Attronarch's Athenaeum

Campaign journals, reviews of TTRPG stuff, and musings on D&D.

A special one-shot session to celebrate the fourth birthday of our Wilderlands campaign Conquering the Barbarian Altanis. Players created characters with 400 000 XP to take them to a version of S3 Expedition to Barrier Peaks, per their request. I was happy to oblige.

My Second Wish meme by Jan whom played Grimel and Bosso. No Roads Character Sheets of Basequin and Siora are by Dreadlord, whom also played those two characters. The Emperor's Trinket written by Lord Jubalon Flux whom played Kartoo Mon and Denzil Trubb.

Preparation notes: I actually used the version from Dungeons of Dread, which are digitally enchanced and cleaned up compared to the original tournament module. The handouts are much crisper for example. We played online, using Owlbear Rodeo. I loaded the maps from Jon Pintar, since they were the most accurate, albeit in a modern style. Let me know if you stumble upon B&W VTT-friendly maps. Magical items were randomly determined, with players using their XP as a budget to buy rolls. Trading between characters was allowed. Some players received additional notes for their characters.

Adventurers

Character Race Class Description
Grimel Human Fighter level 10 Twin brother of Bosso.
Bosso Human Fighter level 10 Twin brother of Grimel.
Kartoo Mon Armour Demon level 9 Looks like Rick Astley in absolute black plate armour, painted with a yellow smiley face on the front.
Denzil Trubb Human Ranger level 9 Old, wiry, his remaining hair is gathered into long silver pony-tail. He is dressed in weathered gardening clothes and weirdly smells faintly of peppercorn sauce.
Corvus Human Fighter level 10 A dark haired, heavily scarred man. He is clearly powerful and walks with confidence.
Uncle So Human Monk level 9 Has a red nose from alcohol consumption, laughing eyes, long hair tied in a bun. He moves like a panther, a drunken one...
Racrion the Swordwisperer Elf Thief level 12 Black hair, fair skin, green eyes. Typical elf yet seems more aloof, or rather distracted, than usual as if talking to someone in his head. Obsessed with keeping his sword sharp and clean in its magnificent sheath, an exemplary sample of elven artistry.
Arakesh Elvenfriend Human Assassin level 11 A slim man, sunkissed with black wavy hair and a thin beard, delicate face features, soft spoken and polite. Nothing betrays his profession and he claims to be an explorer. Fluent in Elvish, gnome and halfling. At times appear to be very observant and of keen hearing.
Emperor Kho Rimbo Human Magic-User level 12 Emperor Kho Rimbo the Unifier has travelled back in time to save the future.
Glorpa Human Fighter level 10 40 years ago Glorpa killed a kobold and has never looked back since. Stubbled, grizzled and scarred.
Patriarch Basequin of the Lady Human Cleric level 9 A bearded fellow of serious disposition. The most notable thing about him is his intense stare, bright clerical vestments, and his shield painted with the Weeping Lady. He has a habit of shouting, “So the LAW be written!”
Siora Qiwarin Half-elf Fighter level 6 / magic-user level 6 / cleric level 4 A lithe half elf maiden. Recognisable by her flame fluted helm of brilliance, and her dazzlingly ice blue eyes. At the beginning of battle she is known to usher a prayer to the Lords of LAW and cause her broadsword to burst into flames. Due to this, many call her the flame maiden. She despises Dwarves.

The Emperor's Call

Hear ye, the chosen of his Highness, the World Emperor! You, yes you, have been chosen to be the agents of His Will, the Fist of His Might, the Eye of His Providence!

Deep in Altanian wilderness Emperor's spies reported a caved gated with metal disgorging monstrosities beyond what is known to Wilderlands. Those who entered never returned.

Now it is you who must go there, before the Incompetent Overlord learns of this too.

Your expedition must find out exactly what this cave is, what is causing the monsters to come forth, who is responsible, and how to prevent future incursions. In addition, any other information regarding this mysterious locale, its strange denizens, magical devices, or unusual weaponry is highly desirable.

His Highness, The World Emperor will reward you greatly, for his empire is vast, and there is always place for a loyal vassal who knows their place.

Failure will not be tolerated.

Begone.

The Emperor's Finest

A party of twelve battle-hardened adventurers spent three weeks traversing the Altanian mountain range until they found what they were looking for—some sort of large metal construction engulfed by rock. Two doors were before them, one absolutely massive at the foot of the rock, and one smaller, some hundred or two feet above.

Adventurers had nearly a hundred magical items between them. And yet, the doors has proven to be their greatest challenge thus far.

Who's Who?

Siora drank a potion of flying and scouted the surroundings. Racrion cast Knock from scroll. Arakesh drank a potion of ethereality. As he stepped through the lower doors he screamed, for he turned corporeal. He died in spot, one third of his body hanging from the doors facing the party.

Emperor Kho Rimbo the Unifier summoned a massive Earth Elemental and ordered it to beat down on the metal doors. An hour later the doors still stood. Luckily they had means to dispel the elemental. Finally, Denzil scaled the rocky outcropping and approached top doors. They slid open, revealing a twenty by ten feet chamber with another double doors. Everything was made of unfamiliar metal.

Three hours after they have arrived the party entered. Eleven of them stuffed inside, doors closing behind. Doors before the slid open.

Stale air mixed with stench of rotting vegetation assailed their adventurers' nostrils. Before them was a dark, large square chamber. An large cylinder with two slits dominated the center. Through it the could see far to the other side, for there were bright lights in the distance.

There were many single doors of smooth metal all around them. Each had a rectangular extrusion to the right with several smaller compartments. The smallest and topmost of them were always coloured—either violet or jet black.

The chamber was a sort of junction, with large corridors leading in each cardinal direction. The party fanned out, looking for clues.

“Over here!”

West tunnel had a pile of bones, rages, and husks amid which there was a shiny object. As few adventurers approached to rummage through the rubble, a giant manta ray befall them from the ceiling. It was obliterated by eight magic missiles, and savage swings from Grimel, Bosso, and Denzil.

Shiny object was violet piece of glass. It was sleek, with rounded edges.

Many doors lined the corridor ahead. Some were open, revealing their depressive innards. Despite the alien materials, it was obvious these were some sort of living quarters. Now they were tattered and housed nothing but skeletal remains of previous inhabitants. Some of the skeletons were in hugging positions, some were outstretched, clawing at the walls, and yet others were simply dispersed.

Adventurers followed the corridor, exploring the open rooms.

And then turned into a moss-covered corridor. At the end of it four bipedal, fungal creatures stared at them. Adventurers did not wait for response—they charged. What they failed to realise is that this corridor was lined with rooms, housing many more of these creatures.

Free-for-all skirmish ensued. Barbarian brothers, Grimel and Bosso, each took one room to clean. Other fighters went in pairs. Kho-Rimbo, Uncle So, Basequin and Kartoo Mon fought in the corridor.

Warriors were making short work of vegetable-based monsters. The creatures were resilient, but otherwise no match for the adventurers. Amongst them were dog-like creatures made of thorns. They too were no match for the warriors, but did rip Kho Rimbo to shreds, saved only by intervention of others.

Basequin caste Speak with Plants in an effort to parley with survivors. He wished to extract information that would be useful to his mission. Alas, as he did so, Kartoo Mon, the sentient demonic armour, flashed him subtly with the Scarab of Insanity. The cleric went crazy, not even knowing what is going on.

Suddenly everything exploded! Most of the plantmen were incinerated. Most of the adventurers were signed but alive. The same couldn't be said about their belongings.

Standing triumphant among the remains of nearly thirty plantmen, adventurers began to rummage through the rubble. Another explosion!

That did not last long for soon there were dozens of vegemen attack from all directions! Doors swung open, corridors filled, and vegetables were everywhere.

Kho Rimbo cast lightning bolt. It did nothing. He was promptly torn to shreds by a pack of thorndogs. His death was slow and painful. Bosso wished him back to life.

Adventurers concentrated in the corridor, slaying plantmen in droves. Barbarian brothers were singing with glee. They pushed forth and forth, until there were none but men standing.

“Khm, khm.” Kartoo Mon coughed.

Everyone looked at him.

He presented his Scarab of Insanity.

And everyone descended into murderous rage.

Everyone but Racrion.

Luckily for them, Basequin and Siora were still rummaging through a chamber at the end of the corridor, so they did not witness the madness inducing scarab.

They did witness the madness it induced.

Brother slaying brother.

Corvus turning on Glorpa.

Uncle So stumbling and slapping everyone around him.

Denzil cleaving Kho Rimbo.

Racrion, amidst the madness, gulped down the potion of invisibility. He threw himself to the ground and crawled towards Siora, the only sane one amongst the crew.

Karto Mon laughed as he chucked firebaubbles around, causing explosion after explosion.

Bosso bellowed out at the realisation of having murdered his own twin brother. His heart exploded, but not before he made his final wish.

Meme by Jan.

“I WISH FOR THE AIR TO BE SUCKED OUT OF THIS PLACE!”

The smiley on Karto Mon's vantablack armour wept crimson blood.

Racrion and Siora forced Basequin to follow them, practically carrying him out.

They ran as their allies hacked each other to pieces.

They ran as explosions echoed behind them.

They ran as everything turned quiet.

They ran as oxygen became scarce.

They ran until they were out.

Character sheets and illustrations by Dreadlord.

The Emperor's Trinket

I am VERY VERY ANGRY!

I am forced to lie on the floor with the rancid, decaying body of my meatpuppet, putrefying inside my cavity. How I, the Bulwark of Gommorath and vassal-armour of the dread lord Shah Drong Dirkahl, came to this state is a tale of the perfidy of the meatbags.

I was charged with ensuring none survived their expedition into the Barrier Peaks. For three weeks I had to endure being carried among them, with their disgusting, slow passing of liquids and solids from the tops of their bodies, and out again at the lower part, filthy beings all.

We arrived at a massive tower of rock encrusted metal, a huge door large enough for one of my Lord’s flame elephants to pass through was before us, and a smaller one higher up visible from the ground. The meatbags pounded and shouted at the door, one tried to go through it by becoming a meat-ghost, only to be killed halfway through, I gave a hearty laugh at this, my task was being made easy by their own failure!

Eventually we entered through the upper door, and they began exploring; all was made of metal inside, including a round tunnel going vertically, which they ignored. I had my meatbag carry me, ensuring that we lagged behind, until I took a chance to cast a Finger of Death at their half-elf know it-all multiclasser, the shitty little she-beast shrugged it off, oh how I hate biologicals!

Onwards they shuffled, with their huffing and puffing of breath, until a strange flat monster dropped from the ceiling onto the vanguard. Sadly, it was weak and presented no real opportunity to ‘help it in its endeavours’.

Further on they discovered rooms of plant beings, humanoid and canine looking, almost as depressing as the meat versions that I was stuck with. Soon a meat and two-veg fight ensued. After a while I found my self alone with just their main cleric, and I introduced him to my little friend, the Scarab of Insanity! Much hilarity ensued as he gleefully leapt onto the brambly-monstrosities besetting my meatbag and gave them a painful hug.

The other meatbags were putting their veggies away heartily so there was no time for much subtlety. On the pretext of panic, I got my meatbag to throw a firebauble into the melee. There was swearing, but they were otherwise blissfully unaware of my true intent of wearing them down.

The fight was soon over and they insisted on pressing on. Many of them were weakened, and I reasoned Go Big or Go Back To Hell, so when the majority were gathered together, I got my meatbag to hold aloft the scarab once again, and marvellous pandemonium ensued, there was wailing, there was brother killing brother, it was glorious, until it wasn’t. One brother with his dying words cried out a wish that the very air desert the place, and I felt my meatbag’s life force begin crumpling inside me, as those around me did. As he collapsed I could just see some of the party who had been back the way, outside the mirth-circle generated by the scarab, disappear around a corner, and then I heard them find an exit which then promptly closed again. And then, all the meat was still and dead, so too not all bad on balance.

Oh how I hope a new meatbag finds me and I can carry on in my Lord’s Service, then I can truly live up to the demon-vassal creed of, “Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down!”

#Wilderlands #OneShot #SessionReport

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DriveThruRPG is running 40% sale off many titles in celebration of GM's day.

As usual, this is a good time to grab the classics from the TSR catalogue: OD&D, D&D, and AD&D 1e.

Since this is all about Judges, here are some books I find useful for preparing sandbox games:

All issues of the legendary Fight On! zine are on sale too. Can't go wrong with those as they are chock-full of gameable material, including some contributions by yours truly.

Spend responsibly.

#Sale #OSR

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Adventurers

Character Race Class Description
Sieghart Totschinder Human Fighter level 1 Soldier of fortune hailing from the City-State of the Invincible Overlord. Impoverished into desperation.
Syd Grundy Human Ranger level 1 Tall, middle aged and scruffy looking man of the wilderness.
Thorinda Bung Human Monk level 1 She has blonde hair done up in a tight pony tail and wears light, loose suit.
Ambros Human Cleric level 6 Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time.
Ignaeus Elf Fighter level 4 / magic-user level 5 A slightly weathered looking elf with dull blonde hair and chiseled features. Seeks wealth and knowledge.
Kenso San Human Fighter level 3 An arrogant and self-assured sellsword wandering Wilderlands to prove he can best anyone.
Tam o' Shanter Human Cleric level 3 A boisterous wine-lover of Losborst on a Great Crusade of the Grape.

Blackmoon 3rd, Earthday

Ignaeus and Ambros assembled a party of seven, intent on plundering the depths of Castle Yukanthur. After their last visit was naught but a scouting mission. This time they would return with some wealth. So they said, and so it shall be done.

The party reached ruined remains of Yukanthur's last resort by early noon. They spent half an hour scouting the surroundings and ruined gatehouse for any signs of change. Then they descended down the spiral staircase in the south-west tower.

A chipped and weathered stone statue faced them at the bottom of stairs, unmoved. Upon approach large mouth formed above the statue, booming:

“WHO DARE ENTER THE CASTLE OF YUKANTHUR?!”

Like before, adventurers ignored the warning and turned left. They passed the illusory wall, headed straight, then left, and then straight until they were at the spot where few of the adventurers had fought a tentacled monstrosity a month or so ago.

They forced open doors leading east, entering a thirty by thirty chamber with many doors. There were in total four doors, two on the west wall, one on the east wall, and one on the south wall. Syd immediately picked up on the clues suggesting that there is a lot of passage through this chamber.

Keen elven senses tipped off Ignaeus that something is amiss. After thorough search he had found secret doors in the south-east corner. By all accounts it was a sliding panel activated by pressing on the flagstone.

Adventurers lined up, weapons at ready. Ignaeus stepped on the stone. Doors slid open. Before them a room opened up, some twenty by thirty feet. Unpleasant smell of dozens of tallow candles hit their nostrils. Two large workbenches were lined up against the east wall. A robed figure was hunched over one of the tables. A large man dressed in chainshirt faced the adventurers.

Sieghart charged in first, attacking the armed man. The duo locked in wicked duel, exchanging blows. Sieghart successfully parried all of them. The man was promptly slain by Kenso and Ignaeus.

Tam ran at the robed man, just in time to get blasted in the face by projectile discharged from the wand wielded by the man. Sieghart seized the robbed man like he was a mere child. He broke his back with a mighty squeeze. Thorinda finished the man by glaiving him.

Flesh of dead mage exploded with gore as the skeleton set itself free. Rubble and garbage around one the floor assembled into six more skeletons. Mage's skeleton still wielded the wand. It blasted Tam once more.

Ambros, whom had remained by the secret doors, held up golden gavel and uttered holy words. One of the skeletons turned to dust. Others attacked the adventurers, Thorinda was violently penetrated, and she succumbed. Cleric of Aniu called on Forseti once more, banishing all the skeletons.

Victorious, the party turned to plundering the chamber. Besides two workbenches, there were also some stools, a chair, several shelves, and miscellaneous laboratory equipment like beakers, alembics, empty vials, and similar.

Sieghart stripped the dead warrior of his chainshirt. He also took the sword, which was most definitely magical. He passed it on, preferring his own morningstar. In total, adventurers took 250 gold pieces, twelve small bottles filled with brown red liquid, and man's spell book. They also packed twelve books for later retrieval.

The chamber had but a single doors, those leading north. Opening the secret doors revealed that the chamber they came through was now filled with giant rats. So adventurers closed the secret doors and opted to focus on the regular doors to the north. All efforts to force it open result with miserable—and shameful—failure. In order to save face, they hacked the doors down with a battle axe.

Corridor led them to another doors, connecting to chamber of many doors, as well as to a split, the latter leading to another doors, and another long corridor. This doors were easy to open, revealing naught but empty chamber. This perplexed the adventurers so much they spent significant time investigating the chamber. They found nothing.

Emboldened, they returned to many-doored chamber. This time they went south, emerging into a large chamber with six skeletons. Ambros turned them to dust.

Onwards, south, through another door, and then through winding corridor, led to yet another stuck doors. Sounds of barking and combat could be hear. Adventurers broke through.

Four kobolds were bunched on a wood table in the centre of the room. They were fighting off a dozen giant rats attempting to climb.

Adventurers killed them all.

Searching the room did not yield any interesting treasure. Besides doors to the east they came through, there were two more doors, one to the south, and one to the west. Adventurers went through the last ones.

Thirty feet long corridor connected to another doors straight ahead before turning further right. Carefully moving forward, party could see another doors to their right. They were wide open.

Shining bullseye lantern in that direction revealed a square chamber bereft of anything but one thing—butt-naked male corpse in the center of the room. Coming closer confirmed the man was indeed naked. His crack faced the party, while his finger pointed to north-east corner.

Coming yet closer resulted with a surprise attack of transparent goo that coated the man. Striking it result with a dissolved weapon. Ambros and Ignaeus poured military oil on the creature and then set it on fire.

Everyone fled the room. Sieghart closed the doors shut. Burning ooze seeped through the cracks. It seized his feet and crawled up, engulfing him up to his belly button. Sieghart feinted from the terrible shock and pain he endured.

Syd and Ignaeus ran toward Sieghart, grabbing his arms. They tried to pull him out of the burning ooze coating his lower body. Alas, they only managed to drag him with the ooze still attached.

At this moment doors they passed swung open. A gang of pig-faced beastmen spilled out, grunting and wielding wicked scimitars.

Adventurers were now squeezed between a burning acid ooze on one side, and a gang of violent orcs on another.

Sieghart's lower was coated with flesh dissolving ooze, which in turn was mixed with military oil, which was on fire. Thorinda was hunched over, barely containing her guts after being pierced open by skeletons. Tam was still mangled up after repeatedly taking Magic Missile to the face.

Will Castle Yukanthur claim more than one man's manhood?

Memes by Jan.

Discuss at Dragonsfoot forum.

#Wilderlands #SessionReport

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Adventurers

Character Race Class Description
Syd Grundy Human Ranger level 1 Tall, middle aged and scruffy looking man of the wilderness.
Jacob Vin Human Assassin level 1 Slick black hair, inconspicuous dress, youthful for his age, and of keen instincts.
Thorinda Bung Human Monk level 1 She has blonde hair done up in a tight pony tail and wears light, loose suit.
Ambros Human Cleric level 6 Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time.
Ignaeus Elf Fighter level 4 / magic-user level 5 A slightly weathered looking elf with dull blonde hair and chiseled features. Seeks wealth and knowledge.
Minako Konishi Human Monk level 3 Pretty Karakan with grace of a panther and shrewdness of a fox. Silk sash holds here loose trousers in place, while loose jacket rounds up her exotic look.

Goodgroove 6th, Airday

Ignaeus and Ambros assembled a party of six, intent on plundering the depths of Castle Yukanthur. Syd had recovered and was ready to adventure once more. Jacob, Thorinda, and Minako were all new recruits; adventurers whom had recently arrived to the backwater Ironburg.

Heinrik shared all he knew about the castle. Adventurers copied his map to the location, and then they set off in the early morning. Although Goodgroove is the first month of fall, it still felt quite like summer. Not a cloud in sight, and scalding hot.

Ruined fortress lies just four leagues northeast from Ironburg, so adventurers reached it in little bit over one watch. Then they spent half an hour to scout the surroundings before finally mustering enough courage to descend into the dungeon.

Ambros and Ignaeus, two most senior and best armoured adventurers in the party, took the lead. Spiral staircase eventually came to a landing leading straight down. A chipped and weathered stone statue faced the bottom of stairs. Upon approach large mouth formed above the statue, booming:

“WHO DARE ENTER THE CASTLE OF YUKANTHUR?!”

Party ignored it and followed the corridor leading left. Dried rivulets of blood gave credence to previous delve, albeit by other adventurers, as did the broken arrows at the far end. Moving on, they reached an illusory dead end. Ignaeus walked straight through the wall.

Adjoining chamber reeked of death. Dried gore was close to the archway leading out. Beyond it was a T-shaped junction splitting west and south. Barging through the west door led the party to giant rats feasting on kobold remains. Heroic Ignaeus darted forth and hacked all four giant rats to death. Others tried to help, but were rather ineffective.

The chamber had three exits in total. One doors to the east, through which the party came from. Two doors on the west side, one in each corner. Adventurers choose the left doors. Then spent half an hour forcing them open. Their reward was a corridor leading them to a T-shaped junction splitting towards doors and another corridor.

Another half an hour later and they forced yet another doors open. A small circular chamber, perhaps some ten feet in radius, was before them. A robed, scythe-wielding statue stood on a four inch tall plinth in the center of the chamber. Next to it was a headless skeleton dressed in rotted leather armour. On the other side of the chamber was skull. A tattered sack with silver coins was right by it.

Following another thirty minutes of discussion Ambros suggested it is not worth risking life for such a pittance. Party backed off and followed the corridor west. They turned right, then right again at new junction. This led them to yet another junction, which they theorised would go to the other side of scythe chamber. Corridor continued to another doors, which were the northwest doors of the chamber with kobold and giant rat corpses.

There were another doors further north, as of yet unexplored. Beyond them was a large chamber, easily fifty by fifty feet. Doomed ceiling rose way above the torchlight. Straight across the chamber were doors that were slightly ajar. The room itself was bereft sans for one little detail—a dead elf in the center. He was dressed in chainmail. Broadsword was next to it, as well as longbow. He didn't have any other noticeable possessions.

Adventurers carefully approached the corpse.

“Watch out!”

Syd yelled at Jacob. The assassin instinctively jump to the side, barely avoiding wombat-sized giant tick dropping from above. Initial attacks all bounced off of its thick carapace. Then Syd roared and cracked it open with few mighty swings of his battle axe. Ignaeus used the opportunity to bash through the hole, driving his broadsword straight through the insect's body. It let out a sound and collapsed.

“Agh!”

Before they even had time to wipe their weapons, another giant tick dropped down. This one hit Thorinda, nearly breaking her back. It bit her hard and begun sucking her dry. Everyone but Jacob missed, for they tried hard not to accidentally hit the monk.

Thorinda went pale and limp as tick sucked the life out of her. With her out of the way, adventurers went wild and beat down on the insect with savage glee. Ambros delivered the killing blow, smashing its peanut-sized brain with his heavy mace. They rolled the carcass off the Thorinda. She was alive but in a rather poor state.

Inspecting elven corpse confirmed two things. First, he was most definitely the victim of giant ticks—or something else that sucks blood. Second, he was liberated of his possessions. His belt was cut, and his coin purse and backpack were nowhere to be found.

Adventurers moved north, past the open doors. They followed a long corridor until they reach a junction splitting east and south. East led forward fifty feet before turning right. South led hundred feet before reaching doors and turning right. The latter looped back to the small entry chamber behind the illusory wall.

“Listen!”

Minako heard rapidly incoming squishy sounds—like wet flesh slapping against cold flagstones. Adventurers braced themselves and faced north.

A disgusting monstrosity with glistening, elongated tubular body with three dozen tentacle-like appendages charged them. It slapped Syd and Jacob many times. The two hadn't felt any pain. Soon they couldn't feel anything at all. Their muscles contracted and they were completely unable to move.

Ignaeus slashed wildly at the monster. He made a deep gash along its right flank. The monster oozed foul smelling ichor. Minako cartwheeled toward the monster. She formed her palm like holding a single drop of water. Moment before striking the monster between its frontal eyes, she tensed the side of her palm.

Hit landed with a thud. She back flipped as the monster burst open, covering Ignaeus, Syd, and Jacob with foul smelling ichor. Cleric and elf picked up the paralysed duo. Party fled the dungeon, barely avoiding several stirges that were attracted to foul excrement.

They found a safe nook some twenty minutes south of Castle Yukanthur and made a cold camp there until ranger and assassin were able to move again. Given it was night already, the party decided to wait for sunlight before traveling to Ironburg.

On his night watch, Ignaeus spotted a band of five dwarves singing and working by the entrance of Castle Yukanthur. From afar it seemed like they were clearing up the rubble and taking some of it with them.

Adventurers returned to Ironburg on noon of Goodgroove 7th.

Empty handed.

For how long can Ambros keep this gang fed, watered and dressed before being sucked dry himself?

Discuss at Dragonsfoot forum.

#Wilderlands #SessionReport

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Adventurers

Character Race Class Description
Syd Grundy Human Ranger level 1 Tall, middle aged and scruffy looking man of the wilderness.
Ambros Human Cleric level 6 Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time.
Ignaeus Elf Fighter level 4 / magic-user level 5 A slightly weathered looking elf with dull blonde hair and chiseled features. Seeks wealth and knowledge.
Foxglove Human Thief level 6 A willowy human, long hair ties in a pony tail, looks a bit dangerous and dainty at the same time.
Tikatu Human Druid level 4 A dirty little man with dark and dirty skin, wearing loincloth with no back. “What will be, will be” is his favourite aphorism.
Kenso San Human Fighter level 3 An arrogant and self-assured sellsword wandering Wilderlands to prove he can best anyone.

Harvestime 8th, Airday

Ignaeus listened with bathed breath. An elven mating tune softly reverberated from the tunnel the party had arrived from minutes ago.

Foxglove, Nifft, Sieghart, Thelaryn and Ambros were deeper west, down the wide tunnel plugged with with hardened webs. There they were working on slashing through an open wedge, trying to reach two spiderfolk they had previously paralysed.

Ignaeus and the others were more worried about the tune. Doubly so since just hundred feet eastwards was a massive spiderpolis, hanging suspended in large cave. It was teeming with life. Life that adventurers did not want to spot them.

Thus, brave Ignaeus led the way down the tunnel north. He was soon stopped by a whispering voice others could not understand at all. This went on for some time, with elf pausing the conversation at moments to summarise to his allies what is being discussed.

This voice from darkness was an “elf cousin” living in the Woelands. They offered a deal of “mutual benefit.” They would catch three creatures of the Woelands that the party needs, and in exchange the adventurers would tell them where do tunnels around the Spiderpolis lead to.

Unwilling to aggravate the voice from darkness, party offered to return and collaborate a bit later. After all, they had two living specimen—or soon at least, once they cut them loose from the webbing—and two dead specimen.

Voice from the darkness agreed.

Adventurers took nearly an hour to cut through hardened webs that two spidermen were paralysed in. The monsters' bodies were roughly hobbit sized. They had six appendages, all double jointed. Their heads were akin to squished chubby human baby with protruding mandibles on the lower side, and two large yellowish eyes. They were covered with spindly hair.

Paralysed and stiff, they were not particularly heavy, so each was carried by a single adventurer. By the time they arrived in the chamber with spiral staircase leading up, the effects of paralysation had worn off. Creatures began screaming and shrilling, but were quickly wrestled, subdued, tied and sacked.

Adventurers ascended one by one. Open, nearly freestanding spiral staircase led upwards for sixty or so feet, before entering the ceiling and leading into the dungeon above. Ambros was first to go up, in order to check if there were any surprises. Kenso was last to go. Before he was able to enter the ceiling he was struck by two bolts. He felt stinging pain, and then he tumbled, asleep.

Sensing that something is off, Ignaeus returned, only to see Kenso sleeping on the stairwell. He quickly dragged him up and then slapped him awake.

Now everyone wast stuffed in a dungeon chamber some twenty by teen feet. Listening at the only doors leading out did not reveal much beyond a low, rumbling cacophony of speech. Adventurers forced the doors open, and charged out, turning hard left.

Alas! There was nothing that way. But now they could all hear maddening gibbering at the highest volume. Syd and Kenso were flabbergasted by the noise. Ambros and Ignaeus were driven to mad rage, seeking the source of it.

And they did not have to search far. Just behind them, at the archway leading into the circular chamber, a dark mass covered with eyes and mouths blobbed. It chittered, it howled, it gibbered, it reverberated throughout. Cleric and elf rushed it, slashing, failing to injure it.

The noise continued, provoking Tikatu. Ignaeus and Foxglove assaulted allies in their confusion, wounding Ambros and Kenso. Abomination latched one mouth to Ignaeus. Next round Kenso attacked and ally, Ambros, Foxglove and Syd were driven to mad rage, and Ignaeus had a total of three mouths attached to him.

Great tragedy stuck the following round. Syd and Tikatu were aggravated greatly, rushing to vanquish the monster, Ambros and Ignaeus were baffled and too confounded to act, while Foxglove backstabbed an ally in his confusion. The thief slashed Syd's neck while the ranger tried to pass him. He stumbled to the ground, gurgling blood. Four mouths were now attached to Ignaeus, chewing him up.

As the maddening mouthing continued, Tikatu and Ignaeus were stupefied, but Kenso and Ambros managed to separate the elf from the monsters many mouths. Alas, the abominable mass soon had two mouth reattached to Ignaeus. The elf was being chewed alive.

Thelaryn, Nifft, and Sieghart rushed to grab dying Syd. They bandaged his wound and dragged him eastwards, heading towards the dungeon exit. They didn't really care if the ranger was alive or not, for as long as Ambros lives, anyone can be brought back to life.

Kenso, Tikatu, and Ignaeus were flabbergasted once more, unable to act cohesively, while Foxglove was aggravated so much he began throwing daggers into melee, not caring whom he hits. One mouth attached to Ambros. Next round both Kenso and Ambros assaulted their allies.

By this time the adventurers had stuck the monstrosity many times, but failed to do significant damage. All of them were wounded, some quite badly, mostly from hurting each other. The abomination gnawed at their sanity as well as their flesh. It was time to flee, and they knew it.

They all managed to break away, except poor Tikatu. Five mouth attached to him, chewing and biting off pygmy's foul but tasty flesh. Kenso, whom had fled the furthest, suddenly turned around and attacked Ambros. Cleric failed at wrestling him down. Kenso pulled his broadsword with great speed, and nearly cut off Ambros's head.

Many mouths chattered and chittered, baffling Kenso, Ambros, and Ignaeus. They were forced to watch as Tikatu was pulled underneath the mass. They were forced to listen pygmy's desperate screams as he was eaten alive by dozens of tiny mouths.

Kenso remained stupefied, Ignaeus struck Foxglove, and abomination caught up, leaving a bloody trail of crying Tikatu, attaching two mouths to the thief. Foxglove was driven mad, throwing himself at the monster, slashing across its thick, viscous surface. Ignaeus stood there, dumbly. Three more mouths attached to Foxglove.

Ambros, Ignaeus, and Kenso fled as Foxglove's screams and pleas echoed behind them.

Harvestime 10th, Spiritday

Survivors—Ambros, Ignaeus, Syd (now with a nice scar), Sieghart, Nifft, Thelaryn, and Kenso—returned to Ironburg by noon. Old Crus was delighted by the specimen they had brought him. As promised, he allowed Ignaeus access to his library of third level spells.

Elf understood the following spells: rope trick, water breathing, invisibility with ten foot radius, and fire ball.

Adventurers did not celebrate.

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WHFE01 Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is worth picking up to plunder for rules (e.g. alignment, critical hits, magic, magic items, religion), while WHFE08 Middenheim: City of Chaos makes for a nice corrupt regional capital.

#Sale #WFRP

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Adventurers

Character Race Class Description
Kho Rimbo Human Magic-user level 3 A knife throwing wizard extraordinaire. Covered in ritual knife scars. Cuts himself whilst casting. Prone to being sarcastic.
Jacob Vin Human Assassin level 1 Slick black hair, inconspicuous dress, youthful for his age, and of keen instincts.

Hysterium

From delirious mind of Kho Rimbo. Written by his player, Brulligrum.

Wizard extraordinaire Kho Rimbo turned on his heel and vacated the Hog's Head tavern. He left behind the adulation of the folk of Ironburg and bizarrely found himself in a cave. Last autumns leaves fluttered and rustled past his feet, ushered on a slight breeze that still carried the sound of Father Ambros' baritone singing

“For he's a jolly good fellow.”

“And so say all of us” finished a voice nearby.

Kho realised he was not alone.

A swerve man stood at his side, pale skinned and sporting a widow's peak of swept back glossy black hair.

“That looks sore” said the man, motioning with one finger towards Kho's midriff. Kho glanced down and noticed a quivers worth of arrows protruding from his body. Plucking them free they turned to ink quills as they fell, reminding Kho he was meant to be elsewhere. At old Crus', copying recipes from his cookbook, the cranky old chef would be angry if he was late.

Realising his lack of manners Kho introduced himself to his companion giving a flamboyant exaggerated bow.

“Vin” responded the man.

“Jacob Vin, at your service”

“Well master Vin” asserted Kho

“We best set off post-haste lest we are sure to be late.”

“As you like” replied Vin.

Together the strode deeper into the caves, needing no more light than the glow emanating from their bodies to show the way.

Two paths forward soon became apparent. The first, an uninviting sinkhole, was rejected in favour of a ledge that led down to a forest of rock pillars. Whilst passing amongst the stone trunks Kho admitted to Jacob that he always had a problem telling which was which when it came to identifying stalagmites and stalactites.

“It's easy” assured Jacob Vin.

“You've just got to remember that tights always come down” he continued with an overfamiliar nudge and salacious wink.

“I defer to your mastery of geology” replied Rimbo, sarcastic.

“And ladies undergarments” Jacob offered followed by another nudge. “Indeed” sighed Kho Rimbo.

Further exploration uncovered a bear deep in slumber. The odd couple thought it prudent to leave it to its dreams of honey pots and homely caves and so moved on.

In a cave like cyst of milky flowstone they came upon a deep pool of crystal water. The surface refused to show Jacobs reflection, whilst Kho's shimmering twin was sneering and rude.

“You will always be a coward” it accused.

“Because you are incapable of being brave.”

At this statement Jacob raised a questioning eyebrow in Kho's direction.

“Caution is not cowardice” defended the slighted mage.

The slanderous reflection began to sink into the pool, face smug and condescending. Incensed Kho gave chase. Diving into the water and swimming deep until his lungs felt fit to burst, but when caught the mirage flowed between his throttling fingers and dissipated. Bursting back to the surface, gulping for air, he clambered from the pool. Only to discover he was bone dry.

“How peculiar” exclaimed Kho.

“Agreed” replied Jacob scratching his chin.

Onwards they forged. Through a collapsed floor. Via rappel and rope they descended deep beneath the earth, leaving behind the natural caves and finding themselves in in a huge circular chamber hewn by hand rather than nature. Here were old bones, clad in bracelets of rusted iron, manacled both hand and foot. The majority lay before an imposing set of double doors. Seams sealed in concrete, surface scarred by scratching fingers. Jacob prowled the chambers circumference like a sleek black cat whilst Kho, trusty crowbar in hand, chipped away, releasing the door from its bonds. The work done, and with shoulders to the job, they forced egress from the chamber. Jacobs nose wrinkled at the ancient earthy waft from beyond, undaunted, Kho was eager to push on. He had no inclination to feel old Crus' ladle upside of his head, a very likely prospect if he was late. Furthermore today was the day when the old Crotchety chef had promised to teach him the secret of Phantasmal force flan.

The chambers beyond were old. Older even than the longest beards of the most ancient dwarven ancestors. The walls of ununiformed polygonal blocks fitted together with impossible precision. Mosaiced side passages led to doors sealed with rusted padlocks, but the subjects depicted on the walls kept them from these paths.

Their route eventually opened into a long gallery, its high tessellated walls depicting a foul world where wormish overlords ruled over men. As they traversed the passage the mosaics seem to squirm and wriggle in step with the travellers, although when Kho pointed this out to Jacob he claimed it was not so. Down broad steps they trod and to doors they were led. Barred from without. Meant to keep something within. Jacob preached caution, Kho flung the bars free like a man driven, he was desperate to get to old Crus' house as well as eager to leave behind the gallery of crawling worms.

Beyond was a grand circular chamber. Its centre a gaping pit. Narrow ledges traversed the the chambers circumference meeting at a twisted chimeric statue of gross proportion. Its slitted gaze fell upon the depths below its clawed feet. A flight of narrow steps led down to a floor carpeted with the husks of men, giant insects and the dusty, papery, caste of an enormous serpent. Across this charnel jumble a the shadowed outline of a passage was just visible.

After a cursory search of the upper works and a brief, cautious, examination of the statue, they chose to descend the narrow steps, tense with trepidation. But the danger did not come from below as expected. The vile statue, its mouth stretched to a gaping maw vomited forth a scorpion of huge proportion. clacking claws heralded its arrival and in turn spurred the explorers into action. They ran. Fled for the dubious safety of the darkened passage, across the floor of snagging, grasping, corpses, and away from the monstrosity disgorged from the gullet of the statue.

Down the passage they sped without heed, dreading to hear the chitinous tip tap of pursuit. An ill chosen turn and they blundered into a dead end chamber, walls a gallery of wormish vileness. Hastily backtracking they chose differently, blindly fleeing in fear of snapping pincers. Panting, they finally tumbled into another great passageway. Like unto its predecessor depicting the vileness of squirming wormdom, a world where worms ruled over man. A door in the opposite wall mirrored the position of the passage through which they stumbled. To their right the grand gallery was swallowed by pitch darkness. To their left the passage terminated in menacing, looming statue. It was a thing of no sane aspect, of alien outline. A contorted mass of hooked claws, tentacles and beaks. A twisted spawn spat from the delirious minds of the insane. Worse still Kho was sure that it moved. Jacob did not notice this but was spooked enough to go with Kho's urgings to ignore both door and statue and hastily move on.

Accompanied by a parade of bloated worms and tortured men they pushed along the passage, its path ever leading.

After an hour, perhaps ten, a day even, the journey came to an end at a great archway. Before the gaping portal lay a large pool, free of liquid, but marred with the tidemark of old dry blood, its bottom filled with russet cracked flakes. Kho shuddered at the thought that it would take the blood of hundreds to fill such a pool, and for a moment, just a brief figment of his overworked imagination, he saw the pool full to capacity. Within, the bloated forms of giant worms. Eager to move on he led the way through the archway.

Beyond they found double doors, tall, cast of iron, buckled from within as if something of ridiculous strength had sought exit. Despite their ominous aspect the doors provided the only way forward. Kho was frantic to push on. He was already late.

No doubt Heinrik had already stoked the ovens and laid out fresh aprons for the days baking at Crus' home.

The squealing of the iron doors, moved by back breaking labour, heralded their entrance. Another vast circular chamber, like the previous housing a great pit at its centre, only this one led to a pitch black void. Multiple statues ringed the pit. Each a perfect likeness of Kho Rimbo. Whilst this stirred Jacobs interest, Kho had no time for his effigies. Instead he was focused on a stairway of sorts that descended into the pit, no more than iron bars driven into its sides and corkscrewing precariously into the abyss. Without second thought he began to descend, calling to Jacob as he went.

“Hurry! Hurry! I am going to be late!”

Despite his lack of enthusiasm for the endeavour, Jacob reluctantly gave chase.

Down they spiralled, for how long they could not tell, but into the very bowels of the earth they must of travelled, perhaps deeper. It took a mutiny from Jacob to turn them back, Kho returned only reluctantly. The journey up took only a fraction of the time of the descent.

Back up top they were flummoxed as to a way forward until Jacob recalled the door at the end of the long passage. So back they headed. Under the fanged great arch, past the pool filled with sloshing blood. Along the squirming passage and back to the hellspawned statue and its adjacent door.

After numerous failed attempts Jacob breached the door and disappeared into the room beyond. Kho remained outside, attentive to the statue.

“It's a library” Jacob called out.

Kho barely heard, he was sure the statue was moving, shifting ever so slightly.

“Going to check a few books” came the voice, unheard by Kho.

The statue was slithering into a parody of life, hooked claws groping, tentacles probing, sharp beaks snipping and snapping.

“The pages are all blank” called Jacob no doubt scratching his chin confounded.

Finally Kho found a key to unlock the terror that had seized him.

“Run you fool!” he shrieked.

“Run! Run! the statue is upon us!”

Jacob burst from the room, book under arm, dagger in hand. He glanced anxiously to the statue then sidelong at Kho Rimbo.

“Are you all right lad?” he inquired.

“Get back! Get back!” Rimbo begged.

“Are you addled of the brain? Its just a statue! Look!”

And Jacob stepped towards the statue.

Kho watched in horror as he walked into the groping grasp where he was promptly eviscerated by claws and beaks.

It was all too much. Kho turned tail and ran. Screaming as he went.

The passage around him transformed into organic matter, like being inside an undulating intestine. Behind him a Phantasmagorical host gave chase, baying for blood.

The spawn tumbling on squirming appendages. Jacob flopping, trailing innards and gore. Father Ambros swinging an oversized gavel of justice. Rall Kyle, the landlady of the Hog's Head tavern, the one armed priest. Even Old Crus with ladle flailing, and countless squirming worms.

Feet fleet with fear, he ran. And ran. Ran back to the circular chamber, where the great abyss was now a giant sucking maw. Without stopping he leapt in. Eyes tightly shut.

Kho awoke back in the secret enclosure Tikatu had grown for him. He felt even weaker than before, his body soaked in cold sweat and fears piss. Nearby stood a man. A swerve fellow, sporting a widows peak of swept back glossy black hair. He had a book under one arm.

“Vin?” croaked Kho Rimbo

“Jacob Vin??”

“At your service” replied the man with a cheeky wink.

Mind made flesh

As told by Jacob Vin. Written by his player, Lord Jubalon Flux.

Jacob Vin was perplexed, he hated to be perplexed. He had been resting, ready to take on his first proper ‘job’ when suddenly he found himself in a cave. Next to him was a badly scarred and clearly unwell man who said he was a magic user named Kho Rimbo. He centred himself by repeating the guild mantra for such unexpected circumstances: Be Shaken, Not Stirred.

Slicking his black hair back into place he nodded to Kho Rimbo, who seemed to be equally bemused by this turn of events, and the pair began exploring.

They were in a small cave system. In one cavern they sound a sinkhole, and in another a clear pool of water that was fed from above via said sinkhole. The water shown no reflection when Jacob peered in, unusually for him despite the affliction of his birth. Kho Rimbo’s reflection appeared as normal, except it spoke to him and berated him for cowardice, which he vehemently denied.

Kho Rimbo insisted on exploring the pool and so, rope around his middle, dived deep; when he returned he reported nothing of note until Jacob pointed out that he was bone dry!

The duo then crept to a passageway they had spotted earlier while carefully avoiding a sleeping bear. This new route soon became rough stairs which lead to another sinkhole.

“Down, we should go down!”, argued Kho Rimbo. With no better options Jacob tied his rope to a stalagmite and they lowered themselves down into what was clearly a constructed circular chamber.

There was rubble strewn about and under it crushed humanoid skeletons. On one side there was a partially constructed corridor, and to the north a pair of massive reinforced double doors, with the gap between them sealed with a concrete-like substance.

Four intact skeletons lay in front of the door, they looked like they had spent their last few hours beating to get out. Jacob was quick to note that all showed signed of having been shacked and manacled in life. Kho Rimbo in his feverish haste soon crowbarred the concrete out, and the pair found the doors swung open with almost an eagerness to usher them on.

Beyond was a small area of rooms walled with beautifully hewn stone. Leading off from the first room were two doors each set with a pair of rusted padlocks. The alcoves each were set in contained marvellously ornate mosaics showing increasingly violently scenes of humans being subjugated and tormented by vast and malevolent worm-beings.

Ignoring both of the doors on the grounds of prudence the pair followed a long tunnel to the north-west eventually finding themselves in a lengthy, tall hallway. It was a dead end to their east, but decorated with more worm-being related mosaics, these seemingly even more grisly. To their north was a narrow staircase down, and to the west, at the far end, a set of wide stairs leading down, which ended at a north/south corridor, and a wide double-doors carefully barred on the side they could see.

Trying the corridors showed that each went a quarter-turn around what was probably a circular chamber of considerable size. Each quarter-turn ended with another barred door leading into the presumed chamber.

Entering the chamber it was clear that it had been used as a gladiatorial combat arena. There was a walkway down, presumably for combatants, an archway into the arena at its floor level from somewhere deeper in to complex. Presiding over all of this was a monstrous statue, with the look of an ogre, except for its segmented legs and dragonfly-like wings.

Jacob and Kho Rimbo bravely entered the arena and made to investigate the tunnel. As they were just about to enter it Kho Rimbo screamed that he had seen the statue distend its jaw and vomit forth a giant scorpion. He ran and Jacob followed him, having glimpsed the statue’s motion and heard the thump as the beast had landed.

After a short run, helter-skelter through more passages and rooms, they found themselves in a massive vaulted hall. At the east end, on a dais, was another huge statue, this one seemed to consist of a mass of tongues, tentacles, and other writhing protuberances that Jacob did not want to think too closely about.

There was a door to the north which the pair ignored for the time being, choosing to check the west end of the hall, away from the statue which Kho Rimbo swore he saw twitch. In the floor at the far end there was a sunken pit, crusted with blood. Jacob’s stomach gave an unhelpful rumble at the thought of it full of blood, and he pushed that thought away.

Beyond that gruesome receptacle was another circular room, accessible via huge metal doors, all of which showed signs of having had massive violence inflicted on them from within room beyond.

This room contained a massive circular pit with a stairway circling down into the dark carved into its walls. This was the most normal thing about the room noted Jacob. At each of the cardinal points, looking pitward, were two life-sized carving of Kho Rimbo, and in an alcove to the east a giant statue of the wizard.

Jacob, who as part of his training had been microdosing with all kinds of interesting substances for months began to suspect that reality was more than a bit subjective here, wherever here turned out to be.

Kho Rimbo then beseeched his companion to accompany him down the staircase, and so they trudged down and down for half an hour day, got bored of never seeing the bottom and trudged back up to the top. By this time Kho Rimbo’s mind seemed to fraying a little, he kept muttering about tossing himself off.

And so they found themselves back at the blasphemous blob statue. Kho Rimbo kept watch on it while Jacob forced the door they had seen earlier. Beyond the door was a large library, Jacob looked at some of the book, all blank. He had just stuffed one in his backpack when he heard a high-pitched scream and raced out to see Kho Rimbo barrelling east screaming the statue was coming to life. Dear reader it was not.

Jacob raced after the wizard now understanding his mutterings of earlier. He arrived at the edge of the pit just in time to see Kho Rimbo disappearing down into the dark. And then…

Jacob Vin was perplexed, he hated to be perplexed. He started awake next to Kho Rimbo who was lying feverish on a rough bed in the centre of a sealed woodland dwelling of some kind. He kept repeating a name that sounded like Pikatchu, from the sound of it some kind of diminutive woodland creature or sprite who he imagined had promised to bring him food.

The poor man was in a wretched state and Jacob thought it would be a mercy to end him while he was unaware. What stopped him was that he did not want the guild to find out that he was a softie who did ‘freebies’.

It was then that Jacob noticed the book he had taken was real. He got it out of his pack and found it contained a map showing the location of the place he and Kho Rimbo had been, and in that moment he knew in his cold killer’s heart that it was truly a real place.

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Adventurers

Character Race Class Description
Sieghart Totschinder Human Fighter level 1 Soldier of fortune hailing from the City-State of the Invincible Overlord. Impoverished into desperation.
Nifft Human Thief level 2 A spendthrifty drifter, mutt, and vagrant. Lanky, tall, dark eyed and dark haired, with perennial little smirk matching his bent nose.
Thelaryn Human Magic-user level 1 Well groomed and well dressed Mage of the Order blessed with looks, charm, cleverness, agility, and fitness. And yet, people find him slightly suspicious.
Ambros Human Cleric level 6 Follower of Aniu, Lord of Time.
Ignaeus Elf Fighter level 4 / magic-user level 5 A slightly weathered looking elf with dull blonde hair and chiseled features. Seeks wealth and knowledge.
Foxglove Human Thief level 6 A willowy human, long hair ties in a pony tail, looks a bit dangerous and dainty at the same time.
Syd Grundy Human Ranger level 1 Tall, middle aged and scruffy looking man of the wilderness.
Tikatu Human Druid level 4 A dirty little man with dark and dirty skin, wearing loincloth with no back. “What will be, will be” is his favourite aphorism.
Kenso San Human Fighter level 3 An arrogant and self-assured sellsword wandering Wilderlands to prove he can best anyone.

Harvestime 8th, Airday

A party of nine adventurers and one linkboy descended down the pit atop the Midnight Goddess Hills. It was Ignaeus whom brought them here, for he made a wicked deal with Old Crus. The Wizard would teach him third level spells if the elf would bring him three living specimens from the Woelands.

Dungeon beneath the circle of shattered dolmens was the closest, as well as most familiar, to the adventurers. Hence, they returned to the spider-infested place once more. Like before, the antechamber was filled with blue, cinnamon and copper smelling mist.

Foxglove navigated the chamber and stuffed rolled bedrolls into the dragon-mouth's nostrils. Within half an hour the mist dissipated. More experienced adventurers warned juniors of three pit traps in the chamber. The party successfully navigated the chamber and exited into the long corridor.

This time they decided to head right, then turn left, then straight into the wide corridor leading to another long corridor. Kenso led the way, with big and confident strides. Ignaeus flanked him, while Ambros and linkboy Oriel were right behind them.

All four fell down hereto unknown pit trap. A nasty crack could be heard as Oriel snapped his neck. Other three adventurers were not particularly hurt—besides the bruised egos, that is. Others threw down the rope and helped them out.

The corridor before them was 120 feet long. There was an archway on the right hand side every thirty feet. Second and third archways emanated sickly pale green light.

“Careful...”

Based on their previous experience, adventurers made an educated guess that wicked spider-like monstrosity might lair in either, or both, of those chambers. Although Ambros was always able to turn them, adventurers did not have any magical weapons to actually injure the monsters.

First chamber to the right was empty.

Second chamber was filled with sickly green webs from bottom to the ceiling. Ambros uttered the holy words, resulting with webs shaking from activity. Ignaeus entered and blasted with wand of paralysation, borrowed to him by Old Crus. Webs continued to shake and jiggle.

Third chamber was mostly empty. There were few tattered webs here and there.

Seeing that the monster is not leaving the webs, and well aware of the fact they cannot injure it, the adventurers continue down the corridor. They eventually reached a dead end in a form of round, domed chamber. They passed bloated wooden doors prior to the terminus. Kenso forced them open, revealing a small chamber with spiral staircase leading further down.

Floor of the domed chamber was littered with broken masonry, statuary, and other oddments. Plaster that used to cover the walls and the ceiling had mostly peeled and flaked away. What little remained of it looked like it might have once depicted a natural vista.

Thoroughly searching the chamber revealed secret doors to the northeast. Foxglove discovered that concealed handle was trapped with a poisoned needle. He found a way to apply pressure to it without getting pricked.

Opening the secret doors revealed a curious chamber. Air was noticeably drier, staler, and colder. A thin layer of dust covered every visible surface, including a large cylinder of ice dominating the northeast corner.

The cylinder was roughly eight feet in diameter and ten feet in height. Foxglove wiped off a little bit of dust from the cylinder. Behind the thick sheet of ice was a black, oily mass. The light did not penetrate it. Upon closer inspection it became obvious that the mass was not perfectly smooth—it had bulgy and bubbly surface, encased with ice.

Unsure what to do, adventurers poured military oil over the ice, set it on fire, and then left. They backtracked to the chamber with spiral staircase and begun their descent. The steps were broad enough for two adventurers to advance side by side.

After three full turns, the stairs broke up into the ceiling of a large cavern. From then on, the stairs continued down, freestanding and without any handrails. Shining the bottom with bullseye lantern revealed two large spiders. Adventurers at the front retreated upstairs to discuss and plan.

Ignaeus led the second descent. He blasted the spiders with his wand of paralysation. Then everyone quickly descended in a single file to minimise the risks of being knocked off the stairs.

Once on the ground of the cave, the party realised these were not large spiders, but arachnid-like humanoids Ambros, Foxglove, and Ignaeus have met a year or so ago on the upper level, close to the entrance. Tikatu and Syd inspected the wounds. Clean slashes and punctures, most likely by weapons.

Large cave, some fifty by thirty feet and sixty feet at it highest point, had two exits on the east side. One leading north was dark and filled with stalactites and stalagmites. One leading south was wider, opening up into adjacent cave. There was some greenish light and music-like sound coming from the latter.

Adventurers went south, advancing slowly by carefully. They entered a junction-like cave splitting in four directions. Further south was a narrow tunnel. To the east was a vast cavern, nearly two hundred feet in diameter. The cavern was illuminated by a giant sphere of solid web, suspended in the center by strings of webs thick as towers defending the City-State of the Invincible Overlord.

The sphere was over one hundred feet in diameter, its surface dotted with hundreds of small, hexagonal openings. Upper part of the sphere was slightly less concave, and had several low structures and squat towers protruding from the webbing. Green light emanated from the towers and openings. Spiders crawling everywhere, except on top, where they walked upright.

Cavern floor beneath the sphere was littered with refuse and junk.

Adventurers turned off their light and switched to whispering.

Broad tunnel leading to the west continue for some sixty feet until it was completely plugged with thick webbing. There was a vertical slit in the plug, roughly in the center. A small ball of web emanating green light was placed by it. Two spiderpeople were visible inside the slit, vomiting on webs they were pulling out of their bottoms.

The party approached them, and then Ignaeus paralysed them with his wand. Kenso, Ambros, Sieghart, and Syd came all the way to the slit. Upon closer inspection, the creatures were almost identical to the two slain creatures they had just passed. Sieghart took the webbed ball holding gooey mass emanating light and stuck it to his shoulder.

“These will be two out of three Ignaeus needs.”

“But how do we take them out?”

As adventurers discussed, Ignaeus heard a familiar tune being whistled, coming from the north cave they came out of moments ago. It was an elven mating tune.

Will Ignaeus answer the call of love?

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A zine chronicling the Conquering the Barbarian Altanis D&D campaign.

This issue details sessions 94, 95, 96, 97, and 98.

Adventurers deal with curses, logistics, death, and webs.

Lots of webs.

You can download the issue here.

Overlord's Annals zine is available as part of the Ever & Anon APA, issue 8:

#Zine

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Adventurers

Character Race Class Description
Tikatu Human Druid level 4 A dirty little man with dark and dirty skin, wearing loincloth with no back. “What will be, will be” is his favourite aphorism.
Kho Rimbo Human Magic-user level 3 A knife throwing wizard extraordinaire. Covered in ritual knife scars. Cuts himself whilst casting. Prone to being sarcastic.
Kenso San Human Fighter level 3 An arrogant and self-assured sellsword wandering Wilderlands to prove he can best anyone.
Heinrik Human Magic-user level 1 Muscular mage with short blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.
Sieghart Totschinder Human Fighter level 1 Soldier of fortune hailing from the City-State of the Invincible Overlord. Impoverished into desperation.
Nifft Human Thief level 1 A spendthrifty drifter, mutt, and vagrant. Lanky, tall, dark eyed and dark haired, with perennial little smirk matching his bent nose.

Harvestime 1st, Airday

There it was, a dilapidated ruin of once impressive fortification. Four towers and one gatehouse, now broken and moss-covered. Castle Yukanthur, the final have of the wizard it has been named after. The castle rested on the north-west slope of the Midnight Goddess Hills, overlooking a marshy area to the north.

Heinrik led the adventurers here after he had learned about the location from Old Crus, a venerable Wizard whom had come to favour the young muscle-bound magic-user. Centuries ago Crus was an adventurer too. He offered Heinrik a map leading to an old site he never got to visit—Castle Yukanthur—in return for the right to pick some of the magical treasure adventurers might recover.

Tikatu and Kho Rimbo joined Heinrik on this expedition. They hired three more adventurers who had just arrived to the backwater village known as Ironburg. Kenso San, a warrior from Kingdom of Karak, Sieghart Totschinder, a mercenary from City-State of the Invincible Overlord, and Nifft, a smirking apprentice from who knows where.

Adventurers approached the ruin from south, meaning they came from above. Castle Yukanthur was on a slightly elevated area. Walls were clearly damaged by siege equipment as well as magical artillery. There were numerous cracks, in essence making it possible to enter from whichever side.

Surveying the surroundings revealed a cave mouth of the east side, roughly twenty feet below the castle ruin. Natural tunnel was blocked by a large boulder, which was obviously jammed in. Adventurers decided it'd be best to ignore it for now.

Well to the north-west was slightly more interesting. Completely overgrown, and forty feet below the ruins, it was difficult to spot it among the trees and overgrowth. Insides were overgrown with lichen and slippery moss. Nifft descended a hundred feet—that was as much rope as they had—without reaching the bottom. He could hear running water beneath.

Finally, the party had gathered sufficient courage to approach the ruins themselves. North side suffered more devastation than other sides of the castle. Towers were almost entirely destroyed. Second level was nothing but rubble. Adventurers snuck in through the ruined north-west tower.

Then Nifft climbed on the second level, and threw down the rope to others. Upper level, or rather, what was left of it, was nothing but rubble. Any valuables that might have been here have been plundered decades ago. The only notable thing was a rusted ballista on top of the south-west tower. South-east tower led them down, back to the ground level, and into the gatehouse.

We shall not go into details of adventurers taking half an hour to break open a single, bloated, but stuck doors. Gatehouse was filled with rubble, but everything was obviously arranged into neat piles. There were spent torches in one corners, as well as bent shovels and pickaxes. Doors leading to south-west tower were ajar.

Peeking in revealed that this tower had spiral staircase leading down. Rubble was cleaned, making it possible to access the aforementioned stairs. Moreover, someone constructed an archway out of the rubble, reinforcing the staircase access. Adventurers grinned, clapped their hands, formed a marching order, and descended.

It was a long descent, going round and round, until they finally reached a landing turning right, a then leading them further down in a straight line. They could see a stone statue of a warrior just at the edge of their bullseye lantern light. It looked chipped and damaged.

Kenso approached first. Mouth formed above the statue.

“Who dare enter the castle of Yukanthur?!” it uttered loudly and vanished.

Adventurers descended. Statue remained quiet. The corridor turned left, fifty feet straight, and then left again, into dead end. Surprised by this, everyone spread out to seek secret doors.

Suddenly a hail of arrows came from the south wall. Kho Rimbo slumped to the ground, four arrows sticking from him. Heinrik dropped like a sack of rocks, with two arrows jutting out as antennae from him.

Adventurers were now confused. South wall looked just like wall. There was no obvious trap or holes, nor slits. Kenso yelled banzai and charged straight at the well. He stepped right through and into a chamber some twenty by thirty feet. He ran straight into a group of six horned bipedal dogs holding shortbows.

Kenso swung his sword.

Three kobold heads fell down to the ground.

Nifft, also wounded by arrows, crawled back to safety, behind almighty Sieghart. Tikatu and Sieghart joined Kenso. Remaining three kobolds were promptly slain, but not before one of them managed to cut the Karakan swordsman quite deep.

Nifft and Tikatu checked in on the downed magic-users, while Sieghart and Kenso explored the corridor going south. It led to a junction which split west towards doors and south to another bend east.

Both Kho Rimbo and Heinrik survived their ordeal, but were now in quite bad shape. Both refused to abandon the expedition, and opted to follow the party in the background. Party bunched up at the junction, with few of the fighters investigating the closed doors.

Doors opened, and a gang of six kobolds unleashed a volley of arrows. Kho Rimbo added one more arrows to those already lodged in him. He went down, hard. Tikatu was hit with two arrows, and Kenso was hit by one arrow.

Sieghart and Kenso barreled into the chamber, slaying three kobolds. Sieghart put aside his one-handed warhammer, and took out his might morningstar. Then he proceeded to completely crush the kobold leader barking orders. Little beastman died with a yelp. It was turned into nothing but goo. Kenso killed others.

Heinrik limped in, dagger in each hand. He was promptly gutted by a kobold hiding behind the doors. Small beastman drove its shortwsord deep into the belly of muscled medium. Alas, no amount of abs could stop pointy steel.

Adventurers killed all the surviving kobolds.

The chamber they fought in had three entrances: door to the east they came from, and two doors to the west, both closed. Room itself was some thirty by forty feet. A dozen or so filthy piles of straw were on the ground. There were also six rats-on-sticks, as well as stomped out fire.

Nifft was quick to spot a shoddy looking wooden chest with an iron padlock. He tried to pick the lock, but failed miserably. Red from shame, he searched the leaders corpse. Lo and behold, he found an iron key around its neck. He went back to the chest, and pretended to pick the lock, while in reality he used the key.

The chest held two hundred and fifty two copper pieces, ninety eight silver pieces, and fifteen electrum pieces.

Surprisingly, Heinrik and Kho Rimbo were both still alive. Although both were now crawling, whimpering messes, who needed help to move at all. Those still standing checked around the corner, then picked up two magic-users, and returned to Ironburg. It would take them a season to fully recover before they could adventure again.

Kho Rimbo became worried sick that all the friends he made in Ironburg could now cost him his head. He begged Tikatu to take him to his thorn hovel in the nature.

Adventurers now know about multiple promising locations ripe for plundering. Which one will they visit next? And will it be as spectacular as this delve?

Meme by Jan.

Discuss at Dragonsfoot forum.

#Wilderlands #SessionReport

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