Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Raiders of the Overreach
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 7955786" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 15: RETURN TO THE SURFACE</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Cramer Appleknocker, gnome cleric 6</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Jhasspok, lizardman 3/barbarian 2/fighter 1</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Khari Hammerslammer, dwarf fighter 6</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Marlo Pendragon, human sorcerer 6</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Utred "Buckets" Butterflinger, dwarf barbarian 6</p><p></p><p>NPC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Eri'dia Jalamir, drow sorcerer 1</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 1 April 2020</p><p></p><p>- - -</p><p></p><p>The <em>slave-light torches</em> flared, spilling their purplish illumination throughout the slave quarters, indicating the beginning of morning in the drow city of Overreach. As one, the six slaves - for the drow princess Eri'dia Jalamir now numbered among their ranks - rose from their sleeping pallets and got ready for the day's activities. But unlike most days, today they were gathering up their gear for a surface world visit which would likely last for months.</p><p></p><p>"Could be this's th' last day we'll spend in this hellhole," observed Utred, buckling on his armor.</p><p></p><p>"You think?" asked Marlo.</p><p></p><p>"We'll be on the surface for months, likely," reminded the dwarven barbarian. "In three months' time, the armies of Overreach are gonna storm the surface world in an attempt to wipe out Greenvale. Good chance we'll still be topside by then - and who knows what'll happen during the war? Could be we never have to come back, afterwards."</p><p></p><p>"Could be we'll all be dead by then," added Cramer, in a black mood despite the possibility that he might never have to return to the Underdark. Part of his mood was the realization he'd made no strides in finding his fellow Fharlanghnian cleric, Honeycomb Buzzwort - taken in a drow raid from his surface village, the same as Cramer had been. While the little gnome would be glad to see Overreach behind him, he didn't like the thought of leaving Honeycomb behind.</p><p></p><p>"We'd best be off," Khari commented, stuffing the rest of his belongings into his backpack. "Don't wanna be late." As one, the six slaves exited their quarters and headed to the ceiling of the Great Cavern, where they departed the Jalamir Pillar - one of the Eight Great Pillars stretching from the ceiling to an anchor point in the waters of the bioluminescent sea below, each of which housed one of the Eight Noble Houses of Overreach - and met up with their guide, a member of House Ky'hulcressen sent to fetch them. Together, they made their way to the smallest of the eight pillars. As the Eighth House, Ky'hulcressen was relegated to the least-desirable of the Eight Great Pillars, the only one showing visible damage from a war between various Houses some centuries past; as the slaves approached, they could see the areas where the pillar's exterior had once been smashed through, threatening the overall structural support the pillar provided to hold off the weight of the crushing stone overhead. It had been hurriedly patched over in what at first might look like elaborately-carved sculptures but at closer examination proved to be the petrified bodies of slaves, placed into position as desired and then instantly transformed to stone, their bodies merging seamlessly into the rock of the column, itself formed by the merging of a massive stalactite and an equally-massive stalagmite. Each of the Eight Great Pillars had been tunneled into to create the dwellings of the Ruling Houses.</p><p></p><p>"Surprised we're not gathering at the meeting-house," observed Cramer to the guide. They'd been to the meeting-house twice now, once to meet with Niradi Ky'hulcressen to be given an assignment to rescue child slaves from a defeated minor House, and once to guard over a meeting between the leaders of Houses Ky'hulcressen and Jalamir, where they hammered out an alliance against House Bel'vior, whose Matron Mother had crowned herself the Mortal Queen of all drow and enforced a pogrom against the sunborn. "I figure we won't be using the Writhing Gate to get to the surface," added the gnome, "so I figured you'd have your escorts take us through the Plane of Shadows, like they did before."</p><p></p><p>"You're partially correct," replied the guide, ushering them inside the Ky'hulcressen Pillar. From the ceiling entrance, what began as a one-story flight of steps leading up turned into a flipping-around point when the top part of the pillar exited the permanent <em>reverse gravity</em> field all along the ceiling of the Great Cavern and the group suddenly found themselves walking down a flight of steps to the second level of the pillar, the topmost one that was actually right-side-up. "I hate this place," Marlo muttered to herself once again - it was a common refrain from the young sorcerer when dealing with the gravity-defying effects of the Overreach's highest levels.</p><p></p><p>A room on the second floor held the means of the slaves' passageway to the surface. "This is a permanent <em>shadow walk</em> portal," the guide explained. "It leads to a tunnel winding through the Plane of Shadow, which will get you to a similar portal in Greenvale in about ten minutes. Taking the long way, through the Underdark tunnels originally carved to the surface, would be a constantly uphill journey of several days. I assume you prefer the shorter method."</p><p></p><p>"Absolutely," agreed Utred.</p><p></p><p>"Then you need only step through the portal and follow the path. The path appears as a series of twinkling lights visible only to those who have passed through one of the portals. Stay on the path and you cannot get lost."</p><p></p><p>"Is it safe?" asked Marlo. "Are there any dangerous inhabitants on the Plane of Shadows we need to worry about?"</p><p></p><p>"In the century and a half the portals have been in use," the guide assured the sorceress, "we have never encountered any problems with any local denizens. It's a relatively short trek; you should have no problems."</p><p></p><p>"'Should have,'" echoed Marlo quietly to herself.</p><p></p><p>"One area of concern: a good section of the path takes you along the edge of a vast chasm; for your own safety, do not fall over the edge."</p><p></p><p>"How deep's the chasm?" Khari wanted to know.</p><p></p><p>"The Plane of Shadows is in constant flux," admitted the guide. "There's no way to know. It could be several hundred feet or it could be several miles. Best that you don't wander over the edge, in any case. Now, normally, one of us would accompany you on the trip and act as a guide, but given the current turmoil in the city, we're all busy trying to extract our sunborn agents before their discovery. So, if there are no additional questions, that pack is food for the topside visit - good luck and off you go!"</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok hefted the pack of foodstuff and peeked inside - it was all dried food: meat jerky and cheeses and mushroom flanks. He was glad he'd had the foresight of stocking up on the dried dung beetles he enjoyed as a snack although none of the others seemed to share his enthusiasm for the treat. As Eri'dia had no gear of her own to carry, he held it out for her to slip her arms into the straps.</p><p></p><p>"Am <em>I</em> to lug this around?" she complained - the status of slave was a new one to the haughty princess, one she was slow to grow into.</p><p></p><p>"You are if you expect to travel in our company," Cramer explained. "Every <em>slave</em> pulls his or her weight." He enjoyed emphasizing Eri'dia's new role. With a frown, the drow sorcerer slipped the pack onto her back, trying to shift it into a more comfortable position. It was easy to tell she was unused to even this level of lugging and toting.</p><p></p><p>"Shall we go?" asked Utred, stepping towards the open portal.</p><p></p><p>"Not so fast," replied Cramer, holding up an arm and uncoiling a length of silk rope. "If we're heading into the Plane of Shadows alongside a deep chasm, we'd be best off if we're tied together, each to the next in line. That way, if anybody falls over the edge, the others can help pull him back up."</p><p></p><p>"I'll be first in line," suggested Utred, taking one end of the rope and tying it around his waist, then handing it to Jhasspok. "You're next," he told the lizardfolk and helped him tie the rope around his own waist, leaving about an eight-foot distance between them. "Let's put Khari last, so we got a dwarf with darkvision in front and back," the barbarian suggested. With that in mind, it was Cramer next, followed by Eri'dia, Marlo, and Khari.</p><p></p><p>"Ready," Khari said once he had the end of the rope fastened around his own waist. In the meantime, as an added precaution, Marlo guzzled down the contents of a <em>potion of spider climb</em>.</p><p></p><p>"Ten minutes," Utred reminded everyone as they stepped through the portal into a world of darkness.</p><p></p><p>It wasn't absolute darkness, just a land of gray with inky-black shadows all around. It didn't take long before Marlo - followed shortly thereafter by Jhasspok and Cramer - activated her <em>slave-light cloak</em>, the light from the illusory flames being swallowed up almost immediately around her. The illumination didn't extend nearly as far as it would have under normal conditions, but it was a source of comfort nonetheless for those of the group without darkvision; Eri'dia and the dwarves could see just as well as normal even in the shadowy world of the murky plane.</p><p></p><p>"Path's easy enough to make out," observed Utred. Sure enough, there was a line of twinkling dots on the ground before them, as if someone had been by this way before sprinkling silvery glitter on the intended path.</p><p></p><p>After about three minutes of travel, the tunnel opened up into an impossibly wide cavern - one greater even than the Great Cavern housing the entire drow city of Overreach. The expected chasm was off to the left, as described, and Utred, peeking over the edge, couldn't see to the bottom despite his darkvision. He did, however, see a speck of golden light some distance away to the left and an unknowable distance below, likely on the bottom surface of the chasm.</p><p></p><p>The passageway got occasionally narrower and thicker as it wound its erratic way along the edge of the stone cavern. After about two minutes of walking with an unknown gulf off to their left, a shadowy figure approached from before Utred, just as another approached the group from behind. They darted out, either from behind a jut in the rock or from the very rock itself - it was hard to tell, given the speed with which the figures attacked. But in each case, a hand with long, narrow fingers ending in sharp claws struck out at the dwarves, the claws actually passing through their targets' bodies and draining them of a portion of their physical strength. "We're under attack!" called out Khari from the back of the rope line.</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok moved up alongside Utred's right, swinging his battleaxe at the shadowy figure before him, drawing the rope taut between himself and Cramer, the next in line behind him. The lizardfolk's weapon passed right through the black shape but it flinched as if it had taken some damage from the attack. Eri'dia, spinning about by Khari's warning, cast a <em>magic missile</em> spell at the shadow attacking the Hammerslammer dwarf, her red-streaked bolt of energy striking the undead thing without fail. Marlo, just behind the drow slave, spun and did likewise, her own <em>magic missile</em> spell resulting in three such bolts. The shadow flinched as each bolt of force energy bombarded its incorporeal body.</p><p></p><p>Utred, whose unsheathed <em>Elderwood flaming longsword</em> had been providing a little additional illumination for those who needed it behind him, swung his weapon into the undead shadow who had attacked him, growling to himself as he could feel the difference in this swing and those he'd performed numerous times in the past: the barbarian could tell his strength was not up to its full power. His blow seemed to affect the creature, though, which was what mattered most at the moment.</p><p></p><p>Cramer held the holy symbol of his god he wore about his neck and held it towards the undead shadow behind him, thinking that of all the slaves, Utred could best handle a shadow on his own for a bit. He channeled a burst of positive energy towards the rear of the line, sending the rear shadow fleeing across the open chasm in its attempt to maximize its distance from the gnome at its best speed.</p><p></p><p>Khari, no longer under attack, readied his warhammer in case anything else should approach. He faced the open chasm, expecting it to be the likely source of any reinforcements of these flying undead things should they suddenly appear.</p><p></p><p>The shadow in the front attacked Utred again but the dwarven barbarian dodged below the thing's outreaching claws. And then, before he could bring his own blade to bear, another swing from Jhasspok's battleaxe took the thing down, its incorporeal body dissipating into nothingness. Utred looked behind him, but nobody else was under attack. "Let's keep going," he called back to the others and led them further down the sparkling path.</p><p></p><p>This time, everyone was on the alert and thus saw the next group of shadows approach; as Khari had guessed, they rose up from the vast depths of the chasm, approaching closer once they'd attained the same level as the marching slaves. With the slack in the rope between him and Marlo, Khari advanced to the edge of the ledge, his warhammer ready to strike. The shadow on the left gave him a perfect opportunity as it advanced directly at him, claws held out to rend. But Khari's weapon passed harmlessly through the shadow's body as the shadow's claws passed through the dwarf's - not quite harmlessly, though, for the Hammerslammer clan fighter felt a chill pass through his body as more of his strength was drained away. Up at the front of the line, the other shadow did likewise to Utred, siphoning away more of the barbarian's strength.</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok swung his battleaxe at the shadow, missing it completely as he made sure his swing wouldn't strike Utred by accident. Utred's sword also swung and missed; the shadow was quick when it put a mind to it!</p><p></p><p>At the middle of the rope line, Eri'dia cast another red-toned <em>magic missile</em> at the shadow attacking Khari. Marlo again followed suit, but her triple-missile attack finished off the shadow and she watched in satisfaction as the undead thing's body was blown away like a cloud of dirt in a windstorm.</p><p></p><p>Cramer, unable to get much closer to the shadow attacking Utred without dragging the others behind him forward, cast a <em>bless</em> spell, confident that his placement in the center of the rope-line would allow the spell to affect all of his fellow slaves. It was a timely casting, too, for no sooner had he completed the spell than another ghostly figure rose up from the chasm and made a bee-line for Khari. Unlike the shadows, this one had a see-through body and carried a scythe, which it swung at the dwarven fighter. It proved its incorporeal nature when the weapon passed through Khari's stout body, but he felt it try to drain away not a measure of his strength, as the shadows had done, but a portion of his very life force, his vitality. Resisting the effect with gritted teeth, the dwarf's efforts paid off; with a roar of victory he lashed out with his hammer but missed his floating adversary.</p><p></p><p>The shadow up front passed its claws through Utred's body again and pulled away another portion of his strength; the <em>Elderwood flaming longsword</em> felt noticeably heavier in the barbarian's hands than normal. Jhasspok's battleaxe went passing harmlessly through the shadow's incorporeal body and the lizardfolk's reptilian face held an expression of puzzlement as he tried to figure out what he'd done differently this time than he'd done when striking the earlier shadow, which he'd managed to actually kill with this same weapon.</p><p></p><p>Eri'dia cast another <em>magic missile</em> spell, this time at the wraith attacking Khari. Marlo was unable to move much due to being tied off between Khari and the drow, and the dwarf had moved up to fight off the wraith, practically pulling the sorcerer up against the undead thing from the other side. Still, she cast another <em>magic missile</em> spell of her own, although at this range it meant the wraith had an opportunity to strike out at her - an opportunity it took, to full advantage. The <em>magic missile</em> spell hit the wraith, but at the same time Marlo felt some of her very life force, her vitality, being drained away.</p><p></p><p>Utred and Jhasspok once again attacked the shadow with no effect, their weapons passing harmlessly through its body. Cramer cast another spell upon himself, this time <em>magic circle against evil</em>, which he knew would aid all six of the slaves from his central position in the rope-line. But the wraith struck out at Khari again despite the extra protection of the gnome cleric's spell, and this time the incorporeal attack managed to pull away some of the dwarf's vitality. But for his part, Khari's counter-strike was likewise successful, the dwarven fighter's warhammer striking the wraith for as much damage at it might have done had the undead thing had a solid body; such was the unpredictability of dealing with incorporeal foes.</p><p></p><p>Eri'dia cast her final <em>magic missile</em> at the wraith and was somewhat put out that her attack failed to kill it. Marlo was forced to cast her own spell in tight quarters again, but this time she managed to gut through the wraith's vitality-draining attack and ward it off while her spell struck the undead thing for full damage. "Ha!" she cried aloud in triumph. "Take that!"</p><p></p><p>Utred swung again at the shadow and his blade passed harmlessly through it, but then he brought it back around in a second strike and this one not only managed to affect it but to actually finish it off. He looked to see how the others were faring and spotted the wraith for the first time, still up and about - and seemingly focused solely on Khari. <em>These buggers have a hate on for dwarves</em>, the barbarian mused to himself.</p><p></p><p>Cramer cast another spell, this time a <em>spiritual weapon</em> that caused a quarterstaff of pure force energy to appear over his head. With a mental order, he caused the force weapon to come crashing down at the wraith. The wraith got one final strike in, trying to siphon away more of the dwarf's life essence, but Khari not only resisted the effect but slew the wraith with a massive warhammer blow that caused the undead thing's body to blow away in a cloud of smoke.</p><p></p><p>"Everybody okay?" the gnome called out to the others. He deflected their calls for healing, assessing that what they needed now were <em>restoration</em> spells rather than mere <em>cure wounds</em> spells - and those he couldn't provide, at least not today. Instead, he wriggled out of the rope-line and cast a <em>fly</em> spell on himself, rising up above the others as Utred got them moving into a straight line again. Cramer figured his added elevation would help him spot advancing threats as they made their way along the path to Greenvale. But then, seeing the path ahead was wider than normal, Khari moved forward beside Utred, the two dwarves leading the way while the rope-line formed a "U" shape behind them, with Cramer floating overhead, low enough to still encompass everyone in his <em>magic circle against evil</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>Another wraithlike figure emerged from the rift - only this one was much larger than the one they'd just dispatched. Cramer recalled from his clerical schooling that there was a dread wraith much more powerful than the standard model; this was likely his first meeting with such a creature. The gnome's hand reached for his holy symbol of Fharlanghn, realizing the odds of him being able to turn such a powerful undead were likely nil. But fortunately for the gnome - and for the entire group, truth to tell - instead of attacking immediately it interrogated the group. "How did you do it?" it asked, its undead eyes flitting between the two dwarves. "How did you break the siege?"</p><p></p><p>The dumbfounded stares and looks of incomprehension it received in response forced it to ask a follow-on question. "Who leads your group?" it asked in a voice from the grave. All eyes turned at once to Eri'dia, currently the lowest of the six slaves but until yesterday one of the ruling member of the House the arena slaves all answered to.</p><p></p><p>"Then you are not from the Golden City," the dread wraith mused to itself. That phrase sparked a momentary recollection from somewhere deep within Khari's memories; the "Golden City" had once, he thought, referred to the dwarven city of Brunniir, now a lost kingdom of legend after having disappeared some 15 centuries hence. Perhaps, the Hammerslammer dwarf reasoned in his own slow, methodical way, that glimmer of light they'd seen in the deep chasm below was the current location of Brunniir. Perhaps the city had somehow been swept away into the Plane of Shadows, leaving behind only a mystery of its whereabouts and the means by which it had disappeared. He'd have to ask Cramer and Utred about it, once they had time to talk - for right now, he held his trusty warhammer at the ready in case they were going to have to fight off this even bigger wraith.</p><p></p><p>"Warn your masters," said the dread wraith, "as long as they do not aid the Golden City, they will be allowed to continue using the path they have made." Then he left the way he had come, having wasted enough time on this pointless distraction. Cramer allowed his holy symbol to drop back down onto his chest and he gave a sigh of relief at the undead thing's departure. Despite their recent experiences fighting off the undead forces, the little cleric seriously believed that would have been a fight they could not have won.</p><p></p><p>The party was further relieved when they passed through the portal to Greenvale a few minutes later without any further incident. They were met by sunborn drow, their hair a variety of colors - green, blue, red, purple, even lavender - and their expressions showing puzzlement and concern. "You are injured," noted a priestess of Eilistraee. "Were you attacked along the path?"</p><p></p><p>"We sure were!" groused Cramer. "We had been led to believe taking the path through the Plane of Shadows was a safe journey, yet we were attacked by undead several times!" Here the gnome had actually harbored feelings of goodwill toward the sunborn drow, but it seemed like even the dark elves of House Ky'hulcressen were nothing but a bunch of liars! While the slaves had <em>restoration</em> spells cast upon them by the concerned clerics, the head priestess explained as best she could.</p><p></p><p>"I imagine it was the cloaks you wore," she said. "We drow have walked the path on many occasions for a century and a half without incident. But we dark elves, even the sunborn, can see fine in perfect darkness; we do not bring sources of illumination with us. Your lights, feeble as they may have seemed to you, were likely beacons of illumination to the denizens of that shadowy world, telling them that intruders were about."</p><p></p><p>Khari explained his thoughts about Brunniir having been engulfed into the Plane of Shadows. "It makes sense," agreed Marlo. "And if it's under siege by an army of undead, that would explain why the wraiths and shadows were focused upon Khari and Utred!"</p><p></p><p>"I was wonderin' about that," Utred admitted.</p><p></p><p>The rest of the day was spent settling Eri'dia into her new life on the surface (including <em>disintegrating</em> her slave collar, a move which brought the drow princess great relief) and discussing plans of how to get the rest of the local kingdoms to aid Greenvale in the upcoming war against the Overreach drow armies. Cramer pulled out his battered and folded map of the local area they'd taken from the merchants they'd attacked during their first surface raid. The sunborn elves pointed out the locations of the home villages of both Cramer and Marlo, neither large enough to be documented on the map; the gnome's small village was part of the larger kingdom of Revin, while the sorceress hailed from one of the surviving villages of the kingdom to the north that had fallen to ongoing frost giant raids decades ago.</p><p></p><p>"We'll need help pulling the other kingdoms into an alliance," said one of their sunborn hosts. "You managed to get the Kingdom of Kravyrn on our side, but we'll need the support of other nations if we're to repel an invasion by Overreach."</p><p></p><p>"Where shall we begin?" Marlo asked, looking at the map.</p><p></p><p>"Here," suggested Cramer, stabbing a finger down at the Elderwood Forest.</p><p></p><p>"Elderwood?" scoffed Utred. "They're not likely gonna want to help us, not after we slew their infiltrators in Overreach, and then their hunting party in the forest."</p><p></p><p>"We're probably not high up on their list of favorite people," Cramer agreed, "but they already have a healthy hatred of the drow - the Overreach drow, that is," he amended, looking guiltily at their sunborn drow hosts, "and we can probably put that fanatical hatred to good use."</p><p></p><p>"Mebbe we'd best not be wearing these <em>slave-light cloaks</em> when we go meet with them," suggested Khari - no point in rubbing their noses in the fact that they'd taken the magic cloaks from the slain bodies of disguised Elderwood elf assassins during an attack on Niradi Ky'hulcressen and her Weaver master.</p><p></p><p>"Yes, a good point," agreed the gnome. "But perhaps in uniting against a shared foe, we can get the Elderwood elves to see the sunborn as allies, and not an evil threat like the Overreach drow."</p><p></p><p>Utred looked over the map, reveling in the fact he could now read the words printed on it - Marlo had been teaching him his letters. "From there, then, we can move in a clockwise direction, swinging by Revin next and trying to get their help, then Dracovania, and then the Fallen Kingdom. And that'll put us back close to Greenvale, hopefully before the big attack."</p><p></p><p>"Wait a minute," interrupted Marlo, pointing down at a body of water off to the eastern side of the Elderwood Forest. "Let's not forget the Lakewood Tribe of lizardfolk who make their camp here." She looked expectantly at Jhasspok. "We could try to gain their aid as well."</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok just frowned and shivered. "Let's not," he suggested.</p><p></p><p>"But they're your people!" the sorceress argued. She knew full well, as the lizardfolk fisher did not, that he was the son of the former chieftain of the tribe and that the Lakewood lizardfolk were his family.</p><p></p><p>"They're just...creepy," Jhasspok replied. He found the concept of a whole bunch of people who looked close-but-not-quite like him to be repulsive. "And, according to Khassek, they're a bunch of hunters who live in a swamp. Why would they want to help us fight off the drow? And would they be much of a help, a bunch of hunters and fishers with spears against drow fighters and clerics and sorcerers?"</p><p></p><p>"Not long ago, you were just a fisher," Marlo reminded him.</p><p></p><p>"But I have been trained in battle since then," Jhasspok replied, hefting his magic battleaxe. "And gained a powerful weapon. They have not."</p><p></p><p>Cramer saw the lizardfolk's point, if not his reluctance to see his own people. "Let's hold them off until last," he suggested. "We'll see if we can gain their help if we have time after getting the assistance of the larger kingdoms." It seemed a logical concession, despite Marlo's desire for Jhasspok not to be the only one of his kind among them. She worried he might be lonely. But Jhasspok wasn't lonely; he was, in his own mind, already among his "own kind" - "secret double slaves" of the drow.</p><p></p><p>"All right then," said Utred. "Tomorrow, we're off to the Elderwood Forest."</p><p></p><p>"Tomorrow it is," agreed Cramer.</p><p></p><p>- - -</p><p></p><p>This was, without a doubt, the shortest session we've ever run in this campaign - it lasted only about an hour. Logan had worried it could end up going rather quickly, but knowing he was throwing incorporeal enemies against us he honestly had no idea how the fight would play out. We inadvertently sped up the combats by rolling first to see whether our weapon strikes would even hit or not before we even made our d20 attack rolls; the way we do it is by rolling a d6 and saying, "Wouldn't it be <em>odd</em> if I missed?" Then, if the d6 ends up with an odd number, the attack would have passed harmlessly through the incorporeal undead even if the attack roll indicated it would have hit. I think we ended up saving a lot of time there with this method, because between the five of us players we rolled a <em>lot</em> of odd numbers (sometimes two at a time, for Utred and Khari now get two attacks per round) - it was starting to get very frustrating there at the end, when the three burly combat machines kept doing absolutely nothing of value while we waited for the two female spellcasters to kill the big scary undead for us with their <em>magic missiles</em>.</p><p></p><p>And Harry was getting a bit upset that the undead kept targeting his PC and Utred, but there turned out to be a good explanation for that, which retroactively made the situation a little better in his eyes. (Not a lot, mind you, but a little.)</p><p></p><p>And now we have a plan ahead for the next few sessions as we go from kingdom to kingdom trying to gain allies against the Overreach armies. Personally, I'm sure we haven't seen the last of the drow city; we still need to free Cramer's friend Honeycomb, for one thing, and if we're going to fight off a neothelid, that'll likely take place in the Underdark rather than on the surface. But I guess we'll just have to let events play out and see where they go.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 7955786, member: 508"] [B]ADVENTURE 15: RETURN TO THE SURFACE[/B] PC Roster: [INDENT]Cramer Appleknocker, gnome cleric 6[/INDENT] [INDENT] Jhasspok, lizardman 3/barbarian 2/fighter 1[/INDENT] [INDENT] Khari Hammerslammer, dwarf fighter 6[/INDENT] [INDENT] Marlo Pendragon, human sorcerer 6[/INDENT] [INDENT] Utred "Buckets" Butterflinger, dwarf barbarian 6[/INDENT] NPC Roster: [INDENT]Eri'dia Jalamir, drow sorcerer 1[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 1 April 2020 - - - The [I]slave-light torches[/I] flared, spilling their purplish illumination throughout the slave quarters, indicating the beginning of morning in the drow city of Overreach. As one, the six slaves - for the drow princess Eri'dia Jalamir now numbered among their ranks - rose from their sleeping pallets and got ready for the day's activities. But unlike most days, today they were gathering up their gear for a surface world visit which would likely last for months. "Could be this's th' last day we'll spend in this hellhole," observed Utred, buckling on his armor. "You think?" asked Marlo. "We'll be on the surface for months, likely," reminded the dwarven barbarian. "In three months' time, the armies of Overreach are gonna storm the surface world in an attempt to wipe out Greenvale. Good chance we'll still be topside by then - and who knows what'll happen during the war? Could be we never have to come back, afterwards." "Could be we'll all be dead by then," added Cramer, in a black mood despite the possibility that he might never have to return to the Underdark. Part of his mood was the realization he'd made no strides in finding his fellow Fharlanghnian cleric, Honeycomb Buzzwort - taken in a drow raid from his surface village, the same as Cramer had been. While the little gnome would be glad to see Overreach behind him, he didn't like the thought of leaving Honeycomb behind. "We'd best be off," Khari commented, stuffing the rest of his belongings into his backpack. "Don't wanna be late." As one, the six slaves exited their quarters and headed to the ceiling of the Great Cavern, where they departed the Jalamir Pillar - one of the Eight Great Pillars stretching from the ceiling to an anchor point in the waters of the bioluminescent sea below, each of which housed one of the Eight Noble Houses of Overreach - and met up with their guide, a member of House Ky'hulcressen sent to fetch them. Together, they made their way to the smallest of the eight pillars. As the Eighth House, Ky'hulcressen was relegated to the least-desirable of the Eight Great Pillars, the only one showing visible damage from a war between various Houses some centuries past; as the slaves approached, they could see the areas where the pillar's exterior had once been smashed through, threatening the overall structural support the pillar provided to hold off the weight of the crushing stone overhead. It had been hurriedly patched over in what at first might look like elaborately-carved sculptures but at closer examination proved to be the petrified bodies of slaves, placed into position as desired and then instantly transformed to stone, their bodies merging seamlessly into the rock of the column, itself formed by the merging of a massive stalactite and an equally-massive stalagmite. Each of the Eight Great Pillars had been tunneled into to create the dwellings of the Ruling Houses. "Surprised we're not gathering at the meeting-house," observed Cramer to the guide. They'd been to the meeting-house twice now, once to meet with Niradi Ky'hulcressen to be given an assignment to rescue child slaves from a defeated minor House, and once to guard over a meeting between the leaders of Houses Ky'hulcressen and Jalamir, where they hammered out an alliance against House Bel'vior, whose Matron Mother had crowned herself the Mortal Queen of all drow and enforced a pogrom against the sunborn. "I figure we won't be using the Writhing Gate to get to the surface," added the gnome, "so I figured you'd have your escorts take us through the Plane of Shadows, like they did before." "You're partially correct," replied the guide, ushering them inside the Ky'hulcressen Pillar. From the ceiling entrance, what began as a one-story flight of steps leading up turned into a flipping-around point when the top part of the pillar exited the permanent [I]reverse gravity[/I] field all along the ceiling of the Great Cavern and the group suddenly found themselves walking down a flight of steps to the second level of the pillar, the topmost one that was actually right-side-up. "I hate this place," Marlo muttered to herself once again - it was a common refrain from the young sorcerer when dealing with the gravity-defying effects of the Overreach's highest levels. A room on the second floor held the means of the slaves' passageway to the surface. "This is a permanent [I]shadow walk[/I] portal," the guide explained. "It leads to a tunnel winding through the Plane of Shadow, which will get you to a similar portal in Greenvale in about ten minutes. Taking the long way, through the Underdark tunnels originally carved to the surface, would be a constantly uphill journey of several days. I assume you prefer the shorter method." "Absolutely," agreed Utred. "Then you need only step through the portal and follow the path. The path appears as a series of twinkling lights visible only to those who have passed through one of the portals. Stay on the path and you cannot get lost." "Is it safe?" asked Marlo. "Are there any dangerous inhabitants on the Plane of Shadows we need to worry about?" "In the century and a half the portals have been in use," the guide assured the sorceress, "we have never encountered any problems with any local denizens. It's a relatively short trek; you should have no problems." "'Should have,'" echoed Marlo quietly to herself. "One area of concern: a good section of the path takes you along the edge of a vast chasm; for your own safety, do not fall over the edge." "How deep's the chasm?" Khari wanted to know. "The Plane of Shadows is in constant flux," admitted the guide. "There's no way to know. It could be several hundred feet or it could be several miles. Best that you don't wander over the edge, in any case. Now, normally, one of us would accompany you on the trip and act as a guide, but given the current turmoil in the city, we're all busy trying to extract our sunborn agents before their discovery. So, if there are no additional questions, that pack is food for the topside visit - good luck and off you go!" Jhasspok hefted the pack of foodstuff and peeked inside - it was all dried food: meat jerky and cheeses and mushroom flanks. He was glad he'd had the foresight of stocking up on the dried dung beetles he enjoyed as a snack although none of the others seemed to share his enthusiasm for the treat. As Eri'dia had no gear of her own to carry, he held it out for her to slip her arms into the straps. "Am [I]I[/I] to lug this around?" she complained - the status of slave was a new one to the haughty princess, one she was slow to grow into. "You are if you expect to travel in our company," Cramer explained. "Every [I]slave[/I] pulls his or her weight." He enjoyed emphasizing Eri'dia's new role. With a frown, the drow sorcerer slipped the pack onto her back, trying to shift it into a more comfortable position. It was easy to tell she was unused to even this level of lugging and toting. "Shall we go?" asked Utred, stepping towards the open portal. "Not so fast," replied Cramer, holding up an arm and uncoiling a length of silk rope. "If we're heading into the Plane of Shadows alongside a deep chasm, we'd be best off if we're tied together, each to the next in line. That way, if anybody falls over the edge, the others can help pull him back up." "I'll be first in line," suggested Utred, taking one end of the rope and tying it around his waist, then handing it to Jhasspok. "You're next," he told the lizardfolk and helped him tie the rope around his own waist, leaving about an eight-foot distance between them. "Let's put Khari last, so we got a dwarf with darkvision in front and back," the barbarian suggested. With that in mind, it was Cramer next, followed by Eri'dia, Marlo, and Khari. "Ready," Khari said once he had the end of the rope fastened around his own waist. In the meantime, as an added precaution, Marlo guzzled down the contents of a [I]potion of spider climb[/I]. "Ten minutes," Utred reminded everyone as they stepped through the portal into a world of darkness. It wasn't absolute darkness, just a land of gray with inky-black shadows all around. It didn't take long before Marlo - followed shortly thereafter by Jhasspok and Cramer - activated her [I]slave-light cloak[/I], the light from the illusory flames being swallowed up almost immediately around her. The illumination didn't extend nearly as far as it would have under normal conditions, but it was a source of comfort nonetheless for those of the group without darkvision; Eri'dia and the dwarves could see just as well as normal even in the shadowy world of the murky plane. "Path's easy enough to make out," observed Utred. Sure enough, there was a line of twinkling dots on the ground before them, as if someone had been by this way before sprinkling silvery glitter on the intended path. After about three minutes of travel, the tunnel opened up into an impossibly wide cavern - one greater even than the Great Cavern housing the entire drow city of Overreach. The expected chasm was off to the left, as described, and Utred, peeking over the edge, couldn't see to the bottom despite his darkvision. He did, however, see a speck of golden light some distance away to the left and an unknowable distance below, likely on the bottom surface of the chasm. The passageway got occasionally narrower and thicker as it wound its erratic way along the edge of the stone cavern. After about two minutes of walking with an unknown gulf off to their left, a shadowy figure approached from before Utred, just as another approached the group from behind. They darted out, either from behind a jut in the rock or from the very rock itself - it was hard to tell, given the speed with which the figures attacked. But in each case, a hand with long, narrow fingers ending in sharp claws struck out at the dwarves, the claws actually passing through their targets' bodies and draining them of a portion of their physical strength. "We're under attack!" called out Khari from the back of the rope line. Jhasspok moved up alongside Utred's right, swinging his battleaxe at the shadowy figure before him, drawing the rope taut between himself and Cramer, the next in line behind him. The lizardfolk's weapon passed right through the black shape but it flinched as if it had taken some damage from the attack. Eri'dia, spinning about by Khari's warning, cast a [I]magic missile[/I] spell at the shadow attacking the Hammerslammer dwarf, her red-streaked bolt of energy striking the undead thing without fail. Marlo, just behind the drow slave, spun and did likewise, her own [I]magic missile[/I] spell resulting in three such bolts. The shadow flinched as each bolt of force energy bombarded its incorporeal body. Utred, whose unsheathed [I]Elderwood flaming longsword[/I] had been providing a little additional illumination for those who needed it behind him, swung his weapon into the undead shadow who had attacked him, growling to himself as he could feel the difference in this swing and those he'd performed numerous times in the past: the barbarian could tell his strength was not up to its full power. His blow seemed to affect the creature, though, which was what mattered most at the moment. Cramer held the holy symbol of his god he wore about his neck and held it towards the undead shadow behind him, thinking that of all the slaves, Utred could best handle a shadow on his own for a bit. He channeled a burst of positive energy towards the rear of the line, sending the rear shadow fleeing across the open chasm in its attempt to maximize its distance from the gnome at its best speed. Khari, no longer under attack, readied his warhammer in case anything else should approach. He faced the open chasm, expecting it to be the likely source of any reinforcements of these flying undead things should they suddenly appear. The shadow in the front attacked Utred again but the dwarven barbarian dodged below the thing's outreaching claws. And then, before he could bring his own blade to bear, another swing from Jhasspok's battleaxe took the thing down, its incorporeal body dissipating into nothingness. Utred looked behind him, but nobody else was under attack. "Let's keep going," he called back to the others and led them further down the sparkling path. This time, everyone was on the alert and thus saw the next group of shadows approach; as Khari had guessed, they rose up from the vast depths of the chasm, approaching closer once they'd attained the same level as the marching slaves. With the slack in the rope between him and Marlo, Khari advanced to the edge of the ledge, his warhammer ready to strike. The shadow on the left gave him a perfect opportunity as it advanced directly at him, claws held out to rend. But Khari's weapon passed harmlessly through the shadow's body as the shadow's claws passed through the dwarf's - not quite harmlessly, though, for the Hammerslammer clan fighter felt a chill pass through his body as more of his strength was drained away. Up at the front of the line, the other shadow did likewise to Utred, siphoning away more of the barbarian's strength. Jhasspok swung his battleaxe at the shadow, missing it completely as he made sure his swing wouldn't strike Utred by accident. Utred's sword also swung and missed; the shadow was quick when it put a mind to it! At the middle of the rope line, Eri'dia cast another red-toned [I]magic missile[/I] at the shadow attacking Khari. Marlo again followed suit, but her triple-missile attack finished off the shadow and she watched in satisfaction as the undead thing's body was blown away like a cloud of dirt in a windstorm. Cramer, unable to get much closer to the shadow attacking Utred without dragging the others behind him forward, cast a [I]bless[/I] spell, confident that his placement in the center of the rope-line would allow the spell to affect all of his fellow slaves. It was a timely casting, too, for no sooner had he completed the spell than another ghostly figure rose up from the chasm and made a bee-line for Khari. Unlike the shadows, this one had a see-through body and carried a scythe, which it swung at the dwarven fighter. It proved its incorporeal nature when the weapon passed through Khari's stout body, but he felt it try to drain away not a measure of his strength, as the shadows had done, but a portion of his very life force, his vitality. Resisting the effect with gritted teeth, the dwarf's efforts paid off; with a roar of victory he lashed out with his hammer but missed his floating adversary. The shadow up front passed its claws through Utred's body again and pulled away another portion of his strength; the [I]Elderwood flaming longsword[/I] felt noticeably heavier in the barbarian's hands than normal. Jhasspok's battleaxe went passing harmlessly through the shadow's incorporeal body and the lizardfolk's reptilian face held an expression of puzzlement as he tried to figure out what he'd done differently this time than he'd done when striking the earlier shadow, which he'd managed to actually kill with this same weapon. Eri'dia cast another [I]magic missile[/I] spell, this time at the wraith attacking Khari. Marlo was unable to move much due to being tied off between Khari and the drow, and the dwarf had moved up to fight off the wraith, practically pulling the sorcerer up against the undead thing from the other side. Still, she cast another [I]magic missile[/I] spell of her own, although at this range it meant the wraith had an opportunity to strike out at her - an opportunity it took, to full advantage. The [I]magic missile[/I] spell hit the wraith, but at the same time Marlo felt some of her very life force, her vitality, being drained away. Utred and Jhasspok once again attacked the shadow with no effect, their weapons passing harmlessly through its body. Cramer cast another spell upon himself, this time [I]magic circle against evil[/I], which he knew would aid all six of the slaves from his central position in the rope-line. But the wraith struck out at Khari again despite the extra protection of the gnome cleric's spell, and this time the incorporeal attack managed to pull away some of the dwarf's vitality. But for his part, Khari's counter-strike was likewise successful, the dwarven fighter's warhammer striking the wraith for as much damage at it might have done had the undead thing had a solid body; such was the unpredictability of dealing with incorporeal foes. Eri'dia cast her final [I]magic missile[/I] at the wraith and was somewhat put out that her attack failed to kill it. Marlo was forced to cast her own spell in tight quarters again, but this time she managed to gut through the wraith's vitality-draining attack and ward it off while her spell struck the undead thing for full damage. "Ha!" she cried aloud in triumph. "Take that!" Utred swung again at the shadow and his blade passed harmlessly through it, but then he brought it back around in a second strike and this one not only managed to affect it but to actually finish it off. He looked to see how the others were faring and spotted the wraith for the first time, still up and about - and seemingly focused solely on Khari. [I]These buggers have a hate on for dwarves[/I], the barbarian mused to himself. Cramer cast another spell, this time a [I]spiritual weapon[/I] that caused a quarterstaff of pure force energy to appear over his head. With a mental order, he caused the force weapon to come crashing down at the wraith. The wraith got one final strike in, trying to siphon away more of the dwarf's life essence, but Khari not only resisted the effect but slew the wraith with a massive warhammer blow that caused the undead thing's body to blow away in a cloud of smoke. "Everybody okay?" the gnome called out to the others. He deflected their calls for healing, assessing that what they needed now were [I]restoration[/I] spells rather than mere [I]cure wounds[/I] spells - and those he couldn't provide, at least not today. Instead, he wriggled out of the rope-line and cast a [I]fly[/I] spell on himself, rising up above the others as Utred got them moving into a straight line again. Cramer figured his added elevation would help him spot advancing threats as they made their way along the path to Greenvale. But then, seeing the path ahead was wider than normal, Khari moved forward beside Utred, the two dwarves leading the way while the rope-line formed a "U" shape behind them, with Cramer floating overhead, low enough to still encompass everyone in his [I]magic circle against evil[/I] spell. Another wraithlike figure emerged from the rift - only this one was much larger than the one they'd just dispatched. Cramer recalled from his clerical schooling that there was a dread wraith much more powerful than the standard model; this was likely his first meeting with such a creature. The gnome's hand reached for his holy symbol of Fharlanghn, realizing the odds of him being able to turn such a powerful undead were likely nil. But fortunately for the gnome - and for the entire group, truth to tell - instead of attacking immediately it interrogated the group. "How did you do it?" it asked, its undead eyes flitting between the two dwarves. "How did you break the siege?" The dumbfounded stares and looks of incomprehension it received in response forced it to ask a follow-on question. "Who leads your group?" it asked in a voice from the grave. All eyes turned at once to Eri'dia, currently the lowest of the six slaves but until yesterday one of the ruling member of the House the arena slaves all answered to. "Then you are not from the Golden City," the dread wraith mused to itself. That phrase sparked a momentary recollection from somewhere deep within Khari's memories; the "Golden City" had once, he thought, referred to the dwarven city of Brunniir, now a lost kingdom of legend after having disappeared some 15 centuries hence. Perhaps, the Hammerslammer dwarf reasoned in his own slow, methodical way, that glimmer of light they'd seen in the deep chasm below was the current location of Brunniir. Perhaps the city had somehow been swept away into the Plane of Shadows, leaving behind only a mystery of its whereabouts and the means by which it had disappeared. He'd have to ask Cramer and Utred about it, once they had time to talk - for right now, he held his trusty warhammer at the ready in case they were going to have to fight off this even bigger wraith. "Warn your masters," said the dread wraith, "as long as they do not aid the Golden City, they will be allowed to continue using the path they have made." Then he left the way he had come, having wasted enough time on this pointless distraction. Cramer allowed his holy symbol to drop back down onto his chest and he gave a sigh of relief at the undead thing's departure. Despite their recent experiences fighting off the undead forces, the little cleric seriously believed that would have been a fight they could not have won. The party was further relieved when they passed through the portal to Greenvale a few minutes later without any further incident. They were met by sunborn drow, their hair a variety of colors - green, blue, red, purple, even lavender - and their expressions showing puzzlement and concern. "You are injured," noted a priestess of Eilistraee. "Were you attacked along the path?" "We sure were!" groused Cramer. "We had been led to believe taking the path through the Plane of Shadows was a safe journey, yet we were attacked by undead several times!" Here the gnome had actually harbored feelings of goodwill toward the sunborn drow, but it seemed like even the dark elves of House Ky'hulcressen were nothing but a bunch of liars! While the slaves had [I]restoration[/I] spells cast upon them by the concerned clerics, the head priestess explained as best she could. "I imagine it was the cloaks you wore," she said. "We drow have walked the path on many occasions for a century and a half without incident. But we dark elves, even the sunborn, can see fine in perfect darkness; we do not bring sources of illumination with us. Your lights, feeble as they may have seemed to you, were likely beacons of illumination to the denizens of that shadowy world, telling them that intruders were about." Khari explained his thoughts about Brunniir having been engulfed into the Plane of Shadows. "It makes sense," agreed Marlo. "And if it's under siege by an army of undead, that would explain why the wraiths and shadows were focused upon Khari and Utred!" "I was wonderin' about that," Utred admitted. The rest of the day was spent settling Eri'dia into her new life on the surface (including [I]disintegrating[/I] her slave collar, a move which brought the drow princess great relief) and discussing plans of how to get the rest of the local kingdoms to aid Greenvale in the upcoming war against the Overreach drow armies. Cramer pulled out his battered and folded map of the local area they'd taken from the merchants they'd attacked during their first surface raid. The sunborn elves pointed out the locations of the home villages of both Cramer and Marlo, neither large enough to be documented on the map; the gnome's small village was part of the larger kingdom of Revin, while the sorceress hailed from one of the surviving villages of the kingdom to the north that had fallen to ongoing frost giant raids decades ago. "We'll need help pulling the other kingdoms into an alliance," said one of their sunborn hosts. "You managed to get the Kingdom of Kravyrn on our side, but we'll need the support of other nations if we're to repel an invasion by Overreach." "Where shall we begin?" Marlo asked, looking at the map. "Here," suggested Cramer, stabbing a finger down at the Elderwood Forest. "Elderwood?" scoffed Utred. "They're not likely gonna want to help us, not after we slew their infiltrators in Overreach, and then their hunting party in the forest." "We're probably not high up on their list of favorite people," Cramer agreed, "but they already have a healthy hatred of the drow - the Overreach drow, that is," he amended, looking guiltily at their sunborn drow hosts, "and we can probably put that fanatical hatred to good use." "Mebbe we'd best not be wearing these [I]slave-light cloaks[/I] when we go meet with them," suggested Khari - no point in rubbing their noses in the fact that they'd taken the magic cloaks from the slain bodies of disguised Elderwood elf assassins during an attack on Niradi Ky'hulcressen and her Weaver master. "Yes, a good point," agreed the gnome. "But perhaps in uniting against a shared foe, we can get the Elderwood elves to see the sunborn as allies, and not an evil threat like the Overreach drow." Utred looked over the map, reveling in the fact he could now read the words printed on it - Marlo had been teaching him his letters. "From there, then, we can move in a clockwise direction, swinging by Revin next and trying to get their help, then Dracovania, and then the Fallen Kingdom. And that'll put us back close to Greenvale, hopefully before the big attack." "Wait a minute," interrupted Marlo, pointing down at a body of water off to the eastern side of the Elderwood Forest. "Let's not forget the Lakewood Tribe of lizardfolk who make their camp here." She looked expectantly at Jhasspok. "We could try to gain their aid as well." Jhasspok just frowned and shivered. "Let's not," he suggested. "But they're your people!" the sorceress argued. She knew full well, as the lizardfolk fisher did not, that he was the son of the former chieftain of the tribe and that the Lakewood lizardfolk were his family. "They're just...creepy," Jhasspok replied. He found the concept of a whole bunch of people who looked close-but-not-quite like him to be repulsive. "And, according to Khassek, they're a bunch of hunters who live in a swamp. Why would they want to help us fight off the drow? And would they be much of a help, a bunch of hunters and fishers with spears against drow fighters and clerics and sorcerers?" "Not long ago, you were just a fisher," Marlo reminded him. "But I have been trained in battle since then," Jhasspok replied, hefting his magic battleaxe. "And gained a powerful weapon. They have not." Cramer saw the lizardfolk's point, if not his reluctance to see his own people. "Let's hold them off until last," he suggested. "We'll see if we can gain their help if we have time after getting the assistance of the larger kingdoms." It seemed a logical concession, despite Marlo's desire for Jhasspok not to be the only one of his kind among them. She worried he might be lonely. But Jhasspok wasn't lonely; he was, in his own mind, already among his "own kind" - "secret double slaves" of the drow. "All right then," said Utred. "Tomorrow, we're off to the Elderwood Forest." "Tomorrow it is," agreed Cramer. - - - This was, without a doubt, the shortest session we've ever run in this campaign - it lasted only about an hour. Logan had worried it could end up going rather quickly, but knowing he was throwing incorporeal enemies against us he honestly had no idea how the fight would play out. We inadvertently sped up the combats by rolling first to see whether our weapon strikes would even hit or not before we even made our d20 attack rolls; the way we do it is by rolling a d6 and saying, "Wouldn't it be [I]odd[/I] if I missed?" Then, if the d6 ends up with an odd number, the attack would have passed harmlessly through the incorporeal undead even if the attack roll indicated it would have hit. I think we ended up saving a lot of time there with this method, because between the five of us players we rolled a [I]lot[/I] of odd numbers (sometimes two at a time, for Utred and Khari now get two attacks per round) - it was starting to get very frustrating there at the end, when the three burly combat machines kept doing absolutely nothing of value while we waited for the two female spellcasters to kill the big scary undead for us with their [I]magic missiles[/I]. And Harry was getting a bit upset that the undead kept targeting his PC and Utred, but there turned out to be a good explanation for that, which retroactively made the situation a little better in his eyes. (Not a lot, mind you, but a little.) And now we have a plan ahead for the next few sessions as we go from kingdom to kingdom trying to gain allies against the Overreach armies. Personally, I'm sure we haven't seen the last of the drow city; we still need to free Cramer's friend Honeycomb, for one thing, and if we're going to fight off a neothelid, that'll likely take place in the Underdark rather than on the surface. But I guess we'll just have to let events play out and see where they go. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Raiders of the Overreach
Top