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Message: <blockquote data-quote="LordVyreth" data-source="post: 2065390" data-attributes="member: 9626">The Semiplanar Rift: The First Two ChallengesWhen the party finally landed, they were in a new realm entirely.  They were standing on a massive plateau.  It was impossible to tell how tall it was, because they appeared to be in the middle of a storm and nothing but clouds could be seen in any direction.  As they were examining their immediate surroundings, however, a massive storm cloud separated from the general strata 200 feet away and charged at the plateau and the party at high speed!  The party quickly realized that either the cloud was hiding the first challenge or the cloud itself was the challenge and moved to intercept it.    Danae was the first to react.  She fired a massive fireball at the cloud, and it seemed to be effective.  However, when Robin followed through with a volley of arrows, about half of them passed through the cloud harmlessly!  Realizing the danger this cloud posed, he ordered his animal companion, a raptor named Rex, to go into hiding.  Tal fired his own magic into the cloud, but it too seemingly had no effect.  Before the others could react, the cloud had floated into the middle of the plateau and attacked!    The cloud, which was later discovered to be a creature called a Thunder Worm, initially attacked by generating a massive thunderbolt within its body, then releasing it outward in a shockwave of sonic energy and electricity.  This attack alone was enough to nearly kill half the party, with Xalem and Theaven in particular being heavily injured by the blast.  Theaven retreated a bit to begin healing, while Xalem focused on healing the others to the point where he was neglecting his own health.      After the initial thunderclap, the party set upon the cloud from all sides, but while the fight was simple, it was brutal.  The cloud itself was nearly impossible to dissipate, especially since only half of everything done to it even seemed to affect it.  Meanwhile, the cloud moved among the party, engulfing them inside its body and pummeling them with lesser strikes of lightning and sonic booms.  Finally, they nearly finished it, but as they were ready to finish it, it began to charge a second thunderclap!  The party looked at each other with panic in their eyes.  Between Xalem’s original injuries, which still remained untreated, and the damage the others took since the start of the fight, it was unlikely they would survive another blast of this source.  As the creature was nearly ready to fire, salvation seemed to come from the most unlikely of sources: Rex.  Though ordered to hide, it instead chose to try and save its master, and leapt onto the cloud.  However, it leapt right through it, with none of its attacks connecting!  Just as all hope seemed lost, however, Xalem shocked the entire party by attacking the creature!  The holy energy he rained down on the creature was enough to finally stop it.  As they looked at Xalem, he looked a little embarrassed but said, “Don’t worry, it was non-lethal damage.  I couldn’t let it hurt you farther, but there was no reason to kill it.”    “Is that so?” Theaven asked, as he finished the unconscious creature off with one blow!  As the creature died, the plateau and clouds seemed to disappear, and the party returned to the desert they disappeared from.    “Why did you do that?” Xalem shouted.  “It could do no further harm to us!”    “We had no choice!” Theaven responded.  “Didn’t you notice that we escaped that place only after I killed the beast?  It was obvious that the challenge wouldn’t be over while that creature still lived.  Besides, it was just a test spawned by the Rift.  It was probably purely artificial, and the Rift could easily revive it or make another.”    “That’s not the point,” Xalem protested.  “My friends respect my wish to avoid killing the harmless.  They wouldn’t have killed the creature so quickly and with so little thought and remorse.”    “Well, don’t consider me your friend, then,” Theaven replied.  “I’m only here with you so we can mutually escape this death trap.  After that, I don’t know what I’ll do.”    The discussion, at least for now, was over, and the party decided to return to the hallway and rest, despite the risks resting brings in this place.  After another set of dreams and some navigating through the rooms of the Rift to reunite, the party planned their next move.    Also, Bath noticed something interesting.  “I think that Solar is starting to heal!” she said, pointing at their new, mostly incoherent friend.  And indeed, the effects of the tavern appeared to be wearing off.  He was still unable to talk or act on his own, but there was a little more surety in his steps, a little more intelligence behind his eyes.    Xalem pondered this.  “You know, I think I can magically speed his healing process.  He might be able to explain who he is and why he’s here.”  After the others agreed, he used magic to restore the Solar’s mind and soul.    The effect was immediate.  The Solar suddenly looked around with clarity in his eyes, and instantly the realization of what he did struck him.  “Oh, what have I done?” he asked.  “Who knows how many years I wasted in that trap?”    Quercus, sensing something familiar about him, asked, “Excuse me, sir?  We were wondering who you are and what you were doing here.”    The Solar sighed and said, “Well, you seem to be the ones responsible for saving me.  I suppose I owe you at least some answers in exchange.  My name is Galatron.  Years ago, I first came to this plane with the woman I loved.  She was a servant of an evil goddess, a humanoid tainted by her demonic nature, but she revolted with my guidance.  She chose to live a life of peace and benevolence, and I was granted leave to be with her.  We soon began a family.  Our daughter was a beautiful creature, but she possessed both my divine nature and the demonic powers of her mother.  Still, we did our best to raise her to be a good creature, until the…incident.”  With that, the Solar choked back a sob.  It was obvious, even years later, that remembering this hurt him.      Quercus, however, was starting to realize who this was.  “Your daughter, would she be named Shekuldellstra?”    Galatron looked surprised and nodded.  “Why, yes she is.  Have you heard of her?  Please, tell me what happened to her!”    But Quercus shook his head.  “First, tell me the rest of your story.  What happened after the…incident?  And don’t worry about explaining it in detail; I think I know what happened, though we don’t know what evil caused it.”    Galatron replied, “Sadly, neither do I.  The attack just came out of no where.  One moment, we were a happy family, and the next…well, you said you knew.  After my wife died, I felt like I had little reason to remain on this world, but I felt I had to do something to help the world after living in it for so long.  I decided to create another half-celestial child to one day become a leader in the world, and possibly to one day oppose my daughter if she turned evil without our guidance.  However, the plan was a failure.  Not only did the elven woman who agreed to bear my child die during childbirth, but my son, Quercus, was a stillborn.  He too was dead.  After this second tragedy, I couldn’t bear to remain on this plane any longer.  I fled, but was caught in this trap when I left.  I have been here ever since.”    Quercus, shocked to hear about his own history and that he should apparently be dead, was about to speak up and tell his dad the truth when Danae put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head.  She turned to the Solar and said, “Galatron, we should get going to complete the second challenge.  There’s something that I need to speak with…my associate about, but he’ll return here after I am done.  Can you and Zethar wait for us here?”    Galatron nodded, and the group left the hallway they had regrouped in.  “What was that about?” Quercus demanded.  “Why won’t you let me tell him that I am his son?”    “You can if you want, but before you do, we should try to figure out why he thought you were dead.  I believe that your very existence, and perhaps that of the rest of us,” she said, as she indicated herself, Tal, and Robin, but not Theaven, Xalem, or Bath, “is owed directly to our mysterious guide.”    “Lady Memory?” Quercus guessed, and Danae nodded.    “I believe that somehow, she altered reality so that we lived, and made it seem to the rest of the world that we always were alive.  However, I suspect that before that dream we all had years ago, we didn’t really exist.  That’s why your father still remembers you being dead.  He wasn’t on this plane of existence when we came into being, so he wouldn’t have been affected by the memory modifications.”    “But what should I do?  I can’t just lie to my father now that I found him!”    “Tell him what you want.” Danae said.  “I just wanted you to be aware of the situation before you said anything.   To be honest, I don’t really know what to think about any of this.  Once all of this is finally over, I expect to spend a long time figuring it out, but surviving this place is our first objective.  If you want, you can return to your father and Zethar now.  We have to figure out the second riddle.”    After staring at the riddle for a while, Tal nodded and said, “I think I got it.  The world of those trapped by bliss is obviously the tavern, so we have to go there, and then walk towards the first hallway we entered from the room with the puzzle.  From there, we probably have to go that world with the demon penguin things, since I think they’re the loyal fools, especially with that doomed to die thing.  From there, we turn left, and go as far as we can, which leads us to that ruined city with the acid ocean.  If we say the words there, we should be fine.”    After a brief discussion, the others agreed, and the party began the now-routine task of wandering the worlds.  As expected by now, they reached the acid world with ease, and after uttering the words “The beating heart of those who live have an offering,” they were again pulled out of the world and into a new battlefield.    It was a ruined city, much like the one the acid oceans had overrun, but this one was dry and the remains of the buildings were more solid.  Once again, the threat arrived just as the party was getting its bearings, but this one could be heard before it could be seen.  Footsteps like earthquakes reverberated all around them, until a creature the size one of the ruined buildings stepped out from behind a particularly large pile of debris.  It looked vaguely like a typical Chimera, but it was at least ten times its size and was far more powerful looking.  The lion’s eyes glowed red, as if lit with an internal fire, and acid constantly dripped from the dragon head.  As the party members came into view, all three heads turned to watch them, and with a deafening triple roar, it charged right at them!    Robin was quick to react.  Afraid to get anywhere near such a massive creature, he began to pepper it with arrows, but when Tal tried to follow through with a magical ray, it harmlessly dissipated when up against its field of resistance.  As he tried to figure out what to do about this, a more courageous (and reckless) Bath happily flew up closer to engage the creature in melee, only to be crushed in the massive jaws of the lion head.  Her angelic might kept her alive and relatively strong after the bite, but she wasn’t prepared when the creature then spit her out, sending her flying to the ground some thirty feet away.  Clearly, she realized, closing with this creature will be harder than she expected.      Danae, Xalem, and Theaven meanwhile prepared to assist the party with magic.  Danae’s own offensive spells managed to get through much more easily, but it was still not nearly enough to stop the creature.  Xalem meanwhile began to prepare defensive magic to aid the party while Theaven noticed the dark and overcast sky, and prepared to emulate the last challenge by creating a lightning storm.  However, as they prepared their attacks, the creature was ready to fight back.  It first tried keeping its distance as well, and instead fired the fiery eye rays the lion head possessed at Bath and Robin.  Both were partially immolated by the powerful rays, but neither attack proved lethal.    As Robin resumed firing at the beast, Tal had an idea.  He recently gained a spell that let him partially break down the magical resistance of creatures, and used it to make the creature accessible to his magic more often.  Theaven took advantage of this by firing the first of many lightning bolts at the creature, but Danae was getting a little nervous about how close the creature was getting and erected a prismatic sphere to protect herself.  Bath tried getting close again, but again was forced back by the creature’s blows.  After so many injuries, she chose to heal herself and figure out a new plan.    Meanwhile, the beast was again closer, and this time it breathed a cone of acid at as much of the party as it could.  Once again, however, it wasn’t enough to fatally harm anyone, and Xalem was there to help.  This volley of distance attacks continued from both sides for a while, and the chimera managed to even throw its goat horns like a boomerang at one point!  Finally, though, Danae tired of this nonsense.  Realizing the creature was even dumber than most chimeras, it created a wall of force to block it in, and when Bath realized what Danae did, she smiled.  When the creature finally realized it was being blocked by an invisible wall and tried to find a way around it, Bath was waiting for it, and carefully squeezed in between the wall and the creature.    No longer able force Bath back, the chimera was forced to engage her directly in melee.  Even so, and despite Bath’s skin that blocked damage from all sources but the purest of evil, it was a fierce battle.  As hard as Bath normally was to hit, to the massive creature’s two bites, goat’s horns, and paws, she was as fragile as a paper doll.  Her sword, on the other hand, was capable of doing just as much damage to the monster, and with healing from Xalem and magical and missile assistance from the rest of the party, it was finally brought down.  Again the party faced one of the Rift’s challenges, and again they returned victorious.  This next one, however, appeared to be different.  The riddle mentioned that they had to fill the last vessel before it could be used, yet the vessel was empty.  How could they finish this last challenge if they didn’t know how to even start it?    OOC Notes: Okay, I want to make something clear.  I didn’t see Buffy’s fifth season before I made this campaign.  That being said, I do admit there were a lot of coincidental similarities so far.  The whole Shekuldellstra thing was similar enough to Glory that one of my players commented on it, and now I’ve gone and made most of the PCs into Dawn.  It seemed so original when I first planned it.       Kari-Lasti-Null, the chimera challenge, came courtesy of the Kaiju template from an earlier Dragon magazine article.  To describe it simply, it’s the Godzilla template.  It’s very fun, and I highly recommend it if you have a high level party and the issue containing it.</blockquote>

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