Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Tito – Protector of the weak


Before we embark on our quest, let us offer thanks to Tito, Protector of the Weak, for prosperity in battle!
Tito created beacons of magic all over Galaq. They were powerful items, but now the only two that remain are the sword, Kastapha, and The Silver Bolt of Galaq. The sword was forged from pearl and ebony, and given to the human high chief, but was later lost in battle.

Tito is the god of humans.  It is unclear where he came from.  He might have been a brother of Rohrkhad, or might have been create by him.

Tito led the fight in removing dragons from the land.  Ascalon, the queen of the dragons, demanded a virgin sacrifice every month in exchange for not destroying the fledgling cities of Galaq, and Tito did not like that tradition.  He challenged the dragon queen to single combat, and slew her in front of the elf maiden who was to be her dinner.

Legends of Tito

It is said that Tito is entombed in the High Temple.

There are temples to Tito near Galaq and Rulaan.
  • Time of Life: Coming of age
  • Time of day: Afternoon
  • Alter tool: Sword
  • Horses
  • Protection
  • Lightning

Monday, February 25, 2013

Dablak, god of the Earth


Dablak is the god of the earth. All which live on or under it should revere him, lest they invoke his wrath! 

Dablak takes the form of a white tiger.  He is the creator of the holy scarab.

Legends of Dablak

It is said that his final resting place is in the Delqafi Caverns.

There are temples to Dablak in Tulara and near Haraza.

  • Cardinal Direction: Center
  • Season: Autumn
  • Time of Life: Old age
  • Time of day: Twilight
  • Alter tool: Dirt and sand
  • Magic tool: Staff
  • Feminine energy
  • Strength
  • Stability
  • Abundance
  • Fertility

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Palelil, god of the Taldor


“When Rohrkhad created the Dwarves, his misshapen brother, the foul god Palelil, in his jealousy and hatred, created the loathsome race of Taldor.”

Palelil was the watcher of a far distant world, which he destroyed on a whim. He wandered the skies, and came across Galaq while searching for another plaything. He was drawn to the planet Rhorkhad controlled, he was drawn by its beauty.

The Taldor god tried to create the race much like Rohrkhad created the dwarves. They were tainted, however, by Palelil's inexperience with creation. This angered Palelil because it revealed his shortcomings. The Taldor have fought the Dwarves ever since.

Palelil created the a magic axe, called Mukora, for the first Taldor. It is interesting to note that Rohrkhad copied Palelil in making the Khamalkhad, because he did not know anything about weapons of destruction.

Palelil is driven by a hatred of Rohrkhad, and is generally viewed as evil and jealous.

Palelil crafted the Delqafi Caverns.

Palelil rests in the Dark Temple.

There is a shrine to Palelil high up in the mountains to the west of Rulaan.
  • Alter Tool: Gems and gold
  • Color: Green
  • Spite
  • Jealousy
  • hate

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Session 11

Members:

Solaris - Human Ranger
Lórien - Elf Wizard
Callyn - Human Monk
Marcillus - Human Cleric

The Adventure

The party started off on the first level of the Sea Temple.  While invisible, Morgoth came across a room of water elementals that the party initially chose to leave alone.

Searching the Sea Temple further, the party found stairs going down to a deeper level.  They turned back and found a halway that led to a few rooms full of Sheerims.  They were very similar to trolls.  Marcillus lit off a flame wall and any that did not perish, were blown or thrown in.

Heading back to the stairs, Morgoth went on ahead and instantly started to get telepathic messages, one voice asking for help, and another demonic voice welcoming them to their doom.  Then they heard a demonic chanting, that Morgoth and Marcillus recognized as a summoning spell.


The Ice Demon, Hezrou, managed to complete the summoning ritual and summon a Vrock.  The Ice Demon let off a horrid stench that poisoned Marcillus and Lorien.  Letting out a stunning screech, most of the party was deafened for 10 minutes.  The fight was quickly won though.  As Hezrou died, his summoned Vrock also vanished.  The party recieved a telepathic "Thank you".  The demon had been keeping two mind flayers at bay behind an arcane shield.

The mind flayers entered combat, but were quickly dispatched.  Callyn destroyed the second one with a blinding flurry of blows.  In the loot of the demons, the party found Natal, a legendary throwing axe.  The mind flayers were carrying the hide of an azure shark, one of the only known items of its kind.

Venturing further into the cave, the party came across a group of angry water elementals.  The elementals blamed all humanoid life for imprisoning their god, and attacked.  Both Solaris and Callyn were seperated from the group and took heavy damage before the tide of the battle turned and the elementals were wiped out.  Searching the subterannian lake, Callyn found a huge aquamarind gem.

Heading back to the mind flayer's room, they sent Morgoth ahead down what would be the last stairway of the Sea Temple.  Lórien was afraid of what would happen.  After some discussion, Callyn headed down, and found the frozen god Melmalan behind an illusionary wall.  Lórien fell to the ground in pain when he viewed Melmalan, but managed to get out of the room.  

Callyn remembered seeing a prayer to Melmalan while visiting one of his temples, and whispered it in a low voice.  To the surprise of the rest of the party, Melmalan came alive and offered them a reward.  A permanent +1 to their Chrisma and taught them the swimming skill.  The party also got to ask a few questions.  Melmalan called to the wizard and beconed him in to share in the reward.  The pain was not nearly as bad the second time in the room with the god.

When asked where the Death Mask of Rohrkhad was, Melmalan said that it was guarded by the water elementals on the first floor.  The party resigned to killing them, but they had strayed from Melmalan since his imprisonment, so he would not be offended by their death.

The god froze up and was silent again.  Everyone headed back to the room of elementals they had avoided earlier, and it was a quick fight.  Mordred found a chest, and spirited it off to a side room.  After the fight, Lórien was able to open it with the knock spell, and the lost mask was found.

Heading back to the closest town, the party made it there uneventfully.  While in town, Callyn paid a visit to the local temple to Ziphanu, and the rest of the party accompanied him.  They saw the word 'Furimbor' engraved on the alter there.  While in town, Solaris came across a poster offering a reward for killing a white dragon that was terrorizing the mountains to the west.  The Chief's guard also asked about how the adventure was going and if the party had come across any of the artifacts the chief was looking for.

The party was slightly intimidating and the guard quickly stopped asking questions and backed out of the Frothy Mug Tavern.  Spending the night, the paty chose to ignore the dragon threat and head north to Haraza and look for information at the Loremaster there.

While doing research, Lórien came across some teleportal combinations:
Hataan: Aster, Berat, Otala
Shatlam: Otala, Dunha, Dunha
(Teleportals will be explained in a future post)

He also learned that the secret word to enter Entemar castle was 'Togarnak'.  Entemar is Rohrkhad's castle, and his resting place.  It is located on the island of Ilakasek, an island that is extremely difficult to locate.

While travelling, they saw a group of Rocs in the distance, but hid in the trees, and the Rocs soon passed by.  They were not hunting at the time.

Heading north, the party chose to find the resting place of Hantaknor, the fire god.  They found his church in chaos.  Recently dead bodies were all over, and the doors and windows were broken or destroyed.  Callyn managed to recall seeing the prayer word to Hantaknor in his youth and summoned the god.  He offered his help in the form of a +1 to Constitution and knowledge of fire.  Callyn promised to fight those who desecrated Hantaknor's church, and Marcillus discussed the possibilities of worshiping Hantaknor, and was invited to study at his temple on the southwestern coast.

Hantaknor did mention that the ancient Scepter of High King Komin Madin was in the hands of the demon who came through from the same realm as the party.  It was a race to retrieve the artifacts.

Callyn led the party, following the tracks of the raiders, but to no avail.  They ended at a teleportal chamber, leaving the trail cold.  Having also learned the resting place of Palelil, the Taldor god was just north, in the Dark Temple, the party chose that as their next stop.  Arriving early in the evening, they debated on waiting for daylight to enter, but chose to go on.  

Morgoth unovered a room full of Otyughs.  Firewall after firewall combined with a stinking cloud destroyed their ranks.  The fight drew out a few Ettens from a neighboring room, but the quickly retreated, and sounds of barricading their door were heard out in the hallway.  After the long fight, the party chose to leave the Dark Temple and head to the town of Hikar.

In Hikar

Marcillus had another strange dream while sleeping in Hikar.  Hantaknor and the Lightbringer were having tea and invited him to join them ...

He felt his power increasing.  In the morning, he woke up with the knowledge to cast Flame StrikeMass Cure Wounds, and a strange sensation.  Until that day, he felt the welcome touch of the Lightbringer on his mind when he received new spells.  This day, Flame Strike came with the directness of Hantaknor.

Loot

177 gp
10 Silver Pearls (50 gp each)
1 Aquamarine gem (500 gp)
5 pieces of choral (100 gp each)

Magic Items

Death Mask of Rohrkhad
Hide of the Azure Shark
Natal

XP:

8 Water Elementals 2120
2 Mind flayers 1555
5 Trolls 925
6 Water Elementals 1590
1 Hezrou & Vrock 2210
8 Otyughs 3733
Quest XP 210
Per Person: 12,343
XP til level: 17,363
Total Campaign XP per person: 38637

Friday, February 22, 2013

Hantaknor, the god of Fire


Fire! Brimstone! The world is coming to an end! Hantaknor, God of Fire shall cause the world to be consumed in flame! Seek the temple of Hantaknor and repent, lest you be among the first subject to incendiary doom!

Hantaknor is the god of fire, and is commonly associated with energy, assertiveness, and passion. It is said that he created the other elemental gods. Transforming the chaos into water, and half that water into earth, and half of the earth into air.

Legends of Hantaknor

It is said that his resting place is in Pasenta, northwest of Hataan.

There is a temple to Hantaknor along the southwest coast.
  • Cardinal Direction: South
  • Season: Summer
  • Time of Life: Adulthood
  • Time of day: Midday
  • Alter tool: Candle
  • Magic tool: The wand
  • Masculine energy
  • Blood
  • Thunder
  • Drum beat
  • All predatory creatures
  • Purification

Death Mask of Rhorkhad

Death Mask of Rhorkhad


Thro-Shikhad, the true name of this mask means the "death face of the god".  It was made by the craftsman Amarant from the alabaster tears of Rhorkhad.
Property:  The wearer of this mask gains a +2 bonus to saves vs magic.  This can be used three times per day.
Property (Attuned):  Once per day, the wearer can cast the Wind Wall spell as an action.

Wind Wall

An invisible vertical curtain of wind appears. It is 2 feet thick and of considerable strength. It is a roaring blast sufficient to blow away any bird smaller than an eagle, or tear papers and similar materials from unsuspecting hands. (A Reflex save allows a creature to maintain its grasp on an object.) Tiny and Small flying creatures cannot pass through the barrier. Loose materials and cloth garments fly upward when caught in a wind wall. Arrows and bolts are deflected upward and miss, while any other normal ranged weapon passing through the wall has a 30% miss chance. (A giant-thrown boulder, a siege engine projectile, and other massive ranged weapons are not affected.) Gases, most gaseous breath weapons, and creatures in gaseous form cannot pass through the wall (although it is no barrier to incorporeal creatures).
While the wall must be vertical, you can shape it in any continuous path along the ground that you like. It is possible to create cylindrical or square wind walls to enclose specific points.

Natal

Natal

This magic axe was created by the Water God from the bones of a million dead fish for the merman Bloogridpr who was killed by the tlengle highlord before he could receive it.  It was later found by Dablak the earth god and sequestered in a chest in Sea Temple.
Properties: This +2 throwing axe adds a bonus for attack and damage.
Properties (Attuned): This axe allows its owner to breath under water, and it does an additional 1d6 damage against fire based creatures.
GP Value: 1000

Melmalan, the god of Water


Sometimes my dad tells me stories about a man made of water, called Melmalan, that was turned to ice by Rohrkhad! He was made out of water, and he was strong, and he ruled the seas, and he was big, and fishpeople prayed to him, and he lived in the ocean.

Melmalan is a living being, made of water. He rules the seas, and the mermen pray to him. Before he was banished, he lived in the ocean.

Legends of Melmalan

It is said that Melmalan is frozen in a block of ice in the Sea Temple.

There are temples to Melmalan on the western shore of Seahorse Bay to the northeast of Amqal and in Phoroshi.

  • Cardinal Direction: North
  • Season: Winter
  • Time of Life: Youth
  • Time of day: Midnight
  • Alter tool: A cup
  • Feminine energy
  • Compassion
  • Divination
  • Intuition
  • Healing
  • Dreams

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Rohrkhad the Creator

We are the children of Rohrkhad, and these are his laws.
Seek HONOR to purify your mind.
Seek STRENGTH to purify your body
Above all, seek ROHRKHAD to purify your spirit.

Centuries ago, Rohrkhad, the original Watcher of Galaq, roamed the land with the dwarves he created. Now, he has all but given up on mortal affairs, and sits on the Throne of Stars watching his creations. He is prevented from interfering in mortal affairs by The Covenants.

When the earth was young and the gods of Power and Elements roamed over the mountains, rivers, and valleys, Rohrkhad, in His Vision, saw that a hardy race of mortals would thrive in such a place. From his palace on Ilakasek, he took up a multitude of stones, both precious and rugged, and formed of them the first dwarf. To this dwarf he gave the Blessed weapon, Khamalkhad - Bane of Dwarven Enemies. It is said that the havens rejoiced on the day the dwarves were created.

He saw the first dwarf, Dahlkhad, as his son. When the race of dwarves was young, dragons were common, but Rohrkhad and the rest of the gods hunted them down. He has two brothers, Palelil and Zlntrlkopfr. His brother, Palelil is the creator of the Taldor, and Zlntrlkopfr created the Tlengle.

One day, Rohrkhad grew tired of the other gods destroying the world he created. So he imprisoned the rest of the gods, but, even while trapped, they retained enough strength to banish him from the land as well.

Rohrkhad created magic. When the world was new, his highest priests could create new spells just by thinking them up. That art, however is long lost.

Legends of Rohrkhad

It is said that when a dwarf dies, they go to Rohrkhad's castle. If they have done well in life, they become castle guards. If they have done poorly, they work in the ice mines beneath. Either way, in death, all serve Rohrkhad.

It is said that Rohrkhad plucked out his own eye and put it in a statue to watch over the land of Tarq. When the statue was broken, the eye was lost in the ocean. That eye is now referred to as The Orb.

It is said that Rohrkhad will not return among mortals until there is an end to the strife among the dwarves. It is also said that his castle, there are windows to all the worlds in which he was present so that his children could see how powerful he was.

Temples to Rohrkhad can be found in Sartuma and Hikar

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Lórien's Dream


You wake to find yourself in a huge castle. Surrounded by stairways above an open space. You have an unquenchable thirst to find something, but don't know what it is. After what seems like hours, you stumble upon a small study. Arcane tomes and scrolls litter the surface of every table and shelf in the room. In the corner, by a lit fire, sits a dark and hooded figure.

“I never thought you would find me, I don't have enough power in this realm to stay for long, so don't waste my time.” Growls the dark voice. “Stop trying to convert those idiots you come across, they aren't worth it. No evil beast will ally with a neutral wizard who couldn't outright kill it in single combat.”

“I need you to gain power! You are worthless to me dead. The only way for me to gain my godhood back is for you to kill another god, so I can assume his position on this plane of existence, then I can devour the other gods and tear a rift back.”

“Dablak, god of the Earth or Melmalan, god of the Water are the weakest gods of this realm. You are no match for them now, but you are my host. We make due with the tools we are given. In time, you will gain enough power though. You will kill one of them! I foresee it as your destiny”

“I have another servant. He is useless to you there, but he has an item. A small but powerful weapon. It will give you the power to kill a god. I will see to it that it is in your hands when you need it. I have one more 'gift' that I may be able to send before that. We will see how you perform in your duties.“

“I believe you remember Mordred, my other servant, … It is his dagger, christened with your blood in the presence of my eye that allowed me to find and contact you. Do not lose it. When you awake, you will have knowledge of a curse. Perform the ritual on that dagger. While cursed, it will always be by your side.”

“Just sending this message used a great deal of my power. You will not hear from me until you gain some concordance, and my foothold grows.”

As you awake, you realize that Iban's mind was slightly open to you as well, but he was unaware of it. You got a flash of insight when he mentioned the 'gift'. Iban needs three items related to him in your possession to triangulate your location and gain a stronger foothold in your mind. He was trying to hide that fact.

You also have the knowledge of how to curse Mordred's dagger. It will take 500 gp worth of residium, and make it a +1 item. You know that cursing it will make it impossible to throw away. It will instantly return to your hand if thrown, making it useless as a thrown weapon. You will also have to draw blood and kill something with it each and every day or lose 1 point of Constitution. Such is the curse of Iban.  Cursing your dagger will increase concordance by +1, and using the foul sight granted by the powers of unlife, you can determine the condition of creatures near death within the dagger’s range. You instantly know whether each creature within 50 feet is dead, fragile (alive and wounded, with 3 or fewer hit points left), bloodied (alive with 4-1/2 total HP), undead, or neither alive nor dead (such as a construct).  At level 11, this curse allows Unholy Degeneration for the wielder.  The wielder takes 1 point or permanent Str loss and gains 1 point to Int.

Marcillus' Dream


Marcillus' Dream


You wake up on the top of a mountain. It is so high up that you can see clouds below. An old man with a white beard is sitting on a rock not far away. He beckons you to come closer. As you near him, he says, “Ahhh Marcillus, I see great potential in you. You have the makings of a great man.”

“You are far away from my flock, yet remain steadfast in your commitment. Thank you for your tireless work. Time and distance make it difficult for me to communicate regularly with you, so it could be a long while before we can have a discussion like this again.”

“Other gods have far more power in your current realm than I. It is unfair to you that I cannot grant you more power. I have been watching over you though. It is time that we look a bit closer at our relationship. You need to gain power, and I see that that is already happening, but the more power you gain, the less I can help.”

“I will leave your course of action up to you, but I do have some advice. In time, you will approach a level of power that is close to the gods of your current realm, but you cannot do it alone, and I cannot be there with you. You could be a demigod if the fates smile on your life. Looking over the pantheon of Galaq, I see Hantaknor, the Fire God as a possible ally in your fight.”

“He is a hard god though. And not all together very good. As the nature of fire, he is chaotic neutral in alignment. He accepts followers of all walks though. I am sure that he can help you with your domain spells. Tito is another option for you. He is the Protector of the Weak. He can grant Death Ward and True Seeing as domain spells. Ziphanu, god of the air can grant Divine Power and Cone of Cold.”

“I wish you to ally with another god on your journeys. It is more for your sake than mine. I am not a selfish god. You will always have a place at my side if you reach immortality. Your future could be to bring the word of the Lightbringer to Galaq as a demigod yourself. With the covenants that bind the current gods of that world, you could bring in a new era. A golden third age.”

“From here on out, I can only help you with one spell every time you increase your power. You are on your own to research the rest. You may try to commune with me once a week without failure. Any more than that and I might not be able to reply. Good luck on your journeys!”

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Spells in Galaq

The party is well above the current level of understanding in this land.  There are bits and pieces of arcane learning to be found, but it will be far more difficult to find them.  Fifth level spells will need to be researched in order to be found.  Lórien will have an easier time of it, but will still need to find them in the libraries of the Loremasters.  Each discovered spell will require a successful search and 100 gp worth of resources.

Marcillus will have a more difficult time.  The Lightbringer has no power in this land, and limited communication abilities.  That leaves three options: 

  1. Use the spells of the Lightbringer with a chance of failure
  2. Find a god in this plane who will grant spells.
  3. Research new spells at the Loremaster
A distant fourth option is to kill a god and gain his knowledge, but this is no easy task.  Unless fifth level cleric spells are granted by a god of this realm, they will all require a material component.  Finding them at a loremaster will require a hard search and 200 gp worth of materials to transcribe and learn.

Session 10

Members:

Solaris - Human Ranger
Lórien - Elf Wizard
Callyn - Human Monk
Marcillus - Human Cleric

The Adventure:

We started off in the town of Kafari.  A farmer came running into the tavern begging for help from the party.  Some dryads had attacked him while doing a bit of logging.  Heading off to investigate, the party learned that the dryads were defending their territory from the farmer, who was cutting down their trees.  The dryads were ready for a fight, but the skilled diplomacy of Callyn helped defuse the situation.

While talking, the party and the dryad were attacked by ghosts.  The dryad fell in the heat of battle, but was revived and healed by Callyn.  Disturbances in the west forced a group of dryads to take up residence in the east, and increased the amount of land they needed.  A new force in the land also was the source of the increasing the number of undead who roamed the land.  As a thanks for being saved, the dryad handed the party a bag of semi-precious gems.

Marcillus tried to divine the nature of the new threat, but was unsuccessful in his attempts.  He realized that the nature of his questions was probably at fault.  Specific questions will grant a more specific reply, general questions ... not so much.

The farmer did not know his actions precipitated the attacks, and had no idea about the difference between ghosts and dryads.  After taking care of the ghosts, the party headed back to town and talked about the situation with the farmer.  Solaris was thinking in terms of bounty hunting, and made the farmer defensive when he asked for payment.  Marcillus and Callyn were able to convince the farmer that they were actually looking out for his interests and not in it for money.  Solaris chose to focus on his beer instead of talking.

Venturing back out to the dryad forest, the dryads agreed to leave the farmer alone if he stopped cutting their trees, and they agreed to provide him with wood from dead trees.  The party brokered an agreement that would help the farmer to free up some time for farming, and decrease the instances of forest fires by giving the dryads a place to leave deadfalls and fallen tree branches.

Heading to the Sea Temple in the south, Solaris, Callyn and Marcillus ventured in.  They were unaware that Lórien had finished his studies and was running after them.  They ran into a rather tough pair of ropers.  Lórien arrived just in time.  Both Marcillus and Callyn were grappled and Marcillus got a particularly nasty bite on the head, knocking him to within a hair's breadth of death.

Callyn was healed and the fight ended quickly.  Ropers are stealthy beasts, and if found in one cavern, you can expect them in all caverns.  When actively hiding, they are extremely difficult to find, and have a nasty bite that can use with advantage to a roped and grappled enemy.

OOC:

I am fairly sure I hit Callyn with damage when it should have gone to the roper.  That is the only reason I can think of as to why he was at 30, instead of max HP when he got hit by that crit.  Unless there are any objections, I am just going to stop using those light auras to represent light.  They make everything harder to see.

Loot:

5 Iolite gems (50 gp each)

Magic Items:

Arrow of Refilling

XP:

Ghost Encounter:  2400 (800 each)
Ropers:  4000  (1000 each)
RP:  750 (250 each)Quest XP: 200 per character for fixing the dryad problem
Per Person:  2250
XP til level:  12,336
Total Campaign XP per person: 25664

Arrow of Refilling

This arrow is fletched with red feathers, but is otherwise nondescript.
Property:  This talent gives no special effects to a missile when fired.  If left in a quiver, however, it magically creates 1d20 more arrows of the normal type each day.
Source: DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Rules Cyclopedia
Value: 400

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Session 9 Loot and XP

Loot:

573 gp (Includes 450 gp worth of gems & weapons converted to gp)
5 sp
2 Emeralds (50 gp each)
4 Bloodstones (50 gp each)
Jeweled sacrificial dagger (worth 100 gp)

Magic Items:

3 +1 Javalins
Brooch of Healing
Scroll of Inflict Light Wounds
Scroll of Ray of Enfeeblement
10 teleportal tiles
Purple Candle
Bag of Holding (+1 Long Sword and 1 ring of quickness were used to create this)

XP:

Encounter 1: 3000
Encounter 2: 4630
Encounter 3: 2460
Encounter 4: 3910
4666 Each
Pradaqa Tower:
Encounter 1: 3660
Encounter 2: 1850
Encounter 3: 2590
Encounter 4: 7490
3897 Each
Quest XP: 1800
450 Each
Total XP for the day: 9003
Campaign XP: 23414
XP til level: 1586

Purple Candle


Purple Candle

This small candle acts as a truth drug allowing one question to be asked of a victim for each turn of burning, and all such questions are always answered truthfully.
Duration:  This candle can burn for ten minutes.  Each use takes at least one minute.
GP Value: 150
Source: DRAGON Magazine 43

Brooch of healing

Brooch of Aquilla

This item appears to be a decorative brooch made of white gold.  The Brooch of Aquilla was said to be the prize possession of the now dead human ranger named Drimmor. The beautiful, jeweled brooch is said to make a man irresistible to women, and Drimmor was never without an amazon escort.
Mitre – The High Mitre once belonged to the high priest of Rohrkhad. It represents the highest seat of religious authority in Dwarven thinking. The man who wore the mitre was the high priest.
Property:  Once per day, the wearer can cast cure blindness or deafness, cure disease, cure light wounds, and neutralize poison.  Every full moon, it evokes continual light.  It can evoke continual light on command as well.  However, each time an effect is invoked, the user must make a DC 12 Con check or become exhausted for 1d6 turns.
Property (Attuned): Grants a +2 to wisdom for neutral good clerics (+1 to other good alignments). Further, if the wearer is not neutral good, they slowly begin to shift alignment.  The user is aware of this shift.
Rarity: Very rare
GP Value: -
Special:  This brooch is one of the Lost Relics of Tarq.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

The Eye of Iban

The Eye of Iban is an artifact left behind when Iban ascended godhood.  The Eye of Iban glitters, much like a cat's eye.  It is an embalmed orb that pulses as if alive, but remains icy cold to the touch.  It retains a remnant of Iban's mortal power - A power with a singular devotion to bringing Iban back to the material plane and establish him as a god.

Goals of the Eye of Iban

  • Spread the word of Iban across the world
  • Wrest secrets from the good and to use those secrets for betrayal
  • Be installed in a powerful arcane spell caster
  • Take over said spell caster to gain a foothold in the world as a living god
The visions from the Eye of Iban were much more vivid before entering the realm of Galaq.  He has far less power here, but the properties of the eye remain.  It can communicate silently with its possessor, and does so on a regular basis.

Properties of the Eye

Property: Gain training in Knowledge, Insight, and Perception and step up skill dice in those skills.
Property: Eye grants darkvision
Property: Grants waterbreathing
Property: When using an attack power granted by the eye, you can use your highest mental ability score (Int, Wis, or Cha) for the attack, regardless of the normal ability score noted for the power.
Power: Clairaudience
Power: Eyebite Cantrip

Power: Dominate Person (at level 9, 1/day)
Power: Mire the Mind (at level 11)
Power: Eye of the warlock (at level 16)

Concordance (How the eye feels about its possessor):
Starting score: 5
Owner gains a level: +1d4
Owner can cast at least one arcane spell: +2
Owner betrays a close friend in dire straits: +1
Owner kills an undead creature: -2
Owner spends 8 hours in the presence of a higher level arcane spell caster: -2

Angered: 0
Unsatisfied: 1-4
Normal: 5-11
Satisfied: 12-15
Pleased: 16-20

Angered: The eye basically uses all of its power to force the wearer to tear it out of his head. It is at war, and wants to torture its host. The eye will randomly attack its host during combat, essentially stealing their action and blinding them. Wis save vs 1d20+host's level to avoid being blinded and stunned.

Normal: You feel the eye's power, and know there is more power to be had if you keep it happy. The eye is setting the terms of the relationship.

Satisfied: The eye begins to release arcane knowledge to the host. You gain +2 to arcana, insight, and perception checks, and gain the ability to fire a beam of necrotic energy once per encounter from the eye doing 3d6+5 damage, Con save vs caster's DC for half.

Pleased: Only arcane research (or a satisfied eye) will reveal the benefits of a pleased eye.

Clairaudience:

Description: The clairaudience spell enables the wizard to concentrate upon some locale and hear in his mind whatever noise is within a 6" radius of his or her determined clairaudience locale center. Distance is not a factor, but the locale must be known, i.e. a place familiar to the spell caster or an obvious one (such as behind a door, around a corner, in a copse of woods, etc.). Only sounds which are normally detectable can be heard by use of this spell. Only metal sheeting or magical protections will prevent the operation of the spell. Note that it will function only on the plane of existence on which the wizard is at the time of casting. The material component of the spell is a small silver horn of at least 100 g.p. value, and casting the spell causes it to disappear.

Eyebite Cantrip

You glare at your enemy, and your eyes briefly gleam with brilliant colors. Your foe reels under your mental assault, and you vanish from his sight.
Effect: Make a magic attack against one creature within 100 ft of you. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 psychic damage, and you are invisible to the target until the start of your next turn.
Special: If your caster level is 7th or higher, the damage is 2d12. If your caster level is 11th or higher, the damage is 3d12, if your caster level is 16th or higher, the damage is 4d12.

At Level 11: Mire the Mind

You assail our foe's mind with unreal images until he can see nothing else.
Effect: Once per day, make a magic attack against one creature within 100 ft. of you. On a hit, the target takes 3d12 damage, and you and all of your allies are invisible to the target until the end of your next turn. On a miss, the target takes 2d6 damage and the caster is invisible to the target until the end of your next turn.

At Level 16: Eye of the Warlock

You create upon your forehead a mystical third eye and link that eye's perception to the senses of some other creature near by.
Effect: Once per day, as a free action (range 100 ft), you see through the target's eyes. The target is not aware that you are doing so. You have line of sight and line of effect from the target for your attacks. Your spells can originate in the target's square. Each time you cast a spell through this link, a mystical third eye briefly appears upon the target's brow. The target can use an action to make a Wis save to break this link.

Ziphanu the Air God

This is the first post on what will become the Pantheon of Galaq.

Ziphanu the Air God

Winds!  Obey my command!

Ziphanu is the god of the air, his domain is all that is above the earth.  He is sometimes called 'The Four Winds'.  He resides in the Air Temple, An ancient relic of times past, times when the gods roamed the earth with their children.  He is revered by all air elementals and creatures of the sky.

He is said to be the creator of a magic crown, a Galaqian artifact of great power.  The crown is made of iron, but is a diadem of great value because it is studded with diamonds, giving the polished iron an almost unearthly radiance.

Of the gods Rohrkhad created, Ziphanu is the strongest.  He can blow out (or spread) Hantaknor's fire, lives above Dablak's earth, and evaporate Melmalan's water.

There are two temples to Ziphanu, one in Kafari, and a smaller one on the island of Talana.

Ziphanu's Attributes:

  • Cardinal direction:  East
  • Season: Spring
  • Time of life: Childhood
  • Time of day: Sunrise
  • Alter tool: incense
  • Mind
  • Intellect
  • Study
  • Consciousness
  • Communications

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Session 8


Members

Kilborn Blindshaft - Dwarven Fighter
Solaris - Human Ranger
Lórien - Elf Wizard
Kylaria Delani - Elf Rogue
Marcillus - Human Cleric

The Adventure

The party started off the adventure in the tavern on the Keep on the borderlands.  They were low on funds, but managed to buy up a few new magic bows.  Kylaria picked up the Bow of Neverending Arrows, and Solaris picked up a Bow of Doubling.  Kilborn did some shopping to fill out his Healer's Kit and pick up some trail rations as well.

While in the tavern, a local homeless boy came in asking for donations for the local orphanage.  Lórien decided to give him the jeweled goblet he plucked from the hands of Kilborn.  Kilborn had forgotten it entirely since getting his Evercool Mug.  Lórien's unexpected donation set the foundations for a school library that improved the lives of many young residents of the Keep.  The head of the school made a plaque dedicating the new library to Lórien.  It hangs there in his honor.

While in the Keep, Lórien was able to do some research and learned the name of the devil who awaited them in the Underground Pass.  The Barbed Devil called Hamatula.  No one was sure what one of the adventurers was talking about when they mentioned that the devil looked exactly like the one he found on something called 'the internet'.  Irmo suspected it was some sort of meta reference, but couldn't place it.

A now well stocked party headed back to the Caves of Chaos and the Underground Pass for what would be their last time.  After a long discussion, they realized that the unicorn would not survive the removal of its horn.  The unicorn seemed resigned to its fate as well.  Pushing the cage into the subterranean lake, it suffocated, and the party was able to grab the horn.

Adding the paladin's crests and unicorn horn to the well, the seal was broken.  The entire party felt a wave of evil spread over them.  Heading down the well, the party entered a shrine.  Kylaria knew Hamatula could not be surprised, but did not realize he began a summoning ritual the moment the enchantment on the well was lifted.  Uninterrupted, the devil had time to summon another Barbed Devil to aid him in his fight.
Hamatula, the Barbed Devil

With heroic speed, the party dropped the summoned devil and went after Hamatula.  It put up a weak fight, and as it neared death, it broke a clay tablet and summoned a portal to escape.  Soon after, another portal opened and the avatar of Nebelun popped out.  The halfling explained that Lightbringer could not make it himself, but asked him for help.  The Lightbringer was afraid that the young gods of the new realm could not defeat Hamatula.  He offered Marcillus his god's mace to go after the devil and destroy it.  Marcillus quickly agreed to the quest.

At the same time, Kylaria noticed a small black case among the remains of a dead adventurer.  He felt a strange sense of 
Déjà vu.  Kylaria had seen the same case, or one very much like it somewhere.  Upon examining the case, he went through the tools.  On shutting the case, it magically melded into his skin. Looking at his hand with surprise, Kylaria was able to summon the case back out with just a thought.

Lórien was mesmerized by the arcane power coming from a small box on the altar.  He grabbed the box and snuck off to an ante-chamber to examine what could possibly exude so much power.  Kilborn also felt Khamalkhad pulling toward the rift.  It was as if the axe had a strong desire to enter.

Kylaria had a few questions for the avatar of Nebelun.  She was not excited about the prospect of leaving everyone and everything she knew to follow after a rogue devil.  Driving a hard bargain, she enticed the avatar to offer something more enticing.  Failing to appeal to her altruism, the avatar offered a potion of Master Thievery.  Kylaria was still unsatisfied, so the avatar threw in a magic stiletto to sweeten the bribe.

Portal to a different realm
Kylaria might not have know that Nebelun is the god of inventions and good luck.  Driving such a hard bargain when he knew he had the upper hand might have repercussions if Kylaria ever has dealings with Nebelun in the future.

As the avatar stepped into his portal and winked out, the party heard 
Lórien scream from the other room.  Running to see what happened, they found the box open and a bloody and unconscious Lórien on the floor with a bloody obsidian dagger in his hand.  Marcillus sensed that the box did not radiate the evil he felt earlier.  Kylaria demanded to know what happened.  Lórien professed to have no memory of what happened.  The rest of the party examined him, but found nothing out of the ordinary.  After a bit of healing, the party entered the portal.

It exited into a cave.  Leading the pack, Kylaria saw a group of Taldor further up ahead.  The Taldor looked like misshapen dwarves, but more magical.  Kilborn stepped out to greet them, but was instantly taken aback with the looks of hatred on the Taldor faces.  Lórien destroyed six of the eight Taldor with a stinking cloud, instantaneously turning the tide of the battle.

Heading out of the cave, the party found an old dwarf named Mantar.  Mantar chose to live away from the rest of the dwarven cities because he abhorred the continuous fighting between the two main tribes.  Mantar offered Kylaria a beer from a small oaken cask he carried with him, and the rest of the party shared a drink around his camp fire.

Mantar gave a brief background of the struggles between the Morin and the Tamar tribes.  Lamenting that they would all be destroyed by the Taldor threat if they didn't start to cooperate.  He mentioned magnificent treasures that were now lost to the dwarves, and that if given to one of the chiefs they would make that chief the most powerful dwarf in the land, and unite all of the tribes.

Mantar also gave the adventurers a map of the region.  Looking at the map, the party asked about the closest four cities.  Phoroshe to the northwest, Haraza to the northeast, Kafari to the southeast, and Tulara to the southwest.  Haraza is the capital city of the Tamar tribe, and home to the chief of the tribe, and Kafari is the capital of the Morin.  Phoroshi and Haraza are affiliated with the main clans of Tarq.

Choosing to avoid the bigger cities, the party headed southwest to Kafari.  They found the tavern first off.  Tulara Steak & Ale was a busy place.  The party learned much about the land from listening to rumors in the bar.  Lórien also came by some very useful knowledge in the local loremaster's library.  He learned of the teleportals throughout the land and the tiles that drove them.

He also uncovered some of the history of the Taldor.  How the god Palelil made them because he was jealous of Rohrkhad's dwarves.  Palelil is the misshapen brother of Rohrkhad.  He also discovered their weakness for ale.

Finally, Lórien came across a reference to a magic mask called Throshikhad, or 'Death Face of the God'.  The mask was made by the master craftier Amarant out of the alabaster tears shed by Rohrkhad on the death of the first dwarf.

From there, the party traveled north to the town of Phoroshi.  Entering the Rusty Nail Tavern, they listened for rumors.  Solaris purchased some arrows from the Weapon Depot.  A patron heard them talking about Pradaqa Tower, and offered the password of Vuntista in trade for a lilten, a magic herb sold in town at Falk's Natural Medicine shop.

One of the children heard Kilborn talk about his axe, and instantly knew the name.  Kilborn learned that he wielded a legendary axe from this land.  In both towns the children talked about their favorite hero Bucky.  The bartender mentioned that Bucky is a famous warrior, but hasn't been seen in these parts for many years.

Flesh Golem and it's Taldor summoner
In their travels between towns, the party came across several wandering bands of monsters.  The first was a pair of Taldor and three flesh golems.  Both Lórien and Marcillus did not realize that their magic was ineffective at first.  One of the Taldor had a magic ring of Quickness.

The next encounter was a group of kopru and hill giants.  The Kopru were clearly frustrated in their attempts to dominate Solaris and Marcillus.  The battle was quickly won.

Further down the road, the party came across a Chimera accompanied by its Taldor handler.  The chimera fought hard, but was quickly decimated.

On their way to the Pradaqa Tower, the party came across a group of Manticore and Minotaur.  The final battle of the day proved to be the most difficult.  Both Kilborn and Marcillus fell unconscious.  Kylaria moved in to close range to draw fire from the wizard after Kilborn fell.  After taking a beating, the party gave up their initial plan and headed back to Phoroshi to nurse their wounds and heal.

Loot:

495 gp
2 Carnelian gems (50 gp each)
5 Moonstone gems (50 gp each)
2 chrysoberyl gems (100 gp each)

Magic Items:

Scroll of Cure Light Wounds
9 Teleportal tiles
Ring of Quickness
Nebelun's Mace
Thieves' Tools of Stealth
Rogue's Key
The Eviscerator
Potion of Master Thievery

XP:

Hamatula:  7800
Taldor:  2960
Taldor and golems: 2840
Kopru and giants: 2980
Chimera and drow: 2900
Manticore and Minotaur: 2460
Quest XP:  2000
Per Person: 4911
XP til level: 1589
Total campaign XP per person: 14411







Ring of Quickness

Ring of Quickness


This ring is made of white gold and has wings stamped around the edge.
Property:  Once each day, the wearer of this ring can move and attack at double normal rates for 1 turn. The effect is identical to the wizard spell haste, but this effect can be produced by command, not by spellcasting.
Source:  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Rules Cyclopedia
GP Value:  750

Friday, February 8, 2013

Nebelun's Mace

Nebelun's Mace

This bronze mace was crafted by Nebelun and is usually carried by his avatar.
Property:  This is a +1 mace.
Property (Attuned): Any creature struck with this mace is stunned for for 1 round (DC 12 Dex save to avoid), and it also doubles as a wand of wonder (3 charges/day).  At level 7, this mace becomes a +2 mace (DC 13).  At level 13 it becomes +3 (DC 14).
GP Value: 1,200
Source:  Monster Mythology

Thieve's Tools

Thieves' Tools of Stealth

These magical thieves' tools are a great boon to any thief or rogue. They do not appear to be made of metal, but instead appear to be constructed of a very dark, hard substance, perhaps obsidian. While they are magical, no means of detecting magic can reveal this fact. 
Property:  The tools confer an increase in skill dice to a rogue's open locks and remove traps rolls.
Property (Attuned):  The greatest power of the tools is revealed when they are placed inside their case, and the case is touched to the user's skin. The case magically melds into the individual's body. There the tools safely remain, until the owner concentrates on bringing them to the surface. If a rogue is slain while the tools are melded with his skin, the tools reemerge.
A thief's tool set usually includes the following equipment: one set (universal lock picks, prybar, waxed cord with two hooks and six thin steel spikes. whipsaw, cutters, two small black velvet bags., black leather gloves and mask, iron grapnel with 2·foot shank and end-ring), and 30 gp.
Source: Polyhedron Newszine 82
GP Value: 750

Rogue's Key

A rogue's key, when touched to a lock, causes the outer casing of the lock to become transparent. 
Property:  This greatly aids the rogue in performing lock-picking skills, adding a +3 bonus to the chances of success.  Note that this key only works on locks; it cannot turn an entire chest transparent in order to see what's inside it. A rogue's key is usable only by a rogue character.
Source: DRAGON Magazine 200
GP Value: 500

Eviscerator

This curved stiletto is Alakabon of the Legion's favorite weapon, she calls it the eviscerator. 
Property:  +1 on attack and damage rolls. In combat, it can be used to slice the back of a man's hand, requiring a roll at -2. If the attack succeeds, cuts through the tendons, making it impossible for the creature to grasp a weapon. Eviscerator also becomes warm to the touch if a magical trap is within 5 feet.
Source:  Rogue's Gallery
GP Value: 650

Potion of Master Thievery

This potion gives the thief a temporary increase in levels if he or she has fewer than 13 levels of
experience. The number of levels gained depend on the thief's level, as shown below.
Level of Imbiber
lst-3rd
4th-6th
7th-9th
10th-12th
Levels Bestowed
5
4
3
2
Added Hit Points
5d6
4d6+l
3d6+2
2d6+3
Increase in each Skill
+5
+4
+2
+1
The thief acts as if at the experience level bestowed by the magic of the potion. Damage sustained is taken first from magically gained temporary extra hit points. So far as thieving skills are concerned, the potion affects these all equally by the increase shown. The effects of this potion last for 5d6 rounds.
Source: The Complete Thief's Handbook
GP Value: 370

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Bow of Doubling


Bow of Doubling

This magical short bow is made of red oak and with ivory inlays.
Property (Attuned):  This bow offers no bonuses on attack or damage, but it does have the unique property of being able to fire two arrows at the same time. Whenever a nonmagical arrow is fired from the bow, it automatically creates and fires a second arrow. If the first arrow hits its target, so does the second; if the first shot misses, the second arrow has normal probabilities to hit. All arrows shot from this bow, whether they hit or not, are destroyed upon impact (or as soon as it is determined that they did not hit) and cannot be recovered.

Rarity: Rare
Source:  DRAGON Magazine 99
GP Value: 800