The Legacy of Galan Dracos

[DangerDwarf]

My group and I have completed Price of Courage and now we are about to begin a mini-campaign arc afterwards instead of retiring the characters immediately. Of the initial four characters who started the Age of Mortals campaign, only two survived the final confrontation with Frost. They will be the only two characters in this part of the campaign.

First I'll give a brief background of the initial party. All four characters were Silvanesti elves who started this quest believing that the Key of Quinari would help aid the elves as a whole in their current predicament of having no homeland. They long since realized that matters where different then expected and have plodded on despite their desire to return to their exiled brethren in Khur.

Of the two survivors, this is their information:
Kylana Lethani:A 20th level female fighter of House Protector. Kylana was most affected by the discovery that the Key did not reveal an answer to reclaiming Silvanesti. Of all the elves, she believed most that their quest would deliver to them the means of reclaiming their homeland. Despite her disappointment she remains a stalwart, if not weary, warrior.

Wielding the legendary longsword Redeemer and the holy Shard of Light, she proves to be a formidable appointment who relies on her speed and agility when facing her enemies. Kylana was also the most angered by Gilthanas' betrayal, it was not until his death while assisting them in their defeat of Gellidus that she finally forgave the fallen elf.


Kethanel Solnorre: A 20th level white robed wizard, Keth is an overly proud Silvanesti elf. A master of many languages, Keth more often then not refuses to speak anything but his native tongue. His party members often have to translate his words to those who do not speak elven as Keth refuses to freely utilize the language of the lesser races. Yeah, he's an arrogant p*i*k, even his companions are shocked by his obtuse nature at times.

Despite his prejudices, Keth genuinely means well and goes to great lengths to utilize his considerable abilities for the benefit of all. Keth has proven himself to possess an indomitable will and has on more than one occasion seen his companions through almost certain defeat.

Questions have risen among the Order of High Sorcery however as to his true allegiance; is it to the art or to his race? Should the Order ever ask him directly, they will likely be disappointed by his answer.

Saturday night will be the kick-off for our Post PoC gaming. Hopefully I'll be able to challenge them at the high levels of the game and do regular updates of their progress.

[DangerDwarf]

The party begins in the port city of Kalaman, seeking supplies for a long ship voyage as they continue their quest to lead a large number of elven refugees to reunite with their brethren in Ak-Khurman and Khurinost.

They are in the Emerald Mermaid, a supply depot run by an aging Qualinesti elf named Amroh Oakseed. They arrange for a large amount of supplies necessary for their long voyage and seeking advice from the veteran seaman. He informs them it will take a little time to obtain all that they need due to a recent influx of refugees from surrounding villages, fleeing their homes due to plague.

As they are discussing their journey with Amroh they are interupted as a dockworker leaving the Emerald Mermaid issues a bloodcurdling scream as he steps outside.

Keth and Kylana quickly move to investigate and discover a heavy fog has enshrouded the dock district. Moving out into the chilling fog they discover the body of the dock worker, it appears one of his legs has been ripped off and looks as if something bit off a portion of his head.

Sinister figures emerge from the fog, several waterlogged bodies appatrently animated and crawled up from the bay. A quick battle ensues, the elves having little difficulty in defeating the undead menace.

After the battle, Keth inspects the bodies to attempt to discover where they came from. One one's arm he finds a tattoo which reads "Payvin's Pearl".

Assuming it to be a ship name, Keth and Kylana question Amroh, wanting to know if he is familiar with the name. He informs them that the Pearl is a ship captained by a man named Payvin and that rumors state that his crew abandoned him a little over a week ago.

The city watch arrives on the scene and after a round of questioning thank the elves for dealing with the undead. Now curious, Keth and Kylana attempt to find Payvin.

They discover the whereabouts of the Pearl's captain, the Welcome Wench tavern. Upon their arrival they find the man mildly drunk and brooding. After some prodding, they get him to tell them the tale of his crew.

Payvin states that his crew did not abandon him and that on the night before the Pearl was to set out he returned to his ship to find it empty, none of his crew to be seen. At first he believed they had jumped ship on him and as he stood on deck shouting in anger he saw two hellish eyes appear in the heavy fog above him. He then claimed that that a soulless voice spoke to him, "Do you also seek your end, mortal flesh? We find your blood sweet but the Devourer will consume your soul itself!"

With that Payvin says he jumped into the water and swam for his life. He has refused to set foot back on a ship since.

With some things to think about, Keth and Kylana return to their ship for the night.

The next morning Keth makes use of the Legend Lore spell to try and determine more information about the reference to the Devourer. Kylana travels to the Temple of Shinare to speak with Lady Jenetta and ask if she is aware of any cult activity in the city and if she has heard any reference to the Devourer.

Keth's use of Legend Lore only reveals a cryptic rhyme:
The City that Waits was the city of Moil

Where dreams truly died, but bodies yet toil

In slumber unrelenting they lie yet in wait

Biding their time to seal your fate.


Kylana's visit with Lady Jenetta is equally unfruitful, but the priestess directs her to the sage Ahren who might be able to uncover information on the Devourer.

Meeting with Ahren, Kylana commissions him to research references to the Devourer. She chafes at his prices but accepts the terms. Now all she and Keth can do is wait for word from the sage.

Three days go by and the elves simply continue their preparations for the ship voyage. Finally Ahren turns up some information for them.

He tells them that he found reference to a Devourer in a scroll discussing the Abyss. The scroll talks about a section of the Abyss referred to as the Void. There he found a single reference; "And when the Devourer is truly one with the Final Void he shall be like unto a god."

Ahren also found a rendering of what is supposed to be the sign of the Devourer, a demonic looking face with a gaping maw. Ahren also informs them that in his search he discovered mention of another who had taken an interest in the Devourer, a man by the name of Desatysso. This man was reportedly a wizard and a bit of a recluse, furthermore he hadn't been seen in 20 years but had a keep in the nearby Astivar mountains. Ahren was able to gather up the supposed location of Desatysso's keep.

Kylana leaves instructions with her elven ranger cohort, Cloudbrook, to continue the preparations for the ship journey. Then, she and Keth travel by way of Keth's griffon to the Astivar mountains in search of this human named Desatysso.

Their flight was uneventful and they find the stronghold easily enough. Unfortunately though it appeared abandoned and in a state of disrepair. Landing the griffon in the vale they dismount and move towards the keep.

As they approach, a quartet of hill giants rush out from the doors and begin hurling rocks at the elves. Battle of course ensues.

A well placed fireball from Keth initially sends their foes staggering. Kylana then descends upon the giants with her blades. This battle was fairly one sided (they are level 20 after all) but gave the players time to enjoy their hard earned abilities.

An initial search of the keep found it to have been looted. The elves discovered a tunnel in the cliff face however and moved on. Traveling a spiraling tunnel upwards they were confronted with a massive boulder rolling down towards them, filling the passage. Keth managed to erect a wall of force prior to them being squished. They then moved to a safe locale and dropped the spell.

With the boulder danger now passed, they continued their climb into the giants' lair. A brief skirmish with a few more giants was brought to a halt by the arrival of their mystic, an aging female and her troll retinue.

Knowing that her clan was outmatched by these powerful yet puny elves the woman attempted to discover what the elves where after. Keth and Kylana questioned her about Desatysso and discovered he had left long ago and never returned. Kylana then struck a bargain to gain access to any writings the man may have left behind.

Eventually they obtained a badly damaged journal of the mage and left the giants in peace. Unfortunately, the journal was so damaged only a single passage of use was discovered.

In that passage Desatysso mentioned "pushing through the final veil and confronting the Devourer in his true incarnation". To do so however he needed the aid of others and mentions a man named Falon T'selvin from Kalaman who he would seek out to help him.

With only another name to chase after, the elves return to Kalaman.

So that ended our first session. Nothing overly difficult yet, simply setting the stage for the adventure to come.

[DangerDwarf]

Session 2: 11 MAR 07

Tonight's session was a short one and finished setting the stage for the adventure to come.

Upon their return to Kalaman, Keth and Kylana began their search for the man named Falon T'selvin who was mentioned in Desatysso's journal.

Their efforts turned up record of Falon being the leader of a group known as the Band of the Hand and that he had contracted his group to a mage roughly 20 years prior.. Little could be determined of the specifics of the venture save that it ended in failure. The primary piece of information uncovered was:
"And so the two remaining companions of Falon returned with him to Kalaman, the city of Falon's birth. Defeated, Falon never again left his place at the end of Elmwood lane."

With their newfound knowledge, the duo set out to find Falon's place on Elmwood lane. To their surprise, Elmwood lane ended at a cemetery. Not willing to concede defeat yet, the elves sought out Falon's grave. After a brief search they found the marble grave marker of Falon, inscribed on it was:
Strong of Hand,

Quick in Mind,

Fair of Face.

Such Availed him not

In the Screaming Place.

Standing at the grave was a giant of a man, balding and past his prime but physically impressive none-the-less. Conversing with the man, Keth and Kylana discovered his name was Grunther and that he was dumber than a bag of rocks.

Grunther it seems, was a close friend of Falon and had accompanied him on the journey with Desatysso. Attempting to gain information from the man was difficult however. All they could get from him was that the place they journeyed to was "a very bad place, beneath the stinky mud." and that a smiling skull had killed Falon and a black mouth ate Grunther's arm.

Remembering that their search had mentioned two surviving friends of Falon, they asked Grunther about the other. He told them of th "nice lady" Sather and how she talked better than him and could probably tell them more. Grunther said she lived in the town of Ohme now.

As the elves prepared to leave the cemetery, a spark of insight went off in Grunther's thick skull and he asked if they were going after the grinning skull.

Affirming that they were, Grunther volunteered to accompany them. To sweeten the deal he beat his chest with his still present hand exclaiming, "Grunther tough! No one tougher than Grunther." A well used battleaxe strapped to the man's back seemed to verify his boast. After a brief discussion, the pair decides to take Grunther up on his offer and arrange for him to meet them in the morning at the city gates.

So thusly the party gains a henchman.
Grunther: Human Male, NG, 13th level fighter.

Keth and Kylana purchase horses for the journey to Ohme and are joined by an elven cleric who is among the refugees they have on the ship. So, henchman #2 is:
Tynessa: Female Silvanesti Elf, NG, 12th Level Cleric of Mishikal.

The following morning they meet with Grunther and begin their journey towards Ohme. The first day passes without undue incident. On day two they come across an apparently abandoned village. Weapons at the ready they cautiously enter and investigate. After a house to house search the discover no one, only a few dead pets. There are signs of this not being a peaceful evacuation, some broken windows, shattered pottery among other things. The only clue that the party discovers as to the fate of the villagers is a crude carving of the sign of the Devourer on the side of a barn. Upon seeing it, Grunther holds up the stump where his left hand used to be and proclaims "The black mouth."

Day three begins as an overcast day and by mid-afternoon they find themselves riding through a steady rain. At this point they are traveling north along the outskirts of the Woods of Lahue. Keth is leery of journeying so close to the domain of the great green dragon Fume and constantly scans the tree-line as they travel.

Keth is right to be nervous as the great green drake is aware of their presence. Having met the two elves before, and his knowledge of their defeat of the dragons Cinder and Frost leaves him displeased that they are so near.

So, the dragon sends forth an envoy to discourage them from entering his realm. Rising from the tree-line are six large wyverns, each bearing an Alaghi rider.

As they draw close to the party, Keth jumps the gun and launches a fireball at the approaching riders, sending two of the wyverns crashing to the earth.

Fanning out to ensure more than one of them wont be caught by another fireball the battle begins.

The battle is a hard fought one, the wyverns using their arial advantage. One of the Alaghi is an elder of his clan and possesses magical ability. He puts it to good use and calls forth lightning bolts from the overhead storm to harass the party. Some of the highlights of the battle include a wyvern snatching up the elven priestess in its claws and Kylana managing to fell the creature with two well placed arrows before it ascends to high with the cleric. One wyvern attempted to snatch up Grunther as well but missed. As it swooped by the warrior managed a mighty blow with his battle axe, enraged that it was attempting to fly up again the dim-witted warrior flung his axe at the wyvern and ended up rolling a critical. The damage was enough to drop the beast so the axe embedded in its skull and sent it skidding into the ground, throwing off its rider.

The magic using Alaghi was brought down by Keth utilizing a disintigrate spell on its Wyvern. The resslting fall afterwards finished of the Alaghi.

After the battle is over they quickly start back on their journey north. Eventually they arrive at Ohme. As they approach they find several townspeople fleeing the town in a panic, proclaiming a plague has descended upon Ohme. Several of the fleeing peasants try to snatch the reins of the party's horses, pleading with them to give up their mounts so they can leave more quickly. Things begin to spiral out of control and the fleeing humans are on the verge of becoming a panicked and angry mob.

A smart use of magic and steel allows the party to cow the fearful villagers before things erupt in violence. Puzzled they enter the town.

Once inside of Ohme, they discover not everyone is so panicked about the purported plague. The townsfolk are however, guarded and suspicious of the party. Some discreet questioning turns up some more information on the plague; 20 people in the past month have been found dead in their homes, seemingly having died in their sleep. The recent hysteria began that morning when the town's mayor, General Tumult and his entire family seem to have disappeared from their home in the middle of the night, the only things found in the house were the dead pets of the family.

Taking this in, the party is led to the residence of Sather by Grunther. They meet her, a broken and sour woman in her 60's. She was once a capable mystic ,but lost faith in herself and her magical abilities during their ill-fated expedition.

She informs them that the wizard Desatysso believed that a tomb located in the Shadowglades had something to do with the legendary renegade wizard Galan Dracos, but why she does not know. She warns them that if they seek it out, they will only find death like her and her friends did. She cannot bring herself to discuss the expedition in depth but gives them a journal kept by Desatysso about their trip into the tomb.

Intrigued by what they have learned so far, the party gets rooms at the "Ohme Sweet Home" boarding house and begins to study the journal.

[rabindranath72]

VERY nice! keep post!

[DangerDwarf]

Thanks.

We've got two more sessions scheduled next week. I'm really having a good time with it so far. The players are having a blast

[DangerDwarf]

The following is an excerpt from Desatysso's journal regarding the Band of the Hand's ill-fated journey into the tomb. I retyped the original, in order to make it more setting appropriate and gave it to my players as a handout for them to read until next session. The following is a portion that was changed for use in a DL campaign:

In any event, I add this short epilogue to the actual journal of my quest into Dracos tomb of horrors in order to give any future reader an understanding of myself and my goal.

My interest in this subject was roused many years ago, when in my wide travels I chanced upon a document which was obviously many centuries old. I quickly deciphered the ancient Istarian text and was amazed to discover it was penned by none other than the legendary Galan Dracos himself. What further amazed me was the date on the document. If it was correct, it was penned several years after the supposed death of the renegade wizard. Despite his status as a renegade, such a discovery was of immense interest to me and from its crumbling pages I was able to learn many things in regards to this mythic figure.

It described briefly his youth and his unremarkable beginnings in a small Istarian farming community called Culthairai. Also he wrote of his first teacher in the arts of sorcery, Sagathanus. His reminiscence of his apparent defeat at the hands of the Legendary Huma Dragonbane is where I became enthralled.

He wrote at length of his time of servitude to the Dark Queen Takhisis, but makes several obscure references to something or someone called Tenebrous, to which he states he owes most of his power, but the details are unfortunately not explained. It is when he wrote about his apparent defeat at the hands of Huma that I was most intrigued. To escape his Queens wrath, he uttered a single word of power and disappeared entirely. The bards and historians would have you believe that the incantation erased him from existence, so that in his defeat, Tahkisis would not be able to torture him in death for his failure. However, on that aged and crumbling parchment, Galan Dracos penned that the word he spoke transported him to a region of the Abyss called the Final Void, hiding him from the sight of Tahkisis and placing him in a strange state of undeath. Maddeningly, Dracos hints that it was simply the first step to some elaborate scheme which he does not deign to describe!

Next the document discussed a Tomb, a City, a Fortress and finally something called the Amulet of the Void. It is my belief that the three locations named constitute actual places which Dracos planned to build. Further it was intimated that that through this Amulet, passage from one to the next would be possible. The last sentence of the document read, And so in the fullness of time I shall cast the Amulet out into the lands of men, that it may draw to me those of proper mettle. Only those of keenest luck and greatest skill will win through to me in my ultimate Fortress of Conclusion. There they shall receive a magnificent reward for their persistence.

As you can probably imagine, this greatly intrigued me. A little research into the matter divulged rumors of a hidden stronghold of a renegade wizard located in the Shadowglades. This rumor has persisted through hundreds of years, with numerous variations as to the details, but each agreed that within the Shadowglades existed an abode of a wizard. After additional research I was most sure that this rumored stronghold was indeed the Tomb which Galan Dracos had alluded to in his writings, but nowhere in all of my searches was there ever a mention of a Fortress of Conclusion. It came to me then that perhaps only I, of all who had sought after it, had access to this secret knowledge. If the amulet truly existed, and was in the hands of living men, its significance was probably unknown. Otherwise, it probably lay long forgotten in some treasury or burial mound. In either event, I decided I would have it for myself.

Suffice it to say that after a long, arduous search, I ultimately gained the Amulet of the Void. I gaze upon it now, and as I do so, the memory of the years of effort I spent acquiring it and then the effort I spent in deciphering its encrypted runes rushes through my mind. What a devilishly simple key it was, after all. For those who follow me on my journey of discovery, apply this key to the runes on the amulet: subtract three, then read. There are two exceptions, but not troublesome ones.

It has all led to this. I regret nothing. When my pen leaves this page, I shall step forward through the portal, leaving behind this record and the Amulet for those with the bravery to follow me.

[DangerDwarf]

Session 3: 19 MAR 07

The party has studied the Journal of the Tomb and is troubled by its contents. It appears that this tomb to which they are heading is quite dangerous. Keth also tells them what he knows of the fabled Galan Dracos.

The next morning, they resupply and begin the arduous trek into the Shadowglades, in search of the tomb.

Several random encounter checks turn up nothing so day one passes with only the biting of swamp insects and a dreary day of exhaustive travel. As evening begins to come on, a thick fog begins to enshroud the swamp. The heroes decide to stop for the day and find a suitable "island" to make camp. Much to my dismay, Keth had the Secure Shelter spell memorized and utilized it to give them a place to rest in relative comfort and safety.

During the middle of the night, while Kylana is on watch, the party is alerted to danger by the Alarm spell their shelter is enchanted with. Readying themselves within the sod hut.....nothing happens.

Kylana eventually ventures towards the door and steps into the fog shrouded night. As the party focuses on her, they are unaware of the gaseous form of a vampire slinking out of the magical shelter's fireplace. The vampire solidifies and attacks the elven cleric Tynessa by surprise.

The battle is short and furious, ending with the vampire returning to his mist form and escaping out the door. The party attempts to give chase but find that the extremely dense fog makes the task impossible.

Unsettled, they return to their rest.

The next morning they continue their journey towards the tomb. About midday they discover to large, flat-bottomed barges making their way through the murky waters of the swamp. On board are several cages containing captives, it appears they have discovered a group of slavers.

Setting up an ambush, they make quick work of the slaver crew and rescue the imprisoned humans who inform them that the slavers attacked their village near the outskirts of the swamp taking them captive. With the undead danger in the area, they decide that the humans will require an escort but are loath to delay their journey to the tomb for fear of the apparent evil seeping from the place spreading further and causing havoc.

So, this is where the party makes an extremely inane move in my opinion.

Overconfident in their ability, Keth and Kylana direct Tynessa and Grunther to escort the humans from the swamp, citing that they will continue on themselves. They also instruct the elven cleric to return to Kalaman and inform the remaining elves to set sail if they do not return in 3 weeks time.

There is a great debate on the wisdom of their plan but Keth and Kylana hold firm, partially fearful that they will cause the death of Grunther and Tynessa should the two follow them into the tomb.

So, the two groups part ways, Keth and Kylana heading alone towards Galan Dracos' tomb of horrors.

At this point I'm hoping that they haven't doomed themselves to failure. Granted, they are higher than the recommended level for this adventure but still....IT"S THE TOMB OF HORRORS! We'll eventually see though, they are quite a mighty pair and possess the Tears of Mishikal and quite a bit of other magic. I suppose time will tell.

So, trudging along they finish the day without further incident. As evening descends, so does the fog. As Keth prepares their Secure Shelter, an overwhelming stench permeates the area.

On guard for trouble the spot three dreadwolves on a nearby island. The beasts study them for a bit then depart. A bit paranoid, they find little rest that night.

Unbeknownst to both Keth and Kylana, the vampire they had faced the previous night was one of three known as the Dim Triad that resides in the tomb now. After his defeat at their hands, he returned to his brethren and informed them of the elves moving into the swamp. That night the trio was out for revenge. Unfortunately, it was not the PC's that they discovered, it was the barge of humans, Tynessa and Grunther.

The convoy faired miserably against the Triad and both Tynessa and Grunther are now vampires. The elves wont discover this till later though.

Evantually, Keth and Kylana reach the site of the tomb. To their surprise however, it appears as if a small walled city has sprung up around it.

After some discussion, they decide on a course of action. Keth cloaks them with magic and enchants the two of them to fly. They fly high over the wall, in case it has any enchantments on it and land in what appears to be a large graveyard on the opposite side.

During the day, the city almost appears abandoned, with only the occasional skeleton or zombie swaggering by on a mindless errand.

Cautiously creeping along the spot some paintings on a wall.

The sign of the Devourer. A woman holding a scaled child, spidery writing which read:
You've left and left and found my tomb,

and now your soul will DIE.

Unnerved by the images and the writing they become quite startled when they hear a rasping voice behind them:

"At the Conclusion, the Devourer awaits your souls."

Turning to spot the source of the dire warning they spot a filthy,middle aged man staring at them with empty eye sockets, as if they had been plucked out. His hollow expression boring into them as he crouches, clutching his knees and rocking.

The elves hurriedly leave the area.

With as much stealth as they can muster, they make their way to the ramshackle huts that make up the outermost housing of the city of death. Most of the hovels seem abandoned. As they make their way through the narrow streets, a man in brown robes exits one of the huts and runs directly into them. They quickly snatch him up and drag him inside.

The coward of a man, a mere student of the black academy, pleads for his life. Keth charms him and begins questioning him about the city and the tomb.

From the man they learn that the Black Academy has sprung up around the tomb and it serves as a school of magic. It is led by a woman called Mistress Ferranifer. Most of the wizards here wear brown robes to signify their their affiliation with the academy. However, there are some black robes from the Orders that come here to study necromancy as well.

He also informs them that they need not fear roaming the streets, they weren't the only "dark elves" who came to study here. All races who wish to serve the Devourer are welcome.

Keth gets him to agree to lend them some robes. After they are finished with the man they don the loose, brown robes and pull the hoods tight. They then utilize the remaining daylight hours to scout out the black academy, knowing they will have to pass through it to reach the tomb itself.

As night descends, they retreat to the abandoned housing area near the outer rim of the city to rest and plan.

[DangerDwarf]

Session 4: 26 MAR 07

Last night's session was a short one, with Keth and Kylana passing through the Black Academy and setting up their entrance into the tomb itself for tonight's session.

The two elves spend a restless night in an abandoned hut in the outer rim of this city of renegade magic users. Where the city was mostly quiet during the day, it's residents are out throughout the night. Brown robed renegades with undead minions walking the streets, unsavory members of all the races are drawn here to trade goods with the renegades. The lure of steel making them uncaring about what transpires here.

Come morning, the elves exit their shelter, disguised in the brown robes they had obtained and make their way through the mostly empty streets. Their goal? To enter the academy, find the medallion which is mentioned in the journal, and find the entrance to the tomb within.

They assume the mistress of the Academy possesses the amulet, so they hope to gain entrance and seek her out.

Upon their arrival at the academy, a guard wearing skeletal armor bars the way, he instructs them that the academy is closed to student during the day and that they should return tonight if they wish to enroll.

Keth utilizes a dominate spell and demands that the guard step aside and grant them entry.

Here the game degenerates briefly due to out of character comments about the brown robed Keth "Skywalker" and his "Magi Mind Tricks". :rolleyes:

Inside the academy they are mostly undisturbed in their their exploration. Catching one of the instructors in his study they interrogate him, Keth utilizing an ESP spell while they do so. Through the questioning and magic, they gain a fair idea of location of the academy's mistress and confirm their suspicion that she has an amulet. Not willing to simply cut the throat of the renegade they questioned, Keth instead casts feeblemind on him, feeling secure that it will keep him from revealing their presence within the academy.

Making their way to the Mistress' chambers proved a bit painful without a thief with them although Keth's possession of a Wand of Secret Door and Trap location proved helpful.

They eventually found the secret chamber of Mistress Ferranifer however and after aa fight managed to defeat her and obtain the amulet. Unknown to them though, she had a contigency spell upon her which shifted her essence into the amulet as per the Magic Jar spell. Now she bides her time, preparing herself to possess one of them when the moment is right.

Overall, the session went well, with the party achieving their goal of obtaining the amulet and finding the entrance to the tomb. They also saw the depravity which the renegades who dwell and study here used to further their magical ambitions.

Tonight shall prove interesting as they move into the legendary Tomb of Horrors itself.

[DangerDwarf]

Session 5: Into the Tomb, Part 1 - 27 MAR 07

Tonight the party entered the legendary Tomb of Horrors. The characters were nervous because this place was designed by one of the mightiest mages in history. The players were nervous because....

heh, well its the infamous Tomb of Horrors!

They began their travel down the entry corridor, moving cautiously along a path of red tiles, Kylana leading the way. It only took a short trip before she blundered into a pit trap, getting bruised up in the process. After getting out of the pit, it was decided Keth would lead the way utilizing his Wand of Secret Door and Trap Location. Burning through the charges he manages to lead them around the pit traps in the hall.

The ever observant Keth also discoverers a boastful verse inscribed into the tiles. Apparently left by Dracos, it gives cryptic clues about the tomb. The elves take a few moments to scribe the verse down for reference.

Making it to the end of the hall they are confronted with a giant stone devil face with a mouth as black as a void (they recognize it as the devourer). Also is a mist shrouded arch, with three glowing stones.

Recalling Desatysso's journal, Kylana states that the mage and his group regretted taking the arch.

Keth recites a line from the verse he had uncovered:
Go back to the tormentor or through the arch,

and the second great hall you'll discover.

They decide to backtrack and more closely observe the murals on the walls to see if they find anything resembling a "tormentor".

They find a section of the wall painted to resemble a torture chamber. In the scene is the paining of a door with some sort of beast peering through it. After some discussion, the elves work at breaking the plaster away and are rewarded with finding a true door hidden beneath.

After some player hi-fives, proud of themselves, they open the door and travel on.

They find themselves in a room, that their entrance seems to have awaken a mutated gargoyle from some form of magical stasis. The fight is on.

Kylana gets banged up a bit in the process but they defeat the creature. After searching the room and the two doors in there, it appears they have reached a dead end. Unwilling to turn back, they begin an arduous search for secret doors. They are rewarded for their persistence but find themselves in a frustrating maze of secret doors.

They are almost ready to head back and just try the arch, but after several more searches and a few charges from Keth's wand, they eventually make their way through to the second great hall.

Here they see 2 doors, another arch and see several paintings on the wall depicting humanoid figures posing with orbs of various colors.

Almost in unison they both recite another line from the verse:
Shun green if you can, but night's good color

is for those of great valor.

They cautiously make their way to the figure with a black orb painted at its feet. Doing some probing, Kylana discovers the black orb is an illusion, and with no small amount of trepidation, she sticks her head through to see what is on the other side.

She discovers an approximately 3 foot high crawl space leading off into the darkness. After some discussion, the elves decide to travel into it.

Their crawlway leads them into a what appeared to be a chapel of sorts. The walls depict regular village life but all of its residents are in various stages of decay. A strange altar sits near the far end of the chapel, seemingly glowing with an inner blue light. Also in the chapel is another mist enshrouded arch, this mist a bright orange. A skeleton lay on the floor in front of it.

First the party begins to inspect the pews, and finds the seats are hinged. Opening the compartments they find silver, gold and electrum stashed away. One of the benches also releases a cloud of gas which quickly fills the chapel, draining them of some strength.

Not trusting the glowing altar or the archway with a skeleton in front of it, they start searching for other secret passages.

Kylana discovers a small slit in one of the walls, above it is the indentation of an "O".
The wise will need not sacrifice aught but a loop of magical metal

She recalls from the verse.

Calling Keth over, they both decide that a magical ring is needed to be placed in their. After doing an inventory, they decide upon using Kylana's ring of fire resistance. Placing it in the slot, it triggers a doorway and the stone slides away to reveal a passage beyond.

Again they travel with the utmost caution, probing the floors and searching the walls. The passageway ends at a door. Attempting to open it, Kylana discovers that it is stuck. Throwing herself against the door flings it open and has her stumbling into yet another pit trap.

After getting out of that she is disgruntled to discover another door. A door that is...you guessed it.

Stuck.

At this point Kylana's player exclaimed, "I'm not THAT stupid!"
Being more careful at opening the door, she probes the floor on the other side and yep...finds another pit trap. The two negotiate their way around the trap and reach a third door that is...stuck.

Rolling their eyes they make their way through the door and around the pit on the opposite side there as well.

Continuing their journey down the corridor Kylana is startled by Keth's call of, "Wait!"

"The verse!" he explained.

Still puzzled Kylana looked at him.
Two pits along the way will be found to lead to a fortuitous fall.

"There are three pits though Keth." was Kylana's response.

"Yes, and the 3rd is the 'fortuitous fall'".

Both of their eyes get wide as they say:

"So check the wall!"

Heading back to the 3rd pit, Kylana uses a pole to trigger it and Keth uses his wand, aiming down inside the pit. And so they discovered yet another secret door.

Scaling down into the pit (mindful of the spikes) they pass through the secret door and beyond.

At this point I have to admit I'm fairly impressed by the pair. I've run the Tomb for several parties over the years and these two have had the best success to date.

Anyways...back on track.

This new route leads them to a cloudy looking hallway with a door in it. Kylana decides to go first and discovers that the gas causes great fear in her, forcing her to flee. She makes it back to the pit and curls into the fetal position. Keth tries to get near, but she's spooked enough that he doesn't want to get too close less she scale out of the pit and flee further. So, Keth finds a place to sit and hopes she comes out of the terror soon enough.

And hour later, an embarrassed Kylana is now herself again. They attempt to navigate the hallway again, this time holding their breath as they make a run to the door.

Success.

They then descend to what appears to be a crypt. Rising from a golden couch is a skeletal figure proclaiming, "You dare disturb the rest of Galan Dracos! Your death is all you will find here!"

A short battle follows, with the elves soundly whooping the undead creature. The pair is not convinced that it was the real Galan Dracos but before they can consider it further, a cave in begins in the small chamber.

Fleeing for their lives they make it to safety in the hallway. Exhausted and at a loss of where to search next. They find a seemingly safe corridor to rest for the rest of the day. It took them quite sometime to reach as far as they did due to all of the searching. Kylana gets some sleep while Keth flips though his spellbook, preparing for the next day's explorations.

[DangerDwarf]

Excerpt from Session 3 wrote:
Unbeknownst to both Keth and Kylana, the vampire they had faced the previous night was one of three known as the Dim Triad that resides in the tomb now. After his defeat at their hands, he returned to his brethren and informed them of the elves moving into the swamp. That night the trio was out for revenge. Unfortunately, it was not the PC's that they discovered, it was the barge of humans, Tynessa and Grunther.

Currently, Keth and Kylana are unaware of the now undead status of their friend Tynessa and the dimwitted human, Grunther.

After their transformation into vampires, a surge of the Dark Intrusion seeped out from the Tomb and from it, Tynessa received inspiration from the mysterious being Tenebrous that had been mentioned in passing in Desatysso's journal.

Instead of seeking out Keth and Kylana in the swamp, Tynessa is traveling with Grunther back to Kalaman and the ship of elven refugees. Utilizing her newfound power, the now vampiric priestess plans to convince Clearbrook and the other elves that Keth and Kylana have ordered for them to set sail without them.

The journey will still lead the elves to Ak-Khurman, but Tynessa has her own scheming plans for the journey and arrival. With Keth and Kylana tied up in their adventure in the tomb, it looks like she just might succeed as well.

[Treebore]

I wish I had the tenacity to write a campaign journal.

Good read. Its making me want to check out these DL modules.

[DangerDwarf]

I wish I had the tenacity to write a campaign journal.

Quote:
I usually don't. This has been one of my favorite campaigns that I've run though and it gave me enough motivation to do so. I wish I kept one from the beginning however.

Good read. Its making me want to check out these DL modules.

Like I've stated elsewhere, in my opinion the Age of Mortals modules rank among the best ever. No small feat considering that prior to them, I couldn't stand anything past the War of the Lance era in DL.

This journal though, is of the Return to the Tomb of Horrors boxed set for 2nd Edition. I of course had to make several changes to fit it into DL and it is being influenced by previous occurrences in the Age of Mortals campaign.

[DangerDwarf]

Session 6: Into the Tomb Part 2 - 4 APR 07

Last night's session had very little of interest to report. There was a lot of crawling around, looking for missed secret doors and a lot of frustration at being seemingly stuck.

Keth and Kylana did make some slow progress however, there were a few tense moments with the "save or die" nature of the tomb at times but both prevailed.

They are currently at the Adamantite door that leads into the throne room now.

Hopefully next week's session will make for a more interesting entry.