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We D&D- Tyranny of Dragons Part 2: The Rise of Tiamat #24b Strike Team 1 Part 2 A Ton of Undead.
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<blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 7996867" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p style="text-align: center"><strong>We D&D.</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Session #59 The Rise of Tiamat #18b Rescue at Xonthal’s Tower, really.</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Brothers of the First Light.</strong></p><p><strong>Lummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 12</strong></p><p><strong>Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 12</strong></p><p><strong>Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 12</strong></p><p><strong>&</strong></p><p><strong>Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 12</strong></p><p><strong>Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 12</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Prisoner of the Red Wizards of Thay-</strong></p><p><strong>Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 12</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Secondary PCs.</strong></p><p><strong>Left at 8th Level- we’ll get them back if (and when) they’re needed later on.</strong></p><p><strong>Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 8</strong></p><p><strong>Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 8</strong></p><p></p><p>This is session #59 of our game, but only session #18b of The Rise of Tiamat scenario.</p><p></p><p>The Brothers of the First Light, rush into the hedge maze. This mainly because Pete fancies playing Sgt Harald Hardaxe for a while, and also because the kindly GM has given the Players the green light, the Brothers know (or else believe) that the <strong>real</strong> Blue Dragon Mask is not at Xonthal’s Tower.</p><p></p><p>However, I have assured them that their actions here will not impact the timeline of events played out elsewhere (ostensibly we’re talking about the summoning of Tiamat here).</p><p></p><p>So, through the hedge maze and to Xonthal’s Tower to rescue the Dragon Cult turncoat- Iskander, let’s see how it plays out.</p><p></p><p>The first thing to note is the hedge maze is well maintained, this in contrast to the overgrown version that Lummins (et al) saw when they attempted to fly over the obstacle, a by-product Lux states (after a nice Arcana check) of the fact that the hedge maze and the Tower exist on some parallel plane.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]122241[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>A short walk in and the Brothers encounter an open area with eight exits, arranged at the eight points of the compass. Just to mark clear- north, north east, east, south east, south, south west, west and north west. There’s a sundial (gnomon) in the centre of the clearing- and nothing else, it therefore gets investigated. The sun’s shadow on the gnomon points north, which is odd because it shouldn’t be- the sun is actually setting. It’s dusk.</p><p></p><p>“We follow the arrow” Sgt Harald states, and if Pete can work it out…</p><p></p><p>The Brothers of the First Light rush north, and through more windy hedge maze passages- although this passage has no other exits, they dash eventually into a second clearing, the mirror of the first- with eight more exits and another sundial.</p><p></p><p>The sun’s shadow on the gnomon points north… and east.</p><p></p><p>There follows a short debate- do we split the party? Half head north, half head east… or do we go north east- the way in-between. After less than two minutes chatter the Brothers have made their decision- they head north east.</p><p></p><p>Then another short hustle through the hedge maze and what do you know, they’re in another identical clearing. Only in this one the sun on the gnomon points north, south east & south west. The debate between the Brothers (and the Players) lasts less than thirty seconds- they tramp south, at speed.</p><p></p><p>A minute later, after yet another uninterrupted hedge maze passage is… you guessed it, a fourth clearing, and soon after- confusion.</p><p></p><p>The shadows on the sundial point to the north east, south east, south west & north west. It takes a while (just over three minutes, so not really a while) but eventually Hotlips the Halfling Rogue states- “X marks the spot”, and then steps into the sundial- she disappears.</p><p></p><p>A couple of the Brothers hesitate for a while, maybe another minute of prevarication, before they too climb into the gnomon- and appear in another unbroken passage of the hedge maze, which when followed… you guessed it again, leads into a fifth (the final, but the PCs don’t know this) identical clearing.</p><p></p><p>The shadows on the gnomon here point in all eight directions of the compass.</p><p></p><p>This foxes the PCs for a while, to the point that Sgt Harald tries to climb into the sundial again- this obviously doesn’t work, and the surly Dwarven Fighter falls on his ass.</p><p></p><p>Lux, Lummins and Watt pretty much all figure it out at the same time- the only thing left that they’ve not stepped into is the hedge of the maze itself. Watt leads the way, and instantly vanishes from sight- the Brothers rush to follow and find themselves, mere seconds later, at the foot of Xonthal’s Tower.</p><p></p><p>“That was easy”, Lux states, and the DM is forced to concur.</p><p></p><p>The hedge maze took the PCs/Players approx. thirty minutes (real-world) to get through, but less than half of that time was spent actually trying to figure out which direction to go next. In truth, at least around this table, it did seem a little easy- but, I suppose, there’s good reason for that.</p><p></p><p>So, Xonthal Tower clearing- and the Brothers investigations begin again, in short this is what they quickly discover-</p><p></p><p>1) The dead body of a robed Dragon Cultists- the guy that Iskander (presumably) threw from the balcony above, the corpse has a few coins but nothing else of interest.</p><p></p><p>2) A straight path that runs from the clearing back out to the village, “the easy exit”, as Lux states.</p><p></p><p>3) There are no doors into the tower itself.</p><p></p><p>4) There is however an active Teleportation Circle within the clearing, identified by Lux with a little help from Watt.</p><p></p><p>5) The balcony of the tower is also inaccessible, it is surrounded by some sort of force-field, this nugget comes courtesy of Lummins who flies up to investigate. The Priest of Lathander also spots movement in the chamber beyond the balcony- several more robe wearing Cultists, he thinks. Lummins flies up and out of the way before he’s spotted.</p><p></p><p>6) Last up. further investigations by Lummins during his aerial reconnaissance discerns that there’s some sort of lens mounted device on the roof of the tower, he cannot however approach too close, it seems the force-field extends all around the Tower.</p><p></p><p>There follows a further five minutes chatter before all five Brothers step into the Teleportation Circle, all posed at the ready for attack, and… BLINK, they appear on a small dais situated in what they presume is a chamber within the tower (it is).</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]122242[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>The circular stone chamber’s walls and ceiling are etched with a variety of geometric designs (which Lux, the only one interested, fails to identify). Also, in the chamber is a meeting table surrounded by comfy chairs, a series of shelves (holding a variety of mundane items) and about fifteen feet above a pair of balconies which jut out into the room- positioned above and to either side of the arrival point.</p><p></p><p>Investigations continue, and yet another body is discovered- hidden under the table, and another robed Cultist, a woman- killed by a Poisoned blade. The Brothers spend some time searching the shelves, and beneath the table, and with Lummins flying up to the balconies- each holds a quintet of chairs, they're just raised seating/viewing areas. The Brothers find nothing, that is until Watt heads back to the dais they Teleported into and discovers a variety of odd shaped sigils on the wall there.</p><p></p><p>The Brothers quickly figure out that the sigils represent (probably) other areas within the tower, basically press one and… BLINK, off they pop.</p><p></p><p>Which leads to more questions, ostensibly it boils down to-</p><p></p><p>a) What do the various symbols mean? Where do they Teleport to? The symbols depicted are- a chair, two chairs, an upside-down ‘L’, a rectangle, a flame, a star, a square, an hourglass and a triangle pointing to the right.</p><p></p><p>b) Should we all get into the Teleporter at the same time, or should we send someone ahead (for which read Hotlips)?</p><p></p><p>The PCs remember that the Cultist on the balcony (Iskander?) brandished some sort of key, but they were too far away to tell what shape the key was. Of secondary concern- do they need keys to operate the teleporter?</p><p></p><p>However- they soon figure, the answer to this will become apparent, if and when they try to use the Teleporter.</p><p></p><p>The chatter continues for a while until decisions are made, all of the Brothers will be teleporting together, and their first selection is the upside-down ‘L’. The reason, you ask, because it looks like it could be to the balcony.</p><p></p><p>BLINK.</p><p></p><p>And the PCs are suddenly stood inside a circular metal chamber, there are (almost) the same (Teleportation) symbols (but not the ‘two chairs’- odd) set into the wall behind them- thankfully the chamber has a door ahead. Hotlips sneaks out to investigate and steps out into a magically lit corridor, she’s ten feet away from a robed Cultist who is backing out of another unseen chamber, calling out- “There’s nothing here, let’s try…” At which point the Cultist suddenly shuffles left a step, and then collapses- the Halfling Rogue’s crossbow bolt having passed ear-to-ear, almost, the bolt lodges there (a Crit).</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]122243[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Just for info there are six (now five) Cultists and two Cult Fanatics on this level of the tower, all with MAX HP, of course.</p><p></p><p>A second later a concerned Cult Fanatic steps into the doorway, sees his dead colleague and Hotlips standing close by. The shouting and screaming begins- the Fanatic’s Spiritual Weapon (a curved dagger) suddenly appears and stabs Hotlips. The Cultist fires up his Shield of Faith and then backs into the chamber, screaming loudly for his friends.</p><p></p><p>Oh, and the Brothers are not dressed like Cultists, they didn’t want to.</p><p></p><p>Sgt Harald Hardaxe shoves his way out of the metal Teleport chamber, pushes Hotlips aside and then heads towards the sound of the screaming Cult Fanatic, into a messy (recently searched?) bedchamber- he hits the guy twice with his magical battleaxe, but that doesn’t shut him up.</p><p></p><p>Watt and Lux follow Harald, the Bard bow in hand, he sinks an arrow into another Cultist who dashes into the bedchamber, but the screams and shouts are spreading- there are plenty more Cultists here it seems. Lux hits the newly arrived Cultist with an Eldritch Blast- it dies, and then hits the Cult Fanatic with another Blast, its bloodied.</p><p></p><p>A second Cult Fanatic creeps up on Hotlips, Shield of Faith switched on and Spiritual Weapon set to play- Hotlips is stabbed again. More Cultists come running, and suddenly Hotlips is facing down a Fanatic and four Cultists back out in the central corridor, although…</p><p></p><p>Last to exit the metal Teleport chamber is Lummins, he’s trapped in the passage with the Cultists and Hotlips. The Priest of Lathander summons his radiant Spirit Guardians, and then goes nuclear with Radiance of the Dawn (and then rolls 19 radiant damage). Three Cultists and the badly wounded Cult Fanatic are all sent to their graves.</p><p></p><p>Overkill.</p><p></p><p>Seconds later Hotlips cuts down another Cultist, and then fires a crossbow bolt into the face of the second Cult Fanatic (and another Crit) it too dies screaming.</p><p></p><p>The encounter is over rather quickly, and Lummins has to cancel his Spirit Guardians before he’s had use of it, a brief search around the area- more ransacked bedchambers reveals this level of the tower is now empty. The Cultists are searched (as are the revealed bedchambers), and a little more coin is found.</p><p></p><p>However, the upside-down ‘L’ symbol clearly didn’t indicate the balcony area, time to try again.</p><p></p><p>The Brothers cram back into the Teleport chamber and select a different sigil- the star symbol this time, they figure this is the top of the tower (they’re not wrong).</p><p></p><p>Oh, and they ready actions for when they appear- just in case.</p><p></p><p>They’re smart fellows.</p><p></p><p>BLINK.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]122244[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>And in the centre of the chamber is a massive telescope array, the rest of the mechanism that Lummins spotted previously poking through the top of the tower (when he was flying around inspecting the place).</p><p></p><p>The Brothers are taken aback (“Oh. WOW!”).</p><p></p><p>Lummins, Lux and Watt forget themselves and head forward to inspect the huge mechanism, the shelves and cupboards around the device are packed with other astrological paraphernalia- the chamber seems to be otherwise empty.</p><p></p><p>At which point a Dragon Cult Wizard (Jorgen Pawl) opens the door (he was on the balcony), he’s seen enough- these guys are not fellow Dragon Cultists, screw the telescope, he drops an Ice Storm into the chamber (pretty much covering all of it).</p><p></p><p>Several Players scream.</p><p></p><p>Lux takes the full force of the freezing cold hail, while Hotlips scurries behind the telescope and avoids hurt entirely- the other Brothers suffer only slightly (they make their saves). The fight begins in earnest, as the Dragon Cult Wizard (Jorgen Pawl) ducks back out on to the balcony.</p><p></p><p>Watt, dodging falling hailstones, follows the Wizard out- and discovers there are three Cult Fanatics, as well as the Cult Wizard on the balcony. The Bard screams for his friends, and then enhances a Thunderwave spell and unleashes it on the Cult Wizard, who is hurt and slammed against the railing of the balcony. Alas the Cult Fanatic standing beside the Wizard is less fortunate, the Dragon Cultist is flung over the edge of the balcony and falls to his death.</p><p></p><p>Lummins (Flying) follows the Bard outside but is out of actions, the Cult Wizard pulls out all of the stops and hits the Priest of Lathander with a Cone of Cold, he's merely chilled, and buffeted a little.</p><p></p><p>At the same time, within the observatory chamber the freezing hail stops falling.</p><p></p><p>The two remaining Cult Fanatics try to tag Lux with Inflict Wounds spells, one succeeds, and then both attempt (but fail) to stab the Bard with their newly conjured Spiritual Weapons.</p><p></p><p>Moments later Sgt Harald scurries out onto the balcony and with an Action Surge hits the Cult Wizard with his magical battleaxe. Hotlips arrives on the scene a mere second later and stabs her magical rapier into the Cult Wizard (with yet another Crit, for 56 damage) and that’s all she wrote for Jorgen Pawl, he’s dead.</p><p></p><p>Watt basically tries the same trick again, this time attempting to Thunderwave the two Cult Fanatics attacking him off the balcony, he’s half right- one of the foul Cultists is sent over the edge and to his death. The other just thumps back into the railing. The Bard offers the Cultist to surrender but the Fanatic just keeps on screaming threats.</p><p></p><p>Lummins hits the Fanatic with a pair of Scorching Rays, while Lux follows up with her Eldritch Blasts- and two more hits.</p><p></p><p>The badly bloodied Fanatic (on 4 HP) flings himself at Lux, another Inflict Wounds and now the Warlock is bloodied and beyond (great damage roll 3d10 = 10, 10, 8).</p><p></p><p>At which point Sgt Harald stomps over and slices the poor bastard in half.</p><p></p><p>Encounter over.</p><p></p><p>Short but very sweet.</p><p></p><p>The bad guys in the tower are just going to unload on the PCs, they’re terrified of what’s going on here.</p><p></p><p>I know that Jorgen Pawl is supposed to be a Dracolich guy, but I just wanted the bad guys in Xonthal’s Tower to be all out for themselves, they want to capture Iskander, but they’re as intent on defending their lair.</p><p></p><p>The Cultists and the observatory chamber are searched, there are a number of mundane astrological items, and notebooks, and old (and new) star charts- a treasure trove, for someone interested in the study of the heavens.</p><p></p><p>Which Lummins is.</p><p></p><p>The item that really interests the Brothers however is the hourglass-shaped key that is found on the body of the Dragon Cult Wizard (Jorgen Pawl). Now they recognise it, this is what Iskander (maybe) was clutching up on the balcony earlier.</p><p></p><p>Next stop… wherever the hourglass-shaped key takes them, there’s a matching symbol on the teleport circle.</p><p></p><p>But first a short rest in the observatory, with Hotlips and Sgt Harald standing next to the teleporter- in case someone tries to ‘port in.</p><p></p><p>Which they do… but that’s for next time.</p><p></p><p>A much better session this one, and although the fun has kinda gone out of the PCs exploration of Xonthal’s Tower they enjoyed the hedge maze, as short as it was, and they’re enjoying their time within the Tower, so far.</p><p></p><p>Just to note, Pete had the following to say about the differences between Sgt Harald and Sgt Bobby, the former has, his words, “a shed load more hit points”, but “can’t hit for EXPLETIVE”, and does, “EXPLETIVE all damage”.</p><p></p><p>So, he’s missing Sgt Bobby (and Hazirawn) already.</p><p></p><p>Next time.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 7996867, member: 16069"] [CENTER][B]We D&D.[/B][/CENTER] [B]Session #59 The Rise of Tiamat #18b Rescue at Xonthal’s Tower, really. Brothers of the First Light. Lummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 12 Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 12 Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 12 & Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 12 Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 12 Prisoner of the Red Wizards of Thay- Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 12 Secondary PCs. Left at 8th Level- we’ll get them back if (and when) they’re needed later on. Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 8 Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 8[/B] This is session #59 of our game, but only session #18b of The Rise of Tiamat scenario. The Brothers of the First Light, rush into the hedge maze. This mainly because Pete fancies playing Sgt Harald Hardaxe for a while, and also because the kindly GM has given the Players the green light, the Brothers know (or else believe) that the [B]real[/B] Blue Dragon Mask is not at Xonthal’s Tower. However, I have assured them that their actions here will not impact the timeline of events played out elsewhere (ostensibly we’re talking about the summoning of Tiamat here). So, through the hedge maze and to Xonthal’s Tower to rescue the Dragon Cult turncoat- Iskander, let’s see how it plays out. The first thing to note is the hedge maze is well maintained, this in contrast to the overgrown version that Lummins (et al) saw when they attempted to fly over the obstacle, a by-product Lux states (after a nice Arcana check) of the fact that the hedge maze and the Tower exist on some parallel plane. [ATTACH type="full"]122241[/ATTACH] A short walk in and the Brothers encounter an open area with eight exits, arranged at the eight points of the compass. Just to mark clear- north, north east, east, south east, south, south west, west and north west. There’s a sundial (gnomon) in the centre of the clearing- and nothing else, it therefore gets investigated. The sun’s shadow on the gnomon points north, which is odd because it shouldn’t be- the sun is actually setting. It’s dusk. “We follow the arrow” Sgt Harald states, and if Pete can work it out… The Brothers of the First Light rush north, and through more windy hedge maze passages- although this passage has no other exits, they dash eventually into a second clearing, the mirror of the first- with eight more exits and another sundial. The sun’s shadow on the gnomon points north… and east. There follows a short debate- do we split the party? Half head north, half head east… or do we go north east- the way in-between. After less than two minutes chatter the Brothers have made their decision- they head north east. Then another short hustle through the hedge maze and what do you know, they’re in another identical clearing. Only in this one the sun on the gnomon points north, south east & south west. The debate between the Brothers (and the Players) lasts less than thirty seconds- they tramp south, at speed. A minute later, after yet another uninterrupted hedge maze passage is… you guessed it, a fourth clearing, and soon after- confusion. The shadows on the sundial point to the north east, south east, south west & north west. It takes a while (just over three minutes, so not really a while) but eventually Hotlips the Halfling Rogue states- “X marks the spot”, and then steps into the sundial- she disappears. A couple of the Brothers hesitate for a while, maybe another minute of prevarication, before they too climb into the gnomon- and appear in another unbroken passage of the hedge maze, which when followed… you guessed it again, leads into a fifth (the final, but the PCs don’t know this) identical clearing. The shadows on the gnomon here point in all eight directions of the compass. This foxes the PCs for a while, to the point that Sgt Harald tries to climb into the sundial again- this obviously doesn’t work, and the surly Dwarven Fighter falls on his ass. Lux, Lummins and Watt pretty much all figure it out at the same time- the only thing left that they’ve not stepped into is the hedge of the maze itself. Watt leads the way, and instantly vanishes from sight- the Brothers rush to follow and find themselves, mere seconds later, at the foot of Xonthal’s Tower. “That was easy”, Lux states, and the DM is forced to concur. The hedge maze took the PCs/Players approx. thirty minutes (real-world) to get through, but less than half of that time was spent actually trying to figure out which direction to go next. In truth, at least around this table, it did seem a little easy- but, I suppose, there’s good reason for that. So, Xonthal Tower clearing- and the Brothers investigations begin again, in short this is what they quickly discover- 1) The dead body of a robed Dragon Cultists- the guy that Iskander (presumably) threw from the balcony above, the corpse has a few coins but nothing else of interest. 2) A straight path that runs from the clearing back out to the village, “the easy exit”, as Lux states. 3) There are no doors into the tower itself. 4) There is however an active Teleportation Circle within the clearing, identified by Lux with a little help from Watt. 5) The balcony of the tower is also inaccessible, it is surrounded by some sort of force-field, this nugget comes courtesy of Lummins who flies up to investigate. The Priest of Lathander also spots movement in the chamber beyond the balcony- several more robe wearing Cultists, he thinks. Lummins flies up and out of the way before he’s spotted. 6) Last up. further investigations by Lummins during his aerial reconnaissance discerns that there’s some sort of lens mounted device on the roof of the tower, he cannot however approach too close, it seems the force-field extends all around the Tower. There follows a further five minutes chatter before all five Brothers step into the Teleportation Circle, all posed at the ready for attack, and… BLINK, they appear on a small dais situated in what they presume is a chamber within the tower (it is). [ATTACH type="full"]122242[/ATTACH] The circular stone chamber’s walls and ceiling are etched with a variety of geometric designs (which Lux, the only one interested, fails to identify). Also, in the chamber is a meeting table surrounded by comfy chairs, a series of shelves (holding a variety of mundane items) and about fifteen feet above a pair of balconies which jut out into the room- positioned above and to either side of the arrival point. Investigations continue, and yet another body is discovered- hidden under the table, and another robed Cultist, a woman- killed by a Poisoned blade. The Brothers spend some time searching the shelves, and beneath the table, and with Lummins flying up to the balconies- each holds a quintet of chairs, they're just raised seating/viewing areas. The Brothers find nothing, that is until Watt heads back to the dais they Teleported into and discovers a variety of odd shaped sigils on the wall there. The Brothers quickly figure out that the sigils represent (probably) other areas within the tower, basically press one and… BLINK, off they pop. Which leads to more questions, ostensibly it boils down to- a) What do the various symbols mean? Where do they Teleport to? The symbols depicted are- a chair, two chairs, an upside-down ‘L’, a rectangle, a flame, a star, a square, an hourglass and a triangle pointing to the right. b) Should we all get into the Teleporter at the same time, or should we send someone ahead (for which read Hotlips)? The PCs remember that the Cultist on the balcony (Iskander?) brandished some sort of key, but they were too far away to tell what shape the key was. Of secondary concern- do they need keys to operate the teleporter? However- they soon figure, the answer to this will become apparent, if and when they try to use the Teleporter. The chatter continues for a while until decisions are made, all of the Brothers will be teleporting together, and their first selection is the upside-down ‘L’. The reason, you ask, because it looks like it could be to the balcony. BLINK. And the PCs are suddenly stood inside a circular metal chamber, there are (almost) the same (Teleportation) symbols (but not the ‘two chairs’- odd) set into the wall behind them- thankfully the chamber has a door ahead. Hotlips sneaks out to investigate and steps out into a magically lit corridor, she’s ten feet away from a robed Cultist who is backing out of another unseen chamber, calling out- “There’s nothing here, let’s try…” At which point the Cultist suddenly shuffles left a step, and then collapses- the Halfling Rogue’s crossbow bolt having passed ear-to-ear, almost, the bolt lodges there (a Crit). [ATTACH type="full"]122243[/ATTACH] Just for info there are six (now five) Cultists and two Cult Fanatics on this level of the tower, all with MAX HP, of course. A second later a concerned Cult Fanatic steps into the doorway, sees his dead colleague and Hotlips standing close by. The shouting and screaming begins- the Fanatic’s Spiritual Weapon (a curved dagger) suddenly appears and stabs Hotlips. The Cultist fires up his Shield of Faith and then backs into the chamber, screaming loudly for his friends. Oh, and the Brothers are not dressed like Cultists, they didn’t want to. Sgt Harald Hardaxe shoves his way out of the metal Teleport chamber, pushes Hotlips aside and then heads towards the sound of the screaming Cult Fanatic, into a messy (recently searched?) bedchamber- he hits the guy twice with his magical battleaxe, but that doesn’t shut him up. Watt and Lux follow Harald, the Bard bow in hand, he sinks an arrow into another Cultist who dashes into the bedchamber, but the screams and shouts are spreading- there are plenty more Cultists here it seems. Lux hits the newly arrived Cultist with an Eldritch Blast- it dies, and then hits the Cult Fanatic with another Blast, its bloodied. A second Cult Fanatic creeps up on Hotlips, Shield of Faith switched on and Spiritual Weapon set to play- Hotlips is stabbed again. More Cultists come running, and suddenly Hotlips is facing down a Fanatic and four Cultists back out in the central corridor, although… Last to exit the metal Teleport chamber is Lummins, he’s trapped in the passage with the Cultists and Hotlips. The Priest of Lathander summons his radiant Spirit Guardians, and then goes nuclear with Radiance of the Dawn (and then rolls 19 radiant damage). Three Cultists and the badly wounded Cult Fanatic are all sent to their graves. Overkill. Seconds later Hotlips cuts down another Cultist, and then fires a crossbow bolt into the face of the second Cult Fanatic (and another Crit) it too dies screaming. The encounter is over rather quickly, and Lummins has to cancel his Spirit Guardians before he’s had use of it, a brief search around the area- more ransacked bedchambers reveals this level of the tower is now empty. The Cultists are searched (as are the revealed bedchambers), and a little more coin is found. However, the upside-down ‘L’ symbol clearly didn’t indicate the balcony area, time to try again. The Brothers cram back into the Teleport chamber and select a different sigil- the star symbol this time, they figure this is the top of the tower (they’re not wrong). Oh, and they ready actions for when they appear- just in case. They’re smart fellows. BLINK. [ATTACH type="full"]122244[/ATTACH] And in the centre of the chamber is a massive telescope array, the rest of the mechanism that Lummins spotted previously poking through the top of the tower (when he was flying around inspecting the place). The Brothers are taken aback (“Oh. WOW!”). Lummins, Lux and Watt forget themselves and head forward to inspect the huge mechanism, the shelves and cupboards around the device are packed with other astrological paraphernalia- the chamber seems to be otherwise empty. At which point a Dragon Cult Wizard (Jorgen Pawl) opens the door (he was on the balcony), he’s seen enough- these guys are not fellow Dragon Cultists, screw the telescope, he drops an Ice Storm into the chamber (pretty much covering all of it). Several Players scream. Lux takes the full force of the freezing cold hail, while Hotlips scurries behind the telescope and avoids hurt entirely- the other Brothers suffer only slightly (they make their saves). The fight begins in earnest, as the Dragon Cult Wizard (Jorgen Pawl) ducks back out on to the balcony. Watt, dodging falling hailstones, follows the Wizard out- and discovers there are three Cult Fanatics, as well as the Cult Wizard on the balcony. The Bard screams for his friends, and then enhances a Thunderwave spell and unleashes it on the Cult Wizard, who is hurt and slammed against the railing of the balcony. Alas the Cult Fanatic standing beside the Wizard is less fortunate, the Dragon Cultist is flung over the edge of the balcony and falls to his death. Lummins (Flying) follows the Bard outside but is out of actions, the Cult Wizard pulls out all of the stops and hits the Priest of Lathander with a Cone of Cold, he's merely chilled, and buffeted a little. At the same time, within the observatory chamber the freezing hail stops falling. The two remaining Cult Fanatics try to tag Lux with Inflict Wounds spells, one succeeds, and then both attempt (but fail) to stab the Bard with their newly conjured Spiritual Weapons. Moments later Sgt Harald scurries out onto the balcony and with an Action Surge hits the Cult Wizard with his magical battleaxe. Hotlips arrives on the scene a mere second later and stabs her magical rapier into the Cult Wizard (with yet another Crit, for 56 damage) and that’s all she wrote for Jorgen Pawl, he’s dead. Watt basically tries the same trick again, this time attempting to Thunderwave the two Cult Fanatics attacking him off the balcony, he’s half right- one of the foul Cultists is sent over the edge and to his death. The other just thumps back into the railing. The Bard offers the Cultist to surrender but the Fanatic just keeps on screaming threats. Lummins hits the Fanatic with a pair of Scorching Rays, while Lux follows up with her Eldritch Blasts- and two more hits. The badly bloodied Fanatic (on 4 HP) flings himself at Lux, another Inflict Wounds and now the Warlock is bloodied and beyond (great damage roll 3d10 = 10, 10, 8). At which point Sgt Harald stomps over and slices the poor bastard in half. Encounter over. Short but very sweet. The bad guys in the tower are just going to unload on the PCs, they’re terrified of what’s going on here. I know that Jorgen Pawl is supposed to be a Dracolich guy, but I just wanted the bad guys in Xonthal’s Tower to be all out for themselves, they want to capture Iskander, but they’re as intent on defending their lair. The Cultists and the observatory chamber are searched, there are a number of mundane astrological items, and notebooks, and old (and new) star charts- a treasure trove, for someone interested in the study of the heavens. Which Lummins is. The item that really interests the Brothers however is the hourglass-shaped key that is found on the body of the Dragon Cult Wizard (Jorgen Pawl). Now they recognise it, this is what Iskander (maybe) was clutching up on the balcony earlier. Next stop… wherever the hourglass-shaped key takes them, there’s a matching symbol on the teleport circle. But first a short rest in the observatory, with Hotlips and Sgt Harald standing next to the teleporter- in case someone tries to ‘port in. Which they do… but that’s for next time. A much better session this one, and although the fun has kinda gone out of the PCs exploration of Xonthal’s Tower they enjoyed the hedge maze, as short as it was, and they’re enjoying their time within the Tower, so far. Just to note, Pete had the following to say about the differences between Sgt Harald and Sgt Bobby, the former has, his words, “a shed load more hit points”, but “can’t hit for EXPLETIVE”, and does, “EXPLETIVE all damage”. So, he’s missing Sgt Bobby (and Hazirawn) already. Next time. [/QUOTE]
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