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Lorrin
Unregistered User
(5/8/02 4:25 am)
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Players Campaign Log (Long)
Okies, bit too busy to post the DM version of events, but one of my players has kindly agreed to me posting his campaign journal. Hope its a good read, and if anyone has any questions/comments feel free to ask.
The party:
Muratis - Level 5 Necromancer (his journal) Hu male
Rae - Level 6 Fighter HE female
Tangrel - Level 6 Cleric Hu Male (Wee Jas)
Snub - Lv 2 Fighter/3 Rogue/1 Assassin Hu Male
Owliver - Level 4 corpse (now playing Tangrael)
The journal (looks really good when printed in Coronet font):
The Diary of Muratis Smithson
Earthday 6th Readying 501
We arrived in the town of Homlet this evening, pursuing the hints that there may be another nest of the vermin that plague Brindinford here. The town itself is scarcely more than a village with a single inn, which made choosing where to stay somewhat easier. The town itself is not walled and has a far more relaxed attitude towards weapons than Brindinford had. No watchman challenged us as we arrived and weapons are worn openly.
On our way to the inn, made easier by the fact that Rae’s servant preceded us, I noted three temples providing the town with guidance of priests of Ehlonna, Pelor and St Cuthbert.
The inn is named ‘The Welcome Wench’, something of a misnomer if the staff are anything to go by. It is in a moderate state but the rooms and food are expensive. I would be surprised if, as a group, we stay here long. It is run by a woman named Vesta and apparently owned by a man named Ostler. The barkeep is a woman with dark hair and pale skin who answers to the name of Meridson or something similar.
The evening was spent trying to get a feel for the town and inhabitants, an activity that the rest of the group felt was best accomplished in the taproom of the inn. On the whole a welcome decision as it led to a relaxed evening, an uncommon occurrence with the level of drive Tangrel displays. At least a spot near the fire, a good wine and conversation helped ward off the chills that I have felt since I returned to life.
A local Elven bard provided a form of entertainment, mainly by being the focus of heckling from locals and travellers alike. Rae joined in with a notable level of hostility in her speech. Interesting.
We drew some attention from locals and from a group of armed men in the taproom. The serving wench was good enough to inform me that they were local militia led, in this case, by one Captain Elmo, a man in whom the serving wench appears to be most interested. She also provided the name of the bard, a Redithidor Halfmoon, and gave us a little information about the governance of the town. Two men run the town, A mage by the man of Rufus and a warrior by the name of Bern, commander of the mercenary company Bern’s Badgers. Tangrel appears to feel the need to introduce himself though I doubt they would be that interested in us, indeed by accounts they appear to allow the town to run itself.
Just prior to retiring for the evening a drunkard burst into the inn and collapsed. The man, who goes by the name of Zoad, is known as a bit of a boor, a drunkard and a competent fighter.
Freeday 8th Readying 501
A pleasant and unbroken night’s sleep. That was a welcome first for a night in a new town. Perhaps this bodes well for our time here.
Tangel was chaffing at the cost of living in the inn over breakfast and set out to hire a house for our use while we are here. With the numbers that our group now consists of it would need to be a goodly sized building.
Tangels servant, Carceron, whilst odd looking and apparently bereft of charm, is useful for digging out information. He supplied us with the name of a local sage with whom we can enquire about the Moat house we seek. The sage was a man called Toderick Nem, ‘Todd’ once he is being paid. He says that he studies history, geography, nature and arcana and appeared knowledgeable. We retained his services to provide us with any information about the Moat house that he could. He was able to tell us of its location, a mere 12 miles east of Homlet, and told us that it was destroyed nine years ago having been a fortress that harboured something evil.
During the afternoon I paid a visit to a local scrollmaker. Zirosh Noubrek owns a shop within the town selling arcane scrolls. He had a fair number in stock and is willing to make and sell others. It is worth noting that he is able to provide scrolls containing spells of; magic weapon, levitation, mirror image, fireball, water breathing, displacement, expeditions retreat, knock, minor image and resist elements. A useful resource for expanding the selection of spells I have available, though at significant cost. A scroll of mirror image cost 150 gold crowns and the materials to add this spell to my grimoire will cost me as much again. Still the addition of the Knock spell to my repertoire would compensate for our scouts inability to open a door without resorting to axe work.
Tangel managed to persuade a resident of the town, a Gnomish gentleman, to move out of his home and rent it to us for a mere 20 pieces of gold a month. We moved in today and slept there, planning to leave the town before dawn to go and take a look at this Moat house. In theory this is simply a scouting trip.
Starday 8th Readying 501
We set out in the chill greyness before dawn. In honesty this about matched my mood. Renting a house has advantages in cost alone and though my companions’ servants are numerous they seem to have little skill in cooking. At some point I must hire someone who has figured out that bacon should be crispy and eggs runny rather than the other way around.
Sunrise was a joyless affair marked only by a lightening of the shade of grey above us.
We encountered a hunter, whose speech and mind were less than coherent as he talked to us. Some of his ramblings warned us of something big and nasty at the Moat House. In hindsight it might have been well to question him further but instead we pressed on.
The Moat House was sighted by Snub as we crested a rise a little before noon. Rested the horses, ate and Spirit flew round the ruin to give me an idea of its layout. Snub was then volunteered to scout out the ruin, his courage being bolstered by a spell of invisibility. He went, he returned, he borrowed Rae’s climbing slippers and went again. He did let us know that there was a large brown smear in the courtyard that the fatalists in the group all decided was blood, myself included. About twenty minutes later we heard the scream that informed us that Snub had indeed found something and after brief discussion we decided, against all sense to try to retrieve his corpse.
We entered the courtyard openly, as our attempts at stealth typically result in laughter from our foes. The Moat House was in a sorry state. Collapsed towers and walls and burned remnants of roofs. The main building at the top of a short flight of stairs seemed to be the closest to intact. We spread out and advanced.
I think I must add electrocution to my list of things to avoid. The blast of lightning that emanated from the open doorway at the top of the stairs all but returned me to the grave. Rae and Tangrel leapt to the attack and a few moments later succeeded in flushing a damn dragon into the courtyard. That is, of course, the courtyard where I was still quietly smouldering. In the state I was in I was forced to flee. I wish I could say it was with reluctance. A potion purchased in Brindinford proved to possess all the potency of second hand dishwater leaving me feeling little better. Judicious use of a rope trick permitted provided a safe haven to recuperate before rejoining the fight and eventually we managed to hurt the Dragon enough to force it to leave. It left, we escaped.
A few notes on the behaviour of the Dragon (after speaking with the rest of the group).
The Dragon was what I believe to be a small specimen, little larger than a man, and blue in colour. It fought using teeth, claws and its wings when close to us but appeared to favour using its breath. This took the form of a bolt of lightning that struck with a force that seemed disproportionate to its size. After its initial attack it showed a desire to get into the open rather than fight in the confines of the building, and once out it made great use of its ability to fly. One interesting point is its apparently intentional use of its wings to stir up the dust and dirt on the ground to give it cover and blind Tangel who was fighting with it at the time. This cloud of debris in no way appeared to hinder it. Unsurprisingly the dragon appeared immune to the lightning generated by Rae’s flail.
It turns out the Snub had been left alive, though unconscious. Oh well, every silver lining…
Within the Dragons ‘lair’ there were two bodies, both sporting the symbols of the group with whom we fought in Brindinford. It would seem that they are not allied with the Dragon.
As I write this we have retreated to the rope trick I cast during the fight where we intend to stay until I regain my spells and to watch for activity from the other inhabitants of the complex. Tangel accepted the idea of resting rather than pressing on with uncharacteristic grace. Perhaps I have misjudged him. My compatriots seem to feel the need to fill this quiet time between forays into the strongholds of our enemies with heated conversation. I assume this fulfils the same role for them as my journal does for me. They discuss their motivations for being here, they wind one another up almost to the point of violence and they play on each other’s quirks of character. I can only assume they find this relaxing. Half the time I wonder how long it will be before Rae and Snub attempt to kill one another. Rae does appear to have a talent for winding the boy up with twisted words and convoluted questions. Even now she is suggesting that he may become an agent of the Enemy, I think for no other reason than to illicit a hasty response from Snub. I would swear she takes pleasure from watching him verbally dig himself deeper into the mire.
Sunday 9th Readying 501
The scouting from the rope trick worked to a degree. Snub was able to observe a hyena headed humanoid creature that we later found out was a creature called a Gnoll. We waited until the rope trick ran out and Snub, again bolstered by invisibility moved into the compound with the intent to cause a diversion. The sight of flames provided us with a cue and we advanced across the courtyard and of course were seen immediately. I had not, until that moment thought that the stone of darkness was of any serious use but pulling it out at that point made the job of the archers facing us impossible. We reached the steps, hid the stone and engaged the Gnolls in a brief, one sided, combat. It is worth noting that with the one sided nature of the combat I was able to take the time to use attempt a vampiric touch. An interesting spell effect that in this case drained sufficient life from the target to hurt it and provided me with sufficient energy to avoid the damage from the next hit I took.
The ruins turned out to contain threats more exotic that the Gnoll warriors. Our scouts disturbed the rest of a puddle of clear slime like substance that proved to be both mobile and aggressive. They fought a retreat to the main room whereupon Snub landed a killing blow with his treasured axe. It promptly dissolved.
A note about what I chose to call a ‘Grey Oozer’ (from the observations of the distraught Snub)
This creature seems adept at remaining hidden, appearing to be nothing more than a pool of water until it moves. It forms a ‘tentacle’ out of its own body in order to strike at it’s victims that, given the nature of it’s body, suggests that would be able to pass through small openings and under doors. Its body appears to be terrifically acidic, dissolving a magical great-axe in mere seconds. I would hate to think what would happen to someone caught by such a thing, or who was so unfortunate to step on it mistaking it for a puddle. Its lack of any discernible structure within its body caused Snub some discomfort as he lacked any real target for a ‘precise’ attack.
With the difficulties that ‘creatures’ such as this cause, primarily though ignorance in dealing with them, it would suggest that further study would provide a significant advantage and would be a worthwhile use of time.
We ventured down beneath the ruins into the rooms below. Other Gnolls were met and dispatched with some ease. Within a room, apparently hiding we found a man hiding. He said he was Spugnor, a mage from Homlet and the owner of the potion shop. He said he had fought with the dragon and fled down here and hid. Tangrel was immediately suspicious as, admittedly, was I. How did he manage to avoid the Gnolls? How did he survive the dragon if the most powerful spell he used against it was, as he said, sleep? Tangrel took a very aggressive attitude towards him. There was no benefit of the doubt given but instead immediate talk of killing him or, if we kept him alive, of ransoming him! It was a difficult situation as there was nothing to verify his story and to have a mage that could have been working with the opposition walking around behind us would have been suicidal. At least he had the sense to discuss this out of earshot, which is more diplomatic than Owliver was. I wonder if this attitude comes from this society they both are or were a part of. In the end Tangrel insisted that he hand over his pack, wand and spell components and accompany us, staying close to me. Spugnor did provide us with a map of the areas he had explored, saying that he did so on previous trips, and with the information that there was a secret exit to the Moat house that came out some six hundred yards away but was guarded by a fearsome beast. Hard to decide whether this man is friend or foe.
Today definitely turned out not to be Snubs day. First a dissolved axe, then as he steps round a corner he walks straight into the arms of a Ghast. I have read a little about these creatures but had not seen one before this. It bit Snub almost as a reflex and I saw Snub’s muscles lock rigid. With Rae and Tangrel choking on the stench they engaged it and it proved surprisingly tough, though in no way was a match. A few Ghouls were nearby and were also quickly dispatched. Interestingly Tangrel attempted to control the Ghouls, forcing them to cower from him, an act that explains a little of his power and perhaps his attitudes.
Of Ghasts and Ghouls
It was interesting to see these creatures in the flesh having read about them and discussed them with my ex master Landril. The Ghasts stench seemed every bit as powerful as the accounts I had read and Snub could testify as to the effectiveness of its paralysing touch. In the end it was fully ten minutes before he could move again and a similar amount of time before Rae stopped choking and retching. The Ghast took a surprising amount of punishment before it was crushed, the ghouls notably less so. The actual damage inflicted by their bites and claws seemed small however the paralysis makes them worthy of fear. I had heard that the bone of this creature could be used as a spell component. Needless to say a supply was gathered.
During the fight Spugnor offered to assist, an indication that removal of his spell components does not render him totally ineffective form comments made I suspect he can cast magic missile and is more practised than I).
Exploring the complex further we encountered a Priestess sporting the symbol of those we hunt guarded by 2 Gnolls. Snub leapt in to strike a Gnoll and found the rest of our opponents to be a crowd of skeletons in an adjacent room. I wonder what the correct collective noun for skeletons would be? Rack perhaps? Or splinter? We fought. They lost. Tangrel again demonstrated the power to control undead, forcing four of those facing us to turn on the Gnolls, useful but vaguely unsettling. The priestess opened a hidden exit and would have escaped but for judicious use of a web spell. I cannot help feeling a little sorry for her. Trapped by the webs, her own creatures fighting their way towards her, every spell she cast disrupted. A bad way to go.
The webs took a minute or two to burn through leaving the corridor clear. Once again we fell victim to ambush, rather unsurprisingly after the amount of warning given by the Cleric. At a shout of command a portcullis crashed down splitting Snub and Tangrel from the rest of our merry band. Another word of command and the skeletons halted their advance and ceased to follow Tangrels orders. Bit of a double-edged sword there. The ambushing group, consisting of Gnolls and yet another priest, fought a little with Tangrel and Snub and retreated. After a short time and with the portcullis still down Tangrel and Snub pursued. Such a simple trap yet very effective. Had our opponents pressed their advantage rather than retreating so far into the complex they may well have been able to kill Tangrel and Snub. We eventually moved the obstacle and regrouped and in fairly short order met another ambush, though this time we were luckier and, in part at least, managed to get the better of them.
Snub seems to be gripped by indecision whenever he comes under pressure. Even when he and I were able to act before the Gnolls could figure out what was attacking he took the time to fumble with his weapons and side-stepped into the dark to see what everyone else was going to do.
The fight was hard and bloody. Gnolls, priests and a ghast fought us, the ghast gaining surprise as not one of our charging warriors took a second to glance down a side passage as they passed it. I found this fight deeply frustrating as the warriors were in amongst the Gnolls so fast that I could not use area spells to clear them quickly and the appearance of a ghast behind them forced me to deal with it to the exclusion of all else. Snub fought in his usual style, jumping in and out but in the end, though he had to think hard about it he did provide me with cover. The Ghast took the last couple of charges from the wand of missiles. We will miss that in future I think. The only satisfying part of the fight was the chance to effectively use a spell to dispel magic. A thick fog provided but a momentary hindrance to us instead of a serious danger as when the magic dissolved it Rae found she was standing at the edge of a deep pit.
A worthy note here. The pit seems to be the reason for the presence of the priest here. There was evidence of mining tools and clearly someone had been going into the pit. A huge cover stone had been lifted from it. I suspect the items found on the sheet with the female cleric are from down there. One of the priests was carrying a journal. All things considered it is probably the best clue as to the location of other nests of these people we have yet.
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Aluvial
Registered User
(5/8/02 6:30 am)
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Re: Players Campaign Log (Long)
A really nice read. I'd kill to have a player who put a tenth of the effort this guy did. You should feel lucky.
Aluvial
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madfox
Registered User
(5/8/02 6:37 am)
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Re: Players Campaign Log (Long)
Yep, nice read which is apparently written by a lawful analytical character. Could you please though add more alineas in the text when posting it? It makes it somewhat easier to read.
Aluvial, the usefulness of such a report to players is rather limited when it is written with so much detail. It is too long to read aloud to the group just before playing start. Of course, for us DMs this is a more interesting read 
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Lorrin
Unregistered User
(5/8/02 6:42 am)
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Players Campaign Log (Long)
Glad you like..Long first post due to the collection of about 3-4 sessions. I will post each session in turn now, just to make it an easier read.
I'll pass the comments on.
(P.S The character writing this is heading for the loremaster prestige class so its interesting to see the analytical and learning process he's going through. [as well as allowing me to see how hard i need to hit them with the clue bat.])
-Lorrin
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Psiforce
Unregistered User
(5/8/02 6:54 am)
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very nice
I'm a DM too, but I never write stuff down. In the parties I play in I am kinda like the ultimate database. I remember every detail of sessions gone past (and I play ALOT). It is of great help as a DM cause U remember something a party member said a while ago and can act on it right there and then. Fellow DM's; Train that memory!
As for the story; LOVING IT. It really reflects the cold and analytical spirit of a necromancer. One would almost think he is a Vulcan
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Lorrin
A visitor
(5/22/02 3:44 am)
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Campaign Log (cont)
Tangrel took time to pray to Wee-Jas and bolstered Rae’s combat abilities before we continued. He clearly prefers Rae’s company to that of Snub and will always heal and improve Rae’s combat power before even looking to see if Snub is hurt.
We continued and discovered a blocked off passage. The stone blocking the passage was clearly not part of the original structure and Tangrel caused the stone to flow away revealing a passage and doorway behind. Another door, this one ajar lead from the passage behind whilst the passage itself continued straight until it narrowed and started to rise. This may possibly be the secret exit Spugnor mentioned. If I had thought of that at the time we may have been more cautious, given the dire warnings of, ‘something terrible’ being there. Again we had noted that someone had sealed the area off with a wall of stone without giving sufficient weight to the likelihood that that was there for an important reason.
We took the door and approached a room, Snub scouting valiantly. He peered round a corner, said something about a turkey and leapt into attack. I assume he thought a turkey was a well-matched opponent for him. A moment later we here the shout that he was fighting two turkeys. In the event that the tale of this battle ever gets out I suspect that this will be considered one of the all time greatest understatements ever uttered. It must be right up there with his ‘What happened to the big lizard?’ when he regained consciousness after being beaten to pulp by a dragon.
Rae and Tangrel went to assist and I walked to the corner with Spugnor. Spugnors reaction was impressive. A stream of magic missiles leapt from his hand as he saw the ‘turkeys’. Four missiles. More than I can manage though not by much. I had to assume from the reaction that these are not the sort of bird to adorn the Needfest table. The batwings and lizards tail were another subtle clue. We killed them both, but not before one bit Rae. We got to watch her flesh petrify there and then. One minute a living breathing warrior, the next a statue that you would not want to see in a darkened room.
We noticed the petrified rat after the fight. Oops.
There was one additional ‘turkey’, identified as a Cockatrice by Spugnor. It stood little chance against Tangrel and Snub.
The rest of the group, aside from Rae of course, has modified their attitude towards Spugnor. A great relief as I could see a destructive argument ensuing should Tangrel try to follow up his ideas about ransoms. It would, I feel, have split the party, or at least split me from it. I have no desire to alienate a source of knowledge, or of finding myself branded outlaw as I think Tangrel may have been, and may yet be.
Spugnor is very secretive about his spells. He did however reveal that he does have knowledge of darkvision. This would be well worth trying to acquire from him, either as a swap, or a scroll. At least it would allow our valiant scout to venture out in front of the party without him having to carry a torch.
We moved Rae to the junction and explored a little more of the complex. Tangrel bound a group of ghouls to his will, questioned them, and then destroyed them. Again it was chilling to watch, though I cannot deny the possibilities opened up by such ability.
With Rae unable to function as anything other than cover we elected to return to Hommlet after finishing off a couple of small tasks. We replaced the coverstone over the pit (for no other reason that to irritate our foes should they return whilst we were away. I took a little time to become familiar with the room so I could look at it later from Hommlet.
On our departure from the Moathouse Spugnor left in some haste, saying something about needing to see his daughter who would be worried about him. I feel that his haste was more to do with the party’s attitudes to him. At least he said he would welcome my custom in future.
Our trip back to Hommlet was not without event, though the threats this time were from within the group. Tangrel decided to take offence to something Snub said. Frankly I think it was more of an excuse than a real cause and Tangrels reaction went far beyond what was called for. At one point, with Tangrel advancing on Snub with weapon drawn I thought there would be bloodshed. It was interesting to see though that Tangrel could not strike the first blow. He did all he could to goad Snub into attacking him, even attempting to unhorse him. I must admit Snub’s self control was admirable. Tangrel’s attitude despicable.
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Lorrin
A visitor
(5/22/02 3:45 am)
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Campaign Log Cont
Moonday 10th Readying 501
I awoke early this morning and left before anyone other than Rae’s servant was stirring. Breakfast at the Welcome Wench was better than at the house if only for the food. Once the village came to life I visited Zirosh at his shop. He seemed most keen when I suggested exchanging a few spells and the rest of the day was spent in study and conversation. Since we both feel that we got something worthwhile from the exchange the day turned out to be most pleasant and provided an insight into the life of a less adventurous mage. He did mention that a place called the ‘Old Trading Post’ would be worth a visit if I were in need of some of the more valuable spell components that I use. Whilst at the shop a boy arrived bearing a message for me. He left in some haste, before I had the chance to ask how he located me. The message was from Snub, apparently penned with considerable care, or at least time. He has decided to leave the group, somewhat unsurprisingly give the animosity show towards him by Tangrel. Whilst not the nicest of companions I think his skill will be missed, perhaps by Tangrel who will I think be on the receiving end of those traps and ambushes that Snub would have located for us.
On returning to the house I found two new faces there, introduces to me as Ichebard and Bane by Tangrel. He says they were sent by this society he is part of and he appears to trust them. Bane appears strong and makes no attempt to hide his profession, the muscles, armour, greatsword and way he uses his finger to read are all hints as subtle as any Rae would give. Ichebard is more unusual. Aside from the appearance of a half elf savaged by a blind tailor he appears most unsuited to a life that involves conflict as often as ours. Still he volunteered to check a scroll to see what the contents were. A mage perhaps.
It appears that they were waiting for me to return to deal with a strongbox found at the Moathouse that Carceron was convinced was trapped using the magic arts. He was correct. There was little inside.
Of more interest was the journal we brought back. It appeared to belong to the female priest and told of the organisation there. The lizard like priest was in charge. More interesting was the news that someone called Festrath was spending most of his time in the pit with a ‘creature’. I wonder how inconvenienced he will be by the covers tone and depth of water covering it. Within it were references to supplies from Hommlet, moved to the Moathouse buy a man referred to as ‘Chet’
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Lorrin
A visitor
(5/22/02 3:47 am)
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Campaign Log (Cont.)
Godsday 11th Readying 501
We visited the sage Tod today. He provided us with a little historical background to what is happening. The original troubles 25 years ago during which the Moathouse came to be, and its resurgence 9 years ago when adventurers went in to destroy it. It appears that they were not quite thorough enough.
The rest of my day was spent identifying some of the equipment we brought back from the Moathouse. Amongst the haul was an object referred to as a ‘bead of force’. I must remember to step back the next time a member of our group starts trying to juggle with items we have not had chance to study.
The other items of interest were the torch, which appears to aid in the location of specific items, and the black scroll case that contained a scroll detailing a ritual to bring a great evil into the world. Joy. It would be worth keeping an eye out for references to The black Cyst.
The Canoness Yidley succeeded in returning Rae to her normal self, bringing us back up to a full compliment of people who can shout charge.
Tangrel was put out with the Canoness’ lackey, an elderly man who I am told dotes on her. Tangrel took exception to his casting a spell to see if Rae was evil after she was returned to flesh, and using the spell to look at the members of the group who were present.
Carceron was busy today as well. He found that this ‘Chet’ person resides at the mill in Hommlet. We will, I think be paying them a visit.
Before retiring I took a few minutes to use Clairvoyance to check whether anyone was using the room with the pit in the Moathouse. Nothing had been disturbed since we left.
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Lorrin
A visitor
(5/22/02 3:48 am)
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Campaign Log (cont)
Watersday 12th Readying 501
We investigated the mill last night, motivated by Tangrel’s desire to do everything as rapidly as possible. With no Snub I decided to try to use magic to scout for us. I moved close enough to the mill to cast detect thought and get a feel for how many people were in the mill and where they were located. Once done I retreated to a safer distance a used my new skills to look within the cellar (where the minds had been). I was then able to relay the number of people in the room, their appearance and the like to the rest of the group. I then took the time to listen in on their conversation, hearing that they were waiting for something, had not heard from the Moathouse in a while and were going to wait until this thing, or person, arrived then head to the Temple. I also heard that they knew of us and were leaving it up to Chet to deal with us.
At that point one of those present detected my snooping and they revealed that at least two of them were spellcasters. I heard and identified five spells go off in quick succession, and having heard this large scale use of magic occur, we went back to the house to allow those spells to expire.
On the whole the use of Clairvoyance as a substitute for scouting has a few advantages and several significant disadvantages, not least of which are the time needed to use and the limited area that can be looked upon.
A few hours later we returned to the Mill.
The door to the mill glowed with magic, as did a small object sat in a tree. A moments thought and Tangrel pressed on, kicking the door in and rushing in along with Rae. I decided the object in the tree could be a familiar and, feeling a little callous, shot it out of the tree with a spell. The Mill itself was dark and full of floating flour. Fortunately Tangrel shouted a warning about not using flames in there, a thought that had not occurred to me. As I entered I spotted a figure hiding by Tangrel and shouted a warning, by which time Rae and Bane had already vanished down the stairs.
Then as usual we were ambushed. Carceron, following the normal routine of staying at out rear suddenly shouted in pain and hurled himself past me, blood gushing from his back. Before I could react I felt the sharp sting of a dagger and whirled to confront a man fitting the description of Chet. I made a pathetic attempt to use vampiric touch and was amazed as salvation came in the form of a hail of jam tarts hurled by the muttering Ichebard. Chet doubled over and collapsed in hysterical laughter and received a painful injury as I reached out and drained a little of his life force. An arrow from the injured Carceron added to his pain and appeared to snap him out of his laughing fit. He stood, he grasped a wand, he vanished. I used a spell to disrupt magic in the area and he promptly reappeared. Unfortunately for him a moment later so did Tangrel. Behind me the figure that had been hiding (and had used a magic missile against Ichebard) was also dead.
I headed down the stairs to support Rae and Bane only to find Bane stood at the bottom barring my way. A cause fear had no effect and I was again aided by the arrival of Ichebard. Bane collapsed laughing. Perhaps it’s his dress sense? Beyond him in the room Rae was staring off into space, swaying and half-heartedly fending off another Priest. A bead of force is a truly nasty weapon in the right circumstances. I found myself lying on the floor, in pain, with no trace of the energy I drained from Chet left, and with my only route of escape blocked by an invisible wall. Add to this having only a few spells left (half of which involved fire) and I had good reason to expect another brush with death. The priest turned towards me and I was forced to web the room to gain time. The priest started to advance, casting spells as he came. At the edge of the web he discovered, as did I, that grease works really well with web. Try to stand on a greased floor without falling into the web. He elected to stay down and cast spells, a great idea until Rae stepped up behind him.
Perhaps unsurprisingly the village militia was waiting outside with the intention of arresting us for disturbing the peace. Capt. Elmo was under the watchful eye of his employer so was not in the mood to take grief from us and of course Tangrel was not about to submit gracefully. He really does not have any tolerance for those whom question his actions, regardless of their right to do so. For a few moments it things were very tense and it was uncertain whether things were going to end in bloodshed. Rae was also making things as difficult for the militia as possible. In the end we went with them to the keep. Conversation amongst the party must have irritated Elmo no end as a fair number of disparaging comments were aimed at him. Rae took the time to glare at one of her guards until the man looked about ready to run.
At the keep we met with Rufus, Bern, and Canoness Yidley who, I believe, make up the power base of this village.
The meeting did not go well. Catching us just after a fight is definitely not going to result in diplomacy in any form. They were not happy with us disturbing their retirements; we were less than impressed that assassins and cultists were operating under their noses within their village. In the end the evidence that something nasty was going on and the small hoard of unholy symbols that Tangrel is collecting swayed them and we walked free from the keep. Tangrel of course was all set to leave the village immediately. I think he was a little upset when the rest of the group shrugged of the imagined insult and returned to the house to sleep.
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wolff96
A resident
(5/22/02 11:18 am)
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Re: Campaign Log (cont)
I love the campaign log. It's great work, especially since it is a player that is doing the work. I really hope you're encouraging the fellow.
Two things:
1) It strikes me as somewhat humorous that a necromancer should be so discomfited by a priest Rebuking Undead. It won't be THAT much longer until the Necromancer is making his own, will it?
2) "I made a pathetic attempt to use vampiric touch and was amazed as salvation came in the form of a hail of jam tarts hurled by the muttering Ichebard. Chet doubled over and collapsed in hysterical laughter and received a painful injury as I reached out and drained a little of his life force."
Jam tarts? Could you possibly add a little clarification here, such as what that means and what class Ichebard belongs to? I can guess, but I'd rather know. (Was Snubs just sick of his character, or did the player leave?)
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lorrin
A visitor
(5/23/02 3:56 am)
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Campaign Log
I'm glad you like the campaign logs. I do try and encourage players to keep this kind of log because i think it helps roleplaying (they also get xp awards). The player in question also loves comments about his work, so keep them comming 
To answer your question:
1) Nod, i think the players original intention was to go full fledged necromancer but his recent experience with death (mindflayer from previous adventure) and the attitudes he's encountering seems to have changed his views somewhat. The player has now set his sites on Loremaster so is currently expanding his knowledge.
2) I meant to do this earlier but ran out of time. Here are the new characters:
Bane - Level 6 Barbarian Male Human
Ichebard - Level 6 Bard (man i love these in the new system) Male Half Elf
The character Snub left for a couple of reasons (1. Think player was slightly bored, 2. Internal character conflicts, 3. In taking Assassin he managed to convince himself (and me) that he was working for the enemy (Big T)....so handed him over to me for NPC material.)
Oh, the Jam Tarts....T's Hideous Laughter..material component for (nice touch i thought).
And as an aside, the party is of higher level than the adventure suggests (and now number 5 plus NPCs) but they are stillstruggling along...
-Lorrin
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Sacremas
A visitor
(5/23/02 4:52 am)
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Re: Campaign Log
Oh, this thing is Great! I, too, would kill (or at least maim) for a player this devoted! Is he really that good a roleplayer, or a good author? Regardless, I look forward to the next installment!
And yes, this is such a downright *nasty* adventure that even higher level characters will usually be challenged well. I would suggest that you for now leave off upping the opposition and see first if it will balance out. Keep using nasty tactics, and they will still be in danger most of the time!
-Sacremas
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lorrin
A visitor
(6/7/02 12:04 am)
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Campaign Log
Earthday 13th Readying 501
At Tangrels insistence I scryed the pit room at the Moathouse and found that someone had been there. Unsurprisingly we were in the saddle minutes later. The Moathouse appeared deserted from a distance but still we entered via the back door. All was quiet within and we were able to reach the pit without incident. The statue had been moved and we decided to see where it had gone. Bane is a quite competent tracker and certainly made life easier. In the end we found that the statue had been taken out on a wagon that headed back toward Hommlet. Off we set in pursuit. Back past Hommlet and then south-west towards the Kron hills. Whilst riding we spotted the blue dragon flying parallel to us. I would have though it could see us yet it turned back towards Hommlet without attacking. We caught the wagon just before dusk and as our plans tend to rarely work we charged.
I took the opportunity to cast my first fireball. Most disappointing. A few singed eyebrows and smouldering cloth but nothing special. Rae was finding that keeping up on her barded war-horse was impossible and Bane reached the wagon yards ahead. Once more the utterance of a spell was his undoing and he went rigid in the saddle. I was obliged to use a dispel to free him. Ichebard cast silence on the wagon, confounding further spell use from there and forcing the priest to leap off the wagon to be effective. Again a spell was uttered and again Bane fell victim. I gave up on trying to keep him in the battle and turned my attention to eliminating our foes. A spray of magic missiles dropped 2 of them. I love that spell. Rae finally arrived with devastating effect, running her lance clear through one of the wagon riders then through another as he fled. All in all the battle was quite short and one sided. We returned to Hommlet with the wagon, after destroying he statue.
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Lorrin
A visitor
(6/7/02 12:15 am)
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Players Campaign Log
Freeday 14th Readying 501
A truly hideous day.
Opened another trapped chest this morning. Little inside save a few coins and a note from someone called Naquent to one of the persons we killed in the Mill. The note instructed him to set up a base in Hommlet to support the excavation of the shrine at the Moathouse, and to take anything found to the temple of all consumption at the crater.
Tangrel questioned one of the corpses and found that they had transported a summoned creature to the Moathouse and released it into the Shrine to act as a guardian.
We returned to the Moathouse and explored further. We covered the entire complex with the exception of the area below the cover-stone and the labyrinth behind the crypt where the ghouls had been destroyed. Tangrel was all for the Pit and was again unhappy when the rest of the group elected to investigate the labyrinth, for completeness, and to ensure there was nothing behind us. We went in and discovered a small temple with an altar and statue almost identical to the one from the wagon. Use of the torch taken from the cultists here showed hidden compartments in the statue. In the end we returned to fetch Tangrel and Carceron before we tried opening the statue. We opened each compartment and looted the items we found.
It is worth a note that this has been the first time I have used an unseen servant whilst exploring. As a holder for sunrods it is excellent, allowing us to push a light forward to give us a better view, and for opening suspect compartments and unstuck doors with little risk it is unsurpassed.
Having assured ourselves that we missed nothing here we returned to the pit room and, after great effort lifted the cover-stone.
The winch system and platform allowed us to descend into the darkness, my unseen servant lighting the way. We eventually touched down a black stone platform covered in purple veins that did not reach the cavern walls. Spying another winch and Platform Tangrel strode out across the stone towards it. The veins writhed towards him and he stumbled the last few steps. Ichebard linked the tow pulleys with a rope to allow us to go from one to the other then used another piece of rope to ensure that he would not fall. The solution was most ingenious and only the part were he got completely stuck about five feet out detracted from an otherwise excellent plan. Carceron and Bane elected to try rushing across the surface and again the veins took their toll. I had absolutely no intention of stepping onto that and with Ichebard blocking the rope we were left with limited choices. In the end raising our platform allowed Ichebard to slide, with some speed and no dignity, down to the other platform. His arrival almost caused Tangrel to fall.
I elected to use spider climb to go back up the rope then down the cavern wall, accompanied by Rae. I felt the platform a little too unstable and crowded. We descended deeper into the darkness.
The stone platform was revealed to be a huge stone cylinder, riddled with the purple veins throughout its mass. An awesome creation. From our vantage point on the wall we were able to glimpse the inevitable ambush before it occurred. Dark tentacles descended into the pool of torchlight surrounding our companions. We shouted a warning and managed to illuminate the descending monstrosity, a brain-like creature with a beak surrounded by a mass of dangling tentacles. The group on the platform managed to fend it off and I sent a stream of magic missiles across the gap to strike it. Rae produced a bow and sent arrows to join the onslaught. Ichebard was unfortunate to be beneath the creature and was struck by its tentacles getting enveloped in moments. As if that were not enough a new foe presented himself in the form of a flying priest. He chanted and summoned a huge snake to attack Bane and received a spell I recognised as hold person from Tangrel in return.
The strange creature withdrew pulling Ichebard from the platform and as the Priest moved his hand to grasp something he received a dispel from me. I felt spell after spell rupture but, unfortunately, he continued to fly. He seemed greatly displeased at this and drew a sword to attack the ropes. Tangrel quaffed a potion and moved up the rope to intercept him. On the platform Bane was struggling with the snake and Carceron was shooting his bow. Rae sent arrows to strike the priest time after time. Glimpsing Ichebard being drawn up towards the strange creature I moved up the wall and cast another set of missiles against it.
Above the platform the priest swung at the ropes again just as Tangrel muttered something and leapt at him. The sword severed the rope just as Tangrel grasped the priest snuffing out his life.
The platform began to fall.
Another set of magic missile slew the creature that was feeding on Ichebard. I was most pleasantly surprised when instead of the expected plummet, the creature started to sink. Rae was nowhere in sight but I could hear the clatter of armour somewhere above. She was clearly going somewhere in a hurry. Far below, the platform was picking up speed. If seemed to have descended a terribly long way. I could just make out Bane struggling with the snake and resigned myself to the loss of this new companion. Tangrel was holding on to the corpse of the priest that also was sinking slowly towards the darkness below.
A shout from beneath caused me to look to the rope just in time to see Bane and Carceron streak up out of the darkness both gripping the rope with white knuckles and staring, wide eyes as they raced past. For some reason Carceron lacked Bane’s manic grin. A moment later a crash marked the demise of the platform and it’s remaining reptilian passenger and the speeding ropes slowed, went slack and reversed their direction. Again Bane and Carceron passed me, this time descending towards the distant floor until the moment the rope snapped taught. Bane must be strong to have taken a stop like that without slipping. I hate to imagine the pain Carceron must have been in as he slipped a good fifteen feet leaving a bloody trail on the rope.
Tangrel drifted past the two and was joined by Carceron leaving both of them hanging from their macabre means of transport. The creature holding Ichebard continued to drift downwards. Everything was virtually silent, a moment of peace as if the world was holding its breath. Such moments never last and I readied what would hopefully be a last ditch measure to save anyone who fell.
The creature drifted down past Bane where he was swinging on the rope and started to fall properly. I cast and webbing filled the gap catching Ichebard and the creature and cutting Bane off from the bottom.
On climbing down to the web I found, to my surprise that Ichebard was still alive and struggling to free himself of the dead monsters grip and the webbing around him. Bane seemed content to stay swinging from the rope and far below I saw Tangrel and Carceron reach the cave floor safely. All in all we got off lightly.
A note on the Brain Creature. These were truly odd. They flew silently and apparently with the same effect as a fly spell. On their death the way they settled rather than fell mimics that spell precisely. Ichebard said that the tentacles were barbed and caused damage as well as injecting a paralysing poison. It’s ability to attack with the fearsome looking beak is poor at best and on the whole the creature is less tough than it looks. It is worth noting though that the electricity from Rae’s flail appeared to have no effect on those we fought later.
Whilst checking on Ichebard I caught a glimpse of frenzied movement below and looked to see a new creature coming through a dark doorway to attack Tangrel. I shouted for Rae and moved down to cast a flaming sphere to help in the fight. Again we managed to defeat the monster after which Rae, having hurried to join the fight ask Tangrel where it had come from. The response was scarcely believable as he said that he had merely touched the surface of the darkness beyond the archway, and promptly demonstrated. Brains again.
Having recovered from that Tangrel went to examine the base of the cylinder. The cylinder was tapered to a point at its lower end and balanced on the top of a stone pillar. It is somewhat disconcerting to be under something that appears so precarious. Tangrel promptly climbs up, peers at it touches something and vanishes. A moment later he reappears, looks around and vanishes again. When he finally appeared, with pulp and slime over his hands both Rae and I were concerned. My concern grew as he refused to talk about what happened or give any clue about where he had been. I could tell this was making Rae suspicious. Of course this made little difference to Tangrel. He washed himself off in the pool of water that had gathered in a depression in the floor then was straight back to looking for things to prod. A little investigation with the torch that highlights the evil items revealed a fist sized gem at the bottom of the column. Having found something of interest he promptly decides that he needs to remove it and barely pauses to listen to a suggestion of how to try it without being under the thousands of tons of evil purple veined rock it supports. When that failed he immediately went back to the direct approach and was I think a little put out when Rae and I went crawling up the wall to be out of it’s way if it fell.
Bane and Ichebard were I think equally unhappy as they finally reached the bottom to find Tangrel trying to smash the gem with a sword!
Sitting on the roof of the chamber I had a little time to think about Tangrel. Something must have happened to him. That level of recklessness could not be natural. Even Owliver would have though twice about trying to smash the object supporting a rock hanging over his head and those of his companions. Rae said she was thinking along the same lines.
It is hard to know quite what to make of Rae. She is quite secretive about some of her views but ruthless in enforcing them. On the trip over to the Moat house Tangrel added to the mystery by revealing that a divination he had cast had shown Rae as evil in nature. She has always been a warrior yet during the fight with the priest I could have sworn I heard Rae’s voice chanting a spell and saw what looked to be a symbol of Wee-Jas half tucked into her armour.
The lack of huge crashing sounds and flying debris, and a shout from Ichebard persuaded us to descend to the base again where we found Tangrel lying on the ground unconscious. They had been inspecting the symbols etched in the ground and during this Tangrel had turned and spoken to Bane. According to Bane he had, apparently without thinking, uttered the name of the enemy. Of all places to do that, the middle of a shrine dedicated to him had to be about the worst.
He woke a different man a few minutes later, sat up and uttered words then memory of which chills me every time I think of them. ‘I have made a terrible mistake. He has take my soul.’ With those words we all saw the wounds on his body heal leaving not so much as a bruise. He stood up.
Everyone there backed away at that point. Tangrel would say nothing further on what had happened and if anything seemed hostile towards us. He promptly started to climb the rope towards the surface. Rae and I followed, Rae asking me to go ahead and warn Bill and Ben to get avoid Tangrel. I was unable to get far enough ahead and reached the pit room a scant few seconds before him. He came out of the pit, and dismissed Carceron service with scarcely a word. He growled at me to get out of the way and pushed past, stalking away up the passage.
Rae reached the surface breathing hard, convinced that Tangrel had turned to the service of the enemy and fearing that he would turn on her servants. We pursued and caught up as he was climbing onto his mount. He would not talk to us, or tell us what was happening, nor would he be swayed from whatever purpose had seized him down there in the shrine and when he galloped off we both decided we had to stop him. A final plea for him to stop fell on deaf ears.
My fireball blew his horse apart and sent him tumbling to the ground.
It is a truly horrible feeling to believe that there is no alternative other than to attack a friend.
Rae reached him a few moments later on horseback. I heard a call for him to surrender and the sound of a lance striking armour. By the time I arrived Tangrel was backing away and healing his wounds with a wand and Rae came after him time and again. I heard two more calls for Tangrel’s surrender and an insult to Rae as a response. At that point Tangrel had no hope. The best that could have happened would have been him being knocked unconscious. A vain hope there. Rae’s next strike drove that lance clear through him and all but tore him in two.
I think I will remember that sound in my dreams for many months to come.
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madfox
A resident
(6/7/02 1:07 am)
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Re: Players Campaign Log
Very interesting read, care to elebarate on what exactly happened OOC? I mean, by the book there was no reason for the behaviour of Tangrel and I wonder what happened. Was Tangrel magically compelled or did the player decide to act so irrational?
One other remark/question:
Quote:
He washed himself off in the pool of water that had gathered in a depression in the floor then was straight back to looking for things to prod.
Is this the pool that is so poisonous that a mere touch would lead to a save?
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Lorrin
A visitor
(6/7/02 3:14 am)
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Campaign Log
This is what happened from the DM PoV:
First things first, Tangrael is a member of the Med-Jai whos purpose is to prevent the return of Big T. Whilst venturing on the Obelisk, he was drained of a large amount of strength (he believed Big T had already started sucking his soul). Once down to the Obelisk he touched the gem, but refused the fruit (and double checked it by touching the gem again).
The player who plays Tangrael was acting very funny at this point (i guess overwhelmed by his first contact with Big T) and being very evasive of the questions asked by the other characters. He then makes the mistake of saying Big Ts name while staning close to the Obex (oh oh). Took the player outside and read the little dialogue to him..he answered "no" to all the "do you wish to free me questions" so went all the way down to -9, at which point the vision says "no matter, you serve me know whether you like it or not, your soul is mine"..gains conciousness and has his wounds healed. To say this freaked out the player is a small understatement. He heads out of the chamber at full tilt saying stuff like "he's got my soul, i now serve the enemy", and the rest is history.
To be honest i was suprised at the result..but he honestly believed that big T has taken his soul (and was heading out to commit suicide)...The rest of the characters have vowed never to go back to the moathouse unless its buried under 200,000,000 tonnes of concrete. Everyone now has a healthy fear of anything Obex like...and no-one is ever going to mention Big T's name again!!!!!!!!!
Yes, he washed his hands in the pool...he was wearing gloves...and has a stupid will and fortitude save (he made 4-5 saves).
-Lorrin
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Calidus the Vile
A resident
(6/7/02 3:16 am)
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Re: Campaign Log
Lorrin, is this primarily an evil-aligned party?
Caries Tu Prehendo |
Lorrin
A visitor
(6/10/02 5:16 am)
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Alignment
Actualy, only 1 player (now) is evil, and thats Rae.
The others are neutral (although with some very self centered tendancies.)
Current Cast:
Rae - Female 1/2 Elf Fighter 6/Blackguard 1 LE
Mauratis - Male Human Necromaner 6 (going Loremaster) LN
Bane - Male Human Barbarian 6 (NG)
Ichibard - 1/2 Elf Bard 6 (NG)
Tangrael was LN but murdered by Rae last week. He's new character is a NG dwarf Rogue/Ranger.
Going to be curious how the group reacts to Rae's presence now though (detect evil was cast towards end of last week). The strange thing is they honestly believe Tangrael's 'soul' had been taken by Big T and that the only way they could save him would be to kill him !!!
-Lorrin
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JP39
A resident
(6/10/02 8:28 am)
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Wow!
Wow! This is really great. Please tell Muratis' player to keep up the great work. It is most def. refreshing and interesting to see how the players view things as opposed to the all-knowing DM.
Why is Rae evil, just 'cause her player wanted to play an evil character or what? Was she wronged in the past? Oh well, probably just thinking too hard. Once again, I wish Muratis luck in his quest for knowledge.
JP39
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wolff96
A resident
(6/10/02 11:18 am)
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Re: Wow!
Awesome update.
Good to see the player is still keeping his log -- that will be an incredible journal if he keeps it all the way to the end of the module!
Interesting interpretation by the player... I have to give him credit for staying in character, though, since he thought that he was taken and would help against his will to free Big T. Since his entire order is dedicated to stopping that, I would definitely say it was in character to attempt suicide.
Depressing, but in character.
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Lorrin
A visitor
(6/11/02 1:24 am)
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Email Link
Nothing flashy here, but one of my (other) players has started a campaign web site which has got some character backgrounds etc. I will try and get this campaign log placed up there too.
uk.geocities.com/cmnash_u.../index.htm
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