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
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Cormyr: The Smile of Chauntea
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="MulhorandSage" data-source="post: 801123" data-attributes="member: 751"><p><strong>Spoilers for Pool of Radiance: Attack on Myth Drannor by Sean K. Reynolds</strong></p><p>(Continued from last correspondence)</p><p></p><p>I am reluctant to relate this part of the episode to you sister - for one thing, the previous portions of this tale has backed up the Stelosis to its limits, and I'm almost tempted to go to the end, rather than tell you what abomination I faced, and how close I came to brewing potions in the alchemy tables of Azuth's divine laboratory for the rest of time.</p><p></p><p>Still, even in the land of the living, my life was noSo here I stand, Ascarin Nevermoon, in the tomb of mad elf, drenched in swill water and my own sweat, my body scored in a score of scars which, while magically healed, had not yet lost their markings, and my robes tattered like a tapestry in a centuries old mansion full of moths and rats. All while Cormytes leered at me and my exposed skin, and mocked my "prissiness", as though I shared their barbarian credo to respect things worn and marred. It made me wish I knew a good plague spell.</p><p></p><p>With the tomb of Orbakh now defeated, we took the star rune from the wolf-elf's chest and proceeded back to the crypt of Rothilion the Judge. A large boulder lay in front of it, and Ulrick and Aron, both working like big Cormyte horses, sweating and snorting, attempted to budge it. After a few minutes of listening to them grunt like a pair of pit wrestlers, I tired of the sight, so I cast one of my last remaining spells - an invocation of levitation - and allow us to enter the tomb. It's a foolish expenditure of a spell, I know, but sometimes seeing certain expressions on otherwise smug faces justifies a little folly.</p><p></p><p>We enter the tomb, which is surprisingly well lit - Rothilion the Judge was not fond of darkness, even in death. The tomb is well constructed, stones fit with such cunning that belies dwarven work. And of course, what would any tomb be without the obligatory horde of skeletons rising out of alcoves to attack us?</p><p></p><p>From the moment we enter the tomb, Aron and Ulrick receive plenty of opportunity to exercise their swordarms. You know, why is it that we call the Cult of the Dragon "evil" for their fixation with the undead, but any time anyone goes into a so-called "good" tomb, you're up to your armpits in skeletons which are (of course) undead? A veritable feast for thought.</p><p></p><p>We slice our way through skeletons, a host of foot-tall terracotta elven soldiers come to life, then scour the ruins looking for finds. We find another page from the Book of Lathander on the body of a gnome (presumably a thief) who's impaled on a spear trap. Gingerly we remove the page (and the gnome) and continue onward, only to discover that Aron, bored with such bewildering concepts as party unity, staying close by to protect one's comrades, and the need to be careful in a place full of traps, has wandered off again. We notice he's missing when we hear his screams: he's gone into a room with a sword suspended from a glass pedestal and suspended in a beam of jet-blue flame; Aron stuck his hand into the flame to grasp the sword and was badly burned. What a surprise that was.</p><p></p><p>Aron rather liked the sword, but Ulrick was transfixed by it. I swear I've met Sembians less covetous than the oaf.</p><p></p><p>We complete our circuit of the level (including another drowned level that leaves me smelling like a sewer rat). We discover a library which includes Rothilion's journal and books of martial lore, but our major find is a glowing book, left in a hidden panel in a library - it's the Book of Lathander. Ulrick seems quite eager to read it, even though I warn him that godly lore must be approached with caution. (No, as much as I appreciate lore, I haven't forgotten what happened after our uncle Hesharron read the Cyrinishad -what a horrible mess <em>that</em> was!)</p><p></p><p>So now we have the book - the perfect time to be confronted by a Sammasterite War Party. They're at least courteous enough to thank us for opening the tomb and clearing out the dangers. We respond appropriately to such a display of good manners, with violence. Tymora favors us once again, and the Cultists are forced to retreat. Naturally Kord believes that no one should escape alive, but for once I'm inclined to agree with him, so we track the necromancer who led them. Kord is faster than any normal mage, so we finally corner him in the brush. Eventually Kord puts him in his place - six feet under, for if the wight-raising bastard's so enamored of death, let him experience it first hand. We wrest another rune key from him, the final missing page from the book, and a letter:</p><p></p><p>####</p><p></p><p>Nevessam,</p><p></p><p>You must break the seal on the crypt of Rothilion as soon as possible. The Weavers of the Purple grow anxious and I have been told by Mordrayn that the phylactery has arrived for the contingent ceremony. We shall soon have our hands on the items within the Crypt of Orbakh so we may include them in the immersion ritual. Take care little brother that you acquire the Rune of the Sun or Mordrayn and Pelendralaar will be displeased.</p><p></p><p>Oh, and by the way, I'm planning to put a pox on that pet Ryngoth treasures so much.</p><p></p><p>-- Shamoor</p><p></p><p>####</p><p></p><p>Ha! So it didn't like the badger. These necromancers have no appreciation for the simple things in life, or life in general for that matter.</p><p></p><p>Victorious, we return to Ulrick and Aron, and Ulrick restores the book to full form. But that's not enough - we haven't discovered Rothilion's crypt yet, so we return to the tomb. A pair of statues guard a great door. Naturally, Ulrick draws their attack, failing to notice that the door had a pair of short sword-sized impressions that could have been effortlessly unlocked by a pair of shortswords we'd found an hour earlier in one of the alcoves. After judicious application of our failing wands of curing, we proceed through the opening, We discover a large workshop, with numerous scattered notes on woodcraft and gemcutting. I make some quick notes from the gemcutting manuals, and we push ahead through the opening. We finally find the sarcophogus in an elaborate antechamber. Beautiful elven paintings, a stone figure of an elf holding a staff, a book, and a grey disk, normally they would elicit our complete attention, but we were rather distracted by a tentacle faced creature in purple robes that stood over the tomb.</p><p></p><p>Illithid! Illithid! Kill it quick!</p><p></p><p>The mind flayer looks at us, and the world shudders. I look back at Aron, and he's standing straight, almost lifeless, drooling. I throw a fireball and duck behind a corner, Ulrick charges, Kord notches his bow. The tentacles wave again, and suddenly my knees buckle, I find myself swallowing sweat (I must've lost ten pounds in this dungeon alone) and Kord screams, drops his bow, and runs like a mad thing as far from the illithid as possible. I hurl a fireball into the chamber, but the mind flayer resists it, and it has no impact on him whatsoever. I really must learn how to gird my spells.</p><p></p><p>Ulrick charges, flails at him furiously, but his blows glance off the abomination's sleek, amphibious hide. It suddenly raises its hands, mumbles an obscene incantation, and suddenly I'm awash in fire. My prayers of thanks to Azuth at surviving the attack are mixed with a new, terrifying realization: that's no illithid, it's an Alhoon, a mind flayer lich. I may as well have lit a candle in the sanctuary of Shar and cursed the darkness!</p><p></p><p>If Ulrick realizes what this thing really is, he doesn't show it; instead, he continues his futile battle. The Alhoon looks hard at Ulrick, and suddenly he finds himself unable to move. Finally, he turns to me, as there's no one left to defend me. With a sleek, impossibly swift motion, he rushes toward me - then runs past me, Aron, and heads for the exit. In what may be the wisest decision of my life, I do <em>not</em> try to stop him. Fortunately, it just wanted to escape. Good. Play with the cult. Have fun, little alhoon. If you play with the Sammasterites, you have my blessings.</p><p></p><p>So we regroup again, and wonder how the Alhoon came to be trapped in the tomb of Rothilion in the first place. I'm certain there must be a good reason, but that's a question I'll have to put to a good lorist on some occasion in the far future when I can actually catch my breath. In the meantime, we take an account of the treasures we discover. I take Rothilion's staff, a ring, and a pair of bracers. Another tomb has been cleared - but there's at least one more major tomb to be explored before nightfall, even if I'm still damnedably short of spell.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MulhorandSage, post: 801123, member: 751"] [b]Spoilers for Pool of Radiance: Attack on Myth Drannor by Sean K. Reynolds[/b] (Continued from last correspondence) I am reluctant to relate this part of the episode to you sister - for one thing, the previous portions of this tale has backed up the Stelosis to its limits, and I'm almost tempted to go to the end, rather than tell you what abomination I faced, and how close I came to brewing potions in the alchemy tables of Azuth's divine laboratory for the rest of time. Still, even in the land of the living, my life was noSo here I stand, Ascarin Nevermoon, in the tomb of mad elf, drenched in swill water and my own sweat, my body scored in a score of scars which, while magically healed, had not yet lost their markings, and my robes tattered like a tapestry in a centuries old mansion full of moths and rats. All while Cormytes leered at me and my exposed skin, and mocked my "prissiness", as though I shared their barbarian credo to respect things worn and marred. It made me wish I knew a good plague spell. With the tomb of Orbakh now defeated, we took the star rune from the wolf-elf's chest and proceeded back to the crypt of Rothilion the Judge. A large boulder lay in front of it, and Ulrick and Aron, both working like big Cormyte horses, sweating and snorting, attempted to budge it. After a few minutes of listening to them grunt like a pair of pit wrestlers, I tired of the sight, so I cast one of my last remaining spells - an invocation of levitation - and allow us to enter the tomb. It's a foolish expenditure of a spell, I know, but sometimes seeing certain expressions on otherwise smug faces justifies a little folly. We enter the tomb, which is surprisingly well lit - Rothilion the Judge was not fond of darkness, even in death. The tomb is well constructed, stones fit with such cunning that belies dwarven work. And of course, what would any tomb be without the obligatory horde of skeletons rising out of alcoves to attack us? From the moment we enter the tomb, Aron and Ulrick receive plenty of opportunity to exercise their swordarms. You know, why is it that we call the Cult of the Dragon "evil" for their fixation with the undead, but any time anyone goes into a so-called "good" tomb, you're up to your armpits in skeletons which are (of course) undead? A veritable feast for thought. We slice our way through skeletons, a host of foot-tall terracotta elven soldiers come to life, then scour the ruins looking for finds. We find another page from the Book of Lathander on the body of a gnome (presumably a thief) who's impaled on a spear trap. Gingerly we remove the page (and the gnome) and continue onward, only to discover that Aron, bored with such bewildering concepts as party unity, staying close by to protect one's comrades, and the need to be careful in a place full of traps, has wandered off again. We notice he's missing when we hear his screams: he's gone into a room with a sword suspended from a glass pedestal and suspended in a beam of jet-blue flame; Aron stuck his hand into the flame to grasp the sword and was badly burned. What a surprise that was. Aron rather liked the sword, but Ulrick was transfixed by it. I swear I've met Sembians less covetous than the oaf. We complete our circuit of the level (including another drowned level that leaves me smelling like a sewer rat). We discover a library which includes Rothilion's journal and books of martial lore, but our major find is a glowing book, left in a hidden panel in a library - it's the Book of Lathander. Ulrick seems quite eager to read it, even though I warn him that godly lore must be approached with caution. (No, as much as I appreciate lore, I haven't forgotten what happened after our uncle Hesharron read the Cyrinishad -what a horrible mess [i]that[/i] was!) So now we have the book - the perfect time to be confronted by a Sammasterite War Party. They're at least courteous enough to thank us for opening the tomb and clearing out the dangers. We respond appropriately to such a display of good manners, with violence. Tymora favors us once again, and the Cultists are forced to retreat. Naturally Kord believes that no one should escape alive, but for once I'm inclined to agree with him, so we track the necromancer who led them. Kord is faster than any normal mage, so we finally corner him in the brush. Eventually Kord puts him in his place - six feet under, for if the wight-raising bastard's so enamored of death, let him experience it first hand. We wrest another rune key from him, the final missing page from the book, and a letter: #### Nevessam, You must break the seal on the crypt of Rothilion as soon as possible. The Weavers of the Purple grow anxious and I have been told by Mordrayn that the phylactery has arrived for the contingent ceremony. We shall soon have our hands on the items within the Crypt of Orbakh so we may include them in the immersion ritual. Take care little brother that you acquire the Rune of the Sun or Mordrayn and Pelendralaar will be displeased. Oh, and by the way, I'm planning to put a pox on that pet Ryngoth treasures so much. -- Shamoor #### Ha! So it didn't like the badger. These necromancers have no appreciation for the simple things in life, or life in general for that matter. Victorious, we return to Ulrick and Aron, and Ulrick restores the book to full form. But that's not enough - we haven't discovered Rothilion's crypt yet, so we return to the tomb. A pair of statues guard a great door. Naturally, Ulrick draws their attack, failing to notice that the door had a pair of short sword-sized impressions that could have been effortlessly unlocked by a pair of shortswords we'd found an hour earlier in one of the alcoves. After judicious application of our failing wands of curing, we proceed through the opening, We discover a large workshop, with numerous scattered notes on woodcraft and gemcutting. I make some quick notes from the gemcutting manuals, and we push ahead through the opening. We finally find the sarcophogus in an elaborate antechamber. Beautiful elven paintings, a stone figure of an elf holding a staff, a book, and a grey disk, normally they would elicit our complete attention, but we were rather distracted by a tentacle faced creature in purple robes that stood over the tomb. Illithid! Illithid! Kill it quick! The mind flayer looks at us, and the world shudders. I look back at Aron, and he's standing straight, almost lifeless, drooling. I throw a fireball and duck behind a corner, Ulrick charges, Kord notches his bow. The tentacles wave again, and suddenly my knees buckle, I find myself swallowing sweat (I must've lost ten pounds in this dungeon alone) and Kord screams, drops his bow, and runs like a mad thing as far from the illithid as possible. I hurl a fireball into the chamber, but the mind flayer resists it, and it has no impact on him whatsoever. I really must learn how to gird my spells. Ulrick charges, flails at him furiously, but his blows glance off the abomination's sleek, amphibious hide. It suddenly raises its hands, mumbles an obscene incantation, and suddenly I'm awash in fire. My prayers of thanks to Azuth at surviving the attack are mixed with a new, terrifying realization: that's no illithid, it's an Alhoon, a mind flayer lich. I may as well have lit a candle in the sanctuary of Shar and cursed the darkness! If Ulrick realizes what this thing really is, he doesn't show it; instead, he continues his futile battle. The Alhoon looks hard at Ulrick, and suddenly he finds himself unable to move. Finally, he turns to me, as there's no one left to defend me. With a sleek, impossibly swift motion, he rushes toward me - then runs past me, Aron, and heads for the exit. In what may be the wisest decision of my life, I do [i]not[/i] try to stop him. Fortunately, it just wanted to escape. Good. Play with the cult. Have fun, little alhoon. If you play with the Sammasterites, you have my blessings. So we regroup again, and wonder how the Alhoon came to be trapped in the tomb of Rothilion in the first place. I'm certain there must be a good reason, but that's a question I'll have to put to a good lorist on some occasion in the far future when I can actually catch my breath. In the meantime, we take an account of the treasures we discover. I take Rothilion's staff, a ring, and a pair of bracers. Another tomb has been cleared - but there's at least one more major tomb to be explored before nightfall, even if I'm still damnedably short of spell. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Cormyr: The Smile of Chauntea
Top