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Aphonion Tales: Ravenskrag and the Shadowline, a preteen D&D game (lightly edited notes, COMPLETED on 1/20/23)
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<blockquote data-quote="CPaladin" data-source="post: 8611320" data-attributes="member: 7030144"><p>[Session 47, cont'd]</p><p>2 Chund</p><p>They head back to Vinehome, without any difficulty. Runor teaches the troops basic drills in the evenings.</p><p></p><p>6 Chund</p><p>They arrive at Vinehome and set the volunteers to building the stockade—one tight around the ruined tower facing inwards, and one wide around the tower facing outwards. They then travel through the teleport pad to The City.</p><p></p><p>They then go through to The Far Away. The winds are low, so they can see the city clearly from the tower. Runor can see clouds of sand blowing to the northwest, however, which almost seem to be cut off at one point, with only a small thin cloud blowing out from that storm.</p><p></p><p>They head in to the city. They realize that the city sort of sets a guard in this direction. They see another person keeping watch out some distance from the city, who recognizes them and waves. They then meet the gate guard. The guard is a little confused by a mule, which he has never seen before, but pays no mind to the owlbear. He leads them in to see the council.</p><p></p><p>The council asks, “Are the ways clear? We saw ones of the one you mentioned, that came through at night. We immolated him. I think he was already wounded by the protections, though.</p><p></p><p>“We have convinced an old sorceress to give us what knowledge she can of the tower, the old matrix, and the creatures that overran it all those years ago. The Sorceress, Adele.”</p><p></p><p>The Sorceress Adele introduces herself to the party. “We are very near the border of the Palood. Unfortunately, we are very near the part of the Palood that is somewhat organized.” She shows the party a crudely drawn map of the Palood. “The part of the map within this red line in the Palood is the part where they have sorted themselves out to the point where they can be more dangerous.” The red line travels north-south, perhaps 50 miles inland from the ocean, until it cuts to the east well south of the great lake. The organized area is the eastern, inland area, including the area around the lake. “The threat there isn't simply an enormous frog's mouth, begging your pardon, that rises up out of the murky water and consumes half of you instead. It's more a well-armed band or group of trolls, or on occasion a demon. In the other area you should just be afraid of random things. In fact, I was with a group the last time we tried this. I'm the survivor. We thought it would be best to skirt along the border of that area until we got to the closest point to the lake. Something came out of the water, and while it was consuming one of my colleagues, it was attacked by something else that came out of the water.</p><p></p><p>“Now, unfortunately, being a sorceress, not a wizard, I'm not extremely scholarly, but I’ll still answer your questions as best as I can?”</p><p></p><p>“Would you recommend that Aleep's friends also follow that plan and travel down outside the organized area and then cut in?”</p><p></p><p>“It will avoid any form of hierarchical response, which you may well suffer in the area that they've organized if anything escapes from a meeting. It may have something to report to that will bring more.</p><p></p><p>On the other hand, for the most part they have driven things like the froghemoths out of their area through organized action. You will find those creatures, and the bodacs, of course, out in the deep swamp.”</p><p></p><p>“Bodacs?”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, there are a number of them here. They would love to gain control, but they can't.”</p><p></p><p>“Aleep is not familiar with word ‘bodac.’”</p><p></p><p>“Oh, they’re a form of demons, mostly nobles. Nasty pieces of work.”</p><p></p><p>“So to summarize, more dangerous, bigger creatures outside organized area. But much less organization, and so the choice is between individually riskier things and things that might bring allies.”</p><p></p><p>“Smart lad, that is exactly right. And that you must decide for yourselves.”</p><p></p><p>“Do you know where the Tower is?”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, the tower was at the southern bump of the lake.” She indicates on the map. “Yes, it was well fortified, and had a deep underground structure for their psionics works. I think the psionicists who were working on the creation of the matrix were what drew the enemy, but that's only my guess. They were not of the greatest power, you understand.”</p><p></p><p>“Do you know anything of the matrix itself that Aleep's friends should know?”</p><p></p><p>“By now, it has become sentient. That was unavoidable without guiding minds. Before the tower fell, it had already begun to respond intelligently to its proctors, I understand, but I also think it was young and curious, and it may have reached out to see the surrounding area and alerted something.”</p><p></p><p>“We all make mistakes,” says Runor.</p><p></p><p>“Oh, yes, I cannot blame it, because it was a child—a baby really-- and babies are always careless, my young dwarf,” she chuckles.</p><p></p><p>“Young dwarf? I’ve lived longer than you have.”</p><p></p><p>“Perhaps, but I am older than you, even if you've lived longer than me, friend dwarf.” They have a slightly confusing conversation about age—Runor thinks she was saying that she had more of the wisdom of age than him, but it’s unclear exactly what she meant.</p><p></p><p>One of the councilors pushes to get the meeting back on track. “Adele, what advice can you give them?”</p><p></p><p>“I don't know what advice they need. They must ask. We reached the Tower, but we did not managed to assail it. We entered the broken grounds of the fortification, and we entered the tower proper. Two days later, I and the other survivor left the tower and tried to make our way back here. He was consumed on the fourth day of our travel.” She shakes her head sadly. “I hid myself as a tree for a time, and then, when they'd given up looking for me, I scurried like a cur with its tail between its legs all the way back. It’s a miracle I made it. I was sick for months. The water there is not something you should drink.”</p><p></p><p>“What type of creatures does the tower itself hold?”</p><p></p><p>“There's a mix of them. There is a hierarchy of some sort of cross between snakes and men. They're like snake centaurs. I had never seen the like before. They called themselves something like yank-tea? Yu kzi? They had magical abilities among them, and powerful warriors and servants. They had both trolls and lizardmen as servants. When we were there, I did not see any of the True Born, as the humans of the Shadow call themselves, but there are True Born in the Palood and they may be there.”</p><p></p><p>“Were the trolls of the usual type, vulnerable to fire?”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, yes, ordinary swamp trolls, but you could not break their will. It was very, very odd. If you face trolls and defeat a couple of their people, particularly with fire, normally the rest flee. These would not flee. It is as if somehow the yanti, yin tai, whatever, could control their minds and prevent them from flight. Or perhaps their terror of whatever the yangti overlord is was so great that they did not dare retreat. They're stupid, but not totally bereft of sense. You must reach the sixth deeping to reach the matrix room.”</p><p></p><p>“So the matrix is in the basements, too.”</p><p></p><p>“They must have thought that it would shield it from notice until it was older and more powerful.”</p><p></p><p>“Do these snake things have weaknesses or protections that we should know of?”</p><p></p><p>“I assume that they must, but there were none that we discovered before we were forced to retreat. Avoid them, if possible. If not, let none survive to return to their fellows. That was the mistake we made. The first group we encountered, we slaughtered them, and a couple of the younger, smaller ones fled. We thought that each band was separate, so we let them go. They were young and small. We should have killed them. After that, more powerful ones came. The first group of them failed. Shortly thereafter, another one came. I expended nearly all of my spells, and we were overextended, so the wizard expended all of his. The lyan stood firm, but it was not enough. The priest called upon the Two Great Ones but still ran short of healing. It was a disaster, and only I and the rogue escaped, and he was consumed on the way back.”</p><p></p><p>“It's a shame but maybe someday we can claim it for ourselves.”</p><p></p><p>“You’re a kind lad. It is a shame that it fell. It is a shame that we were not prepared for them to be organized. If perhaps a little bit of knowledge I've imparted will help your group, it might make our defeat mean something. Does anyone else have questions?”</p><p></p><p>“We were warned of great oblex. Are there any near that tower that we should know of?”</p><p></p><p>“My suspicion is that there are some in the lake. If you do not draw them out, at least alert them to your presence, I do not think they will bother you. They're most comfortable in the water. If you bring them out, use fire as quickly as possible. You're more likely to encounter oblex, however, outside their zone of control. There’s even at least one elder oblex, but I think he's deeper in the south.”</p><p></p><p>“What do oblex look like?”</p><p></p><p>“A mass of translucent, or sometimes blue, gelatinous material, somewhat similar to a gelatinous cube, or some of the other of that ilk but much more powerful. They are some sort of a union between the Worm who Bores… or rather I should say, they were born from from a short union between the Worm who Bores Beneath, and the Lord of Slime, and then left to roam the swampy waters to dissuade intruders. Or perhaps not to dissuade. Who knows the mind of the Worm? Prod ahead of yourselves with long polls when you're in water more than a foot or so deep. They often lie along the bottom, and this will at least rouse them before they can engulf you, which is their favorite attack. They wait until you are literally on top of them, and then they engulf you.”</p><p></p><p>“What if you opened a flask of holy water as they engulfed you?”</p><p></p><p>“That would certainly harm them if you got them to eat holy water.”</p><p></p><p>“I’ve always wanted to use holy water like a poison—put some in some blood, get a vampire to drink it, that sort of thing.”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, that would certainly do them damage. Their form comports in such a way that the damage of most weapons is reduced. They are susceptible to fire. The greater ones also are intelligent. They are capable of attempting to hold people still magically so they can engulf them. That is an unpleasant ability. If you are engulfed, while it’s digesting you, anyone who attacks and tries to free you almost inevitably also stabs you.”</p><p></p><p>“Can you stab them while trapped?”</p><p></p><p>“If they engulf you without controlling your mind, you can try with short weapons--daggers, perhaps or maybe dirks. If they consume you when you are held one of the greater ones, then no, you will not be stabbing them. You'll be quietly being digested.”</p><p></p><p>“One more question. Are these yanti, or whatever they are, part of the broader hierarchy in that area?” asks Runor.</p><p></p><p>“I think so. I do not know who their ultimate lord is, though we were never in a position to even consider searching for that information. There's probably something above them. There was some great lord or snake thing there as well. With luck you will never see him. I do not think he will come close to the matrix. By its nature it will hurt him, even in captivity. But yes, young dwarf, I think you are correct, and their great lord is somehow connected to their hierarchy.</p><p></p><p>“Does anyone else have any other questions? Then I shall head off and offer up a candle to the Brothers for your success. They'll be surprised to see me. Sorceresses don't usually visit their shrine.”</p><p></p><p>The party discusses among themselves and decides to follow the same plan Adele’s group did: they will head south through the wilder, less organized part of the Palood, risking encounters with more individually dangerous monsters, until they are near where they need to cut east to reach the tower.</p><p></p><p>[End session 47. We're now up to date, and we'll be missing this weekend's game, so there will be a delay of a couple weeks before the next post. I'll make bonus posts in the Archducal Council thread during the meantime.]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CPaladin, post: 8611320, member: 7030144"] [Session 47, cont'd] 2 Chund They head back to Vinehome, without any difficulty. Runor teaches the troops basic drills in the evenings. 6 Chund They arrive at Vinehome and set the volunteers to building the stockade—one tight around the ruined tower facing inwards, and one wide around the tower facing outwards. They then travel through the teleport pad to The City. They then go through to The Far Away. The winds are low, so they can see the city clearly from the tower. Runor can see clouds of sand blowing to the northwest, however, which almost seem to be cut off at one point, with only a small thin cloud blowing out from that storm. They head in to the city. They realize that the city sort of sets a guard in this direction. They see another person keeping watch out some distance from the city, who recognizes them and waves. They then meet the gate guard. The guard is a little confused by a mule, which he has never seen before, but pays no mind to the owlbear. He leads them in to see the council. The council asks, “Are the ways clear? We saw ones of the one you mentioned, that came through at night. We immolated him. I think he was already wounded by the protections, though. “We have convinced an old sorceress to give us what knowledge she can of the tower, the old matrix, and the creatures that overran it all those years ago. The Sorceress, Adele.” The Sorceress Adele introduces herself to the party. “We are very near the border of the Palood. Unfortunately, we are very near the part of the Palood that is somewhat organized.” She shows the party a crudely drawn map of the Palood. “The part of the map within this red line in the Palood is the part where they have sorted themselves out to the point where they can be more dangerous.” The red line travels north-south, perhaps 50 miles inland from the ocean, until it cuts to the east well south of the great lake. The organized area is the eastern, inland area, including the area around the lake. “The threat there isn't simply an enormous frog's mouth, begging your pardon, that rises up out of the murky water and consumes half of you instead. It's more a well-armed band or group of trolls, or on occasion a demon. In the other area you should just be afraid of random things. In fact, I was with a group the last time we tried this. I'm the survivor. We thought it would be best to skirt along the border of that area until we got to the closest point to the lake. Something came out of the water, and while it was consuming one of my colleagues, it was attacked by something else that came out of the water. “Now, unfortunately, being a sorceress, not a wizard, I'm not extremely scholarly, but I’ll still answer your questions as best as I can?” “Would you recommend that Aleep's friends also follow that plan and travel down outside the organized area and then cut in?” “It will avoid any form of hierarchical response, which you may well suffer in the area that they've organized if anything escapes from a meeting. It may have something to report to that will bring more. On the other hand, for the most part they have driven things like the froghemoths out of their area through organized action. You will find those creatures, and the bodacs, of course, out in the deep swamp.” “Bodacs?” “Yes, there are a number of them here. They would love to gain control, but they can't.” “Aleep is not familiar with word ‘bodac.’” “Oh, they’re a form of demons, mostly nobles. Nasty pieces of work.” “So to summarize, more dangerous, bigger creatures outside organized area. But much less organization, and so the choice is between individually riskier things and things that might bring allies.” “Smart lad, that is exactly right. And that you must decide for yourselves.” “Do you know where the Tower is?” “Yes, the tower was at the southern bump of the lake.” She indicates on the map. “Yes, it was well fortified, and had a deep underground structure for their psionics works. I think the psionicists who were working on the creation of the matrix were what drew the enemy, but that's only my guess. They were not of the greatest power, you understand.” “Do you know anything of the matrix itself that Aleep's friends should know?” “By now, it has become sentient. That was unavoidable without guiding minds. Before the tower fell, it had already begun to respond intelligently to its proctors, I understand, but I also think it was young and curious, and it may have reached out to see the surrounding area and alerted something.” “We all make mistakes,” says Runor. “Oh, yes, I cannot blame it, because it was a child—a baby really-- and babies are always careless, my young dwarf,” she chuckles. “Young dwarf? I’ve lived longer than you have.” “Perhaps, but I am older than you, even if you've lived longer than me, friend dwarf.” They have a slightly confusing conversation about age—Runor thinks she was saying that she had more of the wisdom of age than him, but it’s unclear exactly what she meant. One of the councilors pushes to get the meeting back on track. “Adele, what advice can you give them?” “I don't know what advice they need. They must ask. We reached the Tower, but we did not managed to assail it. We entered the broken grounds of the fortification, and we entered the tower proper. Two days later, I and the other survivor left the tower and tried to make our way back here. He was consumed on the fourth day of our travel.” She shakes her head sadly. “I hid myself as a tree for a time, and then, when they'd given up looking for me, I scurried like a cur with its tail between its legs all the way back. It’s a miracle I made it. I was sick for months. The water there is not something you should drink.” “What type of creatures does the tower itself hold?” “There's a mix of them. There is a hierarchy of some sort of cross between snakes and men. They're like snake centaurs. I had never seen the like before. They called themselves something like yank-tea? Yu kzi? They had magical abilities among them, and powerful warriors and servants. They had both trolls and lizardmen as servants. When we were there, I did not see any of the True Born, as the humans of the Shadow call themselves, but there are True Born in the Palood and they may be there.” “Were the trolls of the usual type, vulnerable to fire?” “Yes, yes, ordinary swamp trolls, but you could not break their will. It was very, very odd. If you face trolls and defeat a couple of their people, particularly with fire, normally the rest flee. These would not flee. It is as if somehow the yanti, yin tai, whatever, could control their minds and prevent them from flight. Or perhaps their terror of whatever the yangti overlord is was so great that they did not dare retreat. They're stupid, but not totally bereft of sense. You must reach the sixth deeping to reach the matrix room.” “So the matrix is in the basements, too.” “They must have thought that it would shield it from notice until it was older and more powerful.” “Do these snake things have weaknesses or protections that we should know of?” “I assume that they must, but there were none that we discovered before we were forced to retreat. Avoid them, if possible. If not, let none survive to return to their fellows. That was the mistake we made. The first group we encountered, we slaughtered them, and a couple of the younger, smaller ones fled. We thought that each band was separate, so we let them go. They were young and small. We should have killed them. After that, more powerful ones came. The first group of them failed. Shortly thereafter, another one came. I expended nearly all of my spells, and we were overextended, so the wizard expended all of his. The lyan stood firm, but it was not enough. The priest called upon the Two Great Ones but still ran short of healing. It was a disaster, and only I and the rogue escaped, and he was consumed on the way back.” “It's a shame but maybe someday we can claim it for ourselves.” “You’re a kind lad. It is a shame that it fell. It is a shame that we were not prepared for them to be organized. If perhaps a little bit of knowledge I've imparted will help your group, it might make our defeat mean something. Does anyone else have questions?” “We were warned of great oblex. Are there any near that tower that we should know of?” “My suspicion is that there are some in the lake. If you do not draw them out, at least alert them to your presence, I do not think they will bother you. They're most comfortable in the water. If you bring them out, use fire as quickly as possible. You're more likely to encounter oblex, however, outside their zone of control. There’s even at least one elder oblex, but I think he's deeper in the south.” “What do oblex look like?” “A mass of translucent, or sometimes blue, gelatinous material, somewhat similar to a gelatinous cube, or some of the other of that ilk but much more powerful. They are some sort of a union between the Worm who Bores… or rather I should say, they were born from from a short union between the Worm who Bores Beneath, and the Lord of Slime, and then left to roam the swampy waters to dissuade intruders. Or perhaps not to dissuade. Who knows the mind of the Worm? Prod ahead of yourselves with long polls when you're in water more than a foot or so deep. They often lie along the bottom, and this will at least rouse them before they can engulf you, which is their favorite attack. They wait until you are literally on top of them, and then they engulf you.” “What if you opened a flask of holy water as they engulfed you?” “That would certainly harm them if you got them to eat holy water.” “I’ve always wanted to use holy water like a poison—put some in some blood, get a vampire to drink it, that sort of thing.” “Yes, that would certainly do them damage. Their form comports in such a way that the damage of most weapons is reduced. They are susceptible to fire. The greater ones also are intelligent. They are capable of attempting to hold people still magically so they can engulf them. That is an unpleasant ability. If you are engulfed, while it’s digesting you, anyone who attacks and tries to free you almost inevitably also stabs you.” “Can you stab them while trapped?” “If they engulf you without controlling your mind, you can try with short weapons--daggers, perhaps or maybe dirks. If they consume you when you are held one of the greater ones, then no, you will not be stabbing them. You'll be quietly being digested.” “One more question. Are these yanti, or whatever they are, part of the broader hierarchy in that area?” asks Runor. “I think so. I do not know who their ultimate lord is, though we were never in a position to even consider searching for that information. There's probably something above them. There was some great lord or snake thing there as well. With luck you will never see him. I do not think he will come close to the matrix. By its nature it will hurt him, even in captivity. But yes, young dwarf, I think you are correct, and their great lord is somehow connected to their hierarchy. “Does anyone else have any other questions? Then I shall head off and offer up a candle to the Brothers for your success. They'll be surprised to see me. Sorceresses don't usually visit their shrine.” The party discusses among themselves and decides to follow the same plan Adele’s group did: they will head south through the wilder, less organized part of the Palood, risking encounters with more individually dangerous monsters, until they are near where they need to cut east to reach the tower. [End session 47. We're now up to date, and we'll be missing this weekend's game, so there will be a delay of a couple weeks before the next post. I'll make bonus posts in the Archducal Council thread during the meantime.] [/QUOTE]
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