Watchfires & Thrones: Session Three

Upon returning to Rhuun, the party separated to visit their respective spell-casting employers. Bannath, Mordakis the Silent, Syl, Malbane the Green, and Reddannon returned to Jethal the Hexmaker with the skull of Athkul, while Mars Markus, Presto, Anwar, and Ravener stopped at Dhamel of the Sapphire Eye’s abode to give up the deceased sorcerer’s left hand. While they collected their various rewards, Bannath informed Jathal of their encounter with Dhamel’s minions, a fact that the Hexmaker took great interest in, rewarding the snake priest with additional coin. Malbane unwrapped the head of the guardian creature the trio had slain in the tomb’s main temple and asked if Jathal could identify the beast. After a quick inspection, Jathal pronounced it one of the “tomb herd,” but provided little more information. Over at Dhamel’s, Presto inquired about the possibility of learning new spells from the corpulent sorcerer. He of the Sapphire Eye invited the novice magic-user to return for training when he was ready.

Both parties returned to Qytuul’s caravanserai, their missions completed. As they entered the establishment, Malbane recognized a pair of faces in the common area. These two iterant adventurers, Azerran and Yodahlla, were old acquaintances of Danek, and had come to Rhuun seeking to join up with the (unknown to them) recently deceased fighter. The sad news was revealed, but with the forthcoming investigation of the mysterious Temple of the Goat looming, an invitation to join the group was extended to these newcomers. It was quickly accepted.

The following morning, Reddannon announced that since the coming evening was the night of the full moon, his present was required at the shrine of Uun. His mute dwarf companion, Mordakis, would be accompanying the moon priest since his crude sign language is only fully understood by Reddannon and he often needs him to translate.

With a full night’s rest behind them, Malbane and Anwar each prepared an incantation that would allow them to read the magical script inscribed on the brass tablets they recovered from Athkul’s tomb. Under the spell’s effect, the book reveal itself to be the Brazen Tablet of the Viscous Mother, a grimoire of unknown power but almost certain to contain rare magics and uncommon lore. The script was stilted and archaic, and it would require several days’ study to unravel the grimoire’s complete contents. Deciding that the lure of unknown magics was worth the time and possible danger required, both of the minor sorcerers decided to remain in Rhuun to work on the Tablets while the rest of the party investigated the Temple of the Goat. Ravener, one of the party’s fighters, chose to remain in town for his own purposes as well.

With the roster finalized for the expedition to the temple, the party reequipped for overland travel through the desert and pooled their funds to purchase a mule to help carry their load of food, water, and (hopefully) treasure. After naming the beast (Gladys) and waiting for the cool of night to fall, the adventurers headed out the town’s northernmost gate and onto the hardpan desert.

By midnight the party had reached the Hills of Scowling Bones and, aside from a jackal’s howl in the night, encountered nothing on their journey. Dawn saw them erecting crude shelter against the rising sun, but the day passed uneventfully. Come nightfall, the adventurers returned to the trail on a northward course.

Meanwhile, back in Rhuun, Anwar and Malbane made the first bit of progress deciphering the Tablets of the Viscous Mother. Obviously written by a madman, the plates contained copious information on the appearance and qualities of various forms of slimes and oozes—revolting reading to say the least.

Back in the hills, the party came across a series of buildings located at the bottom of a broad valley. A stepped pyramid rose towards the sky and was flanked by a pair of 120’ tall statues, each of which depicted a hermaphroditic goat/humanoid hybrid. Presto and Yodahlla elected to sneak down for a closer inspection of the site while the rest of the party and the mule sought concealment.

Carefully working their way down into the valley, the duo noted that the air grew moist as if an oasis or other body of water lay nearby. In the light of the two moons above, they were able to make out more details of the temple complex before them. At the bottom of the valley was a small lake filled with black, brackish water and dying plant life. The temple complex sat in the center of this foul body of water, its building rising above the black, still surface of the lake. The stepped pyramid was surrounded by a defensive wall and connected to a half-score of plain stone buildings by a web of walkways that rose 2’ above the water. A large central plaza lay in the center of the complex and the only access to the site was via a slick ramp flanked by two strange statues—-things that can only be described at 20’ tall tentacled trees.

The two scouts returned to report and soon the entire band descended into the valley and approached the entrance ramp. After some initial attempts to stir the tentactled statues into action by pelting them with slung stones, the adventurers tentatively ventured onto the raised walkway with their eyes peeled for danger. The party quickly darted towards the large plaza in the center of the complex without incident. Tactics were discussed with some favoring a direct investigation of the pyramid, while others wished to explore the outlying buildings first. It was eventually ruled that leaving the unexplored structures at their back might not be the wisest course, so the party headed towards the largest of the outlying buildings.

As they approached the structure by way of one of the 10’ wide raised walkways, Yodahlla, at the head of the party, caught site of four bulbous batrachian eyes glaring up at him from the murky water to the left of the platform. Wishing to avoid confrontation, he edged towards the right-hand side of the walkway in an attempt to put as much distance between himself and the gigantic frogs that lurked below the water’s surface. Alas, this tactic met with two more frogs suddenly launching themselves from the water on that side of the walkway and landing amidst the party with wicked claws and viscous fangs slashing.

Once the adventurers were engaged in battle, the two frogs on the left sank beneath the water and disappeared, leaving their croaking brothers to do battle. Yodahlla suffered grievous wounds during the fight, but the killer frogs were dispatched in haste and the party paused to take a breath—one that was quickly interrupted by the reappearance of the initial pair of frogs, who launched themselves from the water as if to avenge their slain froggy friends!

This second melee almost ended the life of Yodahlla. Had it not been for two near-miraculous interventions of his shield [David rolled two natural 20s back to back on his save vs. death when using his shield to block the damage that would have killed him. I ruled that a natural 20 means that you not only avoid taking damage but the shield itself does not splinter as normal, allowing it to be used again], the Old Blood fighter would now certainly be food for frogs deep under fetid lake’s surface. But Mog was with him this day and the frogs soon joined their brethren in death.

After a twenty minute break to bind wounds and partake in some well deserved vino, the party continued on to the large building ahead. The stone door failed to open under their efforts, seemingly having been knocked off kilter by their initial inept attempts to pry it open. Rather than make the long journey back and around to the building’s other entrance, the party moved to investigate a smaller but closer building instead—-a decision that would prove to be fatal for one of their number.

This smaller building seemed to be an odd shrine of ancient origin. The building was divided into three 20’ x 20’ chambers, each separated from one another by open archways. These rooms held numerous low altars placed below niches that contained smaller versions of the tentacled trees depicted at the complex’s entrance. Other than this, the building appeared empty.

As the party was about to leave the structure through a second exterior door they had found, Presto poked his head into one last unexplored room. As the rest of the party watched in horror, a ghastly creature suddenly appeared from thin air. Loathsome of form, resembling an albino hybrid of lobster, mantis, beetle, and crab with a carapace covered by dozens of teeth-filled mouths, this beast pounced upon the curious sorcerer and, in an eruption of fine red mist, Presto was no more.

The party fell upon this creature with missile and melee weapons, quickly cutting down the beast before it could slay another of their number. After gathering what still-useful equipment they could from the slain sorcerer and thoroughly examining the beast for treasure, the party prepared to depart this grisly site. That’s when Mars Markus noticed one last alcove in the building, a much narrower chamber that held only a larger altar and idol, and lay beyond a final archway. Probing cautiously ahead with a 10’ pole, Mars felt the wooden shaft grow suddenly cold in his hand and, once removed from the chamber, noticed a fine rime of frost on the stave’s end.

Boldly, Yodahlla volunteered to enter the room and, after tying a rope to himself and anchoring the line to Gladys, he stepped beyond the archway. Immediately his form was subjected to a blast of frigid air that inflicted minor damage upon him. He wisely retreated and the party debated on their next course of action.

After preparing a grappling hook and line, the party managed to snare and then topple the statue in the room beyond, breaking it into two pieces. However, the chill remained. They chose to throw the corpse of the slain lobstrosity into the chamber as a final test. After doing so, they noticed that it began to smoke and mist as if slowly dissolving away—-a most curious development.

Although unconvinced that the alcove didn’t hold additional treasure or secrets, the party nevertheless pressed forward, leaving the building of many altars behind. A short stretch of raised walkway later, the party faced a third building. This one was squat in construction with a much lower roof than the previous structures. Its surface was covered in a slimy film and numerous patches of water mosses clung to the ancient sandstone blocks. Another stone door separated the adventurers from the building’s inner secrets, but they chose to return to the house of altars to reconsider their next step…

Gladys the Mule

Neutral Mule

STR: 17
DEX: 9
CON: 14
INT: 8
WIS: 10
CHA: 9 (5 to non-horselike creatures)

Hit Points: 10
Armor Class: 7

Move: 120' (40') unladen

Saving Throws
Breath: 15
Poison/Death: 12
PP: 14
Wands: 13
Spells: 16

THACO 19
Number of Attacks: 1
Damage: 1d4 (kick), 1d3 (bite)

Load: (200 lbs. capactity)

Items Carried (as of April 17, 2010)
Saddle
4 saddle bags
8 days of feed
10' of chain
Manacles
7 waterskins
5 days trail rations
Wineskin (half full)
10' pole
2 flasks of oil
longsword
hammer
flnt & steel
blue robe

Treasure:
Gold pieces: 2
Silver pieces: 1,550

Mars Markus

Lawful Level 4 Cleric (Mog the Spider God)
Played by: Jack

STR: 6 (-1 to hit, damage, open doors)
DEX: 12
CON: 16 (+2 hp)
INT: 8 (partially literate)
WIS: 10
CHA: 13 (-1 reaction, 5 retainers, 8 loyalty)

Hit Points: 18
Armor Class: 2

Special Traits/Abilities: I Know Something (Location of the Temple of the Goat)

Weapons: Short sword
Armor: Plate mail & shield

Magic Items: holy symbol (+1 to save vs. spider poison), scroll of detect magic, ward against magic (1o' radius), short sword of unknown enchantment (+1?)

Weapon proficiencies: Sword, short; polearms; bow, long

Spells: 2/1

Objects of questionable value: Letter of credit (1,000 gp value)

Experience: 13,156
Last Update: 4/09/11

Anwar

Neutral Level 3 Magic-user
Played by: Jack

STR: 6 (-1 to hit/dam/open doors)
DEX: 9
CON: 10
INT: 10 (-1 to decipher rolls)
WIS: 10
CHA: 14 (-1 reaction adj.)

Hit Points: 9
Armor Class: 9

Special Traits/Abilities: Eye for Horseflesh, Esoterica (4%)

Weapons: Scimitar, dagger, silver dagger, 6 javelins
Armor: None
Magic Items: "beetle wand" ("OTROGG" written in runes along shaft), scroll of simulacrum, scroll of magic missiles (x2),, scroll of invisibility, scroll of knock
Weapon proficiencies: sword, long; javelin

Spells: 2/1/0
Spellbook: Read magic, dormancy, hold portal, identify, magic missile, message, read languages, shield, sleep, darkness, invisibility, knock, locate object, ray of enfeeblement

Objects of questionable value: Robe (midnight-blue)

Experience: 15,764
Last Update: 8/21/11

Watchfires & Thrones: Session Two

The Player Characters:

Anwar: Mustachioed desert sorcerer looking to broaden his horizons.

Bannath: Hunted cleric of Yg, Father of Serpents. The Yg sect has been all but eradicated in these lands—a development Bannath intends to correct.

Danek “Armbreaker”: Dim-witted man-at-arms. A charismatic warrior once you get past the mouth-breathing and slack-jawed stare.

Malbane the Green: A novice magic-user whose talent for climbing comes in handy in a scrap.
Mars Markus: Cleric of Mog, the Spider God. Recently arrived from the Bamish lands to serve his penance in the Desert of Demons.

Mordakis the Silent: A horribly scared dwarf. As if his scars weren’t bad enough, Mordakis’ tongue was cut out, leaving him mute.

Presto: Novice sorcerer and a general font of information.

Ravener: Archer and fighting-man.

Reddannon: Red-headed cleric of Uun the Unknowable, god of the greater moon

Syl: A fighter who pursues his vocation with quiet competence.

The Game Session:

Play resumed right after the dispatching of the oversized scarab beetle and the turning of the three skeletons. As the party paused to catch their breath, four new faces entered the chamber. These four, Anwar, Mars Markus, Presto, and Ravener, were on an errand for Dhamel of the Sapphire Eye, a contemporary (and sometime rival) of Jathal the Hexmaker. Like the sextet, this foursome had business with the corpse of Athkul: his left hand was required by their employer.

Seeing as the parties’ goals did not conflict and the joining of forces more conducive for both teams’ success, the adventuring band’s ranks swelled to a half-score of intrepid tomb robbers. With some deft maneuvering by Bannath, the cleric of Yg, the three skeletons were herded away from the chamber’s exit and the band pressed on.

A writhing mass of gigantic centipedes, each the size of a man’s forearm, confronted them in the next room. The rotted bones and ancient tomb breaker’s tools mixed amongst the chittering insects attested to the danger these vermin posed to the party. However, with torches thrust at any centipede that drew too close, the band made is safely through the room and found another door leading deeper into the tomb.

Beyond that portal awaited more evidence that the adventurers were not the first to tread this way. A terrazzo floor with many of the tiles held down by rocks and driven spikes (not to mention the 8” iron quarrels sunk into the wall) bore witness to a fiendish trap guarding the room. Luckily, since the path was well-marked and caution was taken, the party successfully emerged unscathed after a slight delay.

A bare room that showed the marks of digging and defacement was encountered without incident. Next, a room with three brass oil lamps suspended from the ceiling was faced. Each lamp appeared normal, but the wicks, once lit, burned with an eerie blue flame. Although suspicions that these devices might be emitting a fatal gas were raised, no ill effects occurred and the party replenished their oil supply from the lamps to boot. Sensing their goal lay close, the party pressed on.

In the penultimate room, the ancient remains of four tomb robbers were found. Standing motionless over the corpses were two silent figures clad entirely in black plate armor. Uncertain of what they faced, the party’s three clerics stepped forth, each calling upon their deities to turn away this possible undead threat. When these invocations came to naught, Presto the sorcerer suggested that they may be magical constructions.

When arrows were launched at the metal-clad duo, the armored forms sprung into a mockery of life, swiftly joining in battle with the adventurers. A fierce battle raged and, although the band was successful in laying low these arcane creations, Danek fell in combat under their fell blades. The party had suffered their first loss of their adventuring careers.

After a moment’s pause to reflect on their own morality, the adventurers examined the room formerly occupied by the animated armor. The walls and ceiling were decorated with an elaborate mural of a night sky alive with stars, moons, planets, and comets. A search of the chamber revealed a secret door, one which opened when a certain comet was pressed. The door popped ajar and the party carefully pushed it open.

Beyond was the Athkul’s final resting place: a burnished metal sarcophagus resting atop a raised platform and flanked by burning braziers. In the smoke-laden air of the chamber, hideous semblances of life stirred. Six desiccated corpses turned their dead eyes towards the adventurers and a gaunt figure with filth-encrusted talons crouched, licking its fangs.

The dead moved with alacrity towards the party but the confines of the secret door channeled the loathsome forms directly into the party’s waiting weapons. Strangely, the faith of all three of the adventuring clerics chose to fail them at this moment—their respective deities irked by their attempts to call upon their favor to dispatch the animated suits of armor, perhaps?

As weapons flew, talons slashed, and holy water was spilled, the numbers of the dead where slowly whittled away, but not before a few almost life-ending wounds were taken by the adventurers. Syl, grievously wounded, was startled to feel the falchion he had plundered grow warm and begin to glow with a fierce blue light. Drawing it forth, the formerly hidden runes along the blade glowed brightly and the last two dead were dispatched to a (hopefully) final rest.

After a short rest to bind their injuries and fortify their spirits with wine, the party entered the final chamber. An inscription on the sarcophagus warned of fiery doom awaiting any who plundered it, but the trap was rendered inert after the clues were deciphered. Once opened, the sarcophagus was raided for the required skull and hand, as well as numerous electrum and gold coins, a kris dagger, and a strange tome comprised of numerous brazen tablets held together by wire coils.

A piece of aging parchment was discovered next to the metal coffin as well. Its contents read:

Brothers,

Time was of the essence as our enemies moved against us in the wake of the Master’s death. A goodly portion of his library and treasury was removed from the citadel before it was sacked, but we could not risk interring it with the Master’s worldly form, as our enemies watched our efforts like desert kites. Seek it out in the Temple of the Goat. We’ve entrusted it with the Keeper there and he will receive you warmly as fellow devotees of Ishnigarrab.

With their plunder obtained and the feasibility of carrying his corpse through the booby-trapped room debated, the party decided to inter the body of Danek in Athkul’s former sarcophagus. Rites were spoken by the priests of the Spider, Moon, and Snake, and the adventurers left the tomb behind them. As night fell, the tired, but financially more solvent, adventurers reached the gates of Rhuun….

"Chop When the Drop"

Fighters dedicate their entire lives to mastering their skill at arms. Because of this single-minded dedication, fighters (not including dwarves and Old Bloods) are able to dispatch multiple foes at a rate that astonishes other classes. Anytime a fighter kills an opponent, he immediately gains a free attack on any other enemy within reach. Should he slay the opponent as well, he gains another free attack on a nearby enemy. This series of events continues until the fighter either misses, fails to kill and opponent, or runs out of enemies within the reach of his weapon.

Improved CLW

Due to the "Dutch Courage" house rule, the effectiveness of cure light wounds is increased to reflect the potency of magical healing. Cure light wounds heals 1d8+1 points of damage rather than 1d6+1.