Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Chronicles of Mesion: Considering Hiatus; Comments Needed.
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="LordVyreth" data-source="post: 3285241" data-attributes="member: 9626"><p><strong>Swarm's Hive: Crazy Moon Cultists, Best Friends Forever!</strong></p><p></p><p>The party drew ever closer to the fortress, but by the time night fell, they were still several hours away. Not eager to finish the journey in those conditions, they made camp for the night. As he stood watch, Elvis noticed that it was an unusually bright evening. Sure enough, when he looked up, he saw that the moon was almost full, and that the full moon would likely begin tomorrow. Based on what they already learned from Narean, the traveler that joined the party the other night, this was a portent for violence.</p><p></p><p> The next morning, they rushed to the fortress and neared its boundaries by early morning, but as they traveled, they saw that the wolves and their (currently) humanoid masters have already surrounded it. They were in numbers too great for the party to face on their own, so once again they were forced to actually use diplomacy. </p><p></p><p> Ik took the lead after she located a woman that seemed to be in charge of a pack of wolves. “Excuse us, but what do you intend to do with this fortress.”</p><p></p><p> The woman looked at Ik suspiciously, but she shrugged and explained, “These people are invading our territory. Even worse, they use the beings that drive nature to chaos. They have driven our animals insane and are using horses to create their monsters. We intend to make an example out of this fortress: burn it to the ground, slaughter its inhabitants, and make these people realize they are not welcome here.”</p><p></p><p> “Yeah, the thing is,” Ik meekly replied to avoid making the bloodthirsty woman angry. “We need some information about these people. Would it be possible to let us examine the place first?”</p><p></p><p> The woman considered Ik and her friends carefully. “I can advise my peers to leave you alone, but I can’t promise your safety. Our soldiers are animals after all, and while we can lead them, we cannot control them. Besides, when the battle begins, my allies and I tend to be a bit…harder to control. If you want anything from this fortress, I advise you to get it quickly and try to stay out of our way.”</p><p></p><p> After their discussion, Ik returned to the party, so they can discuss their strategy. “We should attack right away, to stay ahead of the lycanthropes,” Anastacia recommended. “Even if they follow us in, it will still be daytime, so they won’t be too powerful.”</p><p></p><p> Enrique disagreed. “I don’t think we should launch an attack on a defended and alert fortress on our own. We’d just be outnumbered. Maybe the lycanthropes will help us, or maybe they’ll just cut off our only avenue of retreat.”</p><p></p><p> “Let’s wait until night, then,” Luke suggested. “We let the cult draw their fire and weaken the guards, and then we can sneak in ahead of them. We’ll be done with the fortress before they can start to burn it.”</p><p></p><p> “And then we can kill the werewolves when they’re wounded, too!” Elvis gleefully added, only to see that everyone (except Lorren) was staring at him, shocked. “Well, I thought it would be a good idea,” he muttered.</p><p></p><p> That night, the party watched from a nearby hill as the pack of wolves surged towards the fortress. Their attack was met by immediate defenses, including archers and attacks by more of the energy-shooting phase wasps, which were regularly patrolling around the fortress. However, the cultists soon encountered a larger problem when the wolf pack abruptly broke as soon as it neared the fortress’ front and apparently only gate. They immediately moved to surround the fortress, but it was obvious that this wasn’t planned; something was driving the wolves away from the gate. In response, some of the cultists, who appeared unaffected, began to assault the gate, while others began to climb the walls and attack the guard towers.</p><p></p><p> Seeing an opportunity, the party carefully snuck to the back of the fortress, away from the fight and towards an undamaged guard tower. The wolves, worried by the force repulsing them and the enemies with ranged attacks they couldn’t fight, let them pass, and soon Enrique made his way towards the wall. He swung a grappling hook towards the wall’s battlements and grunted with satisfaction when he heard it connect with the stone. As he began to climb, however, an archer on the wall noticed him and began to fire at him and the party, while two more guards burst out of the guard tower. At the same time, two more of the phase wasps, continuing their patrol, turned the fortress’ corner and noticed the party’s attack. All five of the fortress’ defenders engaged the party.</p><p></p><p> Grim and Ik carefully followed Enrique up the rope and to the top of the wall, while Anastacia, Elvis, Lorren, and Luke attacked from the ground using ranged weapons and magic. While Enrique and Grim stormed the guardhouse, making short work of the archers now that they were no longer protected by their arrow slits, Ik surprised everyone by finishing the archer on the wall by herself! “Wow, I forgot what it was like to contribute without the Egg,” she carefully admitted. Meanwhile, a pair of arrows from Anastacia’s rarely used bow finished one of the wasps, and some of Lorren’s magic missiles and Elvis’ arrow finished the second.</p><p></p><p> It took some effort, especially for the heavily armored Anastacia and Luke, but everyone managed to climb up the wall. From there, they noticed that the keep was right next to the wall, and the second story was smaller than the first, letting them actually walk on the edge of the first floor roof. Some of the more agile members of the party did just that, while Luke and the others found a latter to enter the courtyard. There, they saw the reason the wolves were driven away. Two of the shape shifting Environs were chained just inside the front gates, and the party remembered that animals tended to be driven mad by their presence and instinctively shied away from them. The magical lycanthropes were unaffected by this, but the natural animals wisely fled in either direction.</p><p></p><p> As far as they were concerned, this was good news for the party, who were happy to see the cultists delayed until they could finish their business. They quickly began to plan their next move. Elvis pointed upwards as they prepared for their next move. “I noticed that the fortress was unusually high, compared to the walls. This thing’s five stories tall, though the last couple floors are little but a ramp and a spire. I think I saw something moving up there when the attack first started. We might be able to find their leaders that way.”</p><p></p><p> Those on the roof carefully climbed down, and they collectively entered the keep through its front door. They saw a small building attached to the main keep as they entered, and Grim guessed that it was a stable, but they decided it wasn’t worth wasting their time investigating it. Similarly, when they found the first floor unguarded, they decided not to risk the time and danger of traps or ambushes that a full investigation would lead to. Instead, they dashed upstairs, pausing only to note that the keep used ramps, not the usual stairs, and spent as little time on the second floor as they ran up to the third floor. From here, they quickly found an archway that led outside to the start of the ramp. Here, at last, they found something.</p><p></p><p>A black-armored figuring riding a giant wasp flew in circles around the ramp. Near the party, a half-human, half-wolf woman who was seemingly fighting without a weapon angrily watched her prey. The werewolf had the holy symbol of the cult tattooed on her body, but she otherwise didn’t possess one, and Luke realized the cult had more forces than direct worshippers. The cult’s advance guard and the Effervo Vesica officer were already waiting for the perfect moment to strike, so the party’s arrival proved the perfect distraction. “I will teach you not to meddle with the affairs of Phellis Mune!” she growled as she pulled out and fired a sling just as the officer charged her.</p><p></p><p>Out of nowhere, Enrique shuddered as soon as he heard the name of the cult’s god. “I don’t know where THAT came from,” he admitted as he joined the fight.</p><p></p><p>He didn’t have time to worry about it, though. From the floor below, a door burst open, and two armored guards, apparently waiting for one of the ambushes the party avoided, instead responded to the renewed sounds of battle. Similarly, additional archers from the walls below saw the fight beginning above them and fired at the werewolf and the party in an attempt to protect their apparent leader. “Where did all of these guards come from,” Lorren muttered irritably. “You’d think the ones at the walls would have better things to do during an attack.”</p><p></p><p>Grim moved the block the archway and fight off the guards while the rest of the party moved inward on the ramp to stay out of firing range and help the werewolf assist in the fight against the officer. The officer narrowly evaded the werewolf’s stones; it was clear she was not used to combat that impersonal. However, Elvis, Lorren, and the rest of the party were far more effective against him and his mount, and in desperation he urged his mount down to strike his foes directly. This soon proved to be a mistake, however. In one quick set of motions, the werewolf lunged at him with both paws, flipped in the air to strike with her feet, and then came down biting. The first strikes of her paws found weaknesses in his armor and struck him right in the chest, knocking the air out of him. He was briefly disoriented while he regained his breath, and in the interim the werewolf dragged him off of his mount and onto the ramp. There, the party made short work of him, and then turned to fire on the wasp as it retreated from the battle. In a matter of moments, both foes fell.</p><p></p><p>Grim, however, was having far more difficulty with the guards. The party rushed to his aid, but as they did, Anastacia lingered to watch the werewolf. She rather gruesomely hunched down on the unconscious Effervo Vesica officer, and in one quick motion, she ripped his throat out! Effortlessly removing his head, she held it high and gave a howl of victory; a howl that was echoed across the fortress. There was now little doubt that the cultists of Phellis Mune had this fortress under their control, or at least they would soon. The werewolf glanced at Anastacia. “You have five minutes,” she growled at her. “Then this place burns.”</p><p></p><p>Anastacia caught up with the party, who had made short work of the guards and were busy doing the usual looting. “We have to go!” she insisted. “The werewolf told us that in five minutes, they would burn the entire fortress!”</p><p></p><p>Lorren nervously looked down at the pack surrounding the fortress. “I don’t think it would even be safe leaving now. I don’t trust those creatures.”</p><p></p><p>“I told you we should have killed them when we had the chance,” Elvis muttered.</p><p></p><p>Grim, however, had another idea. He gestured to the top of the ramp, where an even larger wasp was waiting, but its stinger was removed, rendering it harmless. It was tied to a giant crate as large as the wasp itself. Grim pointed at a bell on a wall next to the wasp. “I believe the Effervo Vesica use these wasps for transport. If we ring the bell, it should travel to wherever the society gets their orders and supplies. We can hide in the crate and learn the truth about our enemies that way.”</p><p></p><p>Without much time to discuss it, the party agreed, but they decided it would be better to investigate the rest of the fortress before it was too late. They quickly dragged the bodies of the two guards and the officer into the crate before exploring the rest of the fortress. In the room that the guards burst out of, they discovered a large chalkboard with the next two priorities of this Effervo Vesica branch listed. The rest of the room was filled with scattered and ripped or burned papers; the guards were apparently destroying all that they could before the party attracted their attention. Lorren was able to make some headway with the scraps while Ik wrote down the completed priorities on the chalkboard and Luke and Elvis left to explore further. </p><p></p><p>Eventually, Lorren managed to get at least the titles of the first six priorities completed. Ik wrote those down above the remaining two:</p><p></p><p> 1. Confirmation of Hypothetical Target, Priority 1: The Fiendish Control Rod.</p><p> 2. Initiation of Recovery Mission. Mission Leader: Captain Malordonus</p><p> 3. Use funds granted from benefactors for use in recruiting local humanoids to assist in acquiring Priority 1.</p><p> 4. Insertion of Mission Leader into Target Location. Gain assistance of local mercenaries and invite ignorant mercenaries of minimal effectiveness (See Dossier 29Q,) to serve as distractions.</p><p> 5. Recovery of Fiendish Control Rod. This is listed as Priority 0 and above the lives of any and all personnel.</p><p> 6. Promotion for current Captain, receive new lieutenant and promote current to captain.</p><p></p><p>She then read the two left on the chalkboard.</p><p></p><p>Annual Priority Target #7:</p><p></p><p> Confirmation of Egg Tracking Theory A42 is requested. Said theory speculates the specific creatures have some affinity to the egg. This theory is based on Classified information shared by our benefactors. Details of how this information was obtained are classified. The creatures in question have some ties to insects and seem to fly to specific locations where the egg is located. Last suspected Sighting: Rosavilla. Projected success: 74%.</p><p></p><p>Annual Priority Target #8:</p><p></p><p> This theory was put forth by former captain Malordonus. Following the success of Priority Target #5, our benefactors recommended further investigation due to correlation between the resting place of said target and this one. Speculation is that the second target, officially codified as the Celestial Rod, has a similar protective barrier. Zoridel is known for crystalline statuary that uses that form of structure. If confirmation is obtained, The benefactors are to be noted, where if they receive sufficient collaboration on this confirmation, the second Hammer of Shattering will be supplied. Projected mission leader: Undetermined. Projected Success: 83%.</p><p></p><p> “That certainly brings new meaning to organized evil,” Lorren whistled, impressed.</p><p></p><p> Meanwhile, Luke and Elvis finally found something interesting in the stables on the first floor. The remaining Environ, along with another guard, were both brutally killed, presumably by the increasingly successful cultist raids. However, the room also contained a simple mechanical platform that lowered into a basement. Cautiously, the two lowered themselves down, where they saw a seemingly normal horse. However, it was chained to a wall with thick manacles, and given the number and depth of the hoof prints in the wall, it was clear that this was no ordinary horse. Even more obvious was a giant iron mask that covered most of the horse’s head, leaving just a little room for the nose and mouth. Despite the uncomfortable mask, the horse was calmly grazing the food scattered across the floor, but neither Luke nor Elvis had any interest in getting near this thing. Instead, they found a nearby door and fled down a hallway.</p><p></p><p> The next room was far more interesting. Stacked across the walls were countless gold bars! But the fortress’ treasure was not left unguarded. Seemingly unaware or uninterested in the battle all around them, a pair of warforged were chained the center of the room. Reacting out of instinct or some deeply ingrained order, they raised their weapons as soon as Luke and Elvis entered the room. Making note of the chains, the two simply backed out of the room and the warforged’s range, but in response, the warforged just as simply closed the door! Sighing with frustration, they kicked the door in again and pulled their bows just as the warforged drew their own. A brief ranged battle proceeded, but the two warforged were no match and quickly were de-activated by the attacks. Luke and Elvis quickly grabbed the money, but Luke looked guiltily at the warforged as he left.</p><p></p><p> “Do you think they’re still…alive?” he asked Elvis.</p><p></p><p> Elvis, who was used to warforged from his days on Eberron, shrugged. “They’re damaged, but they’re still functional. If they healed, they can be brought back to activity.”</p><p></p><p> In response, Luke began to attack their chains. “Get everyone down here!” he insisted. “We can’t leave them to burn to death. You see these chains. They’re not part of this group; they’re slaves.”</p><p></p><p> Elvis looked reluctant, but he sighed. “I don’t think we can transport all this treasure to the crate in time by ourselves, anyway.” With less than a minute to spare, the party, the armor and treasure from all the guards they fought, the two unconscious warforged, the treasury gold, and the information they salvaged in the meeting room were in the crate. Elvis throw a rock at the bell. Instinctively, the giant wasp took off, flying northwards and towards the ocean. As the party ventured off into the unknown, aware that once they reach the ocean, they had little opportunity to escape, they saw the fortress start to burn. Suddenly, a pillar of fire shot out of the fortress while a loud, unearthly neigh echoed across the night. It seemed the cultists found the horse…</p><p></p><p> OOC Notes: I enjoyed this adventure because of its non-linearity. I let the party generally plan their attack, including the direction of attack, when to attack, whether or not to ally with the cultists, and so on. The only “railroad” thing I feel sort of bad about were the four archers that showed up in the final battle. The players thought they shouldn’t have worried about us with the fight going on below them, and I have to admit they had a point.</p><p></p><p> That being said, they almost freely chose to make a huge mistake near the end. Despite the five minutes (of in-game time) that I gave them and the fact that we had almost an hour before the normal end of game time, they were all set to leave right after killing the officer. This would have meant leaving all the plot information in the meeting room. Oh, and the 25,000 gold in the treasury. If they missed that, I would have so taunted them about it. I’m glad they decided to stow away with the wasp; though. I already had quite a few plans for where that path will lead them.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="LordVyreth, post: 3285241, member: 9626"] [b]Swarm's Hive: Crazy Moon Cultists, Best Friends Forever![/b] The party drew ever closer to the fortress, but by the time night fell, they were still several hours away. Not eager to finish the journey in those conditions, they made camp for the night. As he stood watch, Elvis noticed that it was an unusually bright evening. Sure enough, when he looked up, he saw that the moon was almost full, and that the full moon would likely begin tomorrow. Based on what they already learned from Narean, the traveler that joined the party the other night, this was a portent for violence. The next morning, they rushed to the fortress and neared its boundaries by early morning, but as they traveled, they saw that the wolves and their (currently) humanoid masters have already surrounded it. They were in numbers too great for the party to face on their own, so once again they were forced to actually use diplomacy. Ik took the lead after she located a woman that seemed to be in charge of a pack of wolves. “Excuse us, but what do you intend to do with this fortress.” The woman looked at Ik suspiciously, but she shrugged and explained, “These people are invading our territory. Even worse, they use the beings that drive nature to chaos. They have driven our animals insane and are using horses to create their monsters. We intend to make an example out of this fortress: burn it to the ground, slaughter its inhabitants, and make these people realize they are not welcome here.” “Yeah, the thing is,” Ik meekly replied to avoid making the bloodthirsty woman angry. “We need some information about these people. Would it be possible to let us examine the place first?” The woman considered Ik and her friends carefully. “I can advise my peers to leave you alone, but I can’t promise your safety. Our soldiers are animals after all, and while we can lead them, we cannot control them. Besides, when the battle begins, my allies and I tend to be a bit…harder to control. If you want anything from this fortress, I advise you to get it quickly and try to stay out of our way.” After their discussion, Ik returned to the party, so they can discuss their strategy. “We should attack right away, to stay ahead of the lycanthropes,” Anastacia recommended. “Even if they follow us in, it will still be daytime, so they won’t be too powerful.” Enrique disagreed. “I don’t think we should launch an attack on a defended and alert fortress on our own. We’d just be outnumbered. Maybe the lycanthropes will help us, or maybe they’ll just cut off our only avenue of retreat.” “Let’s wait until night, then,” Luke suggested. “We let the cult draw their fire and weaken the guards, and then we can sneak in ahead of them. We’ll be done with the fortress before they can start to burn it.” “And then we can kill the werewolves when they’re wounded, too!” Elvis gleefully added, only to see that everyone (except Lorren) was staring at him, shocked. “Well, I thought it would be a good idea,” he muttered. That night, the party watched from a nearby hill as the pack of wolves surged towards the fortress. Their attack was met by immediate defenses, including archers and attacks by more of the energy-shooting phase wasps, which were regularly patrolling around the fortress. However, the cultists soon encountered a larger problem when the wolf pack abruptly broke as soon as it neared the fortress’ front and apparently only gate. They immediately moved to surround the fortress, but it was obvious that this wasn’t planned; something was driving the wolves away from the gate. In response, some of the cultists, who appeared unaffected, began to assault the gate, while others began to climb the walls and attack the guard towers. Seeing an opportunity, the party carefully snuck to the back of the fortress, away from the fight and towards an undamaged guard tower. The wolves, worried by the force repulsing them and the enemies with ranged attacks they couldn’t fight, let them pass, and soon Enrique made his way towards the wall. He swung a grappling hook towards the wall’s battlements and grunted with satisfaction when he heard it connect with the stone. As he began to climb, however, an archer on the wall noticed him and began to fire at him and the party, while two more guards burst out of the guard tower. At the same time, two more of the phase wasps, continuing their patrol, turned the fortress’ corner and noticed the party’s attack. All five of the fortress’ defenders engaged the party. Grim and Ik carefully followed Enrique up the rope and to the top of the wall, while Anastacia, Elvis, Lorren, and Luke attacked from the ground using ranged weapons and magic. While Enrique and Grim stormed the guardhouse, making short work of the archers now that they were no longer protected by their arrow slits, Ik surprised everyone by finishing the archer on the wall by herself! “Wow, I forgot what it was like to contribute without the Egg,” she carefully admitted. Meanwhile, a pair of arrows from Anastacia’s rarely used bow finished one of the wasps, and some of Lorren’s magic missiles and Elvis’ arrow finished the second. It took some effort, especially for the heavily armored Anastacia and Luke, but everyone managed to climb up the wall. From there, they noticed that the keep was right next to the wall, and the second story was smaller than the first, letting them actually walk on the edge of the first floor roof. Some of the more agile members of the party did just that, while Luke and the others found a latter to enter the courtyard. There, they saw the reason the wolves were driven away. Two of the shape shifting Environs were chained just inside the front gates, and the party remembered that animals tended to be driven mad by their presence and instinctively shied away from them. The magical lycanthropes were unaffected by this, but the natural animals wisely fled in either direction. As far as they were concerned, this was good news for the party, who were happy to see the cultists delayed until they could finish their business. They quickly began to plan their next move. Elvis pointed upwards as they prepared for their next move. “I noticed that the fortress was unusually high, compared to the walls. This thing’s five stories tall, though the last couple floors are little but a ramp and a spire. I think I saw something moving up there when the attack first started. We might be able to find their leaders that way.” Those on the roof carefully climbed down, and they collectively entered the keep through its front door. They saw a small building attached to the main keep as they entered, and Grim guessed that it was a stable, but they decided it wasn’t worth wasting their time investigating it. Similarly, when they found the first floor unguarded, they decided not to risk the time and danger of traps or ambushes that a full investigation would lead to. Instead, they dashed upstairs, pausing only to note that the keep used ramps, not the usual stairs, and spent as little time on the second floor as they ran up to the third floor. From here, they quickly found an archway that led outside to the start of the ramp. Here, at last, they found something. A black-armored figuring riding a giant wasp flew in circles around the ramp. Near the party, a half-human, half-wolf woman who was seemingly fighting without a weapon angrily watched her prey. The werewolf had the holy symbol of the cult tattooed on her body, but she otherwise didn’t possess one, and Luke realized the cult had more forces than direct worshippers. The cult’s advance guard and the Effervo Vesica officer were already waiting for the perfect moment to strike, so the party’s arrival proved the perfect distraction. “I will teach you not to meddle with the affairs of Phellis Mune!” she growled as she pulled out and fired a sling just as the officer charged her. Out of nowhere, Enrique shuddered as soon as he heard the name of the cult’s god. “I don’t know where THAT came from,” he admitted as he joined the fight. He didn’t have time to worry about it, though. From the floor below, a door burst open, and two armored guards, apparently waiting for one of the ambushes the party avoided, instead responded to the renewed sounds of battle. Similarly, additional archers from the walls below saw the fight beginning above them and fired at the werewolf and the party in an attempt to protect their apparent leader. “Where did all of these guards come from,” Lorren muttered irritably. “You’d think the ones at the walls would have better things to do during an attack.” Grim moved the block the archway and fight off the guards while the rest of the party moved inward on the ramp to stay out of firing range and help the werewolf assist in the fight against the officer. The officer narrowly evaded the werewolf’s stones; it was clear she was not used to combat that impersonal. However, Elvis, Lorren, and the rest of the party were far more effective against him and his mount, and in desperation he urged his mount down to strike his foes directly. This soon proved to be a mistake, however. In one quick set of motions, the werewolf lunged at him with both paws, flipped in the air to strike with her feet, and then came down biting. The first strikes of her paws found weaknesses in his armor and struck him right in the chest, knocking the air out of him. He was briefly disoriented while he regained his breath, and in the interim the werewolf dragged him off of his mount and onto the ramp. There, the party made short work of him, and then turned to fire on the wasp as it retreated from the battle. In a matter of moments, both foes fell. Grim, however, was having far more difficulty with the guards. The party rushed to his aid, but as they did, Anastacia lingered to watch the werewolf. She rather gruesomely hunched down on the unconscious Effervo Vesica officer, and in one quick motion, she ripped his throat out! Effortlessly removing his head, she held it high and gave a howl of victory; a howl that was echoed across the fortress. There was now little doubt that the cultists of Phellis Mune had this fortress under their control, or at least they would soon. The werewolf glanced at Anastacia. “You have five minutes,” she growled at her. “Then this place burns.” Anastacia caught up with the party, who had made short work of the guards and were busy doing the usual looting. “We have to go!” she insisted. “The werewolf told us that in five minutes, they would burn the entire fortress!” Lorren nervously looked down at the pack surrounding the fortress. “I don’t think it would even be safe leaving now. I don’t trust those creatures.” “I told you we should have killed them when we had the chance,” Elvis muttered. Grim, however, had another idea. He gestured to the top of the ramp, where an even larger wasp was waiting, but its stinger was removed, rendering it harmless. It was tied to a giant crate as large as the wasp itself. Grim pointed at a bell on a wall next to the wasp. “I believe the Effervo Vesica use these wasps for transport. If we ring the bell, it should travel to wherever the society gets their orders and supplies. We can hide in the crate and learn the truth about our enemies that way.” Without much time to discuss it, the party agreed, but they decided it would be better to investigate the rest of the fortress before it was too late. They quickly dragged the bodies of the two guards and the officer into the crate before exploring the rest of the fortress. In the room that the guards burst out of, they discovered a large chalkboard with the next two priorities of this Effervo Vesica branch listed. The rest of the room was filled with scattered and ripped or burned papers; the guards were apparently destroying all that they could before the party attracted their attention. Lorren was able to make some headway with the scraps while Ik wrote down the completed priorities on the chalkboard and Luke and Elvis left to explore further. Eventually, Lorren managed to get at least the titles of the first six priorities completed. Ik wrote those down above the remaining two: 1. Confirmation of Hypothetical Target, Priority 1: The Fiendish Control Rod. 2. Initiation of Recovery Mission. Mission Leader: Captain Malordonus 3. Use funds granted from benefactors for use in recruiting local humanoids to assist in acquiring Priority 1. 4. Insertion of Mission Leader into Target Location. Gain assistance of local mercenaries and invite ignorant mercenaries of minimal effectiveness (See Dossier 29Q,) to serve as distractions. 5. Recovery of Fiendish Control Rod. This is listed as Priority 0 and above the lives of any and all personnel. 6. Promotion for current Captain, receive new lieutenant and promote current to captain. She then read the two left on the chalkboard. Annual Priority Target #7: Confirmation of Egg Tracking Theory A42 is requested. Said theory speculates the specific creatures have some affinity to the egg. This theory is based on Classified information shared by our benefactors. Details of how this information was obtained are classified. The creatures in question have some ties to insects and seem to fly to specific locations where the egg is located. Last suspected Sighting: Rosavilla. Projected success: 74%. Annual Priority Target #8: This theory was put forth by former captain Malordonus. Following the success of Priority Target #5, our benefactors recommended further investigation due to correlation between the resting place of said target and this one. Speculation is that the second target, officially codified as the Celestial Rod, has a similar protective barrier. Zoridel is known for crystalline statuary that uses that form of structure. If confirmation is obtained, The benefactors are to be noted, where if they receive sufficient collaboration on this confirmation, the second Hammer of Shattering will be supplied. Projected mission leader: Undetermined. Projected Success: 83%. “That certainly brings new meaning to organized evil,” Lorren whistled, impressed. Meanwhile, Luke and Elvis finally found something interesting in the stables on the first floor. The remaining Environ, along with another guard, were both brutally killed, presumably by the increasingly successful cultist raids. However, the room also contained a simple mechanical platform that lowered into a basement. Cautiously, the two lowered themselves down, where they saw a seemingly normal horse. However, it was chained to a wall with thick manacles, and given the number and depth of the hoof prints in the wall, it was clear that this was no ordinary horse. Even more obvious was a giant iron mask that covered most of the horse’s head, leaving just a little room for the nose and mouth. Despite the uncomfortable mask, the horse was calmly grazing the food scattered across the floor, but neither Luke nor Elvis had any interest in getting near this thing. Instead, they found a nearby door and fled down a hallway. The next room was far more interesting. Stacked across the walls were countless gold bars! But the fortress’ treasure was not left unguarded. Seemingly unaware or uninterested in the battle all around them, a pair of warforged were chained the center of the room. Reacting out of instinct or some deeply ingrained order, they raised their weapons as soon as Luke and Elvis entered the room. Making note of the chains, the two simply backed out of the room and the warforged’s range, but in response, the warforged just as simply closed the door! Sighing with frustration, they kicked the door in again and pulled their bows just as the warforged drew their own. A brief ranged battle proceeded, but the two warforged were no match and quickly were de-activated by the attacks. Luke and Elvis quickly grabbed the money, but Luke looked guiltily at the warforged as he left. “Do you think they’re still…alive?” he asked Elvis. Elvis, who was used to warforged from his days on Eberron, shrugged. “They’re damaged, but they’re still functional. If they healed, they can be brought back to activity.” In response, Luke began to attack their chains. “Get everyone down here!” he insisted. “We can’t leave them to burn to death. You see these chains. They’re not part of this group; they’re slaves.” Elvis looked reluctant, but he sighed. “I don’t think we can transport all this treasure to the crate in time by ourselves, anyway.” With less than a minute to spare, the party, the armor and treasure from all the guards they fought, the two unconscious warforged, the treasury gold, and the information they salvaged in the meeting room were in the crate. Elvis throw a rock at the bell. Instinctively, the giant wasp took off, flying northwards and towards the ocean. As the party ventured off into the unknown, aware that once they reach the ocean, they had little opportunity to escape, they saw the fortress start to burn. Suddenly, a pillar of fire shot out of the fortress while a loud, unearthly neigh echoed across the night. It seemed the cultists found the horse… OOC Notes: I enjoyed this adventure because of its non-linearity. I let the party generally plan their attack, including the direction of attack, when to attack, whether or not to ally with the cultists, and so on. The only “railroad” thing I feel sort of bad about were the four archers that showed up in the final battle. The players thought they shouldn’t have worried about us with the fight going on below them, and I have to admit they had a point. That being said, they almost freely chose to make a huge mistake near the end. Despite the five minutes (of in-game time) that I gave them and the fact that we had almost an hour before the normal end of game time, they were all set to leave right after killing the officer. This would have meant leaving all the plot information in the meeting room. Oh, and the 25,000 gold in the treasury. If they missed that, I would have so taunted them about it. I’m glad they decided to stow away with the wasp; though. I already had quite a few plans for where that path will lead them. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Chronicles of Mesion: Considering Hiatus; Comments Needed.
Top