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Sand's End (D&D 4e Maptool Campaign)
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<blockquote data-quote="Rhenny" data-source="post: 5832368" data-attributes="member: 18333"><p>Session 17 – 2/25/12</p><p></p><p>Inside the “Inverted Tower” the party felt as if the runes of the entrance portal reactivated, sealing them inside. As they walked slowly into the tower, they found 20’ wide stairway going down 15’ into a larger corridor. Faint light flickered ahead of them, so the party prepared to enter. Xaxis casted light upon Karyak’s shield so that the Dragonborn cleric would not be caught in the dark, and Geyorg, the Eladrin rogue, stealthfully scouted 30’ ahead. </p><p></p><p>As Geyorg crept down the corridor, he realized that magical torches adorned the walls, and eventually he was able to see two skeletal Minotaurs with great axes standing vigilant at the far end of the 20’ wide, 100’ corridor. Luckily, Geyorg remained cloaked in shadows, so the minotaurs did not notice him. After returning to the group to tell them what he saw, the group quietly discussed their options. Unsure that the minotaurs would attack on sight, hoping to parlay or find another way around the minotaurs, the group decided to walk up to them without guile or stealth. As soon as the minotaurs saw and heard the party, they charged straight for Karyak and Geyorg. One minotaur swung his axe and missed Karyak, but the other connected with a powerful blow against Geyorg, injuring him badly and knocking him to the ground. The group took up strategic positions and fought against the skeletal monsters. After Grimgold used his own axe to cleave into one of the monsters, Karyak’s turn undead injured both creatures and gave Geyorg a chance to stand and skewer one with a piercing strike sneak attack. Eventually, Xaxis used magic missle to take down the other minotaur, and the group was able to inspect the east end of the corridor, which seemed to be just a plastered wall, which seemed to be a hasty patch job sealing the corridor from whatever was beyond it.</p><p></p><p>After a short rest, the group began bashing the plaster wall, and they were able to punch a large hole in it to reveal a larger chamber behind it. The party cautiously walked into the room and found that it was a very large square room, with another square room in the center of it. Geyorg scouted ahead once again, and eventually he heard the shuffling of feet moving toward the party. Geyorg hid in the shadows and waited, as the rest of the party peered into the distance to see two sets of two zombies shuffling toward them from the north and the south. These zombies were larger than normal. Each pair consisted of one with a trowel and a hand held barrel, and the other with a large shovel. In addition, moving from the north toward their position, the group also saw a glowing light, kind of like the light from a lighthouse beacon. </p><p></p><p>Acting quickly, the group retreated and Xaxis stepped forward to await the zombies’ arrival, readying his Fire Shroud spell so that he could capture all 4 zombies in the blast. While he waited, the light passed over him and the zombies. While the zombies seemed to be bolstered by the light, Xaxis felt the necrotic burn and took substantial damage. When the zombies came within range, Xaxis casted his spell, but only damaged one of the zombies. The uninjured zombies moved directly to the broken wall, and began fixing it with trowel, cement and shovel. In turn, the rest of the party hopped through a gap in the wall between the working zombies, and they ran after the light beacon, so that they could stay behind it as it moved around the room, clockwise from north to south, west to east, etc. When Xaxis attempted to run, the zombie that he injured, which was still burning, swung at him with his large shovel. Xaxis was able to block the blow with his staff, realizing the power behind the attack. Before, Xaxis was able to run after the party, the zombie took another swing, but Xaxis used his shield spell to thwart the blow.</p><p></p><p>The group continued running around to the far side of the room, inspecting exterior walls and the interior walls looking for anything unusual. The burning zombie builder continued to pursue, and eventually the group was able to gang attack it and take it down. On the other side of the room, the group saw two unlit braziers next to the interior walls. They quickly decided to light the braziers, and Xaxis used a cantrip to do it. Instantly, they saw the light, that had been racing around the room before them, fade, and with the braziers lit, Geyorg saw that a section of the interior wall was also roughly plastered, possible another makeshift wall that they could break through. Without pause, the party broke through, and almost instantly two more zombie builders came from inside to repair the wall. The zombies blocked the path, so the group decided to step back and go see if the other zombies were still working on the first broken wall.</p><p></p><p>The party moved back out to set up surveillance, realizing that both groups of zombies were still busy fixing the walls. Then, out of nowhere, Karyak and Grimgold were attacked by two Mad Wraiths. Karyak avoided the attack, but Grimgold was hit hard. The psychic damage caused immense pain, and drove Grimgold mad with rage. Grimgold raised his mighty axe, and targeted Xaxis! Xaxis could not avoid the powerful slash, and he felt what it was like to be on the receiving end of Grimgold’s mighty axe. After this brief madness, Grimgold shook it off and the fight against the Mad Wraiths continued in earnest.</p><p></p><p>Although the party eventually vanquished the Mad Wraiths, they did feel the horror of the wraith’s psychic whispers, and Grimgold was hit another time, forcing him to attack Karyak. Luckily, Pelor was watching over the cleric, so Grimgold’s blade did not connect. After some healing and other attacks, Xaxis was able to down one of the wraiths with magic missle, and Grimgold took down the other after Karyak’s healing strike worked to perfection.</p><p></p><p>Having defeated the wraiths, the group waited to see what the zombies would do. After constructing the wall, both sets of zombies went back to a stationary position, so the party concluded that they were safe for now, and they bandaged themselves, and rested for a short break. </p><p></p><p>The adventurers had to break through the newly constructed wall to the interior room once again, but this time, they moved through the opening quickly enough so that they would not be blocked by the zombie builders. Moving past the zombies, the group noticed that there was another square room inside this square room, and in each corner of the exterior room, they found tiny pedestals, which Geyorg and Xaxis determined were pressure plates that might, if used properly, open a sliding door that would lead into the interior room. After walking around the perimeter, Geyorg noticed an area that could be a sliding door, so the party decided to separate, each member stepping on one of the 4 pressure plates. When they did this, they heard a sliding grind. Running back to the door, they gathered and walked into the new room together.</p><p></p><p>This new room was much more elegant and adorned than any of the exterior rooms. The party noticed carpets on the floor and tapestries on the wall. In the middle of the room, stood a replica of the inverted tower, rising up about 10’ in the 15’ tall room. As the group studied the tapestries, they realized that the tapestries depicted the mountainous area around the Inverted Tower hundreds of years ago. One section of the tapestry showed a group of humanoids building the Raven Road, and another section showed Blood Ravens perched in trees watching everything. The way the Blood Ravens were depicted reminded Karyak and Xaxis of the Raven Queen, Orcus’ rival for the realms of the dead. Karyak pondered and suggested that perhaps the rumors about Kaer the Builder selling his soul were true. Maybe he sold his soul to the Raven Queen.</p><p></p><p>Before the group could discuss the issue further, a bloated, spherical creature with one decaying central eye and many eye stalks on top of it, rose from behind the Inverted Tower replica. This zombie beholder sent a shiver through the adventurers since they recognized the monster and feared that it had powerful magical abilities. In fear, the group attacked with reckless abandon. Each party member tried to push himself to attack twice for his first action. This tactic proved to be successful since the zombie beholder was only able to attack once before Grimgold chopped it down. Luckily for the adventurers, the zombie beholder did not have any of the fearsome eye attacks of its living brethren; all it could do was deal Grimgold a nasty bite. </p><p></p><p>As the party celebrated their victory for a split second, they saw the zombie beholder rise again. This time, the party, exhausted, did not hit it quite so often, so when the zombie undead had a chance, it smashed into Grimgold, bloodying him with one shot. Karyak healed the Dwarf, and the others fought…finally taking the beast down for good. </p><p></p><p>Below the gore of the slaughtered zombie beholder, the party found a small pile of treasure. 376 gp, 87 silver and a pair of gloves (Gloves of Recovery). Pondering their situation, the group decided to give Grimgold the gloves. With no apparent exit to the room, and with the knowledge that the zombie builders were content for now, the group decided to set up watches and take an extended rest to rejuvenate and dispel their fatigue. All was quiet. The group had time to recover and discuss their situation.</p><p></p><p>450 xp for each PC.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rhenny, post: 5832368, member: 18333"] Session 17 – 2/25/12 Inside the “Inverted Tower” the party felt as if the runes of the entrance portal reactivated, sealing them inside. As they walked slowly into the tower, they found 20’ wide stairway going down 15’ into a larger corridor. Faint light flickered ahead of them, so the party prepared to enter. Xaxis casted light upon Karyak’s shield so that the Dragonborn cleric would not be caught in the dark, and Geyorg, the Eladrin rogue, stealthfully scouted 30’ ahead. As Geyorg crept down the corridor, he realized that magical torches adorned the walls, and eventually he was able to see two skeletal Minotaurs with great axes standing vigilant at the far end of the 20’ wide, 100’ corridor. Luckily, Geyorg remained cloaked in shadows, so the minotaurs did not notice him. After returning to the group to tell them what he saw, the group quietly discussed their options. Unsure that the minotaurs would attack on sight, hoping to parlay or find another way around the minotaurs, the group decided to walk up to them without guile or stealth. As soon as the minotaurs saw and heard the party, they charged straight for Karyak and Geyorg. One minotaur swung his axe and missed Karyak, but the other connected with a powerful blow against Geyorg, injuring him badly and knocking him to the ground. The group took up strategic positions and fought against the skeletal monsters. After Grimgold used his own axe to cleave into one of the monsters, Karyak’s turn undead injured both creatures and gave Geyorg a chance to stand and skewer one with a piercing strike sneak attack. Eventually, Xaxis used magic missle to take down the other minotaur, and the group was able to inspect the east end of the corridor, which seemed to be just a plastered wall, which seemed to be a hasty patch job sealing the corridor from whatever was beyond it. After a short rest, the group began bashing the plaster wall, and they were able to punch a large hole in it to reveal a larger chamber behind it. The party cautiously walked into the room and found that it was a very large square room, with another square room in the center of it. Geyorg scouted ahead once again, and eventually he heard the shuffling of feet moving toward the party. Geyorg hid in the shadows and waited, as the rest of the party peered into the distance to see two sets of two zombies shuffling toward them from the north and the south. These zombies were larger than normal. Each pair consisted of one with a trowel and a hand held barrel, and the other with a large shovel. In addition, moving from the north toward their position, the group also saw a glowing light, kind of like the light from a lighthouse beacon. Acting quickly, the group retreated and Xaxis stepped forward to await the zombies’ arrival, readying his Fire Shroud spell so that he could capture all 4 zombies in the blast. While he waited, the light passed over him and the zombies. While the zombies seemed to be bolstered by the light, Xaxis felt the necrotic burn and took substantial damage. When the zombies came within range, Xaxis casted his spell, but only damaged one of the zombies. The uninjured zombies moved directly to the broken wall, and began fixing it with trowel, cement and shovel. In turn, the rest of the party hopped through a gap in the wall between the working zombies, and they ran after the light beacon, so that they could stay behind it as it moved around the room, clockwise from north to south, west to east, etc. When Xaxis attempted to run, the zombie that he injured, which was still burning, swung at him with his large shovel. Xaxis was able to block the blow with his staff, realizing the power behind the attack. Before, Xaxis was able to run after the party, the zombie took another swing, but Xaxis used his shield spell to thwart the blow. The group continued running around to the far side of the room, inspecting exterior walls and the interior walls looking for anything unusual. The burning zombie builder continued to pursue, and eventually the group was able to gang attack it and take it down. On the other side of the room, the group saw two unlit braziers next to the interior walls. They quickly decided to light the braziers, and Xaxis used a cantrip to do it. Instantly, they saw the light, that had been racing around the room before them, fade, and with the braziers lit, Geyorg saw that a section of the interior wall was also roughly plastered, possible another makeshift wall that they could break through. Without pause, the party broke through, and almost instantly two more zombie builders came from inside to repair the wall. The zombies blocked the path, so the group decided to step back and go see if the other zombies were still working on the first broken wall. The party moved back out to set up surveillance, realizing that both groups of zombies were still busy fixing the walls. Then, out of nowhere, Karyak and Grimgold were attacked by two Mad Wraiths. Karyak avoided the attack, but Grimgold was hit hard. The psychic damage caused immense pain, and drove Grimgold mad with rage. Grimgold raised his mighty axe, and targeted Xaxis! Xaxis could not avoid the powerful slash, and he felt what it was like to be on the receiving end of Grimgold’s mighty axe. After this brief madness, Grimgold shook it off and the fight against the Mad Wraiths continued in earnest. Although the party eventually vanquished the Mad Wraiths, they did feel the horror of the wraith’s psychic whispers, and Grimgold was hit another time, forcing him to attack Karyak. Luckily, Pelor was watching over the cleric, so Grimgold’s blade did not connect. After some healing and other attacks, Xaxis was able to down one of the wraiths with magic missle, and Grimgold took down the other after Karyak’s healing strike worked to perfection. Having defeated the wraiths, the group waited to see what the zombies would do. After constructing the wall, both sets of zombies went back to a stationary position, so the party concluded that they were safe for now, and they bandaged themselves, and rested for a short break. The adventurers had to break through the newly constructed wall to the interior room once again, but this time, they moved through the opening quickly enough so that they would not be blocked by the zombie builders. Moving past the zombies, the group noticed that there was another square room inside this square room, and in each corner of the exterior room, they found tiny pedestals, which Geyorg and Xaxis determined were pressure plates that might, if used properly, open a sliding door that would lead into the interior room. After walking around the perimeter, Geyorg noticed an area that could be a sliding door, so the party decided to separate, each member stepping on one of the 4 pressure plates. When they did this, they heard a sliding grind. Running back to the door, they gathered and walked into the new room together. This new room was much more elegant and adorned than any of the exterior rooms. The party noticed carpets on the floor and tapestries on the wall. In the middle of the room, stood a replica of the inverted tower, rising up about 10’ in the 15’ tall room. As the group studied the tapestries, they realized that the tapestries depicted the mountainous area around the Inverted Tower hundreds of years ago. One section of the tapestry showed a group of humanoids building the Raven Road, and another section showed Blood Ravens perched in trees watching everything. The way the Blood Ravens were depicted reminded Karyak and Xaxis of the Raven Queen, Orcus’ rival for the realms of the dead. Karyak pondered and suggested that perhaps the rumors about Kaer the Builder selling his soul were true. Maybe he sold his soul to the Raven Queen. Before the group could discuss the issue further, a bloated, spherical creature with one decaying central eye and many eye stalks on top of it, rose from behind the Inverted Tower replica. This zombie beholder sent a shiver through the adventurers since they recognized the monster and feared that it had powerful magical abilities. In fear, the group attacked with reckless abandon. Each party member tried to push himself to attack twice for his first action. This tactic proved to be successful since the zombie beholder was only able to attack once before Grimgold chopped it down. Luckily for the adventurers, the zombie beholder did not have any of the fearsome eye attacks of its living brethren; all it could do was deal Grimgold a nasty bite. As the party celebrated their victory for a split second, they saw the zombie beholder rise again. This time, the party, exhausted, did not hit it quite so often, so when the zombie undead had a chance, it smashed into Grimgold, bloodying him with one shot. Karyak healed the Dwarf, and the others fought…finally taking the beast down for good. Below the gore of the slaughtered zombie beholder, the party found a small pile of treasure. 376 gp, 87 silver and a pair of gloves (Gloves of Recovery). Pondering their situation, the group decided to give Grimgold the gloves. With no apparent exit to the room, and with the knowledge that the zombie builders were content for now, the group decided to set up watches and take an extended rest to rejuvenate and dispel their fatigue. All was quiet. The group had time to recover and discuss their situation. 450 xp for each PC. [/QUOTE]
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