Return to the Tomb of Horrors finally gets a Story Hour!

[James McMurray]

Cyndia does not notify the party of any changes, and they step out of the Guest House the next morning, right outside of the “warm tower” (the Tower of Portals is not frozen over). William leads the way, and Oskar follows. When Teflon Billy next steps out, a wall of ice appears behind him, trapping the rest of the party in the Guest House.

“Our business is with Billy. The rest of you may leave.” Says a raspy voice from nowhere.

Billy casts See Invisible and sees before him two Pit Fiends, an Osyluth, and another towering figure. Oskar asks what the business is and the voice (the Osyluth) again tells William and him to leave. When they refuse, two both Oskar and Billy are filled with terror, then turn to flee in fear. The Pit fiends follow, as does William, using his Wings of Flying.

A wall of ice appears in front of the fleeing Billy, and he cowers at it, desperately trying to claw his way past. Then, floating in the air above him, a figure appears. Great feathery wings rustle above the large man-like creature. Its hands are surrounded in funeral wrappings, but its most prominent feature is its face. The creature’s mouth, if it ever had one, has been removed, leaving melted looking flesh in its place. The eyes are fiery gray pits. The creature waves its hand and Billy’s fear fades. As he looks up he recognizes the figure of Bune, Duke of Eloquence In the courts of Hell.

“You have destroyed the Tome of Asmodeus’ son, and you must make amends.”

Billy asks what he is expected to do, and Bune replies, “First you will find us a willing soul to be the catalyst for the tome. And then your flesh will become its cover and bindings.” Billy, none too pleased with that idea, declines, and fires off a disintegrate, which washes over the Duke harmlessly. He also casts Teflon's Encouraging Boot, and sics it on Bune, who scoffs at the large boot made of force.

Meanwhile, the remainder of the party has managed to escape the Guest House when Galrond dismissed it, and they prepare to do battle with the Pit Fiends. William assaults Bune with spells (Destruction) and they too fail to destroy the fallen Celestial.

The two fiends react in unison. Fiery blasts surround Galrond, Kargur, and Lanis. A charred and blackened Lanis crumbles to the ground.

Galrond casts mass haste as usual, and the party flies into action. Galrond grants Kargur flight and he charges Bune, but gets grabbed by a Pit fiend on his way.

Billy continues his disintegrate assaults, neither of which succeed. Bune Mass Heals the fiends, and Galrond casts See Invisible. When he realizes that they are up against several devilish creatures, he immediately follows the spell with a Gate, to summon the Planetar they had previously met.

Kargur tries to return the attacks at the Pit Fiend, but cannot locate it to hit it. Both of the creatures unleash on him, forcing William to Mass Heal. Galrond dispels the two beasts’ invisibility, and Kargur strikes out. Both hit, mildly damaging one of the fiends.

Oskar shouts repeatedly at Billy to make him flying, but Billy does not wish to put Oskar at risk, as it was he who brought the devils upon them. Billly casts fly on himself and moves straight up, turning invisible and redirecting the boot to the Pit Fiends.

Bune charges William and drops him immediately, but Kargur rushes up to heal him. Bune’s eyes change from gray to Orange, and all around him feel themselves being crushed from the inside. The Planetar (who had managed to cast Invisibility Purge and attack a Pit Fiend collapses in upon itself, as does Kargur. Oskar, freed from the Fear by the Mass Heal, charges Bune. Bune takes the blows, heals himself and the Pit Fiends, and then rends William apart with the help of the two fiends.

Galrond begins blasting, and Billy does too. The Pit Fiends charge Galrond and in one blast take him from slightly charred to almost dead. Galrond, having seen the damage done when his called Planetar was slain is crushed. He has just caused the death of a massive force for good. He thinks and then decides what to do. Calling open another gate, he drags a Pit Fiend through and orders the best to attack its friends. If it dies to the Implosion Gaze he will not care, but backup is sorely needed.

The Pit Fiend’s battle amongst themselves, and Galrond flees back to the warm tower via teleportation. He then rapidly erects a Private Sanctum and a Guest House, where he plans to hide. His last words to the party are, “I will meet you on the shores of Mount Celestia.”

As the fiends fight, Bune gets blasted several more times and flees via a gate. The Summoned Pit Fiend kills one of the other two, and then gets killed itself. Billy and Oskar chase off the last Pit Fiend, then Plane Shift to Celestia, where Billy teleports them to the village of Chun-Tzao, Oriental God of Hospitality and Courtesy.

 

[Joshua Randall]

I used to look down on high fantasy...

... but from your story I now appreciate its potential for goofily entertaining mayhem and innocent bystander destroying battles. Great, great stuff. I want more!

Here are some specific comments and observations.

• Naming the Dim Triad after the corrupted giants from S.R. Donaldon's "Illearth War" was a stroke of genius. Making them into Oriental Adventures-style classes was the icing on the cake. 'Tis a pity such wonderful villains had to perish.
• Nuala was one nasty b*tch! Now that is what I call a great nemesis for the party. Too bad they couldn't figure out how to beat her fair and square (i.e., without Raffi's intervention). They were so close....
• A Mace of Disruption makes combat against undead too easy. As DM I would make a house rule that it doesn't instantly destroy such things as the bone golem or Nuala's undead arena buddies.
• Skipping ahead to The City that Waits. Wouldn't the Mask of the Devourer detect as evil? In which case why would Fokurt put it on? Also, why was the party so callous towards him in re: Dr. Tarr? This part has me baffled. It seems out of character for the party - so suspicious of everyone else (including Raffi!) - to trust the clearly insane doctor.

As my post subject says, I used to look down on high fantasy. One of the reasons - and this appears to be borne out by your story - is that the players (and characters?) lose their fear of death. When everyone is getting resurrected all the time with little repercussion (5,000 GP gems - big deal!), it seems that even the most awesome foes lose their ability to instill fear.

The fight against a Winter Wight should be scary - the players should be thinking, "Holy sh*t, this guy is kicking our @sses. Run!" instead of, "Blah, we'll stand and fight until we die, guess we'll come back later."

(Incidentally I can't wait to see how the party handles Acererak's Winter Wight form - assuming the big A. survives to transfer his unlife-force into it.)

Regardless of my quibbles, this story is among the best I've read. The greatest praise I can think to heap on it is that it's as compelling to read as "Navero"!

 

[James McMurray]

Sorry for the long absence. I've been a bit busy. I'll reply to you after I get a few more updates up.

After the meeting with Bune, the party headed to Celestia for guidance. They began the arduous travel up the mountainsides, and came across a village. As they tried to skirt it, two gates opened and devils poured through. The party teleported to the far side of a nearby lake to try to draw the devils away from the village, but soon had to teleport back when the devils started attacking the village.

Everyone who was there except for Teflon Billy persihed defending the village. They then (except for Billy) woke up at the highest point on the plane. A voice in their heads informed them that self-sacrifice for the weak was one of the greatest virtues and they could travel onward. A gate to the second layer opened. William and Oskar (the only two survivors) found themselves fully healed and refreshed. William's spells were replenished, and after he stepped through the gate he began the process of reviving Kargur and Lanis.

Meanwhile, Teflon Billy had teleported to safety. He thought he was going to the far side of the lake, but the Plane knew he was fleeing and had failed the test. It deposited him back in the shores of Lunia, the silvery Ocean on the first layer.

As the group travelled further ahead (William and Oskar carrying the bodies of Lanis and Kargur), this is what happened to Billy. It happened over email and I'm just cut and pasting, so please forgive me if it is mostly a second person and hasn't been spell chekced.

As Teflon Billy stands waist deep in the waters of Lunia' vast Ocean, he finds himself feeling cold, alone, and afraid. The sky above opens up, and a now familiar background of scorched earth and dark flames shows through. Moments later, the Gate's opener floats through to hover 10 feet above the water's surface: a 10' tall muscualar man with 2' long horns shooting almost straight out from his head. An incredibly long baided goatee drapes down from his chin. In his shoulders are two massive rings, and he hangs in the air as if suspended from them. Billy finds himself stricken dumb with fear, unable to move or flee, only to listen.

"It is no suriprise that Bune failed in his mission. Ho words were ever the weakest ones." The voice is cold and emotionless, with the enevitability of the ages behind it.

"We have at least 2.45 minutes before the hosts of this plane react to my presence here. In that time I will explain to you why it is that you will come with me."

"You have greatly displeased the Lord Asmodeus. This is not something that is done lightly. As such, he has decreed that you will replace that which was destroyed. Every hour that you refuse his commands, the atrocities commited to exact revenge will continue. With each passing hour they will escalate. here is the first of the deaths caused by your foolishnesh." As he says this last, he puls his hands from behind his back and hold them forth. Cupped in his mighty fists is a tiny dwarven baby, completely limp. As he tosses the husk of the baby to the shore he continues, "That one's soul was quite delicious."

"For every hour you refuse to come to the Master, more souls will feed us. The deaths whose responsibility falls on your shoulders will double with each passing hour. That was the first. In 42 minutes' time, two more shall perish, then four, then eight, and so on."

"You can save their lives and their souls by simply acquiescing to our demands. Meet with the Master, accept his gracious offer."

High up the slopes of Mount Celestia a trumpet blares, and thunder rolls out as 25 tiny lights shoot down from the sky. They are followed by a Trumpet Archon and two Avorals.

"When you have seen the wisdom of my words, break this and you will be brought to me." He tosses down a small rod, which lands in the sand near Billy, then floats back through the gate, which closes behind him. As he leaves, so does most of Billy's fear.

The Archons are drawing closer.

Billy's reply:
Billy will take the rod. Now that he finds his companions are safe without Billy around, he comtemplates for a minute on what to do. If he doesn't go to hell and do the Devil King's bidding, innocent people will die. If he does go to hell and do the Devil King's bidding, he will betray his compainions, his God, and his personal beliefs. So he waits for the archons to arrive, and tells them what happened, and why, and informs them that he will leave so that the safety of celestia will not be compromised. As to options, Billy figures if he disitigrates himself, the devil cannot use his flesh to be the binding of the new book, and though innocents may still be killed, the Devil will not get his wish of having Billy help him construct a new book(which Heironious wouldn't want billy to do)... But as to what I do next will depend on what the archon's tell me after I inform them of the events that alerted them to come here.

The Trumpet Archon and Avorals listen patiently to Billy's explanation, while the Lanterns roam near and far searching for signs of other evil intruders. When Billy finishes his tale, the Trumpet Archon thinks for a few moments then says, "That is indeed quite a predicament you have gotten yourself into. Having served under the great Heironious and in his army for Millenia, I can state with near utmost certainty that he would wish for you to achieve the glory that is inherent in sacrificing yourself for the gretaer good. Although it would garnish you an eternity of torment in the pages of a Contractor Tome, it is truly the path of the Proud."

Billy thinks "WHAT A GOD DAMNED, MF'IN.. oh wait, might be reading my thoughts... grrrrrrr.... fine, I'll be a book.... prolly not as bad as what derik put me through.... I hope..." Billy says "as heronious wishes, I will leave a message for my companions and journey to hell." Billy then rests and remem's spells, teleports to the villiage, leaves a message with the monk guy explaining what has happened, and what billy is doing, and the breaks the rod(after leaving the village. Billy thinks, "well, if I'm gonna be a book, and be tourmented forever, might as well piss off the devils as much as possible. >

The Archon seems pleased by his choice, and Billy sits down to rest. About 30 minutes later, the sky opens above him for a split second, and 2 small figures fall through. A dwarven boy of about five years of age falls limply to the ground, followed shortly by what appears to be his mother. Both are bloody and mangled.

The devil's voice calls through, "More dead pile at your feet."

Moments later the Trumpet Archon rearrives and stares at the bodies on the ground. "This cannot be allowed to continue here. If you are going to rest, I must insist you go elsewhere."

"Certainly I will. Thank you for your cooperation."

As Billy breaks the rod, the ground beneath his feet opens up, and he sees a long fall below him dropping straight into the fiery pits of Hell. As his plummets downward, his skin burns and scorches and pain fills his entire being.

His fall is momentarily arrested, and a suave looking individual stands next to him holding a famiiar Tome. "You know, just because that blow hard Heironious thinks you should sacrifice yourself is no reason to do it. I can show you the loopholes in the Duke of Rhetoric's dealings, and ensure that you get out of this alive. What do you say?"

Billy's reply: I say "wow, thanks, you look like you could use an encouraging boot." And I cast teflon's encouraging boot. you can make the sr check 17th caster. (editor's note: Teflon's Encouraging Boot is a more Colorflul version of Bigby's Clecnched Fist)

As Billy Boots the devil back down into hell, his feet land back in the softly rippling shores of Mount Celestia's ocean, and his pain and suffering drift away into a moment of pure bliss. The Trumpet Archon stands before him, "You have passed the test of obedience and fealty, truly one of the deepest tenets of Law. You may rejoin your friends. Be forewarned though, the content of this past test was also a precursor to a possible future. The devils of Hell have long memories, and The Fallen does not soon forget transgressions against him and his kind.

"I truly am but a lowly vassal in Pelor's employ and would be quite unfit to offer advice on how best to acceed to Heironious' Will in this matter. I would suggest you travel to meet one of his greater Servitors on a higher level and ask them what best to do."

A Shimmering portal appears in the air beside him, and through it he sees William and Oskar. William is bent over Lanis in the now familiar Resurrection Ritual.

 

[James McMurray]

More emailed updates, please forgive the spelling...

Oskar and William stand upon the slopes of the second Layer of Mount Celestia. Looking around they see softly rolling hills which lead gracefully up a steady, yet subtle, incline. Reaching the highest point on this level would by no means be an arduous task physically.

As they sit back and contemplate what to do, William realizes that he feels as refreshed as after a full night's rest, and that his prayers have been replenished. Digging through his pack he pulls out two diamonds and begins the prayers of Resurrection.

He finishes the task of Raising Kargur and begins to work on Lanis. About halfway through, a now-familiar shimmering portal opens beside him and Teflon Billy steps through. Behind him Oskar and Lanis see the rippling waves of the Shore below. William continues to recite his prayers over Lanis.

As the group looks at one another, deciding how best to explain what has happened in the past 20 minutes, William completes his ritual and Lanis stands up. Just then, another of the shimmering portals open up, and Galrond steps through. "I'm sorry I found you guys," he says. "That devil is making me do this." As he says the last word, his fingers crackle and an arc of energy blast forth. The familiar bursts of Galrond's Sacrificed Spells lash forth, felling Billy and William instantly.

"Oskar, I command you to run until your legs give out, " Galrond says, and the magic of the Suggestion takes hold, sending Oskar hurtling towards the nearby slopes as fast as he can. Kargur and Lanis are left standing. It is quite obvious from Galrond's stance and the look of sheer horror on his face that he does not want to be doing these things, but that he has no choice.

Lanis and Kargur fight Galrond off successfully, managing to deal subdual and not kill him. They pass the test of mercy and are allowed to stay on the second layer of Celestia. (No shortcutting by getting your corpse carried )

The fallen are seen to not really be dead, and the group travels farther onward. They go through a couple of more tests, and finally find themselves at an incredibly long line. Oskar jogs for over three hours to find the front, and then heads back after being told to go to the end of the line. It seems fairly obvious that they have found test of patience in this slow-moving monstosity. The guy at the front of the line asking questions of people may be a test as well.

Meanwhile, Fokurt had been left at the crazed doctor's. He awoke to find himself being dragged through the air by the Mask's long tongue, and approaching a tower. He talks to the mask a bit and finds out that the mask got tired of toying with the doctor and left the Tower of Health. It took the nurse with it as trail rations though.

Here's what ahppened with him (again via email, so the person and spelling may change frequently):

The narrow bridge attaches istself to the side of the tower with ancient, massive bolts. above the archway in Moilian is the legend "Tower of Test" surrounded by several martial tools: swords, knives, crossbows, etc. As you pass through the archway, a long, low howl cries out, like an ancient death knell. You wait around a bit and no amount of searching reveals the source of the noise. However, it also seems as nothing in the ancient tower has responded.

Beyond the entrywaya corridor curves two directions around the outside of the tower.The floor is covered in the ever present frost, and beneath it you can make out tiles of red and white, each bearing a different weapon emblem, many of which are completely unrecognizable. The walls are solid black metal, and every 10 foot interval you see grisly trophies: severed human heads affixed to wooden boards hang.

fokurt moves in, and his searches of the tiles reveal them to be only decoration. the first head he approaches is on alarge plaque. The only in scription is "Garnok Darelian" which is presumably the guy's name. The heads on both sides of the hall are all human, and each one is on a plaque bearing an inscription. None of the inscriptions are long, and they all appear to be simply names.

Fokurt continues around the bend and spies ahead of him a T intersection. At the juncture of the T is yet another plaque and grisly trophy. However, this one is different from all the rest in that it is wriggling and struggling, as if a body on the other side of the wall is trying to pull itself out. Its struggles bring its eyes up to where it sees you, "Pleas sir! Set me free. are you sent by Acererak to keep your promise to me? I have directed all who passed towards the halls of testing and want to be free of this cursed wall!" Fokurt realizes that the head is not speaking in common, but the mask is trnaslating for him.

"Did you happen to notice that it is the devourer's visage I wear upon my face?" Fokurt approaches with a look of interest, nonchallantly allowing his practiced wit to lead the disembodied head to it's own conclusions. "I am here for Acererak if that is what you wish to know. How did you come to be in your current situation and what is this promise that you speak of?"

The plaque reads "Darren Starkasta".

"I didn't recognize the symbol, just hoped you were here to free me for him. Long ago I promised Acererak that I would direct all who come this way to pass through that doorway over there." He kind of juts his head out and his eyes look. Fokurt looks over his shoulder down the intersecting corridor. It leads in about 40 feet to a door, and then disappers further into the darkness.

"Those are the Halls of Testing, where challengers prepare themselves to meet Faericles, the Lord High Justicator. Haven't seen him for centuries though, so the odds are he is dead. The tests may still work though, shortly after people go through I hear the unmistakable sounds of the Test of the Falling Pillars."

"I made my way through those tests a long time ago. I challenged Faericles for the title of Lord High Justicator. But his Blade was more than a match for me and the darkness engulfed me. After who knows how long I found myself here, with my neck stuck in the wall. I haven't moved my fingers and toes in forever! Please free me from my prison. If you do, I'll tell you everything I know about the tests."

"Sounds fair enough. Unfortunately, the chances that you still have a body attached to your head behind that plaque is very slim. Don't panic though, nothing is certain. Either way, there are ways to restore ones body if it's been lost. Let's wee what I can do for ye'."

I'll first check to see if his neck is flush with the plaque or if the poor sod's head is simply protruding from a hole in the plaque. If there doesn't appear to be a hole I will try and free the plaque from the wall then carry him iwth me as I scout the other end of the path. If it does appear that his head has been stuck through a hole I will tell him to wait while I scout the other end of the path to see if I can't find a way to the opposite side of his wall.

"There is most definitely no hole there. You wrestle a bit with the plaque and when it comes free he breathes a loud sigh of relief. A half-second later though he realizes that his body is not with him and degenerates into inarticulate screams along the line of "All these years wasted! That bastard said he'd free me! I'll never enjoy soft woman flesh again!" etc. It is mostly just guttural moans of abject defeat. If there is anyone alive in the tower that wasn't forwarned by the Trumpet blast when you entered, they will have been by this.

I'll hold the head up so I can look him in the eye and say "Look lad.. If you want my help getting your body back then you're going to have to shut your trap and help me out. Otherwise, I could really do without the added difficulty and simply put you back on the wall where I found you."

The head continues to scream and lament, but nothing anywhere seems to be responding. Except for the mask, which says in your head, "Silence him or I will! That crap is annoying. Oh boo-hoo, I screwed up and now I wanna cry about it. Waaah."

He continues to scream for a moment, and then the cries turn to sobs, which finally die down completely. "you can get my body back? What do I have to do?" He seems really sincere in wanting to help you.

"Believe it or not, I have been in a similar predicament. A few ages ago I too had my head separated from my body. If you're able to help me out, I can introduce you to someone who may have the ability to restore you to your old self." Fokurt takes a moment and waits for the look of hope to enter the heads facial features before continuing. "If I fail, however, you'll probably be screwed." The heavily scarred dwarf chuckles to himself and thinks out loud to the mask, "Sheesh! What a whiner. Moradin knows how he was able to get through these tests with such an attitude."

I'll remove my backpack, cut off two lengths of silk cord with the funky chain/dagger thing, and fashion a makeshift harness to hang the head off of my chest with. Then I'll put my backpack on and we'll continue down the other side of the path to scout it out.

Fokurt heads out, with the head heading in front of him. "This is the Walk of Glory" Darren explains. All who have reached the Lord High Justicator's field of battle and failed are displayed here."

They head farther along, past many varied heads, all human, all male, all with Moilian sounding names. As they round the next bend, Fokurt sees a plaque with no head on it. Against the inner curve of the corridor, a plaque is attached to the wall with a copper plate below it. Protrding from the plque is a blackened and battered horn, some four feet long. The horn looks slim and tapers to a sharp point. A faint blue-clack radiance coats the horn.

"That's the second greatest trophy in these halls: the horn of an astral dreadnaught."

"This beast must have been huge!" Fokurt examines the large natural weapon with awe, "Astral dreadnaught? Don't believe I've ever heard of such a beast. Why is it glowing like that?"

Out of character bit that was quite amusing: I have to look supremely riduculous at this point. I'm a four foot tall individual, covered in stitches, wearing a demonic-looking mask, with a talking animated head strapped to my chest. Has my braided beard been shaven off as well?

Yep, the beard is gone.

"I don't know why the thing glows. It didn't when it was first hung. Man those things are big. They're your basic ultimate predator type creature. So, when do I get my new body?"

"You'll not be having the chance at a new body if you continue to be so impatient laddie." Fokurt pokes meaty finger against the side of Darren, the head's, head. "First we've got to figure our way about this forsaken place and remain intact." With that said, the small motley crew leaves the colossal horn and continues around the perimeter upon the dwarf's feet.

We'll continue on around the perimeter and see where the right half of the tiled path leads.

The path continues around, and you come up to another grisly trophy that is not a head. This one is a hand, and when you get near it, you feel the familiar tug of the Moilian life draining undead. (losing 2 hit points in the process). The hand starts to wriggle and tries to free itself from its plaque. Darren says, "That is the greatest trophy in the Walk of Glory: The Hand of Tyr. It was removed from the God Tyr himself by the almighty Orcus, in a battle here in the Tower of Test. Tyr failed that test it seems. Heh-heh-heh."

"A god ye' say? God's have been through these halls?" We'll continue along, be sure to give the wriggling hand a wide berth.

You press up aginst the far wall, just barely out of range of the thing' life draining powers, and continue on, shortly finding yourself back at the entrance. It seems if you want to go anywhere in this tower, you have to head downt he corridor towards the 'Halls of Testing". As you walk, Darren talks.

"Heck yeah they have. Tyr, the little girly god of Paladins though he could challenge the Empire of Moil. It seems we'd 'accidentally' crushed one of his favorite worlds in our expansion. Well, Moil put up a great fight, and in the end we summoned almighty Orcus himself. Orcus challenged Tyr to a duel, and the fool's honor gave him no choice but to accept. When they met in the Hall of Test, Orcus lopped his hand off and sent him packing. This all happened way before I was born, but every Moilian child grows up learning the story of our greatness."

"Orcus, eh? I heard he died a while back and is trying to come back from the grave or some such... That's what my most recent employers tell me anyway." Fokurt's sentenc trails off. He then stops and looks around a for a moment, appearing confused. "hRm.. What's the path to our right and why would someone try to keep us from going down it?"

I'll be sure to look back and make sure that we have indeed been placed back at the entrance and it doesn't appear to be some sort of physical trick. Checking the martial weapon tiles and what not.

"Huh? I never heard anything about that. Orcus is the all powerful Lord of Life, Death, and Undeath. I don't see how he could have died. Perhaps you come from a freed world who has begun telling these tales to boost their morale? In any case, the Walk of Glory circles the entire Tower of Test. We should be fairly close to making our way back around to the entrance."

"Could be. There's always lies and quibbling when gods are concerned." The dwarf walks up and stands before the dark entryway that passes on into the Tower of Test. "So tell me of this first test. The test of falling pillars I believe you called it?"

"The Test ensures that only the most dextrous reach the chambers of the Lord High Exultant. Massive steel pillars are standing in the room, and when you get halfway across they begin to fall. The far door will not open until they have all fallen. If you aren't quick enough, you could be crushed."

"Is there anything that you can remember about this test since you passed through it that may help us lad?"

I will ask the mask to attempt to deflect any pillars with his powers of telekinesis if my honed skills in evasion are unable to dodge one of the falling pillars. Even if he's not strong enough to hold one of the pillars, he may be able to give it enough of a push so that it's course will be averted from making dwarven pancakes. Unless Darren brings up something extremely important at this point I will step through the door. Heeding any advice that the head can give.

To make along story short (and because the remainging emails from this portion somehow got deleted...) Fokurt makes his way through several more tests before being too injured, tired, and hungry to continue. He slumps down against a wall just outside a room filled with swinging pendulums of razor sharp blades and waits. The party waits in line a bit, then decides to leave Billy on his own. Everyone else goes back to the city of Moil and tracks Fokurt down.

 

[James McMurray]

Re: I used to look down on high fantasy...

... but from your story I now appreciate its potential for goofily entertaining mayhem and innocent bystander destroying battles. Great, great stuff. I want more!

Here are some specific comments and observations.

Thanks! That's good to hear. I know we've had fun playing the games. Its definitely the highest level campaign I've ever partaken in (as well as being the first campaign I've ever ran that lasted more than a few weeks.

• Naming the Dim Triad after the corrupted giants from S.R. Donaldon's "Illearth War" was a stroke of genius. Making them into Oriental Adventures-style classes was the icing on the cake. 'Tis a pity such wonderful villains had to perish.
  

• 
  
  That was their names in the Return to the Tomb of Horrors. I never even knew they were pulled form somewhere else. I've read some of the Chronicles, but it was a long time ago and I don't know if I got that far along in them. Makes me want to pick them up again though, just to read more about Absalom, Harrow, and Blaesig.
  
  

  [*]Nuala was one nasty b*tch! Now that is what I call a great nemesis for the party. Too bad they couldn't figure out how to beat her fair and square (i.e., without Raffi's intervention). They were so close....

  
  Yeah, I wish they'd done it too. They started down that path, then got distracted. A well, c'est la vie. The party doesn't know it, but Raffi has quite a few surprises up his sleeve. The sad part is that they'll probably not find out about them (at least not during this campaign).
  
  

  [*]A Mace of Disruption makes combat against undead too easy. As DM I would make a house rule that it doesn't instantly destroy such things as the bone golem or Nuala's undead arena buddies.

  
  It hasn't worked against most things. Of course, the Moilian zombies fall to it, but that's after they get beaten to less than 0 hit points and then full attacked with it for a few rounds. There is very little in the remainder of the adventure that it will affect.
  
  

  [*]Skipping ahead to The City that Waits. Wouldn't the Mask of the Devourer detect as evil? In which case why would Fokurt put it on? Also, why was the party so callous towards him in re: Dr. Tarr? This part has me baffled. It seems out of character for the party - so suspicious of everyone else (including Raffi!) - to trust the clearly insane doctor.

The Mask definitely detected as evil. Fokurt put it on because he knew the party needed the key. His self-proclaimed title is "fodder". He is basically playing a Nodwick type of henchan. The player is enjoying it though, so there's no problems there.

As for the group leaving him in the Doctor's hands, its part of your concerns voiced bout high fantasy. The group really did hope that the doctor could remove the mask somehow, and figured that if it failed, the mask probably wouldn't come along for the ride during a bodiless casting of True Resurrection.

As my post subject says, I used to look down on high fantasy. One of the reasons - and this appears to be borne out by your story - is that the players (and characters?) lose their fear of death. When everyone is getting resurrected all the time with little repercussion (5,000 GP gems - big deal!), it seems that even the most awesome foes lose their ability to instill fear.

Well, due to the party's overuse of them, 5,000gp gems are pretty scarce. True Artists can create them, but it costs the party 7,500gp. Considering that the party is incredibly broke right now, that's more than they can afford. Amastacia has managed to help reopen the Diamond Mine though, so they may be able to get some more soon.

The fight against a Winter Wight should be scary - the players should be thinking, "Holy sh*t, this guy is kicking our @sses. Run!" instead of, "Blah, we'll stand and fight until we die, guess we'll come back later."

Two of the party have met final deaths so far. Those will be detailed (albeit briefly) in future updates. A quick preview: Kargur gets eaten by a Winter Wight wearing the Mask of the Devourer, and Oskar gets absorbed by the Vestige (a CR29 Abomination).

(Incidentally I can't wait to see how the party handles something.)

I can't wait either, but would you mind terribly removing the reference to it? My players come here and I'd like that to remain as much of a surprise as possible for them (the ones that don't own RttToH at least ).

Regardless of my quibbles, this story is among the best I've read. The greatest praise I can think to heap on it is that it's as compelling to read as "Navero"!

Sounds great! Just one quest... What is "Navero"?

 

[Joshua Randall]

Re: Re: I used to look down on high fantasy...

Thanks! That's good to hear. I know we've had fun playing the games. Its definitely the highest level campaign I've ever partaken in (as well as being the first campaign I've ever ran that lasted more than a few weeks.

Did the party actually play their characters up to these levels, or did you start out at 15th (or whatever)? Just curious.

That was their names in the Return to the Tomb of Horrors. I never even knew they were pulled form somewhere else. I've read some of the Chronicles, but it was a long time ago and I don't know if I got that far along in them. Makes me want to pick them up again though, just to read more about Absalom, Harrow, and Blaesig.

Hunh. I am losing my memory. Gonna have to re-read RttToH myself. I really didn't remember that the Dim Triad were named Absalom, Harrow, and Blaesig.

You should definitely go back to SRD's "Illearth War" for more on the original holders of those names. (Well. Absalom is from the Bible so I guess that's the original original name.) Also, if you can find SRD's short story "Bannor's Tale" (or something like that - I think it's in the collection titled "Daughter of Regals"), it gives the Bloodguard's take on the whole corrupted giants situation.

As for the group leaving him in the Doctor's hands, its part of your concerns voiced bout high fantasy. The group really did hope that the doctor could remove the mask somehow, and figured that if it failed, the mask probably wouldn't come along for the ride during a bodiless casting of True Resurrection.

Wow. I would certainly be pretty peeved if my friends left me in the hands of a thousand year old insane mechanical doctor. But maybe that's just me.

Two of the party have met final deaths so far. Those will be detailed (albeit briefly) in future updates. A quick preview: Kargur gets eaten by a Winter Wight wearing the Mask of the Devourer, and Oskar gets absorbed by the Vestige (a CR29 Abomination).

The Vestige... ah yes. Y'know how some players/parties refuse to retreat even when you give them every hint that they are in over their heads? Well, they'd sure as hell better flee from the Vestige.

Or to quote everyone's favorite wizard: "This foe is beyond any of you. Run!"

I can't wait either, but would you mind terribly removing the reference to it?

Sorry! I had the erroneous impression that the campaign had already been completed.

Sounds great! Just one quest... What is "Navero"?

What?! Only the original net D&D story that started everyone down this path of exceedingly long writeups. You can read the stories here:

http://www.myths.com/pub/rpg/stories/navero/

But I warn you, once you start reading 'em, it's hard to stop.

 

[James McMurray]

Re: Re: Re: I used to look down on high fantasy...

Did the party actually play their characters up to these levels, or did you start out at 15th (or whatever)? Just curious.

For the most part they did. The guy playing Dokurt just joined recently, so Fokurt didn't start at first level. He started at 12th or 13th I believe. He was one level lower than the rest of the party.

The guy playing Oskar joined a bit before him, and so Oskar also didn't start at first. He started at 12th or 13th as well.

Everyone else has either worked that character up from first level, or worked on another character and then gotten a replacement.

Galrond is an NPC (or DMPC some might call him). He was a replacement for Gundarag when the party's number of front line fighters grew and they had no wizards.

Teflon Billy didn't technically work his way from first. He starated at first, but died at the hands of a Ghoul King early on and was not resurrectable. An old foe of the party resurrected him though, and then held him for torture. He managed to escape. In the interim he had gained some levels just so he wouldn't be third while the rest of the party was 9th.

Wow. I would certainly be pretty peeved if my friends left me in the hands of a thousand year old insane mechanical doctor. But maybe that's just me.

He's definitely playing a downtrodden henchman type. The stories he tells o his past employers (I think he really was Nodwick) make the current party look like angels. He is honestly surprised when the party offers him treasures, and he refuses to take them if they are worth more than he feels he deserves.

The Vestige... ah yes. Y'know how some players/parties refuse to retreat even when you give them every hint that they are in over their heads? Well, they'd sure as hell better flee from the Vestige.

Or to quote everyone's favorite wizard: "This foe is beyond any of you. Run!"

The party had even seen a vision of Raffi fleeing from the Vestige. Of course, when they were flying away, Oskar was the only one in heavy armor, and therefore the only one moving at 60. After they managed to hurt it a bit, the Vestige got mad and threw on a burst of speed. He had no way of knowing that he would have been teleported away by galrond if it had gotten close enough to catch him, so he stopped and stood his ground. He did keep trying to escape though, but its hard when hundreds of tortured souls are clinging to you.

Sorry! I had the erroneous impression that the campaign had already been completed.

No problemo. Last weekend they arrived at the door of the Fortress of Conclusion.

What?! Only the original net D&D story that started everyone down this path of exceedingly long writeups. You can read the stories here:

http://www.myths.com/pub/rpg/stories/navero/

But I warn you, once you start reading 'em, it's hard to stop. [/B]

I'll have to check those out.

 

[Joshua Randall]

The party had even seen a vision of Raffi fleeing from the Vestige. [...] He did keep trying to escape though, but its hard when hundreds of tortured souls are clinging to you.

sniffle <-- wiping away a tear for Oskar

No problemo. Last weekend they arrived at the door of the Fortress of Conclusion.

Muuuhahahahaha!

I will be interested to read your take on the Fortress and its... well, I'll say no more. Actually I can't wait to hear how Fokurt dealt with the end of the Tower of Test and how the rest of the party got the other key.

Y'know what else I love about RttToH? The phrases: Dim Triad. Skullkers. Dark Intrusion. Necrohazard. City That Waits. Fortress of Conclusion. And of course that final word that describes... argh, can't say it!

 

[Derulbaskul]

Hi James,

Just wanted to say thanks for typing up a really entertaining story hour. I think that my RttToEE campaign will end up heading toward the Return to the Tomb of Horrors in due course....

Cheers
NPP

 

[James McMurray]

"Well, they don't start to fall until you're half across. Other than that, don't get hit. I got barely brushed by one but the sheer weight and momentum made it hurt like the Nine Hells."

Fokurt moves into the room, and Darren was right. On the far side of the room, past several tightly packed pillars, Fokurt sees another door. He heads towards it and when he is halfway there the pillars begin to tilt. First only a couple fall, but then a couple more are knocked over by those, until finally the entire room is filled with tilting, rolling, and sliding steel pillars. The cacophony of sounds grates on Fokurt's ears as he deftly dodges and ducks, leaps and dives to avoid the pillars.

He makes an error in judgement though and finds himself diving straight into an oncoming block of metal. The mask laughs with delight and shouts, "I can't have my feet getting crushed just yet!" It lashes out with its jet black tongue, pushing the pillar aside just enough for Fokurt to dodge. What seems like an eternity later, the final pillar falls. As it clangs and rolls to a stop, the far door opens.

"Next is the Test of endurance," says Darren.

"Well that was definately harrowing.. Not something I'm apt to feel like doing again anytime soon. What can you tell me of this test of endurance before we enter?"

Darren informs him that the room is filled with all manner of stinging insects, and that one must find the switch to open the door before succumbing to their bites. Fokurt is a bit surprised though when the doorway opens to reveal a large empty room with a switch plainly visible on the wll near the door. He carefully moves in, then activates the switch and the door opens wide.

The next test is a test of strength, and although Fokurt is not up to the task, the Mask of the Devourer wraps it tongue around the door's frozen handle and lifts it effortlessly.

The room beyond shows sparkling lights on 5 gemstones near a massive door. Watching for a bit, Fokurt notices that there is a pattern to the lights that is repeated after 30 seconds. A seemingly random series of lights will flash, then 30 seconds later the same series will flash past, followed by a new series. Darren tells him that he is to press the gems which flash, in the same order as they flashed previously, andt he door will open.

He tries a few times and each time is met with failure. The failure is accompanied by a powerful electric shock, and after five or so tries Fokurt is too burnt and blackened on his hands to continue. The Mask gves a devilish chuckle and asks, "Can I try?"

Fokurt says ok, and the mask watches the lights flash for a few minutes. It then takes over Fokurt's arms and grabs Darren's mounting. Pushing buttons with Darren's nose, the Mask laughs with delight when it misremembers and Darren screams in agony. The screaming and shocing continue and the Mask finally manages to successfully repeat the pattern. The door opens wide.

Beyond is a room filled with light from hundreds of sphere that float from the cieling above. Darren explains that it is a test of forebearance and that the sphere will give off an unbearable sound the further one penetrates the room. Fokurt steals himself and charges in but is almost immediately dropped to his knees by the horrendous sound of a cacophony of discordant tones. The Mask is not done with its mount yet though, and it wraps its tongue around Fokurt's necka nd drags him to the doorway. As the fdoor opens, the sounds cease, and Fokurts can breathe again.

When he sees that the next room containshundreds of scythes swinging from chains, he drops into an exhausted heap on the floor and waits for the group to arrive to help him.

The party scries for him, then after meet up. They went through the remainder of the tests and Oskar defeated the Lord High Exultant in a duel. It was hard work, but he managed to do it. The thing that made it difficult was that the Moilian Zombie had fast healing, and Oskar had no way to damage him completely. But whent he rest of the party cheated by teleporting in to give him a Mace of Disruption, it becae much easier.

Then they headed back to Celestia, but Fokurt found himself walking through the Gate and landing in the surf of the shores of the first layer while everyone else arrived on the second layer. Billy was still in line where he was left.

The group met up with Billy, while Fokurt plodded his way up the mountainside. The party waited in line for a day and a half and made it to the next layer. Meanwhile, Fokurt was continually finding himself being sent back to the shores. He failed the test of perseverence and sobriety when he stopped at night and drank himself into a stupor. He failed the test of obedience when he refused to follow the decree of a senestial sent by Moradin. He claimed to not believe that the Winged Dwarf before him was a servant of Moradin, but would not accpt any proof offered.

On the third layer the party traveled through the vast fields of Yondolla, stopping for a bit to play with some halfling children. They then travelled onwrd but were rebuffed by a vast cliff that was unscalable (at least with their current gear).

As they were trying to decide what to do next, the stench of brimstone filled the air as a gate opened above them and a bulap sack fell through with a wet thump. After a bit of investigation the party opened the sack and found inside a dead baby and a scroll tube. The letter inside read:

The scroll read "The test was also a prophecy. The countdown begins now." It was signed Furcas, Archduke of Dis.

The scroll was wrapped around a familiar looking rod, and the party deliberated over what to do. Kargur, in a moment of self-sacrifice, took up the rod and tried to break it himself, that he might go to Hell in Billy's stead. The rod refused to break though, and it was left for Billy to do himself.

Here is the recounting of what occuredt then:

When Billy breaks the rod, he disappears in a sulfurous blast of flame and begins to hurtle downwards to the floor of Hell. This time though, there is no contractor devil offering escape. You bounce and roll off the side of a massive pillar made of demonic looking skulls, and then fall off, plummeting downward and slam into the the side of a massive tower.

Your fall continues and you plummet through the vast city of Dis. Several devils laugh at you as you pass. The city is forged almost completely of glowing red iron, and your skin blisters and burns from the closeness of it. From the city streets below a cry of thousands of tortured voices gets louder, then you are slamming into the glowing redhot flagstones of the streets of Dis. You crash through them and into the sewers below. A torrent of slimy devil filth and feces catches you up and takes you over a massive fetid fall which dumps you into vast swamp.

As you start to regain your feet, you realize that they are stuck in quicksand, which burns like acid. As you wriggle to break free, the surface below your feet erupts and a gargantuan barracuda-like beast rises up and engulfs you. Its seven layers of teeth tear at your flesh and it dives, spitting you out a minute later to send you hurtling over yet another fall.

The acidic water around you scars and burns, then rapidly evaporates into steam as it splashes into a river of liquid fire. You land in the napalm flow's shore and have a moment to try to catch your breath. That turns out to be a mistake though, and the air of the place is also fiery, and it sears your lungs. As you try to scream in pain the ground beneath you opens up, and you begin to fall again.

You hurtle through the air, and the coolness is at first a blessing. It does not take long for the icy air around you to become painful though, and your beard and hair are quickly covered with frost. You drop rapidly through a sky ripped apart by lightning blasts, and splash into a great ocean of nearly frozen water and ice bergs, where you start to sink. The current grabs you and sends you sinking into the frigid blackness that even your dwarven sight cannot penetrate. Something grabs you with scaly hands, and then more hands are grabbing you. Water fills your lungs, but you are not drowning. The hands begin to pull you farther downward, clawing and scratching to let the frigid salt water in.

A minute later you are free of the icy water, and find yourself being hurled into an underground cavern by several scaly fishmen. As you start to look around the cavern, it begins to shake and tilt, and you are again rolling through a tunnel opening. It drops you out on the side of a massive mountain, and you roll right off of a cliff face. The sky above you boils with leprous colors, and you see far out on the plane below you several massive copper fortresses. An avalanche of massive boulders grabs you and carries you downward, crushing your arm and pulping your leg.

The sky above you shifts and twists and turns the color of old, black blood. All around are mine camps and quarries, where countless human and humanoid figures work under the ever watchful eye of devil captors. It looks like many of them are pulling down ancient cities and others are using the stone from them to build new cities far away. The boulders continue to carry you forward and into a deep crevace, which glows from within with a sickly gray light. The sides of the canyon pulse, and are twisted like a massive brain. Dark thoughts slither into your head, speaking of ownership and eternal pain.

As you drop through the depths of the cavern into an icy blue sky, you find that the cold you knew before was only a mild breeze compared to the cold of Cania, the eigth layer of hell. In mere moments your skin is icy blue. Your teeth chatter so hard that the tips of them break off, exposing the nerve endings below. Yet another instrument has added itself to your symphony of pain and torment. The icy ground below rushes up and you slam into it. In the glacier beneath, your eyes make out strange alien shapes, locked forever in the ice. Then you break through.

Just as it seems your fall will continue forver through countless worlds of torment and sorrow, you slam into the ground beside an incredibly deep chasm. You can barely even muster the will to stand, knowing that as soon as you try the ground will shift and you will fall again. As your head lolls to the side, you look down into the crevace and see a massive city, large enough to make the teeming Metropolis of Lopolla look like a rural village.

Rising up out of the depths of the city is the familiar face of Furcas, Duke of Rhetoric. Behind and beside him stands a troop of kytons, draped with razor sharp chains. As they get nearer, the chains lash out and wrap you up. Their razor sharp barbs dig into your flesh, searing you with intense agony.

"So, mortal, you felt that you had it in you to challenge the depths of Hell itself eh? What do you think of your foolishness now?"

As you try to reply, you choke and cough on your own blood. The spikes of the chains wrapped around your chest have pierced the lungs. It is only the will of the Lord of Baator that prevents you from drowning on your own blood.

"No matter, I think it is fairly obvious what the outcome of those ill-thought actions is now. Here is what will occur: You will be sent back to the prime material plane, where you will have one Oerthian month to bring to us a willling soul. This soul will then be forged into the magicks of a new Tome of Souls. Your flesh will make up the bindings. In return, Asmodeus, master of all that is dark and hidden, will spare your friends' lives."

His robe opens up and a long, dark shape slithers out. A black, spiny, snakelike trunk slides towards your face and forces itself into your mouth. Your jaw is forced wider by the thing's expanding head, and something crawls out of its mouth and down your throat. You feel hundreds of tiny legs grasping the sides of your esophagus, as the thing burrows deeper into you.

"The Gurj will keep a watchful eye upon you." Furcas continues. "Should you try to work against the will of the Master, it will know. Should you plot with your friends to circumvent your fate, it will know. Everything that it learns, so too does Asmodeus. You have proven that your own safety is held less dear to you than that of your friends and innocents. As such, you need not fear harm from us. Instead, the price for failure and the price for betrayal are one and the same: The destruction of the earthly city known as Lopolla, and an eternity knowing that it was your fault, and that your actions could have easily averted it.

You have one month. Brigade, dispose of him."

The chains that enshroud you lift you high, and a jet-black fire erupts from the ground at Furcas' feet. The kytons hurl you into that fire, and as it blackens and burns your flesh and sears your eyes, you begin to hear the surprised outcries of countless voices speaking in common. In a haze you see that you are lying on a busy street, recognizable as the market district of Lopolla. You look down past the smoke rising from your body to see a charred and blackened body barely recognizable as your own. Tears mark your flesh, and your clothing has been burnt completely away. As you watch, a piece of charred flesh breaks off and falls to the ground. Beneath it is pink flesh, which pulses as if something were crawling beneath it.

You twitch in agony, and several more small pieces of flesh crack off, leaving behind pink new tissue. As you chip and flake, people around you gasp in terror as your blackened body rapidly falls away to reveal a perfectly healed replacement below.