Campaign journals, reviews of TTRPG stuff, and musings on D&D.
A zine chronicling the Conquering the Barbarian Altanis D&D campaign.
This issue details sessions 64, 65, and 66.
Adventurers attempt to consecrate a desecrated temple.
You can download the issue here.
Overlord's Annals zine is available in print as part of the legendary Alarums & Excursions APA, issue 589:
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Another year, another chance to buy great OSR publications at discounted prices. Just like last year, I decide to do a single megapost by category (adventures, supplements, and bestiaries). I also limited myself to only ten bullets per category (but I cheated a bit).
Either way, below are books I'm happy to recommend, because I found them useful for my game. Some of them aren't often suggested, so I hope you find some inspiring gems as well!
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| Character | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ajar of the Plan | Dwarf level 2 | Unbelievably strong and dexterous dwarf. |
| Balarus | Fighter level 1 | An ex-woodsman, quite a crackshot with his bow. |
| Gomm | Thief level 5 | Swarthy, good looking, dark-skinned thief. Sweet opium-like aroma is his fragrance of choice. |
| Zhoron Trisrie | Elf level 2 | Always frowning and morose; sporting thick handlebar moustache down to his chest and a black top knot. |
| Darius | Cleric level 4 | Follower of Dacron, God of Craftsmen. |
| Hector | Fighter level 3 | Balding warrior in the dwarf corpse retrieval business. |
| Tarkus the Promising | Cleric level 4 | Follower of Bachontoi, God of Red Wisdom. |
| Beorg the Gravedigger | Fighter level 3 | Inspired to adventure after burying several adventurers. |
| Ambros | Cleric level 5 | Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time. |
| Ignaeus | Elf level 2 | A slightly weathered looking elf with dull blonde hair and chiselled features. Seeks wealth and knowledge. |
| Centuria | Elf level 1 | An academic elf fond of teasing those of lower status. |
“The farm is straight ahead!”
“Quiet... Can you hear the running footsteps?”
“Yes!”
“If someone is running it is either a monster fleeing, meaning we should intercept, or an ally retreating, meaning we should intercept.”
Tarkus the Promising wisely summarised. Himself, Beorg, Hector, Darius, and Centuria were heading toward the farming compound their friends set out to explore two days.
⁂
“We had a plan...” Gomm mussed to himself as everything fell apart.
The carefully prepared ambush was for naught. Everyone had missed the whistling orc, and the bastard just ran out. Night benefited him more than the adventurers.
Making an educated guess where the pig-faced mongrel might be headed, Gomm made a run eastwards, scaled the ten foot palisade, and jumped out of the compound. Then he gave chase after the orc.
No one followed him.
One hunter.
One hunted.
The thief moved swiftly, torch in one hand, sword in other.
Insect filled jungle was as alive during night as it had been during the day.
Although he could rarely spot humanoid silhouette, Gomm could almost always hear the joyful whistle.
He followed and tracked and pursued relentlessly, caring little for dangers hiding in dark canopy above him.
Success, at last! He had caught up with orc in the time his third torch burned out.
By now Gomm's eyes have somewhat accustomed to the night. He could see the silhouette walking through small clearing, causing bone-crushing sounds. Then it barked something into the dark opening ahead.
He took off the bow from his back.
He aimed.
He released an arrow.
The arrow hit the cave wall right next to the orc.
A massive dark figure stepped out of the cave.
It roared and charged into the jungle.
Behind it followed several humanoid figures.
Hunter became the hunted.
Gomm scaled the tallest tree he could find. Then he found the thickets branch to lie on. He prostrated himself, belly down, and held his breath as long as he could.
Minutes felt like hours.
Summoning the courage to move after what felt an eternity, Gomm descended the tree.
No monsters befell him.
Through luck and skill he managed to find his way back to the farmer compound.
⁂
“It's Gomm!”
Adventurers were happy to see the thief return. It's been more than four hours since he had left and they were beginning to get worried.
While he was away they spent time surveying the whole compound, fixing the gates, inspecting the buildings for anything useful, and in general getting ready to defend themselves.
The sun had risen, but everyone was tired from full day and night of draining activities. Hence they decided to spend rest of the day sleeping. Everyone would get two watches of rest, while they'd spend one watch on guard duty.
Come night, they decided to remain at the compound, fortify their position, and prepare even more traps in case troll shows up here.
They prepared one bonfire by the compound entrance and one by the farmhouse. Both were unlit, but doused with oil so they catch fire faster. They also loaded two carts with hay and branches, and doused them with military oil for extra crispy burn.
Demihumans took the elevated positions: Centuria on the tower, Ajar on the southeast barn roof, and Ignaeus on the south barn roof.
Humans mostly rallied around the gates. Some, like Ambros, prepared clay vials with military oil so they can throw them in rapid succession.
Zhoron took post by the gates so he can inform his human allies in case he sees something move in darkness. He had keen infravision, even for an elf.
Torches were extinguished.
With everyone at their position, the waiting game was on.
Hours in darkness went by.
PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARP!
Suddenly a bronze trumpet blared from the west.
PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARP!
Another blaring trumpet, this time from the west.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
An orc appeared to the south, confidently walking towards the farm.
“Come closer, friend!” Zhoron called out in Orcish as he cast Charm Person.
Illustration by IdleDoodler.
Indeed, the orc obliged.
“Oh, you are at the wrong place at the wrong time! Now we will have to kill you all! I don't want to lie to you, it will most likely be a very painful death!” orc replied to Zhoron's inquiries.
“Maybe you can help us! How many of you are there?”
“Well it is just me, Kruggak, and my bros, Kruggak and Kruggak.”
With a little bit more prodding and encouragement from Zhoron, the party had learned that this orcish trio had always dreamt of having a pig farm. Instead they ended up serving horrible troll G'r'sh.
“If you help us kill the troll you can have a farm of your own! All your dreams will come true! And you can even beat the troll with his own arm, just like he did to you!”
“Wow, you are so smart! This is a great plan! But I have some really bad news. G'r'sh is already at the farm.”
Silence.
“Uh, huh, where?”
“He is hiding in the cellar of that big house over there. He will come out when I signal him to.”
“Why don't you go tell him he can come out, lead him through the main doors, and then we all attack him?”
“He is not dumb! He is expecting me to bring some of you dead with me!”
“We will gut a pig and smear blood over your hands. You just tell him we are all dead outside!”
“Wow, you elves really are smart! This plan will surely work!”
Now everyone but Centuria moved to position facing east side of the farmhouse. Although the house had several doorways, the east face had main doors. They also moved both carts with flammable material to the sides.
Hector and Balarus hid behind north cart, Ambros, Bakaru, and Zhoron behind south cart. Centuria remained on the tower. Gomm scaled the farmhouse and waiting on the roof. Others were at some distance away from the house. Everyone was still moving in the dark, relying on moonlight and demihumans to guide them.
Kruggak cheerfully ran into the house.
His lifeless, eviscerated corpse flew out of the window just mere moments later.
A large, nightmarish creature jumped out of the same window with great east. Nearly nine feet tall, with green-black leathery skin covered with warts and blisters, long arms with razor-sharp talons, crooked, floppy nose, and a maw full of shark-like teeth.
The monster walked over to the closest cart, northern one, and took in a deep whiff. Roaring, it chucked the cart over, and attacked bald but bold Hector with fury. Warrior managed to evade the bit, and deflect one of the claw. Alas, troll managed to nick him with the follow up claw attack.
Illustration by IdleDoodler.
Gomm took out rope and made a slipknot. His idea was to sneak from above and lower rope around the monster's neck so he could pull it into one of the fires. But none were lit yet.
Balarus fled bravely, looking for an opportunity to shoot his bow instead of swinging his sword. Hector stood his ground, trading blows with the monster. Ambros ran around, guided by the God of Red Wisdom, and joined the fray. Zhoron lit the south cart on fire, and then pushed it together with Balarus and Ambros. Alas, they missed the troll by few feet. One of the wheels must have been a bit loose.
Attracted by divine presence, the monster turned to Tarkus. It missed with first swing, but follow up landed to the cleric's side, nearly shattering his ribs. Tarkus quickly learned that black mass moved with great speed. He might've even questioned the wisdom of his choice to join the melee as large maw closed around his shoulder, sending such horrible pain through his body that he immediately collapsed to the ground.
Second cart attack was as impotent as first one. Seeing one of them going down sent the adventurers in righteous rage. They surrounded the troll and hit it with all they have. Hector delivered a series of brutal blows, hacking the monster to pieces.
Illustration by kickmaniac.
Following a very brief discussion, Ambros ran to heal Tarkus, while others collected troll pieces and chucked them into the burning cart.
There was little of value on troll corpse, but the dead orc had few silver coins and a key around his mangled neck.
“Let's investigate the cellar, just to make sure nothing else comes out at us.”
Ambros volunteered.
An hour or so later he confirmed there is a dug tunnel leading into the jungle.
“This key must unlock their treasure chest! Let's go straight to their lair, the sun is up!”
“But what if there is a horde of orcs waiting for us there?”
“This troll must've been G'r'sh, their boss. Surely he was the big bad?!”
In the end the party had decided to play it safe. They retreated to the shore, intending to summon the fishermen they paid a week or so ago, to pick them up and ferry them to Ketche.
No one showed up.
“Hmmm...”
With little else to do, they decided to camp in the wild.
Summer in Altanis is hot.
But summer in Altanian jungle?
Hot and humid beyond belief.
Adventurers backtracked to the farm. From there Gomm led them to the troll cave. It was a simple large cave, some fifty by fifty foot.
It was empty sans few rotting corpses, flayed humans, and a large chest broken open. The chest was, of course, completely empty.
Gomm checked if the key fits.
It fit perfectly.
Ajar spotted a rubble of stones; a cave in. Clearing it took few hours and revealed a tunnel some three feet in diameter. It slopped downwards, and was longer than few hundred feet.
“Let's camp here and then go back to the shore tomorrow.”
“Ketche! Finally!”
Fishermen hadn't showed up where the party had expected them to. So they had to travel some ten miles through thick jungle instead. They were wise enough to avoid all monsters and encounters, and managed to reach the hamlet in a little under a week.
Smelly and tired, but alive. Ambros reported their great success to Jaffar. Then he took on another assignment from her: get the region rid of notorious gnoll headhunter Graylock.
The party also found their fishermen—dead drunk at the Goat's Beard Inn.
“What are the accepted punishments around here?” Centuria inquired.
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| Character | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Gomm | Thief level 5 | Swarthy, good looking, dark-skinned thief. Sweet opium-like aroma is his fragrance of choice. |
| Zhoron Trisrie | Elf level 2 | Always frowning and morose; sporting thick handlebar moustache down to his chest and a black top knot. |
| Ajar of the Plan | Dwarf level 2 | Unbelievably strong and dexterous dwarf. |
| Balarus | Fighter level 1 | An ex-woodsman, quite a crackshot with his bow. |
| Ambros | Cleric level 5 | Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time. |
| Ignaeus | Elf level 2 | A slightly weathered looking elf with dull blonde hair and chiselled features. Seeks wealth and knowledge. |
It has been several weeks since Ambros had returned to Hara. Others tried to turn Hagar's demise into a spectacle for the masses. Cleric of Aniu had no such interests and he protected his friend's legacy as much as he could.
The dwarf was set off on a funeral barge fitting his heroic status. The pyre was magnificent and it burnt strong, well into the night. Several acolytes of Poseidon accompanied Ambros through Hara, paying their respects to the passing dwarf as well. Their temple was of course well endowed with gifts, arranged by Ambros as well.
Hara was still in turmoil, now even bigger than before. The rumour has it Tagoler refused to be Imrael's candidate for the new castellan, while Namelin failed to propose anyone new, given their prime candidate, Hagar, had just died. Thirteen merchant families could not agree on any future course of action, so Red Queen ordained they must present three prospects by end of summer or she will pick a new castellan herself.
Little did that matter to Ambros though. A heavy burden was upon him. When Hagar died on one of his dungeon expeditions, Ambros managed to negotiate his resurrection at the Temple of Poseidon. Hight Priestess Mavis demanded a high price. Hagar, as well as all adventurers with him at the time, had to accept three geases.
First, to set a wrongfully imprisoned king free, they accomplished. Second, to erect an impressive statue of Poseidon looking at the sea, was in progress. And third, to travel to Ketche and help Mavis's sister with anything she demands, has not even been started. Ambros was now the sole living survivor of all those adventurers.
Geases were now his to bear alone.
Gomm, a firebrand and rising star the the local thieves' guild, has already been planning his next expedition when he heard of the cleric's woes.
“Ketche, you say?”
“See? Didn't I promise I'd bring ya here!”
Drunk fishermen they employed at Ahyf had indeed brought the party to Ketche. Even just yesterday such feat seemed unlikely! At Hara Gomm couldn't learn much useful information beyond Ketche being secluded hamlet in the Eyestones Jungle, overlooking the Vigil Sound bay. Rumours of pirates did not make it any more attractive.
Fishermen of Ahyf were more informative, but not more encouraging. They confirmed the stories of pirates, in addition to recent spotting of Skandik longships around the Cape of No-Return. Apparently no one had come from Ketche to Ahyf for several months. But adventurers managed to recruit a drunk fisherman and his two friends to ferry them over.
Price?
Astonishing twenty eight gold pieces.
The sails were lowered and now they were slowly coasting towards the sequestered hamlet. In the center of this small settlement stood a forty-foot tall, bronze-roofed bell tower. That was the Church of the Ever-Shining Sun, undoubtedly a place where Mavis's sister must be.
Given that the day was almost done, the party opted to go to the Goat's Beard Inn first. There they delighted the proprietor, dwarf Rumbough, for booking the whole place for the week. Rumbough promised to throw a feast for the dinner: a dockside dinning with freshly steamed crayfish and jungle ale.
Finally, Ambros and the crew opted to hit the church, seeking its priestess. There they found Jeffar, a short, stocky woman with a great mane of curly gray hair. Her demeanor was cold and derisive. Her contempt of adventurers and mercenaries was palpable. With a little bit of Gomm's silver tongue, Ambros managed to persuade her that they are here to help indeed, on a divine geas from Poseidon.
Finding a win-win-win situation for herself, Jeffar asked the party to dispose of troll that had recently butchered a family of farmers just south of Ketche. If the troll dies, she is happy. If the adventurers die, she is happy. And of both side die while killing each other, she is happy too.
The party decided to sail along the coast southwards and then disembarked into the jungle and went forth. After two days of trawling through the thick, Balarus spotted a trail leading to the farming compound.
The compound was some hundred by seventy yards, surrounded by tall wooden fence acting as palisades. In it was one large wooden building, obviously meant to house at least three families, two barns with pens, and one thirty foot tall wooden tower.
Spending few hours to investigate the farm confirmed that some violence took place here. The gates to the compound were broken open. All windows on the farmhouse had been broken, as well as the furniture inside. Dried blood splatters were in nearly all the rooms. Interestingly enough, both pens still had animals: pigs. They were blissfully rolling in mud.
Following a lively discussion, the party had decided to prepare an ambush and wait for the troll to return. They theorised that he must be coming back for the pigs.
Ignaeus and Zhoron manned the tower. As elves they would not need torchlight to see if someone enters the compound or not. Rest of the party hid in the farmhouse, ready to pour out and beat on anyone who walks into the trap. But primarily to set the troll on fire.
“Do you hear that?”
Elven duo could hear joyful whistling sounds incoming. Laying low, they focused on the gates. Humanoid figure, taller than an elf but shorter than a human, strolled through confidently. It hummed a happy tune and went straight for the closest pig pen.
“Stop! Who goes there!”
The figure jumped, startled. It turned around, axe in hand. Then it barked “Show yourself!” in orcish.
“What are you doing here!”
“I came to check in on the piggies. Where are you?! Show yourself!”
The elves unleashed arrows.
They missed.
Ajar shot his crossbow.
He missed.
Humans lit a torch and ran out of the farmhouse.
The orc farted and ran away.
“Damn! We had a plan...” Gomm lamented.
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A zine chronicling the Conquering the Barbarian Altanis D&D campaign.
This issue details sessions 61, 62, and 63. Adventurers go shopping!
You can download the issue here.
Overlord's Annals zine is available in print as part of the legendary Alarums & Excursions APA, issue 588:
Subscribe to get the latest post in your inbox. No spam.
Swords & Wizardry Book of Options and Swords & Wizardry Fiends & Foes:
Swords & Wizardry Deluxe Referee Screen:
Tomb of the Iron God and Domain of Heryngard:
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| Character | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Almaric the Legendary | Elf level 1 | Very smart and quite good looking; adventuring just for the money. |
| Gomm | Thief level 5 | Swarthy, good looking, dark-skinned thief. Sweet opium-like aroma is his fragrance of choice. |
| Bairstowbury the Chaotic | Halfling level 2 | Remarkably muscular for a halfling. |
| Hartwig | Thief level 1 | Hailing from Ghinor Highlands, now seeking treasure in the Barbarian Altanis. |
| Centuria | Elf level 1 | An academic elf fond of teasing those of lower status. |
| Abdashtarth of the Field | Cleric level 1 | A farmer clad in armour, follower of Zodraz, petty god of seeds and toil. |
| Ajar of the Plan | Dwarf level 1 | Unbelievably strong and dexterous dwarf. |
“This must be it...”
Mere days ago Gomm had accepted a mission from Leleia the Swift, headmistress of Hara's thieves' guild. The client asked for a daring thief to retrieve a pineapple sized golden egg from a temple-fortress secluded in the mountains just west of the town.
Reward?
Stunning ten thousand gold pieces.
Conditions?
Egg must be entirely intact and unopened.
The client promised they have means of knowing if the egg had been despoiled.
Gomm assembled a hit team consisting of himself as the leader; Hartwig, newest member of the thieves' guild; Almaric the Legendary, as the brains with brawn, but most importantly, Floating Disc in his repertoire; and Bairstowbury as compact muscle that can fit into tight holes. Centuria, Abdashtarth, and Ajar were recruited to act as the rearguard and step in if anything goes wrong.
Now they found the stone temple hidden between the hill tops. It was a simple stone structure with a long stone ramp leading up to the top where an opening yawned into darkness.
The party circled the temple for an hour, hoping to spot any danger before it spots them. After all, they've been informed the place is thoroughly trapped and protected by a clan of abominable birdmen.
Although they have not spotted anything dangerous, they did observe a curious set of boulders leaning against back side of the temple. Lo and behold, behind them was another opening leading into a dark corridor.
An hour of investigating the rocks led them to believe they were indeed just rocks that are entirely untrapped. Gomm scaled one, and then helped others climb on top and descend.
Illustration by IdleDoodler.
“Watch out!”
A shin-height tripwire was just ten feet ahead of the party. It was trivial to jump over. Lighting a lantern produced much needed light to see further. A t-shaped junction was just ahead, splitting to the right.
Suddenly running footsteps could be heard coming from around the corner! Bairstowbury and Almaric pulled their weapons and counter charged. Gomm and Hartwig were just behind, at safer distance.
Elf and halfling found themselves facing four entirely naked sinewy humanoids with crow heads. They had feathers for hair, protecting the duos innocence. All four were armed with spears. No side was surprised.
First exchange of blows went well for the party, and they hacked one of the birdmen down. Second exchange went well for the naked birdmen, as they skewered Bairstowbury and Almaric to death.
“Time to run!” Gomm shouted at Hartwig as he uncorked web nuts. The thieves ran out, with Gomm throwing the vial at the junction. A ball of web filled the whole passage, blocking the birdmen with their corpses.
Then the duo retreated to the nearby camp.
“Centuria, Abdashtarth, we need you to fill in two spots...”
“Let's take the front entrance this time!”
Indeed, the new quartet ascended the stone ramp to the opening atop the temple. Ahead was a sharp descent, also without stairs. Gomm anchored a rope with several iron spikes, and threw it down the slope. Then Hartwig descended and explored on. Signalling he is safe, cleric went next. As he let go off the rope and stepped forth to follow the new thief, he promptly fell through the ground on his head. Alive but bruised, he was given the hand by Hartwig and easily climbed out of the pit. Gomm and Centuria were careful to jump over the descent landing.
Adventures were now exploring a wide chamber with three doors. Each were eight feet wide, with an iron ring on the right side and an inscription on the front. First read “Dexterity,” second “Strength,” and last “Intelligence.” Flexing his physique, Abdashtarth suggested they go for the second doors. He gripped the iron ring and pulled with all his might. The doors were indeed a challenge, but he was a man of strength and resolve, a true farm-boy.
He was soon rewarded by a rabid hound leaping out of the chamber, frothing at its mouth. Centuria sliced into the charging canine. The beast jumped at Abdashtarth and bit into his neck with its mighty jaw. Farm-boy wrapped his mighty hands around the beasts neck and snapped it. Then he collapsed to the ground, and died of asphyxiation. His windpipe was in the hound's mouth.
Illustration by IdleDoodler.
Ajar of the Plan rolled down the ramp and jumped over the pit trap.
“I had a feeling you might need me!”
Indeed, at the other end of the “Strength” chamber were another doors, identical to the ones they came through. They too were heavy to open. Ajar flexed his muscles and opened them with ease. No hounds to be seen.
Instead a junction. Path forward was into a large chamber, right to doors, and left into a corridor that turned right. To their left was a door that said “Dexterity” to their right two smaller doors with no inscription, and to their far right another large doors, also without any inscription.
Forging on, the party entered a most curious chamber. A raised stone platform, ten feet wide and ten feet long, was in the center. Four statues surrounded the platform, facing its corners. Each statue was made of living stone, but without any visible joints. They resembled oddly proportioned, blocky humans.
Adventures made a wise decision to give the platform and statues a wide berth. Thus they limited their interaction to visual inspection only. Ultimately, they did not touch them and followed the norther path leading them to yet another junction.
Left path joined up with the left path of previous junction. Right path led to a dead end with wooden bench and deranged stone relief of an obese raven with baby's head sitting on a shinning egg being fed crying humans by a flock of birdmen. Forward path led to a door.
Illustration by IdleDoodler.
Unable to hear anything beyond, the party opened them and ventured forth. They were overcome with smell of dampness and rot. Gomm could spot two golden orbs levitating some ten feet off the ground in the north-western corner of the room. The party split into duos to search this sixty by thirty feet chamber.
Centuria and Ajar had the good fortune of running into a massive ball of black feathers. Atop the avian body was an oversized human-like baby head. Snot hung from its nose, and yellow teeth adorned its mouth. The abomination rocked in its nest and attempted to bite the elf. Luckily, Centuria was quicker.
Gomm struck the monster with an arrow, making it cry. Then others hacked it to death, with Hartwig delivering the killing blow. He plunged the sword straight into the soft belly, and then jerked it sideways. Obese monstrosity collapsed back into its nest.
“Is there a golden egg in the nest?”
“No.”
Illustration by IdleDoodler.
But there was another opening, leading into a circular chamber with a well. Using roped to measure depth, there was around seventy feet before the water level. Opting to lead by example, Gomm descended with the lantern.
He soon discovered that the well exits into a large water filled chamber. Some thirty feet to the east was another slope, leading up into yet another chamber. Water slowly streamed into the chamber Gomm was currently in. Descending yet another ten feet, master thief swung himself and then jumped onto the slope. Truly an acrobatic feat! Hartwig soon joined him, accomplishing no less fascinating feat.
The duo entered a rectangular chamber. A circular opening dominated the center of north wall. Water slowly streamed out of it and down the corridor they came through. A marvellous golden egg rested on a red cushion with gilded embroidery, sitting on a stone plinth at the south end of the chamber. Two large stone boxes flanked it, each on a stone plinth of its own.
Gomm prepared his backpack for the precious cargo, while Hartwig prepared a supplement for the egg to be placed on the cushion. The duo quickly replaced the egg with cloth surrogate and then fled the chamber. They could hear sounds of rushing water as they ascended the rope through the well.
“Run! Run!”
Ajar and Centuria followed the duo, albeit a bit slower given they were both in metal armour. The temple shook as it filled with water.
An army of naked birdmen rushed out of the rightmost doors by the first junction, aiming to cut off the adventurers' retreat. Centuria's quick thinking saved the day. She cast Ventriloquism, imitating the fat, baby-headed raven's call. The trick worked, and all the birdmen ran north, to the chamber where only a corpse awaited them.
Four survivors ran out, and then went straight back to Hara.
“Should we open the egg and see what is inside?”
“Absolutely not.”
And so they collected their ten thousand gold pieces.
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| Character | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ambros | Cleric level 5 | Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time. |
| Tarkus the Promising | Cleric level 3 | Follower of Bachontoi, God of Red Wisdom. |
| Beorg the Gravedigger | Fighter level 3 | Inspired to adventure after burying several adventurers. |
| Thorm the Dwarf | Dwarf level 1 | Ashen hair, beard, and eyes. Left his own clan due to financial trouble. |
| Riker | Magic-User level 3 | A magic-user seeking glory or death. |
| Gomm | Thief level 5 | Swarthy, good looking, dark-skinned thief. Sweet opium-like aroma is his fragrance of choice. |
| Dalkanarion | Fighter level 2 | A youthful specimen in full strength, full of purpose, bluster, and eagerness to prove himself. |
| Almaric the Legendary | Elf level 1 | Very smart and quite good looking; adventuring just for the money. |
Hagar's flesh rapidly necroticised. Nightmarish creature's venom was potent indeed. Without much to do about it, the party had decided to peek around the only unexplored corner of this accursed labyrinth.
Doors!
Forming battle ranks, the adventurers pushed forth bravely. A simple but well furnished room with several bookcases, comfortable sofa and a bed. More importantly, it was not empty.
A dark-skinned lithe man stood by the bookcase, thumbing through some of the books. He was guarded by a large, muscular man sporting well oiled muscles covered with little more than a cape, helmet, and few select pieces of armour.
After a bit of back and forth it was established that the man was Master Thief Gomm, and Dalkanarion was his bodyguard. The duo decided to assist the party in the further exploration of the dungeon.
Adventurers spent rest of the day trudging through unexplored rooms finding nothing of value. Exhausted, they retreated above and camped by the dungeon entrance. Akasi was distraught with Hagar's death, worried what will his father do to him when he finds out the bad news.
Either way, the party slept well, and Akasi's mercenaries did a solid job during night.
“Let's go deeper!” Tarkus proposed, and finally everyone agreed to it.
The party traversed the first floor without any resistance. Following the stairs down led them to a rectangular chamber, fifty feet deep and thirty feet wide. There were two doors on the east side, one door on the north side, and two on the west side.
Adventurers fanned out and listened at each of them.
“Pssst! Over here!”
Loud snoring could be heard coming from the second doors on the west wall. Gomm tried to identify the source, but failed due to all the noise from his allies.
Strongest fighters took the lead, and everyone stormed the chamber.
Large, brutish figure stumbled up from a straw mattress. Groggy and weaponless, it was quickly hacked to death by the adventurers. Dalkanarion delivered the killing blow—a straight piercing move through the belly. The party then ransacked the monster's chest and chambers.
The room had a door on each side. Interestingly, all doors but the one they came through led into the same corridor. Exploring slowly, the party opted to head north.
After few turns they came to a straight corridor ending with doors. Moreover, there were two doors to the left, and one door to the right.
Sneaking, Gomm could hear sounds from the first doors to the left, as well as doors up north. Securing all the doors sans the first ones, the party formed a marching order and charged into the room.
Four hairy, tiger-faced monsters stood in the corner, seemingly arguing over something. Adventurers caught them by surprise, and encircled them in seconds. Thorm killed one of the monsters with a strong blow with a warhammer to the side of the head. Ambros was the next to draw blood with a majestic over head sweep, smashing into the monster's temple.
Dalkanarion took serious beating but stood his ground, allowing others to attack monsters safely. Almaric drove his spear straight through one monsters ear to the other. The final beastman was slain by Gomm. What an ignominious death it was! Gomm first chopped off the beast's arm. Then he sliced its face. Lastly he gouged out its eyes. The beast writhed as it bled to death.
Clerics administered healing spells, and Gomm handed out several vials of healing liquid. Restored, the party took their attention to the northernmost doors. Once again they formed battle ranks and stormed through the doors.
This time beastmen were not surprised.
Large oak table dominated the center of the room. Massive ogre sat at the north side. Two hyena headed beasts sat on the west side, and two tiger-faced beastmen on the east side.
Dalkanarion rushed forth and grabbed the table with hist mighty thews. Gomm yelled for him to wait as he uncorked a bottle with strange substance in it. He chucked it at the ogre.
The vial smashed straight on the beast's chest. A giant ball of thick, stringy web exploded forth, enveloping ogre, one gnoll, and one bugbear.
With most of the adversaries trapped, the adventurers had little trouble overcoming the remainder of beastmen. The skirmish was brief and brutal. The party had suffered no losses!
“Chop off ogre's head so we have something to show in Hara.”
And so they did.
Collecting coins in the room, the party decided to leave the dungeon and head back to Hara with all the accumulated treasure and Hagar's corpse.
Akasi was a nervous wreck, completely consumed with worry.
The party had debated what to do about Hagar all the way to Hara, without reaching consensus.
How will they explain this one?
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| Character | Class | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Hagar the Hewer | Dwarf level 4 | Imagine Conan as dwarf. |
| Ambros | Cleric level 5 | Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time. |
| Tarkus the Promising | Cleric level 3 | Follower of Bachontoi, God of Red Wisdom. |
| Beorg the Gravedigger | Fighter level 3 | Inspired to adventure after burying several adventurers. |
| Riker | Magic-User level 1 | A magic-user seeking glory or death. |
| Leticia | Cleric level 1 | Extremely righteous, borderline zealot, devout follower of Rasthri, Goddess of Strength in Revenge. |
| Almaric the Legendary | Elf level 1 | Very smart and quite good looking; adventuring just for the money. |
“Where are some beastmen to slay?! Show them and I'll kill 'em all!”
Akasi Namelin boasted to Hagar and his crew. The eldest son followed the party shortly after they left Hara. He was accompanied by Leticia and Almaric, just to make sure no ill fortune befalls him, despite marching with three dozen light footmen.
“Remember to keep the kid alive.” Riker reminded everyone.
“I'll go first, you right behind me!” Hagar commanded to Namelin's eldest heir.
“Yes! I'll be right behind you! Let's go!”
“Let me remind you that monsters here are intelligent. Don't rush forward blindly–” Riker attempted to educate young man, but was interrupted with brash “I have hunted before!”
“You might become the hunted here...” commentary went unanswered.
Heran Marod left the dungeon and waited for the party above, overseeing a Akasi's thuggish band.
“Where to next?”
The party had three possible venues: go down the stairs and deeper into the dungeon, go east and explore the beyond the ransacked library, or go north down the corridor with exploding barrels.
Afraid to go down or to face the fiery doom, they opted for the second option and went for the library. Nothing much beyond a large kitchen with adjoining pantry, and two dead ends with smashed statues.
Having adventured for nearly sixteen hours, the party withdrew from the dungeon and camped by the tree. Surely nothing would dare disrupt their sleep with their numbers.
Well rested, the adventures continued their delve. They explored kitchen surrounding in the time it takes a lantern to burn through on filling of oil. Little did they find beyond more looted rooms. In an act of desperation they caressed and tapped many walls, hoping to find any secret shortcuts.
“We will have to go through that corridor. There is no way around it.”
“There was a large dinning table in one of the rooms. Let's break it and turn it into a mantlet!”
“What a great idea! Let's do that!”
More hours went by as they put their plan in motion.
Once in the bell shaped chamber, Beorg shot a lit arrow and hit the doors out of which, supposedly, barrels were rolling out of.
Nothing.
Next Leticia stripped her metal armour, lit a torch, and sprinted down the barrel corridor. Reaching the junction she jumped left and peeked around the corner.
Nothing.
So she ran up to the doors, knocked, and ran back.
Nothing.
Remaining party formed ranks and advanced up the corridor, with Riker and Ambros ready to unleash magical and divine wrath alike.
Nothing.
Almaric brought Leticia's armour on his Floating Disc, so the lady was armoured once more.
Reunited, the party marched to the doors.
Nothing.
A dwarf and an elf decided to listen at the doors.
Nothing.
Finally they pulled the doors open!
Empty barrel rack was all there was to be found. Besides three rusty levers, that is.
“Unbelievable!”
“Let's check the corridor we passed...”
Indeed there was one unexplored corridor leading east, then turning north. Faint smell of death and rot could be felt. Marching on soon revealed the nature of the challenge: a labyrinth. Multiple dead ends, sometime empty, sometime with insulting traps. Skeletons of long dead monsters and humans alike. One of the skeletons was a large human with a bull’s head. A rusty massive battle-axe rested next to it.
Hours and hours went on as adventurers trudged through endless corridors. At one moment the stench of death became almost overbearing. By now the adventurers had learned this must mean trouble. They carefully proceeded, ready for whatever might await them.
Hagar at the front turned the corner and came face to face with a horrible creature. A human female-looking face floated some eight feet in the air. Its eyes were almond-shaped; long, lanky black hair was stuck to its pale face; fangs and long split tongue protruded out of its slack jawline.
“Purge the Evil!!!”
Tarkus yelled and charged past Hagar; the dwarf charged too. Almaric and Beorg went right behind them, while others backed them.
True extent of the creature's unholy existence was revealed with approach of light. The face was not floating mid-air. No. It was attached to a tubular body made of most horrible make—mangled, broken, and headless bodies of women.
Hacking into the monster made it ooze slimy, dark purple ichor. The creature gazed into Hagar's eyes. Stout dwarf resisted voices in his head and struck the creature. Next the monster flew up in the air and swirled in circular motion. Almaric, Leticia, and Akasi dropped to the ground, sleeping soundly.
Riker's spell had failed to produce any effect. On the other hand Riker's Awakening Palm worked quite well on the sleeping members of the party.
In a moment of shock, the ghastly creature towered over Hagar and then bit him in the neck. Dwarf's eyes turned upside down and he went limp in seconds. The monster wrapped its long body around Hagar and flew off with him into the darkness.
Ambros pursued the monster without missing a beat, with Tarkus, Beorg and Almaric right behind him. Follow purple snail trail was easy. Moments later they caught up with the abomination and hacked it to pieces.
Tarkus the Promising delivered the killing blow straight to the face of this horrible creature. Its body fell apart, leaving a pile of mangled corpses on top of Hagar.
“What a blessed dwarf he is...”
“Oh no...” Akasi muttered, distraught.
The bite marks were already necrotic-black; the flesh rotted away. Hagar's veins were dark purple, bloated and firm. His eyes were completely white, with yellow pus on the lower lid. Spittle and foam caked his angled mouth.
The future castellan of Hara had died.
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A zine chronicling the Conquering the Barbarian Altanis D&D campaign.
This issue details session 60. Adventurers get a lucky break—or do they?
You can download the issue here.
Overlord's Annals zine is available in print as part of the legendary Alarums & Excursions APA, issue 587:
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