They Met in a Tavern 34: Drom Misses Out on a Ziggurat

At the end of last session, we found our heroes in search of a pyramid. The heroes in question:

• Dan: Kiara, elf Ras Godai
• Rick: Bjorr, 1/2 orc Paladin
• Seana: Zanegar, 1/2 orc Sea Wolf
• Dave: Darkmist, elf Thief
• Andrea: Gabor, goblin Priest
• Bob: Opchel, human Thief

The party, led by a captive serpent-folk, headed west. Obstacles and hazards were managed. Snakes killed, a salt pan crossed, Kiara getting snared by, then escaping from, vampire bushes. 

The party spotted the pyramid, and wisely scouted. An entrance was spotted approximately halfway up the north side, marked by debris and a trail.

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The party watched for patrols, and agreed to wait the night, and assault in the morning. My dice failed me, and the night was quiet.

Spotting sentries at the entrance, the party was able to climb the pyramid from a blind side, with the sneaky bastard-types creeping ahead to attempt to eliminate the guards. A couple of good rolls, and the guards were sniped before they could warn their colleagues...

The party assembled at the entrance, firing up a light spell. Nat 20 got them bonus time.

Into the dark, when rock slabs came from a side shaft. Party members dodged and scooted. More serpentfolk chattering up above, as another slab was launched down the sloping shaft, but got hung up on debris near the bottom. The party fired up the shaft, eventually neutralizing the rock-throwers. Their chamber was found to be a tomb, and the slabs sarcophagus lids. The place had been desecrated and looted, with minor treasure left in the corners...

Onward. Another side chamber, with a curious dry font containing a small boat. Darkmist collected it. 

Another room. The party burst the wizard locked door. To be confronted by a couple of summoned horrors. A desperate fight, and they were sent back to whatever plane they originated from. Another dry font or well. Clearly a theme of this place... 

Down the stairs, to be meet the current tenants of the place. The "wise ones" guarded by the "strong ones" as warned by the serpentfolk. Spellcasters, with big serpentfolk guards, clearly they had been eating their Wheaties. Signs of summoning, and protections that debilitated the good guys... And it was on. The serpentfolk did their best to neutralize threats with spells. The guards mixed up brute strength and spitting venom (sometime in here the light went out, of course, allowing a couple of free hits by the baddies). Party members took damage and fought through the slugfest. Fortunately, the blinding venom didn't hit its mark. Curses were thrown. The party took down both spellcasters, and one guard, with the second fleeing. Not so fast, bub. They were chased down and eliminated.

Breath caught. Pockets searched. Loot recovered. And more stairs. Ever downward.

Into chambers of a subterranean temple, containing a statue to St. Gyles of Ord, now defaced, with the chamber used as an encampment for the patrols. No one was home. 

A second chamber contained a sibling to the boat found up above. This one was full-sized, reassembled in the depths of the temple, and far from water, for some reason. 

More poking about to find the Inevitable Secret Door(tm). A place not found by the serpentfolk, but not for lack of searching. The room contained some panels and a mithril urn. Darkmist entered to collect it. The urn was filled with ashes, with a curious crystal placed on top. Darkmist removed it. Which awoke the spirit within. 

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Gyles, of course. The spirit sensed the desecration of his tomb, and the passage of time. He questioned the PCs regarding the world outside, and was disappointed to hear that what was once grassland was now sand. 

He helped the PCs find a few beneficial vials in the funerary boat, missed by the serpentfolk. Some more touring about brought the party and their host back to the original "boat" chamber. Gyles asked after the boat, which Darkmist provided. The font filled with water, and the party assisted in arranging a pair of hidden mirrors to bring light into the chamber. Gyles provided auguries, and recalled the river leading to the Lost City. Darkmist and Bjorr, as fellow followers of Ord, were granted +1 to their prime attributes.

Oh, the crystal? A clear crystal in which floated a bubble of trapped water. A curiosity, and with the right amplifying magics, may be powered to call water from the rock. The city you seek was a center of elemental researches. Perhaps you'll find something there. Keep the crystal. 

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The party rested the night under the protection of the spirit. Refreshed, they departed in the morning to continue their explorations. Behind them, they heard grinding noises as the pyramid was resealed from within...

DM Notes:

Didn't write this up promptly with my con prep deadline, so probably missed some details. And Roger (Drom) wasn't there to appreciate a ziggurat... 

And some more world building - some was planned, some improvised. So I have more material to work with/create as the party nears their goal. I have ideas...

Mike (Erudite DM) was kind enough to talk with me about my con games and experience. Although the conversation turned into a typical wandering conversation of two old guys :) 

(My external mic wasn't talking to my computer, so my sound is a bit muted)

They Met at a Hilton ... or... Dragonflight Con Wrap-up

Greetings, neighbors.

Completed another Dragonflight game con, with varying amounts of success. No Con Crud(tm) at least.

Ran a total of six games, of which brief wrap-ups follow (No one wants to hear my knock-down-drag-out descriptions...) Also, went through former con reports and one-shots to eliminate a few adventures and get new stuff to the table as much as possible.

Day 1: Friday, August 20

Morning Session: B/X-OSE "Foxtail Grotto"

Full table for this one, including at least 3-4 familiar faces. So I knew what type of chaos I was in for. Naturally, we set the scenario with determining why the party had to leave town quickly (Illegal performance-enhancing herbs for those who are curious). Set them up to help the local constabulary hunt down the pirates, and provided them with a local coastal patrol boat. 

They found the grotto without too much problem, then the surviving, raving, pirate. The claims of giant creatures were ignored. The party found the secret back entrance to the pirate HQ, and got to looting. They were set upon by undead pirates of various flavors, and took some wounds, but not without any losses. Loot was gained. A thief failed a check, and got singed by a fire-trapped chest. As they wrapped up looting, something was heard outside. Probably nothing. The party exited through both the main and secret entrances, hoping to get a drop on the threat. 

Oops

Well, that was only moderately telegraphed... Damnit. The dwarf charged in and got a good blow, but also took poison damage from the dragon's miasma of leaking breath. Fire and missiles from all directions, as the dragon laid about, knocking PCs back and being a threat. Finally, it was re-deaded. Unfortunately, at the cost of the dwarf.

His fault for melee-ing within the radius of the poison cloud, while everyone else had the sense to stay back...

The party began to load loot on their longboat, when the dwarf shows back up. Undead and all. Giving his player a chance to keep on keeping on. Damnit. More stabbing, and he's back to being dead. He's buried and marked with a very large "emotional support rock." Everyone else departs, victorious.

I've run this one a few times now, and between random events and player choices, it always has a few surprises.

Afternoon Session: Shadowdark Funnel Playtest "Sewer Patrol" 

Five players joined with their sheafs of 1-4hp mooks. Without other employment options, they hired on with the Sewer Patrol, keeping the City's sanitation infrastructure safe.

Scenario 1: Killing Rats. The hapless heroes went on search for a minor plague of rats that had been infesting the sewers. After some sidetracks and threats (And a couple of personnel replacements), they found the rats under the control of some madman with a ceramic rat's head mask. They charged while being swamped by rats (Game quote, "Are you trying to crowd surf the rats?"). A couple of lucky shots, and the "master" was slain, allowing them to take the mask and control the rats long enough to finish off the swarm. 

Rattus Maskus

They Met in a Tavern 33: Into the Cold Desert

Who's looking out into the cold, arid geography from the Temple of the Pass?

• Chris: Thorn, dwarf Wizard
• Dan: Kiara, elf Ras Godai
• Rick: Bjorr, 1/2 orc Paladin
• Seana: Zanegar, 1/2 orc Sea Wolf
• Dave: Darkmist, elf Thief
• Michael: Lubach, 1/2 orc Basilisk Warrior
• Bob: Opchel, human Thief

Michael has joined on and off to one-shots in the past, so is familiar with my flavor of chaos. Bob was a first timer at my table, and to Shadowdark, and picked a PC off the pile.

The party looked out over the rocky outcrops, scrub, and sand. The cold, arid wind blew sand into their faces. The basilisk warrior wondered what the problem was.

Before departing, water skins were filled, and Sigwald was questioned regarding possible old streambeds. Sigwald pointed northwest, as he'd found some while exploring.

Off they went.

Riding northwesterly, the party left the Badlands behind, entering more distinctly open desert. Cresting a rise into the sand, they found a basin filled with sand fused into shattered green glass. They cautiously investigated. Darkmist had heard of a similar glass before, and understood it to be created from great heat and energies. He wrapped some up for later study or trade. In the meantime, Zanegar became nauseous, and appeared to be suffering a slight sunburn. Better move on.

shiny!

As the party traveled on, they were ambushed by a serpent-folk patrol from their foxholes (snakeholes?). A couple of PCs took arrow damage before the party was able to identify the threat. Some strong initiative rolls, and a Nat20 spell roll by Thorn, and the survivors of the initial clash were webbed.  Most serpent-folk refused to surrender to the "monkeys" although two were swayed... They were protecting their territories from the trespassing monkeys, who had become more numerous recently. Although they weren't familiar with any lost cities, they were sure it was also part of their territory.

These two serpent-folk were secured, while the party recovered some supplies and a "nice sword." Zanegar, recovering from her nausea, was gifted it.

The surviving serpent-folk were employed to guide the party away from other patrols and hazards. This worked fairly well until a pair of hazards found them, slaying Opchel's horse Buttercup, and nearly Opchel, himself.

Eadulf Ridge - A Not-So-Beneficial Shortcut

Ok, Part II of the "shortcuts" from last session. This is another one of those little projects that has been sitting on my 'Writing things' folder for an interminable period of time. So I pulled it out in its exceptionally rough form for the game, since a finished product wasn't necessary, just notes and a theme. 

Here, instead of a couple of friendly inhabitants, we have some grumpy water-sprites, dead-set on keeping explorers' grubby feet out of their water. 

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A good layout, with two possible routes, as well as the interconnecting stream. In its final form, I completed the original play-space concept, with dead or trapped smugglers and the batch of cranky sprites. The detailing on the behavior and intelligence of the sprites was developed during the play session itself (especially their intelligence and language). 

So yes, a good place to send players seeking a shortcut, and unaware of the new tenants...

Watch Your Step

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The Temple of the Pass - A beneficial shortcut...

During the last open table session. the party traversed two "shortcuts" through the labyrinthine Badlands, with the hopes of cutting time off their journey. I'm still writing complete sentences for the first complex, but the second is ready for a quick share.

The first one, of course, was full of hazards - territorial water sprites - that did not want explorers in their caverns. The party was able to respectfully negotiate passage, thus avoiding a running battle and fusillades of ice shards. Color the GM disappointed, but a good solution is always to be respected.

And, since not every location should be filled with danger, even out in the uncharted lands, the second cavern network and shortcut was populated by a few interesting, and potentially beneficial, inhabitants. 

via Dyson

So welcome to the Temple of the Pass, a small complex that grants the party access to lands beyond, as well as gives them a respite, some small boons, and a bit of a augury for the journey ahead. 

Home to an imprisoned and de-powered genie, it still resonates with magical power. The genie is accompanied by a hermit capable of divining the future through the tellings of the standing stones. And the weird guards? Well, I'm not sure how insect-god guardians got crossed up with a forgotten fire god. Perhaps it was a divine work exchange program. 

 Anyway, sharing it as a location to drop into a hexcrawl or point crawl if a shortcut through barrier geography might be needed. Enjoy.