13th session of Monte Cook's 3E Banewarrens campaign run with Shadow of the Demon Lord on Owlbear Rodeo.
Five player characters at Level 3:
- Dwarf Fighter/Warrior. Heir to a lost kingdom -- in this case, Dwarvenhearth, deep beneath Ptolus. His trinket is half of a treasure map.
- Elf Wizard/Magician. Outcast from elven lands, raised in Ptolus, keeper of a dark secret. His magical traditions are Arcana, Teleportation, Chaos, and Fey.
- Goblin Oracle/Magician. Responsible for the destruction of his tribe. Specialized in the Fire and Forbidden magic traditions.
- Changeling Spellbinder/Magician. Outcast by her "adopted family" and looking for her "sister"-- the child she replaced. Celestial and Battle traditions.
- Human Paladin/Priest. Cleric of Lothian, the core god of Ptolus. His magical traditions are Life, Theurgy, and Battle. His wife was murdered by undead and now he seeks answers.
In the previous session, the characters stole the Bane Key from the sinister House Vladaam. The changeling discovered that she had been been created by the Vladaams, who had swapped her for a human child -- her "sister" -- kept as a servant in their household. In fact, all the servants and guards of House Vladaam were abducted as children and replaced with changelings.
The session opened with the players meeting their contacts from the Church of Lothian at a safe house. They asked the Church to take the changeling's sister and keep her and her family safe from the Vladaams. There was a tearful goodbye.
The characters travelled back through the sewers to the Banewarrens. Rather than use the key to unlock the door leading deeper into the Banewarrens, they decided to spend more time exploring the Broken Seal area.
They used the key to open a magically sealed vault door. From the vault emerged three ghoul-like undead, their skin flayed from their bodies. The fight was brutal. The changeling went down fast, and the wizard followed in the next turn. The paladin was able to use his healing magic to get everyone back on their feet. Eventually all three undead were destroyed. The vault itself held nothing of value of interest. The players are beginning to wonder if all these locked doors in the Banewarrens are locked for a reason...
They then used the Bane Key to do what they had come here to do -- open the door leading into the Outer Vaults. They entered and began to explore. The Outer Vault entrance is riddled with traps around every corner. Fortunately the characters were cautious.
As a DM, I have never before run a large dungeon. I'm both nervous and excited to see how this plays. So far, so good. Really curious to see if Monte Cook keeps it interesting or if it will devolve into a slog. If the latter, I can cut whole sections out of the Banewarrens and shorten the campaign.
Soon it occurred to the players they had left the door to the Outer Vaults open behind them. They returned to the main door only to discover that their Bane Key opens doors -- but it cannot close them. For that they'll need a different key. Which means they have opened the way for their enemies to follow.
As that realization dawned, they heard another group approaching...
Next session: Pactlords of the Quaan!