NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 9651532" data-attributes="member: 508">ADVENTURE 95: QUALIFICATION TESTINGPC Roster: Alewyth Putterpye, dwarf priestess of Aerik 19             Thurloe Pulver, human fighter 3/wizard 3/spellsword 10/eldritch knight 3             Wakuren, half-orc cleric of Cal 9/paladin 10             Xandro Silverstrings, human bard 6/rogue 13             Zander Quilson, elf sorcerer 19Game Session Date: 26 April 2025 - - -"Well," said Pendlebrook.  "It's been a somewhat busy first day.  I understand you still have a need for sleep, so I will escort you to your quarters.  In the morning, when you've rested, I'll give you a tour of the various facilities here in the Forbidden Lands."He led the heroes to a small stone building set up like a barracks.  Two necropolitan fighters in heavy plate mail stood on either side of a wooden door with a padlock securing a chain that went through each door's handle; upon the lich's approach, one of them opened the padlock and removed the chain.  "I'll ask that you refrain from departing your quarters – it's for your own protection, really, as not all of our citizens are aware of your presence and they could very well treat you as intruders.  I will see you all in the morning, then.  Good night!"The five dreamwalkers entered the desolate building - it was pitch black inside, as there was no illumination; Xandro activated his goggles of the night and saw the main room held a set of six cots on each side of the room, each cot holding a folded blanket and a dust-covered pillow.  There was an open doorway in the back, leading to a small room containing only a table and six chairs, with a pair of latrines off to the side.  Wakuren and Alewyth, each blessed at birth with darkvision, likewise looked around their overnight quarters while Zander fished around in his pack for his everburning torch so he and Thurloe could see as well.  Behind them, the necropolitans closed the door and they could hear the chain being put back into place, followed by the telltale click of the padlock closing."Seems like they're pretty serious about us staying in here," observed Xandro."We can get out if we want to," pointed out Thurloe.  "You could all hop into the lamp and I could use my anklet of translocation to teleport to the other side of the outer wall.  Pendlebrook said the Forbidden Lands are shielded from teleportation and the like, but I'll bet that's only if you try teleporting in or out.""To what end?" asked Zander.  "Do we really want to go wandering around on our own, in a place we don't know, and where we all stick out like sore thumbs?""I like the part about going inside the lamp, though," said Alewyth, picking up a pillow and slapping it to get rid of what dust she could.  "This place needs a housekeeper - bad.""I'll bet they don't get a whole lot of living visitors," Wakuren surmised."So what's the plan?" asked Xandro, yawning.  "I'm ready for some shut-eye.  Are we sleeping out here or in the lamp?"  The group decided to sleep in the barracks provided for them, but did what they could to get rid of the dust covering the blankets and pillows.  Everyone picked a cot for the night, and while they decided it would be a good idea to set out a guard, they opted to pass that particular job off to Petey and the jade cooshee figurine of wondrous power Zander fished out of a pocket of his robes and activated.While the animals kept guard over their sleeping bodies, the five dreamwalkers met up in the Dreamlands.  "We need to see if anybody's heard from Andrea yet," suggested Thurloe.  They sent a moogle to go fetch Andrea's personal moogle guide, Maystra.  However, Maystra reported she hadn't met up with Andrea since the dreamwalking wizard had her discussion with the five heroes on the last night of her living existence, before she was going to have to undergo the ritual of lichdom.  "The undead don't dream, kupo," Maystra said sadly."Yeah, and neither do the regular dead," Thurloe added.  "It's a possibility she didn't survive."The next morning, Alewyth awoke and said her daily morning prayers, then cast a heroes' feast spell that provided breakfast for the five heroes and Zander's pseudodragon familiar.  Shortly after they had finished up - and Wakuren and Zander cast their daily spells (endure elements and mage armor, respectively) - they heard the chain being pulled from the front doors and the barracks were filled with sunlight streaming in from the building's exterior."Good morning!" greeted Pendlebrook.  "I trust you all slept well and have had something to eat?  Good, good - then I shall give you a quick tour of the Forbidden Lands, as promised."  The five heroes stepped out into the sunlight."Most of the Forbidden Lands are underground," the lich explained as the group walked away from the barracks, leaving the two necropolitan fighters to remain on guard duty.  "The vampires, of course, cannot abide the sunlight, and the liches and necropolitans have found it's easier to keep their various experiments safe and secure in an underground lab.  We won't see everything today, of course, but you'll see enough to understand exactly what it is we do here, and hopefully it will give you some ideas about your future with us."Pendlebrook led them towards a cave opening along the side of a sheer cliff, explaining there were several underground layers, each stacked one atop another, and there were a number of such subterranean structures, each some distance apart and occasionally linked by underground tunnels.  His plan was to show the group one such group of levels and had chosen the central one, for reasons which would soon become apparent.  "But here we are at the cave entrance, please, everyone step inside.  You'll find a tunnel winding downward in the back."Sure enough, a tunnel corkscrewed down to a lower level, the way getting darker with each step as the sunlight was left behind.  Pendlebrook waited patiently while Zander fished out his everburning torch so he could see."This first sublevel is a vampire nest," the lich said, waving a skeletal hand in the direction of a side cavern.  Inside, the group could see six wooden coffins scattered along the back walls of the cavern.  "Naturally, this being daytime, the vampires are all asleep within.  We won't disturb them, but I believe you got to meet a couple of them at the Reception Hall last evening.""We did indeed," confirmed Thurloe.  He'd had a nice little conversation with a very good-looking vampiress in a very tight-fitting dress, up until Gnoxos the Ossophile interrupted with his accusations."This is but one of several nests scattered on this level, closest to the surface for easy access.  The vampires serve as a security force," Pendlebrook explained.  "However, their inability to maneuver in sunlight makes them a somewhat limited resource.  I find it quite interesting that Akari saw fit to send you five to the Forbidden Lands just as our diviners discovered an impending threat to our undead community.""How do they survive?" asked Alewyth.  "They need blood, don't they?  There's nothing but five days of desert outside the sphinx colossus.""Five days traveling by foot," the lich corrected her.  "You will find vampires can fly rather swiftly in bat form.  And many of them rotate between their coffins here in the Forbidden Lands and others in the city of Spiraclast, where there is blood aplenty.  But come; if there are no further questions, let us go down to the next sublevel."A set of stairs carved at the end of a back tunnel led them to a lower level.  Pendlebrook walked past several doors in a lengthy passageway before opening one he'd apparently specifically targeted.  Entering through the door, the heroes saw a large, open room containing several separate work areas, some dedicated to gem-cutting, others to jewelry designs being sketched out on paper, and a well-stocked research library sat along the eastern section of the lab, in which several undead pored through various tomes.  One wizard was puzzling over a three-dimensional illusion he'd created, consisting of a pyramidal shape engulfing the top half of a sphere."Here we have one of our many shared labs, where teams of necropolitans work together to pool their knowledge as they work on their various projects," remarked Pendlebrook.  He pulled a technician aside.  "Pranevyll, perhaps you can explain what it is you're working on here?" he asked."Certainly," replied the necropolitan, holding up a large gem embedded in the middle of an ornate amulet.  "It's a soul receptacle.  Unlike liches, who each have a phylactery to contain their life-essence upon the death of their body, and which allows them to be 'reborn' in a sense, we necropolitans have no such 'backup' – slay us once, and we're dead forevermore.  We're attempting to create a gem that, when worn by a necropolitan, can temporarily 'hold' his slain life energy – hopefully, long enough for another to restore his undead body and 'feed' him back into it.  The results are slow going; we've managed to hold onto a slain necropolitan's essence upon his death, but it doesn't last anywhere near long enough for our purposes.  And, of course, it's also slow-going from a lack of test subjects; we're limited to undead familiars for the time being, although we're planning a night raid into Spiraclast to round up some living victims – prisoners awaiting execution – who will be put through the ritual to become necropolitans.  That may well give us the answers we seek."Pendlebrook held off on his comments about how necropolitans were merely those without the spellcraft knowledge and drive to become liches - useful in their way, but definitely a step below lichdom - until they were back in the passageway and well out of earshot.The next level down, Pendlebrook explained once they reach that level, contained the lich labs.  Unlike the necropolitans, who often pooled their resources and worked together in solving their problems, liches tended to be solitary creatures and did not, as a rule, like to be bothered.  As such, each lich was provided a full suite of numerous joining rooms, each dedicated to various pursuits.  With a potential eternity in which to continue their esoteric learnings, they tended to need a lot of space for their various projects.  "And thus," Pendlebrook apologized, "we won't actually be seeing any of their labs today.  But this level is where you will find them.""What about you?" asked Alewyth.  "Will we get to see your labs?""Perhaps another time," replied the lich.  "My lab is some distance away, in another 'stack' of levels.  But the reason I chose this stack is because of what's down on level four.  Shall we?"  And he led the group down another set of stone stairs leading even further underground."I promised Mother Bones I would take you to her temple," he explained as he led them down a passageway carved from the surrounding stone.  "She wishes you to see it."  A pair of wooden doors stood at the end of the passageway; when they got close enough, they could see each bore the symbol of Akari.  "These doors are never locked.  in fact, Mother Bones expects each member of the Forbidden Lands to pay their respects to our patron deity on a regular basis - and believe me, she keeps track of everyone's attendance."Pendlebrook opened the doors and ushered the heroes inside.  A short passageway, its walls covered with paintings of various forms of undead and the skull-symbol of Akari, opened up into the temple proper, where a nine-foot-tall statue of the God of Death and Undeath stood proudly, carved from a solid block of white marble.  Mother Bones stepped into view from one side, blocking their entry further into the temple."It is good that you have come," she said.  "I should hope you will find your way here on a regular basis once you have been granted the boon of undeath yourselves.  A more regular basis than those of some I could mention.""I'm here now, Mother," grumbled Pendlebrook.  "Be sure to note that in your ledger: I don't want to miss out on any credit I'm due."  Mother Bones managed to sniff in response, a quite handy trick for a being that no longer needed to breathe.  "Feel free to look around, and I will answer any questions you might have."Alewyth had questions, but she wasn't sure she wanted to ask them.  For a temple to a patron god, this was the smallest excuse of a temple she'd ever seen.  Where were the pews?  Where was the podium?  Did Mother Bones even give sermons here in the temple?  The whole place looked more like a personal shrine than anything else."I imagine undead do not need the comfort of seating," suggested Wakuren, indicating his thoughts were mirroring his fellow cleric's."Indeed not," agreed Pendlebrook.  "And we attend the temple at our own convenience, to bask in the glory of the Undead God and give Him our silent thanks for a continued immortal existence.  Mother Bones' quarters are there, around to the left, and in it you will find no physical comforts like a bed or a chair - one of the many benefits of an undead existence.""What's on this side?" asked Wakuren, peering around the corner to the right."A gallery of statues," replied Pendlebrook.  "See for yourself."  There were 11 statues in all, depicting famous historical undead, scenes from drow mythology, and one in particular that drew the half-orc's attention.  It was a carving of a male human being with arms upraised, while on either side of him knelt an orc and an elf.  The dead bodies of gnomes were scattered all around the three.Wakuren got closer and saw there was a caption carved into the base of the statue.  In Drow, it read: "BIRTH OF THE DEATHBORN.""Deathborn!" the half-orc exclaimed, looking down at the dead gnomes.  "So the disease that slew the surface gnomes caused them to rise up as undead, the deathborn?" he pondered."What?" queried Pendlebrook.  "No, no - the deathborn is the initial name we gave the humans when we first created them here in the Forbidden Lands.  They're a magical merging of orcs and elves - the latter being an offshoot of the drow race - born with a virus they constantly create in their bodies, and which is expelled with each breath.  The virus is deadly to gnomes, and led to the extinction of the accursed gnome race.""Accursed?  Why?" asked Alewyth."You don't know your history very well, do you, girl?" chided Pendlebrook.  "The dragons were the first to master spellcraft and sorcery, and they taught the arcane ways to the gnomes.  The gnomes, in turn, taught the drow the ways of magic.  But the gnomes were jealous of the speed with which the drow mastered the arcane arts, and they were aghast when the drow first experimented with becoming undead.  The gnomes had the temerity to forbid the drow from creating undead, claiming to do so was an abomination.  Great wars were fought over this viewpoint, and the undead were forced into hiding, in enclaves like the Forbidden Lands.  Creating the deathborn was one of the greatest feats of arcane manipulation ever accomplished - and it solved our little gnome problem for us practically overnight."Wakuren's mind reeled over what he'd learned.  He turned to Thurloe and Xandro.  "You two are both half-orcs," he said."Yeah?  And you're a three-quarters orc," replied Thurloe."The humans have many advantageous traits," continued Pendlebrook, deep in lecture mode and failing to notice the astonished reactions of his audience.  "They breed like rabbits, with a new generation every two decades or so.  And they can interbreed with both orcs and elves, expanding their numbers even faster.  Why, as I understand it, your Armaturia is predominantly a human land now, is that correct?  A few scant millennia ago it was filled primarily with elves, dwarves, orcs, and gnomes."Wakuren wanted to change the subject before their lich host noticed how troubled they were at the thought of casual gnome genocide.  "What's that door over there?" he asked, pointing to a closed wooden door to the left of the statue of Akari."That door is kept locked, and only Mother Bones can allow passage through it," Pendlebrook explained.  "It leads to the Conclave of Skulls, the leadership of the Forbidden Lands.  You'll get to meet the Conclave once you've passed on to undeath yourselves, but for now the door is off limits.  It's for your own best interests: any living being passing through that door is instantly slain."  The heroes filed that bit of information away, as it explained why Andrea Jandoval had been unable to figure out the planet-threatening plot the Conclave had come up with without becoming a lich herself.  But that still didn't explain why she hadn't contacted them in the week since she should have attained undeath.  Had she not survived the attempt?"We have another stop on our tour," announced Pendlebrook.  "Come along: this way."  He led them back the way they'd come, once again up to the third sublevel - where the liches had their suites - and into a small room with individual desks, each holding a jar of ink and a quill."Is this a classroom?" asked Zander."It is indeed," Pendlebrook answered.  "Please, each of you take a seat."  He passed out a sheet of parchment to each of the five.  "This is an official part of your induction into the Forbidden Lands; please answer each question truthfully, fully, and to the best of your abilities.  If you have any questions, I will remain here as your proctor and will do my best to answer them to your satisfaction.  But these are individual efforts, so there will be no talking as you complete your questionnaires.  Are there any questions before we begin?  No?  Then please, you may begin."  And the lich took position in the corner of the room, where he could watch as each of his charges filled out the answers to their questionnaires.On each parchment was written the following:Once each of the questionnaires had been finished and turned in, Pendlebrook gave them each a quick scan.  "This will make for some interesting reading, no doubt," he replied, focusing his attention primarily on the answers to question #7.  The heroes had each decided upon the following undead forms:"Very interesting, indeed," Pendlebrook repeated to himself. - - -I thought passing out the questionnaires would be a fun way to have the players spend some time in character, answering as their PCs would.  But did I ever miscalculate with my nephew Harry!  As I was passing out the sheets, he gave me a furious look."What?" I asked."I get tests like this at school!" he snarled at me.  "I don't need them when I'm playing D&D!"  I offered to just ask him the questions and I'd write down the answers myself (I think he just didn't want to spend all that time writing), but he waved me away and proceeded to answer each question with as few words as possible.  Not surprisingly, he was the first one done.Everyone leveled up to 20th at the end of this session. - - -T-shirt worn: The same "The Walking Dead" T-shirt as the previous adventure, as we played through both short adventures in the same game session.</blockquote>

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