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Planeswanderers (Magic multiverse setting; updated May 17)
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<blockquote data-quote="fissionessence" data-source="post: 4794696" data-attributes="member: 63357"><p><strong><span style="font-size: 15px">Part 1: Keep on the Æthark — Session 4</span></strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p>Along with Douven Staul, the characters return to Winterhaven. They go to his tall wizard tower, which is quite obvious, come to think of it. He tells them he has a lot of work to do. When they ask if he wants his package, he seems excited to be reminded of it, and asks them to leave it with his assistant. Indeed, they had seen his assistant sweeping as they entered.</p><p></p><p>The characters peruse Douven's library, and talk with his apprentice, but are unable to learn much of anything about the keep that Douven hadn't shared on the walk back. Whisper finds many books she finds intriguing, and decides to keep one that is rife with illustrations of the beach and ocean.</p><p></p><p>When they leave the the wizard's tower, the characters are assaulted by townsfolk who are concerned about the pillar of shadow that appeared over the keep just several hours before. They blame both the characters and the wizard, but the characters are able to give enough excuses to escape the mob, leaving the angry townspeople at the entrance to Douven's tower. They resolve to get a good night's rest at the inn, then head over to the keep in the morning; they are reluctant to concede to Ninaran's apparent plans for them, but they feel they are too tightly wound up in whatever's going on to ignore the keep and its foreboding shadows.</p><p></p><p>The characters wake and head toward the keep the next day. The directions are easy enough: simply follow the old road to the north-west. The keep doesn't seem to be fortified or even defensible from the outside, but this meshes with what they learned about it the day before. The keep's best defenses should be inside to protect against a demonic incursion through the portal. Despite the big intentions of those who built the keep to have an army to man it in the case of another demonic incursion, the players heard no word of any nearby armies that would come to help. Apparently the region has seen much change in the last one hundred years. It seems the heroes will be on their own.</p><p></p><p>When the characters arrive, they open the thick front door. They are greeted by several rat men like those they fought at the thrift shop wagon. The ratfolk seem happy to see them and ask if the characters are here to see Kalarel. After the characters awkwardly answer that yes, they are looking for Kalarel, the ratfolk nods and invites them to follow him.</p><p></p><p>The characters awkwardly follow, looking around at the old stone interior of the keep as they walk . . . and Whisper wanders slightly off course. However, they walk for no more than thirty seconds before one of the leading ratfolk spins, throwing some kind of blinding powder at Murgatroid. However, the catfolk seems entirely unphased by the powder. As the characters and a couple of the rats fight, a couple other rats are in a nearby room struggling to free a giant spider from its cage.</p><p></p><p>[For this encounter, I used Hobgoblin Guard Room from Keep on the Shadowfell pages 64-65. I replaced all the hobgoblins with four wererats, if I remember correctly, having gotten sick of minions by this point.]</p><p></p><p>Tars follows the rats into the room with the caged spider, trying to prevent them from freeing it. However, he is unsuccessful, and one of the rats final actions before death is to throw open the cage door. Nonetheless, the characters are able to soon defeat the remaining rats and the spider, even finding more vials of the blinding powder on the ratfolk who used it initially. It's decided that Grrda will be the one to carry these thievish tricks.</p><p></p><p>The characters head into the halls of the keep, which are suffuse with black mana emanating from the portal. While it's not eating away their flesh, it does render them almost completely unable to see, making their trek through these halls akin to wandering a labyrinth.</p><p></p><p>After an hour or so of twists and turns and heads bumping on unseen walls, the characters spot a glowing light in the distance. They approach it, and as they do, it moves away. They continue following, and it turns down a corridor. The characters follow down the corridor.</p><p></p><p>Will the characters continue t'o trust this wisp of light?</p><p></p><p> * * * * *</p><p></p><p>~ fissionessence</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="fissionessence, post: 4794696, member: 63357"] [B][SIZE=4]Part 1: Keep on the Æthark — Session 4[/SIZE] [/B] Along with Douven Staul, the characters return to Winterhaven. They go to his tall wizard tower, which is quite obvious, come to think of it. He tells them he has a lot of work to do. When they ask if he wants his package, he seems excited to be reminded of it, and asks them to leave it with his assistant. Indeed, they had seen his assistant sweeping as they entered. The characters peruse Douven's library, and talk with his apprentice, but are unable to learn much of anything about the keep that Douven hadn't shared on the walk back. Whisper finds many books she finds intriguing, and decides to keep one that is rife with illustrations of the beach and ocean. When they leave the the wizard's tower, the characters are assaulted by townsfolk who are concerned about the pillar of shadow that appeared over the keep just several hours before. They blame both the characters and the wizard, but the characters are able to give enough excuses to escape the mob, leaving the angry townspeople at the entrance to Douven's tower. They resolve to get a good night's rest at the inn, then head over to the keep in the morning; they are reluctant to concede to Ninaran's apparent plans for them, but they feel they are too tightly wound up in whatever's going on to ignore the keep and its foreboding shadows. The characters wake and head toward the keep the next day. The directions are easy enough: simply follow the old road to the north-west. The keep doesn't seem to be fortified or even defensible from the outside, but this meshes with what they learned about it the day before. The keep's best defenses should be inside to protect against a demonic incursion through the portal. Despite the big intentions of those who built the keep to have an army to man it in the case of another demonic incursion, the players heard no word of any nearby armies that would come to help. Apparently the region has seen much change in the last one hundred years. It seems the heroes will be on their own. When the characters arrive, they open the thick front door. They are greeted by several rat men like those they fought at the thrift shop wagon. The ratfolk seem happy to see them and ask if the characters are here to see Kalarel. After the characters awkwardly answer that yes, they are looking for Kalarel, the ratfolk nods and invites them to follow him. The characters awkwardly follow, looking around at the old stone interior of the keep as they walk . . . and Whisper wanders slightly off course. However, they walk for no more than thirty seconds before one of the leading ratfolk spins, throwing some kind of blinding powder at Murgatroid. However, the catfolk seems entirely unphased by the powder. As the characters and a couple of the rats fight, a couple other rats are in a nearby room struggling to free a giant spider from its cage. [For this encounter, I used Hobgoblin Guard Room from Keep on the Shadowfell pages 64-65. I replaced all the hobgoblins with four wererats, if I remember correctly, having gotten sick of minions by this point.] Tars follows the rats into the room with the caged spider, trying to prevent them from freeing it. However, he is unsuccessful, and one of the rats final actions before death is to throw open the cage door. Nonetheless, the characters are able to soon defeat the remaining rats and the spider, even finding more vials of the blinding powder on the ratfolk who used it initially. It's decided that Grrda will be the one to carry these thievish tricks. The characters head into the halls of the keep, which are suffuse with black mana emanating from the portal. While it's not eating away their flesh, it does render them almost completely unable to see, making their trek through these halls akin to wandering a labyrinth. After an hour or so of twists and turns and heads bumping on unseen walls, the characters spot a glowing light in the distance. They approach it, and as they do, it moves away. They continue following, and it turns down a corridor. The characters follow down the corridor. Will the characters continue t'o trust this wisp of light? * * * * * ~ fissionessence [/QUOTE]
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