bestow upon you a minor wish or two for some unexpected
advantages. Having the reflexes to make the first move will be crucial
in such a fight, and a peerless first assault could give you a good
headstart."
She turns to the rest of the party to make further suggestions:
"I also believe that although Argent will be fighting alone, he will
have several pairs of eyes on the sideline. With our telepathic bond,
we as a team can feed you vital information about your enemies and the
conditions of battle as it unfolds...." Yvy pauses, pressing a finger
to her lips. "Speaking of which... Any means we can think of to make
the battlefield more awkward, uncomfortable and dangerous for the
opposition will be to Argent's advantage." She pauses once more,
pensive, tapping her finger. "We should do some more in-depth research
into our enemies... To suss out every tiny detail of their ability and
weakness..."
She paces, engrossed in thought. Before long, a familiar wicked smile
creeps across her face. She bites her finger and chuckles.
"And let's not forget... A little sabotage couldn't hurt our cause."
Breca, listens to it all and nods in agreement. He then adds his wisdom.
"Sir Roland, I see your passion for this fight blazing, and I look forward to seeing you prove your mettle in combat, but I think Argent and Yvy are right. I have been traveling with Argent for many months now, and though he has made his share of mistakes he has always redeemed himself in the end. I believe that Procan watches over him, and I think that he is capable of winning this battle.
Argent you have my approval. You shall be the one go into battle on our behalf. May the strength of the seas be with you, and the peace of the depths keep your mind clear."
Game Session #41 part 1 (The arena of Orcus)
One hour later the heroes have again teleported back to Everlost, and they find themselves standing at the entrance to Orcus's grand arena. Again it is two Balor's that greet them. They are escorted inside. Argent has already cast his more long lasting spells, but as the Balors haul him away from the party and send him out into the moonlit arena floor, Alannah and Breca each cast a final enchantment on the gensai. Alannah gives him a great increase to his agility and Breca wards him with a holy aura, which enrages the Balor demons and nearly causes them to turn on the heroes then and there. They manage to maintain their composure, knowing that the mortals are guests of Orcus.
The party is lead up to Orcus's private viewing booth, and he awaits them on another bone throne. Behind is a harem of buxom vampire harlots, who enter into a near frenzy when they see the living mortals. Obviously such food is in high demand, and they are starving for warm fresh blood. Harsh glares from the balors, combined with the lashes from their flaming whips keeps the vampires at bay. Orcus bids the heroes sit at his feet, and they do as he commands.
He then looks at them and bellows, "I grow bored easily. Your friend had best keep me entertained. LET THE FIGHT BEGIN!"
By this time Argent is flying up in the air over the arena's sandy floor. Spectators fill the stands, and deafening demonic cheers rise up from the masses as Orcus' champions make their entrance.
Two of the gladiators are death giants. Massive, obsidian skinned hairless creatures with scaly skin and vestigial wings protruding from their backs. Howling spirits swirl around their bodies. Each giant wears a breast plate and carries an enormous great axe, as well as a sack of throwing rocks. The third creature to enter the arena is a much stranger creature. It is a gigantic, rotting, shambling head with strange bladed tentacles protruding from its base. It crawls along much like a spider. The head is truly enormous and must have come from some sort of great titan.
Battle ensues, and the following is Argent's account of the fight:
I flew out into the center of the arena, slightly chaffed that I actually had to convince everyone that I was the best pick for the job. My progression is silent as I look over the assembled horde, the Silence bolts in my third hand muting their hoots and hollers. I draw both my weapons, watching as the lightning crackles up and down the blade of my sickle and I push back my cloak so that it flutters in the hot dry wind of the Abyss; trying to look more confident then I feel.
The distraction of crowd fades away- made easier by the bubble of silence, and all my attention being focused on my opponents, two giants and some kind of huge undead head monstrosity. The giants smile and point at me, obviously wondering how such a small and pitiful opponent can be worth their time. Their axes are dull with dried blood and testing the air they all reek of death.
Apparently Orcus screams at the giants to start the fight; I am oblivious to it, but when they come charging at me it becomes obvious the fight has begun. My only thought: it's time to show these beasts that Argent is not the fool he seems to be. The giants leap up, their axes reaching into the air but I easily roll out of the way, sticking my tongue out as they fall clumsily to the ground. My goal is to enrage them, for angry people make mistakes; and I’m going to need all the mistakes I can get if I am going to survive this. I feel the battle boil in my blood and I close in. One giant tries to strike me but misses with a big swing from his axe, his nostrils flaring and his stinking breath making me thankful I don’t need to breath. Almost too late I realize my mistake and am forced to drop the silence bolts to the ground so that the sound bubble in my weapon can actually be effective. My rapier contacts with the giant's shoulder with a satisfying thunderclap; he steps back surprise in his eyes, and I can see that he now realizes that he has underestimated me. The crawling head climbs up onto one of the giant's backs and fires a death ray at me, but it is rendered ineffective by one of my abjuration, I don’t know which one, and in the end it doesn’t matter. I laugh gleefully at their pathetic assault.
My enemy doesn’t repeat the same mistake, his weapon comes down full force and I feel my trusty spell storing rapier buckle then shatter under its assault. I drop the now useless weapon to the ground. Taking my shock sickle in hand, I channel a spell through the blade and watch as it tears apart his flesh and sends a surge of eldritch energy through the giant's body. A look of surprise and maybe fear replaces his anger. I feel an axe blade harmlessly deflect off my armor; the other giant is apparently slow to learn. Then the unthinkable happens, the spider takes a deep breath and an unholy howl fills the air, I feel fear cut me to the bone. Suddenly, the most important thing is to escape these monsters and I fly straight up into the air until my panic abates. The giants take this opportunity to show their own spell casting ability, and my body is wracked by dark energies and fire- well, perhaps not at all by the fire.
Embarrassed but determined, I fly back down into the thick of the battle, still confident that I can fell at least one of them, even though I cannot stop my hands from shaking. Fortunately, they are not shaking so bad that I can't fire an orb of force into the face of my enemy. I can tell it stings, but the giant is hearty, and even though all my attacks have been focused on him, he still stands. Next, I feel my defences getting stripped as I again close in on my opponents. A greater dispel is turned by my ring, but they learn from their mistakes and start using area dispels to begin peeling away my defences. Knowing, I can't keep this up forever I take the offensive again, giving up another spell to channel into my blade. I unleash another flurry on the giant, and use a wraith strike spell to ensure my slashes bypass its armor. Each hit sends burning arcane power through its veins, and unable to withstand my assault, he falls so heavily to the ground that I can feel it.
Knowing that the tide had turned but also knowing I cannot have them continue their spell casting, I fly down to retrieve my crossbow and the silence bolts. Enveloped once again in a cocoon of quiet I turn and fire into both of my remaining opponents. Every muscle in my body sings with the glory of battle. I have many more spells in my repertoire, and I can see their moral is starting to drain. It will be a close thing, but I start to believe that not only will I walk out of this fight alive, but victorious.
Then voice of Orcus rings out over the field. Apparently the fight is over, I have succeeded in impressing him or boring him enough that he wants it to end. I fly triumphantly to my companions, who are all looking a little green. It seems Orcus has been busy forcing them to dine on larva. I ask if I can keep the axe of the fallen warrior since he destroyed my rapier in the battle and am glad to hear I can. The demon offers me a larva to eat, and I receive his hospitality with grace that would make Brecca proud.
Then I throw up. A lot.
Orcus laughs.
So ends Argent's recounting of his triumph in Orcus's arena- one of his finer moments.
The Ballad of Drunk Sir Argent
Bravely drunk Sir Argent flew forth from Vessarin.
He was not afraid to die, O brave Sir Argent!
He was not at all afraid to be killed in nasty ways,
Drunk, drunk, drunk, drunk Sir Argent
He was not in the least bit scared of a targeted dispel.
Or to have his stat points drained, or his weapons sundered;
To feel disintegrates and to have his gear disjoined.
And his boasts and taunts ignored, drunk Sir Argent.
His bar blown up and his hit points spent
And his parrot devoured and his vision all blurred
And his girlfriend killed and his incest found out
And his third arm wank....
Drunk, drunk, drunk, drunk Sir Argent
Breca’s Adventures in the Court of Stars.
The Court of Stars is essentially a demiplane that drifts through the Olympian Glades of Arborea like a leaf on a pond, shifting gracefully and effortlessly between the plane’s three layers. There is no easy way to get there, so Breca is forced to call upon his most powerful magic to make the journey. Using the amulet of the planes he is able to transport himself to Court of Stars.
He arrives in a vast temperate forest. The tree are enormous, and even the squirrels are the size of dogs. Upon his arrival he casts a find the path spell, followed by a windwalk. Breca then glides through the titanic trees, heading towards the Palace of Queen Morwel.
The trees soon open up at the base of large hill. The hillside is a meadow blooming with beautiful flora. Enormous hawks circle above searching for prey in the grasses below. On the top of the hill is gleaming, spired palace made from a lavender hued crystal.
Breca flies to the outer gates, and lands. He then assumes his true form and approaches the eladrin sentries standing guard. The eladrin bear a close resemblance to elves. They are tall and slender, and they have both pointed ears and almond shaped eyes. The main difference is that their hair tends to be green in colour, their eyes purple and their skin pale. The eladrin guards wear celestial armor and carry halberds.
They seem somewhat surprised to see a mortal visitor at their gates, and scoff when he suggests an audience with Queen Morwel. It is only after giving them a quick display of his divine power that they take his request seriously and realize that he truly are a powerful servant of the gods.
One of the sentries assumes the form of a glowing globe of light and flies into the palace. Breca waits patiently and soon several more glowing globes arrive at the gates from palace to hover near him. One of them takes eladrin form, and he sees that the eladrin is an attractive female with a mithril breastplate and a sword glowing with holy energy.
"My name is Celeste. You are the dwarf named Captain Breca Angsparr are you not? Our followers on the material plane have spoken of you, and my Queen has been expecting your arrival. Follow me.”
Celeste escorts him through the gardens and courtyards of the palace, a place full of music and art. Eventually he is brought through the main gates into the palace itself, and from there he is led to the vast throne room of Queen Morwel the ruler of Eladrin race, and the Court of Stars.
The throne room is enormous, and thousands of Eladrin in both glowing globe and humanoid form gather in the great hall to bask in the beauty and glory of their queen. At the center of the chamber are three golden thrones. Sitting regally on the largest center throne is a red-haired, shockingly beautiful elven woman wearing a diaphanous gown that seems to be made up of thousands flickering pinpoints of light. Breca recognizes her as the mythical Queen Morwel. Sitting beside her is a silver haired and deeply tanned elven woman, who you recognize as Gwnyharwyf the Whirling Fury. The third throne is empty.
Queen Morwel is silent, but Gwynharwyf speaks, “Welcome to the Court of Stars Captain Breca. I assume you have come her to request our aid in your most noble quest to thwart Demogorgon’s plans to decimate the Flaness.”
“You are quite right your peerless majesty. We are in dire need of allies, and I have been told that the Eldarin bear a long standing grudge against the Prince of Demons. I have little I can offer you in return for your help other than my service, but any aid you can give my save the mortals of the Flaness from ruin.
“Your quest is a most noble one- the stuff of epics and legends. I will do what I can to aid you. However, I am personally bound to the Court of Stars, but my consort Gyrnharwyf is not, and she would relish the chance to engage Demogorgon. However, before I ask her to make ready her armies, I think it is only fair that I offer my court proof of your heroism. I have never before marshaled the Eldarin host at the behest of mortals, and if this is too be done, I must prove to them that you truly are the greatest of your kind- heroes truly worthy of your aid.
Thus, I charge you with the following task. At the base of the World Tree gnaws a dragon. An ancient Linnorm named Redfang. Long has he fatted himself on my people, and of late he has pushed things too far. He has razed many Eladrin settlements and now he rests in his lair. It is time for him to die. Go forth and slay the great beast. Free the stars from his belly and return to my court. Then we shall seal our bargain at the fountain of beauty and Gynharwfy shall ready her armies.”
“Your generosity is most appreciated. I will ready my allies, and we will slay this beast. May the peace of the depths be upon you.”
With that Breca bows deeply and takes his leave from Queen Morwell’s Court.
Awesome - I look forward to seeing the smack down between Redfang and your player characters.
Game Session #41 part 2 (The death of Redfang)
PCs
Breca (Dwarf, male, Cleric/Demon Wrecker 19)
Argent (Air Gensaii, male, Fighter/Swashbuckler/Wizard/Abjurant Champion/Eldritch Knight, 19)
Yvy (Human, female, Sorcerer/Malconvoker 18)
Tommen (Human, male, Wizard/Lore master/Fate Spinner, 18)
Allanah (Human, female, Wizard/Cleric/Mystic Theurge/Abjurant Champion 18)
Sir Roland (Human, male, Paladin/Knight of the Chalice 18)
Breca assembles the heroes- all of them. Breca, Argent, Yvy, Tommen, Allanah and Sir Roland all set forth to the World Ash. The fantastic tree is is unbelievably huge, miles in diameter and even more miles high. It’s a demiplane in its own right and a gateway to many of the outer planes. The companions arrive among its great roots, which border on the plane of Hades. The roots are bigger than castles, and thanks to Queen Morwell’s aid, their arrival is quite close to the entrance to Redfang’s lair.
The party readies magical defences and starts making their way into the great tunnel that bores its way into the very heart of the mythical tree. The tunnel is damp with a warm cloying mist. Tommen conjures a set of prying eyes to scout ahead. Eventually the eyes locate Redfang. The dragon is a colossal beast with two great heads. It has no wings or legs, and only a single set of massive arms to support its bulk. It is dozing when the prying eyes arrive, but the dragon seems to have nearly a sixth sense when it comes to detecting intrusions in its lair. Its eyes suddenly flare to life and it bellows with rage. The prying eyes follow orders and retreat back towards the heroes. Only one of them makes it back, but after Tommen sees what it has seen he knows that they face a true terror.
Steeling their courage, the heroes make their way deeper into the dragon’s den, knowing that the enraged Linnorm awaits them. When they arrive Redfang is ready. Argent and Sir Roland bravely surge forward to engage the horror in melee. Sir Roland’s Holy Avenger blazes with the wrath of Heironeouss and Argent hurls an orb of force at the dragon as he draws his new holy rapier. The force orb reflects harmlessly off the dragon’s hide, and as Argent flies in, one of Redfang’s heads snaps at him with its jaws. Argent is quick enough to dodge out of the way, providing Sir Roland with the necessary distraction to close in and attack with his mighty sword. Breca then hits Refang with a blade barrier spell, while Tommen and Yvy dimension door behind the dragon. The dragon leaps on top of Argent and Sir Roland, attempting crush them with its tremendous bulk. They do their best to dive out of the way and avoid being turned into paste, but they don’t escape injury.
Yvy begins summoning her fiendish minions, while Tommen decides to hit the dragon with a Mordenkeinan’s disjunction spell. He targets the spell carefully, so as not to catch Argent or Sir Roland in its radius. Redfang is a powerful spellcaster, and the disjunction spell removes several magical protections he had cast upon himself. Allanah attempts to dehydrate it, and extract a water elemental from the moisture in its body. This is only somewhat successful, but angers the dragon that much more.
Argent and Sir Roland strike with full attacks. Argent wraith strikes and channels a spell through his blade. The spell surges into the beast unleashing arcane power with Argent’s every thrust. The beast’s body quivers from the deadly arcane energy, and as it does Sir Rolands cleaves into one of its serpentine necks with his holy avenger, smiting it with the power of Heironeous. Yvy’s colossal centipedes suddenly appear on the scene, rivaling Redfang in size, and the enormous vermin bite at the dragon with their manibals.
It has been a long time since Redfang has felt true pain, and he doesn’t seem to like it. He snaps at Argent, and Roland, and his giant fangs rend their flesh. Tommen summons forth a maximized, repeating orb of acid, and with Redfang’s abjurations down the spell strikes home with enough powerful to turn even its ancient scales into bubbling goop. Refang bellows with agony, for this spell seems to truly make him hurt, but then he suddenly vanishes.
Many of the heroes have true seeing magic cast upon them, and it is clear that there is no deception at work. It seems that Redfang has teleported to safety. They take advantage of the moment of respite to offer Argent and Sir Roland healing, and looking around the great cavern they see the gleaming treasure horde of the terrible dragon. Argent’s eyes go wide and sparkle with anticipation. Zamboza (Tommen’s monkey familiar), begins hopping up and down on Tommen’s shoulder pointing and screeching, which is a nice change from the usual masturbating and screeching. However, there are currently more pressing matters than filling the portable hole with loot, for Redfang is far from beaten.
Tommen uses his divination magic and discerns that the dragon has teleported down the tunnel they entered in from, and he is not terribly far from their current location. The party regroups, and they dimension door after the horrid beast. It is waiting for them, and their hearts sink when they see the creature has fully healed its wounds. Fortunately, the party still has plenty of fight left, and they have hardly even begun to deplete their spells.
Most of them take cover in Yvy’s cube of force, but Sir Roland and Argent once again bravely charge forward to combat the dragon. This time the heroes are more canny in their tactics. The dragon has had little time to restore its defensive spells, and they quickly hit it with a dimensional anchor spell, and then seal off its retreat with a wall of force. It lashes out at Argent and Sir Roland smashing them with its massive tail, but they do manage to close in and again start cutting at it with their enchanted the weapons. Argent continues to use his wraithstrike spells to bypass its natural armor and channel arcane strikes through his blade to inflict massive damage on the beast. The rest of the heroes effectively use several rays to diminish its dexterity, strength and intellect, and then with the help of a miracle spell they affect it with an antimagic ray that renders it a raging beast unable to use any of its arcane power. It continues to slash wildly at Sir Roland and Argent, inflicting some damage, but soon the offensive magic comes raining in on it, and combined with the melee attacks the beast is horrifically wounded once more. With nowhere to retreat, the dragon can do nothing but go down fighting. It does its best to bring a hero or two with it, but fails, managing only to cause Roland and Argent pain and injury. Breca lands the killing blow, striking it dead with a conjured comet that crushes it from above.
Redfang is dead, and the heroes toast their success. They then gleefully plunder the dragon’s hoard, as any good adventurers would. Aside from the vast amounts of gold, silver, gems and other trophies, the heroes uncover a magical ring of three wishes, and an enchanted anvil- the anvil of the Midgard dwarves. Tommen recalls some lost lore about the anvil, and mentions that it is said that any blade worked over the anvil for only a minute or two will gain magical powers that will last from one sunrise to the next. As a result, the anvil would be tremendous value for outfitting an army, and certainly the midgard dwarves would likely reward the heroes for its return, but they decide instead to hang onto the artifact in case they find a use for it in their upcoming war with Demogorgon.
After the portable hole has been filled with loot, the dragon is gutted, and three glowing stars are released from one of Redfang’s stomach chambers. The heroes then return to the Court of Stars where Queen Morwel and her court are both pleased and impressed to learn of the success of the quest. The companions are escorted to fountain of beauty, and there they seal their alliance with Gynharwyf by drinking from the fountain’s enchanted waters. They find that their features take on a decidedly elven cast after the water is consumed, and their voices gain a melodic sound. Overall, each one of them is more comely than when he or she arrived, but Queen Morwel informs them that the effect will wear off after about a week.
Having sealed their alliance with the eladrin, the next step is to pay a visit to Malcanthet the queen of Succubi and see what sort of alliance can be reached with her.
DM's Notes: The fight against Redfang was a bit of disappointment for me, I beefed him up a little (ie I doubled his hp, and altered his spell selection a little). However, the 6 on one proved to be his undoing. I figured that would happen, but I had hoped he'd be able to put up a bit more of a fight than he did. The arcane strikes were really killing him, especially when they are combined with wraithstrike, which pretty much negates his AC entirely.
IMO wraithstrike is a pretty wacked out spell for a 2nd level arcane spell, and the wraithstrike/arcane strike combo is nasty. For other dms, if you choose to allow arcane strike into your game at least make it require a swift action to activate instead of a free action, that way it can't be combined with wraithstrike and a full attack. I'm planning on making this change myself.
Fortunately, I don't really allow shapechange or polymorph magic in my campaign, so I don't have heroes trying to turn into dozen headed hydras and make arcane strikes with all their bite attacks.
Of course I could have given Redfang this same ability, and it would have worked great, however, since I used it with the Yugoloths so recently, I felt like it would start to seem a little cheap if every villain had the same tricks, thus I resisted the temptation. In retrospect maybe I should have gone this route, so as to keep giving my munchkins a taste of their own medicine.
However, Argent got his just desserts in our most recent game session, as the upcoming journals will soon tell.
Game Session #42 (An audience with Malcanthet)
With Captain Breca at the helm the heroes sail Charon’s Blessing to the 570th layer of the Abyss. It is known as Shendilvari, and it is the home of Malcanthet, Queen of the Succubi. Using the Abyssal ocean they are able to connect with the Scarlet Sea, which is part of Shendilvari. From there they make their way to the port city of Miomanta, which happens to be the seat of Malcanthet’s power. Unlike most Abyssal realms, Shendilvari is frighteningly pleasant. The waters are placid, the sky blue, and the grass green. The air is fresh and the temperature is warm.
After a couple of days on the Scarlet Sea the ship arrives at the Miomanta. It is a sprawling city of white stone buildings with red and green slate roofs; several canals empty out into the harbor, allowing easy access for water traffic. In some ways it reminds Breca of Sasserine, though bigger and more opulent. Several high hills give the city some variety in its elevation, and set on top each of the hills is either temple or palace.
Breca brings the ship into one of the canals, and up ahead are several docks where large barges are unloading mortal slaves and souls at the behest of demonic overseers. A pair of mariliths seem to be in charge of running things at the docks, and Yvy calls out to them, to try to arrange for docking. The mariliths quickly take note of Charon’s mark on the ship, and give the mortals a level of respect that they might not otherwise offer. However, the demons are still none to easy to negotiate, and without slaves or souls to offer they are turned away.
They sail the ship back out into the harbor, and Yvy decides to planeshift back to Hades using the amulet of the planes. She then has an audience with Iggwilv, where she is able to get another letter of introduction to help the heroes in their negotiations in Shendilvari. She is gone for about an hour, and it is unclear as to her fellow party members as to what kind of private conversation she has with the Witch Queen during her leave. Argent, of course is ever impatient, and he tries to find his own way into the city. When the ship leaves he remains on the docks with the mariliths and attempts some diplomacy of his own. Diplomacy is far from his forte, and he soon has the mariliths on the verge of drawing blades against him. However, he shows some wisdom and decides not to push the powerful demons. He dives into the harbor, and swims some distance. When he finally emerges he is invisible and he takes to the sky, heading towards the largest of the palaces. However, his ruse is not effective against the mariliths. They suddenly teleport into the sky nearby him, and they hover in the air. They don’t seem to have any trouble seeing the air gensai, even though he’s invisible, and angered by his deception they unleash blade barrier spells and walls of whirling razors of force cut through him. He does his best to dodge out of the way, but he is still wounded by the spells. He considers taking the pair on, but decides to teleport back to the ship.
After Yvy returns with the letter, Breca casts a windwalk spell on several of the heroes (Sir Roland, Argent, Yvy and himself), and they hurtle up into the sky. Once they reach a sufficient altitude they spot Malcanthet’s pleasure palace and the dive down towards it at great speed. They come in fast and materialize on the stairs leading up to the main doors.
They then approach the doors, which are guarded by four massive Nalfeshnee demons. The demons don’t seem too impressed by the heroes, and indicate that their attire is far too concealing to get into the palace. The letter of introduction helps, but until the party sheds some clothing they won’t be permitted access. At this point both Sir Roland and Breca decide that the next phase of the mission might be a little too much for them, and they decide to bow out. Breca flies off to see about buying some slaves, while Sir Roland returns to the ship to pray to Heironeouss for the souls of the party. Yvy summons a genie and orders the creature to fabricate suitable outfits for herself and Argent. Both of them then shamelessly shed their clothing and don their new attire, which is far more scandalous then anything they would normally wear. The Nalfeshnees seem pleased with the pair’s new looks, and allow them through the doors.
The following is Argent’s account of his experience in Malcanthet’s pleasure palace:
“The Nalfeshnee demand that we “dress down” and I have to give up some of my items (but not all) the most painful of which being the loss of my Cloak of Resistance; somehow I know I’m going to regret it. Yvy has one of her summons make us outfits. I’m not too disgusted by Yvy’s previous actions to not admire her in her “new clothes”.
Inside we find all manner of debauchery- some of which is being performed by enthusiastic amateurs and some by skilled artists. Most of the things I see around me are nothing new to me. You do not become a follower of Lastia without letting go of your inhibitions. Yet I am still witness to sights that take their toll on my sanity, and I can feel my will power being weakened by horrid carnal sights of the palace; this does not bode well.
Making our way through the revealers and trying not to make eye contact, we find who we’re looking for in the centre of the party in a large clearing of people. She is “busy” with a few demons putting on some kind of show, so Yvy decides it will be better to wait till she’s done. Malcanthet does not disappoint. She is beautiful to look upon and is definitely a skilled master at her craft. Captivated I find myself making quick mental notes of things I definitely wish to try…when a succubus’ melodic voice interrupts me in my revelry.
The succubi that approaches me is definitely a lovely creature and a credit to her ilk, but I know we are on an important mission, and remembering where we are I decide it would not do to be distracted. Not even listening to her words I tell her that I am not interested, but she persists. I tumble into her and trip on her, trying to appear a fool and she still persists. I tumble away….and the room goes silent.
I find myself in the empty space between the masses and Malcanthet, which succeeds in getting her attention. She seems more amused than annoyed and calls me forward. Luckily, Yvy joins me. Knowing my foolish tongue to have ruined such negotiations in the past, I keep my mouth shut and let those more eloquent then I do the talking. Yvy pleads our case, but honestly, I’m too busy admiring Malcanthet to pay any attention to what she is saying. When Malcanthet addresses me ask me who or what I am I tell her that I am a Fool.
Then Malcanthet calls me to her, and I am powerless to resist. Leaning down she kisses me. Her technique leaves much to be desired. It is a greedy kiss, without a thought to the recipient’s pleasure and only taking not giving, but what can I expect from a demon? Her pointed tongue probes at my ear and slides down my face leaving a messy wet streak. All and all it is very unpleasant, and I find myself both disgusted and aroused.
Suddenly, I realize that I am in danger, as I feel Malcanthet’s voice inside my mind. She tells me her terms. We are to find a minion of hers named Crimson and return her. In return, she will give us an artifact known as the Iron Flask of Tuerny the Mad.”
After finishing their conversation with Malcanthet (which for the most part occurs telepathically in Agent’s head), Yvy and Argent hurry out of the palace and assume windwalk form. They then fly with speed back to the ship to make their report.
The party convenes in the Captain’s quarters, and Argent and Yvy recount their exploits in Malcanthet’s palace. They leave out much of the description of the horrors they witnessed, but they do mention the flask, and Crimson. Tommen is able to tell them much about these two names. The iron flask is a legendary artifact that is said to have the power to hold one hundred demons inside of it. It is also believed to have the power to imprison a single aspect of a demonlord. All in all, it is potent device, one that could be of great benefit to the heroes. As for Crimson, Tommen recognizes her as one of Malcanthet’s radiant sisters. These beings are her most loyal servants.
Towards the end of the conversation, Argent mentions that he can still hear Malcanthet’s voice in his head. As soon as he says it though, he goes quiet, and says no more, merely shaking his head, and saying that it probably nothing. Breca is not convinced. He has Argent sealed in a barrel of rum, while the rest of the party goes off in search of Crimson.
Not needing to breath, Argent has no fear of drowning, and while in the rum, Argent manages to drink enough that he can mouth the words to a teleport spell and escape.
A surprised Tommen, finds him on the deck of the ship, drunk out of his mind.
Dm's Notes: Argent has received Malcanthet's Queen's kiss, which grants him a +4 profane bonus to saves, and +4 to his dex. Malcanthet can now see through his eyes and cast her spell-like abilities through him. Furthermore, she has managed to affect him with a dominate monster effect, so he is her puppet for the next 25 or so days. Needless, to say Argent is currently unable to make use of his exalted armor spells, so his armor class has been knocked down a little.
Game Session 42 part 2
PCs
Sir Roland (Human-Paladin/Knight of the Chalice 18)
Breca (Dwarf- Cleric/Demonwrecker 19)
Yvy (Human- Sorcerer/Malconvoker 19)
Argent (Air Gensaii- Swashbuckler/Fighter/Wizard/Abjurant Champion/Eldritch Knight 19)
Absent PCs
Tommen (Human- Wizard/Loremaster/FateSpinner 19)
Allanah (Human-Wizard/Cleric/Mystic Theurge/Abjurant Champion 18)
Yvy and Roland decide to go off on their own to search for Crimson. They quickly learn which palace is hers. It turns out it is one of city’s many hilltops, but it isn’t a palace. Her lair is a temple of Pelor, or at least a twisted parody of one. As Yvy and Sir Roland make their approach, they discover that the temple is mostly in ruin, and it seems fairly deserted; however, there is a staircase leading down to its lower catacombs. The pair set foot into the catacombs. Their minds have been linked through a telepathic bond cast by Tommen, so if they need back up Breca, Tommen and Allanah can quickly teleport to their aid. Argent has been left out of the loop for the time being and is still far too drunk with rum to be much good to anyone.
Yvy and Roland begin their exploration of the catacombs. They soon discover a spacious chamber outfitted with comfortable cushions and plush rugs. The far wall of room is decorated with a lengthy tapestry depicting Pelorian monks engaged in all manner of perverse sexual activity. The pair quickly discover that the tapestry is enchanted, for as they gaze upon they suddenly feel themselves being overwhelmed by intense and uncontrollable feelings of carnal lust. They look at one another with blazing hunger and passion. Suddenly, the two are frantically stripping off armor and clothing. Breca detects the sudden and drastic change in their thoughts, and he realizes that something is wrong. He teleports to the vicinity of Crimson’s lair, and he hurries into the catacombs. He bursts into the room just in time to see a naked Yvy helping Sir Roland tear off the final scraps of his armor. As he does so, he too sees the tapestry. Breca musters his great force of will, and resists the urge to join in. Then he promptly casts spells to break the enchantment that has afflicted the pair. At about the same time, a second door accessing the room opens and a man dressed in the attire of Pelorian monk glides into the room. He bows his cloaked head, bids them welcome, and then asks what business they have. Breca is quite hostile towards the priest, for it seems that he is particularly offended by the heretical behaviour they are showing towards the gods. However, he informs him that he is looking for Crimson and then readies a spell to smite the heretic. Sir Roland is also burning with righteous anger; he hefts his holy avenger and prepares to cut down the false priest. The monk realizes the danger and retreats through the door.
Yvy seals the entrances to the room with a wall of force, and then she and Breca help Sir Roland don his armor. The three are lucky, for no demons teleport into the room during this time. When Sir Roland is finally battle ready, Yvy dismisses her wall of force, and they head into next room, itching for a fight. A short hallway leads to a dark, spacious catacomb. Stone sarcophagi dot the floor, and thick, stone and mortar pylons struggle to support a sagging, ceiling. Breca and Sir Roland lead the way, while Yvy takes shelter in her cube of force. The room is dark, but Sir Roland’s holy avenger sheds light and pushes back the darkness. They scan the room searching for signs of the monk or any other danger, but all is quiet. Then, without warning, an ambush is sprung! Robed, Pelorian monks drop down from the shadow-cloaked ceiling, landing all around the heroes. At the same time, armored incubus demon warriors leap out from behind the sarcophagi and charge forward to attack. Incubus, are the male version of the succubus. They look like well-proportioned men, except that they have hoofed feet, albino skin and ibix horns protruding from the foreheads. In their hands they wield nasty looking, barbed scourges.
The swiftness of the assault catches the heroes off guard, but Roland and Breca both fight furiously and are able to fend off most of their enemies’ blows. They soon realize that the monks are actually vampires, for they suddenly bear fangs, and whenever they land a blow, they attempt to sap the lifeforce from the knight and the dwarf. Luckily both heroes are warded against death effects, which protects them from the truly dangerous aspect of their blows. Still, with the amount of blows being reigned down on the two from all sides, even their enchanted armor and skill in battle, doesn’t totally shield them from harm. Painful fists and kicks get through their defences; fortunately, they recover quickly from the shock of the ambush, and soon they are fighting back. Roland begins cutting down his foes with his holy avenger, while Breca and Yvy rely more on their spells and prayers. Yvy remains safe in cube of force, though a pair of Incubi jump on it and start hammering it with mighty blows, causing the cube’s walls to quiver and weaken. Yet, Yvy is not idle, she summons a huge, fiendish tyrannosaurus to aid in the fight, and the powerful beast begins snatching up both Vampire and Incubi alike. The fight doesn’t last long, and the vampires and incubi prove to be no match for the seasoned heroes.
After the dust has settled, Yvy dismisses her summoned dinosaur, and the trio calls out for Crimson to show herself, so that they may parlay. After several minutes the radiant sister makes her presence known, and she appears out of the shadows before the heroes. Crimson resembles a ravishing succubus in most respects. However a strange glowing red halo hovers above her head, and her wings look ragged and tattered. Her tail splits into four long forks that each have a stinger affixed to them. In her hand she holds a scourge. Her gaze passes over the carnage wrought by the heroes, and a look of defeat crosses her face.
“What do you want with me?”
Breca does the talking.
“We are here on behalf of your mistress. She wishes us to bring you to see her. I suggest you come along peacefully.”
“I see…”
Suddenly she bursts into panic lashes out in rage with her scourge. Breca and Yvy respond quickly. Breca uses a miracle spell to temporarily weaken her will, and then Yvy casts a feeblemind spell on the Succubus. Thanks to Breca’s miracle, she is unable to fight off the magic, and her once keen intellect is reduced to mush. At this point she becomes quite docile and unaware of her surroundings. The heroes easily bind her and bring her to Malcanthet. Again Breca and Roland will not enter, and it is left to Yvy to take Crimson too her mistress.
The demons of clear a path for Yvy as she makes her way through the throngs, and soon she comes before Malcanthet. As she arrives, a vindictive smile crosses the Succubus Queen’s face. She immediately orders her audience chamber emptied, and in seconds Yvy and her prisoner are standing alone with Malcanthet.
“You have done well at the simple charge I tasked you with, and I will uphold my end of the agreement.”
Her wings suddenly enfold her, and when they open again, a second later, she is holding a slightly glistening flask of iron. It is stopped with a violet, rune scribed crystal. It is unclear as to where the flask had been hidden a moment before. She tosses the flask toward Yvy, and it clatters across the floor. As Yvy picks it up, more radiant sisters begin appearing beside their queen. Their eyes turn hungrily toward Crimson. Malcanthet then urges them forward.
“You might wish to be on your way mortal. I think what is about to happen here might be quite offensive to your sensibilities.”
Yvy nods.
“Thank you for your generosity. We will put this device to good use.”
Yvy then transports herself back to Charon’s Blessing, and the heroes make sail back to the material plane. They again use the wake portal to transport the ship to the waters near Scuttlecove. Tommen spends some time examining the flask. He has done some research on the device and has determined that the artifact should allow the heroes to imprison demons within it. This particular flask is the first of its kind, and the most powerful. It is said that it can even hold the aspect of a demonlord.
The next day they pay another visit to Iggwilv. She is kind enough to confirm that Tommen’s research is correct. The party is hesitant to open the flask, because they have noticed it banging around, and they suspect it currently has occupants. Iggwilv agrees to open the flask for them, and when she does so several demons come pouring out in a gaseous form. They rapidly assume their true form, and seem filled with rage. However, upon seeing Iggwilv, they instantly go docile and subservient. She shoes them on their way, and then smiles at the heroes and hands Yvy the flask.
Next she goes onto explain that her research has led her to believe that there may be a single surviving aspect of Obox-Ob imprisoned on the plane of Blood Shallows- one of the Abyss’s many layers. Obox-Ob was the first Prince of demons and is associated with demons and vermin. He is one of the few creatures in the multiverse that Demogorgon truly fears, and as a result this surviving aspect could be of use to the heroes. She believes the demonlord is imprisoned beneath a great vermin covered mound that rises up out of the swamps of Blood Shallows. It is one of the few stable patches of ground on the whole plane. Iggwilv suggests that a freedom cast on the mound could release the aspect, and then it could be contained in the iron flask and stored for future use. The heroes take her advice and she willingly sells them a freedom scroll. They then take their leave, and once again plane shift back to the material plane. They begin preparations for the next phase of their plans.
A letter from Captain Breca
Egil,
I enclose the 10 gold pieces I bet you regarding the impossibility of sea shanties sung about me. Having rid Scuttlecove of most of its pirate population, and then manned my ships with the truly desperate sailors that remain in that foul excuse for a port, I have heard that there is now a song about the mad Captain Underhill making the rounds. Normally I might discourage this sort of thing, but the bit about Argent is irresistable. It goes something like this:
Yo, Ho, Hum!
Underhill's crew be doomed......Where this Dwarf sails, death comes soon....
Yo Hey, Ho!
The wages be good........Five silver a day to become fish food.....
Yo, Ho, Hey!
To the depths you go......To meet yer anscestors beneath the flow.....
Ho, Ho, Hum!
Underhill's crew be doomed......The only thing worse is his blue buffoon.....
He, He, Ha!
Twenty sailor's be dead......Their wives left moist in roughspun beds....
Ha, Ha, Ho!
Underhill comes soon....Let's hope Hell has enough room....
(Then it repeats from the first line....)
I suspect that last line might be the result of a few people seeing Fluffy (before we stuck him in the Well). I've been maintaining the face of Underhill for a couple of months now, and many of my actions seem to have fed a great deal of speculation. The frequent trips to the Abyss, which most sailors only experience once (if they survive), the gentle sailing along the Styx, and the nearly constant encounters with demons of all sorts make for heady stuff. Add into the the frequent purchase of slaves from the markets, especially the children, who enter my ship and are never seen above-decks again, well, you can imagine the sorts of rumours. I heard one the other day that I use the skin of slaves as sails, and stain my mithril plate black with the blood of whelps. I can't say that I'd be terribly surprised if a mob of annoyed paladins show up one day as a result of such morbid talk.
Anyway, I've been posing as Underhill because of all the shifting back and forth to the Abyss. I picked up a few batches of dwarven slaves from the court of Malcanthet, as I am loathe to think of what horrors await any of our people in such places. Those that have homes have been returned to them, those without, as I'm sure you are aware, have been teleported to Vessarin, to find a new life. The significant advantage I find in freeing slaves and offering them a place at Vessarin is the experience of slavery brings of certain hatred of pirates and other scum, reducing the odds of Vessarin ever ending up like Scuttlecove.
In the search for allies, both wanted and unwanted, we have impressed Orcus enough for him to agree to marshall his armies and march on 'our' enemy. Argent proved fiesty enough entertainment for the creature, and I suspect Orcus needed little enough excuse to go to war anyways. Malcanthet has provided some odd flask to contain an aspect of Demogorgon, once again at the price of Argent, whom Yvy offered as a gift. I think that was fair punishment for sinking the Pelican, even if Malcanthet left some taint upon him. I suspect I'll have to find a cleric of his god and have him do some atoning for the whole experience - an all too common experince now. We fought the ancient Linnorm named Redfang to prove our worth to the Court of Stars, and the Eladrin have also agreed to lend us what aid they can. All that remains is some elder demon lord displaced by Demogorgon called Wat Dagon, and perhaps Two-head's disgruntled general. Time grows short as Two-head will undoubtedly try to put his plan into action sooner rather than later.
Still, there is some humour in things. Argent, after being Malcanthet's pet for a few hours was obviously untrustworthy, so I forced rum on him, and when that didn't seem enough, chained him up and sealed him in a barrel of grog to attempt to ensure his whereabouts. He apparently drank enough to speak, dimension-doored his way out of the chains and barrel, and then despite being blindingly drunk, teleported himself randomly around the material plane. I eventually found him (via the crystal ball) being poked by a most surprised farmer in the Caliphate of Ekbir. Useful in a fight; bloody useless the rest of the time, but intensely amusing nonetheless. When Malcanthet gave us the iron flask, the general opinion was we should test it by trapping Argent in it, possibly with the somewhat demented familiar of Tommen's. That might curb his ardour somewhat, being a jar with a chronically masturbating monkey.
I was glad to hear from Brother Ulfgar that construction of the second phase of Vessarin is well underway, and in particular that the portal to Gradsul is nearing completion. I agreed with Father that it should be keyed to dwarves of good intent, to prevent unwanted visitors arriving in our holdings. Father tells me that with careful use, it should pay for its own cost within a year. I'm sure it'll be sorted out though. I won't be home for another few months, so do be sure to keep me up on the news and changes. If I don't hear from you I'll assume your wife has arrived and you are in hiding up the valley. Either way, good luck.
Peace of the depths upon you,
Breca.
Game Session #43 (part 1, Enemies of my Enemies continued....)
The heroes have come to the conclusion that all is not right with Argent. Something happened during his encounter with Malcanthet, but they aren’t sure what. However, they know it isn’t good. Plans to help their companion are formed in secret. It is decided that a party will be held for the crew of the ship and for the heroes. Breca will then challenge Argent to a drinking contest, but in the confines of an anti-magic field. Once this is done and Argent is good and drunk, they will strip him of his magic items, bind and gag him, and once again seal him in a cask of rum until they can determine what has happened to him and how they can fix it.
They put their plan into motion. Tommen casts a Mordenkeinan’s magnificent mansion spell on the ship, and a feast is held for the crew members, who have all become loyal converts to Procan. Argent and the rest enjoy themselves, consuming plenty of ale. However, Yvy notices that Argent is not in fact drinking his drink. She sees him pour out his alcohol when he thinks no one is looking- very suspicious behavior for such a rake. After some time, Breca makes his proposition, and he requests a drinking contest with Argent- sans magic. Argent is hesitant. He first insists that he speak with Breca in private regarding his condition, but Breca doesn’t trust his friend and insists he just whisper his concerns to him then and there. Argent mentions the voices, and says that he thinks only Breca can help, but that they need to go somewhere private. Breca shakes his head, and suddenly the magic field goes up. Argent goes along with the contest, possibly in an attempt to alleviate some of the suspicion centered on him. He drinks hard and so does Breca. In the end they both prove hearty drinkers, and many in the crowd are shocked to see Argent keep up with the dwarf in a drinking contest. Eventually, they both are near to passing out, and they tumble out of their chairs. At this point, Breca slurs out a call for action.
Sir Roland rushes into the antimagic circle and pounces on Argent doing his best to pin the drunken gensai. Argent struggles, despite the impairing effects of the booze. He proves to be a squirmy little bastard, and he manages to drag himself to the edge of the antimagic field. He gets his head out, and suddenly he triggers a mind fog spell that fills the room (except within the antimagic zone). The party members feel their will power sapped, but before Argent can trigger another spell, Breca and Sir Roland haul him back into the antimagic zone. Other crew members rush to help, and pretty soon Argent is captured. He is stripped of his magical items and bound and gagged. Then he is hauled out of the field, where Tommen examines him with arcane sight. He determines that Argent is under the effects of a domination spell, as well as another powerful enchantment that he can’t quite identify. A break enchantment spell is used to free him from the domination, and then a miracle spell is cast to remove the other effect. As this happens, a strange little tattoo rips free of Argent’s body with a spray of blood. It leaves him in a near catatonic state, which isn’t much different from the state he was in just before. However, it requires a heal and restoration spell to cure him of the magical wound and his mundane drunkenness. After this has been done, Tommen determines that Argent should be back to his regular self, and that whatever enchantments Malcanthet placed on him are now gone.
Argent is closely monitored for a couple of more days, but Breca eventually concludes that he is no longer “possessed”. The heroes decide to make their way to Blood Shallows where they hope to capture an aspect of Obox-Ob in the flask of Tuerny the Made. Blood Shallows is a fetid, realm of swampy death, just as Iggwilv had told them. They teleport to the great mound that she described to them, and they find that it is in fact covered with clouds of biting insects and vermin. Before approaching the mound they first take care of the vermin. Breca and Yvy use acidstorm and firestorm spells to clear them out, and with that task complete they approach the hill. Yvy uses her freedom scroll. Suddenly, the hill begins to rumble, and the ground splits. An enormous form emerges from the earth. The demon is completely nightmarish and looks like a giant scorpion, except that its terrible head sits where the end of the stinger should be and where the head would normally be three scorpion tails emerge. Obox-ob is mad with rage from his centuries of imprisonment, and instantly begins searching for something to unleash his wrath upon. He sees the heroes flying up above and takes to the sky. His body screeches like a cacophony buzzing insects, and he lashes at Breca with one of his poisonous stingers. It cleaves into the dwarf’s shoulder, and even Breca can’t withstand the strength of the demon lord’s poison. His mind goes blurry, and he finds himself unable to reason or form a logical thought; drool begins to trickle into his beard. Sir Roland readies the flask of Tuerny the Mad, and he pulls out the crystal stopper and speaks the command word. The flask’s power begins its work and sucks the demon prince of vermin inside. Sir Roland slams the crystal back in place, and the flask shakes and rattles as the mad demon lord thrashes around in his new prison. For a moment it seems as if the flask might not be enough to hold him, but in the end it works. With their work done, the heroes hurry back to the material plane.
DMs Notes: I'm a bit disappointed about how the dominate and Queen's Kiss panned out with Argent. I didn't really give my player enough coaching on how to rp his character when it happened, and he let a few things slip that I didn't really want the rest of the party to know. This of course got them suspicious and caused them to initiate their plan.
However, I've decided that since Malcanthet's plans were foiled, she is now rather pissed at the heroes, and they will be encountering her in Wat Dagon, as a foe.
DMs Notes: I'm a bit disappointed about how the dominate and Queen's Kiss panned out with Argent. I didn't really give my player enough coaching on how to rp his character when it happened, and he let a few things slip that I didn't really want the rest of the party to know. This of course got them suspicious and caused them to initiate their plan.
However, I've decided that since Malcanthet's plans were foiled, she is now rather pissed at the heroes, and they will be encountering her in Wat Dagon, as a foe.
I'd rather the latter Sir Dungeon - my group found her "scripted" save DCs to be rather unpleasant, despite their massive bonuses, so I'd rather hope that they dealt with Da Fighter's 'problem' now rather than later. ^^
Well I was looking forward to seeing Argent be forced to take a stab at vying for the crown, but instead I got to give the PCs a trial run against a CR 28 demon lord before the final showdown. The details of that business will be posted in the next week or so.
I'd rather the latter Sir Dungeon - my group found her "scripted" save DCs to be rather unpleasant, despite their massive bonuses, so I'd rather hope that they dealt with Da Fighter's 'problem' now rather than later. ^^DMs Notes: I'm a bit disappointed about how the dominate and Queen's Kiss panned out with Argent. I didn't really give my player enough coaching on how to rp his character when it happened, and he let a few things slip that I didn't really want the rest of the party to know. This of course got them suspicious and caused them to initiate their plan.
However, I've decided that since Malcanthet's plans were foiled, she is now rather pissed at the heroes, and they will be encountering her in Wat Dagon, as a foe.
Game Session #43 part 2 (a visit with Bagromar)
PCs
Breca (dwarf, cleric/demonwrecker 20)
Argent (air gensai, fighter/wizard/swashbuckler/abjurant champion/eldritch knight 20)
Sir Roland (human, Paladin/Knight of the Chalice 18)
Yvy (human, female, Sorcerer/Malconvoker/Fate Spinner 19)
Allanah (human, female, wizard/cleric/mystic theurge/abjurant champion 18)
Tommen (human, male, wizard/loremaster/fatespinner 18- absent from the session)
They then prepare for the final stage of their plans. This last phase might be the most dangerous, for they wish to recruit Bagromar to their banner. Bagromar is one of Demogorgon’s twin clones. The other is named Tetradarian and the each command one of his largest armies. According to Iggwilv, Bagromar has had much success in leading his forces in battle, but has not received the recognition that is due to him. He harbors a certain amount of jealousy toward his brother, and it may be possible to convince him to turn traitor.
Bagromar is currently encamped on Pazunia with his army. There he has been engaged in battles with the forces of the archdevil Mammon.
The heroes transport themselves to Pazunia, and from a rocky outcrop overlooking the vast demon army they survey the camp. Towards the center of the camp are several large tents that presumably belong to the army’s commanders. They shift into windwalk form and fly high up into the air. They then hurl down towards the biggest tent, bypassing several patrols of vrocks. On the ground in front of the tent, a hulking balor demon busies himself by tormenting several dretch demons, lashing the flesh from their backs with his flaming whip, while several glabrezu demons watch on. All this comes to a sudden stop when the mortals materialize at the entrance to the great tent, a tent that looks to be made completely form the skins of pit fiends. The balor spins to face the heroes. His body flares up with fire and he raises his lightning sword.
“Who are you that dares to set foot in front of General Bagromar’s tent?”
Yvy responds.
“We have come here seeking an audience with the great general. We are allies of the witch queen Iggwilv, and we have proposition for him that we think he will find most interesting and rewarding.”
“You are either very brave or very foolish. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t cut you down right now.”
“I assure it would not be wise to anger the witch queen, and I assure you cutting us down where we stand will be much more difficult than you might think. Here is a letter of introduction bearing her seal.”
The balor examines the letter and then incinerates with his flames.
“I will commune with the general, and we shall see what he would have done with you.”
For a moment the balor is silent, and his eyes dim. They then flare to life again and he speaks once more.
“It seems that my general is willing to grant you an audience. You may enter the tent.”
The party turns and heads into the tent, keeping a close eye on the balor as they enter. He follows them and takes up a position at the entrance to the tent, sealing off the exit.
The inside of the tent is a sprawling shadowy place. Strange piles of furs, hides, chests and other loot are scattered throughout the structure. A huge table stands before them. It is easily big enough for an ogre to walk under. Standing on the far side of the table is an enormous demon. The fiend stands twenty five feet tall, and has the head and upper body of a hulking baboon. A pair of tentacles exists where there should be arms, and its lower body is completely reptilian. It is garbed in ornate battle armour, and it looks preoccupied with a several maps and battle plans scattered on the table. As the mortals enter, it raises its head and looks down on them; its eyes narrow.
“So Dingoslag was right. It is you. You are the ones that my master has been searching for, and now you show up here, delivering yourselves to me. I suggest you explain yourselves quickly.”
Breca goes on explain his proposition. He does his best to convince Bagromar that he is underappreciated, and that his brother has been getting far too much credit for doing nothing. There is a war coming and perhaps it is time for Bagromar to consider rethinking his loyalties. Bagromar listens, agreeing with much of what he has to say.
As Breca finishes his pitch Bagromar smiles.
“It is an interesting proposition dwarf. But… I think that I’d get a great deal more satisfaction seeing your hides hung from my tent.”
With that he flings the table out of the way. Babau assassins leap down from the shadows above, landing on the flanks of the heroes. Dingslag cuts off their escape, blocking the exit to the tent and raising his whip and lightning sword. Things take a nasty turn for Breca and his band at this point. The assassins have the drop on them, and they quickly start cutting the heroes down using wraith strike spells to easily slip through their armor. Only Argent finds himself uninjured, thanks to a contingency iron guard spell that is triggered by their scimitars. Blood sprays across the tent, and most of it is mortal blood. The babau demons squeal with glee, and Bagromar charges towards Breca. The great demon general swipes at him with his horrid tentacles. Ribs crack; teeth and spit fly from the dwarf’s mouth, and worst of all a terrible rotting disease instantly starts to consume his flesh. The balor also begins his assault on the party. He lashes at them with his flaming whip and slashes with his lightning sword. The heroes struggle to retaliate in the face of the overwhelming assault. Yvy collapses to the ground, dead from the babau assassins. Luckily, a contingency revivify spell is triggered and she is restored to life, but is still unconscious on the ground. Allanah desperately tries to teleport her companions out of the fight, but to her dismay the spell fails. Already, bleeding horribly from the babau assassins she looks to Breca.
“We’re trapped Breca.”
Suddenly, a sweeping swing from a scimitar opens up her throat. Her blood sprays across Breca’s back as he reels from another blow from Bagromar’s tentacles. Allanah collapses to the ground- dead. Now only the men are still standing. Roland is terribly wounded as well, but won’t go down easily, and shouting out a prayer to Heironeouss he cuts down one of the babau with his holy avenger. Argent deals with another, and is eager to keep fighting. Breca realizes the fight is lost, and he too is on the verge of death. He raises his hands up to call upon the aid of Procan, and as he does so one of his rotting fingers falls off. Only a true miracle will get the heroes out of this fight, and that is exactly what he prays for- an honest to goodness divine miracle.
(5000 xp later) The party finds themselves on the deck of their ship back on the material plane. It seems that Procan still holds some regard for Breca and his allies. Allanah is dead; Yvy is unconscious and bleeding all over; Breca’s skin is falling off in large chunks, and Roland looks like he could collapse at any second. Only Argent is relatively unscathed. The air gensai looks over the heroes.
“Wow! You guys look rough!”
Breca casts mass heal, and then calls upon Procan to bring Allanah back from the dead. All the while he glares at Argent.
“Argent, swab the deck. Twice.”
Argent hangs his head, realizing that last comment might have been in poor taste.
“Yes captain…”
Yes there was definitely a failed diplomacy check in the mix there, and yes the party had their asses handed to them in that fight- it was great! A TPK was a pretty real possibility for a while, I was getting a bit worried. But, they hadn't had a really nasty fight since the end of Into the Maw, so they were due.
As Breca finishes his pitch Bagromar smiles.
“It is an interesting proposition dwarf. But… I think that I’d get a great deal more satisfaction seeing your hides hung from my tent.”..
So that is what a failed Diplomacy check looks like?
Sounds like a rough fight. Glad you avoided the TPK.
Game Session #43 part 3 (the deaths of Sir Roland and Captain Breca)
After a good night’s rest, the adventurers decide to return to Bagromar’s camp to try and finish him off. They again use wind walk to enter the camp, and they fly straight down towards the general’s tent. They dismiss their air walk spell above the tent. Yvy, casts a disjunction spell on the tent itself, hoping to remove the dimensional lock. They then test it by teleporting into the tent, which seems to work. As they appear, they find Dingoslag (the balor) engaged with a pair of marilith demons. However, the disjunction spell didn’t fail to get their attention, and they are ready for intruders. Yvy appears at the back of the tent, while the rest of the heroes materialize near the entrance. Dingoslag seems shocked to see that they have returned. His flaming whip and sword appear in his hand, and a big demonic grin spreads across his monstrous face.
This time there is no parlay and no negotiation. The mariliths throw up blade barriers that crisscross the tent cutting into the heroes with deadly force. Yvy casts a timestop spell and lays down a series of delayed blast fireballs. They detonate an instant later, incinerating the two mariliths. Dingoslag seems unharmed and laughs as the flames wash over him. Dingoslag’s body then bursts into its own aura of flame, and he unleashes a great flaming burst that fills the tent, scalding and burning the heroes. Allanah is badly wounded, and she uses a meld to stone spell to merge into the floor of the tent, so that she can heal herself. Argent is the only one unscathed by the attack, thanks to his energy immunity wards. Both Sir Roland and Argent rush towards Dingoslag, flying up over blade barriers to get to him. Sir Roland carves into the demon with his holy avenger, and Argent thrusts and darts with his rapier. They find the balor’s natural armour difficult to penetrate, even with their enchanted weapons. None-the-less, they land some blows, and Dingoslag’s ichory, black blood begins to run. At the same time, the flap to the tent opens and another demon comes flying through to enter the fray. This creature is a deadly Molydeus demon. It is about the size of Dingoslag, and it has a wolf-like head sitting on top of a scaly body. A second head, which is that of a writhing snake, grows out its neck and stares at the adventurers with hateful, reptilian eyes. A wicked looking great axe floats in the air in front of the demon. The molydeus flies up over the blade barriers and heads straight towards Breca.
Dingoslag turns his fury on the paladin, for he despises paladins, and knights of the chalice. He carves into Sir Roland with his flaming sword, landing several deadly cuts. Argent, Sir Roland and the demon keep exchanging blows, while the rest of the party’s attention becomes divided between Dingoslag and the new threat. Sir Roland has been fighting bravely, but by this point he is terribly wounded. He falters for a second and the balor’s whip lashes out at him. It wraps around the knight, and the demon pulls with a mighty arm, causing the flaming whip to coil towards him, bringing Sir Roland with it. The paladin is pulled against Dingoslag’s flaming body, and the ensuing burns are enough to finish the night off. Sir Roland’s corpse drops to the ground, and Dingoslag turns his attention towards Argent, who has been busy thrusting his sword into him, and channeling deadly arcane energy through the blade. However, before the wounded Balor can take action against Argent, a spell finishes him off. His body suddenly begins to quiver and shake, and a second later it explodes in a tremendous detonation that tears the tent apart and devastates much of the nearby area. The heroes become temporarily entangled by the collapsing tent, but soon they free themselves and are fighting once again. Now their battle is fully out in the open. Dingoslag’s death throws have cut a huge swath of destruction, and no demon is eager to approach the group of heroes who just killed one of the camp’s most powerful generals. However, a huge crowd of them has gathered to watch the fight. The adventurers pray to their gods that the demon horde will remain spectators.
The lone Molydeus fights on. It lunges towards Breca, and its deadly dancing axe takes a mighty swing at the dwarf. The blow lands true, and catches Breca right across the neck. Even the dwarf’s ring of living undeath is not enough to protect him from the vorpal blade, and suddenly Breca’s head tumbles off his body, and rolls across the floor- the heroes’ leader has final been slain. Roars of demonic laughter erupt from the gathered crowd of demons.
Argent hurls himself at the Molydeus with wild abandon. He is no longer cracking jokes, and he repeatedly jams his rapier into the creature with a savage fury that he has never shown before. Yvy screams out with rage as well, and hurls spell after spell at the demon. Meanwhile, Allanah senses that Breca has fallen, for her telepathic bond with him has vanished. She casts a time stop spell, and emerges from the stone floor. At lightning fast speed she hurries to Breca, grabs his severed head and holds it against his neck. She then casts a revivify spell, and the head reattaches to the body. The dwarf lets out a shallow breath. He’s alive, but barely. She calls upon her most powerful healing magic and heals the dwarf. Breca is ready to rejoin the fight. With Argent, Yvy, Breca and Allanah all focusing their wrath on the molydeus, the demon falls quickly. Its body dissolves into fetid black ichor, even its axe melts away.
The crowd goes quiet, and the heroes realize it is time to leave before they are swarmed by hundreds of demons. They quickly scan the wreckage of the tent for Roland’s remains, and they hurry to him. With the paladin’s body and his blade in their possession, they planeshift back home just as the tide of demons starts to surge toward them.
Back home Breca brings Roland back from the dead, and heals shattered body. The dwarf finds that his brush with death has left its own scars. For he now has a permanent scar all the way around his neck that healing magic has proved unable to remove.
Nice ... a molydeux ... ^_^
Alas, it seems Bargramor has made his way free of the encampment whilst the heroes were laid up at home.
They had best pray that the demons do not implement Plane Shift, Greater Scrying and Greater Teleport en masse to finish them all off on their home turf...
I had thought about that sending the demons after them, but I'm eager to get to the end of the campaign, and I decided that at this point Demogorgon's at the "Bring it" stage of mind. Given that Bagromar escaped and is not allied with the PCs I've had him make some reports to his master, and as a result there are a few extra nasty surprises waiting for them at Wat Dagon.
I had thought about that sending the demons after them, but I'm eager to get to the end of the campaign, and I decided that at this point Demogorgon's at the "Bring it" stage of mind. Given that Bagromar escaped and is not allied with the PCs I've had him make some reports to his master, and as a result there are a few extra nasty surprises waiting for them at Wat Dagon.
Excellent ... ^_^
Game Session #44, part 1 (The Prince of Demons- First war council)
PCs
Breca (dwarf, cleric/demonwrecker 20)
Argent (air gensai, fighter/swashbuckler/wizard/abjurant champion/eldritch knight 20)
Yvy (human, sorcerer/malconvoker/fate spinner 20)
Allanah (human, cleric/wizard/mystic theurge/abjurant champion 19)
Tommen (human, wizard/loremaster/fate spinner 19)
Sir Roland (human, paladin/knight of the Chalice 19)
A few days pass and a war council is convened in Niole Dra at the castle of King Skotti of Keoland. There, Skotti hosts yet another great feast, and the next day the council meets in his war room. Attending the meeting is King Skotti, Royal mage Grayhill, Grand Master Auriel of the Knights of the Chalice, Lady Seoni Callistra of the Graymalkin Academy and the heroes themselves.
Lady Auriel takes command of meetings beginnings. She is a golden haired beauty, well past her girlish youthfulness and now well into the prime of her womanly glory. There also appears to be an additional glow about her that seems familiar yet not immediately apparent. She is, to put it frankly, breathtaking. She is also obviously greatly favored of her God Hironemous as is evident by the shining golden pendant she wears openly around her neck and the powerful aura of Good she radiates. She is dressed in stunning green and blue silks, which perfectly set off her eyes; however, one has the sense that she would be equally comfortable in heavy plate.
She spends her time weighing and evaluating each one of the Heroes. As her gaze first passes over the group's leader, Breca, a slight smile of approval can be seen on her lovely face as she takes in his obvious passion for his God, which is evidenced by his own potent aura of good, as well his serious mien; she nods her head.
As her gaze passes over Argent her smile disappears, and a slight look of impatience crosses her features; she then takes in Argent's confident stance, cocky grin and easy familiarity with the well-used weapons by his side, and she nods her head in rueful acceptance.
Next her gaze passes over Yvy and all hints of humour flee her grave countenance. Her steely blue eyes flash as her hand starts to drift unconsciously towards the magnificent golden hilted sword at her side. She then quickly darts glances at both Breca and Roland who both almost imperceptibly nod their heads. Her sternness then relaxes somewhat and she peers deeper into Yvy's soul. As she does so, Auriel's gaze begins to soften, and she then looks upon Yvy as one woman to another, and it is obvious something private and only to be understood by women passes between them. This gaze seems to strengthen Yvy and she stands a little straighter and prouder. Auriel again beings to smile and nods her head.
Last but not least she looks to Roland and from the pride in her gaze it is clear to all her great approval of this stalwart, there is no need for her to nod her head.
Auriel gathers the party in a sweeping gaze, as well as all others present and glances at King Skotti who in turn gives a slight nod of his own royal head. Thus, Auriel beings to address the Heroes:
"Noble Heroes, it gives me great pride and honour to address you this day in this court of our great King Skotti and these other gathered leaders of the realm. These are ominous times that require great courage, strength and sacrifice (and at this point she again shares a quick knowing and strengthening look with Yvy). The demonic plot of Demogorgon and the scourge of the Black Pearls Must be stopped at all costs! The entirety of Flaness is at risk as it has seldom been before. As you all know, the Order of the Knights of the Silver Chalice was formed and is sworn to eradicate demonic and evil outsiders anywhere and everywhere they appear. This is our Holy Purpose and Sacred Duty. At any other time, nothing could prevent me from joining you on such a noble and righteous quest as you are about to undertake...however the fates have decreed that at this time I may not."
At this point Auriel's hands unconsciously move to her stomach and she sends a quick and loving glance over her shoulder to a figure previously gone unnoticed in the shadows of a corner of the hall. This figure is that of a half-elf who, while common in looks and in raiment and clearly more suited to the forests and wild lands than a king's court, appears formidable indeed. He also appears fiercely protective and passionate of his golden haired beauty in the gaze he returns to her. Indeed, those more astute may correctly surmise that it is only his love for the object of his affection that binds him to the tortuous formality of this court instead of a deep forest or mountain crag where he would obviously be more at home.
As Auriel turns back to the Heroes her radiant smile, and her next words, confirm what the added glow about her is. "Yes, I am with child. Something I had long ago given up hope for as something not possible with my position and responsibility. Yet the Gods are kind and it seems I am to be rewarded at last for my years of dedication. It is because of this child to be, and only because of that (and this time she lets loose a much more fierce look into the shadows, as of a continuing point of contention) that I am not accompanying you on this vital mission. However, I am gladdened and comforted that the Knights shall not go unrepresented. I could not pray for a better warrior to represent the Knights of the Chalice than our valiant Sir Roland."
With this she turns the full radiance of her smile upon Roland and says, "Sir Roland, approach and kneel before me."
Roland does as commanded and it is apparent in his countenance his great admiration, respect and reverence towards his leader.
"Valiant Sir Roland, time and time again you have proven your bravery, your courage and your honour to our God, our Order and to me. As you are well aware, since the Great War against Iuz and the loss of the majority of our knights, the Order has struggled to survive. Yet if struggle we must than struggle we shall, for evil shall never rest and so therefore neither shall we! If no other good comes of Demogorgon's dark designs on our realm, he has at least shown most clearly the great need for our order to regain, and even surpass it's former capacity and ability."
“Brave Sir Roland, I lay a heavy task upon you," and with this she gracefully draws forth her magnificent longsword from the scabbard at her side. It beams with holy radiance and all eyes are drawn to it. She holds it in two hands, with the cross-guard in front of her heart and intones
"Sir Roland Pommelpoint, with the authority invested in me as Grandmaster of the Order of the Silver Chalice, I, Auriel Uthwain, 12th of that line to lead the Order, do hereby invest you with the honour of the title of Lord Marshal. Do you accept this awesome responsibility?"
Roland seems quite surprised with this sudden promotion yet being the sturdy and righteous Knight that he is, he immediately firms himself and gravely nods his head and replies, "Yes, my Lady Grandmaster, I Do."
To which Auriel booms, "So Be It!" She then performs the ritual three touches with her sword, right shoulder, left shoulder and head and then sheathes her shining blade. "Arise Lord Marshal Roland!"
"Lord Marshal, my purpose for your promotion is two-fold. First, as you know, the numbers of our ranks do not currently warrant the title of Lord Marshal"
By Roland's nod it is evident that this was the reason for his earlier surprise.
"It is therefore my hope and trust that, with the shining example of the courage, righteousness and nobility that you embody, and with the overwhelming success of your current holy mission to defeat Demogorgon, which I know you shall have, that sufficient numbers of acceptable applicants shall be drawn to the Order. This shall swell our ranks to the point that your new title shall become necessary and appropriate."
Auriel leans in towards Roland to whisper in private, "Of course, you shall still need to undertake the sacred journey to Eldrintha for her ultimate approval, yet I have no doubt or her granting it to you" and she leans back.
Demanding silence again Auriel continues, "Furthermore, with the rank of Lord Marshal you shall be in position to take over temporary command of the order for the short period that my motherly duties prevent me from being able to do so.” She once again places her hands on her slightly bulging belly and glances lovingly into the shadows. She then nods to Roland who steps back amongst the Heroes donning a fond smile for his charismatic leader.
Auriel speaks again, "Brave Heroes, please do not think I have forgotten the rest of you!" And as she smiles, all who view her cannot help but smile in return. "Brave Captain Breca, please approach me."
As Breca approaches and begins to respectfully bow his knee, Auriel grabs his shoulders and stops him. "Dear Captain, you do not need to make the knee before me, I greet you as an equal." To which Breca's broad shoulders seem to square even firmer
She continues; "Honored of Procan, much has been told to me of the brave and wondrous exploits of you and your mighty companions. Some of these tales seem so incredible as to almost defy belief, yet as I stand here before you and see the competence and courage of you all, I can readily believe them. My Dear Captain, as you are well aware, you are about to embark on a voyage most perilous and important. The fate of multitudes rests on your strong shoulders and those of your companions. As such, it is within my ability to grant unto you these few items of power to help assist you in this most vital quest. I shall leave up to your most capable judgment on how best to disperse them amongst your comrades."
She reaches behind her and picks up a thick oak staff shod in gold that had been leaning against her chair.
"This most treasured possession of the Order is a Staff of Life. I know that you shall appreciate its value and use it most appropriately" Breca gravely accepts the very valuable gift.
She turns again and picks up a large tome and a scroll.
"This weighty volume is a Tome of Leadership and Influence, and as I understand that you will lead a great host against Demogorgon, it should prove of benefit." and she hands it to him.
“Finally, I have something I have prepared with my own hands and prayers to great Hieronymus and at great cost to me personally. I ask you to take this scroll of Miracle."
"As I have said, I have invested much of myself in the creation of this scroll, so it is particularly potent and will allow the Divine Power of Hironemous to intercede in a significant way in your battle. I trust you understand its import and shall use it wisely" At which point Breca accepts the scroll and does go down on one knee, despite Auriel's previous protestations, as a sign of respect and honour to her. He thanks her sincerely. Before he can leave Auriel leans into him and again whispers.
"Dear Breca, you have amongst your companions some who initially gave me pause" and they both turn and look at Argent. Argent notices the grim gazes and responds with a 'what did I do now?!' look on his face. "I sense great ability, yet also great irresponsibility in that one. Your mission is critical to Flaness and there will not be a time for levity. I trust you shall keep a proper eye and rein on him."
Breca casts one of his familiar glares at Argent and says, "Oh, believe me my Lady, I do and I plan to continue doing so."
"Good," she replies.
Auriel smiles briefly and then continues to whisper more seriously, "And there is one other," and they both turn and look at Yvy. Yvy is caught up in the enthusiasm of Roland’s promotion, and in a rare moment appears almost young and innocent and her true beauty is very touching. She does not notice their scrutiny. "Hers is a very conflicted soul. I sense both good and evil in her and were it not for my great trust in your hand of guidance, I might protest her accompanying you on such an important quest to such an evil realm. However, I know you shall watch over her, and I believe that all deserve the chance at redemption. If ever you should feel the need of assistance with her case I put myself at your disposal. I shall pray for her daily. I have all trust in you noble Dwarf," and she places her hands on his shoulders in benediction.
"Finally, know that Sir Roland has my full trust and respect. There are few men of his caliber walking the realm, and you can count on him in all things" Breca once again nods graciously to the great Lady and moves back to his position amongst his companions.
Auriel looks up to King Skotti and says, "I believe the King has a few more words and gifts for you, and then I understand it shall be time, before you embark of your perilous journey into Abyss, to celebrate Life!"
Over the next several minutes, King Skotti presents various other gifts to the heroes to aid in their mission. Most of the items have been donated by the various forces of good in the land, including: the church of Pelor, the Circle of Eight, the church of Heironeouss, and the Graymalking academy. Included in the gifts are several scrolls, metamagic rods, and tomes of power to enhance the natural attributes of the heroes. All the gifts are of great value, and come at great expense to the orders that donated them. Lady Callistra even gives Argent a new rapier that the academy has forged just to help him in battle against demons (+4 keen, holy, demonbane). Argent, is quite surprised by this generosity, for he and Lady Callistra have butted heads on a number of academy policies, particularly in regards to academy dueling standards, and entertaining multitudes of “ladies” in academy dorm rooms. However, with the fate of the Flaness balanced on the edge of a knife, all those arguments now seem like water under the bridge.
With the formalities over and the gifts distributed, the time has come to get down to real business. It is here that Allanah, Tommen, and Mage Grayhill assume control of the meeting. Allanah does most of the speaking.
“Over the past several weeks, we have been conducting much research into the nature of the Shadow pearls. Thanks to Captain Breca and Argent, we now have a fairly large supply of pearls to analyze. As you already know, we have found them difficult to study, for they are artifacts that have proven impervious to much divination magic, particularly the sort that would be useful for locating them. However, we have come to believe that the pearls in our possession are all linked to a single master pearl. We believe that if master pearl is triggered then all the other shadow pearls in Flaness will also be triggered, unleashing a vast tide of savage energy. This “Savage Tide” has the potential to transform thousands of people into the horrid monstrosities that were witnessed by Breca and his companions in Farshore and Kraken’s Cove. Obviously, it is of paramount importance that we find this master pearl and capture and destroy it.
We know that Demogorgon is planning to use the energy from the Savage Tide to try to merge his two personalities into a single entity, which may even allow him to achieve true divinity. We suspect that for this to happen it must be Demogorgon who triggers the master pearl. Thus, we believe the master pearl is in his possession somewhere in Gaping Maw. However, we don’t know where. Yet we are hopefully that Iggwilv’s vast network of informants seeded through the Abyss may be able to help us locate the master pearl.”
There is much murmuring at this point, but little more to say for now.
King Skotti stands up from his seat at the head of the table. “I feel that there is little more to discuss at this point. The true war council will take place when you meet with your allies from the other planes, a meeting that none of us will be attending. However, before we split paths I do wish to leave you with some final words.
“Already you have accomplished more than I could have hoped. You have rid the seas of the scourge that was the Crimson Fleet, and you have now managed to mobilize Demogorgon’s greatest enemies against him. These are no small feats. Yet, your greatest challenge awaits, but I feel that the gods are with you, and that you will succeed. When this meeting ends, I shall retire to my chapel, and I do not plan to leave the altar until you return victorious from your quest. The fate of the Flaness now rests in your hands, but victory is assured, for failure is not an option. When you return, I will see to it that your entire tale is properly and fully chronicled into the annuls of history and that bards across the Flaness sing songs of your courage for centuries to come. You are our greatest heroes; go forward and show Demogorgon the true strength of mortals.”
As the king’s speech concludes, all present in the war room stand and cheer in honour of the brave heroes.
Game Session #44 part 2 (Prince of Demons, the invasion of Gaping Maw begins)
More tense days pass, and an ever-growing sense of doom builds among the people of the Flaness. These days are spent in solem prayer and preparation, as the heroes wait for Orcus and Gwynharwaf to send word that their armies are ready. Finally, that day arrives. The heroes return to the World Ash, and at the entrance to Redfang’s former layer, Tommen prepares a magnificent mansion. Inside the sanctum the final war council converges. In attendance are the heroes, an undead proxy sent by Orcus, Gynharwyf, a proxy sent by Charon, and an astrally projecting Iggwilv accompanied by her servant Landerbold. There is much tension in war room, for the beings gathered are not entities that would normally associate or ally with one another.
The heroes and Iggwilv lead much of the council meeting. Spies working for both Orcus and Iggiwilv have gathered much information regarding the happenings in Gaping Maw. They have heard many rumours that the master pearl is being stored away in Demogorgon’s mighty fortress of Abysm, which rises out of the frothing seas- well off the coast of the Screaming Jungles. Iggwilv suspects this is a ruse, planted by Demogorgon to lure the heroes away from its true location and into a trap. Her belief is that the pearl is actually hidden in a small, but ancient temple built on coast of the Brine Flats. The temple is known as Wat Dagon, which in Abyssal translates to “Temple of Dagon”. Iggwilv explains that Dagon is an ancient demonlord that has been around long before Demogorgon rose to power. He is an oracle of sorts among demonkind, and the keeper of ancient and terrible arcane secrets. Demogorgon has long had an alliance of sorts with Dagon, and much of his arcane knowledge can be attributed to Dagon’s teachings. When Demogorgon wishes to commune with Dagon he comes to Wat Dagon. Iggwilv believes that Dagon taught Demogorgon the secrets rituals needed to fabricate the shadow pearls, and she believes that the master pearl was created, and is being housed in Wat Dagon.
The spies have learned other things as well. They know that Demogorgon knows that his enemies are amassing against him, and he has mobilized his armies to defend his holdings. He has activated the Interdiction zone, which is a magical effect tied to Demogorgon’s will and a massive stepped pyramid in the center of the city of Lemoriax. The interdiction zone blocks all teleportation magic within a ten mile radius of the pyramid for all creatures except demons loyal to Demogorgon. Wat Dagon sits on the southern edge of the Interdiction zone, which will make it somewhat difficult for the heroes to reach.
Iggwilv explains that she can use her epic magic to open a series of massive planar gates in certain locations of Gaping Maw. These gates will be big enough to move armies through at a fast pace, and can form the basis of the assault. There are only a few locations near Demogorgon’s main holdings where the planar barriers are weak enough to allow her spells to work. Unfortunately, Demogorgon knows where these places are and has set up his legions to defend them. In a sense this is not a bad thing, for the attack is merely supposed to be a distraction to keep Demogorgon busy and off guard while the heroes attack Wat Dagon and recover the master pearl. However, each member of the council seems to have his or her own agenda. Orcus’s proxy makes it clear that Orcus is intent on sacking Orcus’s main strongholds. He has four legions, each 25000 strong to send into battle. His most powerful legion will arrive with Orcus above the ocean of Gaping Maw, where it will teleport to Abysm, which is well outside the interdiction zone. There he plans to battle and slay Demogorgon and plunder the treasures and secrets of his enemy’s greatest sanctuary. The rest of his armies will arrive near Lemoriax, and his generals will lead them to the city where they will storm its walls and raze the city to the ground. Charon has aquatic forces of his own, and he plans to enter through a portal point along the coast. His forces will engage the navy of Demogorgon’s balor general, Belscherek, which patrols the coast. Gwynharwaf will bring her own forces in through other portals near to Lemoriax and they will engage various other armies Demogorgon has stationed in the area. She refuses to fight anywhere near Orcus’s legions, but she will do her best to help provide the necessary distraction.
As for the heroes, they plan to use their own planar magic to transport as near to Wat Dagon as possible. They will then use a windwalk spell to fly to the temple as quickly as possible, and from there they will divine as much as they can about it before entering and going after the master pearl. They hope to stay out of the main battles and focus on the true mission.
With the strategy clear, the heroes ready themselves for war.
Two days later, all is in place and the final confrontation begins. The heroes set forth from the Court of Stars using their amulet of the planes to transport themselves to Gaping Maw. Before they leave, they include Gywnharwaf in a telepathic bond spell, so that they can keep in touch with her regarding the status of her forces during the battle. They appear in the midst of the Screaming Jungle, a place named after the millions of screeching demonic monkeys that inhabit the fetid place. Before the simians can make too much a nuisance of themselves, Breca casts a windwalk spell on the party and they assume gaseous form. They then take to the air and fly with all haste over the steaming jungle canopy streaking along the coast towards the Brine Flats and Wat Dagon. They soon see it, a stone structure with several domes making up its roof. It crouches on the edge of the briny marsh and the ocean where its southern face is constantly pounded by the surf. As they get closer, they notice that there is a slight shimmer and waver to the temple. It almost seems as though the temple is partially intangible. Furthermore, the heroes notice that the marsh surrounding the temple is crawling with demons. It is difficult to say how many, for there are numerous places for the creatures to hide themselves in the vast bog. They land at the edge of the jungle where it meets the marsh, still a great distance from Wat Dagon. There they assume their true forms and discuss their options. Argent and Sir Roland busy themselves with swatting away demonic monkeys that come too close (most seem content to howl at them and throw their stinking filth at the adventurers). They decide they will cast true seeing spells and try to get a closer look at the temple, as they are concerned it may be some sort of illusion. Just as they are concluding their discussion, Breca receives a message spell from Iggwilv. She informs him that the Lemoriax portal has been locked out and that Orcus’s legions are unable to press through. As a result the invasion has ground to a halt, and Gwynharwaf’s armies are bearing the brunt of the conflict. This news changes their plans and they immediately assume wind form and speed toward the Lemoriax portal.
The journey is a fast one, and in less than thirty minutes they see a great clearing in the midst of the jungle. The clearing is a smoking, burned out ruin, and piles of demonic corpses have been heaped up near its center. In the middle of the clearing is a ten-foot tall wooden totem pole carved with demonic imagery. According to the maps provided for them by Iggwilv, the clearing is where the portal point should be, and from the looks of things a small portion of Orcus’s legions made it through. They set down at the edge of the clearing and assume material form. Tommen explains that he believes the totem is the focus for whatever magic is preventing the gate from opening, and if the totem can somehow be destroyed or dislodged it should shut down the magic and allow the gate to reopen.
A couple of spells are hurled towards the totem, but as they enter the clearing they flash out of existence completely. The adventures quickly come to realize that the clearing is subject to some sort of anti-magic field. This is of grave concern, since so much of the party’s power comes from their magic. Still they need to somehow take out the totem. Sir Roland volunteers for the job, and he bravely runs into the clearing towards the totem. The second he steps into the clearing, he feels absence of magic in the air, and he realizes that all his powerful gear is now completely mundane. The brave knight moves forward, and as he passes through the clearing the signs of the nature of the destruction become more clear. Sections of the ground seem to have been scorched by fire and still waft dark smoke into the air. Other areas look as though they have been blasted by frost, and frozen chunks of shattered trees are scattered across the ground. Puddles of steaming acid also dot the ground, and many of the bodies look as though they were burned by the foul stuff. He keeps focused on his objective, but suddenly, one of the nearby piles of corpses erupts, and a terrible creature emerges from beneath the shattered bodies! The thing is gargantuan; its body is seething mass of dark tentacles. Out of this mass emerge three long serpentine necks. Each neck ends in a draconic head with long curving horns protruding from it. The horror turns its attention toward Roland, and it propels itself across the blasted ground toward him. Roland reaches the totem and takes a mighty swing. His sword cuts into the great pole, but seems to cause it little harm, and he desperately struggles to pull his blade free as the three-headed terror descends upon him. It comes in fast and its snapping jaws lunge down, attacking with incredible ferocity. Sir Roland does his best to fend it off, using his shield and sword to try to bash and slash at its face. All this is to little avail, and the thing’s teeth gouge into his shoulder and lift him from the ground. Breca sees his ally is in grave danger, and he rushes into the antimagic zone. Argent also starts to move in, but is not his usual self, for without his magic he knows there won’t be much he can do against the great beast. Allanah attempts to fly around the side of the clearing, in hopes of coming in at the totem from the other side, and possibly avoiding the three-headed horror. Unfortunately, she enters the edge of the anti-magic field. Her fly spell cuts out and she plummets to the ground, landing on a pile of corpses with a loud “squish”. She is stunned for a couple of seconds, but soon drags herself to her feet, and finds that she is covered with foul demonic gore. Tommen and Yvy stay on the edge of the clearing, wracking their brains with ways to help their friends. Roland drags himself to his feet just as Breca reaches him. The knight realizes his blade will be of little use against the totem, which seems as hard as iron. He decides to shift tactics and hurls himself against the object in an attempt to dislodge it from the ground. Breca tries to aid him by distracting the great beast, but this is difficult given that it has three heads and can easily focus on multiple threats. Roland slams into the totem with all his might and it shudders and leans to one side, but it remains planted in the earth.
The great horror strikes again, its jaws snapping at both Roland and Breca. It keeps pressing its attacks, and it finally hurls Sir Roland away from the totem. His battered body skips across the ground, and then lays still. Breca is unsure if the knight is still alive, but he too is bleeding from multiple grievous wounds, and only his great force of will is still keeping him standing.
Things aren’t looking good for the heroes. But suddenly Tommen and Yvy come up with ideas. Yvy uses her telekinesis spell to start lifting nearby rocks into the air and hurling them towards the great beast and the totem. Their natural momentum is enough to propel them, despite the anti-magic zone, and a couple of the rocks strike the horror, causing it to turn its attention away from Breca for a moment. At the same time, Tommen uses a dragonshape spell to assume the form of mighty red dragon. He remains outside the anti-magic zone, but he too picks up great rocks with his massive arms and starts hurling them toward the totem. Breca ducks for cover as the boulders start flying in. The three headed horror is distracted by the sudden onslaught, and it tries to manouver itself between Tommen and Yvy and the totem in order to block their shots. This gives Breca the distraction he needs, and he hurries towards Sir Roland. The beast can’t get in front of the totem quite fast enough. One of Tommen’s rocks hits it dead on, and the totem is blasted out of the earth and sent spinning through the air. Magic instantly surges back into the clearing, and an enormous gate suddenly opens. Orcus’s legions wait on the other side. They eagerly surge through the portal. The three-headed fiend turns on the gate and all three of its heads unleash devastating breath weapons. One spews fire, another acid, and the third frost. The first wave of demons and undead shriek and howl as they are devastated by its attack. Breca staggers over to Sir Roland’s body and finds that the paladin is miraculously still clinging to life. He casts heal spells on Roland and himself. The heroes consider staying to slay the great beast, but they decide that they would be better off conserving their energy and leaving that business to Orcus’s legions. They again transform to wind form and take to the air, hurtling back towards Wat Dagon.
|
Game Session #44 part 2 (Prince of Demons, the invasion of Gaping Maw begins)
More tense days pass, and an ever-growing sense of doom builds among the people of the Flaness. These days are spent in solem prayer and preparation, as the heroes wait for Orcus and Gwynharwaf to send word that their armies are ready. Finally, that day arrives. The heroes return to the World Ash, and at the entrance to Redfang’s former layer, Tommen prepares a magnificent mansion. Inside the sanctum the final war council converges. In attendance are the heroes, an undead proxy sent by Orcus, Gynharwyf, a proxy sent by Charon, and an astrally projecting Iggwilv accompanied by her servant Landerbold. There is much tension in war room, for the beings gathered are not entities that would normally associate or ally with one another.
The heroes and Iggwilv lead much of the council meeting. Spies working for both Orcus and Iggiwilv have gathered much information regarding the happenings in Gaping Maw. They have heard many rumours that the master pearl is being stored away in Demogorgon’s mighty fortress of Abysm, which rises out of the frothing seas- well off the coast of the Screaming Jungles. Iggwilv suspects this is a ruse, planted by Demogorgon to lure the heroes away from its true location and into a trap. Her belief is that the pearl is actually hidden in a small, but ancient temple built on coast of the Brine Flats. The temple is known as Wat Dagon, which in Abyssal translates to “Temple of Dagon”. Iggwilv explains that Dagon is an ancient demonlord that has been around long before Demogorgon rose to power. He is an oracle of sorts among demonkind, and the keeper of ancient and terrible arcane secrets. Demogorgon has long had an alliance of sorts with Dagon, and much of his arcane knowledge can be attributed to Dagon’s teachings. When Demogorgon wishes to commune with Dagon he comes to Wat Dagon. Iggwilv believes that Dagon taught Demogorgon the secrets rituals needed to fabricate the shadow pearls, and she believes that the...
So the final battle begins. Arendragost is one powerful mo fo. Not suprised that your group struggled with him so much. That anti magic field just about neutered the entire group. Thats what happens when so much of the party relies on spell casting to be effective. I can't wait to see these guys showdown with the big D himself, not to mention Gromsfeld, Saint Kargoth, Gorvash, and the Queen of Succubi. Looks like we are very close to the end of one awesome campaign journal. Thanks for sticking with it for so long PH. It has been an incredible read.
Thanks Brent, nice to hear that a few people are still keeping up with this. I mostly write it for my own records and for my players, but posting it up here is simple enough, so I figure I might as well. However, it's still nice to get a little feed back ever now and then. I'm not really the type of person that fishes for comments, but I am a little curious about how many people actually bother to read these journals, so if you have been following along, I would love it if you just made a quick post sometime before I finish this journal.
As it stands, our final game session for the campaign is scheduled for July 6th. I expect a marathon of carnage, and I'm interested to see how the heroes will fare. I'm going to do my absolute best to make sure big D gives them the fight of their lives.
Cheers.
Sir Dungeon,
As others *cough*Sharoth*cough* have indicated, quite a few are lurkers who read the delicious carnage, savoring each morsel as it is doled out.
Lo, and behold the twin faces of madness and savagery. Know ye now the true meaning of Fear, savoring your eminent death. For at no other time in your miserable mortal existences shall ye truly appreciate what it is to be alive.
Game Session #44 part 3 (The Prince of Demons. The assault on Wat Dagon begins)
On their second approach to Wat Dagon, they make an effort to be stealthy and get as close to the temple as possible. Once near the temple, Tommen uses his divination magic to discern a number of interesting things. Firstly, the building is semi-intangible- this can be seen just by looking at it. However the temple is real enough; it is no illusion. Its spectral nature results from the fact that the temple is not entirely on Gaping Maw. It somehow sits between Gaping Maw and another plane. As a result, the only means of entering the structure is through the front doors, which acts as a portal to the plane where the interior of the structure exists.
With no other options, the heroes decide to step through the main doors, which hang part way open. They find themselves standing in a short hallway that is part of the temple’s gatehouse. Their entrance does not go unnoticed, and they see scores of demons emerging from the marsh that surrounds the temple, and rapidly heading in the direction of the temple’s gate. Allanah quickly seals the entrance with a wall of force, blocking the portal. Because Wat Dagon is in fact on its own plane, the demons are unable to teleport in, and they too can only enter through the gate. However with the gate sealed by the wall of force, they have no means to enter- at least for the time being.
Of course, the defenses to the temple are not restricted merely to demons positioned outside its walls. As soon as the heroes begin moving through the hall towards the courtyard beyond, a potent magical trap is activated. The effect causes a surge of eldritch backlash to blast through all the heroes that are protected by magical spells. Some are more protected than others. Argent, Tommen, Allanah and Yvy all suffer particularly harsh agony from the magical energies that tear through them. Worst of all, not only does the trap cause them great pain, but it also disjoins all the spells active on them. Argent has over a dozen spells active on him at the time, and in an instant they are all gone.
The heroes feel like they have just been struck by lightning, and they crumble to the ground. A moment passes and they gradually drag themselves to their feet. Ahead, the entry tunnel opens into a spacious courtyard. It is illuminated as if in full daylight. However, when they peer up to towards the sky, they discover that instead of sky their is a reflection of the ground below; it is as if the sky had been replaced by a dome of reflective glass. From their vantage point they are unable to see the courtyard in its entirety. However ahead of them is the remains of a fountain, and beyond that a set of large, bronze double doors that look as though they lead into the temple proper. An alcove above the doors holds an alien looking obsidian statue of a squid-like creature that looks as though it came from the darkest depths of the ocean. Tommen suspects that it depicts Dagon.
The adventurers are just about to enter the courtyard when a woman suddenly steps out of the shadows and into view. She lithely glides in front of the fountain to face and address the heroes. The woman is none other than Lavinia herself!
They are instantly suspicious. Yet Lavinia addresses them.
“So, you have managed to make it this far. I suspected you would. I always had more faith in you than my lover. But now you see the truth. Lavinia died back in Dividend’s Ire, and I took her place,” suddenly Lavinia’s form wavers and in her place stands none other Malcanthet the Queen of Succubi.
Breca responds, “You are full of lies Demon Queen. We used divinations on lady Lavinia when we found her, and we know that we found the true Lavinia.”
“Ah Breca, you are sooo clever. My little jest could not fool you.”
“But enough jests now. You have vexed me sorely dwarf. Argent and I had a special arrangement worked out, and thanks to your little drinking contest the sanctity of our arrangement has been violated. Luckily for you, I am far more forgiving than most of my kind. Turn your friend back over to me so that I might again make him my servant. My lover has no knowledge of any of my dealings with you, and I am ready to see him fall. With my help you can reach the master pearl.”
Breca glares at the succubi, “Argent has been nothing but a pain in my backside since the day I meet him. On another day I’d happily hand him over to you. However, he is my first mate, and right now I have need of him. For some reason I just don’t like the idea of him being your personal puppet. Besides, I don’t really see what good he would be to you. I mean if you want a mortal as a thrall, you could at least pick out one that is useful. I have a deck swab back on my boat that might fit the bill. He’s from Scuttlecove; he’s missing a leg, and is about as dumb as goblin that’s been kicked by a horse, but he’d still be more useful than Argent.”
“Ah Breca, still with the jests. You see the potential in this fool just as clearly as I do. In fact, I see a great destiny for him. Together we can destroy Demogorgon.”
“And then what demon queen? Will Argent’s great destiny then be fulfilled? Will he then be free to be on his way? Even if we could manage this feat, what would you have to gain from the demise of your lover?”
“I will speak plainly with you good dwarf. My aims are simple. I will see to it that Argent lands the killing blow, and when he does the crown for the title of “Prince of Demons” will be up for grabs, and Argent will make a bid for the crown at my behest. He will then become the new prince of demons, and he will have the freedom to rule the Abyss as he sees fit.”
At this point, much laughter issues forth from Breca.
“That may be the most ridiculous plan I have ever heard, and to think it is coming from someone who claims to be a queen among demons. Who says that demons have no sense of humour? But seriously, why bother telling me this? You can’t possibly think either Argent or I would agree to your terms.”
“You are right on that account Breca. But I don’t need your consent. In a moment you will all be my thralls, and I thought that you might like to know my intentions, so that as you find yourselves unable to do anything beyond what I wish of you, you can think about what will become of your friend, and what I will have him do to you when this is all done. The only thing saving you from my domination right now is the holy aura generated by your paladin friend, and in a moment he will be dead, and then the rest of you will be my slaves.”
Suddenly Malcanthet lets out a hiss, and a deadly looking barbed scourge appears in her hand. She hurls herself towards the heroes, with her eyes fixed on Sir Roland. She moves with incredible speed and agility, and in an instant she is among her enemies, lashing with her scourge. At the same time another demon strides into view, blocking access to the courtyard. This demon is a hulking, four armed Glabrezu. Its two largest arms end in wicked pincers, and they snap in anticipation.
Sir Roland feels the barbs of the scourge tear into him, flaying the flesh off his face. Poison seeps into his veins. The strength of Heironeous is strong in him, and with his incredible fortitude he tries to shrug off the effects of the venom. But this poison is the poison of a Demon Queen, and it is some of the most vile and dangerous poison in all the planes. He feels himself growing dizzy and his knees buckle. Yet, the paladin refuses to fall, and he stays on his feet.
Breca calls out, “Stay near Sir Roland, and don’t let him die!”
Tommen, Yvy, and Allanah begin casting spells, and Argent lunges in with his demonbane rapier, taunting Malcanthet with every thrust.
“You were a lousy kisser demon whore. You use far too much tongue. I’ve had sloppy harlots in Scuttlecove that were better kissers than you.”
The spell casters find Malcanthet far too fast. Orbs of acid and force are fired at her from near point blank range, and she easily dodges them. Other spells are tried against her, but the spell casters find that she is incredibly resistant to their mortal magic. Yvy attempts her conjuration magic, and to her dismay, it does not function within Wat Dagon.
Sir Roland and Argent are among the most skillful swordsmen in the Flaness. They have the demon queen surrounded; she wears no armour; they should be able to hack her down, and yet they can’t land a solid blow. Not only is she far too fast, but there is something special about her. Her demonic beauty is overwhelming, and it touches the perverse darkness that lurks in all mortal souls. Deep down inside they start to realize that a part of them just doesn’t want mare her flesh, and swings that should land true seem to go just wide of their mark.
Malcanthet cackles with glee as she continues to lash the paladin. Breca does what he can to distract her, and she happily takes a moment to flay flesh from him as well. Things begin to look a little desperate as the glabrezu uses telekinetic magic to haul Tommen out of the fight and into his pincered grasp. Tommen is still injured from the spell trap, and a glabrezu’s pincers is one of the last places he wants to be. He feels them crushing into him, and his blood starts to run freely. Then Allanah casts a ray of enfeeblement spell. It’s a lucky shot, and it hits Malcanthet, sapping her strength. It isn’t enough to stop her, but she is clearly weakened. Breca follows it up by using maximized moonbeam prayer, and with his demonwrecker powers he is able to penetrate the succubi’s spell resistance with ease. Malcanthet howls as the moonbeam sucks the strength from her body (20 strength damage), and she crumples to the ground. A dimensional anchor is promptly cast on her, and a zone of magical silence is conjured around her.
Argent rushes to help Tommen, but suddenly the pull of gravity is reversed; the glabrezu releases his grip on Tommen, and both Argent and Tommen go tumbling towards the strange, mirrored ceiling of the courtyard. The glabrezu howls with glee, and it seems that the demon may have been responsible for the effect. Luckily, both Argent and Tommen are able to activate featherfall effects and they float to the ceiling without harm. However, as they arrive, they are each confronted with their own reflection, and that reflection is a thing of unholy savagery. They feel their minds twisting and turning feral, but they find the strength to fight off the effects. They the fly back towards the ground, and they turn to unleash the hatred that has been stirred up inside them on the glabrezu.
A bloodied Sir Roland staggers forward to the helpless succubi queen. He grabs her hair and then pulls her head up. With a single savage swing of his holy avenger he performs a coup de grace that slices the head clean off the demon queen. Black, oily ichor sprays out of her neck, dousing her body and the nearby ground. The rest of her body falls back to the stone floor and suddenly withers into a putrid, stinking husk. Roland raises his blade in triumph and holds up Malcanthet’s head, for the demon queen is now dead.
With Malcathet defeated the heroes turn all their attention on the glabrezu, and the lone demon is unable to stand long against them. They finish the demon off with ease, and then take moment to regroup. Looking back, they can see that the wall of force is still blocking the entrance to Wat Dagon for now, but it is not clear how long they have before the demons find a way to bring it down, and the party is suddenly overwhelmed by a horde of reinforcements. They realize they need to move quick, and some fast healing magic is performed so that the adventurers can press on into the main temple.
DMs notes: I was very curious to to see how the heroes would fare against Malcanthet. They were in a tough spot because all their buffs had been dispelled. However, Sir Roland's protective aura (generated by his holy avenger I believe), prevented Malcanthet from being able to use her enchantments on the heroes, so didn't have many other options other than to go into melee. Her touch AC is very high, so the usual orbs of acid and such were missing, and other spells that targeted her directly were also quite useless because of her high SR. However Alannah got the one lucky shot with the ray of enfeeblement that knocked her down 6 strength. Then Breca used a miracle to help aim his moon bolt, which did 20 strength damage. However, I didn't realize she was entitled to a save, which she would of likely made, and thus only taken 10 strength damage. If that had happened the fight might have gone differently because she still would of had a strength of 10. Instead she was rendered prone and unable to move. She was about to use a greater dispel to remove the effects of at least the ray of enfeeblement, but the silence took that option away, and since she couldn't move she could escape the silence zone. Ghorvash probably could have helped her a little at this point, but he was pretty occupied by Argent and Tommen, and he didn't have any huge loyalty towards Malcanthet anyhow. Thus, Sir Roland was able to perform a coup de grace and the queen of succubi was destroyed.
Tomorrow is the big final game session of the campaign. I expect epic levels of carnage.
I'm not sure exactly what we're doing after this. We might do a few adventures for some other systems before getting into a new campaign. I've got a paranoia adventure I want to run, and a Call of the Cthulhu adventure I've been thinking of running. One of my players has been tossing around running some d20 future stuff based on the Blame manga (which I don't know much about). Another player has been talking about doing some Conan stuff. However, I'm not really sure how much of all that will actually happen. We've picked up the 4E core books and I started running Keep on Shadowfell last week as a trial. I've been working on a journal for that, as it might be the beginning of our next main campaign. I'm sure we'll finish that adventure, but then I might end up starting again with Curse of the Crimson Throne or I'll keep going with some homebrew or other 4E adventures.
Tomorrow is the big final game session of the campaign. I expect epic levels of carnage.
Looking forward to your report Sir Dungeon, as I am sure many of us are. Rather sad to see so many Savage Tides coming to their conclusions - but good timing as well, with August not far off.
Game Session #45
PC's
Breca (dwarf, cleric/demonwrecker 20)
Argent (Air Gensai, fighter/swashbuckler/wizard/abjurant champion/eldritch knight 20)
Yvy (human, sorcerer/malconvoker/fate spinner 19)
Tommen (human, wizard/loremaster/fate spinner 19)
Allanah (human, wizard/cleric/mystic theurge/abjurant champion 19)
Sir Roland (human, paladin/knight of the chalice 18)
Malcanthet has been defeated, but the temple interior of Wat Dagon awaits the heroes. The adventurers aren’t eager to open the doors that lead into the main section of the temple. Breca begins by testing a stoneshape spell on one of the walls, but this fails. It seems that even though the walls look like stone they are made of some other matter entirely. Once again it appears that the doors are the only way through. This time the party members all stand far back, and Yvy uses a telekinesis spell to push open the doors. They open into an empty antechamber. On the far wall of the room is yet another set of double doors. These ones are made of iron bound wood. Tommen uses a detect magic spell to scan the room for magical auras. Transmutation and conjuration magic are quite strong in the room, and he suspects that there is another magical trap of some sort waiting for them. He casts a greater dispel magic into the room, and it seems to reduce the potency of the aura somewhat. He prays that any magical traps there might have been have been dispelled. At the same time, Yvy gives another telekinetic push and opens the next set of doors. All the while, the heroes remain out in the courtyard.
The wooden doors open, and beyond is a large room. It appears to be the central shrine of the temple. The room has a hexagonal shape, and a balcony supported by stone columns surrounds the chamber. In the centre of the room is a large bronze cauldron that sits on a circle that has been carved into the floor and etched with vile and unholy runes. Sitting in the cauldron is what appears to be the bobbing form of a shadow pearl- the master pearl? There is little time to take in these details, for two huge guardians dominate the room. The creatures are gorristo demons- massive and savage brutes that resemble gigantic minotaurs. The fiends don’t hesitate, and they charge forward, one after the other, bellowing and frothing as they come. Argent and Sir Roland hurry up to the doors. Each stands on one side, and they wait for the first one to come through. The first one tries to hurl itself through the door and into the courtyard, so that it can begin stomping the heroes into paste. However it is stopped short by a bombardment of spells, and savage swings from Sir Roland’s holy avenger and Argent’s new holy-demon bane rapier (a sword that he realizes he must name). While the rest of the party battles it out with the gorristos, Yvy focuses on using her telekinesis to retrieve the pearl. She manages to raise the pearl out of the cauldron, and starts levitating it through the air towards the party. The gorristo is a tough beast, and he withstands a great deal of punishment. He manages to pound Sir Roland with a couple of shattering blows from his giant fists, but the paladin’s enchanted armour and shield absorb much of the impact. The knight holds his ground, and with a final mighty swing, Sir Roland slashes the demon across the throat, and it topples to the ground.
The second gorristo is coming in right behind the first. Unfortunately for him, the incredible bulk of the first demon’s corpse is blocking the entrance. He stomps in frustration, creating a devastating earthquake effect. However the adventurers remain on their feet (half of them are hovering in the air anyhow). The second one is already wounded from several area of effect spells that hit both it and its companion seconds earlier. It tries to drag itself over top of its brother’s corpse, but suffers a bombardment of more spells and vicious melee attacks from Argent and Sir Roland. The only thing it really succeeds in accomplishing before it is destroyed is falling dead on top of the pearl while Yvy is trying to pull it through the doorway. It takes the combined efforts of Yvy’s telekinesis and Sir Roland, Breca and Argent’s strength to lift the second demon enough to free the pearl. With this done, they move the pearl off to the side of the courtyard and gather around to quickly inspect it while Argent stands guard. Tommen uses his divinations on the pearl, and he quickly deduces that the pearl is in fact a shadow pearl, but not the master pearl. It appears to be a decoy. Still, they carefully put the pearl into the portable hole and ready themselves to venture into the temple.
At that moment Argent suddenly calls out, “Guys, I think we have a problem.”
They rush over to join the air gensaii and find him looking towards the doors that lead back to Gaping Maw. There they see a horde of angry demons has gathered, and a single babau has taken up position in front of the wall of force that Yvy put up to block the entrance to Wat Dagon. The demon has a scroll in his hand and suddenly a ray of disintegration streaks from his fingers and destroys the force wall. The slathering horde surges forward ready to rip the heroes to pieces. Yvy promptly conjures another wall of force, blocking their path. The demons are again stopped and they slam their fists and claws against the wall in frustration. A large hezrou looks at the babau with utter contempt and malice. It suddenly lunges at the babau and tears its head right off its body. A large scuffle breaks out among the demons on the other side of the force wall, and it looks like the horde will not be a threat again for at least a little while.
Sir Roland courageously volunteers to be the first one into the main temple complex. With some effort he crawls over top of the stinking gorristo corpses and climbs down from them into the antechamber beyond. Argent casts an invisibility spell on himself and prepares to follow the paladin. With his sword in hand and his animated shield hovering out in front of him, Sir Roland makes his way through the antechamber and into the central shrine. His holy blade glows with light, illuminating the dark shrine. The room has eight sides and entrances on all walls except for the three farthest ones. His shield suddenly takes action to protect him, as arrows start flying in at the paladin. The archers are slithering yuan-ti, and a pair of them are standing in a doorway ahead of him and to his left, while two more start firing at his flanks from rooms that connect with the antechamber. None of the arrows are able to penetrate his magical plate male or get through his hovering shield. A rush of air streaks past him as an invisible Argent flies into the central shrine and heads for the pair of yuan-ti. Sir Roland steps back into the antechamber and heads to his left, towards a lone archer. The rest of the party scales the gorristo demon corpses. Yvy hops down into the antechamber, while Breca, Allanah and Tommen remain in the doorway and lay on the top demon body. Breca readies his crossbow and the other two start casting spells. Breca fire a couple of bolts into one the nasties, as Sir Roland begins hacking away. An invisible Argent starts jamming his rapier into the snake creatures, who are shocked to suddenly have a sword blade plunging into them. They hiss in agony, drop their bows and then draw finely crafted Falchions from sheaths on their backs. Streaks of fire, acid and force are hurled by Alannah and Tommen, and after a horrid wilting spelling cast by Breca sucks the moisture from them, they start dropping dead one after the other. It is around this time that Argent hears something land on the ground behind him. He moves just in time to avoid a pair of scimitar slashes, and looking back he sees the attractive, red skinned assassin demon that plagued the party in Dividedend’s Ire. She has a scimitar in one hand and sickle in the other; a malicious smile is spread across her face. Argent remembers her nearly killing Breca and hacking down Tommen. She seems to have no trouble seeing him, and he turns to face his new foe. The air gensaii has lost most of his usually abjurations due to the disjoining trap leaving him quite vulnerable. He knows a fight with this b@+*+ is going to be ugly, and he prepares to meet his fate.
Due to the telepathic bond the party is linked by, Sir Roland knows that Argent is in trouble. Thus, Sir Roland hurries back towards the main shrine so that he can help Argent deal with the assassin. However, she is not the only threat. A silent figure drifts down from a recess high up in the dark interior of the shrine’s great spire. At first glance the it looks like a knight armoured in dark plate male, but one quickly notices that the chill of death clings to his silent body. He floats towards the ground holding a great sword. As he lowers himself, he lays down an explosion of abyssal flame that scorches both Argent, and Sir Roland. The assassin demon seems unharmed by the blast, as she is quick to dodge out of the way. The death knight keeps drifting lower. Breca, Tommen and Yvy open up on the death knight with their own spells, as he floats into view. Orbs of force and acid, along with bolts of glory pound the vile knight. The horrific undead warrior proves to be quite resilient, and despite being battered by the spell barrage, he keeps on coming without a word or any sign of feeling pain. He then unleashes another spell. This one is a horrid wilting spell. It affects all the heroes except Argent, who is too far away from his companions. The moisture in their bodies evaporates, weakening them greatly. Their mouths go dry and parched and they barely have the strength to stay standing. Next the knight raises his sword and glides towards Sir Roland, who is still reeling from the horrid wilting.
Argent faces off against the assassin demon, and he begins by casting a moment of prescience spell on himself, and uses it as a sixth sense to predict the demoness’s attacks. She comes in at him with both weapons, and as the weapons strike they turn incorporeal and cut right past his defences- a trick that he is intimately familiar with. Fortunately, his presience spell saves his life, and it enables him to avoid the worst of her brutal assault. Yet he still sustains horrible injuries, and Argent’s wounded body drops to the ground. The demoness raises her blade to strike a killing blow.
Alannah sees Argent fall, and she casts a timestop spell. Using its power she casts a project image spell, and her image is at Argent’s side in an instant to heal him. She then lays down a pair of delayed blast fireballs that are set to tag the death knight and the assassin demon, but avoid harming her friends.
Breca works healing magic of his own and it rejuvenates all his allies. Between the healing magics of Allanah and Breca, Argent is fully healed, he leaps to his feet to continue his fight. At that instant the fireballs detonate, and scorching flames envelope the main shrine room. They fade out just short of Argent, but waves of scalding heat wash over him, and he realizes how close he was to the danger. Again, the ever quick assassin demon is able to dive clear of the flames, but they do wash over the death knight. When the flames clear he is still standing, and it looks like the effects of the fire were minimal. Sir Roland and the death knight square off. There weapons clash together, and the sounds of steel on steel ring out through the shrine. The ancient death knight has centuries of battle skill, where as Sir Roland is only a man, but the power of heironeus is strong in Sir Roland and he holds his ground initially. However, it isn’t long before the skill and undead power of the death knight begin to out weigh Roland’s faith. The paladin’s defenses falter for an instant and a wicked blow cuts into him. Sir Roland stumbles back, and the relentless death knight presses forward, slashing him with several more swings of his greatsword. Somewhere in the scuffle Roland manages to land a few swings of his own, but the death knight shows no signs of feeling pain, and it presses its attack. His unholy power proves too much for the paladin, and he falls, cut down by the smiting slashes of the death knight. He is on death’s door, and the dark warrior prepares to land the killing blow.
Meanwhile Argent deftly hops to his feet, and the assassin demon looks slightly surprised and shocked to see him alive and well. She comes in at him again with her blades, while the surviving yuan-ti attempts to keep Argent flanked and distracted. Allanah’s projected image tags the demoness with a ray of enfeeblement, which slows her down a little. Argent takes advantage of the weakening in her defenses and comes in with a flurry of thrusts from his rapier. He channels his arcane power through the blade and in seconds his has punctured her heart and throat with his weapon. She staggers backwards, black ichor gushing from her wounds. A second later she collapses to the ground, and her body begins to dissolve into a reeking pile of bile.
Just as the death knight is about to finish off Sir Roland, another barrage of spells cast by Yvy, Tommen and Breca hits him hard, and the death knight clatters to the ground. Breca rushes to Sir Roland’s aid and uses his staff of life to heal him, bringing him back from the brink of death. By this time the fight has been won. The heroes regroup, and all injuries are cured with divine magic. However, their objective is not yet complete, for they still don’t have the master pearl.
Goristros ... wish I'd thought of those, they're pretty nasty.
KUTGW Sir Dungeon - mayhap your group dies horribly in the reports to come! ^_^
The deaths are on their way!!!
<wondering how long that Wall of Force is going to last, or before a bad guy arrives with a true-resurrection spell>
:D
You are not alone good Sir Charles, although Sir Dungeon's posting on the ST Obits thread indicates a true bloodbath awaits us at his liesure to post the details of the magnificant carnage. :D
You are not alone good Sir Charles, although Sir Dungeon's posting on the ST Obits thread indicates a true bloodbath awaits us at his liesure to post the details of the magnificant carnage. :D<wondering how long that Wall of Force is going to last, or before a bad guy arrives with a true-resurrection spell>
:D
Just checked the obituaries thread, and I see what you mean, Turin.
At present (given that Sir Dungeon recently embarked upon the path of married life, if I understood information posted upon another thread correctly and everything went to schedule) I am happy for the final details to be revealed when and as he has the time.
Most excellent Sir Charles. If you would be so kind as to take a gander at a certain ... kraken ... over on yonder thread ?
I did get married on Friday. And I'm heading to England and Scotland for a couple of weeks next Monday (honeymoon). However, I do plan to have the remainder of the campaign details posted before I leave. I've been waiting a bit on one of my players who took notes during the final session and was going to type them up and e-mail me them. However, he hasn't seemed to have been able to get around to it. Thus, I might have to go strictly from memory, but given the complexity of the battle that will be a challenge.
This Sunday I am going to start running a Call of the Cthulhu adventure. I'm not sure whether I'll get to doing a journal for it though. I don't intend it to be a long term campaign- more of a change of pace. After that I plan on finishing the Keep on Shadowfell adventure that I began (though I'm not that excited about the adventure- I tried to add some personal touches to spruce it up a little). I also have a paranoia adventure that I'm going to run, and then we'll see what happens from there. I might keep running some more 4E stuff, which would likely be home brew adventures (I haven't seen any published adventures that I particularly like yet). Alternatively, I might start using the Pathfinder beta rules and run another paizo adventure path. I'd be happy to do Age of Worms, Rise of the Runelords or Curse of the Crimson Throne. It will depend a bit on what my players want.
Congrats PH! Glad to hear deed was done. And Scotland and stuff? Sounds like a nice trip. Good for you. And to top it off with some CoC...even better.
Thanks Yasha, it was a great party. The only real drama was that one of my gamer friends showed up with this date who I had never met. He had been dating her for several months but I hadn't met her until the wedding. As it turned out she was crazy. At one point her dress strap broke, and she was having a lot of trouble keeping herself together, I had a few friends report nipple sightings. Anyhow, I figure every wedding needs at least one wacko, and since we didn't have any really crazy relatives she filled in just fine.
Congrats PH! Glad to hear deed was done. And Scotland and stuff? Sounds like a nice trip. Good for you. And to top it off with some CoC...even better.