Session 58

CRIMSON CURSE IV

Blackmoon 6, 4433

Characters:

Lothryk, cleric of Njord 3
Andras, druid 1
Tarr the Younger, archer 2
Krom, fighter 2
Katamtaman Toxotai, archer 2
Gaddock the Inebriated, fighter 2
Veythar "The Dartist" Varros, incantor 2
(NPC) Zhalgas, fighter 3

Return to the Undercity

Group 3 recuperated and took the fight back to the Temple of Set, hoping to cure the Crimson Curse quickly before any of their number succumbed to the disease.

The party carefully passed the chamber of poison, climbed over a pit of snakes and carefully ducked past a hallway of dripping acidic fangs.

In a chamber filled with dead rats, they fought a hideous bat-snake hybrid creature with a lethal gaze attack. Tarr weathered this assault with great luck and the creature was destroyed swiftly.

DM: "It's always gotta be something with you guys, huh?"
DF: "No, it's always something with YOU!"

The party entered the cultists' temple proper, attempting to avoid contact with the Setites with mixed success. The situation devolved into a series of smaller combats throughout the temple as cultists and acolytes came upon the group at various times. Particularly strange were the cultists with ragged robes and madness in their eyes - snake venom addicts who feared neither injury nor death!

Player: "It's YOUR fault... that we're breaking into your evil lair!"

The group explored some old catacombs lined with burial niches and filled with wandering zombies, mostly turned away easily by Lothryk. Some treasures were recovered here and a few strange things observed. Andras fell into a pit trap in a hallway smelling of charcoal and did not want to use the helpfully provided ladder to escape. Instead, Tarr let down a rope for him.

DM: "I may as well tell you. The ladder also had a trap on it."
Player: "The old double-double!"

The group explored some monks' cells, passed some strange doors, and fought cultists in a room filled with odd tubes which piped sounds down from the surface! They heard the voice of Haroun, a monk at The Sequence. Apparently the Setites are eavesdropping on the very agency that opposed them? A powerful advantage!

The group recovered some strange vials, passed through a misty great hall graven with murals, and discovered a room occupied by... someone. After a tense conversation at the door, the group entered a library, apparently empty of foes. Thinking quickly, Andras cast faerie fire and outlined a small creature with bat-wings, which immediately fled! Katamtaman was not about to let this happen, chasing the tiny glowing imp outside and shooting it down with the enchanted arrows he found earlier.

DM: "The mural is bizarre and vaguely unwholesome."
Player: "It's AI slop!"
Player: "By Shakkur's hairy homeless balls!"

The party is currently in the library contemplating their next move. There seem only a few unexplored rooms in the temple, primarily one engraved with glowing runes...

Hero Points:

Tarr gets 1 for his clever idea to get past the dripping fangs, and 1 more for roping Andras out of the pit trap.

Krom gets 1 for being quick on his feet distracting the cultists, setting them up for a surprise attack.

Andras and Katamtaman each get 1 for their team effort and good luck with the library imp.

[Remember: a character cannot hold more hero points than their level. Excess points are wasted.]

SUMMARY

Note - Turned undead don't give experience points as they might come back and fight you another day. No great loss, as you can see most of these weak monsters give very little experience, so let's hope some of this loot is valuable!

Session 57

CRIMSON CURSE III

Blackmoon 2, 4433

Characters:

Tarr the Younger, archer 2
Berit, thief 2
Krom, fighter 2
Lothryk Bjargson, cleric of Njord 2
Gaddock the Inebriated, fighter 2
Katamtaman Toxotai, archer 2
Tardif, ranger 2
Zhalgas (NPC), fighter 3

The Hunt for Imin

Group 3 continued their exploration of the Undercity following some clues to the Chalice of Aldren. 

The group explored this fortified section of the undercity, which seemed closer to the seat of the Setites' power. Strange relics, an old mysterious shrine, odd tombs and enigmas were discovered. A few characters dug in some trash and luckily avoided a Rot Grub infestation.

Berit avoided being strangled and suffocated by an animated black hood left by an ancient torturer, and later managed to deal with another animated carpet with some quick thinking and preparedness.

The delve got bizarre when a magical door was discovered which revealed a different room depending on how it was opened. The two rooms each held a statue holding a treasure. Tarr seized a blue gem and was Polymorphed into a cat, while Tardif took a two-handed sword and was Polymorphed into a badger!

[Point of order: I completely forgot that being the victim of a Polymorph requires a system shock roll to avoid death! You guys got a free one this time, don't rely on it happening again.]

Undaunted by these setbacks the group pressed on and, solving the riddle of the door, used it to open a new pathway. They came upon a strange jackal-headed creature (surely a servant of Set) and his two bodyguards. The fight was short and brutal, and Tarr's feline form was invaluable in helping downed party members and distracting the foe, providing the group more combat opportunities. The jackal-man lost his stomach for the fight rapidly, so the party closed in and finished him off. 

The group followed the only lead left: a tunnel leading further into the Undercity. They discovered a crumbling chamber filled with giant snake statues. The bloated corpses of two thugs attested to the dangers. Berit and Tarr discovered that - yes - this room was filled with pressure-plates releasing poison gas. Luckily, nobody was killed!

At this point the group was low on spells and hit points, electing to retreat, sell their treasure and identify some magic items, and get Tarr and Tardif un-Polymorphed.

They spent a pile of money at Seven Visions (including some provided by grizzled veteran and company patriarch Robert the Swift) to reach the top of 2nd level!

Hero Points

Tarr: brave cat antics
Berit: good thinking and stepping into the line of fire

SUMMARY

Monster and treasure XP already awarded, money already divided.

Sessions 52-53

HOLIDAY IN VIRIDISTAN 

Blackmoon 1-2, 4433

Characters

Tarr the Younger, archer 2
Lothryk Bjargson, cleric 3 of Njord
Krom, fighter 2
Tardif, ranger 2
Berit, thief 2
Katamtaman Toxotai, archer 2
Gaddock the Inebriated, fighter 2
(NPC) Zhalgas, fighter 3

Bargains with Snakes

Group 3 of the Wretched Company had finally arrived in Viridistan! They sold off the trade goods from the Sea Ghost and paid their first mate Bloody Bjorn to watch the ship in their absence. He was also ordered to remodel it so the authorities wouldn't recognize it as a smugglers' ship, christening it anew as the Miserable Maid.

After making contact with Uriah and speaking to the Church of Seker, the group was keen to help the locals with the Crimson Curse currently rampaging through Otherside and track down the Chalice of Aldren, the holy relic Zhalgas was searching for. They had spoken to the monks of The Sequence to get more information, and tracked clues left by the smugglers to a tavern called the Smiling Sultan.

Lothryk and Berit managed to bluff their way inside and have a conversation with the person in charge: a bizarre amalgam of snake and human named Sasha. She had ties to various criminal enterprises including the gang of smugglers the group destroyed in their introductory adventure [see the Village of Braddol]. The duo explained that they had replaced Captain Sigurd and she would have to deal with them now, but their agenda was different and they sought to speak with the cult of Set. There were some tense moments of improvisation based on the meager clues the party had about all the players in this situation, but they made it out with some useful information [the hefty shares of the smuggling operation they paid surely went a long way].

The cult of Set had a base underneath The Morass, a crumbling muddy sinkhole in a neighbourhood near the river. Exploring it got the group accosted by leprous beggars, starving and drug-addicted, who wanted all their nice expensive gear! This turned into an unbridled slaughter as the beggars were cut down mercilessly.

After driving these urban scum off, the party explored the ruins at the bottom of the Morass. They found a secret passage under some debris leading to a tunnel below...

The Undercity of Set

Immediately as they began to explore below, the party were set upon by a pack of thugs and a cultist of Set! Things got vicious as the cultist deployed a wand to blast the group with fire, but was unable to handle the sheer number of attacks the group brought to bear.

The party began to explore the underground complex, scooping up some trade goods and a few curious items. They spoke to the cook (who knew nothing) and fought a tough battle across a rope bridge against some crossbow-wielding thugs. During the fight, Gaddock the Inebriated fell off the bridge into the water and had to be rescued with some quick thinking and a rope (lucky for him!).

Battling across the bridge put the group face-to-face with a pack of jackals who were also dispensed with rapidly. From there, the party descended to a lower, more open level and continued exploring.

They found a long-abandoned forge where they were attacked by an animated carpet and two daggers, which also proved a tense fight. After destroying the objects, the party found the blacksmith's concealed treasure - a masterfully made silver longsword and some gold.

someone: "This is just like in Aladdin!"
someone: "I used to have a rug like this."
Justin, probably: "We sent that bitch to a Whole New World!"

In an abandoned temple, they fought a zombified fish-man and then dredged its pool of muck to find an old and macabre icon. On the walls of this blue and green edifice the party saw the following disturbing message carved:

"Dark lord, baron of the unholy tide, we implore you to fill our gills with your retched slime so we may do your accursed bidding until the black waters cover all dry ground and you return to your people."

They passed on towards a great gate and engaged a group of turbaned fanatics with crossbows and swords. Fighting at range through the portcullis proved tricky but with some luck they won, and we left the party here debating what to do next...

Tarr: "Don't bend over too low, snake worshippers, or your master will swallow you whole!"

[Welcome back boys, sorry this one took a while, preparing for the convention and other things took precedence earlier in the year. I'm excited to get back to some blood & guts adventures in the Undercity very soon!]

Summary:

Visions of the False Sage

Last session most of the characters were granted a vision by the False Sage: a strange creature posing as the Sage of Lune while the real one is imprisoned on the moon. 

[Take notes or bookmark this one, as you'll probably be referring back to it later on. Some questions got a bigger or more complicated answer than others. If a character got an answer that pointed to a place you already know about, or were maybe planning to go anyway, I tried to give you some bonus information.

Some of you get 'instant gratification' answers that you could go investigate right now with your current knowledge, exploration and power level. Others are more long-term things, or lead to areas of extreme danger. As always, it is up to you to decide which are which and what to do about it!]

Finrod

"I wish to see the Temple of Esma, built by my people of old and since lost."

A cracked and crumbling dome of velvety white stone surmounted by towers is perched among the high mountain crags. Through a great crack in the white dome only darkness is visible, and then a brief blur of green, perhaps... the flap of a massive wing?

"Lost Esma can be found on the edge of the Elphand Lands, in the Pinnacle Mountains, on the highest peak overlooking Lake Pernicus."

After returning to the Night Wolf Inn, Finrod asked about the message he had seen on the notice board during the midsummer party. James Everbleed and the others he spoke to had no idea who put it up, or any information on the adventurer who was named in the flyer (Phanouel the Great).

Uriah

"Show me relics sacred to Seker or Solaris that I could use to make a blessed weapon."

"Beneath Wakelinus' Folly, the demon Varthatov keeps a weapon of light stolen from his enemies, a gemstone of scintillating colours. Seize it for yourself."

"In the undercity deep below Viridistan, underneath the Temple of Sürü Miklári and the Theatre of Sutrali Khibari, in the Court of the Triumphant Wedding lies a lost relic of Seker, the Head of the Hawk. It is in the possession of Uromén the Chortling Death, seneschal of evil. He knows not what he has, but is unlikely to give up his prize willingly."

Getorix

"Where can I learn the secret of the Philosopher's Stone?"

"In the City of Brass lies the Library of Xinraedaal. Contained within is all the knowledge accumulated by the city's builders over millennia. If what you seek is not there, then the library can point the way."

You already know the way to the City of Brass. It can be reached through the magical book your group owns: Evocations of the Doomed City.

Xénos

"Show me how I may obtain a weapon suitable for my skills."

In a field of utter blackness, only a distant archway of purplish-red fire can be seen.

"Venture beneath Wakelinus' Folly where the demon Varthatov stalks and the followers of Uthummaos hold their cruel rites. Pass through the Amaranthine Arch and walk the paths of utter darkness, where no light is permitted. Any sane man would fear to tread these halls, but there is the object of your search."

Owen

"Show me how to enhance my psionic talents."

A great cavern where a bitter cold wind howls, held up by an immense column of natural stone. The entire cave is punctuated with strange formations, both mineral deposits and sheets of ice. On the south wall, a rectangular dais of dun-coloured rock is drizzled with mineral deposits resembling melted wax. At the back of the platform, a 10'x10' mirror reflects a distorted image of the entire cavern.

"Venture into the cellars beneath the Night Wolf Inn to find this enigma built by the ancients and touch your reflection to receive its wisdom."

Salzige

"Where can I obtain the means to use the fireball spell?"

Watched over by five towering columns of white alabaster whose tops have been sculpted into flying seraphim, is an open theatre of incredible beauty. Each tier of seating is broad enough to spread a blanket and cut from a different color of pastel quartz. This rainbow of rose, green and lavender forms a stepped quarry with the stage at the bottom.

The backdrop of the stage is equally spectacular, being constructed of enormous boulders - each one an opened geode of sparkling white calcite.

Your heart pounds and you feel light-headed, for the stage is mired in a great trove of gold, jewels and other delights.

"This is the hoard of Al'lahab the red dragon, ancient and powerful. He dwells in the City of Brass near the Library of Xinraedaal, hoarding his treasure and flying on the currents of elemental fire. Here you will find the magic item you seek."

Joe Spruce

"Show me the location of any natural materials as strong as forged materials, or a way to make natural materials stronger."

"In the Groves of the Moon grow mighty and ancient trees that can only be harvested by blessed axes, for their boughs are stronger than any steel."

"In a high mountain fortress built by warriors of legend lives a craftsman with the skill to work this wood and many other materials besides. Only those whose hearts are pure shall ever get close enough to ask for his help. This fortress lies in a land of snowy mountains and volcanoes known to you as the Cerebral Cliffs."

[If & when you guys go to these areas, I will mark these spots on your map.]

Cassia

"Show me what you really look like."

A spindly and hideous beast, giant-sized, with an eyeless face and a forest of whiplike tentacles emerging from its head.

"If you must know..."

[If you guys fight the False Sage again and she "reveals her true form somehow" I will show you her stats thanks to the insight delivered by this vision.]

It was at this point that hostilities commenced with the False Sage. It is unlikely that further visions will be forthcoming, so make good use of this information!

The Last Will and Slightly Reversible Testament of Black Phalaros

This stalwart member of the Wretched Company began his career in the north exploring the forgotten Vault of the Warlord. Not very well known for his mastery of the dark arts (lucky for him), he became famous for his creepiness, thirst for knowledge, short-lived relationships with his mentors, ownership of the Hideous Monkey Statue, and his bizarre sense of humour.

His last will and testament follows:

Session 56 - Treasure & Magic Items

Here is a summary of treasure obtained in the last three sessions:

IDENTIFYING ITEMS [1400 sp]:

2 Javelins of Lightning [400 sp]
Single-use item. Range of 90'. On a strike, becomes the end of a 5' wide, 30' long lightning bolt. Deals 1d6 damage to the target. The target and any creatures in the bolt's 30' path take 20 lightning damage, save vs. spell for half.

- The Blank Mask [400 sp]
Mutes the emotions, giving the wearer +4 to saves vs. fear, charm, suggestion, confusion, emotion, etc. It also changes alignment to Lawful Neutral and reduces CHA to 9. Daqqa-Jin refuses to take it off.

- The Bleeding Cross [0 sp]
Zvezdana takes one look at this thing and explains that it is a unique and strange relic of the ancient world. Her sagely knowledge won't help. You will have to find out what it does through further research, other magical spells or experimentation.

- Queen's Lorgnettes [400 sp]
These shaded, gold-rimmed spectacles are held with a long handle instead of sitting over the ears & nose like most eyeglasses. In normal light they are useless and cannot be seen through. Against bright lights (spells, staring at the sun, etc) they can protect the wearer’s eyes from damage, granting +2 to saves and reducing effect lengths by half while worn – of course this will occupy one of the users’s hands for the duration.

- Potion of Extra-Healing [100 sp]
A bubbling purple-black syrup, smells like bananas and cinnamon. Heals 3d6+3 hp.

- Potion of Levitation [100 sp]
A thin, cadaverous-yellow fluid with threads of bubbles rising from the bottom. Smells like buttered rum and hashish. Levitate as the spell, 1d6+6 turns.

[I have taken the liberty of charging player characters shares of identifying costs based on the expedition where the magic items were obtained. As a result, the characters who were only at the Sage's Temple paid almost nothing (identifying one potion). This seems fair since they recovered much less treasure. Unless you guys ask me to do otherwise, this will be my policy with treasure breakdowns going forward, it seems fair and speeds things along.]

BOOKS:

Plain brown book, old and weathered, with a red cross on the cover. No title

Black book with nine-sided geometric figure embossed in gold on the cover. (magical) 

Book - "The Last Opus" 

Book - "Primacy" 

Book embossed with images of cavorting women & satyrs.  "Beyond Good & Evil" (magical)

Book covered in dust, bound in heavy rusted black metal plates. "On Coming Forth By Night"

NET WEALTH GAINED:

Daqqa-Jin, Robert the Swift - 3660 sp

Xenos, Getorix, Uriah - 4233.9 sp

Young Joe Spruce - 2002.3 sp

Cassia, Salzige, Finrod, Owen - 574.2 sp

EXPERIENCE TOTALS:

DOWNTIME CONCERNS:

- Xénos is capped and will need to train before he can gain more experience points. Level 6 awaits buddy!

- Owen the Vitalizer requires 7 days bed rest before he can go adventuring again.

Fear Points:

Recall that for every 20 days of uninterrupted rest with no activity, a character recovers 1 fear point.

- Robert the Swift has fought too many undead, and has slipped into a catatonic state! Until he recovers some fear points, there is a 50% chance he is simply uninterested in anything happening around him.  [14/14]

- Xénos is teetering on the edge, 1 fear point away from madness! [10/11]

- Young Joe Spruce is looking haggard after the last few encounters. [12/14]

- Finrod is coming close to the edge of his limited mental fortitude. [7/9]

- Daqqa-Jin is tough, but has been through quite a lot recently. [10/14]

- The rest of the party is doing well:
Owen [2/16]
Salzige [3/12]
Getorix [4/16]
Cassia [3/9]
And of course Uriah is immune.

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!