Session 56

RETURN TO THE SAGE'S TEMPLE

Blackmoon 14-16, 4433

Characters:

Xénos, Assassin 5
Owen the Vitalizer, Cleric of Shang Ta 3

Uriah Sunstrife, Paladin of Seker 4

Salzige Brauen, Magic-User 4

Young Joe Spruce, Druid 5

Getorix, Magic-User 4

Cassia Tannin, Fighter 4

Finrod, Elf 4

To Question the Sage, Again

After dealing with some details in the Moonlit Zone and resting up, the group ventured westward to the Forgotten Village and then on to the Sage's Temple. They were not troubled by any passing foes during this time... the forest was ominously quiet.

They found the temple mostly as they remembered it, a tall rectangular structure covered in carvings, surmounted by a cupola dome. Scented smoke drifted from the shuttered windows, and it seemed deserted.

The party looked into the first level only enough to find the stairs upwards. They progressed through the top floor, discovering rooms both familiar and new. They were surprised by undead in a dead garden, but Phalaros' necromancy and Uriah's turning sorted them out quickly. 

After learning the undead command was of short duration and the creature would have to be destroyed in a few rounds:
Justin: "Just tell him to picture the bunny rabbits!"

They found the ritual room with a coffin of severed hands, but these proved more dangerous than before, animating and attempting to choke the group! They were turned and quickly sizzled in their coffin with several vials of holy water.

[The group visited some familiar rooms, no need to repeat everything. See the stories of the first visit]

The party found the three crone statues and attempted to trade their statistics, with some success [spending hero points helped here]. 

In a staircase room, they fought a brass soldier which was armed with a throwing discus, and had a sinister red glow in its eyes - the sage's guardians had been upgraded recently. This became clear when it exploded in flames after being destroyed! Salzige harvested a glowing, everburning magma-rock from the construct's remains.

The group ascended to the roof dome where they spoke with the False Sage, accompanied by nine more brass soldiers. Her manner was strange and unnerving as always, but things did not begin with hostilities. She convinced Finrod, Uriah, Getorix, Xénos, Owen, Salzige, Joe Spruce and Cassia to gaze into her moon-reflecting pool and experience a vision [Full report to come on these]. 

The only member of the party who didn't accept the offer was Black Phalaros, who had his own plans. 

Cassia asked "Show me your true face" and was greeted with a horrifying monster reflected back at her. As she was experiencing this vision, Phalaros carefully snuck up behind the False Sage and delivered a touch attack with a rigor mortis spell, paralyzing her for half an hour.

The fight was on! Ominous red light began to shine from the brass soldiers' eyes and a tense battle developed with the party carefully trying to dance around the deadly but slow-moving automatons, while the False Sage was carried to safety by another two. Several were destroyed, but things reached a crescendo of danger when the purpose of the magma-rock cores was revealed: three statues opened their mouths and breathed jets of flame, enveloping most of the group in an inferno!

[Lord have mercy I wish I had taken a screen cap of this moment.]

When the smoke cleared, Owen the Vitalizer was unconscious and Black Phalaros was nothing but a charred corpse [coming all the way down to -20 hit points!].

While they had winged the False Sage with some arrow fire, her brass soldiers lifted her on to the reflecting pool and they floated up through the cupola dome, disappearing up into the night sky!

The party knew that the crucial moment had arrived, and chose discretion. They hustled out of the room ahead of the pursuing brass soldiers, with Joe Spruce heroically dragging Owen behind him under a storm of discus-fire. After reaching (relative) safety outside the Moon Temple, the group packed their treasure out of Room I and returned to Viridistan to offload all their loot, identify magic items, study their treasures and plot their next move!

Stay tuned for:

- Treasure, magic item & XP breakdown post

- Black Phalaros' last will and testament

- Moon visions for everyone

- Downtime thread!

Session 41

THE SHADOW MARKET

Thistleburn 14-19, 4433

Group 2:

Cassia, fighter 3

Salzige, necromancer 4

Black Phalaros, necromancer 3

Finrod, elf 3

Clif, elementalist 4

Owen the Vitalizer, cleric 2 of Shang Ta

Gaddock the Inebriated, fighter 2

A Nighttime Discovery

The group spent some time training and doing research around town. Clif got a Wand of Lightning from his mentor, which has an unknown number of charges. He asked if his mentor could cast some spells into his Ring of Spell Storing [details forthcoming on that, watch this space].

Finrod spent some time at the Hall of Records, discovering that Rogat's home is built above an old temple of Armadad Bog, the Viridian god. He cast Charm Person on the clerk, so future research will be easier to do without pesky bribes.

After dosing themselves with the Oil of Revelations, Finrod and Salzige found the path to the fabled Shadow Market! They met a water-seller pulling his wares on a donkey cart, but he wasn't too talkative. 

They purchased the foul-smelling Incense of Zalamphel for the necromancer Zalán. Then they brought the rest of the group and everyone explored the market, speaking to its strange denizens and seeing what was for sale. 

They ventured down an alley and found a bricked-up door, and spoke to the terse men on a large mansion's balcony. They spoke to a down-on-his luck weaponsmith named Tolvaj, who owes 50,000 silver in gambling debts. met a fortune-teller who is also a member of the Night Wolf Inn adventurers' guild, and considered having their fortunes read with her magical cards. They met a tattoo artist who examined Salzige's guild tattoo and told him that it magically tracks his location! They found a shrine of ringing bells, which provides astral travel services. The group perused a bookseller's wares, there were a few magical scripts for sale:

They spoke to some sages and hired them to do research (one on the Astral plane, the other to discern the curse upon the Coat of the Panther), and bought a few pinches of Ghostdust from one of them, a rather unsavory fellow. They discovered the secretive Cockatoo Club, and learned the Waterday password "barbaric gelatin" from Tolvaj while he was drunk. 

With all this new information, now Group 2 has plenty of leads to explore. Where will the nighted pathways of the city take them next?

Monsters Defeated:

none

Treasure Found:

none

Treasure Sold:

Cursed gem & box (already accounted for)

NOTES:

Owen the Vitalizer is capped and ready to train again to level 3! 

[Normally this won't happen. It is an artifact of him gaining so much XP in Session 40, before we instituted the new training rules.]

Session 40

RETURN TO THE UNDERCITY

Thistleburn 12-13, 4433

Characters:

Cassia Tannin, fighter 2

Salzige Brauen, necromancer 4

Black Phalaros, necromancer 3

Finrod, elf 3

Clif, elementalist 3

Owen the Vitalizer, cleric 1

Gaddock the Inebriated, fighter 1

Wrath of the Black Cloud

The party stood in the hallway as a cloud of murky darkness swept out towards them from the sealed cabinet. Clif and Salzige tried to blast it with cold magic which seemed to have no effect, but it was eventually dispatched with a fire elementine, enchanted steel and Finrod's risky final strike with a torch. Salzige was knocked out by its icy touch, but after the battle he recovered quickly - the damage was but an illusion! What could be trusted in these rooms of shifting shadows?

The group resumed their search. In the sealed closet they found a confused & concussed fighting-man named Gaddock, the only survivor of the last group of thieves who came to plunder the house. They also picked up a nice black coat with some clues in the pocket [see #player-notes in the discord] and plucked some pieces of pure silver out of the hanging cobwebs.

Ascending to the roof, the party was ambushed by the final guardian idol, another hideous gargoyle! This one was brought low without too much trouble by a cooperative effort - newcomer Gaddock showed his bravery, charging it with only his mundane shield to knock it off-balance. 

After gaining the roof and surveying the area, the group scanned the neighbourhood and re-searched the house looking for anything they had missed. Finrod found a trapdoor to the basement under some stacked crates, and the group descended.

They found a few strange enigmas in the basement, and were haunted by spectral voices. In one corner, Clif spied an invisible chest hanging from the ceiling with chains. After taking it down, the brave elementalist tried to pry it open and was stabbed by a poison needle! 

With his skin rapidly turning purple, the party had little time to help. Salzige recalled an alchemist's shop nearby [with a combination of quick thinking and a lucky roll] and the group carried Clif there. They purchased a potion of Neutralize Poison and spoke to the proprietor a little bit, a strange old man named Hooktong Ash.

Next Door

After a badly-needed rest, the group returned to the Old City the next day.

They crossed from one house to the next, breaking their way into the neighbouring building through a bricked-up doorway. There were a few signs of habitation but nobody was around. They explored this dusty, abandoned building decorated everywhere with an aquatic theme. A few clues and some thorough searching revealed hidden treasures like gold coins, a bar of white metal (platinum!) and a strange potion decorated with eyes.

Again, they descended into the building's basement and explored. It was obvious they had entered a section of the Undercity! They passed through a temple room with a massive stone stele, by a fountain with an old inscription, and through a windowed passage that looked out over a huge chamber below. 

Beneath them they could see a hive of beggars & madmen dressed in rags, living a degenerated existence beneath the city. Passing along they discovered a fresco of a strange door, but decided enough was enough - it was time to leave before getting into a dangerous confrontation!

Monsters Defeated:

cloud of darkness (345 xp)

gargoyle idol (555 xp)

Treasure Found:

black cat coat

silver seal

bat amulet

silk cloak

silver ore pieces

electrum coins (1950)

potion

scroll

silver lantern

gold coins (200)

platinum ingot

vial decorated with eyes

everburning brazier (keeping)

rainbow crystal in wooden box

Treasure Sold:

silver seal (600 sp)

silk cloak (50 sp)

silver ores (250 sp)

silver lantern (225 sp)

platinum ingot (1000 sp)

(more about the rest in downtime)

Congratulations for finding a huge amount of treasure in this area!

Each PC gets this payout:

This is a combination of coinage shares & selling off treasure.

28 gold
278 electrum
124 silver (310-186 for identifying magic items)

Clif is now level 4!

Owen the Vitalizer is now level 2, and his experience total is capped at 3,124, one point away from 3rd. (You can't gain two levels at a time)

Gaddock the Inebriated is now level 2!
Cassia is now level 3!

NOTES

Congratulations gang on reaching session 40!

Most D&D games last about 10% as long as this.

As discussed, we are taking a short break while your long-suffering DM rations his limited mental faculties towards school. Please see the #downtime-activities page on Discord for downtime notes, identifying items, town activity between sessions, etc. This will be updated sporadically as I have time.

Gaddock the Inebriated made a lucky roll on the Random Items table, and began play with a Potion of Levitation! We'll just say that he forgot he had it in his confusion after being stuffed into the closet. Mike, let me know if you'd like me to roll for a chance that Gaddock is psionic.

Session 39

IN SEARCH OF THE SHADOW MARKET

Thistleburn 12-13, 4433

Happy birthday to Owen The Vitalizer, now 24!

Characters:

Cassia Tannin, fighter 2

Salzige Brauen, necromancer 4
Black Phalaris, necromancer 3

Finrod, elf 3

Clif, elementalist 3

Owen the Vitalizer, cleric 1

It was a hot day in Viridistan. A summer monsoon had just blown in off Trident Gulf and anybody who could manage it was indoors. While some of The Wretched Company returned to the Night Wolf Inn, others stayed in the city to follow up on a request by the necromancer Zalán to find the elusive & mysterious Shadow Market.

They began searching the Old City for a magic-user named Rogat, who was their only lead. They asked at a few places like the Eternal Flame Bar, learned a handful of clues, spoke to a snake-charming fakir, shopped around at Uugen's Market and ended up in a little alleyway called Coach Avenue at what they presumed was Rogat's home.

Coach Avenue

Nobody answered the door and the rain kept prying eyes off the streets, so Finrod climbed up to the 3rd floor balcony with some rope and the immovable rod. They were inside!

They explored the building, from the 3rd floor down to the first. They found a mix of abandoned & dusty rooms, rich living areas & magical enigmas. A font of water that reflected the moons' light almost hypnotized Phalaris. Areas of magical darkness obscured their vision. An ever-burning brazier gave off pungent incense. Some darkened hallways were strung with wispy spiderwebs, and ethereal voices could be heard in the distance.

In the study they found various celestial observations & love letters, and a strange threatening note crumpled up in the brazier, unburnt:

***

My Dear Mister Demazien -

You should cease your investigations at once. You know, as we all do, that delving into those mysteries beneath our streets is forbidden by strict decree of our Emperor. Should you become involved further, my servants would surely be moved to inform the Guard, and the consequences could be dire. Stay away from The Black Eel and my House.

Yours,
- H. S.

***

Several squat & ugly stone idols were scattered around the house, apparently carved by the owner himself. As soon as the group picked up the rainbow crystal on the top floor, one sprang to life and attacked! It emitted a field of silence and was resistant to mundane weapons, making the battle really tough. At the same time, Black Phalaris got controlled by a force which compelled him to attack his companions. Things looked dire for a moment, but the careful coordination of spells saved the day - Clif's Tidal Force and a Web and Sleep by Finrod got the group out of trouble.

Exploring the house further, one of the gargoyles had a powerful psychic attack which nearly killed Cassia. The use of Clif's elementines saved the group more than once from a stony doom!

After fighting a few gargoyles, picking up some treasure and investigating a few enigmas the party headed back to the Dragon's Eye to heal up, sell loot and return the next day.

Returning to the house, everything was as they left it. They found the corpse of a thief clutching a bat amulet below the staircase up to the roof. They destroyed another gargoyle with an elementine and Clif's magic but not before its evil gaze knocked the elementalist unconscious.

They used an elementine to open the sealed wardrobe in the magically-darkened room and a malevolent black cloud emerged, pushed past their water elementine and is now descending on the group, its inky tendrils reaching towards them...

Monsters Defeated:

3 gargoyles (1665 xp)

Treasure Obtained:

well-made robes

jeweled hat pin

purple carpet

rainbow crystal in a fancy box

Treasure Sold:

well-made robes (500 sp)

jeweled hat pin (500 sp)

purple carpet (600 sp)

(money already divided up)

Notes / Player To Do:

Owen and Clif have enough xp to level up as soon as they get to a safe area for a day (ie. not in the middle of combat where we are now).

Owen needs to pick a religion, do you have any questions about this or want a suggestion? Do Finrod and Owen want to roll for a chance of psionic powers? It's up to you. The first 3 players who PM me the phrase 'wiz biz' along with any information I've asked for will get 300 xp to the character of their choice. [offer ended]