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<blockquote data-quote="Nebulous" data-source="post: 4789552" data-attributes="member: 31465"><p><span style="font-size: 15px">Adventure #8: Owlie’s Lair</span></p><p></p><p><strong>PART ONE</strong></p><p></p><p>Last time, our delvers of Tallow’s Deep found that, much to their chagrin, leaving the mine would not be as easy as they had hoped. The goblins have barred the exit with a clever trap, effectively sealing the adventurers behind three stout iron bars. According to their gobber captive, the mechanism to remove the trap is located on the far side, in the entry room that leads to the exterior mound and monoliths known as Henge. </p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.zikadik.com/silverymoon/owl1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p><img src="http://www.zikadik.com/silverymoon/owl2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Six uneventful hours have passed and they now feel refreshed, currently huddled around a crackling fire in the cold, dripping depths of the dragon turtle lair. The monster’s corpse is still nearby on a slab of rock, and given the cold, preservative conditions of this place, the ranger Douvan is willing to cut a hunk of dead dragon meat from its bones and roast it over the fire. Tastes like chicken! (Tough, oily, chicken with a faint hint of goblin scrotum). </p><p></p><p>They discuss their options, and return time and again to the idea of leaving this cursed mine via the exit tunnel. But how? The druid Raven has miraculous powers of transformation and can wildshape into a mouse or some other innocuous creature and scout the exterior. But if she transforms to human again to active a lever or winch for the trap then she will be stuck in that form, and possibly have to contend with a regiment of goblins alone (assuming that the regiment is still there). They even debate releasing an animal from the Bag of Tricks into the room to sow confusion, but this will vary depending on whether it’s a bat or a bear, rat or ram. </p><p></p><p>After much debate, they decide to press on, not toward the exit which is almost certainly still barred, but deeper into the complex to round up nine more goblins for Balthazar of the Potion Emporium. It might be too late to meet today’s quota, but that is still their current mission, and it might be better than returning completely empty handed to incur his wrath. And according to their captive, there is an exit from the mines through the worg den somewhere “near Grishog,” a name they keep hearing more and more. </p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.zikadik.com/silverymoon/blackjack.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Blackjack the Pig Farmer is given control of their solitary goblin captive, and the scarred man is none too gentle with him. A few solid kicks in the gut keeps the little bugger complacent, and he is quickly gagged and hauled along. They leave the warm confines of the cave and plunge into the icy water, maneuvering toward the Limestone Staircase. Frigid water saps the strength from their bones, but only the druid Raven succumbs to the cold, her teeth chattering so much she can barely speak. </p><p></p><p>Merric and Douvan lead the way with the magic lantern hovering nearby, but it is the ranger who first hears the sound of a dislodged rock in the distance. His hand stays the halfling, and snuffing the lantern, Merric edges forward, his companions waiting for his report. He rounds the corner and sees the Limestone Staircase, and at the top, illuminated by several ruddy torches…are three goblin masons busy rebuilding the wall. </p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.zikadik.com/silverymoon/owl3.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>They’re on the inside of the wall, the trap side, busily laying down mismatched bricks and sloppy layers of cement. Licking his lips, Merric hunkers down and begins to climb the slick steps, keeping to the shadows as much as possible. He stealthfully evades their notice and presses his back to the cavern wall. The goblins have rebuilt half of the barrier in the 6 hours the heroes rested, probably to make sure no other monster could come slithering out of the darkness. After all, the goblins don’t know the aboleth is dead, and they may or may not have ever known about the dragon turtle at all. </p><p></p><p>Merric calls upon his knowledge of wizardry and summons a translucent Mage Hand, pulling wet bricks from their slots atop the wall. Goblin curses follow, and the halfling secretly snickers at their agitation. After four or five bricks have clattered down the stairwell, a bewildered goblin finally hops over to take a closer look and instead gets a close look at the pointy end of Merric’s dagger.</p><p></p><p>SNICK! </p><p></p><p>The halfling slashes and misses, but a follow-up arrow from Douvan catches the goblin in the throat. Blood spurts from its neck and it topples down the stairs into the water. Meanwhile, Blackjack has ascended the stairs to aid Merric. The two remaining goblins are caught by surprise, and despite their attempt to ward off the enemy with cement-slathered dowels, they’re quickly dispatched. Blackjack heads down the tunnel to investigate while Douvan tries his legwork on the slippery staircase…and fails. Partway up his feet whip out from under him and he painfully clatters to the bottom. </p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Blackjack hunkers down and inspects the Spiked Water Trap where numerous spears jabbed at them before. Taking a deep breath, he closes his eyes and calls upon his Savage Intuition, but detects no foes in the immediate vicinity. For the moment, as far as he can tell, the trap is unmanned. The dragon turtle shell has been removed as well, hauled to the far end of the chamber so they can’t use that to clamber across as they did last time. No fear, the group manages to traverse the staircase with few injuries, and with Blackjack leading the way, they cross the trap in safety. </p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.zikadik.com/silverymoon/owl4.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>There is only one route they have not thoroughly inspected, the split tunnel past the hidden goblin door by the Spawning Pool. Merric leads the way, and they soon find themselves in familiar territory. The tunnel is wider here, enough for the humans to stand comfortably, with a wide corridor stretching west and a narrow goblin tunnel bearing east. </p><p> </p><p><img src="http://www.zikadik.com/silverymoon/owl5.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Merric checks west first and sees an archway leading into a long, wide chamber roughly 30’x 40’. There is an open passageway at the far end. Immediately suspicious, they decide to check the oily floor instead from the last time they came this way chasing a small goblin. The east goblin tunnel is the same as before, and they peer down the slope to the door at the bottom. Nothing has changed. Merric peeks in the goblin door. </p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.zikadik.com/silverymoon/owl7.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>A cramped tunnel slopes upward, winding into darkness. His lantern cannot reveal much more than crudely dug stone walls. Merric advances with Douvan close behind, ducking his head once again to enter these damnable burrows. About fifty feet later the tunnel levels off and splits east and west. The west route dead ends, the east route expanding into darkness beyond range of his light. Inspecting the west tunnel first, Merric easily finds a concealed goblin door. Wiping sweaty palms together, he gently presses his ear to the door and listens, detecting the faint rattle of bone dice, muttered jeers and curses and callous goblin language he cannot understand. Taking a gamble, Merric very, very carefully presses the door open and peeks inside…</p><p></p><p>…and is not pleased with what he sees.</p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.zikadik.com/silverymoon/owl8.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Well over a dozen goblins archers loiter on the perimeter of what looks like a false ceiling above the chamber below. The “floor” is really canvas concealing two huge iron gates designed to swing down and block the exits. If the party had entered the room underneath they would have been trapped with dozens of archers concentrating their fire. The goblins are on low alert, playing dice, drinking mead and otherwise not paying attention. Merric slowly closes the door. </p><p></p><p>So, the other direction then. </p><p></p><p>The light from the magic lantern reveals narrow steps, and neither Merric nor Douvan can find any concealed exits along this hall. The others have advanced, and Merric tells them that a formidable group of goblins waits to the west, so they must exercise extreme caution and silence. Merric smells rotten meat and offal before he reaches the bottom of the steps, and upon rounding around the corner, he sees the source…</p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.zikadik.com/silverymoon/owl9.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nebulous, post: 4789552, member: 31465"] [size=4]Adventure #8: Owlie’s Lair[/size] [B]PART ONE[/B] Last time, our delvers of Tallow’s Deep found that, much to their chagrin, leaving the mine would not be as easy as they had hoped. The goblins have barred the exit with a clever trap, effectively sealing the adventurers behind three stout iron bars. According to their gobber captive, the mechanism to remove the trap is located on the far side, in the entry room that leads to the exterior mound and monoliths known as Henge. [img]http://www.zikadik.com/silverymoon/owl1.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.zikadik.com/silverymoon/owl2.jpg[/img] Six uneventful hours have passed and they now feel refreshed, currently huddled around a crackling fire in the cold, dripping depths of the dragon turtle lair. The monster’s corpse is still nearby on a slab of rock, and given the cold, preservative conditions of this place, the ranger Douvan is willing to cut a hunk of dead dragon meat from its bones and roast it over the fire. Tastes like chicken! (Tough, oily, chicken with a faint hint of goblin scrotum). They discuss their options, and return time and again to the idea of leaving this cursed mine via the exit tunnel. But how? The druid Raven has miraculous powers of transformation and can wildshape into a mouse or some other innocuous creature and scout the exterior. But if she transforms to human again to active a lever or winch for the trap then she will be stuck in that form, and possibly have to contend with a regiment of goblins alone (assuming that the regiment is still there). They even debate releasing an animal from the Bag of Tricks into the room to sow confusion, but this will vary depending on whether it’s a bat or a bear, rat or ram. After much debate, they decide to press on, not toward the exit which is almost certainly still barred, but deeper into the complex to round up nine more goblins for Balthazar of the Potion Emporium. It might be too late to meet today’s quota, but that is still their current mission, and it might be better than returning completely empty handed to incur his wrath. And according to their captive, there is an exit from the mines through the worg den somewhere “near Grishog,” a name they keep hearing more and more. [img]http://www.zikadik.com/silverymoon/blackjack.jpg[/img] Blackjack the Pig Farmer is given control of their solitary goblin captive, and the scarred man is none too gentle with him. A few solid kicks in the gut keeps the little bugger complacent, and he is quickly gagged and hauled along. They leave the warm confines of the cave and plunge into the icy water, maneuvering toward the Limestone Staircase. Frigid water saps the strength from their bones, but only the druid Raven succumbs to the cold, her teeth chattering so much she can barely speak. Merric and Douvan lead the way with the magic lantern hovering nearby, but it is the ranger who first hears the sound of a dislodged rock in the distance. His hand stays the halfling, and snuffing the lantern, Merric edges forward, his companions waiting for his report. He rounds the corner and sees the Limestone Staircase, and at the top, illuminated by several ruddy torches…are three goblin masons busy rebuilding the wall. [img]http://www.zikadik.com/silverymoon/owl3.jpg[/img] They’re on the inside of the wall, the trap side, busily laying down mismatched bricks and sloppy layers of cement. Licking his lips, Merric hunkers down and begins to climb the slick steps, keeping to the shadows as much as possible. He stealthfully evades their notice and presses his back to the cavern wall. The goblins have rebuilt half of the barrier in the 6 hours the heroes rested, probably to make sure no other monster could come slithering out of the darkness. After all, the goblins don’t know the aboleth is dead, and they may or may not have ever known about the dragon turtle at all. Merric calls upon his knowledge of wizardry and summons a translucent Mage Hand, pulling wet bricks from their slots atop the wall. Goblin curses follow, and the halfling secretly snickers at their agitation. After four or five bricks have clattered down the stairwell, a bewildered goblin finally hops over to take a closer look and instead gets a close look at the pointy end of Merric’s dagger. SNICK! The halfling slashes and misses, but a follow-up arrow from Douvan catches the goblin in the throat. Blood spurts from its neck and it topples down the stairs into the water. Meanwhile, Blackjack has ascended the stairs to aid Merric. The two remaining goblins are caught by surprise, and despite their attempt to ward off the enemy with cement-slathered dowels, they’re quickly dispatched. Blackjack heads down the tunnel to investigate while Douvan tries his legwork on the slippery staircase…and fails. Partway up his feet whip out from under him and he painfully clatters to the bottom. Meanwhile, Blackjack hunkers down and inspects the Spiked Water Trap where numerous spears jabbed at them before. Taking a deep breath, he closes his eyes and calls upon his Savage Intuition, but detects no foes in the immediate vicinity. For the moment, as far as he can tell, the trap is unmanned. The dragon turtle shell has been removed as well, hauled to the far end of the chamber so they can’t use that to clamber across as they did last time. No fear, the group manages to traverse the staircase with few injuries, and with Blackjack leading the way, they cross the trap in safety. [img]http://www.zikadik.com/silverymoon/owl4.jpg[/img] There is only one route they have not thoroughly inspected, the split tunnel past the hidden goblin door by the Spawning Pool. Merric leads the way, and they soon find themselves in familiar territory. The tunnel is wider here, enough for the humans to stand comfortably, with a wide corridor stretching west and a narrow goblin tunnel bearing east. [img]http://www.zikadik.com/silverymoon/owl5.jpg[/img] Merric checks west first and sees an archway leading into a long, wide chamber roughly 30’x 40’. There is an open passageway at the far end. Immediately suspicious, they decide to check the oily floor instead from the last time they came this way chasing a small goblin. The east goblin tunnel is the same as before, and they peer down the slope to the door at the bottom. Nothing has changed. Merric peeks in the goblin door. [img]http://www.zikadik.com/silverymoon/owl7.jpg[/img] A cramped tunnel slopes upward, winding into darkness. His lantern cannot reveal much more than crudely dug stone walls. Merric advances with Douvan close behind, ducking his head once again to enter these damnable burrows. About fifty feet later the tunnel levels off and splits east and west. The west route dead ends, the east route expanding into darkness beyond range of his light. Inspecting the west tunnel first, Merric easily finds a concealed goblin door. Wiping sweaty palms together, he gently presses his ear to the door and listens, detecting the faint rattle of bone dice, muttered jeers and curses and callous goblin language he cannot understand. Taking a gamble, Merric very, very carefully presses the door open and peeks inside… …and is not pleased with what he sees. [img]http://www.zikadik.com/silverymoon/owl8.jpg[/img] Well over a dozen goblins archers loiter on the perimeter of what looks like a false ceiling above the chamber below. The “floor” is really canvas concealing two huge iron gates designed to swing down and block the exits. If the party had entered the room underneath they would have been trapped with dozens of archers concentrating their fire. The goblins are on low alert, playing dice, drinking mead and otherwise not paying attention. Merric slowly closes the door. So, the other direction then. The light from the magic lantern reveals narrow steps, and neither Merric nor Douvan can find any concealed exits along this hall. The others have advanced, and Merric tells them that a formidable group of goblins waits to the west, so they must exercise extreme caution and silence. Merric smells rotten meat and offal before he reaches the bottom of the steps, and upon rounding around the corner, he sees the source… [img]http://www.zikadik.com/silverymoon/owl9.jpg[/img] [/QUOTE]
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