This isn't exactly a "campaign" journal, but I thought I'd relate my gaming group's experience with D0: Hollow's Last Hope for anyone that's interested...
We started last night and our sessions only go 3 hours, so we didn't get the entire adventure finished. We've got some excellent roleplayers, too...so we're kind of taking our time with this one...just to immerse ourselves in Falcon's Hollow and the "feel" of the campaign setting. I know D0's examination of the world-at-large is minor right now (and it doesn't even take place in Varisia), but our group is going to go on to play Rise of the Runelords (with a different set of characters, obviously), and we think it's still worthwhile to just sort of saturate everyone with this experience as a preview to prepare ourselves.
So, with that in mind, we used the pregenerated PCs. I borrowed a couple of the free downloadable character portraits from WotC's site to give Merisiel (the Elven rogue) and Kyra (the Human cleric) a "face" on their character sheet. We had four players (3 guys, 1 girl). Oddly enough, the girl chose to play Valeros, the only male character. And that left all of the guys playing the female characters. Much hilarity was bound to ensue... :-)
So to recap, that gave us the following PCs (courtesy of Paizo's downloadable pregens):
Valeros, 1st level Human Fighter
Seoni, 1st level Human Sorceress
Kyra, 1st level Human Cleric of Sarenrae
Merisiel, 1st level Elven Rogue
I started the group off in Falcon's Hollow, and brought them together as a result of the plague, of course. I rolled randomly to inflict at least one of the party members with the early symptoms of blackscour taint. Merisiel had to shoulder the burden (which kind of makes sense given the elves' penchant for lower-than-average Constitution). I didn't hit the PC with any mechanical penalties for having the disease, but the player did a great job of incorporating the coughing, hacking, etc. into the storyline. He also ran Merisiel as more than a bit eager to push into each encounter, more desperate than the rest to find the ingredients necessary for a cure...but more on that later.
I had a lot of fun running the Roots n' Remedies trigger scene. I played up Laurel to the fullest extent, giving her a lot of impatience and stress due all the people seeking her cures. I also used a bit of a Southern drawl and backwoods vibe about her. Someone down-to-earth, but with very little patience for the stupid. The players easily pushed through her frustrations, however, and jumped at the chance to procure the ingredients she would need for a cure.
As they prepared to venture forth, the group realized they really didn't have anyone knowledgeable about the countryside (so they could find the biggest tree in Darkmoon Vale, etc.). I gave all of them an opportunity to make a Knowledge check. Only Valeros recalled seeing some old ruins from a distance near Darkmoon Vale, and he supposed that might be the dwarven monastery. But finding Ulizmila's hut and that tree was going to be a problem. So, they asked around about guides and what-not. Someone told them they'd have more luck consulting with the woodsmen in one of the lumber camps. So, off they went...
Random encounter #1: They traveled by foot, so about halfway to the Lumber Consortium camp (encounter A on the map), I rolled for a wandering encounter and got option #3, woodsmen...no lie...so how appropriate was that? These woodsmen were slightly drunk, of course, and I had them headed in the direction of Falcon's Hollow. The party thought they were in luck to encounter some woodsmen so early...and without even having to venture all the way to the lumber camp. But, as they realized these lecherous fools were already sloshed and only headed into Falcon's Hollow to spend their money on more wine and women...their optimism started to vanish. That didn't prevent them from trying to draw some information from the men anyway. They particularly tried to learn anything they could of the witch's hut. This led to some more entertaining roleplay as I had the guy's scoff at the notion that anybody would want to find a witch. They wanted a girl with a more improved countenance than any old withered woman. About the only thing the PCs managed to get out of these drunkards was that someone else in the lumber camp could probably help them...maybe one of the hunters.
Before setting off again, the party discussed some potential theories about the disease plaguing Falcon's Hollow. From Laurel's explanation they understood that blackscour taint originated from mold that grew near water sources. So their greatest fear was that the uncaring lumber consortium might be responsible somehow...i.e., that the loggers or one of the barons might have introduced the blackscour taint into the river from upstream for some nefarious purpose...maybe transported down the river on darkwood logs. The idea kind of appealed to me, as there's no explanation for exactly how the plague came to the town. And I don't have D1: Crown of the Kobold King to know if the kobolds were somehow involved. But at any rate, the party wasn't capable of confirming any of these theories, so they set out again.
Encounter A: So, the party finally arrived at the Lumber Consortium camp in the afternoon. They asked around for help. And, after some begrudging assistance, someone mentioned Milon and that they could find the ranger in the meal hall. Once they located him, the woodsman seemed wary of why all these people wanted to speak with him. They asked about the witch's hut and the largest tree in Darkmoon Vale, even sketching out a map in the hopes he could pinpoint some likely locations for them to explore. After they explained why they needed to visit these places, he warmed up to them. After all, with a sick nephew back in town, he wanted to help find a cure as badly as anyone. His only regret was that his duties at the camp wouldn't allow him to guide them there. He placed a marker on the map for both locations and also confirmed the site where Valeros expected to find the dwarven monastery. Since they still had a little light left in the day, the party decided to forego the "hospitality" of the lumberjacks and move into the vale itself.
Encounter B: As the sun began setting, the PCs finally came upon the snared fox near the lake. The sickly Merisiel took pity on the creature and, after checking the area for additional traps or snares, set it free. The tiny firefoot attempted to creep away, but she could tell it was still too grievously injured to survive on its own. As her eyes lifted upward, however, she spotted a shadowy figure in one of the trees in the distance. Grung the hobgoblin hunter had found himself an Elf to kill and he fired his arrow. But Merisiel wasn't caught flat-footed and as she drew one of her daggers, she dodged the missile just in time. This alerted the rest of the party and combat got underway.
Fittingly enough, Merisiel was the first to act, choosing to run forward and close the distance to the hobgoblin's tree. She flung her dagger in an attempt to harry the creature, but it sailed wide. Kyra was next, but she hadn't spotted their attacker yet. So, realizing arrows were coming from somewhere in the forest, and uncertain of how many attackers they faced, she pulled back to seek cover behind a fallen log. Seoni did manage to spot their quarry, but also moved behind the log rather than stand out in the open or attempt to close on Grung. Valeros, meanwhile, also failed to spot the hobgoblin, but readied his shortbow and knocked an arrow so he could cover Merisiel, who seemed to know what she was about. Simultaneously, he called out a challenge to any other attackers in the forest in the hopes of flushing out another target.
At that point, Grung fired again...this time at Valeros to answer the man's bravado. He hit, but only for minimal damage (1 point). The razorcrows then took flight and swooped down to strike at the warrior, too. They missed entirely, though...held back by his armor and bow. Merisiel threw another dagger at Grung. This time, her elven accuracy showed up...with a critical hit!...for 7 points of damage! Grung took the blade right through the heart and pitched forward, crashing out of the tree, dead before he even hit the ground.
Meanwhile, Kyra attempted to fire her crossbow on one of the razorcrows, but missed by a wide margin. Seoni also took the initiative and stepped forward to cast magic missile at one of the razorcrows harrassing Valeros. The bird disppeared in a puff of feathers as the missile tore into it at full effect (5 points of damage). Valeros then finished off the last bird by shooting it down with a single arrow.
Shocked at the swift intensity and lethality of the encounter, everyone stood in silence for a moment. No further attackers appeared. Merisiel retrieved her daggers and searched Grung's body, coming to the conclusion that he was nothing more than an opportunistic trapper and hunter...and a poor one at that! Kyra suggested they make camp by the lakeside for the night so she could care for the wounded fox. A minor orison (cure minor wounds) helped put the creature on the mend. Meanwhile, Valeros set about plucking feathers from the razorcrow that Seoni didn't obliterate with her magic, and the party dined reasonably well on some stringy fowl for the night.
Encounter C: The next morning, the party awoke ready to start a new day, and traveled deep into the heart of Darkmoon Vale. Using the markers Milon made on their map, they soon found the massive elder darkwood tree. Once again, Merisiel decided to take the lead, eager to find the first of the three ingredients they would need to make a cure for her ailment. She also had the best climb skill of anyone in the group, so she proceeded to scale the tree in search of any moss that might be growing from the upper limbs. The rest of the party watched silently from below. As the elf moved out onto one of the larger limbs, she spotted the moss they'd need. Unfortunately, she failed to notice the tatzlwyrm pouncing down from above.
The creature silently descended, tail lashing and clawed arms allowing it to swing from limb to limb almost like a monkey. It crashed into Merisiel, quickly coiling around her (pounce, improved grab, and grapple all succeeded). The snake attempted to pin her, but failed. Merisiel then struggled to free herself and disengage from the grapple. Amazingly, the elf found the strength to do so (18 on an opposed grapple check!) and stepped further out on the limb, attempting to put some distance between her and the foul beast. This gave the rest of the party an opening to fire on the tatzlwyrm.
Kyra and Valeros both scored hits with their crossbow and shortbow. Seoni also got into the act and nailed the tatzlwyrm with another magic missile (again for maximum damage -- 5 points -- don't nobody mess with this girl!). Surprised by the viciousness of the counterattack, the tatzlwyrm attempted to take out its frustration on Merisiel, who had no place to run. The snake snapped its jaws, closing in for the kill...but the agile elf just managed to pull back in time (missed by 1!). She noticed a foul green mist seeping from the creature's teeth and realized she was also dealing with a venomous snake -- curse her luck!
But ever resolute in the face of danger, Merisiel stepped further out on the limb and tossed a dagger into the creature to keep it back. Valeros and Kyra followed suit, once again attacking with their bows. Seoni, too, put another magic missile into it, trying to bring it down and save their companion trapped in the tree. Once it came back around to the tatzlwyrm's turn, it was bleeding and gashed from a number of wounds (down to 7 hit points). Thinking it had underestimated its prey, the creature decided to flee, preferring to live and fight another day. It quickly reached up and began hauling itself back up into the tree. But Merisiel would have none of that -- she wanted revenge for the fright the thing had caused her.
The elven rogue scampered back along the limb, following the creature's movements above and launched another dagger at its scaly hide. But this one missed, falling instead to the forest floor below. Kyra too missed with her crossbow, and it seemed the tatzlwyrm would find safety in the higher branches above. But Seoni had other ideas. Once again, a magic missile hammered into the beast, interrupting its flight by literally blasting it away from the next branch it attempted to grasp. Stunned, it barely caught itself, coiling its tail around a lower limb to hold on. But with the creature holding mostly still, it made a perfect target for Valeros' shortbow. The fighter put an arrow through it and the beast finally let go of its perch, tumbling and crashing from limb to limb, eventually coming to rest in some of the lower hanging branches far below Merisiel.
Shaken by the encounter, but once again happy with her good fortune when fighting in or near her beloved trees, Merisiel climbed down with the elderwood moss, stopping only to retrieve her dagger from the tatzlwyrm's corpse. The rest of the party had launched quite a few arrows and bolts at the beast and they set to searching about, hoping to retrieve any that missed. This is when they spotted the bodies of the slain hunters also hanging higher in the tree. Merisiel agreed to climb up again and search them. Cutting them down, as well, they recovered the treasure. Valeros took an especial liking to the masterwork shortbow they found. They also managed to find a quiver of 5 arrows in the underbrush below the tree...presumably fallen from one of the hunter's bodies when the tatzlwyrm got him.
Encounter D: With no one injured in the tatzlwyrm assault, the group decided to press onward, hoping to make it to Ulizmila's hut by nightfall. They encountered nothing dangerous along the way and eventually reached the gloomy clearing containing the witch's home. A breeze had started to blow down from the mountains and they could hear a distant rumble of thunder in the distance. In the waning sunlight, the eerie statuettes placed about the yard leading to the hut made them uneasy. Merisiel agreed to go first to check for any traps that might guard the approach. She found none and the rest of the party agreed to knock on the door. When no one answered, Valeros attempted to open it. Realizing it was stuck and rather old, he simply tugged the plank aside. Kyra cast a light spell on her shield so they could explore the interior.
With the breeze now blowing through the exposed doorway, the many hanging roots and fetishes from the rafters began to sway and cast erratic shadows along the walls from Kyra's light. They grew concerned when they saw the figure huddled in the wicker chair. Valeros and Kyra approached it, but then realized it was only a scarecrow or a decoy of some kind. Kyra and Seoni agreed that they should use the priestess' light to search for the rat-tail root they needed. Seoni also cast detect magic so they could enhance their search to see if there were any other valuable magic items or dangerous traps at hand. Valeros watched the chair in case any of the witch's magic might animate the figure. Meanwhile, Merisiel watched the open doorway and the clearing outside, in case the witch returned and happened upon a bunch of interlopers in her home.
Of course, the true danger lay with the cauldron. Even as Seoni noticed a magical trinket (the soulspeaker) dangling from the rafters...the iron pot animated to defend the hut as she and Kyra handled and rummaged through the witch's belongings. The cauldron barreled out of the corner, completely surprising Kyra, nearly bowling over the priestess and causing her to pitch forward halfway into the pot. It closed its mighty maw over her, clamping down and crushing a rib or two. The cauldron then attempted to lift and dump her inside (improved grab and swallow whole), but failed to do so as Kyra just managed to lunge upward and regain her feet in time.
But the battle got worse from there. Valeros, Kyra, and Merisiel all surrounded the cauldron. A terrible racket ensued from their metal weapons clanging and cracking upon the iron surface, seemingly inflicting only a minor bit of damage. Thankfully, Seoni knew enough to fight fire with fire...or in this case, fight magic with magic. She cast her last magic missile and blew a hole through the pot's exterior. Eventually, she had to turn to several castings of acid splash to further burn the cauldron into submission. Realizing acid was more effective, Merisiel withdrew long enough to retrieve a flask of acid from her pack. She launched the bottle into the very maw of the cauldron, hearing a very satisfying smash and sizzle. This caused the cauldron to grow ever more angry, shaking and rattling across the floor in a frenzy of pain. Out of spells and out of acid, the entire party surrounded it once again, with Seoni even breaking out her staff to smash on it.
Despite all the damage done to its surface, however, the cauldron proved resilient enough (hardness 5) to continue fighting and defending Ulizmila's home. More angry at the sorceress who had damaged it the most, the pot bumped and snapped down on Seoni, inflicting a terrible wound (9 points of damage!) and dropping her to the floor in a broken heap (at -4 hit points). Valeros and Merisiel were forced to hold off the cauldron by themselves as Kyra rushed to stabilize their companion. After healing her further, Kyra and Seoni eventually rejoined the fight. But Seoni knew she couldn't affect the outcome of the battle that much. So she reached up to retrieve the magical trinket she had detected hanging from the rafters, hoping it might be a weapon or talisman that could control the cauldron.
Of course, it was only a soulspeaker...and, as Seoni put it around her neck, the eyes and mouth unlaced to speak the last message Ulizmila had left within it. Over the din of the clanging and thumping of the cauldron and the party's weapons, a dry, raspy, cackling voice announced, "Leave my stuff alone! I'll curse anyone who dares disturb my home! Leave now...before I return to make you pay for your folly!"
With wide eyes, Merisiel and Kyra stopped to look back at Seoni and the soulspeaker. The cauldron sought that moment as an opportunity to once again cripple one of the interlopers. But with a final roar, Valeros ignored the witch's recorded words and finally split the pot in two with one mighty blow from his longsword. The dust settled and the silence seemed equally defeaning as the terrible noise of the battle receded.
Staggered and frightened, they swiftly completed their search, finding the rat-tail root and adding it to their collection of ingredients for the plague cure. With night fully upon them and a rainstorm moving in, the party debated whether they should heed the witch's words and flee before she returned or use the shelter of her abandoned hut to ride out the storm. Merisiel and Seoni both agreed they wouldn't risk the witch's further wrath by daring to sleep under her roof. So they made their camp outside among the trees. But cocky Valeros and Kyra assumed they'd already made enough of a mess of things inside the witch's hut, and that one more indiscretion wouldn't matter. So they bedded down in the comfort of the old hut instead...safe, dry, and warm. No word on whether "two ships passed in the night" yet... ;-)
Of course, though the storm itself made for a tense evening, the long-departed witch did not return and descend upon them as promised. Morning came and the rain ended. The party made sure to rest and heal their wounds. Though Merisiel looked a bit more pale due to the progression of her sickness, she still felt hale enough to continue to the dwarven monastery. Seoni had also spent part of the night experimenting with the soulspeaker, eventually deducing its purpose and how it worked. Rather than leave it behind, however, Seoni decided to take it with her and risk Ulizmila's wrath...which seemed somewhat less threatening now that two of the party had managed to sleep unscathed under the witch's very roof.
So, with Valeros and Merisiel leading the way, they set off for the last remaining ingredient -- seven ironbloom mushrooms hopefully growing somewhere among the old dwarven forges...
------------
This is where we called it a night. Our group resumes D0: Hollow's Last Hope in two weeks. Another 3-hour session should be plenty of time to wrap up the dungeon crawl in the monastery. We've had a lot of fun already. And, for what it's worth, I think this is probably the best "free" adventure I've ever had the pleasure of running. Thanks, Paizo! If this is similar to what's in store for Rise of the Runelords, we're already looking forward to it.
--Neil
Great implementation of the adventure and write up, Neil. Thanks for the treat; I can't wait to read more!
And even though this won't be a full-blown campaign, I don't think it would be out of place in the Campaign Journals forum....
Very cool; I will have to post my players gallop through d0 soon as well. We had more problems with the tatzylwyrm than the cauldron.
This isn't exactly a "campaign" journal, but I thought I'd relate my gaming group's experience with D0: Hollow's Last Hope for anyone that's interested...
Very cool account, thanks for sharing. I'm planning to run this soon in parallel to my regular campaigns with a selection of players from my various groups. I plan on having them create their character with 25-point-buy who will be 14-to-16-year-olds from the village, and for a change I will be using core rules only, with the added fun of the Critical Hit Deck. :-)
We'll probably be able to run thorugh D0 in one long Saturday session, and if everyone had fun I guess we'll continue into D1, which I will hopefully have in hardcopy by then. :-)
Nicely done.
I just started running it for my dwindled group last week. Lots of fun so far. They had just defeated the tatzelwyrm, who had tried to retreat after it was reduced to less than 10 hp and that after failing to wrap up one of their fighters and shred her with its teeth. As it tried to slither away back into the heights of the tree it hissed, "No mas!" Yeah, he speaks a little Espanol apparently. The party took it to mean something about the moss they were there to gather, so it created a bit of confusion, which was quite funny. Anyway, they killed the thing before it could get away. Having 3 fighters and one wizard in the party turned out to be a good thing... so far.
This isn't exactly a "campaign" journal, but I thought I'd relate my gaming group's experience with D0: Hollow's Last Hope for anyone that's interested...
Wow, Neil, this all sounds very familiar... :) Great write-up of the events!
Christina
aka Valeros
Great implementation of the adventure and write up, Neil. Thanks for the treat; I can't wait to read more!....And even though this won't be a full-blown campaign, I don't think it would be out of place in the Campaign Journals forum....
I started to put it under Campaign Journals, but then realized this wasn't a campaign...just one adventure. And, since it includes adventure feedback (sort of) I felt like it probably belonged in the Modules forum.
As for reading more, hopefully I can recap the final half of the adventure after our next session on July 25th.
Very cool....We had more problems with the tatzylwyrm than the cauldron.
I thought my players would have more problems with the tatzlwyrm. I fully expected it to grapple and poison the poor, hapless elf trapped in the tree. But you know how slippery those tree-huggers can be... ;-)
Very cool account, thanks for sharing.
Nicely done.
I'm glad folks seemed to enjoy it. But probably not half as much as we did.
Wow, Neil, this all sounds very familiar... :) Great write-up of the events!
As evidence by one of the players... :-)
And...HEY! Wait a minute. What are you doing here?! I can see I'll have to be more careful with any spoilery details when I post on these boards...
--Neil
Okay, time to continue with our intrepid band of heroes. On July 25th, we wrapped up D0: Hollow's Last Hope using the pregens. When we last left our party, they had claimed two of the three ingredients needed to brew a cure for the blackscour taint inflicting Falcon's Hollow. And they had just arrived at the ruined dwarven monastery, hoping to quickly find at least 7 ironbloom mushrooms growing among the metal leavings of the dwarven forges.
Having already encountered many dangerous creatures, the party slowed down upon reaching the monastery, taking a more wary approach. It was mid-day, so they really had little to fear (i.e., there were no wolves milling about in the night, and Gurtlekep was sleeping in his room rather than keeping watch). But of course, there was no way the heroes could know that.
So, Merisiel and Valeros each scouted in different directions around the entire complex, just to size things up. I made a few Spot checks for them and Merisiel (darn those elvish eyes!) rolled high enough to note a few animal tracks coming and going down the game trails leading away from the monastery. This at least let them know there might be dangerous predators in the area.
Once Merisiel and Valeros regrouped with Seoni and Kyra at the main entrance, they decided things seemed quiet enough to proceed inside the courtyard. However, still worried about those animal tracks, Merisiel separated from the main group and climbed over the rocks from the fallen wall along the east side of the monastery, hoping to flank any predators they might disturb by walking directly into the courtyard.
Of course, they found nothing dangerous...just an empty courtyard. Valeros and Merisiel each examined the open doors leading into the main compound. But, after spotting nothing unusual in the gloomy darkness, they eventually returned and noticed the corpse by the well outside. Kyra (by making a Heal check) was able to determine it had been savaged by some great beast. They found nothing else on the corpse, but Merisiel did spot the hapless adventurer's leather backpack hanging from an exposed root deep inside the well. So she climbed down and retrieved it, scoring the party some extra food, money, a silk rope, thieves' tools, and a vial of clear blue liquid.
There was some early debate among the party as to where they should widen their search first. Some wanted to clear the watchtower, but assuming the ironbloom mushrooms would most likely lie deeper inside the monastery, they agreed to proceed into the long hallway they'd found past the door in the north wall (area 11). Seoni ignited her sunrod to light their way and off they went.
They paused briefly to examine the defaced dwarven statue and then quietly entered the shattered remains of the monk's study (area 12). Despite Seoni's sunrod, they managed to avoid disturbing the bats roosting above too badly. Seeing nothing of value from their vantage point at the doorway -- as well as no obvious patches of ironbloom mushrooms -- they decided to quiety leave and search elsewhere rather than risk causing a major disturbance that would announce their presence by sending bats flying throughout the monastery.
The party's next steps brought them to the former armory. Most of the party stayed outside in the hallway while Merisiel searched the room. Peeking beneath the weapon racks, the elf spotted four finely-crafted crossbow bolts. She also managed to notice the faint outline of a secret door in the northeast corner. Calling out her find, the rest of the party joined her and the elven rogue pushed a loose stone on the wall to open the passageway into a surprising secret prison.
Filing into the small room, each of the heroes paused outside the doors to one of the four cells -- with the ever-curious Merisiel moving past each one before stopping at the far wall. Kyra held position at the secret door to ensure it didn't close behind them. And Valeros was close by...with Seoni standing nearer to Merisiel. Peering inside the cells, they could clearly see dwarven-sized skeletons by each bed. Once Merisiel realized the locks to the cell doors had rusted away, she opened hers...and the rest of the party cried out a warning as the skeletons rose up to open the doors in each of the other cells.
Kyra quickly raised her holy symbol of Sarenrae and the sun goddess' glory incinerated the skeleton trying to attack her. Valeros's swords kept his at bay. But Seoni was dealt a glancing blow. Merisiel's skeleton (the only one that had remained pious to Torag) had not risen from its bed. So the elf hesitated between examining it and turning to help the rest of the party.
More combat ensued. Valeros slowly chipped away at the bony hands of his opponent, but had a hard time inflicting any real damage (DR5/bludgeoning). Seoni feebly tried to keep hers at bay with her quarterstaff, but couldn't land an effective blow. Kyra summoned Sarenrae's power once more to destroy the one in Valeros' cell. And Merisiel finally joined the fray, sending one of her many knives spinning straight through the ribcage of the skeleton savaging Seoni. Indeed, the sorceress caught another heavy hit from her attacker and seemed about to fall. But Valeros and Kyra arrived to help beat back the remaining skeleton, sending it to its final rest.
With the excitement over, Kyra tended to Seoni's wounds while Valeros kept watch by the secret door. Meanwhile, Merisiel turned her attention to searching each cell. She discovered a gold-and-ruby ring on the hand of the remaining skeleton that hadn't tried to attack them. Once she lifted its hands to free the jewelry, she also found their first ironbloom mushroom, growing oddly enough inside the skeleton's ribcage where its heart once beat. Perhaps that was a good sign?
With their spirits rising from the first proof they might indeed find the last ingredient needed for the plague cure, the party reaffirmed their readiness to continue. Seoni took the time to examine the vial, crossbow bolts, and ring they'd found so far. Casting detect magic, she determined all of the items did indeed have a magical aura. She also detected a small rune inscribed on each of the bolts and upon the ring. Drawing upon her knowledge of the arcane, she realized this symbol dealt with fire, leading her to assume the bolts might contain a fire charm to increase their damage...and that the ring might protect against such damage. The potion still remained a mystery and no one chose to test its properties yet. Merisiel kept the ring, even going so far as to place it on her finger for the time being. The elf also divided the fiery crossbow bolts between herself and Kyra.
Next, the party adventured further down the hallway. They forced open the door to the former high priest's study (area 15) and, no sooner had they done so, than two wolves ran around the corners of the room's desk to ravenously attack them. Having taken the lead, Valeros was first to face and fend off their attacks. None of the others could help very much from behind him. It took some time, but eventually Valeros forced one the wolves to the side, and that allowed Merisiel to blast one of them with a fiery bolt from her crossbow. Flames immediately engulfed the creature and it dropped into a fiery heap. The second wolf had only a moment to grow alarmed by the appearance of the fire, before it too fell to Valeros' sword.
In the next room (area 16), Graypelt himself heard the short-lived commotion. He could smell the fire and smoke -- as well as hear the swift deaths of his mates. Angry, but also wise enough to recognize a true threat in the form of the party that had so easily dispatched the wolves, he retreated for a moment into the stairwell to consider his options.
Meanwhile, Merisiel and Kyra helped stamp out the fire from the dead wolf to ensure it didn't spread. Then, with Valeros and Seoni standing guard, Merisiel investigated the desk itself. Her resulting search discovered the secret compartment in the desk's drawer, and she removed a well-made dwarven handaxe, a bag full of coins which appeared to be the monastery's treasury, and an unusual prayer book. Tossing the book to Kyra, Merisiel counted the coins, realizing they were platinum -- a hundred in all! She also turned over the handaxe to Valeros, hoping the warrior might find it useful with his two-weapon fighting style.
Kyra used her knowledge of the various religions of the land to recognize the prayer book dealt with the worship of Droskar, an obscure dwarven god of toil and suffering, which many believed to be an evil figure in dwarven mythology. She also found references that indicated the dwarves who once occupied the monastery had turned away from Torag, the more traditional dwarven deity, due to the "failings of King Garbold." Not knowing quite what to make of this information yet, Kyra kept the book and the party proceeded into the next chamber.
The next room was much larger than the ones they'd explored so far. A ruined stone column had fallen across much of the floor, leaving behind a pedastal of sorts from the remains of its base. Just over that column they could see a low half-wall and what looked like the dark shadows of a set of stairs going down behind it. Also, as luck would have it, they spotted a large patch of ironbloom mushrooms at the very base of the half-wall in the corner. As they eagerly moved into the room, however, Graypelt gave a tremendous snarl and leapt from the stairwell and onto the stone pedestal. (Intimidate check of 24 on a natural 20!...each party member fails their level check vs. becoming demoralized and losing all actions for one round).
The heroes' eyes widened at the sheer size of the fully grown worg before them and many felt the fear clawing at their resolve. Before any of them could decide between their fight-or-flight reflex, however, Graypelt addressed them, demanding to know why they dared to disturb his rest in this place. Valeros answered honestly -- and possibly in an attempt to remind everyone of the importance of their mission and a need to stand their ground against the beast. He informed Graypelt of their need for the ironbloom mushrooms and why -- asking if they could simply retrieve a few and leave.
Graypelt considered their request and then a gleam came into the worg's eyes. He suggested he would gladly give them the mushrooms they sought if they would perform a task for him. There were some particularly meddlesome darkmantles roosting in the ruined chapel nearby that he would like dispatched. Considering the option of facing darkmantles rather than the intimidating figure of Graypelt, the party agreed. The worg then provided them directions, as well as some information about the nature of darkmantles (such as the fact that they could fly, which was why the worg hadn't dealt with them himself).
Happy to pull away from Graypelt's lair and the dangerous worg they'd disturbed, the party then swiftly moved to the chapel's doors (area 10). Readying their recently-obtained fiery crossbow bolts, they hoped to make quick work of the darkmantles and swiftly claim their prize from Graypelt. Unfortunately, things didn't go as smoothly as they'd hoped. After aiming at the darkmantles on the ceiling, two misses with the bolts only managed to set portions of the roof on fire instead...which also fell among the wooden benches below...starting up quite a blaze. The darkmantles themselves could do little damage to the heroes, however, and between Seoni's spells and Valeros' blades, they eventually managed to end the creatures' lives. They found nothing else of value in the chapel's shrine, though they did examine the altar.
Meanwhile, down the hall, the kobold scout Gurtlekep awoke from his slumber to the smell of smoke and the noise of battle. He peered from his sanctuary at the other end of the hallway, noting the presence of the heroes and then taking steps to hide his presence in case they came his way, as well. Of course, they didn't do that.
Instead, they happily returned to Graypelt, seeking their mushrooms...which the worg was only happy to deliver...except, he only gave them two mushrooms rather than the six growing in the corner. When the party protested, indicating they believed they would be able to take them all, Graypelt informed them that it would take further service on their part if they wanted more. They would also need to drive out the bats roosting in the former study of the monastery. Again, these creatures could fly and he had been unable to deal with them himself, but surely the heroes could manage such a feat if they'd dealt with the darkmantles so well. And of course, they could have the mushrooms if they succeeded. Valeros tried to press for a guarantee of all the remaining mushrooms, but Graypelt somehow managed to convince the party with vague reassurances that they would have their "reward" when done.
Of course, driving out the bats was an even worse task than the darkmantles. Originally, they assumed they'd simply use fire to make the bats "go away." But, with one fiery crossbow bolt remaining, they weren't sure if that would be enough to do the job. Fortunately, Merisiel still had a couple of flasks of alchemist's fire...a sure winner! Unfortunately, her aim wasn't quite as good with tossing flasks as throwing daggers (roll of natural 1). The flask actually ricocheted off the ceiling timbers and fell to the ruined stone floor of the study instead, igniting the ruined wood tables and bat guano covered rocks.
The smoke, heat, and flash was easily enough to disturb the bat swarm...but not enough to drive them away. So, they immediately set upon Merisiel instead. Seoni and Valeros could do little to help her, as the sorceress was nearly out of spells anyway and Valeros' blades had little impact on the sheer number of bats making up the swarm. Those two quickly retreated and expected Merisiel and Kyra to do the same. Ah, but things got interesting from that point on. Kyra ignited a torch. Merisiel threw another alchemist's flask into the swarm, counting upon the magic of the ring they'd found to protect from being burned as well. And soon, between the two of them, they'd roasted enough of the bats to completely disperse the swarm.
Now tired and nearly out of resources, the group returned to Graypelt. They hoped to finally have the remaining mushrooms. But the crafty worg again only provided them with two more. Sensing their growing frustration, but quite pleased with how much he'd managed to get the party to use up their resources, Graypelt assigned them one last task. This time, he hoped it would be enough to debilitate or kill some of the heroes before he savaged them himself. And so, he informed them that a nearly unassailable spider had taken up residence in the monastery's watchtower across from the courtyard. If they could just manage to slay this spider, he would give them the last of the mushrooms and they could end this terrible plague that had come to their town.
Reluctantly, the heroes agreed. This time, however, they knew they'd be little match for the spider in their depleted state...and they were beginning to suspect Graypelt might never part with the mushrooms. They even feared the worg might simply attack them to try and take back the other mushrooms once they were even weaker. So, rather than face the spider head-on, they rested once again...regaining spells, healing their wounds, and sharpening their blades.
Then, on the next day, they assaulted the watchtower in full force. The spider truly had little chance. Already armed with knowledge of what to look for, they quickly filled the spider full of arrows, crossbow bolts, and daggers. It did manage to drop a net of webbing over Valeros in order to pin down the pesky fighter. And, it also managed to bite Kyra with its poisonous bite, physically weakening her with the venom. But the rest of the party finished it off once it descended to try and drive them away so it could feast on the mighty warrior or priestess. With the spider dead, Merisiel searched the tower and liberated a masterwork shortsword from one of the crates, adding this weapon to her arsenal for their eventual meeting with Graypelt. Kyra too needed to press onward so she could stave off the effects of the spider's poison long enough to return to Falcon's Hollow and find an antidote. So they didn't dare waste any more time...
Once they arrived at Graypelt's lair, it was clear the worg wasn't all that happy to see them. Thinking they'd simply been driven off or slain by the spider, Graypelt was in no mood to listen to their demands for the last of his mushrooms, despite the proof they offered of their service by dragging along the spider's corpse. So, in attempt to use a clever ploy, the worg carried the remaining two mushrooms in his mouth and placed them on the ruined column's base as payment. But as Valeros came forward to claim them, Graypelt stood close by with eager eyes. And, in that split moment when the fighter's attention moved to the mushrooms, the worg attacked...savagely. His heavy jaws and teeth pierced the fighter's chainmail (natural 20, confirmed critical, 14 points of damage), shaking him back and forth and then throwing him across the room to lie in a bloody heap (at -3 hit points).
The rest of the party swiftly moved to save Valeros and drive back Graypelt. Seoni's spells did their job immediately damaging the beast. Merisiel too managed a sneak attack that dealt a serious blow. Kyra, meanwhile, cast cure minor wounds to stabilize Valeros for the moment.
On the next round, Graypelt snapped at the elven rogue, but Merisiel just managed to pull away in time. Seoni let loose with another magic missile, again causing the worg to wince in pain. Kyra then used cure light wounds to bring Valeros back into the fight. But the boost in morale that his return offered lasted only briefly. This time, Graypelt once again found his mark, biting down on Merisiel and dropping the elf. He traded more attacks with Kyra, Seoni, and the revived Valeros, but in the end, the party proved victorious and the worg went down with a tremendous howl.
Despite her weakened state, Kyra managed to stabilize Merisiel (with a Heal check). A few spells later and the only nagging injuries that remained were Merisiel's disease (the blackscour taint was worsening) and Kyra's poisoning (secondary saving throw succeeded). Rather than risk any more setbacks, the heroes secured their mushrooms for the trip back, not intending to explore the ruined monastery any further. They did however find the money, masterwork crossbow, potion of bull's strength, and wand of light that Graypelt had stashed behind the fallen pillar.
Because of the need for urgency in their return trip (due to Kyra's poisoning, Merisiel's disease, and the three days the plague had continued in Falcon's Hollow), the party didn't try to retrace their route back to the loggers' camp. Instead, they journeyed straight through Darkmoon Vale to the stream they knew would eventually lead them to town. They paused only long enough to build a crude raft and then poled their way back to Falcon's Hollow in just over a day...arriving close to sunrise.
Laurel managed to brew a cure for the plague using the ingredients they'd found. Although the party had negotiated no payment from her, they took heart in the treasure they'd liberated from the monastery. Word soon spread of their adventures and the town quickly hailed each of them as heroes. This would prove important in the days to come...as a new menace from the ruined monastery would soon make itself known (i.e., we'll pick up with D1: Crown of the Kobold King with these same characters in a future session).
-------------
So, all in all, I think I got most of the details right in how the adventure played out...the basics, anyway. We didn't hit every room in the "dungeon" but we got all of the important stuff. As an epilogue, Gurtlekep obviously survived and will have informed his tribe of the heroes' presence. And, some of what transpired in D0: Hollow's Last Hope will likely figure prominently in how I set up CotKK.
We really had a great time with this short adventure. I still think of it as one of the best freebie adventures I've ever run. Thanks again to Paizo for making this available and supporting Free RPG Day. We had fun...and that's really the most important goal in RPGs anyway. So, mission accomplished all around...
--Neil
NSpicer, I greatly enjoyed this evocative and informative narrative. Please, please do put a write-up of your D1 adventures also.
Capital stuff!
So, with Valeros and Merisiel leading the way, they set off for the last remaining ingredient -- seven ironbloom mushrooms hopefully growing somewhere among the old dwarven forges...
I very much enjoyed your chronicle of events. I have 3 players (who rolled new characters using the Pathfinder Player's Guide -- a Varisian Sorceress, Elven Ranger, and Shoanti Exalted Monk -- and were joined by the Cleric Kyra as an NPC).
They have just reached the Dwarven Monastery at the end of the 1st gaming session -- which took us a whopping 5 hours. The most dangerous part of the adventure so far has been the Witch's Cauldron (due to its Hardness 5).
I found it interesting that the Sorceress in our game also used Acid Splash 4 times and very successfully against the Cauldron, thanks to Spell Focus: Conjuration and the Varisian Tattoo feat! My players thought that the Cauldron should be a CR 3 monster and said that they'd rather fight the Witch herself than face the Cauldron again. Of course, that's because they've never fought a Witch before, but it struck me as an interesting thought!
Thank you very much for your Chronicle, and I agree that D0: Hollow's Last Hope is the best free adventure I have ever received -- so good I bought 1 from Paizo after getting 1 free on Free RPG Day!
I'm glad you guys liked it. After that really long write-up of the second part of D0: Hollow's Last Hope, I was afraid maybe folks had simply lost interest in this particular experience. But I go away on vacation and return to see a few people actually did read though all that text after all. ;-)
--Neil
P.S. And yes, when we get around to D1: Crown of the Kobold King, I'll be sure to share that experience, too. Of course, we have a little thing called Rise of the Runelords to get ready for as well. ;-)
I enjoyed reading your write up. I am running this for my kids and they too are using the pregen characters....Did your players PCs level? If so, what choices did they make for thier characters?
I didn't crunch all of the experience numbers for each encounter yet...and frankly, I'm not even sure I really need to...but yes, I believe they leveled up. My intention is to have them upgrade their PCs right before we start D1: Crown of the Kobold King. But we may not get that started before we dive into Rise of the Runelords.
Keep in mind, our group only meets every other week...and we only play 3-hour sessions on a single week-night. So, I anticipate we won't be able to start D1 and have it finished by the time we're ready to begin RotR. Therefore, no need to rush on leveling the characters before then.
--Neil
A nice story, and well told! I could even imagine some of the scenes. If you continue the story, do post it!
D1 was written as a expansion of D0, so you will need to watch out for the details of it. But the way D0 went for your group, it should be no big problem.
Stefan
A nice story, and well told!
Seconded. Very nicely told.
