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The Unusual Heroes vs. The Pool of Radiance
- Thread starter Xaltar
- Start date
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Session 9, Part 1: Runtel’s Impatience...
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Emerging from the tomb, the party felt defeated. They searched for some time for the command word to activate the rune of the stars. After they gave up the search, they explored the secret passageway and found that it led to an abandoned barracks in Myth Drannor. The heroes weren’t ready for that; they still needed to get into the Crypt of Orbakh so they headed back towards the Polyandrium.
As the party emerged from Commander Lyssic’s crypt, a little over a dozen cultists accosted them. Two of them appeared to be wizards and one in particular was of arrogant bearing. “Well, well, well…very nice of you to do our work for us. The Wearers of the Purple will be very pleased with me. You can just drop your weapons and hand over the rune of stars, or I will have to kill you. At least this way you’ll be allowed to live.”
Drexel, wearing the best disguise in the party as a result of his magical hat, stepped forward and spoke in a commanding voice, “I am Shamoor! You puny underlings dare impede our path?”
The fallen statue around the entrance provided good cover while Spiderfang drank a potion of invisibility and the others readied for a potential battle. Although Drexel had used one of his signature bluffs, and even used the name of the cultist wizard scribed on the previous crypts, they didn’t seem to be falling for the ruse.
The wizard called out to his followers, “This man is not my brother, seize them!”
Before the head wizard was ever able to cast a spell, the invisible Spiderfang used his ring of jumping to clear the manifesting sword fight and cleanly landed a jump kick to the mage’s head, snapping his neck, and killing him instantly. During that time, Drexel used a wand of magic missile to prevent the remaining wizard from casting, but not before the spell ‘slow’ had been cast on Hunter, forcing him to move at a snail’s pace.
Runtel, Hunter and Holden waded into combat while Ziona backed them up with a mixture of healing, offensive spells, and the blade of her bastard sword. During the fight Lia got trapped away from the rest of the party and was trapped between two brutish cult members. The masked Dr. Midnight tumbled past the other guards that were blocking his way and yelled, “I come to your aid milady,” as he charged one of her assailants with his magical rapier.
It wasn’t long before the heroes had laid waste to the force of cultists that had the audacity to battle them. After they had finished the fight, they searched the leader and found two scrolls. The first had a sketch of the rune of stars and the word “venik-rhaa” written underneath it. The second was written in Common.
“Putting a pox on their allies pets? Sounds like a great bunch of people,” mused Drexel.
The party stripped down the rest of the bodies and left them for the rest of the cultists to find. They then moved on to find the crypt of Rothilion, as mentioned in the note to Nevessam.
Four broad stone steps leap up to a set of stone double doors sealed with a large sun-rune, marking the entrance to the crypt of Rothilion. The masonry of the steps, door, and doorframe was all crafted of very high quality and carved with images of suns, books, fires, anvils, and scales. As Drexel spoke the command words “venik-rhaa” while presenting the run of stars, a low rumbling noise emanating from the door quickly grew louder.
A moment later, just before the unbearable noise of vibrating bones and stone became painful, the rumbling stopped, leaving the Polyandrium eerily quiet. Suddenly the enormous doors swung outward with a thunderous crash. A shining symbol appeared in the air between the doors, shaped like a dawning sun with light so bright it could almost burn.
As the party walked into the massive hallway, Ziona translated the elven inscription, which ran nearly the entire length of the corridor. “Here lies Rothilion the Honorable, Master Wizard and High Judge of Myth Drannor. May all who seek it find his wisdom and kindness. May all who would defile or destroy his legacy be cursed and face his wrath.”
The hallway opened up into a large room almost fifty feet long, and nearly as wide. On each of the side walls were 10-foot-square alcoves, each cluttered with tools and some sort of display. There were two doors at the far side of the chamber, both made of a heavy dark wood.
The first alcove contained a forge and an anvil, the second had two stone tables covered with uncut stones, the third had racks of stretched leather, and the last display tools for shaping bows and manufacturing arrows. Each of the alcoves contained greatly deteriorated scrolls, and Drexel determined that the one in the smithy alcove could be useful in working with crafting leather goods.
The scroll would have turned to dust if touched, so Drexel had to be extremely careful when trying to move it around in order to read it in its entirety. The process was taking a very long time and Runtel was growing extremely antsy. Drexel turned to him and spoke with a biting tone, “I am trying to do this so that I may craft magical items for you and the rest of the party. Now if you’ll please, I need several more minutes to copy this scroll in its entirety.”
Runtel turned, shook his head and replied, “You can sit here and read, and I’m ready for battle!”
He then headed directly for one of the doors on the other side of room and motioned to open it. Holden balked, seeing his new friend about to open a door without first searching for traps. “Runtel! What are you doing?”
“I’ll tell you what I’m not doing, and that’s wasting any more time!”
Runtel barged through the door and the party stood there in a moment of awkwardness. They had not known this man long, and no one could have possibly have anticipated the amount of trouble that he was about to cause them all. As he moved beyond sight, only one other decided to follow him, and that was Dr. Midnight.
The party stood together and surrounded Drexel defensively with their weapons drawn, they were ready for whatever threat that their impatient allies were about to pull out of the depths of the crypt. They were ready, but they were not happy.
Runtel and Dr. Midnight entered into a small maze of hallways that were covered with many fine works of art. It had become evident that this crypt had been improperly sealed, and everything was now aging faster then it should have. Yet, many of the paintings were still in remarkable shape and Dr. Midnight noted this.
As the relentless duo moved throughout the crypt they found a library and a room of records. Runtel was fuming, he had stormed off looking for a good fight and all he could find were rooms of endless books. There was only one door that remained unopened, and he hoped that there would something exciting to face in there.
Dr. Midnight and Runtel stood staring at the door, neither of them sure if they should open it. Final Runtel swung it open, and within they saw nothing but a dimly lit room with obsidian walls and a coffin sitting in the center of the room. Then suddenly, something began to stir from the behind the sarcophagus. Dr. Midnight quickly grabbed the door handle and pulled the door shut.
“That thing looked like a man with an octopus head, and it was all dried up!” Dr. Midnight said with near disgust.
*Knock* *Knock*
Whatever it was, it was at the door and it was playing with them. Dr. Midnight thought of a quick game of his own that he could play. He quickly grabbed one of the most life-like paintings and held it in front of the door while Runtel stood to the right of the door and pushed the door open. Telepathically the monster shouted in both Runtel and Dr. Midnight’s minds, “LET ME OUT!”
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Still more to come…
-------------------------------------------
Session 9, Part 1: Runtel’s Impatience...
-------------------------------------------
Emerging from the tomb, the party felt defeated. They searched for some time for the command word to activate the rune of the stars. After they gave up the search, they explored the secret passageway and found that it led to an abandoned barracks in Myth Drannor. The heroes weren’t ready for that; they still needed to get into the Crypt of Orbakh so they headed back towards the Polyandrium.
As the party emerged from Commander Lyssic’s crypt, a little over a dozen cultists accosted them. Two of them appeared to be wizards and one in particular was of arrogant bearing. “Well, well, well…very nice of you to do our work for us. The Wearers of the Purple will be very pleased with me. You can just drop your weapons and hand over the rune of stars, or I will have to kill you. At least this way you’ll be allowed to live.”
Drexel, wearing the best disguise in the party as a result of his magical hat, stepped forward and spoke in a commanding voice, “I am Shamoor! You puny underlings dare impede our path?”
The fallen statue around the entrance provided good cover while Spiderfang drank a potion of invisibility and the others readied for a potential battle. Although Drexel had used one of his signature bluffs, and even used the name of the cultist wizard scribed on the previous crypts, they didn’t seem to be falling for the ruse.
The wizard called out to his followers, “This man is not my brother, seize them!”
Before the head wizard was ever able to cast a spell, the invisible Spiderfang used his ring of jumping to clear the manifesting sword fight and cleanly landed a jump kick to the mage’s head, snapping his neck, and killing him instantly. During that time, Drexel used a wand of magic missile to prevent the remaining wizard from casting, but not before the spell ‘slow’ had been cast on Hunter, forcing him to move at a snail’s pace.
Runtel, Hunter and Holden waded into combat while Ziona backed them up with a mixture of healing, offensive spells, and the blade of her bastard sword. During the fight Lia got trapped away from the rest of the party and was trapped between two brutish cult members. The masked Dr. Midnight tumbled past the other guards that were blocking his way and yelled, “I come to your aid milady,” as he charged one of her assailants with his magical rapier.
It wasn’t long before the heroes had laid waste to the force of cultists that had the audacity to battle them. After they had finished the fight, they searched the leader and found two scrolls. The first had a sketch of the rune of stars and the word “venik-rhaa” written underneath it. The second was written in Common.
“Putting a pox on their allies pets? Sounds like a great bunch of people,” mused Drexel.
The party stripped down the rest of the bodies and left them for the rest of the cultists to find. They then moved on to find the crypt of Rothilion, as mentioned in the note to Nevessam.
Four broad stone steps leap up to a set of stone double doors sealed with a large sun-rune, marking the entrance to the crypt of Rothilion. The masonry of the steps, door, and doorframe was all crafted of very high quality and carved with images of suns, books, fires, anvils, and scales. As Drexel spoke the command words “venik-rhaa” while presenting the run of stars, a low rumbling noise emanating from the door quickly grew louder.
A moment later, just before the unbearable noise of vibrating bones and stone became painful, the rumbling stopped, leaving the Polyandrium eerily quiet. Suddenly the enormous doors swung outward with a thunderous crash. A shining symbol appeared in the air between the doors, shaped like a dawning sun with light so bright it could almost burn.
As the party walked into the massive hallway, Ziona translated the elven inscription, which ran nearly the entire length of the corridor. “Here lies Rothilion the Honorable, Master Wizard and High Judge of Myth Drannor. May all who seek it find his wisdom and kindness. May all who would defile or destroy his legacy be cursed and face his wrath.”
The hallway opened up into a large room almost fifty feet long, and nearly as wide. On each of the side walls were 10-foot-square alcoves, each cluttered with tools and some sort of display. There were two doors at the far side of the chamber, both made of a heavy dark wood.
The first alcove contained a forge and an anvil, the second had two stone tables covered with uncut stones, the third had racks of stretched leather, and the last display tools for shaping bows and manufacturing arrows. Each of the alcoves contained greatly deteriorated scrolls, and Drexel determined that the one in the smithy alcove could be useful in working with crafting leather goods.
The scroll would have turned to dust if touched, so Drexel had to be extremely careful when trying to move it around in order to read it in its entirety. The process was taking a very long time and Runtel was growing extremely antsy. Drexel turned to him and spoke with a biting tone, “I am trying to do this so that I may craft magical items for you and the rest of the party. Now if you’ll please, I need several more minutes to copy this scroll in its entirety.”
Runtel turned, shook his head and replied, “You can sit here and read, and I’m ready for battle!”
He then headed directly for one of the doors on the other side of room and motioned to open it. Holden balked, seeing his new friend about to open a door without first searching for traps. “Runtel! What are you doing?”
“I’ll tell you what I’m not doing, and that’s wasting any more time!”
Runtel barged through the door and the party stood there in a moment of awkwardness. They had not known this man long, and no one could have possibly have anticipated the amount of trouble that he was about to cause them all. As he moved beyond sight, only one other decided to follow him, and that was Dr. Midnight.
The party stood together and surrounded Drexel defensively with their weapons drawn, they were ready for whatever threat that their impatient allies were about to pull out of the depths of the crypt. They were ready, but they were not happy.
Runtel and Dr. Midnight entered into a small maze of hallways that were covered with many fine works of art. It had become evident that this crypt had been improperly sealed, and everything was now aging faster then it should have. Yet, many of the paintings were still in remarkable shape and Dr. Midnight noted this.
As the relentless duo moved throughout the crypt they found a library and a room of records. Runtel was fuming, he had stormed off looking for a good fight and all he could find were rooms of endless books. There was only one door that remained unopened, and he hoped that there would something exciting to face in there.
Dr. Midnight and Runtel stood staring at the door, neither of them sure if they should open it. Final Runtel swung it open, and within they saw nothing but a dimly lit room with obsidian walls and a coffin sitting in the center of the room. Then suddenly, something began to stir from the behind the sarcophagus. Dr. Midnight quickly grabbed the door handle and pulled the door shut.
“That thing looked like a man with an octopus head, and it was all dried up!” Dr. Midnight said with near disgust.
*Knock* *Knock*
Whatever it was, it was at the door and it was playing with them. Dr. Midnight thought of a quick game of his own that he could play. He quickly grabbed one of the most life-like paintings and held it in front of the door while Runtel stood to the right of the door and pushed the door open. Telepathically the monster shouted in both Runtel and Dr. Midnight’s minds, “LET ME OUT!”
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Still more to come…
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Last edited:
Wee Jas
First Post
Xaltar and I did some crazy web design today.. So the story isn't going to be up anytime soon. Check out www.livingfaerun.com over the next few weeks for some GREAT DnD tools!
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Session 9, Part 2: Evil Cannot Escape...
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The creature was glowing with a green light, (the signs of being dimensionally bound to the crypt), and it was waving it’s arms furiously. It had been trapped in this crypt for nearly a hundred years, and it was ready to be free. The illithid lich, (known as an alhoon to the better versed in monster lore), wasn’t looking for a fight; it just wanted to find the fastest way out.
In front of it was a large painting blocking the hallway, and in the hallway to its left stood Runtel. The illithid used its Mind Blast to overload Runtel’s mind, leaving him standing there stunned and stuttering. Dr. Midnight hearing his friend call out it agony, drew his rapier and took a blind stab through the painting, piercing the monster’s side.
Runtel stood there unable pull his wits together to figure out what was happening to him, while the alhoon reached out and plane shifted Runtel out of its way. Dr. Midnight came tearing through the painting only to see that Runtel was gone. He rose his sword arm in great anger and stabbed the monster once again while yelling, “MONSTER!”
The others heard the commotion and came rushing in. Ziona was the first to see the monster, and reeled in shock. Her father had told her stories about illithids that had associated with the drow. “This will not end well, this monster is a Mind Flayer,” she shouted in desperation.
Spiderfang moved closer, hoping to flank the monster with Dr. Midnight, but then the alhoon cast a spell… fireball. Fire engulfed Ziona, Rossal, Spiderfang and Dr. Midnight. Rossal only survived as a result of his innate magic resistance, but the others were all badly hurt from the blast. Spiderfang slumped against the wall, barely conscious. “How can we win?” He asked in a whispered voice.
“LET ME OUT! I WILL STOP IF YOU SET ME FREE,” the creature told them all telepathically.
The party stood there motionless, standing in the maze of small hallways that surrounded the creature. They knew that the Mind Flayer had barely been touched, and most of the party was badly injured. Drexel spoke for the others, “We will let you go, but leave this place and we never want to see you again!”
“AGREED”
Dr. Midnight wasn’t satisfied. He moved forward and held his sword to the creature’s throat. “Are you evil?”
The creature refused to answer Dr. Midnight and it turned to leave. The group grimaced in pain as they saw Dr. Midnight draw back his weapon and stab the monster right in its throat, yelling, “For Justice!”
Seeing no other option, Drexel drew forth his inner power of SpellFire. Channeling the power that he had stolen from the magically trapped statues, he let forth a powerful blast of magical flames that melted the cracked and dried skin of the beast. As it fell to the ground, Dr. Midnight continued to stab the monster.
The party searched the tomb for the next two hours, trying to find where Runtel had gone. They never found their friend, but they did find several interesting books on the topic of the Order of the Spiderfang Monks. Once convinced that something far worse has befallen their friend, they agreed that there was little that they could do to help him now. Ziona somberly said a prayer to Eilistraee to guide their friend home.
-------------------------------------------
Still more to come…
-------------------------------------------
Session 9, Part 2: Evil Cannot Escape...
-------------------------------------------
The creature was glowing with a green light, (the signs of being dimensionally bound to the crypt), and it was waving it’s arms furiously. It had been trapped in this crypt for nearly a hundred years, and it was ready to be free. The illithid lich, (known as an alhoon to the better versed in monster lore), wasn’t looking for a fight; it just wanted to find the fastest way out.
In front of it was a large painting blocking the hallway, and in the hallway to its left stood Runtel. The illithid used its Mind Blast to overload Runtel’s mind, leaving him standing there stunned and stuttering. Dr. Midnight hearing his friend call out it agony, drew his rapier and took a blind stab through the painting, piercing the monster’s side.
Runtel stood there unable pull his wits together to figure out what was happening to him, while the alhoon reached out and plane shifted Runtel out of its way. Dr. Midnight came tearing through the painting only to see that Runtel was gone. He rose his sword arm in great anger and stabbed the monster once again while yelling, “MONSTER!”
The others heard the commotion and came rushing in. Ziona was the first to see the monster, and reeled in shock. Her father had told her stories about illithids that had associated with the drow. “This will not end well, this monster is a Mind Flayer,” she shouted in desperation.
Spiderfang moved closer, hoping to flank the monster with Dr. Midnight, but then the alhoon cast a spell… fireball. Fire engulfed Ziona, Rossal, Spiderfang and Dr. Midnight. Rossal only survived as a result of his innate magic resistance, but the others were all badly hurt from the blast. Spiderfang slumped against the wall, barely conscious. “How can we win?” He asked in a whispered voice.
“LET ME OUT! I WILL STOP IF YOU SET ME FREE,” the creature told them all telepathically.
The party stood there motionless, standing in the maze of small hallways that surrounded the creature. They knew that the Mind Flayer had barely been touched, and most of the party was badly injured. Drexel spoke for the others, “We will let you go, but leave this place and we never want to see you again!”
“AGREED”
Dr. Midnight wasn’t satisfied. He moved forward and held his sword to the creature’s throat. “Are you evil?”
The creature refused to answer Dr. Midnight and it turned to leave. The group grimaced in pain as they saw Dr. Midnight draw back his weapon and stab the monster right in its throat, yelling, “For Justice!”
Seeing no other option, Drexel drew forth his inner power of SpellFire. Channeling the power that he had stolen from the magically trapped statues, he let forth a powerful blast of magical flames that melted the cracked and dried skin of the beast. As it fell to the ground, Dr. Midnight continued to stab the monster.
The party searched the tomb for the next two hours, trying to find where Runtel had gone. They never found their friend, but they did find several interesting books on the topic of the Order of the Spiderfang Monks. Once convinced that something far worse has befallen their friend, they agreed that there was little that they could do to help him now. Ziona somberly said a prayer to Eilistraee to guide their friend home.
-------------------------------------------
Still more to come…
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Dr Midnight
Explorer
I love my magic die.
It's a d20 that rolls over 15 on almost every attack roll.
I hold it "lucky side down" and wait until it feels "ripe", then roll it.
Sound stupid? It is. Does it work? All the freakin' time.
It's a d20 that rolls over 15 on almost every attack roll.
I hold it "lucky side down" and wait until it feels "ripe", then roll it.
Sound stupid? It is. Does it work? All the freakin' time.
Pretty impressive stuff!
My group, who I am also running through this adventure, has just discovered the portal. I am seriously hoping that they don't take a leaf out Dr. M's book... TPK's kinda kill campaigns...
If you are crazy enough to throw down with an Alhoon, it makes me wonder if you guys actively sought the attentions of tha almighty Aglarach - or whatever its name is...
My group, who I am also running through this adventure, has just discovered the portal. I am seriously hoping that they don't take a leaf out Dr. M's book... TPK's kinda kill campaigns...
If you are crazy enough to throw down with an Alhoon, it makes me wonder if you guys actively sought the attentions of tha almighty Aglarach - or whatever its name is...
Crimson_Blade
First Post
Dammit! Why can't I have a lucky die? My dice suck! Seriously, I cannot role above an 11 with a d20. Needless to say, I don't play melee characters anymore.
I assure you, there are many more INTERESTING encounters to come.
In the meantime, you can check out the beginning of the character database at:
http://www.livingfaerun.com/heroes.asp
Most of the character information as of a week ago will be loaded in by Saturday afternoon. Some characters have leveled since then.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my thread.
- Xaltar
In the meantime, you can check out the beginning of the character database at:
http://www.livingfaerun.com/heroes.asp
Most of the character information as of a week ago will be loaded in by Saturday afternoon. Some characters have leveled since then.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my thread.
- Xaltar
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