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Message: <blockquote data-quote="THEMNGMNT" data-source="post: 8578037" data-attributes="member: 6809274">16th session of Monte Cook's 3E Banewarrens campaign run with Shadow of the Demon Lord on Owlbear Rodeo.Five player characters at Level 3:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Dwarf Fighter/Warrior. Heir to a lost kingdom. His trinket is half of a treasure map.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Elf Wizard/Magician. Outcast from elven lands, raised in Ptolus, keeper of a dark secret. His magical traditions are Arcana, Teleportation, Chaos, and Fey.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Goblin Oracle/Magician. Responsible for the destruction of his tribe. Specialized in the Fire and Forbidden magic traditions.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Changeling Spellbinder/Magician. Created by House Vladaam to replace a child they kidnapped and held in servitude. Naturally, she wants revenge. Celestial and Battle traditions.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">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.</li> </ul>This session was a blast. I'm having much more fun than I expected playing through a deathtrap dungeon crawl.The player characters are exploring the Outer Vaults. Last session ended with them discovering a cache of evil weapons. This session opened with them debating whether or not to use the weapons. I wanted the temptation to be real so I made the weapons overpowered. The dwarf fighter was the first to succumb -- he took a great axe that allows him to inflict the frightened condition on enemies. The goblin oracle fell next -- a rapier that gives him invisibility. Finally the changeling spellbinder -- a rapier that grants her the ability to heal herself. Each one gained a singled point of Corruption. Not a bad cost, right? What they don't know is that the Corruption will grow with each level they gain.Moving on, the PCs began to explore undiscovered sections of the Outer Vaults. They were greatly aided by a sprite summoned by the elf wizard. Essentially it acts as a familiar which can scout ahead. As a DM I find this incredibly annoying but it makes the players feel great. They uncovered signs of the Pactlord strike team that entered the Banewarrens not long after them -- sprung traps, dead bodies, and opened vault doors.Previously, the players had been stumped by a freezing trap that made it impossible to safely cross a hallway. Now they realized that the possessor of the Bane Key was immune to the cold. So they took turns attuning to the Key and crossing the hall.When the team was split in half the Pactlords struck. The Pactlords had lost several members to their explorations of the Vaults. Only the ogre, harpy, and a mongrelman archer remained. The PCs threw everything they had at them. With the help of their new magic weapons they were able to triumph with surprising ease. The players rejoiced.The PCs moved on, finding a section storing supplies for the ongoing construction of the Vault. Unfortunately, the dwarf fighter got himself trapped in a corridor that filled with poison gas. The elf wizard botched his lockpicking roll. The PCs used a combination of spells and force to open the door and free the fighter, but by the time they got to him he was unconscious and dying.And that's the moment they were ambushed by the leader of the original Pactlord strike team, lost in the Banewarrens for weeks.Next session: The Gorgon Strikes Back!</blockquote>

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