Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Hard Core Adventurers- KOTS 20.06 The Cathedral of Shadows
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 6207098" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 18px">KOTS Part 18c: The Portal.</span></p><p></p><p>18c.01</p><p></p><p>Tonka leads them in, through the portal- one-by-one, and in to… a corridor - the stone and tile the same as the rest of the catacombs they’ve been exploring, only newer, and at the same time older. The stone is greyer, and splotched here and there by great patches of gently pulsing dull purple mould.</p><p></p><p>Tonka’s breath mists in the cold air, the warlord signals and the adventurers hold station, their eyes adjusting to the shadow.</p><p></p><p>“This is…” Jimmy begins.</p><p>“The gloom.” Sigur states.</p><p></p><p>The adventurers continue to stop and stare- the corridor extends twenty or thirty feet to a door, or rather to the remains of a door, a once sturdy door now smashed in two, the upper half still attached, the lower half lying forlornly on the flagged floor.</p><p></p><p>“I feel…” Jimmy starts up again, and then rubs his face with his free hand, his skin feels somehow dead, or else… it’s hard to describe the feeling, numbness and at the same time a cold tingling sensation. </p><p></p><p>“I feel sorta…” Jimmy tries again.</p><p>“The gloom.” Sigur simply states, this time with emphasis.</p><p></p><p>“What?” Tonka snaps- too loud, he looks cowed a moment and then turns to stare at the dwarf.</p><p></p><p>“The gloom- it feeds on life, it’s…”, Sigur goes in search of the right word, “… it’s ravenous- always hungry, it feeds on the living.”</p><p>Tonka stares at the strange dwarf, still not convinced, truth be told the warlord has only ever read about the Shadowfell in books, none of the adventurers have ever been here before, save Sigur.</p><p></p><p>“Remember,” Sigur whispers, “we’re the outsiders here… be careful.” The dwarf finishes, and with a show of concern hitherto unheard of.</p><p>Tonka nods then turns back to look ahead, he gets on with it.</p><p></p><p>“Jimmy.” The dragonborn hisses, and points to the broken door ahead.</p><p>“Wish me luck.” Jimmy half-heartedly grins, gulps, and then scurries silently forward- to the doorway.</p><p></p><p>The other adventurers keep watch.</p><p></p><p>Thirty seconds later Jimmy signals that it is safe to move forward, Gokan frowns- his brother looks very grey, the half-orc takes a moment to examine the faces of his other companions- the colour has gone from each of them, but not like Jimmy’s face. There’s something wrong, Gokan concludes.</p><p></p><p>He’s quickly to his brother.</p><p></p><p>Moments later he understands.</p><p></p><p>The pair share a look- Jimmy looks terrified, Gokan attempts a smile- something goes wrong in its execution, Jimmy gulps again and whispers.</p><p></p><p>“I don’t like it. I’m scared.”</p><p></p><p>18c.02</p><p></p><p>Gokan suddenly stands from his crouch, looks once more at Jimmy, and then cautiously moves in to the chamber- it stinks of death in here, not the smell of rotten flesh, rather the cold and clammy aroma of the grave. </p><p></p><p>Gokan’s brain screams for him to run, to sprint back to the portal, back to Winterhaven- to safety, away from this. Every step the half-orc takes is hard won, his body is fighting him- it doesn’t want to be here, it would rather be anywhere else than here.</p><p></p><p>The chamber is, or rather was, a barracks- there are cots, and lockers, and tables and chairs; the sleeping quarters for maybe a dozen men, nearly all of whom are present still.</p><p></p><p>The first body, wearing the rags of some ancient uniform is sprawled on its cot- the grey emaciated corpse, eyes open, stares into nothing- caught in a rictus grin.</p><p></p><p>Gokan moves further in, behind him Sigur, Ramm, Tonka and finally Jimmy gingerly shuffle forward in to the chamber. Even Ramm is affected- the great minotaur’s breath clouds his vision, he bobs his head every now and then in an effort to see through the haze.</p><p></p><p>There’s another body, and another, and then the worst yet- the slaughtered warrior has suffered extreme violence, its chest cavity punctured and peeled open to reveal a gaping wound, the flesh looks brittle, preserved by the numbing cold.</p><p></p><p>“They came this way.” Sigur states, at last breaking the silence.</p><p></p><p>The dwarf points ahead- to a door on the far side of the chamber, it too has been forced open.</p><p></p><p>“Sir Keegan came this way, with Kalarel and his followers hunting him down.” Sigur finishes.</p><p></p><p>The adventurers cautiously continue to edge forward, towards the far door, creeping through the gravesite, seemingly frightened to make a sound or else disturb the dead.</p><p></p><p>“There’s nothing to be done here.” Tonka states, and then straightens, buoyed a little by the sound of his own voice.</p><p></p><p>“There’s nothing to be done here- we should head on.” The warlord confirms attempting to break the spell, to assure the others, and to introduce a degree of normality to proceedings.</p><p></p><p>The adventurers increase their pace a little.</p><p></p><p>“We just need to find this Kalarel…” Tonka continues, the dragonborn can feel his hands again- the numbness seems to be passing, “… find him and kill him.” The warlord declares, ending with a grin.</p><p></p><p>The terror is receding, Ramm nudges a chair out of his path- and nothing bad happens. Gokan makes his way to the last cot and stares down at yet another brutally murdered body, he doesn’t give it a second glance. Sigur and Tonka match each other, stride for stride.</p><p></p><p>But at the back of the pack Jimmy continues to crouch and shuffle, shuffle and crouch- his eyes darting from one corpse to the next, his teeth chattering, his whole body shaking.</p><p></p><p>The halfling, normally a stranger to fear, is terrified still.</p><p></p><p>18c.03</p><p></p><p>And with good reason.</p><p></p><p>Behind the halfling the first corpse nimbly, and silently, gets to its feet- licks its lips with a long thin bifurcated greyish tongue.</p><p></p><p>Death, it seems, has dominion here. </p><p></p><p>[sblock=info]</p><p></p><p>I tried to accentuate the atmosphere of the game in the Shadowfell section; we played at night with low lighting and suitable ambient sounds. The players had been briefed that this was going to happen; I likewise littered the play with plenty of random skill checks- as the guys moved through the Shadowfell. I described odd noises, fleeting shadows and a variety of other effects in an attempt to put the players on edge, it worked for the most part, mostly because the guys bought in to it- good players bring something extra to the game.</p><p></p><p>[/sblock]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 6207098, member: 16069"] [CENTER][SIZE="5"]KOTS Part 18c: The Portal.[/SIZE][/CENTER] 18c.01 Tonka leads them in, through the portal- one-by-one, and in to… a corridor - the stone and tile the same as the rest of the catacombs they’ve been exploring, only newer, and at the same time older. The stone is greyer, and splotched here and there by great patches of gently pulsing dull purple mould. Tonka’s breath mists in the cold air, the warlord signals and the adventurers hold station, their eyes adjusting to the shadow. “This is…” Jimmy begins. “The gloom.” Sigur states. The adventurers continue to stop and stare- the corridor extends twenty or thirty feet to a door, or rather to the remains of a door, a once sturdy door now smashed in two, the upper half still attached, the lower half lying forlornly on the flagged floor. “I feel…” Jimmy starts up again, and then rubs his face with his free hand, his skin feels somehow dead, or else… it’s hard to describe the feeling, numbness and at the same time a cold tingling sensation. “I feel sorta…” Jimmy tries again. “The gloom.” Sigur simply states, this time with emphasis. “What?” Tonka snaps- too loud, he looks cowed a moment and then turns to stare at the dwarf. “The gloom- it feeds on life, it’s…”, Sigur goes in search of the right word, “… it’s ravenous- always hungry, it feeds on the living.” Tonka stares at the strange dwarf, still not convinced, truth be told the warlord has only ever read about the Shadowfell in books, none of the adventurers have ever been here before, save Sigur. “Remember,” Sigur whispers, “we’re the outsiders here… be careful.” The dwarf finishes, and with a show of concern hitherto unheard of. Tonka nods then turns back to look ahead, he gets on with it. “Jimmy.” The dragonborn hisses, and points to the broken door ahead. “Wish me luck.” Jimmy half-heartedly grins, gulps, and then scurries silently forward- to the doorway. The other adventurers keep watch. Thirty seconds later Jimmy signals that it is safe to move forward, Gokan frowns- his brother looks very grey, the half-orc takes a moment to examine the faces of his other companions- the colour has gone from each of them, but not like Jimmy’s face. There’s something wrong, Gokan concludes. He’s quickly to his brother. Moments later he understands. The pair share a look- Jimmy looks terrified, Gokan attempts a smile- something goes wrong in its execution, Jimmy gulps again and whispers. “I don’t like it. I’m scared.” 18c.02 Gokan suddenly stands from his crouch, looks once more at Jimmy, and then cautiously moves in to the chamber- it stinks of death in here, not the smell of rotten flesh, rather the cold and clammy aroma of the grave. Gokan’s brain screams for him to run, to sprint back to the portal, back to Winterhaven- to safety, away from this. Every step the half-orc takes is hard won, his body is fighting him- it doesn’t want to be here, it would rather be anywhere else than here. The chamber is, or rather was, a barracks- there are cots, and lockers, and tables and chairs; the sleeping quarters for maybe a dozen men, nearly all of whom are present still. The first body, wearing the rags of some ancient uniform is sprawled on its cot- the grey emaciated corpse, eyes open, stares into nothing- caught in a rictus grin. Gokan moves further in, behind him Sigur, Ramm, Tonka and finally Jimmy gingerly shuffle forward in to the chamber. Even Ramm is affected- the great minotaur’s breath clouds his vision, he bobs his head every now and then in an effort to see through the haze. There’s another body, and another, and then the worst yet- the slaughtered warrior has suffered extreme violence, its chest cavity punctured and peeled open to reveal a gaping wound, the flesh looks brittle, preserved by the numbing cold. “They came this way.” Sigur states, at last breaking the silence. The dwarf points ahead- to a door on the far side of the chamber, it too has been forced open. “Sir Keegan came this way, with Kalarel and his followers hunting him down.” Sigur finishes. The adventurers cautiously continue to edge forward, towards the far door, creeping through the gravesite, seemingly frightened to make a sound or else disturb the dead. “There’s nothing to be done here.” Tonka states, and then straightens, buoyed a little by the sound of his own voice. “There’s nothing to be done here- we should head on.” The warlord confirms attempting to break the spell, to assure the others, and to introduce a degree of normality to proceedings. The adventurers increase their pace a little. “We just need to find this Kalarel…” Tonka continues, the dragonborn can feel his hands again- the numbness seems to be passing, “… find him and kill him.” The warlord declares, ending with a grin. The terror is receding, Ramm nudges a chair out of his path- and nothing bad happens. Gokan makes his way to the last cot and stares down at yet another brutally murdered body, he doesn’t give it a second glance. Sigur and Tonka match each other, stride for stride. But at the back of the pack Jimmy continues to crouch and shuffle, shuffle and crouch- his eyes darting from one corpse to the next, his teeth chattering, his whole body shaking. The halfling, normally a stranger to fear, is terrified still. 18c.03 And with good reason. Behind the halfling the first corpse nimbly, and silently, gets to its feet- licks its lips with a long thin bifurcated greyish tongue. Death, it seems, has dominion here. [sblock=info] I tried to accentuate the atmosphere of the game in the Shadowfell section; we played at night with low lighting and suitable ambient sounds. The players had been briefed that this was going to happen; I likewise littered the play with plenty of random skill checks- as the guys moved through the Shadowfell. I described odd noises, fleeting shadows and a variety of other effects in an attempt to put the players on edge, it worked for the most part, mostly because the guys bought in to it- good players bring something extra to the game. [/sblock] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Hard Core Adventurers- KOTS 20.06 The Cathedral of Shadows
Top