Herein I describe details of my ongoing campaigns, discuss the D&D game, and talk about other issues in gaming that I find relevant. I am not very fond of 4th edition, having played it once and found it too WoWish. Consequently most of my articles will reference 3.5 and previous editions.
Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk, Part II
Posted 28th November 2008 at 04:42 PM by airwalkrr
At this point, I should hope you have already figured out that this is a campaign blog about a published adventure. As such, it contains spoilers about the adventure. You have been warned.
When we last left our intrepid heroes, they had rescued Ricard Damaris, famed swordsman and proprietor of the Green Dragon Inn, a locale haunt in the City of Greyhawk for all manner of folk, especially the adventuring kind. Ricard had been ambushed while traveling with a trade caravan from Dyvers by orcs who were led by a fearsome half-orc who was "almost as good a swordsmen" as he. Ricard claimed he would have bested the half-orc had his wyvern-riding lieutenant not swooped in, stinging him with the tail of the wyvern. Wyvern poison coursing through his veins, he collapsed.
Our heroes had come upon this grim scene by Zagig's Bridge shortly after these unfortunate events had occured. A few orcs remained behind to pillage the homesteads built up around the bridge. The illustrious adventurers knew injustice when they saw it, and they strode forth hastily to aid the commoners being accosted by orcs. The half-orc lieutenant had remained behind to oversee the pillaging and began to cast defensive spells on himself and his wyvern. In the end, the heroes saved the day. The orcs were slain one by one and the lieutenant brought down by a fireball spell from the warmage Sephanie over the Selintan River. Though they never recovered his corspe, it seemed clear there was no way he could have survived the plummet. As the adventurers surveyed the wreckage, the elf known as Jan noted that it was unusual that these orcs appeared to be not from the nearby Pomarj, but of the Jebli tribe, which would mean they would have to have traveled from far to the north through a number of civilized lands, a proposition that made little sense at all.
Ricard was found amid some wreckage of a wagon belonging to the Able Carter Coaching Company, a trading firm based in Greyhawk. He was slowly dying from the wyvern wound, but the Rhenee priest of the Wanderer, Timogen, staunched the flow of blood and removed enough of the poison that he the wound would no longer be fatal. After rescuing Ricard and hearing his story, they spoke with another survivor, a priest of Boccob, the Archmage of the Gods, a man named Abner. Like Ricard, Abner had been traveling to Greyhawk, but for a different reason. Abner was a pilgrim coming to Greyhawk to celebrate a hero of the faith, Patriarch Riggby, renowned for his opposition to the evil demigod Iuz. Many years past, Riggby and others had attempted to destroy the Old One after releasing him from the archmage Zagig's god-trap. They were unsuccessful, however, and the Old One swore vengeance upon those who sought to obliterate him. That Riggby had escaped his revenge through a natural death from old age was seen as a cause for celebration, not only within the Boccobite faith, but also among those who followed the way of the Cudgel and St. Cuthbert.
The heroes escorted Ricard and Abner to the Free City where Ricard was generous enough to offer the party of adventurers a free place to stay for the next month in exchange for saving his life. It was at the Lord's Table (as Ricard called it) the next night that Ricard told the heroes the story of the ruins of Castle Greyhawk. Once the abode of mad archmage and former mayor of Greyhawk, Zagig, the castle sported three towers, one to house Zagig's army, another to house his apprentices, and a third for his own private arcane experiments. It was said that all kinds of wondrous things were to be found in all three towers, but a couple centuries ago, Zagig simply disappeared with no sign. The occassional edict still surfaced from the Tower of Zagig regarding the governance of Greyhawk, but eventually, the city moved on and elected a new Lord Mayor. Zagig was not heard from again. It was not long before the castle began to fall into disrepair and many began to wonder what had happened to the mad archmage and what sort of things might lie beneath the towers in the numerous dungeon levels that were rumored to exist. There was only one way to find out.
A few explorers began to delve below the ruins to seek their fortunes. Many never returned, but those who did often came back with unfathomable wealth and incredible magic. Such successes spurred a generation of expeditions, the most famous of which were done by the archmage Mordenkainen and the Citadel of Eight. The Citadel was an adventuring company Mordenkainen had organized, including such famous personas as Bigby the archmage, Robilar the fighter, and his orcish cohort Quij, and their exploits in the dungeons of Greyhawk were still talked of today with much enthusiasm in the Green Dragon, Ricard explained. Beneath the ruins they discovered portals to demiplanes, artifacts of immense magical power, and magic the likes of which does not exist anywhere else on Oerth.
Ricard spoke of perhaps their most famous adventure, in which they attempted to kill a demigod. Several members of the Citadel of the Eight are said to have breached the lowest levels beneath the Tower of Zagig and discovered a magical artifact crafted by the archmage Zagig known as the god-trap, a strange device Zagig used to imprison nine demigods that he might ascend to godhood himself. Within the god-trap they discovered Iuz the Old, and, seeking glory, released him that they might defeat him in battle permanently. However, they underestimated the demigod's power. Even having been trapped for so long and in a weakened state, he managed to escape their grasp. Soon, the Lord of Pain made to rebuild his evil empire in the north and the Citadel quickly regretted their decision. Still, the deed was done and there was no going back. The Citadel disbanded soon after, but many of the former members remained influential to this day, Ricard stated.
To make matters more interesting, Ricard noted that he had done a little poking around and learned that the orcs who attacked him and the caravan he had traveled with had been seen coming from north of Zagig's Bridge. The interesting part about that information was that the road north of Zagig's Bridge was a dead end that led only one place: the ruins of Castle Greyhawk.
When we last left our intrepid heroes, they had rescued Ricard Damaris, famed swordsman and proprietor of the Green Dragon Inn, a locale haunt in the City of Greyhawk for all manner of folk, especially the adventuring kind. Ricard had been ambushed while traveling with a trade caravan from Dyvers by orcs who were led by a fearsome half-orc who was "almost as good a swordsmen" as he. Ricard claimed he would have bested the half-orc had his wyvern-riding lieutenant not swooped in, stinging him with the tail of the wyvern. Wyvern poison coursing through his veins, he collapsed.
Our heroes had come upon this grim scene by Zagig's Bridge shortly after these unfortunate events had occured. A few orcs remained behind to pillage the homesteads built up around the bridge. The illustrious adventurers knew injustice when they saw it, and they strode forth hastily to aid the commoners being accosted by orcs. The half-orc lieutenant had remained behind to oversee the pillaging and began to cast defensive spells on himself and his wyvern. In the end, the heroes saved the day. The orcs were slain one by one and the lieutenant brought down by a fireball spell from the warmage Sephanie over the Selintan River. Though they never recovered his corspe, it seemed clear there was no way he could have survived the plummet. As the adventurers surveyed the wreckage, the elf known as Jan noted that it was unusual that these orcs appeared to be not from the nearby Pomarj, but of the Jebli tribe, which would mean they would have to have traveled from far to the north through a number of civilized lands, a proposition that made little sense at all.
Ricard was found amid some wreckage of a wagon belonging to the Able Carter Coaching Company, a trading firm based in Greyhawk. He was slowly dying from the wyvern wound, but the Rhenee priest of the Wanderer, Timogen, staunched the flow of blood and removed enough of the poison that he the wound would no longer be fatal. After rescuing Ricard and hearing his story, they spoke with another survivor, a priest of Boccob, the Archmage of the Gods, a man named Abner. Like Ricard, Abner had been traveling to Greyhawk, but for a different reason. Abner was a pilgrim coming to Greyhawk to celebrate a hero of the faith, Patriarch Riggby, renowned for his opposition to the evil demigod Iuz. Many years past, Riggby and others had attempted to destroy the Old One after releasing him from the archmage Zagig's god-trap. They were unsuccessful, however, and the Old One swore vengeance upon those who sought to obliterate him. That Riggby had escaped his revenge through a natural death from old age was seen as a cause for celebration, not only within the Boccobite faith, but also among those who followed the way of the Cudgel and St. Cuthbert.
The heroes escorted Ricard and Abner to the Free City where Ricard was generous enough to offer the party of adventurers a free place to stay for the next month in exchange for saving his life. It was at the Lord's Table (as Ricard called it) the next night that Ricard told the heroes the story of the ruins of Castle Greyhawk. Once the abode of mad archmage and former mayor of Greyhawk, Zagig, the castle sported three towers, one to house Zagig's army, another to house his apprentices, and a third for his own private arcane experiments. It was said that all kinds of wondrous things were to be found in all three towers, but a couple centuries ago, Zagig simply disappeared with no sign. The occassional edict still surfaced from the Tower of Zagig regarding the governance of Greyhawk, but eventually, the city moved on and elected a new Lord Mayor. Zagig was not heard from again. It was not long before the castle began to fall into disrepair and many began to wonder what had happened to the mad archmage and what sort of things might lie beneath the towers in the numerous dungeon levels that were rumored to exist. There was only one way to find out.
A few explorers began to delve below the ruins to seek their fortunes. Many never returned, but those who did often came back with unfathomable wealth and incredible magic. Such successes spurred a generation of expeditions, the most famous of which were done by the archmage Mordenkainen and the Citadel of Eight. The Citadel was an adventuring company Mordenkainen had organized, including such famous personas as Bigby the archmage, Robilar the fighter, and his orcish cohort Quij, and their exploits in the dungeons of Greyhawk were still talked of today with much enthusiasm in the Green Dragon, Ricard explained. Beneath the ruins they discovered portals to demiplanes, artifacts of immense magical power, and magic the likes of which does not exist anywhere else on Oerth.
Ricard spoke of perhaps their most famous adventure, in which they attempted to kill a demigod. Several members of the Citadel of the Eight are said to have breached the lowest levels beneath the Tower of Zagig and discovered a magical artifact crafted by the archmage Zagig known as the god-trap, a strange device Zagig used to imprison nine demigods that he might ascend to godhood himself. Within the god-trap they discovered Iuz the Old, and, seeking glory, released him that they might defeat him in battle permanently. However, they underestimated the demigod's power. Even having been trapped for so long and in a weakened state, he managed to escape their grasp. Soon, the Lord of Pain made to rebuild his evil empire in the north and the Citadel quickly regretted their decision. Still, the deed was done and there was no going back. The Citadel disbanded soon after, but many of the former members remained influential to this day, Ricard stated.
To make matters more interesting, Ricard noted that he had done a little poking around and learned that the orcs who attacked him and the caravan he had traveled with had been seen coming from north of Zagig's Bridge. The interesting part about that information was that the road north of Zagig's Bridge was a dead end that led only one place: the ruins of Castle Greyhawk.
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