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
The Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh #136 Into the Mere of the Dead Men.
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="Goonalan" data-source="post: 8125917" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p style="text-align: center"><strong>Dark Squad in Meet the Uthgardt</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Session #023 Meenya Zaboot Daktari!</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here).</strong></p><p><strong>Buggles (played by Stu) Male Wood Elf Fighter Lvl 2/Rogue Lvl 3</strong></p><p><strong>New Tricks (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 5</strong></p><p><strong>Ramshambo (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue Lvl 5</strong></p><p><strong>Vincenzo (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 5</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>NPCs</strong></p><p><strong>Garumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 5 RIP</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>NPC hangers-on, rescued prisoners of the Orcs</strong></p><p><strong>Geradil the “Inconceivable”, aging trapper (Male Human)</strong></p><p><strong>“Screaming” Courana, lady’s maid (Female Human)</strong></p><p><strong>Spandwick the Magic Gnome, ex-stage mesmerist (Male Gnome)</strong></p><p><strong>Bel, the beautiful and lovely wife of Spandwick (Female Gnome)</strong></p><p></p><p>This is session 23, different to the last few, but just as good.</p><p></p><p>So, the Forge of Fury has been conquered- the duergar run off or slaughtered, the ghost of Arundil laid to rest (and his secrets told- Durgeddin the Black escaped) and the black dragon, Nightscale- killed.</p><p></p><p>Although the later was achieved as much by Ashardalon, as it was by the Dark Squad.</p><p></p><p>That’s right- Ashardalon, the nine foot tall dragon/elf (dragonkith) turned up in the black dragon’s lair- stole a little something from Nightscale’s hoard, and then buggered off (although with one of Buggles’ arrows sticking in its back).</p><p></p><p>So, VICTORY!</p><p></p><p>Although, Garum is doing his best impression of a doorstop atm, he’s dead Jim. The paladin having been smooched into an early grave by a succubus.</p><p></p><p>The Dark Squad therefore start this session back in their secret hidey-cave, home also to the various NPCs they’ve picked up along the way, and so we begin with… chatter, and lots of it.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]128487[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>"Well, here we all are again...", Vinnie starts the mother's meeting while sitting on the stiffening corpse of the recumbent dwarven paladin- "I don't sink he wud mind- selfless in death, as in life."</strong></p><p></p><p>First up a discussion about what to do with Garumn, the debate has edges- Newt thinks the paladin was marvellous- and gave his all, but now… well, he’s dead- let’s forget about him and move on (or else a version of the same that’s nicer, and yet nastier at the same time). Buggles (played by Stu) defends Garumn (formerly played by Stu) and clearly wants the sturdy dwarf back. His point however is well made; the other four members of the Dark Squad do not do what Garumn does, which is stand in the middle of the nasty stuff and take a beating.</p><p></p><p>The voice of reason is Ram, oddly- eventually it is sorta settled, Garumn will be given a choice, a priest will be found (probs back in Neverwinter) who can speak with the spirit of the paladin to discover whether he wishes to come back or not.</p><p></p><p>Decision made, or else put off until more info available.</p><p></p><p>[What to do with Garumn chat 250 XP]</p><p></p><p>Next up, and just to say I (your friendly DM) have barely uttered a word so far this evening- the PCs are all just very chatty, or else they have knots that need unravelling.</p><p></p><p>Discussion number two, topic- what’s with Ashardalon? The Dark Squad mostly don’t have a clue what the dragonkith is up to, save the end of the world, probably. Later (the next day- in the real world) one of the players was carping about a future face-off with Ashardalon (he was mighty tough against the black dragon) and fretting a little too, when I asked him- why do you think Ashardalon is the bad guy? That shut him up- the truth is, I think (ask the players) they’re still not sure what part Ashardalon has to play in all of this.</p><p></p><p>They did however release Ashardalon from his slumber, so- they’re obviously a little concerned, they have a hand in all of this- whatever ‘this’ is.</p><p></p><p>Note, I keep referring to Ashardalon as ‘he’, I want to be clear- ‘he’ isn’t certain. ‘He’ could in fact be a ‘she’, and just as likely an ‘it’.</p><p></p><p>The discussion takes a slightly strange turn when Newt suggests that Ashardalon was also the ancient red dragon that Ram spied while on guard duty in the cave several nights earlier.</p><p></p><p>Ashardalon can take many forms is the tabaxi’s theory.</p><p></p><p>You could hear the whirr of the cogs and gears in the player’s brains, recalculating and recalibrating their own Ashardalon theories in the face of this new suggestion.</p><p></p><p>But, with nowhere much to go, and not having ranged far either- the discussion peters out, Ashardalon remains a mystery, one that Buggles is going to solve with his weapons, the wood elf makes clear (several times).</p><p></p><p>[Ashardalon WTF? 400 XP]</p><p></p><p>Next up we switch (actually, they switch- I’m just an eavesdropper here) to discussing Durgeddin’s escape from the slaughter of the orc invaders back in the forge. Arundil the ghost dwarf told the guys that the runty master smith escaped to the ‘white tower on the island in the lake we saw three times’.</p><p></p><p>Buggles repeats the phrase several times- ‘the lake we saw three times…’, at which point Spandwick volunteers that the lake just up the road is called… Thricewatch Lake. Buggles goes Columbo again and pumps the gnome for more information.</p><p></p><p>He then repeats the information he has just garnered from the gnome, in his own words, to his colleagues and claims credit for getting to the bottom of the mystery.</p><p></p><p>Buggles has really started to shine in the last few sessions, he’s a pain the backside (when he wants to be) but he’s funny with it.</p><p></p><p>[Buggles solves the mystery 200 XP]</p><p></p><p>Last up, the wood elf- on a roll, decides to reinvent the finale of the Forge of Fury, the fight versus Nightscale, this for his new audience- Courana, Geradil, Spandwick & Bel. In the new straight to DVD version of the dragon fracas Buggles lures Nightscale into using its acid breath in order to set Newt up for his final fiery masterpiece, as I said previously- he’s funny with it.</p><p></p><p>Just enough to keep everyone onside.</p><p></p><p>[The story of Buggles (and some others) versus Nightscale 100 XP]</p><p></p><p>And we’ve been around the VTT for forty five minutes already, and I’ve done squat.</p><p></p><p>Top work!</p><p></p><p>So, then the Uthgardt show up, although- let’s take it steady, what happens is the guys hear the sound of horsemen approaching, just over half-a-dozen rag-tag mountain men on small but very sturdy looking shaggy mountain horses.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]128488[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>The Uthgardt- mostly a dour lot, except for... "I am Daktari! I am Uthgardt! I am Sky Pony!" It would be fair to say they liked him from the off.</strong></p><p></p><p>The lead character shows his hands- the universal sign for peace, and then launches into his speech, except it’s all in Russian, or else a chunk of Russian followed by a swathe of cod-Russian.</p><p></p><p>“Meenya Zaboot Daktari! Kak vas Zaboot?”</p><p></p><p>Remarkably the PCs get it instantly- “Meenya Zaboot Buggles”, and on it goes- including compulsory chest thumping for each new naming.</p><p></p><p>It turns out that Daktari, a jolly Uthgardt barbarian who, unlike most of his companions, has seen the world beyond the tribe- and more importantly speaks the common tongue, has travelled many days with his companions to talk to ‘the eyes in the night’.</p><p></p><p>Again, the PCs (Players) figure this in less than a second- they are the Dark Squad = the eyes in the night, Vinnie and Ram actually prefer the new name, it has a bit more mystery to it.</p><p></p><p>Let me just add, I had a page and a half of A4- scripted plays and ploys to get the Dark Squad to accompany Daktari and his chums to their winter camp, I didn’t get to use any of it.</p><p></p><p>Daktari explains that he is ‘Sky Pony’, and then moments later Nightwing, a jet black Pegasus buzzes the assembled crowd and even before the flying horse has turned for a second run Buggles has agreed to go visit with the barbarians.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]128489[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Nightwing, or as Daktari tells it- "Night-ving!"</strong></p><p></p><p>“Cool ride!” The wood elf smirks.</p><p></p><p>There follows a brief chat between the members of the Dark Squad- ‘should we just head off with these strange barbarians?’, but three of the four PCs realise that they have days ahead of them lugging the dead (and very heavy 350+ lbs) body of Garumn back to civilisation. Note Vinnie is also totting over 50lbs of black dragon scales- all that he could find. Then there’s the nearly 10,000 silver pieces they collected in the forge and environs, and plenty more coins of other denominations.</p><p></p><p>So, horses- that’s a good idea, and besides Daktari is funny and friendly- a lot like Garumn was back when he was alive.</p><p></p><p>To camp…</p><p></p><p>[Say hello to the Uthgardt and Daktari 250 XP]</p><p></p><p>The camp is very… barbarian, with lots of wild folk coming out to stare at the weird and wonderful looking members of the Dark Squad.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]128490[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>The Sky Pony camp, glorious maps available from Heroic Maps- lots more of their stuff to follow. It's a cracker.</strong></p><p></p><p>Note en route to camp, and for a short time after their arrival the PCs go Q&A with their new found friend Daktari, they learn that-</p><p></p><p>1) Daktari isn’t the chief of tribe- or anyone important, the chief is a very nasty fellow ‘he crazy…’ called Timor, who Daktari promises will not kill them- Old Mare and Nightwing have told Timor (repeatedly) that he cannot kill the eyes in the night/Dark Squad. This last fact perhaps requires a little more explanation, at least the PCs thought so at the time...</p><p></p><p>2) Timor is newly married, and was just settling in to good times hunting game, shooting wolves and wrestling grizzly bears when… Old Mare and Nightwing ordered him to leave his wife and travel 42 days south to meet… the eyes in the night. Which, of course, just leads to more questions…</p><p></p><p>3) Old Mare is the tribe’s wise women- ‘she bad witch’, Daktari advises.</p><p></p><p>4) Nightwing is still the Pegasus, and remember these are Sky Pony clan- Nightwing has high status, a living embodiment of the clan’s totem.</p><p></p><p>5) So, Timor is not allowed to kill the Dark Squad/the eyes in the night because the adventurers are somehow part of an ancient tribal prophecy that has been handed from wise woman to wise woman (and Pegasus to Pegasus) for the last however many generations. Even Daktari has heard of the eyes in the night.</p><p></p><p>6) The prophecy also concerns the coming of the Time of Ash, and… you guessed it- Ashardalon.</p><p></p><p>7) Daktari would say more about this (the PCs are very keen for him to say more) but he doesn’t know any more about it, history and prophecy are the preserve of Old Mare, and Nightwing.</p><p></p><p>8) Next bit, first stop for the PCs when they get to camp is to be introduced to the chief… that’s right- Timor. The adventurers must make a speech of greeting (Daktari will translate) and then offer a gift to the chief.</p><p></p><p>9) Not everyone is happy with this last bit.</p><p></p><p>Note, Vinnie too has started to find his voice again- and by the time we get to camp the anthropologist druid has already made Newt promise not to antagonise anyone, and for the tabaxi to try really hard not to set anyone on fire.</p><p></p><p>Newt promises only to set people on fire that deserve to be on fire, which is as good as it gets.</p><p></p><p>Likewise Buggles has also had his caution- “Why are we giving this idiot Timor a present?”- “Because it iz zer culturally correct zing to do, they zeem to have travelled a long way to zee us, and we are guests in zer camp…” A little more gets said- back and forth, but Vinnie is in parent mode, and doing his level best to pre-empt the inevitable squabbling when the kids decide to play up, or push the limits of their host’s patience. More remarkably the druid’s gambit works- don’t get me wrong, on occasion the limit is pushed (see below) but throughout all that follows- it’s wonderfully restrained, for the Dark Squad.</p><p></p><p>Spoiler- Newt only sets one member of the barbarian camp on fire, but that’s not until much much later on.</p><p></p><p>Keep an eye out for it.</p><p></p><p>[Pumping Daktari for info 300 XP]</p><p></p><p>So, here’s Timor.</p><p></p><p><strong>Although none of the Players took a screenshot of Timor- are you listening, guys?</strong></p><p></p><p>Note this meeting involves me (your kindly DM) screaming cod-Russian and raving (as Timor), and then as swiftly diving into my Daktari persona to translate the apoplectic yelling- “Timor says that the weather is remarkably fine for the time of year…”. Timor continues to scream his frustration- having had to abandoned his new wife, having being ordered here by Old Mare; while Daktari continues to offer platitudes and small talk.</p><p></p><p>Then Vinnie makes a speech of greeting- short and to the point, Timor is alas mostly unimpressed.</p><p></p><p>Then it’s present giving time, at which point Daktari lets slip that the tribe have been guarding the artefact that they are about to bestow upon the Dark Squad/the eyes in the night for many many generations.</p><p></p><p>This new piece of information concentrates a few minds, soon after almost all of the PCs have presents for Timor.</p><p></p><p>The word artefact can do that.</p><p></p><p>Particularly to players of RPGs.</p><p></p><p>So, it starts with a very fine ruby (a gift from Vinnie)- which Timor tosses into the fire- no good. Then owlbear feathers from Newt, won in battle- Timor is delighted. Then a beak and claw set (again, owlbear) handed over by Ram, which leaves the barbarian chief giggling like a child. Then finally back to the beginning- try again, a black dragon scale or two from the very smart Vinnie who has cottoned on to how this works.</p><p></p><p>Timor hugs the druid, nearly snapping the shifter in two.</p><p></p><p>Timor is 350+lbs of corded muscle.</p><p></p><p>Then however it all goes very wrong (as it is wont to do- often), Vinnie- while Timor, tears in his eyes, expresses his thanks- whispers for Newt to grab the very expensive ruby that the barbarian chief tossed in the fire pit. Newt decides to use a mage hand spell, seconds later and the no-necked monstrosity (Timor) is very suddenly of the opinion that there is an invisible attacker within his tent and… well, it gets worse when Newt uses a control flames cantrip to turn the chief’s abode into a flaming disco.</p><p></p><p>Timor goes bonkers.</p><p></p><p>In the end Daktari has to rush the Dark Squad out of the chief’s tent and the maelstrom…</p><p></p><p>Daktari explains again- he is a cosmopolitan member of the Uthgardt Sky Pony tribe, he worked in Neverwinter for a while- he has seen window glass, once had a bath, and knows hedge magic when he sees it. However, his brethren… much less tolerant, much less sophisticated, much more savage and violent in their hatred of all things arcane.</p><p></p><p>Timor later refuses to hand over the artefact the tribe have been holding for the Dark Squad/the eyes in the night for generations. The chief will only pass the item on when the PCs have returned from the land of the bad dead ancestors.</p><p></p><p>Did I forget to mention the land of the bad dead ancestors… my mistake, but we’ll get to it in a while.</p><p></p><p>[Meet Timor 400 XP]</p><p></p><p>Audience with Timor done the PCs retire to the guests tent to drink Schlapp with Daktari- Schlapp is fermented mare’s milk (and then some). Several of the PCs get quite giddy, a few stories are told (to Daktari) and the exchange turns into a further discussion about the nature and the desires of Ashardalon.</p><p></p><p>“What did he take from the dragon’s hoard?” Buggles, and others, repeatedly enquire. That and other questions.</p><p></p><p>I’m starting to think that Ashardalon not fighting the Dark Squad is beginning to bother them… or at least some of them. Certainly the subject keeps on coming up.</p><p></p><p>The drinking continues into the wee small hours, Daktari reveals that Nightwing saw Ashardalon appear from the lake- ‘which lake?’ Ram asks. ‘Thricewatch’ Daktari adds, and promises to take the PCs there in the morning.</p><p></p><p>Many birds- one stone.</p><p></p><p>All roads lead to Thricewatch Lake, or so it seems.</p><p></p><p>The climax of the evening however occurs when the drunk druid turns into Vincen G. Octopod, Daktari having never seen such a creature before doesn’t know whether to scream or have sex with it- the barbarian settles for running into the door frame of the yurt and knocking himself out cold.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]128493[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Vinne the morning after, "I wuz soo dronk last night, I barely remember any-sing. I did not... how you zay, embarrass my-zelf did I?" Note, that's the interior of Timor's yurt on the right- the clues in the picture.</strong></p><p></p><p>It would be fair to say that the Dark Squad are beginning to like Daktari, Buggles asks Vinnie to continue to sound out the barbarian, while Newt just plain states- ‘we should hire him’.</p><p></p><p>[Schlapp! And great RP 500 XP]</p><p></p><p>Morning, and an early start- meat-porridge and then horseback to Thricewatch Lake, which is quite a place- ruins here and there, investigated by Buggles and Ram, nothing of interest. Then the frozen lake itself, with a hole in the ice- Ashardalon sized (and the ice is very thick here, several feet thick- imagine the strength it took to break through it). There are tracks from the ice hole- to the tower in the centre of the lake, and then onwards- to the north east, into the forest (actually Neverwinter Woods).</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]128494[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Thricewatch Lake, note the Ashardalon shaped ice-hole.</strong></p><p></p><p>[Investigating Thricewatch 250 XP]</p><p></p><p>Next stop then is the ruined tower in the centre of the frozen lake, Buggles finds an ancient and well-concealed trapdoor, buried by snow and ice. The portal is wrenched open by Daktari, the passage beneath has been partially collapsed but best guess it heads back into the mountain… to the forges, this is the way that Durgeddin got out.</p><p></p><p>A thorough search of the tower by Buggles (after a ‘20’) reveals the presence of ancient graffito- the tell-tale ‘DB’, Durgeddin the Black’s smith’s mark. The stunted dwarf was certainly here… although centuries past.</p><p></p><p>[Buggles is on the trail 200 XP]</p><p></p><p>There’s nothing else to be found here however, but Daktari knows where Ashardalon went next- mainly because Nightwing followed the creature’s progress from above.</p><p></p><p>Another hour of riding through the woods and the Dark Squad are faced with yet another discovery, a huge depression with thirty foot cliffs, almost a perfect circle cut into the rock- snow and ice within, but also a myriad bones, actually complete skeletons- a dragon’s graveyard. One of the skeletal wyrm’s was clearly of gargantuan proportions.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]128495[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>The Dark Squad and Daktari take a moment- they're bottom left. "Big dragon...", Buggles helpfully captions the view, he's not wrong.</strong></p><p></p><p>The Dark Squad climb down to investigate- Newt plummeting the last ten feet, the tabaxi may have a climb speed but his dice are broken when it comes to athletics checks. I’ve never seen him roll over a ‘3’, admittedly he doesn’t make the check often- but it rarely ends well.</p><p></p><p>Tracks (of Ashardalon) are found and followed, they lead- of course- to the skeletal remains of the gargantuan long-dead wyrm. Point of fact the tracks lead to the ex-dragon’s skull, which is bigger than any of the PCs.</p><p></p><p>The adventurers congregate, search about- cautiously, they’re expecting the skeletal wyrm to come alive, and so the kindly DM does nothing for ages, except allow the PCs to make myriad skill checks, and continue to guess- what’s this all about?</p><p></p><p>It takes nearly twenty minutes of continued mooching, skill check rolling and speculating for the PCs to forget their trepidations, at which point, of course, the skeleton juggernaut comes (un)alive. The terrifying undead is vaguely humanoid in shape, although nearly twenty feet tall, constructed from a tottering pile of mostly dragon bones. The thing suddenly lurches to its feet and slams both splintered ivory fists into Ram, who survives the ordeal- just, on something like 8 HP (from full).</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]128496[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>"What are you looking at me like that for?" Ram snarls, as the twenty foot tall Skeleton Juggernaut silently lurches and sways to its full height behind the rogue.</strong></p><p></p><p>It gets hectic.</p><p></p><p>Just to say in advance, the skeleton juggernaut is hit point heavy- approx. 200 of ‘em, but as soon as it takes damage it starts falling apart- losing 10 HP/turn. It was semi-terrifying, but only for a short while- and when the Dark Squad have just one enemy…</p><p></p><p>Ram stabs the thing with Deadend (undead bane, sorta, rapier) and then gets the hell out of dodge, allowing Daktari to step in and soak up the skeletal giant’s attacks- that sound familiar to anyone.</p><p></p><p>The barbarian warrior swings heartily, and misses repeatedly, the next line then comes in cod-Russian- “guys, a little help…” It’s like Garumn’s back in the room.</p><p></p><p>An inspiration point later and Daktari smashes his greatsword into the undead monstrosity, and then starts shouting the odds.</p><p></p><p>Vinnie hits the thing with a moonbeam (and rolls spectacularly low damage) while Buggles slashes hard with his twin scimitars, and then like Ram, gets away from the terror.</p><p></p><p>Newt adds a Belphegor’s fiery blast to the mix, and also stays back and out of the way.</p><p></p><p>The moonbeam burns some more but the skeleton juggernaut escapes the spotlight and then… and then… does something stunning- the bone pile inverts- from bottom heavy to top heavy. The bones that describe the undead tyrant skitter and flow- upwards, until the entire structure is standing on pipe-cleaner thin skeletal legs, it’s upper half a swelling bolus of bones- and then gravity takes effect.</p><p></p><p>The creature crashes down- spreading a carpet of shattered bones and flying splinters in a huge radius, all of the Dark Squad get hurt, although (the bastards) all manage to make their saves- even Daktari.</p><p></p><p>Just as remarkably the carpet of bones flows almost instantly back to its former form and shape, back to being a vaguely humanoid skeletal giant.</p><p></p><p>Ram dodges in and cuts again, Daktari rages and begins screaming insults and slashing wildly, there’s even a crit in there- the barbarian is also in a frenzy, and already the bone juggernaut is bloodied and beyond.</p><p></p><p>Buggles gets to work again, and with an extra attack from his action surge slashes the undead beast three more times- it’s tottering.</p><p></p><p>Newt follows up with a pair of fiery blasts… the undead giant teeters, and then… collapses.</p><p></p><p>Destroyed.</p><p></p><p>We pause the action for maybe ten seconds, as the PCs take it in turns to slap each other on the back for a job well done, at which point rising from the remnants of the undead monstrosity come a dozen oddly constructed (with dragon bones of all shapes and sizes) skeleton warriors which set about the PCs.</p><p></p><p>“Oh, naughty word!” is the consensus, particularly as the first skeleton crits Daktari (as does another seconds later). Another pair get to Ram and cut the rogue down (yet another crit- my dice!). What’s worse all of the PCs still standing have at least two of the bony bastards facing them down, and all of the PCs take hits.</p><p></p><p>That was nice.</p><p></p><p>Note, only one skeleton succumbs to Vinnie’s moonbeam- there are still eleven left after the opening moments.</p><p></p><p>Buggles starts yelling- “Newt, Fireball!”</p><p></p><p>Then the fight back begins- Daktari takes more hits, but manages to smash another skeleton down, Buggles ends yet another… and then Newt drops the fireball.</p><p></p><p>Eight (of the nine) skeletons are within the compass of the explosion- as is Daktari (alas).</p><p></p><p>The fire and noise is terrifying, but over in a flash- and when the smoke clears the only skeleton left standing is the one outside the range of the spell.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]128498[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Suddenly skeletons! Note the circular marker- the Fireball is about to hit, and Daktari is in the hot zone. Newt doesn't bat an eyelid- sacrifices have to be made.</strong></p><p></p><p>Daktari, clothes singed- on fire in places, staggers forward- “I got zis!” the barbarian declares and then skitters over and cuts the last undead enemy down.</p><p></p><p>The barbarian duly collapses (he was actually on about 4 HP but… his rage/frenzy is over, and so he’s exhausted, also- drama) the heat of his singed body creating its own snow-angel in the wintery white turf.</p><p></p><p>Vinnie dishes out some healing- to Ram, and then to Daktari- the latter (it appears) has now been fully accepted as part of the gang, or at least granted temporary membership.</p><p></p><p>Which was, of course, my intention.</p><p></p><p>[Skeletons- big and small 2400 XP]</p><p></p><p>And yet there’s more, after a five minute cool down- and chat, note it took about seven seconds for one of the players to say something like- “Ashardalon, the bastard- he left a trap for us.”</p><p></p><p>I think that was Vinnie’s line.</p><p></p><p>But here’s the thing- Ashardalon is in their heads.</p><p></p><p>That worked too.</p><p></p><p>Then Buggles continues to do the clever thing- the wood elf searches the area from which the skeleton juggernaut arose, as it happens the chest cavity of the fallen ancient dragon, his eagle eyes (‘23’) spot a series of markings cut into one of the dead wyrm’s massive ribs.</p><p></p><p>Newt can read any text, the warlock has just been granted the ability by his fiendish patron- Belphegor. He does so- “it’s written in draconic, it says- ‘I will be watching you’”.</p><p></p><p>Maybe Vinnie’s got a point.</p><p></p><p>The area is double searched, but there’s no forward trail to be found- Daktari confirms this oddity, Nightwing saw Ashardalon come here- move around the huge skeleton dragon, and then simply… disappear.</p><p></p><p>Then Vinnie is cleverer still, the druid scratches his own message on the same rib- in draconic, “we need to talk”.</p><p></p><p>You’ve gotta love it when the players write the story for you.</p><p></p><p>That’s going to happen.</p><p></p><p>Maybe.</p><p></p><p>All out of investigating, the Dark Squad head back to camp.</p><p></p><p>[Ashardalon & Vinnie’s messages 500 XP]</p><p></p><p>And still there’s more… it’s amazing how much stuff you can get through when you’re not spending hours fighting to stay alive.</p><p></p><p>Back in camp, and still a bit beaten up, its time for more Schlapp, and… Old Mare comes a calling- she too wishes to talk with the eyes in the night/Dark Squad- if only to warn them about what lies ahead, in the land of the bad dead ancestors.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]128499[/ATTACH]</p><p><strong>Old Mare, and the story of the bad dead ancestors.</strong></p><p></p><p>So, it’s time for the bad dead ancestors story I mentioned earlier- in point of fact this element was introduced to the player’s much earlier in the narrative- but this is the full explanation, and the first opportunity the PCs have had to ask questions of someone who knows a bit more about what’s going on here.</p><p></p><p>Here’s what the Dark Squad learn-</p><p></p><p>1) The Uthgardt bury their great chiefs in barrow mounds, these become sacred places- to be visited, for ceremonies and the like.</p><p></p><p>2) However, every now and then an Uthgardt chief goes bad- y’know the kind of thing, blood thirsty maniacs and the like. These bad folk, when they die, are buried in a shadowy place not of this world, in barrows there- as per the great chiefs.</p><p></p><p>3) This shadowy place (plane) can only be accessed by the wise women/witches of the tribe- or at least by the powerful ones, like Old Mare. Nobody else can (or should) go there for the place is home to the furious dead. Also the bad ancestors are less than pleasant.</p><p></p><p>4) Now for the fun part- the eyes in the night/Dark Squad, Old Mare explains- according to the tribe's ancient prophecy, must be sent to the terrible place so that they can question the bad ancestors about… well, the Time of Ash, Ashardalon… and whatever it is that’s going on here. Basically, the bad ancestors have got some secrets they’re holding on to- again, according to the prophecy.</p><p></p><p>5) There are seven bad ancestors, they will all, inevitably- Old Mare cautions, attempt to kill the eyes in the night/Dark Squad- it’s what they do, she states. However if the eyes in the night/Dark Squad can best them, then… they will be forced to reveal what they know.</p><p></p><p>6) Simples, except- all seven ancestors must be made to reveal their secrets for the eyes in the night/Dark Squad to be able to return to the land of the living. It’s all or nothing, except…</p><p></p><p>7) The only other way to get back from the land of the bad ancestors is to… well, die there. If this happens the PC will be returned to the land of the living but… (obviously) they’ll be dead. Contrary, ain’t it.</p><p></p><p>There are of course lots of questions along the way, and a fair amount of trepidation- remarkably the question- “should we even be doing this?” only gets muttered and mostly ignored once. Consensus is “Yeah!”</p><p></p><p>However, there’s also time for a top up, Old Mare is happy to sell Schlapp-based healing potions to the PCs (at 75gp each, they didn’t even haggle), which is fortunate because the Dark Squad had only one potion of healing between them all (garnered from Nightscale’s hoard).</p><p></p><p>More mundane items are also stocked up on- mostly arrows, but a few other odds and ends.</p><p></p><p>After this Buggles also gets a private consultation with Old Mare, he has the witch examine Nightcaller, the magic whistle which conjures Gwen (a female duergar skeleton, remember). Soon after Old Mare’s ministration Gwen materialises (earlier than expected- Gwen can normally only be summoned once every tenday), also Gwen has levelled up- she’s got a bag more hit points.</p><p></p><p>The last surprise however is for Daktari, note the barbarian since he met the eyes in the night/Dark Squad has been repeatedly remarking how brave the PCs must be for heading in to the land of the bad dead ancestors. It therefore comes as a shock for him to learn that he’s going too, it seems the bad dead ancestors only speak Uthgardt, therefore he’ll be translating.</p><p></p><p>Remarkably the PCs are very glad that their new barbarian friend is coming with them, as am I.</p><p></p><p>Next session- the land of the bad dead ancestors, most probably.</p><p></p><p>Stay safe and well you lovely people.</p><p></p><p>Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 8125917, member: 16069"] [CENTER][B]Dark Squad in Meet the Uthgardt[/B][/CENTER] [B]Session #023 Meenya Zaboot Daktari! Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here). Buggles (played by Stu) Male Wood Elf Fighter Lvl 2/Rogue Lvl 3 New Tricks (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 5 Ramshambo (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue Lvl 5 Vincenzo (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 5 NPCs Garumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 5 RIP NPC hangers-on, rescued prisoners of the Orcs Geradil the “Inconceivable”, aging trapper (Male Human) “Screaming” Courana, lady’s maid (Female Human) Spandwick the Magic Gnome, ex-stage mesmerist (Male Gnome) Bel, the beautiful and lovely wife of Spandwick (Female Gnome)[/B] This is session 23, different to the last few, but just as good. So, the Forge of Fury has been conquered- the duergar run off or slaughtered, the ghost of Arundil laid to rest (and his secrets told- Durgeddin the Black escaped) and the black dragon, Nightscale- killed. Although the later was achieved as much by Ashardalon, as it was by the Dark Squad. That’s right- Ashardalon, the nine foot tall dragon/elf (dragonkith) turned up in the black dragon’s lair- stole a little something from Nightscale’s hoard, and then buggered off (although with one of Buggles’ arrows sticking in its back). So, VICTORY! Although, Garum is doing his best impression of a doorstop atm, he’s dead Jim. The paladin having been smooched into an early grave by a succubus. The Dark Squad therefore start this session back in their secret hidey-cave, home also to the various NPCs they’ve picked up along the way, and so we begin with… chatter, and lots of it. [ATTACH type="full" alt="23.01.jpg"]128487[/ATTACH] [B]"Well, here we all are again...", Vinnie starts the mother's meeting while sitting on the stiffening corpse of the recumbent dwarven paladin- "I don't sink he wud mind- selfless in death, as in life."[/B] First up a discussion about what to do with Garumn, the debate has edges- Newt thinks the paladin was marvellous- and gave his all, but now… well, he’s dead- let’s forget about him and move on (or else a version of the same that’s nicer, and yet nastier at the same time). Buggles (played by Stu) defends Garumn (formerly played by Stu) and clearly wants the sturdy dwarf back. His point however is well made; the other four members of the Dark Squad do not do what Garumn does, which is stand in the middle of the nasty stuff and take a beating. The voice of reason is Ram, oddly- eventually it is sorta settled, Garumn will be given a choice, a priest will be found (probs back in Neverwinter) who can speak with the spirit of the paladin to discover whether he wishes to come back or not. Decision made, or else put off until more info available. [What to do with Garumn chat 250 XP] Next up, and just to say I (your friendly DM) have barely uttered a word so far this evening- the PCs are all just very chatty, or else they have knots that need unravelling. Discussion number two, topic- what’s with Ashardalon? The Dark Squad mostly don’t have a clue what the dragonkith is up to, save the end of the world, probably. Later (the next day- in the real world) one of the players was carping about a future face-off with Ashardalon (he was mighty tough against the black dragon) and fretting a little too, when I asked him- why do you think Ashardalon is the bad guy? That shut him up- the truth is, I think (ask the players) they’re still not sure what part Ashardalon has to play in all of this. They did however release Ashardalon from his slumber, so- they’re obviously a little concerned, they have a hand in all of this- whatever ‘this’ is. Note, I keep referring to Ashardalon as ‘he’, I want to be clear- ‘he’ isn’t certain. ‘He’ could in fact be a ‘she’, and just as likely an ‘it’. The discussion takes a slightly strange turn when Newt suggests that Ashardalon was also the ancient red dragon that Ram spied while on guard duty in the cave several nights earlier. Ashardalon can take many forms is the tabaxi’s theory. You could hear the whirr of the cogs and gears in the player’s brains, recalculating and recalibrating their own Ashardalon theories in the face of this new suggestion. But, with nowhere much to go, and not having ranged far either- the discussion peters out, Ashardalon remains a mystery, one that Buggles is going to solve with his weapons, the wood elf makes clear (several times). [Ashardalon WTF? 400 XP] Next up we switch (actually, they switch- I’m just an eavesdropper here) to discussing Durgeddin’s escape from the slaughter of the orc invaders back in the forge. Arundil the ghost dwarf told the guys that the runty master smith escaped to the ‘white tower on the island in the lake we saw three times’. Buggles repeats the phrase several times- ‘the lake we saw three times…’, at which point Spandwick volunteers that the lake just up the road is called… Thricewatch Lake. Buggles goes Columbo again and pumps the gnome for more information. He then repeats the information he has just garnered from the gnome, in his own words, to his colleagues and claims credit for getting to the bottom of the mystery. Buggles has really started to shine in the last few sessions, he’s a pain the backside (when he wants to be) but he’s funny with it. [Buggles solves the mystery 200 XP] Last up, the wood elf- on a roll, decides to reinvent the finale of the Forge of Fury, the fight versus Nightscale, this for his new audience- Courana, Geradil, Spandwick & Bel. In the new straight to DVD version of the dragon fracas Buggles lures Nightscale into using its acid breath in order to set Newt up for his final fiery masterpiece, as I said previously- he’s funny with it. Just enough to keep everyone onside. [The story of Buggles (and some others) versus Nightscale 100 XP] And we’ve been around the VTT for forty five minutes already, and I’ve done squat. Top work! So, then the Uthgardt show up, although- let’s take it steady, what happens is the guys hear the sound of horsemen approaching, just over half-a-dozen rag-tag mountain men on small but very sturdy looking shaggy mountain horses. [ATTACH type="full" alt="23.05.jpg"]128488[/ATTACH] [B]The Uthgardt- mostly a dour lot, except for... "I am Daktari! I am Uthgardt! I am Sky Pony!" It would be fair to say they liked him from the off.[/B] The lead character shows his hands- the universal sign for peace, and then launches into his speech, except it’s all in Russian, or else a chunk of Russian followed by a swathe of cod-Russian. “Meenya Zaboot Daktari! Kak vas Zaboot?” Remarkably the PCs get it instantly- “Meenya Zaboot Buggles”, and on it goes- including compulsory chest thumping for each new naming. It turns out that Daktari, a jolly Uthgardt barbarian who, unlike most of his companions, has seen the world beyond the tribe- and more importantly speaks the common tongue, has travelled many days with his companions to talk to ‘the eyes in the night’. Again, the PCs (Players) figure this in less than a second- they are the Dark Squad = the eyes in the night, Vinnie and Ram actually prefer the new name, it has a bit more mystery to it. Let me just add, I had a page and a half of A4- scripted plays and ploys to get the Dark Squad to accompany Daktari and his chums to their winter camp, I didn’t get to use any of it. Daktari explains that he is ‘Sky Pony’, and then moments later Nightwing, a jet black Pegasus buzzes the assembled crowd and even before the flying horse has turned for a second run Buggles has agreed to go visit with the barbarians. [ATTACH type="full" alt="23.04.jpg"]128489[/ATTACH] [B]Nightwing, or as Daktari tells it- "Night-ving!"[/B] “Cool ride!” The wood elf smirks. There follows a brief chat between the members of the Dark Squad- ‘should we just head off with these strange barbarians?’, but three of the four PCs realise that they have days ahead of them lugging the dead (and very heavy 350+ lbs) body of Garumn back to civilisation. Note Vinnie is also totting over 50lbs of black dragon scales- all that he could find. Then there’s the nearly 10,000 silver pieces they collected in the forge and environs, and plenty more coins of other denominations. So, horses- that’s a good idea, and besides Daktari is funny and friendly- a lot like Garumn was back when he was alive. To camp… [Say hello to the Uthgardt and Daktari 250 XP] The camp is very… barbarian, with lots of wild folk coming out to stare at the weird and wonderful looking members of the Dark Squad. [ATTACH type="full" alt="23.02.jpg"]128490[/ATTACH] [B]The Sky Pony camp, glorious maps available from Heroic Maps- lots more of their stuff to follow. It's a cracker.[/B] Note en route to camp, and for a short time after their arrival the PCs go Q&A with their new found friend Daktari, they learn that- 1) Daktari isn’t the chief of tribe- or anyone important, the chief is a very nasty fellow ‘he crazy…’ called Timor, who Daktari promises will not kill them- Old Mare and Nightwing have told Timor (repeatedly) that he cannot kill the eyes in the night/Dark Squad. This last fact perhaps requires a little more explanation, at least the PCs thought so at the time... 2) Timor is newly married, and was just settling in to good times hunting game, shooting wolves and wrestling grizzly bears when… Old Mare and Nightwing ordered him to leave his wife and travel 42 days south to meet… the eyes in the night. Which, of course, just leads to more questions… 3) Old Mare is the tribe’s wise women- ‘she bad witch’, Daktari advises. 4) Nightwing is still the Pegasus, and remember these are Sky Pony clan- Nightwing has high status, a living embodiment of the clan’s totem. 5) So, Timor is not allowed to kill the Dark Squad/the eyes in the night because the adventurers are somehow part of an ancient tribal prophecy that has been handed from wise woman to wise woman (and Pegasus to Pegasus) for the last however many generations. Even Daktari has heard of the eyes in the night. 6) The prophecy also concerns the coming of the Time of Ash, and… you guessed it- Ashardalon. 7) Daktari would say more about this (the PCs are very keen for him to say more) but he doesn’t know any more about it, history and prophecy are the preserve of Old Mare, and Nightwing. 8) Next bit, first stop for the PCs when they get to camp is to be introduced to the chief… that’s right- Timor. The adventurers must make a speech of greeting (Daktari will translate) and then offer a gift to the chief. 9) Not everyone is happy with this last bit. Note, Vinnie too has started to find his voice again- and by the time we get to camp the anthropologist druid has already made Newt promise not to antagonise anyone, and for the tabaxi to try really hard not to set anyone on fire. Newt promises only to set people on fire that deserve to be on fire, which is as good as it gets. Likewise Buggles has also had his caution- “Why are we giving this idiot Timor a present?”- “Because it iz zer culturally correct zing to do, they zeem to have travelled a long way to zee us, and we are guests in zer camp…” A little more gets said- back and forth, but Vinnie is in parent mode, and doing his level best to pre-empt the inevitable squabbling when the kids decide to play up, or push the limits of their host’s patience. More remarkably the druid’s gambit works- don’t get me wrong, on occasion the limit is pushed (see below) but throughout all that follows- it’s wonderfully restrained, for the Dark Squad. Spoiler- Newt only sets one member of the barbarian camp on fire, but that’s not until much much later on. Keep an eye out for it. [Pumping Daktari for info 300 XP] So, here’s Timor. [B]Although none of the Players took a screenshot of Timor- are you listening, guys?[/B] Note this meeting involves me (your kindly DM) screaming cod-Russian and raving (as Timor), and then as swiftly diving into my Daktari persona to translate the apoplectic yelling- “Timor says that the weather is remarkably fine for the time of year…”. Timor continues to scream his frustration- having had to abandoned his new wife, having being ordered here by Old Mare; while Daktari continues to offer platitudes and small talk. Then Vinnie makes a speech of greeting- short and to the point, Timor is alas mostly unimpressed. Then it’s present giving time, at which point Daktari lets slip that the tribe have been guarding the artefact that they are about to bestow upon the Dark Squad/the eyes in the night for many many generations. This new piece of information concentrates a few minds, soon after almost all of the PCs have presents for Timor. The word artefact can do that. Particularly to players of RPGs. So, it starts with a very fine ruby (a gift from Vinnie)- which Timor tosses into the fire- no good. Then owlbear feathers from Newt, won in battle- Timor is delighted. Then a beak and claw set (again, owlbear) handed over by Ram, which leaves the barbarian chief giggling like a child. Then finally back to the beginning- try again, a black dragon scale or two from the very smart Vinnie who has cottoned on to how this works. Timor hugs the druid, nearly snapping the shifter in two. Timor is 350+lbs of corded muscle. Then however it all goes very wrong (as it is wont to do- often), Vinnie- while Timor, tears in his eyes, expresses his thanks- whispers for Newt to grab the very expensive ruby that the barbarian chief tossed in the fire pit. Newt decides to use a mage hand spell, seconds later and the no-necked monstrosity (Timor) is very suddenly of the opinion that there is an invisible attacker within his tent and… well, it gets worse when Newt uses a control flames cantrip to turn the chief’s abode into a flaming disco. Timor goes bonkers. In the end Daktari has to rush the Dark Squad out of the chief’s tent and the maelstrom… Daktari explains again- he is a cosmopolitan member of the Uthgardt Sky Pony tribe, he worked in Neverwinter for a while- he has seen window glass, once had a bath, and knows hedge magic when he sees it. However, his brethren… much less tolerant, much less sophisticated, much more savage and violent in their hatred of all things arcane. Timor later refuses to hand over the artefact the tribe have been holding for the Dark Squad/the eyes in the night for generations. The chief will only pass the item on when the PCs have returned from the land of the bad dead ancestors. Did I forget to mention the land of the bad dead ancestors… my mistake, but we’ll get to it in a while. [Meet Timor 400 XP] Audience with Timor done the PCs retire to the guests tent to drink Schlapp with Daktari- Schlapp is fermented mare’s milk (and then some). Several of the PCs get quite giddy, a few stories are told (to Daktari) and the exchange turns into a further discussion about the nature and the desires of Ashardalon. “What did he take from the dragon’s hoard?” Buggles, and others, repeatedly enquire. That and other questions. I’m starting to think that Ashardalon not fighting the Dark Squad is beginning to bother them… or at least some of them. Certainly the subject keeps on coming up. The drinking continues into the wee small hours, Daktari reveals that Nightwing saw Ashardalon appear from the lake- ‘which lake?’ Ram asks. ‘Thricewatch’ Daktari adds, and promises to take the PCs there in the morning. Many birds- one stone. All roads lead to Thricewatch Lake, or so it seems. The climax of the evening however occurs when the drunk druid turns into Vincen G. Octopod, Daktari having never seen such a creature before doesn’t know whether to scream or have sex with it- the barbarian settles for running into the door frame of the yurt and knocking himself out cold. [ATTACH type="full" alt="23.03.jpg"]128493[/ATTACH] [B]Vinne the morning after, "I wuz soo dronk last night, I barely remember any-sing. I did not... how you zay, embarrass my-zelf did I?" Note, that's the interior of Timor's yurt on the right- the clues in the picture.[/B] It would be fair to say that the Dark Squad are beginning to like Daktari, Buggles asks Vinnie to continue to sound out the barbarian, while Newt just plain states- ‘we should hire him’. [Schlapp! And great RP 500 XP] Morning, and an early start- meat-porridge and then horseback to Thricewatch Lake, which is quite a place- ruins here and there, investigated by Buggles and Ram, nothing of interest. Then the frozen lake itself, with a hole in the ice- Ashardalon sized (and the ice is very thick here, several feet thick- imagine the strength it took to break through it). There are tracks from the ice hole- to the tower in the centre of the lake, and then onwards- to the north east, into the forest (actually Neverwinter Woods). [ATTACH type="full" alt="23.07.jpg"]128494[/ATTACH] [B]Thricewatch Lake, note the Ashardalon shaped ice-hole.[/B] [Investigating Thricewatch 250 XP] Next stop then is the ruined tower in the centre of the frozen lake, Buggles finds an ancient and well-concealed trapdoor, buried by snow and ice. The portal is wrenched open by Daktari, the passage beneath has been partially collapsed but best guess it heads back into the mountain… to the forges, this is the way that Durgeddin got out. A thorough search of the tower by Buggles (after a ‘20’) reveals the presence of ancient graffito- the tell-tale ‘DB’, Durgeddin the Black’s smith’s mark. The stunted dwarf was certainly here… although centuries past. [Buggles is on the trail 200 XP] There’s nothing else to be found here however, but Daktari knows where Ashardalon went next- mainly because Nightwing followed the creature’s progress from above. Another hour of riding through the woods and the Dark Squad are faced with yet another discovery, a huge depression with thirty foot cliffs, almost a perfect circle cut into the rock- snow and ice within, but also a myriad bones, actually complete skeletons- a dragon’s graveyard. One of the skeletal wyrm’s was clearly of gargantuan proportions. [ATTACH type="full" alt="23.06.jpg"]128495[/ATTACH] [B]The Dark Squad and Daktari take a moment- they're bottom left. "Big dragon...", Buggles helpfully captions the view, he's not wrong.[/B] The Dark Squad climb down to investigate- Newt plummeting the last ten feet, the tabaxi may have a climb speed but his dice are broken when it comes to athletics checks. I’ve never seen him roll over a ‘3’, admittedly he doesn’t make the check often- but it rarely ends well. Tracks (of Ashardalon) are found and followed, they lead- of course- to the skeletal remains of the gargantuan long-dead wyrm. Point of fact the tracks lead to the ex-dragon’s skull, which is bigger than any of the PCs. The adventurers congregate, search about- cautiously, they’re expecting the skeletal wyrm to come alive, and so the kindly DM does nothing for ages, except allow the PCs to make myriad skill checks, and continue to guess- what’s this all about? It takes nearly twenty minutes of continued mooching, skill check rolling and speculating for the PCs to forget their trepidations, at which point, of course, the skeleton juggernaut comes (un)alive. The terrifying undead is vaguely humanoid in shape, although nearly twenty feet tall, constructed from a tottering pile of mostly dragon bones. The thing suddenly lurches to its feet and slams both splintered ivory fists into Ram, who survives the ordeal- just, on something like 8 HP (from full). [ATTACH type="full" alt="23.08.jpg"]128496[/ATTACH] [B]"What are you looking at me like that for?" Ram snarls, as the twenty foot tall Skeleton Juggernaut silently lurches and sways to its full height behind the rogue.[/B] It gets hectic. Just to say in advance, the skeleton juggernaut is hit point heavy- approx. 200 of ‘em, but as soon as it takes damage it starts falling apart- losing 10 HP/turn. It was semi-terrifying, but only for a short while- and when the Dark Squad have just one enemy… Ram stabs the thing with Deadend (undead bane, sorta, rapier) and then gets the hell out of dodge, allowing Daktari to step in and soak up the skeletal giant’s attacks- that sound familiar to anyone. The barbarian warrior swings heartily, and misses repeatedly, the next line then comes in cod-Russian- “guys, a little help…” It’s like Garumn’s back in the room. An inspiration point later and Daktari smashes his greatsword into the undead monstrosity, and then starts shouting the odds. Vinnie hits the thing with a moonbeam (and rolls spectacularly low damage) while Buggles slashes hard with his twin scimitars, and then like Ram, gets away from the terror. Newt adds a Belphegor’s fiery blast to the mix, and also stays back and out of the way. The moonbeam burns some more but the skeleton juggernaut escapes the spotlight and then… and then… does something stunning- the bone pile inverts- from bottom heavy to top heavy. The bones that describe the undead tyrant skitter and flow- upwards, until the entire structure is standing on pipe-cleaner thin skeletal legs, it’s upper half a swelling bolus of bones- and then gravity takes effect. The creature crashes down- spreading a carpet of shattered bones and flying splinters in a huge radius, all of the Dark Squad get hurt, although (the bastards) all manage to make their saves- even Daktari. Just as remarkably the carpet of bones flows almost instantly back to its former form and shape, back to being a vaguely humanoid skeletal giant. Ram dodges in and cuts again, Daktari rages and begins screaming insults and slashing wildly, there’s even a crit in there- the barbarian is also in a frenzy, and already the bone juggernaut is bloodied and beyond. Buggles gets to work again, and with an extra attack from his action surge slashes the undead beast three more times- it’s tottering. Newt follows up with a pair of fiery blasts… the undead giant teeters, and then… collapses. Destroyed. We pause the action for maybe ten seconds, as the PCs take it in turns to slap each other on the back for a job well done, at which point rising from the remnants of the undead monstrosity come a dozen oddly constructed (with dragon bones of all shapes and sizes) skeleton warriors which set about the PCs. “Oh, naughty word!” is the consensus, particularly as the first skeleton crits Daktari (as does another seconds later). Another pair get to Ram and cut the rogue down (yet another crit- my dice!). What’s worse all of the PCs still standing have at least two of the bony bastards facing them down, and all of the PCs take hits. That was nice. Note, only one skeleton succumbs to Vinnie’s moonbeam- there are still eleven left after the opening moments. Buggles starts yelling- “Newt, Fireball!” Then the fight back begins- Daktari takes more hits, but manages to smash another skeleton down, Buggles ends yet another… and then Newt drops the fireball. Eight (of the nine) skeletons are within the compass of the explosion- as is Daktari (alas). The fire and noise is terrifying, but over in a flash- and when the smoke clears the only skeleton left standing is the one outside the range of the spell. [ATTACH type="full" alt="23.09.jpg"]128498[/ATTACH] [B]Suddenly skeletons! Note the circular marker- the Fireball is about to hit, and Daktari is in the hot zone. Newt doesn't bat an eyelid- sacrifices have to be made.[/B] Daktari, clothes singed- on fire in places, staggers forward- “I got zis!” the barbarian declares and then skitters over and cuts the last undead enemy down. The barbarian duly collapses (he was actually on about 4 HP but… his rage/frenzy is over, and so he’s exhausted, also- drama) the heat of his singed body creating its own snow-angel in the wintery white turf. Vinnie dishes out some healing- to Ram, and then to Daktari- the latter (it appears) has now been fully accepted as part of the gang, or at least granted temporary membership. Which was, of course, my intention. [Skeletons- big and small 2400 XP] And yet there’s more, after a five minute cool down- and chat, note it took about seven seconds for one of the players to say something like- “Ashardalon, the bastard- he left a trap for us.” I think that was Vinnie’s line. But here’s the thing- Ashardalon is in their heads. That worked too. Then Buggles continues to do the clever thing- the wood elf searches the area from which the skeleton juggernaut arose, as it happens the chest cavity of the fallen ancient dragon, his eagle eyes (‘23’) spot a series of markings cut into one of the dead wyrm’s massive ribs. Newt can read any text, the warlock has just been granted the ability by his fiendish patron- Belphegor. He does so- “it’s written in draconic, it says- ‘I will be watching you’”. Maybe Vinnie’s got a point. The area is double searched, but there’s no forward trail to be found- Daktari confirms this oddity, Nightwing saw Ashardalon come here- move around the huge skeleton dragon, and then simply… disappear. Then Vinnie is cleverer still, the druid scratches his own message on the same rib- in draconic, “we need to talk”. You’ve gotta love it when the players write the story for you. That’s going to happen. Maybe. All out of investigating, the Dark Squad head back to camp. [Ashardalon & Vinnie’s messages 500 XP] And still there’s more… it’s amazing how much stuff you can get through when you’re not spending hours fighting to stay alive. Back in camp, and still a bit beaten up, its time for more Schlapp, and… Old Mare comes a calling- she too wishes to talk with the eyes in the night/Dark Squad- if only to warn them about what lies ahead, in the land of the bad dead ancestors. [ATTACH type="full" alt="23.1.jpg"]128499[/ATTACH] [B]Old Mare, and the story of the bad dead ancestors.[/B] So, it’s time for the bad dead ancestors story I mentioned earlier- in point of fact this element was introduced to the player’s much earlier in the narrative- but this is the full explanation, and the first opportunity the PCs have had to ask questions of someone who knows a bit more about what’s going on here. Here’s what the Dark Squad learn- 1) The Uthgardt bury their great chiefs in barrow mounds, these become sacred places- to be visited, for ceremonies and the like. 2) However, every now and then an Uthgardt chief goes bad- y’know the kind of thing, blood thirsty maniacs and the like. These bad folk, when they die, are buried in a shadowy place not of this world, in barrows there- as per the great chiefs. 3) This shadowy place (plane) can only be accessed by the wise women/witches of the tribe- or at least by the powerful ones, like Old Mare. Nobody else can (or should) go there for the place is home to the furious dead. Also the bad ancestors are less than pleasant. 4) Now for the fun part- the eyes in the night/Dark Squad, Old Mare explains- according to the tribe's ancient prophecy, must be sent to the terrible place so that they can question the bad ancestors about… well, the Time of Ash, Ashardalon… and whatever it is that’s going on here. Basically, the bad ancestors have got some secrets they’re holding on to- again, according to the prophecy. 5) There are seven bad ancestors, they will all, inevitably- Old Mare cautions, attempt to kill the eyes in the night/Dark Squad- it’s what they do, she states. However if the eyes in the night/Dark Squad can best them, then… they will be forced to reveal what they know. 6) Simples, except- all seven ancestors must be made to reveal their secrets for the eyes in the night/Dark Squad to be able to return to the land of the living. It’s all or nothing, except… 7) The only other way to get back from the land of the bad ancestors is to… well, die there. If this happens the PC will be returned to the land of the living but… (obviously) they’ll be dead. Contrary, ain’t it. There are of course lots of questions along the way, and a fair amount of trepidation- remarkably the question- “should we even be doing this?” only gets muttered and mostly ignored once. Consensus is “Yeah!” However, there’s also time for a top up, Old Mare is happy to sell Schlapp-based healing potions to the PCs (at 75gp each, they didn’t even haggle), which is fortunate because the Dark Squad had only one potion of healing between them all (garnered from Nightscale’s hoard). More mundane items are also stocked up on- mostly arrows, but a few other odds and ends. After this Buggles also gets a private consultation with Old Mare, he has the witch examine Nightcaller, the magic whistle which conjures Gwen (a female duergar skeleton, remember). Soon after Old Mare’s ministration Gwen materialises (earlier than expected- Gwen can normally only be summoned once every tenday), also Gwen has levelled up- she’s got a bag more hit points. The last surprise however is for Daktari, note the barbarian since he met the eyes in the night/Dark Squad has been repeatedly remarking how brave the PCs must be for heading in to the land of the bad dead ancestors. It therefore comes as a shock for him to learn that he’s going too, it seems the bad dead ancestors only speak Uthgardt, therefore he’ll be translating. Remarkably the PCs are very glad that their new barbarian friend is coming with them, as am I. Next session- the land of the bad dead ancestors, most probably. Stay safe and well you lovely people. Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
The Dark Squad in the Secrets of Saltmarsh #136 Into the Mere of the Dead Men.
Top