IRON DM revival!

[Vaxalon]

Re: Re: need Tuerny to reply fast, and 'Runic' comments

About the ingredients, some of them were nice, but somehow "water table" doesn't exactly suggest "fantasy" in my mind. Woo, precipitation! Yeah!

One of the keys to my victories has always been interpreting troublesome ingredients creatively.

Let's take an ingredient that would be even MORE troublesome in your average fantasy game:

Subscription renewal

"Ugh!" you think, "Such a modern concept! Okay, well, in a particularly advanced city, they have a printing press, and colored inks, and they publish this magazine..."

Wrong idea.

First of all, I look at the word "Subscription." What does it mean? A subscript is a bit of text written below the line of a main element of text. Subscription could ALSO be the practice of writing lines below the main line of text in a book.

Now, "renewal"... starting to get ideas? I am.

Every hundred years, the Grand Holy Book of Rulsali comes up for editing. The monks bring it out to the high temple, and all the greatest scripture scholars come to decide what changes they are going to make. They debate, and decide, and eventually new lines are written below the existing lines, in a dozen or two very carefully selected places. This practice, known as "The Sub-scription," has allowed a very lawful and otherwise conservative church to make subtle changes through the years that have kept it a vital and meaningful force in the lives of its adherents. It is known as the "Festival of Renewal" and in the holy city of the high temple, the entire month is a celebration.

"Troublesome" ingredients are an opportunity, not a curse.

 

[Tuerny]

I am sorry I didn't respond. I was at a Halloween Party.

I will make sure those are up at 6 tommorow.

 

[seasong]

Tuerny... Awww, I was looking forward to six posts of the ingredients!

Vaxalon: Regarding story vs ingredient use. Check out my joke scenario. Slightly over halfway down the page. I'd be interested in your thoughts on it as regards this discussion.

edit: fixed hyperlink.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Re: Re: need Tuerny to reply fast, and 'Runic' comments

Tonight, though, I'm just going to read [pimping mode on]Wulf's Heroes of High Favor: Half-Orcs[/pimping mode], which came in the mail yesterday...

[cough]review[/cough]

 

[Vaxalon]

Vaxalon: Regarding story vs ingredient use. Check out my joke scenario. Slightly over halfway down the page. I'd be interested in your thoughts on it as regards this discussion.

Humor aside, that goes too far the other way; it's a good start but needs more flesh.

It's much closer to what I recall as being the norm in previous tournaments.

 

[Tuerny]

Ingredients

Here they are
You have until 6:00 tommorow to post your outlines for this, the final round of Iron DM before facing the current champion...Vaxalon....



Miniature keep
Potion of Glibness
Champion ogre fighters
Nostalgia
Tome of Hushed Rumors
Mindless Tentacle

 

[Rune]

Re: Wicht vs Rune

As incognito has requested an exposition for my last entry, I shall provide one. Keep in mind that this is not a challenge to incognito's judgement, nor a declaration that I believe his critique was wrong; while I would have critiqued it differently, I probably would still have awarded the round to Wicht. So...

Originally posted by incognito:
Onto Rune’s submission…whew!

Sorry about that. In an effort to compensate for some less-inspiring ingredients and Wicht's superior characterization, I pushed the word-count through the roof. Good thing I didn't have more time to work on it .

The “Things to do in a small town” section was well written, covering many of the ideas which DMs can sometimes forget to cover (DM: “Find the legends? Who thinks to do that!?”)

Actually, the funny thing is, that option was the last thing I added to the scenario before I submitted it! I do wonder if it should have been more brief, nevertheless, but it was probably the strongest part of my entry, so...no.

What did the Druid actually want from the Town in return for the Ritual?

And here, we come to my first outgoing plothook. I (possibly foolishly) didn't think that his actual motive was important enough to flesh out; it really could be anything the DM wants it to be for future adventures. There are several other places where I leave this kind of question unanswered. In a work that was already about three times longer than it should have been, I drew the line at stepping on the DM's toes.

Why do Prince Wurger and Lady Hals have levels of Rogue?

Prince Wurger and Lady Hals have levels in Rogue to hint that either they aren't as nice as the fairy-tales suggest, that the medallion twists the thoughts of the user, that they have lots of skill points to devote to diplomacy, bluff, intimidation, and the like, or that they are really good at flanking sneak-attacks. As a side-note, I played a little game with their names, as I often do with my NPCs, providing extra clues for very observant players. In this case, I used German words. "Wurger" is (almost--it lacks an umlaut) the German word for "strangler" and "Hals" is the word for "throat."

How is it possible that this Medallion has never been discovered by adults? (No method to this power is ever revealed. And in the ‘concluding thoughts section’, we even see that the medallion does function for adults).

Yes, it is:

Originally posted by Rune:
Part of the reason for this is that it has the unusual ability to avoid detection by any adult who is not specifically looking for it.

No records exist that indicate that an adult might ever have possessed the medallion; in all cases, the child in possession of the medallion has perished well before reaching maturity.

No adults have ever discovered the medallion because they haven't known to look for it. The (fairly blatant, I thought, but perhaps not) hint, here, is that the medallion prefers to prey on the thoughts and imagination of children.

Why are the Kobolds being noble by killing the boy? (This is even questioned by Rune, himself)

Didn't say they were being noble. That was simply their way of rationalizing their method of achieving the medallion. This is probably the time to bring up the issue of "nobility," however.

Perhaps it got lost in the length of the post, but, as I did with the "in the balance" theme in my last entry, I echoed the "noble sacrifice" theme thrice in this entry. In all three cases, however, there was something wrong with the idea. In the kobold's case, it is a flawed rationality that leads to the concept. In the case of Prince Wurger, it is just a lie. At the end, one of the options presented the players is to

...kill the boy, or convince him to kill himself...If the PCs attempt to convince the boy to kill himself (informing him, for instance, that it would be a noble sacrifice), they will have to be very persuasive, as Halel cannot make the connection between the fantasy people and the item.

Here, of course, the noble sacrifice would be on the part of the boy (for the lives of the villagers), but something is wrong with this sacrifice, as well, primarily that it isn't the best way to save the day. The means, here, don't make up for the end.

Why does Wurger tell the boy such a horrible story when he’s unlikely to understand the underlying meaning, as it is fairly adult, and it’s cruel in nature?

Because simply saying, "I will strangle you, if you don't give me that medallion" isn't that powerful a threat; the kid might not believe it would seriously be carried out. However, destroying the child's long-cherished belief in the goodness of the fairy-tale hero would have made the threat powerful enough to almost certainly be believed, which was necessary, because it, in fact, would not have been carried out. Of course, there's another level to this, as well. It hints to the possibilities that the medallion twists its creations towared evil, or that the fairy-tale, itself, was a lie. In either case, the Prince Wurger of the medallion is clearly not prone to nonviolent solutions.

I understand the nature of the medallion creating figments who desire nothing more than to take the medallion, but they can easily take it from him without bullying or killing him, so why do it?)

Can they? I don't remember implying that anywhere.

Finally, what happens if the figments get the Medallion? – seems like this is the likely outcome, given the medallions long past.

As I didn't think this was necessarily that likely, I thought I'd ultimately leave that decission up to the DM, but the hints point to the creations ceasing to exist.

Even If I have missed details in this story that answer one or more of these questions, I think they serve to illustrate a point. And that point is, the scope of this story is simply too large, too ambitious.

The ironic thing is, that's pretty much what did me in in the last tournament, too (it's ironic, because one would expect me to learn from my mistake, not embellish upon it).

It is not the length, per se, although that certainly contributes to it. The use of unique legends, the sub-plot: Druid’s water table (used to include the water table ingredient, of course),and the resolution of conflict between the villagers, Halel, the figments and the ongoing curse of the medallion, all combine to make a story that is an amazing read, but ultimately distracts the DM from running this scenario.

Alas, too true. These things were all intricately developed to compensate for Wicht's superior characterization. The Druid, though, accounted for three ingredients, not just the one. I will also note that he did have a very specific purpose; he was a red herring. Very important.

So, it is my ‘tough love’ decision to award this round to Wicht who seems to have the uncanny ability to cater to the DM masses.

Does that mean I'm really loved?

Congratulations are in order for BOTH contestants, however.

Danke sehr!

I have one final thing to say about my stylistic choices; it is clearly (as two tournaments have shown) a bad Iron DM tactic, but I tend to try to bury things deep in the text, where they will, hopefully, be overlooked at first. I like to think that anyone leasurely reading the scenario multiple times (in other words, Rune ) will pick up something new every time. This is why my submissions can easily become burdensome. It's a conceit, I know (and, hell, I might not even be doing it well, or right), but it's just one way I justify spending so much time and energy on the submissions when I don't actually have any time in my life. I suspect that other entrants have similar conceits.

Is that a lengthy enough exposition for a lengthy entry?

 

[Wicht]

The Arena of Garmo

This is a 3e adventure for characters of 10th level though it can be adjusted fairly easily for other levels, particularly the low ones. As it is set in a gladiatorial arena, it is quite possible for the adventure to feature numerous fights and action sequences, however the actual meat of the story is intended to be mystery and horror (in fact this adventure would do well as a mix of CoC and D&D). The city of Garno can easily be changed to fit any campaign world.

Synopsis: The PCs are made aware of something sinister at the local arena. Several strange deaths have occurred and the arena, on the surface devoted to law and justice, is possibly becoming a more sinister and evil place. One of the priests in the arena has been corrupted by occult readings and he plans on summoning forth a hideous entity. To do so he needs to discover the hiding place of an evil sacrificial dagger, a dagger that must then be used to shed the blood of ten stalwart men. The PCs learn of his plan and arrive to witness the beginning of the summoning, a summoning that occurs in the middle of a gladiatorial tournament. The PCs must stop him before it is too late.

Overview: The Arena of Garno is run by Lawful Neutral priests who serve a god of law and justice. The arena thus serves two functions, it provides entertainment and it gives a place to which hardened criminals can be sent. There are therefore also two types of gladiators who fight and die in the arena: entertainers who are treated well and make good money, and convicts who, when not fighting, are kept tightly locked up. The arena is a very profitable enterprise for the church and they want to keep it that way.

The head of the arena is an old and hardened priest, Agris Flint, who in ages past was a renown warrior of justice. Now he is old and filled with nostalgia for the glories of his past. This makes him often cold and short with others. Nothing modern seems as good to him as how things used to be. This grim man is served by four other priests and below them is a host of nearly a hundred guards, animal handlers, weapon masters, cooks and slaves. At any one time there are approximately twenty professional gladiators living in the arena and between fifty and a hundred prisoners. The arena was built to hold upwards of two hundred prisoners, so many of the arena cells naturally stand empty.

Targio Rendisti is a level 10 cleric who has been corrupted away from law and justice to the service of a god of chaos and destruction. Always an avid bibliophile, Targio had the misfortune of collecting three rather obscene manuscripts which warped his mind as he studied them. They are the Book of the Restless Dead, The Tome of Hushed Rumors and the Book of the Mindless Tentacle. His sanity gone, Targio pledged himself to the service of chaos and secretly renounced his god. Now he plans to bring chaos and ruin to the arena and then to the city of Garno.

The Book of the Mindless Tentacle contains an evil ritual which will bring forth a great demon of destruction and chaos. Targio plans on unleashing this demon upon the arena. To complete the ritual he needs a special dagger. This dagger has been lost for many years. However a study of the Tome of Hushed Rumors has convinced him that it was his own former church which hid away the evil dagger and in fact it is likely in possession of his own superior, Agris Flint. But he needs to find out where the dagger is.

The dagger is hidden in a magical storage box shaped like a miniature keep. The keep itself is the storage area for several cursed and evil relics, of which the dagger is only one. Agris, as the keeper of this prison for evil magic has taken the extra precaution of placing the keep in a glass ball filled with water and fake snow. Thus a prison for evil magic is disguised as a simple knick-knack, one which Agris keeps near him.

Hooks: There are at least three ways for the PCs to become involved in the events of this story.
1) The PCs are hired by Agris, or even by his superiors, to find out who is behind the mysterious disappearances and deaths plaguing the arena of late. Divination has failed to reveal a name and there is a suspicion of something sinister afoot.

2) The PCs are tempted by an offer of a great deal of money to participate in the soon to be held Grand Tournament of Justice. They arrive early at the arena and become enmeshed in the events and people

3) The PCs (or one of them) are found guilty of a crime and are sentenced to serve for a time in the arena. They are notified that the winner of the Grand Tournament of Justice is promised his freedom.

Atmosphere: The atmosphere in the arena should be one of cold justice, grim men and a certain sense of impending doom. Of all the priests, Targio seems the most likeable and Agris seems the most callous. The gladiators are hard and feel the certainty of their own deaths. They have little time for the problems of others. The workers around the arena recall better days and feel like the arena is slowly dying. Some of them hope the coming Grand Tournament of Justice will help revive things but many doubt it.

A chain of events: When the PCs arrive at the arena, Targio is already well on his way to achieving his desires. He is an avid potion maker and has used potions of glibness to escape the detection of his superior’s detect lies spell. He is slowly torturing and killing those whom he thinks might know the location of the dagger. In the meantime he is preparing certain individuals to help him complete his ritual. Besides a small group of cult members, Targio has also recruited a group of ogre fighters who are powerful gladiators. They do not know of his plot but they are key to him achieving it.

Targio will discover the location of the dagger twelve hours before the Tournament starts. Agris himself will accidentally let it slip at a meal. A few hours later Targio will have killed Agris and entered the magic keep. Retrieving the dagger, he will then give it to his ogre champions, telling them that it is magical and will help them win in the arena.

As soon as the ogres kill ten men with the dagger the ritual will have commenced. From a station high above the arena Targio will chant and wail and bring forth a horrible demon which will kill all in the arena.

This is how it will work unless the PCs interfere.

Encounters:
The DM should begin the adventure only a few days before the big tournament. The PCs should only just be beginning to learn who is who when things start happening. Furthermore, the DM can use matches in the arena to give the PCs a distraction (and down time).

Ordinary footwork and divination spells will reveal little except that there is something evil growing in the arena. A few cult members may attack the PCs, but they will die before speaking and even then they have never actually seen the face of their leader. They do however know that something big is about to happen at which the faithful will receive justice.

Targio’s own mechanisms will eventually give him away. A demon, a Zoyvut, burst out of Targio’s room and starts attacking people. It had been imprisoned by Targio and has managed to break free. A search of Targio’s room will reveal the evil tomes and many other foul secrets as well. There is a drawing of the sacrificial dagger on Targio’s desk. Unfortunately all this happens just as Targio has entered the keep.

When the PCs go to tell Agris (presuming this is their action), they find him dead, in his room, with smashed glass and water on the floor, the miniature keep from the globe on a desk. When the PCs figure out how to enter it, they will find that the keep is well guarded. Those guards, the ones who have some measure of intelligence, are pretty angry at how Targio had just lied to them and stole an item and they therefore attack on sight. In addition to these intelligent constructs, clay and stone golems patrol the halls, attacking any they see. The PCs must figure out methods of dealing with these many guards.

The PCs should be able to eventually discover that an evil knife was taken out of the keep. But even as they leave the keep the tournament is starting. Arriving at the arena, the PCs will see a fight between the ogres and a group of about twenty men. The men are doomed but the crowd is cheering and loving every minute of the fight. If the PCs can stop the ogres from killing ten people with the dagger (which they should recognize from the picture in Targio’s room) they will disrupt the ritual. If the ogres manage to kill ten people, tentacles will erupt from the arena floor and begin attacking people. These huge rubbery tentacles are mindless and will kill indiscriminately. Fighters and spectators alike will be attacked. They, however, are just a distraction. Walking on Air over the arena is a chanting, wailing Targio. If the PCs get distracted and fight the tentacles Targio will complete the ritual and bring forth a huge and unique demon of destruction. If the PCs get to this point they are in bad shape and will be witness to tremendous amounts of destruction.

Conclusion: Ideally the PCs get to the arena in time to stop the madman’s ritual from being completely finished. But if they do not stop the ritual and wisely flee, a subsequent adventure could easily be created around a search for a weapon with which to kill the huge demon of destruction. If they stop the ritual, any imprisoned PCs will have earned their freedom. Likewise if the PCs were hired, those hiring them will honor their obligations and richly reward the PCs for a job well done. Completion of the adventure will leave two loose ends – what to do with the books Targio owned and what to do with Argis’ magical keep.

Notes: This is an adventure that really needs to be better fleshed out with layers of intigue, subtle hints and a few maps to do it proper justice. Any DM wanting to use it is encouraged to spend the time to create a couple of foreshadowing events, one or two red herrings, a few meaningless gladiator matches and a more detailed overview of the magical keep. However I think the idea as is is fairly solid and should provide a fun outline for the right group.

 

[seasong]

Miniature keep
Potion of Glibness
Champion ogre fighters
Nostalgia
Tome of Hushed Rumors
Mindless Tentacle

A few preliminary notes: My use of nostalgia was somewhat subtle, so I'll just point it out here: Baron Malsteffan is a nostalgist for old marvels, Urgid's in particular. His nostalgia (and desire for same) is what drives him to take the fantastic risk of imprisoning the (rather dangerous) PCs, thus leading to the action part of the adventure.

Also, I wanted to edit this some more, but I've been sick with a sore throat and pounding head since yesterday, so I want to sleep more than I want to edit, and I'm posting this rather early. Anyway, I accept the responsibility for and consequences of my laziness .

The Baron's Toys (level scalable from ~7 to ~13)

Summary: The PCs stumble across The Most Dangerous Game, writ small.

Preparatory Tidbits

In the grand tradition of modules and scenarios everywhere, a pair of brand new nasties.

Special Spell: Shrink Person (Sor/Wiz 6)
This functions identically to shrink item, but the target is one Medium-sized or smaller creature per level (Large creatures count as two Mediums, Huge creatures can not be shrunk in this manner). Stats are otherwise the same as shrink item. This is the source spell for Urgid's Miniature Keep.

Special Spell: Black Tentacle Sigil (Sor/Wiz 3)
An unholy combination of Evard's Black Tentacles and Sepia Snake Sigil. It functions just like Sepia Snake Sigil, but when activated, a single Evard's Black Tentacle comes out of the scroll and grabs the closest person to the scroll (usually the reader). There is no save, but the tentacle must make a successful grappling attack. The tentacle lasts for an hour per level (in this scenario, it is cast at 10th level), but will only grapple the first target it latches on to.

Background

Urgid the Great was a mad old wizard who spent his life creating strange marvels of magic before dying, fifty years ago, at the hands of an experiment gone awry. This adventure focuses on a few of his more obscure marvels, and the aristocrat who acquired one of them.

It all began when the PCs acquired a musty pair of tomes in one of their many adventures elsewhere. Stitched into the leather binding of each is a single magical sigil: Remember on the first, and Forget on the second. Despite the dire sound of that, the books do not do anything to the reader, but merely present text in a steady, elegant script. The author is Urgid, of course, and the title page of each contains a dedication "To that forgetful old bastard, me."

Remember (subtitled Tome of Lost Thoughts on the inside page) contains short, one-line entries, each one a memory or passing thought from the reader's past. They are out of context, often obscure, and rarely useful... but very compelling to read. Although there is no magical effect, readers have been known to lose days of their life to reading through past memories and vignettes written in an elegant hand.

Forget (subtitled Tome of Hushed Rumors on the inside page) also contains short, one-line entries... but each one is a local rumor. Some are silly, like "Bridgette likes Brunweld", but others are important, or even sinister... The book does not check for accuracy, but simply faithfully transcribes the rumors.

Note: Some PCs simply are not curious, and won't take any time to read either of the books. Target the one who is curious, or make the first rumor they read valuable (possibly leading to an easy treasure that you don't mind giving them) or juicy. This will generally get them to check it every so often.

As the PCs are passing through a small barony, one of the rumors is written in red ink rather than black: "Baron Malsteffan has been kidnapping people and putting them in a gladiatorial dungeon for kicks". There is no further explanation, and the next entry on Baron Malsteffan is nearly three pages deeper, and in the normal black, saying "Baron Malsteffan drinks too much."

Note: The reason for the red ink is simple and reasonably innocent: Urgid enchanted the book to show red if the rumor involved him in some way... in this case, the "dungeon" is something he created.

Baron Malsteffan is a decadent, sadistic aristocrat who really shouldn't have the status he has, but he manages to keep his pleasures reasonably hidden, and he inherited a great deal of treasure from his father, so there's not usually much stopping him. As for his pleasures, Malsteffan only really likes three things: cruelty, alcohol, and antique toys of mechanical and magical nature. In the latter, he is a great collector of a number of things, and a subtle connoisseur of the works of Urgid, Daern, Whitefeather and other wizardly toymakers. His only true regret in life is that the best makers have passed away, preventing him from chaining them to a lab where they could produce such things for him forever.

He is not a particularly nice connoisseur.

One of his prizes, acquired only a year or two ago, is a 1/12th scale model keep, which measures almost twelve feet across, four feet deep, and two feet high. The gate at the front has "URGID'S KEEP" written in bold letters. It is accurate in every detail, and remarkably compelling. This alone would delight the Baron, but it has an additional property: when a certain password is spoken in its presence, anyone standing immediately in front of the keep shrinks to 1/12th scale themselves, and can then enter the keep normally. A second, different password unshrinks the person. A maximum of 12 people per day can be shrunk in this fashion, but there is no limit over time.

Our goodly Baron has, indeed, been kidnapping people and promising them freedom if they can acquire a scroll located on an alter in center of the keep. While that's basically a lie, he keeps a sizable stash of potions of glibness to help his victims swallow the story.

To defend the scroll, he has hired the services of a pair of champion ogrish fighters (scale to your party's power level) who stand guard over it. In return, he pays them a fair amount, lets them out on weekends, and provides 1/12th scales feasts and the occasional peasant girl. It's an easy life for them. He has also placed black tentacle sigils on important doorways, and the scroll itself has a black tentacle sigil cast on it, which Baron Malsteffan will renew when he needs to.

He has also stocked the dungeon with a number of other beasties, but nothing as powerful or intelligent as the ogres.

Action & Resolution

Going to the Authorities: Unfortunately, the only authorities above the Baron are also outside of the Baron's lands... and the rumor won't show up in the book while somewhere else. Plus, the book does not confirm rumors, it only repeats them. The PCs will need to acquire evidence, and plenty of it, which will probably mean visiting the Baron.

Oh Help Me Sir!: Peasants may approach the PCs to help them. They have dark suspicions about the Baron (which is why the rumor showed up), and will pay what they can to hire the PCs.

Visiting the Baron: The Baron is generally friendly with adventurers. Firstly, they have been known to bring him delightful treasures (and he would be very interested in either of Urgid's tomes). Secondly, they won't be missed if he adds them to his miniatures collection. If the latter seems probable (and if he finds out they have the tomes, or that they suspect him, it is), he will invite them to see his "marvelous collection of rare and unusual items". When he's showing them the keep, he'll shrink them, suck down a potion of glibness (disguised as a glass of wine, which he is known for), and then explain the "find the scroll and freedom" thing. Once they're in the keep, he'll arrange for the ogres to acquire the tomes from them.

While shrunk, everything that is also shrunk operates normally for the PCs, but interations with the larger world are more difficult. All damage is 1/12th normal (so a 6th level PC's fireball will do 1d3 damage to the Baron) and vice versa (a 1d2 stomp by the Baron is the equivalent of 6d4), all movement is converted from feet to inches (20 inch move for dwarves), and so on.

Getting out: The password to unshrink is "Urgid's Miniature Keep". This can be discovered by accident, the DM may leave hints in a keep library book, or the PCs may simply guess it based on the gate at the front of the keep. Regardless, anyone inside the keep is teleported out and then unshrunk - other PCs will not know that they were unshrunk immediately.

Baron Malsteffan: A reasonably powerful wizard in his own right, Malsteffan will present a reasonable fight, but will yield before he is killed. At that point, he would willingly sign a confession, then attempt to flee before the authorities come for him. If the PCs kill him (with or without a confession), they're going to be in trouble with the higher authorities - he's still an aristocrat, after all.

Information Spells: The Baron is paranoid enough to protect himself rather well. However, he has not really shielded the passwords of the miniature keep, so clever PCs may discover it in this manner. Discovering the truth about the Baron, however, is considerably more difficult.

Twists

More than my other scenarios, the hushed rumor aspect really begs for some additional twists to throw in:

Baron Malsteffan isn't what he seems, only more so: He could be an ogre magi, a necromancer using peasant bodies for his experiments, a 1/2 fiend, etc.

The real Baron Malsteffan: A sadistic doppleganger replaced the real Baron, and has twisted his innocent love of toys into something sinister. The real Baron is trapped in the keep, desparately hiding from the ogres. He's afraid to unshrink, because the doppleganger is waiting for him, but when the PCs find him, he's willing to unshrink with them (so he'll be defended).

"Champions": The ogre "champions" are as alcoholic as their employer. Peasants are all well and good, but they have no intention of fighting seasoned adventurers. Instead, they offer up the password to get out in return for a promise that they can loot the Baron's estate.

Ogre Games: Baron Malsteffan isn't responsible for any of it. In fact, the ogres moved in on their own, and he is completely unaware of their presence in his toy, or the fact that they've been sneaking out in the dead of night and kidnapping people for fun. In this instance, the ogres should be extremely tough to beat, but the good Baron will give the PCs both passwords right from the start, for a more traditional "in, out, in" dungeon crawl with the ogres at the end of it.

 

[seasong]

Wicht, nice scenario. Good luck to you .

I'm probably going to be zonked out on medicines until tomorrow, so:

If I lose: being zonked doesn't matter.
If I win and Vaxalon's ready to go: As long as the deadline is not before Sunday afternoon, I should be okay. But I'd prefer a day or two of rest, if I can get it.