we went in with 4 level 9 PC's
Some spoilers below:
Party was comprised of:
"Bull" - 9th level fighter
Durin - 9th level wizard
Pendril - 9th level Paladin
Sinjin - 9th level rogue.
We actually did not encounter too many deaths, (4 total, and they were all individual) but we did suffer a LOT of ability and level drains, which really cost us a good sum of coin and slowed progress down.
Sinjin was the first to die. We had come upon a large semicircular room. The floor was covered in several inches of ash, and in the middle of the room, a large column of fire blazed from the floor and rose to the ceiling. It was evident that this room was used as an incinerator. We acted cautiously, and the wizard cast detect magic. He discovered two magical auras close to the center of the room. The objects were obviously buried under the ash. I believe one of the magical auras was minor and the other was moderate, so Sinjin the rogue deftly and stealthily entered the room, relying on his search ability to find the first of the two objects. Unfortunately, the moment he uncovered the first item, the elder fire elemental that had previously shown no signs of life (the paladin had attempted to detect evil, and detected nothing in the room, because the elemental was neutral), surprised sinjin and pummelled him with a firy fist. Sinjin not only took damage, but he also caught fire. After rolling for initiative, the Elemental won, and proceeded to pummel the rogue with a full attack action, which left sinjin dead and burning. The rest of the group sprang to action and luckliy were able to pull the rogue's carcass out of the room. Sinjin was resurrected, but was now a level 8 rogue. AARRGH!.
Later, our group returned to the spire to end the threat of Gulthias. The resurrection, restorations and numerous cures had cost us a healthy portion of the spoils we had gathered, and all but the Paladin were starting to grumble that perhaps this particular adventure was not as lucrative as we had expected. We wondered if perhaps the task of defeating Gulthias might be best left to the highly religious, but Pendril was adamant that we continue in the name of all that was holy. Soon, we came upon a narrow passage of catacombs, laden with treasure, but lined with crypts that were built into the walls. Something did not feel right about the situation; it was as if traversing the corridor and claiming the piles of sparkling jewels were all too easy. Pendril used his divine ability to detect evil once again, and this time, he sensed a tremendous force of evil in one of the sarcophogi at the end of the corridor. He told us to stand back at the intersection. He would attempt to get close to the crypt and call upon his deity to help repell the menace that lay beyond. We were all surprised by what happened next. A plethora of hideous spectres converged from the shadows to attack Pendril. Before he could attempt to run, he was swarnmed by the creatures and they began draining the life force from him. All of us sprang to action, but the creature in the crypt also joined the fray. We learned much later that this new malignancy was known as Aoket, the mummy monk. Our group fought valiantly to try to save Pendril, but alas, the spectres drained him of 8 levels, and the mummy was able to stun him with a blow that also dropped him to the floor and into unconsciousness. The shrouded one then activated a magical device on his helm and teleported from our presence. We had lost our greatest friend, but we had no time to mourn him, because the spectres wanted us as well. It was then, that Sinjin drew forth the "Pale Piercer", a powerful weapon that he had in fact previously rescued from the halls of Nightfang Spire. Bull and Durin had also suffered from the life draining attacks of the spectres, and now they attempted to retreat. Sinjin kept the spectres at bay, and eventually, the spectres were destroyed.
The remaining trio fled the tower, and eventually, exhaustion forced them to stop. Now, the realization that Pendril had fallen began to sink in, and no one spoke. It was Durin who recalled that Pendril had been taken by the mummy, and that had they wanted to kill him, Pendril's corpse would surely have been hacked to pieces. Durin explained that he might be able to scry on Pendril to see if in fact he was still alive, and if he was, we might mount a surprise assault on the spire and free him. So, after some prepartion and travel, Durin produced a mirror, and began to scry. Soon, the mirror revealed the unconscious but breathing Pendril, now strapped into a chair. He appeared to be in a laboratory. Durin began to scan the room, and it was in the mirror, for the first time, that we caught a glimpse of Gulthias the vampire. The creature's senses alerted him to the fact that he was being spied upon, and he quickly cast a spell that blocked Durin's ability to scry. However, we knew that Pendril was alive. Later, we scried again, and Durin attempted to teleport us directly into the room, but we found out the hard way that the room was magically sealed and prevented teleportation. The only way we were going to save Pendril, was to go back in and continue delving through the layers of the spire. (Pendril did in fact die, but he was resurrected by another of our nemeses, Quinn the necromancer, whom the DM added to the game for roleplay purposes. Quinn resurrected Pendril so that he could continue torturing him)
We entered the spire again. This time, we had enlisted the help of a gnome cleric to aid us. Erky Timbers was his name, and his aid was much appreciated. We eventually found Pendril. He was in a huge pit, surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of undead, who were commanded by Quinn and Gulthias. This was the army of undead that Gulthias was preparing to unleash on Safeton and the towns of the Wild Coast. Pendril had been in this pit for almost ten days. He would gain consciousness and fight, only to be overwhelmed by the undead and lose consciousness again. In this state, he was subjected to the hideous evil whisperings of Quinn, who unraveled tales of death and misery to break the spirit of the noble Paladin. Alas, Erky Timbers died in the pit, ripped apart by the hordes of skeletons and zombies, which then feasted on his flesh. The screams of the gnome were horrendous, and I must beg your forgiveness as I pause, now that the remembrance of that awful moment fills my mind.
We fled the spire yet again, but we were now committed, one and all, to bring the evil of Gulthias and Quinn to an end, or at least die trying. We ventured into the tower again. We soon came upon a nest of gorillians. These beasts were terrible foes in combat. They were able to shred a man apart in only a moment. We soon realized that we would have to use our wits tobeat them, and it was here that Durin bestowed an improved invisibility and a haste on Sinjin. This was the ticket the rogue needed, as he gutted a number of the beasts, impaling them with the pale piercer in lethal areas. Bull and Pendril also fought, and Durin was able to take a few of the foes out with a fireball and a lightning bolt. it was only after we slew the beasts that we learned of their young. We now realized that they had been trying to communicate with us at one point, but we mistook their overtures as threats, and we killed them all. If only we had been able to speak with them, we might have gained a much needed ally, but alas, fate dictated otherwise.
We continued on our quest. We soon came upon an altar of evil design. The altar had an inscription on its surface, in a language that only our wizard could read. He read the words aloud, to see if we could make sense of their meaning. The meaning became quite clear, because as soon as the words departed from his lips, a beam of energy engulfed Durin, and the dwarven wizard, proud member of the Dun-Balbak clan, collapsed. His body twitched for a moment and then all was still.
We left the spire once again, and Pendril returned the body of Durin to his clan. The trip took him a month, but in his absence, the rest of the group travelled to Greyhawk to re-supply. Our more recent encounters had provided us with some much needed funds, and we used the coin to enchant armor and purchase provisions and supplies to aid us in what we hoped would soon be the final battle. We also were joined by a new wizard, the wise and sagacious Gilidarius, and a cleric of Heironeous, Cathan.
When we returned, the spire had undergone a change. The broken battlements had been restored. A large ramp, that spanned a distance of some one hundred feet had been erected to allow ingress to the tower's mid section. As we approached, a black knight of death awaited us on his horse at the top of the ramp. The death knight charged at us, and Pendril wheeled his stallion to meet the charge. While this happened, a group of other undead minions came running out and the rest of us had to deal with the new threat. The tide was turning though. We dispatched the knight and his followers without too much difficulty and we entered the spire once again.
Within hours, we cleared out all of the lower levels of the tower, and we had collected all four pieces of a key that had to be used to gain entrance to the center of the spire, which was known as "the core". Once we opened the core, we came upon Aoket again and what turned out to be a wight assassin. This time, we knew we could slay the monk, but we needed to relieve of of the helm he wore. Sinjin, who moved in first, was able to successfully snatch the helm from the mummy's head before the Aoket could react. Fighting ensued, but the wight's assassination attempt failed, and the group was victorious. We had sustained injuries though, and the Paladin began to administer some aid to the wounded. That's when Gulthias finally decided to attack. He unleashed a series of fireballs and lightning bolts on the party from above. Once he was satsified that he had done us harm, he then descended to the floor to gloat over what he assumed was going to be an easy victory. To boost the vampire's confidence even more, Pendril made a fatal mistake. The Paladin attempted to dissuade the vampire from continuing his evil designs, and he lowered his guard as he spoke. The vampire wasted no time in casting a spell which killed the paladin.
all appeared lost. The paladin had been using some of his divine abilties to wreak havoc on the undead, and without him, our chances were slim. Gulthias did not wait to press his advantage, and he attacked again.
But, fate has a funny way of ebbing and flowing, and this time, fate smiled on Pendril. With his next action, Sinjin the rogue snatched up the body of the fallen Paladin and used the helm of teleportation he had just stolen to take Pendril back to the temple of Heironeous in Greyhawk. They had been there a number of times in their previous visit to the city in order to appeal to the temple for aid.
At the site of the fallen Paladin, and with reports of imminent death for Cathan, the high priest was summoned to assist. He was working against the clock, because while Sinjin waited, the battle at the spire continued. Gilidarius used mass haste to help the remaining party members. He attempted to cordon off the vampire with a wall of force, but the vampire was able to use dimension door to circumvent the wall. They exchanged spells, as did Cathan, and Bull attempted to get in a few blows, but Gulthias was joined by another vampire: the son of lady Falken, who had been kidnapped months before.
After a few moments, the High priest of Heironeous called on his deity to perform a miracle and bring the fallen Paladin to life. Heironeous blessed Pendril, and the rogue activated the helm once more. Upon their return, the group succeeded in slaying one vampire and then in turn, wounding Gulthias to the point where the evil one had to return to his coffin in gaseous form. Within a few moments, the party discovered the source of power of Nightfang Spire, and destroyed it, along with Gulthias.
Quinn was present for the final battle, but he escaped in a portal as the tower began to crumble. The party quickly gave chase and made it into a tunnel that led to the underdark. The collapsing spire sealed off any escape, and so it came to pass that the group of unlikely heroes descended into darkness to find the renegade Quinn. . .but that is a tale for another time.
Average starting level 9
Average level upon completion: 12
Total deaths: 4
Total restorations: More than can be remembered.
Analysis:
Try to start this adventure at tenth or 11th level.
Make sure all of the core classes are coverered: A rogue is essential, as many of traps are deadly. A cleric is essential, as restoration, lesser restoration and turning are essential.
A fighter is necessary and so is an arcane caster.
If you have more than four characters, a Paladin is a very nice addition for the group.
