Saturday, March 30, 2013

Session 14

Members:


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

The Adventure:

We started our adventure in the Delqafi Caverns, where the group had previously just ended a fight with the Roper Queen and her heard of ropers.  Venturing further into the caves, Lórien polymorphed his familiar into a basilisk, and sent it on ahead.

It ran into the den of a pack of Umber Hulks.  They were quickly dispatched, the final one remaining as a stone statue.

Venturing further in, they spotted a green dragon.  The fight started out rough, with the dragon's breath weapon, but the adventurers quickly overcame it.  Everyone sensed a great evil in the dragon's lair, and Callyn made it to the dark inky globe that was emitting it.  Smashing the globe, he was thrown against the wall and the magic of his bracers winked out.

Lórien then spotted a secret door.  Opening it, he found the Orb of Necromancy.  An ancient items that  holds some of the arcane secrets of a long lost art.

Callyn then felt the sudden urge to head back t Ziphanu, his god.  The group made quick time down to the Sea Temple, and made it to the bottom level just in time to see the demon they followed give the god of the air the killing blow.  

Seeing his god perish right in front of him drove Callyn insane.  When the new god of the air commanded him to kill his teammates, he had no will to ignore the command.  The fight was swift, but Lórien finished it, by turning Callyn into salt.

Returning to town, the disillusioned Marcillus chose to head off on a pilgrimage to the temple of Hantaknor.  His place was taken by Grimthain, a dwarven cleric of Rorkhad.  Solaris took the death of his comrade hard and proceeded to drown his sorrows in beer and alcohol.  He made some conversation with another wandering adventurer, a wood elf druid named Theavaera, but in his drunk state, he didn't make much of  a good impression.

Lórien messed around with Grimthain quite a bit, and they now seem to have a bit of an understanding between them.  No one is quite sure what kind of understanding, but at least they aren't at each other's throat.

Later on in the evening, a third wandering adventurer came in.  
Lórien noticed her power, and sat down for a little conversation.  Trying his spells on her, he was surprised that they had no effect.  At the same time, he felt a slight tingling sensation.  Offering her salt (a piece of the remains of Callyn), he handed over a petrified finger, possibly not realizing that she could return it to flesh with a stone to flesh spell and have a powerful item for her ritualistic magic.

Asking her to step outside, she made a short trip to the WC, where Morgoth failed to see that she replaced herself with an illusion.  Following the illusion outside, Lórien also failed to realize the original was still back in the bar.  In the mean time the mysterious stranger was able to escape out the back.

Heading out the following day, the party came across the stranger from the previous evening.  By this point, Lórien was sure that she had read his mind the previous evening.  She was accompanied by two other vaguely elf women.  Theavaera was flying above in her dire bird shape, and was the first to notice them.  

The three women, Rac, Sasha, and Tomo approached the party and moved in close.  Things quickly escalated, and they unleashed shocking grasp on everyone they could touch.  Rac quickly hit Lórien with Phantasmal Force, and conjured a crazed Callyn to torment him.  Solaris was charmed as well.  The fight was off to a very bad start, and things did not look promising for the party.  With the big damage dealers taken out, it was up to Grim and Thea to stop the entire party from dying.  Thea quickly morphed into a T-rex, and jumped into the melee.  It took a few tries before Lórien realized that the women were immune to his spells.

Lórien was able to polymorph Morgoth into a roc, and almost dropped Sasha from a height of 80 feet, but a quick hold animal spell prevented both Morgoth and Sasha from the fall.  Solaris finally broke out of his charmed state and quit doing damage to his mates, and the first Racshasa went down.
Lórien was able to concentrate enough to polymorph Morgoth again, and actually grapple and drop Sasha again.  That, combined with the continued pummeling from the T-rex, quickly ended the melee.  Lórien finally found a spell he could use and trapped the final racshasa in place with a sticky web.  The dice were not smiling on the adventurers.  There were a surprisingly high number of crappy rolls made, but also surprisingly few crits.

The session ended with 
Lórien using speak with the dead to get some answers from the racshasa corpses.

Loot:

275 gp
Large silver pearl (100 gp)
3 gold bracelets (300 gp each)

Magic Items:

Orb of Necromancy

XP Breakdown:


XP this session: 30,540
XP per person: 7,635
XP til level: 8,128
Total Campaign XP per Person: 68,872


Friday, March 29, 2013

The orb of Necromancy

This orb radiates a strong aura of magic.  It has dark inky clouds swirling inside.  The orb becomes active when picked up and studied for one hour by a magic user.
Properties
Gain speak with the dead as a ritual (as the spell of the same name from the Spells pdf p. 41)
Gain Detect Undead spell (as per spell pdf)
Gain Blight (as per spell pdf)
User has no need to eat or drink while the orb is in his possession
User is protected against attacks as if wearing +1 armor
Minor Properties: Hidden Message and Song Craft (as per the Magic Items pdf, p. 8)

This artifact compels the user to go on a holy quest. As soon as the user fulfills the quest, he or she is immediately sent on another.

Upon gaining a level, the holder of this orb can choose to meditate with it for 24 hours, and gain another piece of knowledge.  Either another piece of the song, or a deeper understanding of the hidden messages contained in the orb.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

The Ancient Scepter of the High King


The Ancient Scepter of High King Komin Madin. He was one of the last of the tough humans. With his death, the humans went into their cosmic slump. The scepter symbolizes leadership. If the dwarves have this they will use it to show how they are to be the ones to rule over all.

Monday, March 25, 2013

The Pleased Eye of Iban

They eye and I are one

Requirement: Concordance of 16
Property: The eye is now intense, making all diplomacy rolls taken at a disadvantage.
Property: Gain the Death knell spell

Death Knell

5th-level necromancy
You draw forth the life force of a badly wounded creature and use it to fuel your own power.
Requirement: Pleased eye of Iban.
Casting Time: 1 action.
Effect: You touch a creature with -1 hit points or lower.  You gain 1d8 temporary hit points, +1 AC, and your spell DC goes up by 1.
Duration: 10 minutes per HD of the target.

The holy Scarab of Dablak


This device appears to be any magical scarab. It was held by the Taldor for ages, in the hopes that it would aid them in their fight against the dwarves.  It gives off a faint magical aura, however, and if it is held for one round, an inscription appears on its surface letting the holder know it is a protective device.
Property:  The owner gains a + 2 bonus to all saving throws vs. spell. If no save is normally possible, this scarab allows a one in 20 chance of saving, adjusted by any other magical protections that normally give  bonuses to saving throws. Thus, this device allows a saving throw vs. spell at base 20 against magic missile attacks, for example. If the target also has a +4 bonus for magical armor and a +1 bonus for a ring of protection, any roll of 15 or better would indicate that the missiles did no damage.
Property (Attuned): The scarab can also absorb up to 8 level-draining attacks (two level drains count as two absorptions), death touches, death rays,or fingers of death. However, after absorbing 12 such attacks the scarab turns to powder-totally useless.
Special:  This brooch is one of the Lost Relics of Tarq.

Golden Bowl of the Gods


Golden bowl
The Golden Bowl of the Gods. The bowl belonged to Gorgo, the fattest dwarf that ever lived. He always ate from it and took it with him wherever he went. It is said that the owner of the bowl will never grow hungry. It is a symbol that a good chief will never let his clan go hungry.
Property: You summon one plate or bowl of food. There is enough food in the plate or bowl to provide nourishment as if it were a normal meal for a Medium creature. You must specify what type of food you summon with this spell. 

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Session 13

Members:


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

The Adventure

Starting off in Hikar, the party headed south to Phoroshi, on their way to search for Pran.  They came across a spooked horse with claw marks on its saddle and flanks.  Following the road down in the direction the horse was running from, they came across a flock of rocs eating two dead soldiers and another horse.

Having avoided a confrontation the first time they saw a group of rocs, they decided that they needed to be stopped if they were eating dwarves, and a fight ensued.  Callyn was killed in the melee, but revived by Marcillus.

In the Rusty Nail in Tarq, the party came across an old dwarf named Korchar.  Callyn struck up a conversation, and learned many details about the Delqafi Caverns.  The big points being that the magic bowl they are searching for and Mukora, the magic axe are rumored to be somewhere in the caverns.

At that point, Callyn drank more than he could handle and started changing the colors of patron's shirts, then moved on to changing the colors of everything that came across his mind.  Just before passing out, he fumbled his restore spell, and enjoyed the hangover the next day.

Solaris tried unsuccessfully to sell his dragon scale armor to the weapons shop in town, but the owner was not interested.  He had his sights on the spoils of killing the dragon that many people seem to be talking about.

Having concluded their business in Phoroshi, they headed south to Tulara.  Searching for rumors, they learned the location of Pran's camp and headed that way to try and learn the secret word to gain access to the Delqafi Caverns.  Pran was initially reluctant to give it up, but he relented in the end after a few drinks.

Heading northwest from Tulara, the party came across a pair of fire giants.  Callyn played soccer with them.  Well, not really with them, they were the ball.  They went down and the party continued on their way.

Finding the entrance to Delqafi and gaining access, 
Lórien sent Morgoth ahead to scout out the passages.  He noticed some rock formations and the party was prepared for ropers.  The came across the roper lair and met the roper queen.  Having grown up in close proximity, these ropers were a bit tougher then they were in previous encounters.  Morgoth a boost through polymorphing into Hamatula, and after the first few ropers fell, it was quickly over.  Callyn still didn't learn that he needed to get out of being grappled, and the roper took a nice bite out of his head.

Loot


1 Brass mug with jade inlays (350 gp)
1 tortoise pendant with a gold chain (1100 gp)
1 Fire opal (1000 gp)

Magic Items

Potion of healing (poison, but you don't know that)
Bracers of defense
Potion of dimunition
750 gp worth of residium

XP


XP this session: 51,640
XP per person: 12,910
XP til level: 15,763
Total Campaign XP per Person: 61,237

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Mukora

In the dark temple, you came across the resting place of the ancient axe Mukora.  It has fallen into the hands of Hamatula.  He is gaining power and becoming a bigger threat.  The race to aquire the Galaqian artifacts has begun.

Mukora

This magic axe was created by Palelil the Taldor god so that Grefrin, the first born of the Taldor race could smite the creation of Dalkhad. With unearthly strength and magical fire the axe was forged from the metal in a fallen star, with a shaft of petrified oak. Once created it was given to Grefrin and Palelil quested him to destroy the beautiful creation of Rhorkhad. Rhorkhad saw the acts of the jealous god and made Khamalkhad for Dalkhad. The two battled and Dal won but before anything else could happen, Palelil killed Dalkhad and took Mukora from the dwarves.
Property:  +1 to attack and damage
Requirement:  Must be a Taldor to become attuned to the weapon.
Property (Attuned): +2 to attack and damage against dwarves.  The wielder has a 50% chance of going into a rage (per Barbarian Rage Class Feature)

Friday, March 8, 2013

Quest Treasure

The warring dwarven chiefs are seeking out ancient treasures that will help them become the most powerful dwarves in the land.  Torongo in Haraza and Rakan in Kafari are the chiefs of the Tamar and Morin tribes respectively. 

In ages past these treasures were lost to marauding tribes and monster hordes.  They are now scattered throughout the land.  Both chiefs offered a reward for the items.

They treasures they are looking for are: a magic scarab, a brooch, a mitre, a sceptre, a golden bowl, an orb, a crown, a whistle, and the magical death mask of Rohrkhad.  Researching these items at the loremaster gave you the following information about the true names of the items:


  • Magic scarab:  The holy Scarab of Dablak
  • Brooch:  The Brooch of Aquilla
  • Mitre:  The High Mitre
  • Sceptre:  The Ancient Scepter of High King Komin Madin
  • Golden bowl:  The Golden Bowl of the Gods
  • Orb:  The Rinwen Orb
  • Crown:  The Iron Crown
  • Whistle:  The ceremonial whistle
  • The magical death mask of Rohrkhad:  Thro-Shikhad
Which chief will you back?  There is a rumor that Rakan has increased his offer by five chickens.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Zlntrlkopfr, god of the Tlengle


Say it now and say it loud, I'm a Big Red Lizard and I'm proud! That's what we're taught by Zlntrlkopfr, our deity. He told me, personally, mind you, that as long as I am proud of my heritage, I can be a failure and still demand respect from others.

As Tarq was formed, Zlntrlkopfr, the Lizard God, saw that he was without representation among the races of the land. He created the Tlengle, in his own image and gave to them the islands of Balat and Noromi to dwell upon.

The mighty sword of Zlmnrdra he forged and gave to the Tlengle, that they could righteously defend themselves against the denizens of the wild. Great skill in tailoring and weaving he also gave his children, that they might celebrate their existence with bright and festive garb. Great lovers of lore, poetry and humor they were, despite their large, fearsome appearance. They dwelt on the cliffs of their islands, delving into the face of the rock to create their habitat. Lacking a good source of wood, the Tlengle became ingenious at using plants and fibers to substitute in its place.

Zlntrlkopfr is a giant red lizard. His children, the Tlengle, are also red lizards.

There is a temple to Zlntrlkopfr in Noriin.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Session 12


Members:

Solaris - Human Ranger
Lórien - Elf Wizard
Callyn - Human Monk
Marcillus - Human Cleric
Killborn - Dwarf Fighter

The Adventure

Our adventurers found themselves in Fisher's Tavern, the local watering hole in the town of Hikar.  First thing in the morning, they headed out to the Dark Temple, to finish what they began the previous day.

On arriving, they found that not much had changed.  There were burn marks and the door that the Ettins had barred the previous day was still shut.  Entering the door, the ettins attacked.  The sheer numbers initially gave the party a hard time, but Stinking clouds and walls of flame kept them at bay, and the battle was won.

Killborn's axe did not help him in this battle.  Callyn, Solaris, Lórien, and even Marcillus' damage quickly outpaced him.  The curse of Kilborn is still much active.  

Heading further into the Dark Temple, the party came across a dinner table with wine glasses and partially filled wine bottles.  They later found out that it was not wine in the bottles, but blood.

Kilborn stood back as the rest of the party snuck down the hall, but they were not stealthy. As they approached the door at the end of the hallway, a vampire opened it, and combat commenced.  The vampires summoned all manner of creature.  Wild wolves, and huge rats.  Marcillus was dominated and actually did some damage to his ally.  His strong will soon overcame the domination though, and Callyn bared no ill will.

Killborn gained a new title during this encounter.  He is now referred to as 'Rat Slayer'.  Solaris actually managed to do more damage to himself than the vampires did.  This fight also started out hard for the party, but a well timed fireball helped turn the tide.  After the last vampire was dispersed, Callyn proceeded to destroy the coffins that weren't burned in the fireball.

Following the cave further in, Callyn spotted a group of ropers.  Remembering his near death at the hands of a roper from a previous adventure, he warned the party.  Kilborn screamed, "Chaerge!" and ran in to attack.  His blade rung true this time.  Lórien polymorphed his quasit into a devil.

Both Marillus and Solaris had more trouble though.  Their powers failed at a critical moment in combat, and they lost their senses for a bit.  The ropers posed much less of a challenge this time.  After the fight, the party began to receive more telepathic message.  Someone was angry that they had killed the vampire coven.

Having come to a dead end, the party headed back to the beginning of the cave to venture down a different path.  Callyn discovered a secret door that had been previously overlooked.  Lórien got a sense of satisfaction from Iban.  Iban wanted the sender of those telepathic messages dead.

Callyn heard a sound he had heard before, and recognized it as a devilish summoning ritual.  The party's speed did not prevent Gelugon, the Ice Devil from summoning another ice devil.  The party quickly realized that they were immune to both cold and fire damage.  The summoned devil quickly dropped, and the focus was on Gelugon.

The most powerful foe the party has faced to date dropped as well.  Venturing further into the temple, the party came across a dead end with a sinister vapory cloud.  They quickly found the secret door and stumbled upon Palelil, the evil Taldor god.

There was discussion of how to destroy him and make sure no one could ever find their way back to waken him.  Marcillus was able to divine the word to awaken Palelil.  Speaking, 'Pel', the god woke.  His first words were, "What doesn't kill you disappoints me!".  He was bound by the covenants to give a benefit to whose who sought him, but what benefit was not set in stone.  He gave everyone in the party 1 hit point.  Lórien put an arcane lock on the door.  It is a pity he used up the spell scroll before getting the opportunity to transfer it to his spell book.

Heading out of the god's chamber, the party found a room.  Lórien realized that the room had previously held an item of great power.  Mukora, the axe that Palelil created for the first Taldor.  It would have taken a being of great power to even get to that room.  It is a question.  Did Gelugon get subjugated into giving out his most prized possession?  Was he in an alliance with someone?  Or, was he subjugated into giving up the axe?

In either case, the outcome is the same.  Someone is now carrying an axe that has the potential to do great harm to the dwarves of the land.

Heading out, the last unexplored room contained a torture chamber.  This disgusted Callyn past the point of no return.  He burned every burnable thing in the temple.  Payback for the damage done to Hantaknor's church.

Leaving the temple, the party headed for town.  On the road, they encountered a lone taldor.  The initial thoughts were to kill it.  Callyn approached and started a dialog.  The taldor's name is Layel.  She is a renegade, one of her race that is not a mindless slaughtering barbarian.  Callyn invited her to join them in Hicar and bought her a few mugs of beer in Fisher's Tavern.  She lamented about the curse of the Taldor, their love of alcohol.  Fairly quickly, she passed out.

Callyn slept outside her door to protect her.  The following morning, she declined to join the party, but did accept a few bottles of wine, the first she drank outright.  Taking a sip from the second, she winked at Callyn and headed out to resume her life as the wandering Taldor.

Current Unresolved Hooks:

  • Search for Pran, another Taldor who might have information on how to get into the Delqafi Caverns, the ancestral home of the Taldor.
  • Marcillus still needs to visit the Temple of Hantaknor to establish a relationship with Hantaknor.
  • Follow up on the dragon sighting to the west.
  • Search for the remaining items that the two warring chieftains are looking for.
  • Search out the resting places of the remaining gods to gain their gifts.

Loot

465 gp
1 diamond (worth 500gp)
8 Bloodstone gems (50gp each)
5 Amber gems (100 gp each)

Magic Items

Black Dragon Scale of Resistance Armor
Pearl of Power
Gauntlets of Ogre Power
Potion of Water Breathing
Scroll of Arcane Lock * (used before it could be transferred to a spell book though)

XP

XP this session: 48,450
XP per person: 9,690
XP til level: 7,673
Total Campaign XP per Person: 48,327