tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16217981035391733762024-03-13T10:26:41.155+00:001pot: Wedge the Halfling Under the Door!1pot OSR rules and home game blogWyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.comBlogger230125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-8120820798258503992016-09-02T17:04:00.003+01:002016-09-02T17:04:29.761+01:00Savage Tide Session 58The party decided they had chanced their luck enough with the strange undead creatures, and left them to sail off towards the islands that loomed ahead.<br />
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The destination was an island – well, two island, rent asunder by a massive volcanic eruption. On the western face, the ragged sheer rocky volcano still fumed and billowed black smoke, and lava poured into the sea. One the eastern side, the island was thick with lush jungle vegetation. The more sharp-eyed party members caught glimpses of a structure perched between the tips of the the two island mountains, almost lost in the smoke form the volcano. It appeared to be a castle, with three main structures that were linked across the islands by bridges over lava and tumultuous sea.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With the spyglass, the party spotted the wreck of a ship nestled in a cove on the jungle side. Not wanting to endanger the crew of the <i>Intrepid</i> and captain Dromedon, they left instructions for the ship to keep distant and find safe harbour elsewhere, whilst Dacien <i>teleported</i> the party to the wreck. They found the ship in mostly good shape, and as though the crew had left in a more-or-less orderly fashion, although the ship was beached on rocks higher than the tidemark, and the mainmast wrenched and twisted, as though grabbed from above. There was some guano on the beach that Dacien tried to use <i>telekinesis</i> to bring closer and examine. They were interrupted by the culprit – a titanic pteranodon that was diving out of the smoky caldera towards the shore. The party dove for cover, as the beast’s claws caught naught but air. A few arrows and fireballs chased it off as it glided around the headland and out of sight<o:p></o:p></div>
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The guano contained the bones of mostly apes and demonic creatures, particularly vrocks, giving the party some clues about the local creatures. The party set off up the steep jungle towards the peak and the structure there. The castle came into view, a large austere stone structure, covered in lewd depictions of Demogorgon engaged in various acts of debauchery. The castle was also clearly damaged form the volcanic activity – a large hole demolished parts of the wall and roof, and appeared to allow the only access to the interior. A shimmering dome covered the castle, which Dacien deduced to be powerful artefact level magic – a planar abjuration similar to <i>forbiddance</i>, but also including some mind-compulsion enchantment effect he could not fully interpret. A small tower, built of skulls instead of bricks, lay just outside the field, and the party set out to investigate that first.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The tower proved to be empty, save for filth and detritus littering the floor. The ceiling was pitch black, into which Mendel fired two arrows – only to be greeted by two large black puddings falling down towards him. Wary of the danger these things posed, the party threw their most powerful magic at them, only to disturb the rest of the pteranodon that was nesting atop the tower. This jumped down, scattering the party, and joined the battle – only to be attacked by the black pudding behind it. The party finally killed the beasts, and in searching the nest found a <i>broom of flying </i> made from coral and byssus, and an armoire of concealment.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After resting up, the party decided to carefully approach the main castle – until Mendel blundered through the shimmering field. Mendel appeared unharmed but when eventually joined by the others, most of the party succumbed to a <i>sympathy</i> effect that caused them to believe this castle – now Demogorgon’s prison, was precisely where they were meant to be. Only Faldak, Gerald and Lenny remained unaffected. Undeterred, and in most cases spurred on, the party explored inside the castle. There was a large chasm splitting the main chamber in two, and a crude wall of debris and bodies piled the other side. To the west the party heard a cacophony of clashing, gnashing wailing and shrieking. The party flew over the chasm and the wall, and found some small buildings, containing maggots, worms, larvae (corrupted souls) and effigies of Demogorgon. A large stone statue of Demogorgon , much like the one they encountered on the Isle of Dread, patrolled the area, as did a band of vrocks that the party quickly dispatched. They kept the statue at bay, but whilst examining vrock bodies, a demonic female appeared and tried to assassinate Mendel. When her strike failed, she disappeared again, leaving the party on edge.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The doors in the castle/prison were made from a metal mined on entropy-tainted planes, that carried and addictive poisonous sheen. The noise to the west came from several metal cages – over a hundred, teeming with prisoners of various breeds – mostly demonic. The party started talking to a quadrone modron, apparently an agent of Noumena (an immortal on the Council of Intrusion) desperate to report back. Before they could finish the discussions, a pack of Hezrou prison guards attacked. They party fended off the worst of the assault, but the rest retreated , wailing pathetically for their ‘boss’.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-54190376558615274552016-07-24T12:23:00.004+01:002016-07-24T12:23:58.376+01:00Savage Tide Session 57The party had some time to finalise preparations and so set to shopping, meeting friends and leaving messages for loved ones before the expedition to the planes<br />
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The party teleported to Farshore and spoke with Manthalay and Lavinia. The settlement seemed to be doing well; growing beyond its previous walls, and some of the previous buildings torn down to make way for more warehouses. Ji's monastery had been completed, and Mendel's look-out post almost done. The party dined with Lavinia and spoke of the task to come - with the potential to end Vanthus' threat with some permanence. Lavinia gave them her blessing, her love for her brother long since dead.<br />
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Zhedd bade his farewell to the party - his concern with the oncoming shadow pearl threat was more about the direct threat to the elven peoples than to Mystara itself, and so, should the party fail, he would see to it the elven nation of Wendar, and his Vyalia clan to the south, was secure.<br />
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The party paid Lady Silvermane a visit in Sasserine. The Church of the Whirling Fury opened to them, and she greeted them eagerly. She had heard tell of the defeat of the Crimson Fleet from her agents around Ne'er-do-Well, and was eager to hear of progress. Agents of the Church were already mobilised, but their numbers few. She introduced the party to one agent - Lundgryn, a dwarven druid from Rockhome - as someone who could help the party on their next endeavours. He had encountered Demogorgon activity in Rockhome and had heard tell that a band of ogres had stolen a Forge of Power there.<br />
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Emperor Heldeberan instructed the party that the ship was ready in port at Draco, where they could inspect it and meet the captain. The ship was a two-masted brig - sturdily built and reinforced for battle, mounted with catapult and ballista. They met the captain in a local inn, who introduced himself as Dromedon - a name that gave some among the party pause, as he was the Emperor's son, and probably the Emperor's way of keeping the party on the straight and narrow from afar<br />
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The party sailed from Draco with the crew down to the Sead of Dread, to get the measure of the ship and its men. They were all hardened sailors and marines, but far outclassed by the party in terms of skill and abilities as adventurers.<br />
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With Dacien's ability to teleport, the party were not confined to the ship. At Mendel's behest, they decided to travel for the first time (for any significant period of time) to the Astral Plane. They found it a bright, featureless plane of spangly beige-gold, stretching as far as the eye could see. Movement was propelled by thought and willpower alone, with 'up' being whichever way the individual chose it to be - but some experimentation quickly showed that the cleverest amongst the party were best able to adapt to and take advantage of this. The party travelled, more or less randomly, for some time, thinking of different destinations, to see what they could find. They came across<br />
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<ol>
<li>a travelling mage that looked Alphatian in colouration, who barked at them in broken common, seemingly more interested in going about his business</li>
<li>a locked chest with a plaque bearing the initials L.J., and containing 150 platinum pieces, a scroll of 'Protection from Law', magical bracers of armour, and a magical Jar with oval white objects</li>
<li>A retinue of Djinn around a pasha leader, looking to trade for information</li>
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The party returned to the prime, thinking the Astral a very boring place</div>
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When the ship Intrepid was ready, the party affixed the wakeportal to the figurehead and set off. Dromedon, as ship's captain, could feel the pull from the magical artifact and set sail into the midst of the Sea of Dread. The sea around the ship started to churn and fume with sulphurous stench. Quick and stronger, then suddenly the party were pulled into the Astral. There, the ship's charts gave them a straight steer to the dark portal that led through to Gaping Maw.<br />
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The Intrepid emerged into a roiling storm, waves crashing around them twice as high as the ship. Gerald quickly acted to calm the weather, and allowed the crew to wrest back control of the ship from the lashing winds. Several islands could be seen in the distance through the clouds, and the party headed to the nearest. The lookout spotted a strange form floating across the waves in the distance - less ship, more amorphous blob of congealed...something. A fiery light in a cage could be seen from afar atop this blob-ship, with two dark figures prowling its surface.They appeared to have not spotted the party, but Gerald's zone of calmed weather would soon intersect them. The party instructed the captain to intersect their course, and they were soon spotted. The dark figures teleported aboard the ship - dark unholy fiends, that stunned the crew with their hateful speech. The party sprang to their defence, Faldak taking a deep blow. The creatures fought viciously, but one was felled and turned into vapour as it died. The other teleported back to the other ship, as the vapour retreated in that direction too. The party mulled over what to next.<br />
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Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-41990262014989725122016-04-24T12:09:00.001+01:002016-05-02T21:30:40.774+01:00Savage Tide Session 56The party spent much time in Sasserine planning their next steps and distributing or liquidating their loot. The chest proved a focus, and eventually the party realised that it was a fabled treasure itself - the <i>Iron Chest of Dahnakriss</i>, an infamous Master Thief and arcane trickster known to ply his trade in Thyatis and Karamiekos. To keep his ill-gotten gains safe, he devised a series of chests and lockers with intricate traps. This chest was guarded by each of the gargoyle faces, which could be manipulated into different expressions - in the right combination the chest would unlock. Antony set about trying combinations, based on the rhyme they found in Captain Wyther's bedstead. On the second attempt, the chest popped open, revealing further treasures of the fleet. These included another gem - the <i>Heartstone</i>, said to be an artifact that appeared at moments of selection of great leaders and something Dahnakriss had a penchant for stealing. Also present was the <i>Wakeportal </i>figurehead the captain had mentioned, wrapped in a cloth map that indicated the location of the various sea portals to the Astral Plane. The annotation on the map indicated it was from Greatrealm, a city in Hule.<br />
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Preparations complete, the party <i>teleport</i>ed to Crossroads, and made their approach to report into the King Koryn. They were told to meet aboard the <i>Maiden's Favour</i>, a ship moored in the harbour. There, the king met them with a lobster dinner, and questioned them about the outcome of their efforts to bring some element of control and stability to the civil war-strewn city of Scuttlecove. The king wasn't overly happy with certain aspects - that his former friend Kedward had been <i>feebleminded</i> and handed over as a slave, that a follower of Talitha was now the most potent force in the city; but through Gerald's clever diplomacy they were able to convince him of the necessity of the outcome as it was, and that they may return to deal with some of the outstanding issues now the Crimson Fleet was defeated. They also made a gift of the <i>Iron Chest</i>, which was enough for the King to make good on his promise of favours and rewards.<br />
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The news about the shadow pearls troubled the King and he agreed to make an introduction to the Emperor of Alphatia, <b>Heldeberan No-Man's-Fool</b>. In the fortnight it took to arrange the meeting, the party stayed over in Sasserine and indulged in shopping. During the stay, Zhedd noticed one night when the animal life around the tailors seemed to disappear, and Antony spotted a bat in the eaves opposite seeming to watch the goings on in the property. It detected as a powerful undead, but when approached it fled. The next day, Mendel and Dacien paid a visit to the Witchwadens to question them about the event. They were met by a stand offish <b>Her Dark Priestess Annah </b>Teranaki<i style="font-weight: bold;">, </i>who did little to answer their questions and went to lengths to point out that sentient undead should be able to do as they please like any living person. As they left, however, she did ask Dacien "How did he find Scuttlecove?".<br />
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The party travelled to Sundsvall, capital of Alphatia, to meet the Emperor, joined by a priest of Koryis as his advisor. He welcomed the party and thanked them for their efforts in bringing the shadow pearl problem to light. He agreed to make approaches to leaders of other nations to alert them, but felt this needed to be handled delicately - to avoid panic and mistrust. Key would be to find the Master Pearl and deal with the problem at its source. He offered the party a ship in order to make use of the Wakeportal, should they wish. He also offered up the resources of the capital's libraries for further research into Demogorgon, Gaping Maw, the gemstones, Arik, and other problems the party happened to be keeping under their hats.<br />
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Key things Dacien and Zhedd uncovered<br />
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<li>Demogorgon's heads, Aameul (the left head) and Hethradiah (the right head), have different conflicting view and attitudes - one cold and calculating, the other ferocious and savage.</li>
<li>The shadow pearl plot seemed unusually complex for Demogorgon's typically confused and muddled strategies - that also manifest in her followers</li>
<li>Gaping Maw was a plane created by Demogorgon to house a pleasure palace, but has since been abandoned and turned into a prison for her enemies</li>
<li>Spells like <i>Plane Shift</i> could take you to Gaping Maw, with an appropriate focus made of tooth or bone from a creature with a special link to Demogorgon</li>
<li>Arik details were confirmed as previously</li>
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Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-85846015994192886832016-03-21T07:56:00.001+00:002016-03-21T19:34:10.910+00:00Savage Tide Session 55Mid-teleport astral indecision led to the party arriving in Crossroads, capital of Ne'er-do-well, a better place for shopping and for Felix to report back and retire from the party. Felix bade the party farewell, heading back to report to King Koryn on the progress now that the Crimson Fleet had been routed. The party stayed in the quarters at the Temple of Asterius under the eye of the cleric Articulate, whilst they stocked up on spells and equipment to better face the yagnaloth in the pirates treasury.<br />
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The next day, the party teleported back to the <i>Wreck. </i>There was no sign of other activity, just the growing stench of bodies, but the stagnant water seemed thicker with glistening green algae. Mendel spotted movement in one of the gibbets; a horribly disfigured red-skinned pirate, bird-like mutations warping his body and face. He was clearly in pain and Mendel put an end to his misery.<br />
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Dacien has <i>arcane lock</i>ed the treasury door, so readied to open this with a <i>knock</i> for Antony to slip in under Zhedd's <i>greater invisibility</i>. The yagnaloth had moved all the chests to the far corner of the room so not to be visible from the door, and was waiting poised for someone to enter. Antony snuck into position for a backstab, as Faldak and Mendel enter - both succumbing to the <i>forbiddance </i>effect in the chamber. Both were stunned by the creature, and Mendel was dragged into the chamber. Fortunately, his stunning wore off quickly and he was able to flank the creature, allowing Antony to finish it off with a couple of well-placed strikes. The treasure hoard was theirs, the largest of their adventuring career so far, and more coins than they could count. They secured what they could, but were left puzzled by a large ornate chest decorated with seven gargoyle faces. The party did not recognise this, and as Antony detected each face carried a trap, they left it be for now.<br />
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They set about clearing the rest of the base, starting with the ship below - the <i>Black Sprite</i>. This seemed to be the Fleet's war-room and operations - rooms filled with books and maps, charts etc (<i>see below</i>). They also found a shrine - a scrimshaw statue of Demogorgon leering over a doorway. In its tentacles floated an orb, an intricate puzzle box. After a couple of failed attempts that almost severed his fingers, Antony managed to open the orb. The room filled with a narcotic gas, Faldak's dwarven constitution failing him, as the statue seemed to come to life. Antony's mind was flooded with the knowledge that he was no directly <i>communing</i> with Demogorgon. He asked tentative yes/no questions - Is Vanthus on Gaping Maw (<i>Yes</i>)? Is there a master pearl (<i>Yes</i>)? but the intrusion into Demogorgon's psyche was too much and she noticed. With a sibilant sneer, the statue exploded, ripping a hole in the side of the ship.<br />
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Dacien has a<i> feather fall </i>spell ready, and the party started floating to the deck below - on which waited the demonic <i>retriever</i>. Faldak was hit by a petrification ray, and plummeted onto the golem. Mendel peppered it with stonebreaker acid and arrows from above, as Dacien returned Faldak to his fleshy beardy self. Quick to regain his senses, Faldak started lopping off legs from the creature, bringing it tumbling down around him.<br />
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Antony found a <i>symbol of insanity </i> and was briefly mobidly fear of the sea before Gerald could cure him. This ship held a galley and a gaol - in which the party found an elven woman's body, and a comatose red-skinned pirate with a badly broken jaw. They restored the pirate, who introduced himself as <b>Ratline Sid</b> from Torreon, one of the mutineers that Cold Captain Wyther had captured and tortured for more information about the mutineers. He confirmed what the party had heard - Vanthus had returned and humiliated the captain in front of his fleet. This sparked a mutiny amongst the already disgruntled captains - unhappy at plying trade under the yoke of Hule, so far from their home on the Savage Baronies, and now being driven by Demogorgon's clergy. Sid was sad to hear of the death of Harliss, and keen to escape and rejoin with the fleet mutineers. The party agreed to bring him with them for now and kept a close eye on them.<br />
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Sid explained that the creature kept in the front stone hut was a dark beast bound there by Wyther, who could move the pontoon from afar to allow ships in. The party decided to keep clear - more on the basis it was unlikely to have any treasure. They found a shrine to Demogorgon in another hut, with a dark tapestry depicting slaughter in the beasts name, and an altar covered in candles; two black waxy stains now empty.<br />
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Giving the base the final once over, Zhedd spotted a movement in the water. Two large crocodiles were sent down after it, but didn't return - a muffled flash was visible under the murky pond scum. An eye appeared above the water to the side, and Dacien <i>lowered water</i> to reveal an <b>eye of the deep</b>. Faldak and Mendel drew their bows but both succumbed to its blinding flash and eye rays almost as quickly as Gerald could heal them. Eventually it was defeated, and the party found its treasure hidden behind an illusionary floor in a nearby hovel.<br />
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The base cleared, the party retreated to Sasserine to plan further forays to collect all the treasures that couldnt fit into their <i>bags of holding</i> and scour over the maps and information they found. Aloysious was going to have his work cut out...<br />
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<i>Charts and shadow pearl locations as recovered from the pirates war room</i></div>
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<i>1. Across Alphatian/Thyatian empires; 2. Close up of 'Known World'</i></div>
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<i><br /></i>Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-56093873759082437752016-02-29T21:53:00.000+00:002016-02-29T21:53:10.419+00:00Savage Tide Session 54The battle restarted as Mendel picked off some of the pirates. The other pirates gathered around Cold Captain Wyther and whisked him away with a <i>dimension door</i>. Some of the pirates went invisible and snuck forward, whilst others, upon red-skinned leathery wings, took to the air and tried to magically ensorcell Faldak and Felix. Commands in <i>abyssal</i> could be heard from below, again ordering some candles to be lit. The rest of the party joined the battle against the pirates remaining on the top deck; smokestick arrows countering their invisibility, and allowing the others to attack. The pirates soon realised they were beaten and began to flee - just as two arrow demons appeared at the side of the deck, and started peppering the party from afar.<br />
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The remaining harpy from the previous encounters also appeared and sand a song of confusion at the party. The party was momentarily in disarray as Antony turned on Mendel who promptly fled, before Zhedd used his <i>solid fog</i> spell to remove temporarily the arrow demons from play, and Felix <i>countersang</i> the confusion effect giving Dacien time to capture the harpy in a <i>resilient sphere</i>.<br />
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Dacien got a warning through his <i>anticipate teleportation</i> spell that pirate reinforcements would be returning, and gathered a group around him to instead teleport to their location. He left a <i>delayed blast fireball</i> in the crows nest where they would appear, The blast took out one of the pirates, and seeing that the Captain was amongst them, the team decided to stay and take them on. Captain Wyther flew down and used a <i>suggestion</i> to command the party to lie down helpless; Antony again succumbed to the spell and was taken out of the fight. The Captain engaged Mendel in melee, as one of his allies tried to teleport in to join him - only to be again delayed by Dacien's spell. The remaining pirate threw fireballs down at the party, whilst the arrow demon (his companion <i>dismissed</i>) targetted Dacien. Wyther's powers allowed him to catch Mendel unawares and stab him repeatedly. This led to a battle between the pirate captain stabbing Mendel in the spleen, and Gerald healing the spleen as quickly as he could. Without the backup from his fellow pirates, the captain could not win; and after his embarassment at the hands of Vanthus he could not retreat, Mendel cut him down. Dacien, almost felled by the arrow demon, used telekinesis to grab Wyther's body before he could be healed<br />
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On the deck below, Faldak had been leading Felix in a slaughter of the pirates gathered there. The slavering dwarf cut so many down they decided to flee, leaving a deck covered in gore. Felix found a trapdoor heading down, and they decided to explore - not before Dacien paraded Wyther's body for the base to see, and Felix called out for any remaining to flee. Mendel and Faldak picked off fleeing pirates from afar, as Dacien <i>raised the water</i> level to stop them using the skiffs to escape.<br />
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Once people were healed, they headed below decks through the trapdoor. A trap below drained the life energies from Antony, Mendel and Faldak. A small anteroom led to another chamber with lead-lined walls that shimmered with magic. Crates and sacks of treasure were visible, but as Antony peered around the corner, he saw a large demonic creature, one arm massively oversized, waiting to pounce.<br />
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A brief spell of combat left Faldak stunned, and Mendel heavily injured; and the party in disarray as Gerald's <i>holy word</i> backfired on them. Felix joined the party and tried to talk to the yagnoloth, who mentioned only that he was working for Demogorgon. Gerald managed to pause the combat with a <i>magic circle vs evil</i> and the party tried to negotiate; offering to free the beast. He said he knew of a means in the base to free him, but wanted healing first. When the party offered only a potion of cure moderate wounds, he wasn't impressed, and grew irritated and insulted at Mendel's tone, and refused to cooperate.<br />
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Relived that the combat had stopped, a bloodied party quickly teleported to Fort Gerard to recover.Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-89749943519716490262016-02-12T21:22:00.002+00:002016-02-16T08:53:54.159+00:00Savage Tide Session 53A sullen fishing crew docked into the harbour at Crossroads, shaken by their wounds. The party offered to ensure they were healed, Mendel looking to buy their silence. Wetherby tersely agreed, and they accompanied the party to the Temple of Asterius in the city, The temple was in the design of an open market, and they were greeted by an unkempt man in rags, who introduced himself as Articulate, the high priest. He agreed to offer the men lodging and would <i>consecrate </i>the pool in the rear garden in the morning so that healing magic could penetrate and cleanse the vile wounds.<br />
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Dacien, looking to make amends to the fishermen, set up his <i>mansion</i> and invited them to stay and enjoy the refreshments.The next day, after healing, shopping and several breakfasts, the party set about planning heir assault on the pirate base. There was much debate about using the explosives they picked up from the assault on the Temple of the Frog coupled with Mendel's ballista as a long-range delivery system. but too much debate led to them resigning to just teleporting into the top of the stack of ships they had spotted and making their stand there.<br />
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Next morning, they did just that - Dacien and Zhedd taking the party in two teams. They arrived on the uppermost deck, faced by the two remaining harpies. In a reinforced crows nest above them stood a female pirate behind a ballista. Across a walkway, nested in another tree, there waited a large mutated, aranae, green pustules glistening on its carapace, and each of its feet ending in another quivering spider body.<br />
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Silence spells and arrows quickly nullified the harpies, who flew off to try and rouse the camp - calling out to "<i>light the candles, bring help</i>!". The pirate fired a magical ballista bolt into Dacien, which spewed acid around him like a fountain. The large aranae . closed to engage Mendel and Faldak in melee, seemingly resistant to a lot of their attacks. Antony, Harliss and Jerome climbed into the crows nest to tackle the pirate. The trio made short work of her, but not before she had ensorcelled Jerome into attacking Anthony. Felix used his <i>glitterdust</i> to keep the enemy from going invisible, and flew to the other side of the aranae to flank it.<br />
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<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v695/Gorbash/Fantasy/untitled-37.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v695/Gorbash/Fantasy/untitled-37.png" height="200" width="147" /></a>Shortly, the base started to come on alert. Cold Captain Wyther flew up on one side of the ship, whilst the multilimbed demon appeared the other. Wyther waited, biding his time, until goading Harliss into firing the ballista at him. He caught the bolt with barely a blink, and with a crimson streak, suddenly appeared at he side and plunged his sword up between her ribs. Critically wounding her, she died instantly. Noticing the red liquid-containing medallion at his neck glowing when he travelled, Mendel carefully aimed an arrow at the chain, and nicked it enough to cause it to fall to his feet. Fearing the bow, the demon <i>demanded </i>Mendel throw his weapons over the side of the ship. His <i>sunblade </i>disappeared into the water, leaving Anthony to recover it, Jerome hot on his heels.<br />
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The aranae realised he was loosing his battle, instilled a psionic <i>aversion </i>in Felix and Faldak against spiderkind, and called out to Wyther in the <i>abyssal</i> tongue that he was abandoning the pirate to his fate. As it retreated, Zhedd summoned an air elemental to track it. The elemental, with a stroke of luck, managed to grapple it from the walkway - causing it to fall to the ground and die.<br />
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Dacien sensed that the leaping demons were about to teleport o nto the deck, and called over to Gerald. Gerald used his <i>holy word</i> to banish the large demon, and then again to banish or stun the leaping demons as they appeared.<br />
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Growing worried, Wyther tried to <i>charm </i>the party, but was caught out by Dacien's <i>spell turning</i>. Mendle found himself friends with Wyther - but also Wyther with Dacien. Dacien called out to Wyther to call a halt to the fighting, and they agreed to parley. The captain also agreed to show Dacien a list of cities that the <i>shadow pearls</i> had been sent to. Not all the cities on the list had received them, after the party stopped their production on the Isle of Dread. Wyther revealed that he was currently recruiting/press-ganging a new pirate force after Vanthus had humiliated him in battle and stolen his ship - leading to a mutiny amongst his crew. Vanthus had returned from the dead a <i>death knight</i>, an undead warrior. Wyther seemed more bitter that Demogorgon had given Vanthus her blessing and favour rather than him. If the party were going after Vanthus, Wyther would let them leave with his blessing - they could find the wretch on a pleasure-palace-turned-prison called Divided's Ire, on Gaping Maw, a demiplane created by Demogorgon. Vathus has stolen the captain's ship and something called a wakeportal to get there. He had another he could sell the party if they wished.<br />
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Dacien asked to confer with his colleagues, as a cover to cast the dispel magics required to remove the charm effects (Faldak and Felix still hidden in the crows nest). Wyther agreed, as his lieutenant pirates and aranae gather around him. The <i>dispel magic</i> was cast....<br />
<br />Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-80209103024274826352015-12-28T22:18:00.004+00:002015-12-28T22:18:48.931+00:00Savage Tide Session 52The party reconvened in the Dealer's Consortium, with Tyrlandi taking stock of her new domain and going through Kedward's paperwork. She asked the party if they had found Kedward's stash of treasure, and then coyly offered a race to find it. The party spent some time examining the interior but found no sign of secret doors. Outside, Mendel and Faldak examined the outside - eventually spotting the construction was such to accommodate a hole in the foundation. Antony spoke with thin figure lurking in the shadows - who turned out to be a former agent of Kedward's and eager to be a key contact for the new boss. Eventually, they spotted a disturbance in the structure, which they surmised to be a elemental or ethereal creature moving about the brickwork. Inside the building, Zhedd summoned some earth elementals and sent them below in search of a chamber whilst Faldak set about being a good dwarf, and took to digging a hole in the floor. After the elementals failed to return, a second foray was sent and reported back that spiky skinned fiends were present in a chamber some 40ft below, with a dark aura that mad them feel unwelcome. Tyrlandi emerged from the upper floor, and angrily berated the party for damaging 'her' building. She then revealed that she had located the chamber and Kedward's treasures, and the demons were now under her control. Mendel seemed to set about berating and provoking her, which she did not take well to, and said he would no longer be welcome.<br />
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The party then sent some time planning how to get a boat or ship form the Scuttlecove harbour to use in their reconnaissance of the pirate base. Several ships seemed suitable,including Jerome's Up the Nooga, but the problem was to how to escape the maze of scuttled ships in the harbour without arousing suspicion. Then, it suddenly struck the party that Scuttlecove wasn't the only city nearby - on the main island Ne'er-do-Well, the city Crossroads where they met King Koryn could also be a safer place to set out from. Dacien teleported them there, and they spent a few days planning, shopping and spell-scribing there. Antony found a local fisherman named Wetherby, who was persuaded to take them out in a dogger he used for trawling in the seas east of Lesser Ne'er-do-Well.<br />
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Wetherby took them out at dawn, and with a good wind at their back they made good time through the straits. Jerome pointed out the arched stone marker, and there, a half-mile off shore, Wetherby dropped a sea anchor. Most of the party managed to pierce the illusions protecting the pirate base - visible to them as a small scattering of huts around a tower in the midst of a wide saltmarsh. The party, using <i>seeming</i>, set about pretending to be fishermen, whilst Zhedd, invisible and in the guise of a seabird, let for a more detailed reconnoitre. He spent quite some time examining the base, seeing several dishevelled red-skinned figures in gibbets scattered about the base. Occasionally, pirates would emerge from the huts and stroll around swollen, squeaking walkways, on guard or latrine duty. The most remarkable feature was a trio of large petrified trees to the rear of the base, with five ships of various sizes impossibly hanging in their midst. They were connected by rope ladders and rope bridges (<i>string in the picture</i>), and a few pirates were on the decks. Ballistae were visible on the uppermost ship, and at the base, a <a href="https://mxyzplk.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/retriever.jpg" target="_blank">large elephant-like spider demon </a>stood guard.<br />
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Zhedd flew out into the saltmarsh and looked for areas to rendez-vous if things went sour, but as he flew back closer to the ships one of the pirates seemed to notice Zhedd despite his disguise and sounded an alarm - trying also to dispel the invisibility. Three harpies flew out to he ship, invisible, and threw the party into disarray as some were lured overboard - but were eventually fought off. Zhedd flew back to the fishing ship by a roundabout route, but Wetherby felt a tingle as Dacien confirmed they were being <i>scryed</i>. A pirate <i>teleported</i> on board scimitar in hand, but suprised the party as they closed in and it reverted to its true form<br />
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The creatures resistances made it a slow battle, but it focussed its many attacks on Mendel in fear of the <i>sun blade</i> he carried. It's scimitars and piercing gaze seemed to carry a supernatural damage that drained the party to their core, and the fishing crew too - the party were to later calculate that this damage would need to be treated in specially consecrated areas into order to be healed. Eventually, the creature sought to escape, and dove into the water, desperately trying to <i>dispel </i>the <i>dimensional anchor</i> Dacien had placed up on it. The party limped back to Crossroads to recover and plan.Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-27426941776235799232015-12-05T20:40:00.000+00:002015-12-06T22:55:44.671+00:00Savage Tide Session 51The party decided to take up the ruse of selling Rhemus the aranea body parts as an excuse for meeting with the gnome. His dark stone premises near the north gate were covered in skulls and bones - Dacien recognised at least one bone golem hidden amongst the grisly decor. What appeared to be a flesh golem greeted the party at the door, and Felix quickly sketch out a calling card, portraying the party as purveyors of post-mortem pieces. Rhemus later welcomed them in and they discussed business for a short time, hearing of Rhemus' work and interest in the provenance of the body parts; features of the donor creature could impart unique properties, and he told the story of using the hands of a paladin on a flesh golem for a client in Karameikos.<br />
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With a rapport built of a potential steady supply of creature parts, talk came around to favours that Rhemus could offer the party - namely an introduction to Kedward Bone. Warily, Rhemus brought up that he could make an introduction, especially using Mendel's Zzonga sample to entice the drug dealer, but was more interested in what the party could do for him. He mentioned Matylda, Kedward's familiar, was in love with him, and he needed a skilled team who could get her away from Kedward's person and bring Matylda to him. The catch was, Kedward would have to be alive to achieve this, or his bond to the familiar would be lost. In return, the party could claim a large emerald Kedward kept in his chambers. Rhemus also explained how Kedward contracted a strange disease on his travels as a pirate and had become a recluse since, possibly linked to the emerald. The party agreed on a course of action, taking on Rhemus' advice that Kedward liked a bit of rough and tumble and could be enticed into melee.. Before they left, Mendel damaged relations with Rhemus by placing part of the Gakarak wood he obtained from Emerond on to the table - which turned out to be a golem carved from treant wood. the plank was absorbed into the table and Rhemus was unhappy at the potential complication this might cause.<br />
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<i>Kedward Bone and his Dire Scythe</i></div>
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Rhemus was true to his word and arranged for a private appointment with Kedward and his advisers. They were led to the dome shaped top of a tower, into Kedward's offices where two people flanked the old pirate at his desk. Kedward was grossly disfigured, bone spurs painfully protruding over his body, and interfering with his breathing and speech. A large overwrought scythe leant at his side. Kedward talked politely with them, very interested in the supply of zzonga and at pains to stress he had the contacts ready to ensure supply through most of the mainland Alphatian empire. The party almost forgot that they weren't (or at least some of them weren't) professional drug importers, and got lost in the business deal, before Felix made a stage whisper to Antony about peering under a covered pedestal to steal what lay beneath. Kedward's eye flared in anger, and battle started. Faldak rammed the desk into Kedward, toppling him over, but the mage was able to cast <i>time stop</i> and stun the party with mass <i>charm</i> and <i>hold </i>spells. Kedward's companions revelaed themselves to be a mummified druid and a cleric of Masauwu, who were (along with half the party) quickly subdued by Gerald's <i>Holy Word</i>. The druid was blinded, and after stumbling around threw a bag of purple lotus powder into the midst of the room. It was veering over the party'd heads when Mendel shot it out of the air, spraying the powder over himself, Dacien and Faldak. The party were to later find out that this drug was a special preparation of the church of Masauwu, and far from a normal narcotic; Mendel resisted the potent efects, but Dacien and Faldak were less fortunate. Faldak was struck with a curse that meant no one believed a word he uttered. Dacien was struck with an overwhelming compulsion to move overseas to marry. Knowing only one eligible bachelorette in town that met his exacting standards, Dacien immediately teleported to Porphyry House to speak with Tyrlandi<br />
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The battle became more fraught as two barbed fiends joined the fray and a <i>wall of force</i> bisected the room and left Mendel exposed. Felix leapt out a window to skirt around the outside of the building. Kedward and Mendel faced off in melee. Gerald's quick thinking managed to <i>heal</i> Mendel just in time before Kedward cut him down. Faldak fled to safety, taking the covered pedestal with him. Meanwhile, Dacien had proposed to Tyrlandi, who spotted an opportunity that was unlikely to come up again, and agreed - sealing it with a blood oath. She joined him on the return to Kedward's, ready to join in the take over of the Dealer's Consortium. She quickly earned her place, dissolving the mummy with a well timed <i>heal</i>. Mendel bought enough time for Felix to crash through the window and finish Kedward with a rapier through the spleen.<br />
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The party stabilised Kedward and brought him low with a feeblemind, and recovered Matylda, an imp held in a cage on Kedward's person. The Dealer's Consortium was theirs , which became a wedding present to Tyrlandi. The party sealed the deal with Rhemus by handing over Kedward and the imp. They found a stash of drugs and Kedward's spell book. Elsewhere in the tower, the workforce had fled during the combat, leaving well equipped indoor drug farms and alchemical labs. The party rested overnight, Dacien enjoying his wedding night with Tyrlandi, being waited on by a <i>simulacrum</i> of Mendel. The others, started to examine the pedestal under the cloth, revealing a large uncut emerald - which Gerald's <i>true seeing</i> showed to be alive...<br />
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<br />Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-15299859833984303012015-10-25T21:38:00.004+00:002015-10-25T21:53:26.368+00:00Savage Tide Session 50The party left the fleeing arenae sorcerors and hurried to the basement door. Mendel bellowed a few stark words of warning to intimidate any remaining pirates as Dacien released his <i>arcane lock</i> and the party headed down the rickety stairs. The basement was deserted however, as the elven party members secret doors that Faldak confirmed a group of at least ten had fled through. The basement contained a small forge for melting metal down, coins skimming and stamping - Mendel promptly swept the tools into his bag. They also found a jail cell holding a red skinned pirate, with a strange scaly crab-like claw for a right hand. He was unconscious, badly beaten, and in some distress, so the part patched him up and carried him along. They also found a hidden shrine to Demogorgon, with a grotesque statue leering at them as they emerged through the secret door. Amongst the pirate belongings they found a silk bag with a bird embroidered on its front. each time the party put their hand in a yellow canary emerged and fluttered about their heads. They decided to keep this away from Felix for now.<br />
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Questioning the captives, it appeared the human knew little of the existence of aranae in the Minting House. The aranae captive was more sullen and offered little more of use. It seemed the coin-skimmers Dacien trapped in the basement had fled through a hidden underground passage, full with sulphurous fumes. The narrow passage seemed a natural fissure, a rarely used escape tunnel. This lead to a trap door in the ceiling, which opened up into an abandoned butchers shop, where a band or aranae and forgers waited in ambush. After a bit of a fraught battle, the party captured two rogues who found themselves hidden and invisible behind Dacien's <i>wall of force</i>. They gave in to questioning but knew little else of importance, seemingly dupes in the aranae's plan. The party stripped them of their belongings and sent them back to their lives as forgers, neglecting to mention they'd taken all of their equipment and their livelihood.<br />
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The party made their way through town, not spotting the cache of magical weapons hidden in the bottom of a traders wheelbarrow, and leaving a squabble between a priest of Thanatos and the gnomish golem maker over a body lying in the gutter. Dacien picked a spot to erect his <i>magnificent mansion</i> as a base of operations for the party. The party entered and explored their new home, other than the host's spacious locked quarters, and shut their prisoners away. After an expansive banquet, Harliss was scryed and found in the Rattlebox, gambling and drunk, so Felix and Antony went to retrieve her.<br />
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The others interrogated the prisoners, Dacien ready with an <i>ESP</i> spell to check their thoughts<br />
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<ul>
<li>The aranea was stubborn and ready to die for his secrets - although was willing to share information if they sent him home to the Savage Baronies (which Felix felt was a test to assess the party's magical prowess). He wanted the party to die in a battle with the Crimson Fleet, and also baited them to debase themselves and torture him. In the end, he was killed with hte Cymric Dirk</li>
<li>The red skinned prisoner called himself Jerome LeShiv, with a brother Longshanks also in the fleeet, He was weak, and ravaged by the '<span style="color: red;">red curse</span>' the party had seen afflict the pirates of the Sea Reavers in the Crimson Fleet. His right hand was becoming increasingly crablike. He begged for cinnabryl jewellery, so Anthony handed some over, and it seemed to ease his condition from worsening. He then explained he was also a mutineer from the Fleet (Harliss vouched for him), and stopped in town before making his way home. <b>He mutinied when Cold Captain Wyther was humiliated in front of his (already unsettled) men - by captain Vanthus returning, now a changed dark creature, and beating him into submission and stealing his ship.</b> His ship 'Up the Nooga' was in port. The Eighth Coil captured him for Cold Captain Wyther and were due to take him back. He described the pirate base and its location - 'The Wreck' as it was known is hidden on the north west shore by powerful illusions and magicks that block teleportation. The base was a collection of outbuildings around a strange structure - a series of captured prize ships stacked in a column around a large tree trunk. There were maybe 40-50 pirates still in the base and loyal to the captain, who also had some 'monsters' he kept hidden and at his disposal. One was a demonic creature that his in a hut near the entrance that used <i>telekinesis </i>to move a boom from the harbour entrance.</li>
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Jerome LeShiv<br />
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Jerome and Harliss were willing to help the party in their assault on the Wreck. A small group went to check on Jerome's ship which they found abandoned in port. However they were followed back by an invisible aranea who tried to stop them as they re-entered the mansion.This drew a crowd who raised an alarm. Knowing the party would be in trouble leaving the mansion if they waited too long, they resolved to leave as soon as possible. A leaping demon was waiting outside for them, with the aranea. Dacien tried to leave a trap for them as a <i>delayed blast fireball</i> but the aranea caught the party in a web around the deadly gem. Not realising the significance of the gem, Felix tried to burn the web away from the trapped party with a potion of fiery breath - which triggered the fireball and engulfed the party. With several members barely alive, they party limped away and hid at Red Foam Whaling. hoping they would not be found. </div>
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The next morning, Mendel convinced the others to visit Rhemus Caldakar, the golem maker, as a source of potential aid against the pirates.</div>
Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-47346627681375801362015-10-10T18:30:00.002+01:002015-10-10T18:30:10.171+01:00Savage Tide Session 49In their hovel, the party further questioned Harliss and discussed what to do next. When talk turned to paying a visit to Tyrlandi, Mendel felt the presence in his mind again as Tyrlandi spoke to him through her <i>greater scrying </i>spell. She informed the party that she had a visit from both the monks and the harpies, looking to cement alliances and unite against the parties efforts in the town - and wondered what had happened next. She did not respond to any further questions.<br />
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The city was still bustling an on alert, so, fearing reprisals, the party set to sneak out of the city. They went in the direction of the north gate, but saw a swarm of thugs and leaping demons, so veered across the river. They scanned the eastern perimeter wall for possible exits, and found a gang of street kids gathered round a makeshift exit. Throwing a liberal amount of copper coins in their direction, the party left through the wall and stayed overnight in the shrubland outside using Dacien's <i>rope trick</i>.<br />
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The next day, the party looked for another way back into the city. Heading south, they found a path leading from a hatch in the wall toward the rocky shoreline. There, they spotted several bloated corpses, mostly human, but some animal too. The party examined the bodies from afar and saw signs of surgery on the discoloured cadavers - but unwilling to get too close, they left well alone.<br />
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Antony snuck through the hatch at the wall and past a priest that was sweeping grime and gore away from the back of a dark stone building and cellar hatch. He passed by and circled round to the front of the building. Two guards with rheumy eyes and blackened eyelids stood staring out to the harbour - around their necks hung black scythe and skull pendants, dark symbols of Thanatos, the entropic Grim Reaper. Antony engaged them in small talk and found out they were waiting for the infirm and injured to be brought to them by those in the city, and were willing to pay for the privilege. Heading back, Antony caught the eye of the priest on cleaning duties and found out that, for a bribe, he was willing to bring out belongings from the bodies that were brought to the temple. Hearing that a pirate of the Crimson Fleet was brought in recently, and wanting a diversion to allow the party to enter, he made the transaction, and acquired a <i>cinnabryl</i> bracelet for Harliss to use.<br />
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In the city, the party dodged several patrols to make their way to Porphyry House to speak with Tyrlandi. Her guard, a burly human, and her madam, a gnomish woman, led the party up a secret flight of stairs to the top floor. Tyrlandi, the beautiful exotic woman, was sprawled on a chaise-longe, sucking on lollipop as she waited for them. Her heritage seemed to be part nymph but tainted by entropic fiendish blood. The faint sound of a child crying could be heard. The party recognised the symbol at her neck as that of Talitha, the Queen of Treachery. Tyrlandi greeted them curiously, eager to learn about their aims in the city and seeking to get information from them about their various goals and the information they had learnt about the palace. She answered the parties questions, but demanded locks of hair in return, gaining them from Felix, Antony and Mendel. She explained that she wanted to rule the city, unrivalled, and saw Kedward as her biggest rival once the Crimson Fleet were dealt with. She wanted the harpies in her pocket too. She did share information with the party if they chose to go after Kedward - that Rhemus Caldakar, his gnomish travelling companion of old who was now running a golem making business, was friends on the surface but secretly desired Kedward's imp familiar Matylda, and was plotting to kidnap her. Kedward was also a <i>diabolist</i> and could call upon demons to aid him. She also let the party know that the Eighth Coil wer einfiltrated by araenae, and we paying the harpies to torture and interrogate Harliss - but she had been intercepting the payments to try and keep Harliss alive.<br />
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The party left with their information and set about taking on the eighth coil hideout. They tried to sneak round the back of the building but were spotted and a prolonged spellcasting battle ensued, involving pirate thugs and araene sorcerers. Fireballs and lightning bolts rattled the building as the party drove into the ranks, locking several others in the basement. In the end, several aranae escaped via <i>fly, </i>but the party did have one unconscious foe alive for interrogation.<br />
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<br />Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-55820726697317795312015-09-26T18:25:00.001+01:002015-09-26T18:25:55.322+01:00Savage Tide Session 48<div style="text-align: center;">
(<i>brief synopsis from last session</i>)</div>
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The party were resting up in Dacien's retreat, when Mendel felt the hairs prick up on the back of his neck. Dacien's <i>detect scrying</i> was trigger, as the image of a strange exotic woman appeared in his mind, peering over a pool of rainwater, and clutching two red-stained cobblestones in a blood-soaked rag.<br />
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She was idly watching Mendel through her sensor, biting her lip and playing with her hair. A symbol hanged around her neck that Dacien recognised - as an unholy symbol of <b>Talitha</b>, the entropic immortal of thievery, murder and lies. She eventually spoke, and only Mendel heard her invite the party to Porphyry House, a little petulant they had not been already.<br />
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On returning to the city, Antony went looking to buy some real estate. He examined the district around a tower they believed to belong to Kedward Bone. The first house he knocked on was answered by an old gnomish woman who mistook them for body part sellers for the golem business. None of the properties were particularly lavish and well built. Eventually, they found an abandoned slop house come drug den, and started making it their own. However, as the party entered the city to plan their attack on the Harpies, they saw signs they might be being watched, as tiles fell off the roof of a nearby house.<br />
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The party planned an assault on the Birdcage to rescue Harliss, which involved an invisible Zhedd and Banshee scouting ahead, and then retuning to the party who were split in two less conspicuous groups. The city gates were shut and "Unite against the Seven Strangers' daubed in paint on their surface, so the city felt even less welcoming than before. Subtlety was lost on the party when it came ot the assault, as Banshee and Zhedd appeared on the streets, and then they teleported en masse into the gilt cage that held Harliss. Confusion effects disrupted the party's efforts, as the tower erupted into a mass brawl of harpies, a demonic statue, and terrified brothel patrons. Eventually the party regained their composure enough to regroup with the unconscious body of Harliss and flee the building. After a small sidetrek to recover a <i>geased</i> Mendel who was setting out to become the town's newest, biggest and not-so-brightest gigolo<br />
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One harpy managed to flee the Birdcage, and the city seemed to be on alert as the party regrouped at the doss house. Harliss started to answer their questions...<br />
<br />Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-15102666024395174342015-08-01T20:19:00.000+01:002015-08-01T20:24:34.462+01:00Savage Tide Session 47Outside Red Foam Whaling, Mendel had been patrolling the docks, trying to act nonchalant as he kept an eye on the outside of the building. He hadn't spotted the figure in the shadows opposite the abandoned structure, who ducked back into darkness and cast <i>invisibility</i>. When Mendel heard and saw the effect of Gerald's <i>blade barrier</i> cause the whole building to shudder, he activated his fly spell and dashed to the roof. Spotting the large man-spider attacking Faldak and Antony he let loose a volley of arrows. The invisible figure <i>spider climbed</i> up behind him and sunk a dagger between his ribs, narrowly missing Mendel's spleen. The large beast below saw the new threat and reacted - two images appeared; one drew upon a psionic aversion to instil a morbid allergy to spiders in those around him, the other charged at Mendel and stabbed him with the scimitar. The images coalesced into one form towering over the archer.<br />
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Zhedd started summoning a band of air elementals to try and grapple the foes, and the rest of the party moved to try and join the battle on the roof. Gerald took a chance and called down a flame strike that engulfed the trio fighting on the roof, hoping Mendel would <i>evade</i> the damage. He did - but the foes didnt as they were bathed in fire, which narrowly missed Felix as Dacien <i>telekinesed</i> him to the roof. The final assassin was grappled by the elementals but had enough breath in him to utter the word he needed to <i>dimension door</i> away.<br />
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The party gathered the loot from their foes, including 400 gold in skimmed coins suggesting ties to the <b>Eighth Coil</b>, and explored the abandoned building. They found equipment, make up and clothing used to make the building appear haunted, and bunk beds that hadnt been used in some time. A conference room had signs of an attack - chairs overturned, blood spatter and disembodied fingers on the floor. The final room was more disturbing - strips of shed spider skin and exoskeleton hung from the ceiling to fill the room. The party pulled these down from afar to reveal a grotesque effigy depicting Demogorgon - made from stitched together parts from human bodies, and animal parts. Piled hurriedly at the base of this were some treasures and a sack containing the clothing and gear of a female pirate - and the tell-tale earring the party recognised from their adventure in Kraken's cove from Harliss Javell. Perhaps it was her sewn into the effigy... In amongst her belongings they found a scroll, broken seal depicting a harp, from King Koryn's agent that read<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Esteemed Tyrlandi, The bearer of this note is a friend and associate of mine. If you could aid her, I would once again be in your debt. Please extend her every courtesy - Zimon Alveneer</i></div>
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The party recovered and next day stopped off at the Rusty Shunt. Lars said he'd just heard that Zimon's body was hanging in the plaza. Tyrlandi, he explained, was a bit of a mystery, but that any visitors would have to per her the proper tribute.<br />
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Zhedd <i>scry</i>ed for Harliss, clutching the earring as he leant over the pool. A view of a woman, lit by the rising sun, unconscious and badly beaten and dehydrated, lying on a straw-strewn cage floor. This reminded the party of a structure they had seen in the city - the Birdcage, run by the harpies that called themselves the Sister of Lamentation. The party toyed with visiting the Birdcage or Tyrlandi first - and fearing that Tyrlandi may have double-crossed Harliss, decided to explore the Birdcage first. They wandered through the city and found the crooked spire - its walls covered in graphic lewd images of debauchery, pain and pleasure. They mulled around outside, indecisive as Zhedd eventually asked some gulls to fly and and peer in the glass top - but they couldn't see enough to report. Felix caught up with one pirate patron as he was leaving and persuaded him to share some of the details - the brothel was not for the faint-hearted, but that if Felix had the stomach for it, '<b>Vivisecta</b>' was the one to ask for.<br />
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Walking through the city, Felix spotted a passer by try to leave a scrap of paper in one of his colleague's pockets. He grabbed the pickpockets hand and shooed them off - it turned out to be a warning that 'one of the party was not who they seemed' and to come to the Deacon's Aria at midnight to find out more. This building turned out to be a theatre, in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Guignol">grand guignol</a> style, putting on bloody and visceral displays including a striptease and a play about a doppelganger. The theatre owner, <b>Abethany</b>, was intrigued by the party's tale and interested in having them as consultants to make some of their displays more technically convincing and graphic. Gerald mooted the idea that the party could hire out some of the actors for a private job, and suggested returning once the plans were more concrete.<br />
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The party remained in two minds about what to do next, so to stall for time went looking for a suitable 'gift' to give Tyrlandi. They went to the market, but left empty handed after Mendel insulted the perfumer, so went to the docks looking for other ideas. It seemed a city where pirates came to relax rather than sell off their goods, but a word in the right ear might reveal someone more desperate to be rid of their spoils.They were stopped by a nervous street hustler with a large coat lined with trinkets he tried to off-load to the party. As the party were distracted, some invisible assassin slipped form the crowds on the docks, along with some disguised leaping demons. They pounced on the party, Mendel and Faldak receiving knives in a variety of vital organs, and the demons tried to abduct the others. Antony laid low an assassin with the Cymric Dirk - and was struck by the mental image of the minting House, the assassin's hideout and heart of the Eighth Coil, as its deepest secret was revealed. A passing wizard happened to see the shadowy dagger in action, and uttered a short prayer before attacking the party and trying to claim the dagger for himself. The party later found a holy symbol of Masauwu on him, confirming his interest in that immortal's unholy artifact. The party fought off the attackers in quite public display of power that caught many bystanders in magical effects and drew a larger crowd. Antony was abducted by a leaping demon to an abandoned warehouse. Before the demon could pummel Antony into the ground, he used the <i>bracelet of friends</i> to call Mendel to his side, who dispatched the demon with ease. They left the warehouse to ifnd themselves in the eastern quarter of the city near a dark austere orphanage. Back on the docks, Zhedd's <i>solid fog</i> and Dacien's <i>wall of force</i> kept people at bay long enough for the party to gather themselves, the loot, and escape back to their hideout.<br />
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They resolved to rest up and return in the morning. They had three targets - Tyrlandi, the Sisters of Lamentation, and the Eighth Coil. Finding a gift for Tyrlandi was to be first on the list.<br />
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<br />Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-6192030141460415632015-07-05T15:55:00.004+01:002015-07-05T15:55:42.829+01:00Savage Tide Session 46The party licked their wounds in Dacien's <i>Secure Shelter</i>. Felix and Faldak were <i>raise</i>d, and plans set for travelling back to Farshore in the morning to obtain unguents and diamonds to restore Lenny (now a mongrel dog) and Antony.<br />
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A few times Faldak and Felix felt a presence in the back of their minds, trying to intrude on their thoughts; Dacien's <i>detect scrying</i> spell triggered and showed the mage an image of a bald headed monk standing over a font filled with blood, a rictus grin showing on the lower half of a face devoid of skin.<br />
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Back at the hideout in Scuttlecove, the party decided to re-enter the city but a bit more discretely. Antony and Felix led a more diplomacy-focussed group, with Faldak as their bodyguard. They tried to sneak back into the city, but were stopped at the gate by a group of thugs. Antony's quick thinking bluffed the groups way past the guards, and they headed straight for the Rusty Shunt inn. The innkeep Lars Landicaster met their entrance with a steely glare and a 'Get out!' - word had gotten around about the attack on the palace, and Lars didn't want any more trouble getting back to him, his inn, and again mentioned that he'd 'seen too many good people die'. Antony and Felix calmed him down and persuaded him to reveal more about what he knew. In the back room of the inn, Lars explained that he hoped the party were good enough to do what needed to be done - if they were smarter about it. Lars knew of the Protectorate - King Koryn's agents in the city - and that they had recently been wiped out to a man. They had a base of operations at<b> Red Foam Whaling</b> - an old pirate hideout that preyed on whalers in the locals seas, but had long since been abandoned for the Protectorate to use as a front. Lars was happy if the King was doing something about the city, curious to see how the party would tip the scales.<br />
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They spent the rest of the day traipsing around the city, and avoiding roaming gangs of monks, leaping demons and thugs. The market was an interesting source of potions and magical trinkets, even golems. The queue for the Violated Ogre was greater than the party's interest in seei,ng an ogre being violated. They also stopped by the Rattlebox - a gambling den offering cock fights, rot roulette and five stones run by a grumpy dwarf named <b>Figwater</b>. He'd heard rumours about the palace being haunted but thought it was actually a front for smugglers.<br />
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That night the party regrouped, snuck back into the city and made their way down to Red Foam Whaling on the waterfront. The place seemed abandoned, and in a poor state of repair. The party snuck round the side over the water, leaving Mendel on watch outside. On the jetties around the other side, they spotted a dark haried woman trussed up and gagged. Sensing a ruse, Dacien started <i>telekinesing </i>her body towards the party, at which point she turned toward Antony and <i>suggested</i> he kill his mage friend. The fight was on, as three figures - human but with spider-like features to their faces, mandibles, slightly faceted eyes - emerged from hiding and tried to assassinate Faldak.<br />
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Gerald summoned a <i>blade barrier</i> to divide the battlefield, having healed Faldak so the dwarf could remain in melee. Dacien hid beneath the piers and cast spells, <i>disintegrating</i> one enemy.His <i>telekinesis </i>held the woman captive until Felix managed to rip her throat out - causing her to vanish. Zhedd <i>summon</i>ed creatures to distract the enemy.<br />
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As the batle reached a peak, a larger humanoid - a warped combination of spider and man, almost as if a spider was bursting through the skin of it's human shell - appeared in the air and swept down on Faldak brandishing a scimitar that crackled with dark energy. It slashed at the dwarf and grabbed Antony in its jaws, as the summoned creatures dove towards it.<br />
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Outside the building, Mendel looked up from the prostitute he was talking to and heard the cries of battle - and wondered if it was time for him to join yet.<br />
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<i>Updated map containing locations and information party has collected</i></div>
Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-5927285307377856482015-04-03T15:28:00.003+01:002015-07-05T13:51:43.171+01:00Savage Tide Session 45The vampires behind the <i>wall of force</i> retreated, calling out about the party's powers and resources and alerting their allies to Mendel's blessed weapons. A deep resonant voice called out "Introduce them to the Eviscerator Scarabs!".<br />
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Two giant beetles came down either side of the entrance hall, their black carapace glistening with a sickly green ooze that seeped out from every joint. Their legs were attached to cords of twine that linked them to a web of broken glass and bone that hang form the ceiling.As they waddled forward, their mandibles clacked together with a deep echoing hollow thud, that reverberated around the party's skulls. Felix managed to counteract the effect with his <i>bardsong</i> to allow the others to fight off one beetle whilst the other was trapped behind the wall of force, being mauled by two of Zhedd's <i>summon</i>ed crocodiles. Gerald prepared to face what was behind the double doors, and as he saw them start to open, summoned a <i>blade barrier </i>in their place<i>. </i>Unfortunately he was so focussed on the spell, he didn't have time to rest to the fact the doors were being flung off their hinges into the room, and caught a flying lump of oak to the side of the head.<br />
The wall had barely come into existence before a portion of it vanished, and a group of the shabbily-dressed vampires emerged, led by another, agile one in Thothian dress. "Give us the promised one!" they cried, as they crowded in on Dacien. Dacien's <i>disintegrate</i> spell made short work of the head vampire, but the others tried to grapple him away. Zhedd swept down on Banshee to pull him away from the mass of flailing arms just in time.<br />
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Another voice echoed in the party's heads - this time telepathically; a thin whispering paranoid voice like dry papyrus. "Who are you? You're here for me? You know my name, don't you!" it fretted. The party ignored this interruption and pressed their advantage in the battle, only to spot a pale evil-looking beholder lurking in the remains of a small ball room, floating above a pit thick with purple, throbbing webbing. Various party members succumbed to it's charm rays but avoided the other effects, as it came into the room. Zhedd caught it within a cloud of <i>solid fog, </i>which when uncovered revealed no sign of the beholder.<br />
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The party then prepared to take out the remaining eviscerator scarab behind the wall of force, with Dacien clearing the obstructing <i>solid fog</i> with an <i>anti-magic field</i>. As the wall dropped, the party let loose their attacks, but Dacien was caught out by the on-rushing beetle, and sliced in two by its wickedly sharp mandibles. The party found time to bring Dacien back, noting that they were low on components for further <i>raise dead</i> spells, and Gerald began the casting to remove the <i>charm </i>effects from the party. his casting was interrupted by the antimagic ray of the beholder, re-materialising the other side of the <i>blade barrier</i>. After fighting to another stand-off, the party decided to regroup in daylight in the palace grounds.<br />
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Quite crowd of locals had gathers to view the commotion - and Zhedd had spotted two harpies that had flown over to investigate, then abruptly disappeared. The locals quizzed the party on who they were working for and what they were doing, surprised to see someone brave and return from the palace. A quintet of cowled monks, the skinless lower halves of their faces glistening sickly in the sun, watched the party and followed them over the palace wall. They demanded a tax for trespassing from the party, which was paid, but didn't stop the party proceeding, instead going ahead of them into the palace. The party stormed this again, to face the beholder and the monks, who were quickly dispatched. The beholder tried to fend off the party's frontal assault, only to be caught out by Antony leading Dacien over the roof and in through the ceiling. Gerald caught the beholder in a <i>flame strike</i> which was also powerful enough to burn off the strange purple webbing. A second one destroyed the beholder, sending its gaseous form down through the tunnel to the area below.<br />
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Trying to press their advantage, the party hurried after, but without preparation blundered into a trap that set off an unholy keening wail. Felix, Antony, Lenny and Faldak fell prey to the scream and their bodies, stiffened as they died of fright, fell into the pit. Dacien <i>telekines</i>ed them back out, as a female creature, her lower half that of a spider, emerged muttered "I think you best leave". The paranoid voice was heard again, and when Mendel asked who it was, it answered in a trembling voice "yes, you would want to know." They asked about Dacien being the 'Promised One', and the spider-lady replied "Not for what he is now, but for what he will become. It is his destiny."<br />
<br />
The party fled to the surrounding wilderness to recover and raise their friends, hiding in a <i>secure shelter</i> as they plotted their return to Scuttlecove.Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-77657380886504391972015-02-21T15:46:00.002+00:002015-02-21T15:50:41.332+00:00Savage Tide Session 44<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Back at Fort Gerard, Stephen was left to use the electronics he had salvaged to begin repairs to the reactor control systems, whatever they were. Faintly Macabre mentioned to Dacien that she thought Stephen’s strength and resolve would continue to weaken due to his proximity to this strange power source – the bloodroot might stave off his craving for now, but would only ever be a temporary effect. Faintly expressed an interest in adventuring and considered meeting the party in Farshore in the future. Faldak and Mendel took guard duty on the roof of the fort, whilst Zhedd scryed for the Shadow elves to no avail. After a day’s rest and recuperation, the party teleport back to the capital of Emerond.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">The capital Izmira was busier than on the party’s last appearance, but as the green-skinned Emerondian’s spotted the party, they dropped to their knees and bowed their heads in hushed whispers. Keen ears made out the phrase “Keeper of the Heart of Emerond” being repeated, and most eyes were following Gerald. The king greeted the party warmly, having heard from his gardeners that the deterioration of the plants had been halted. In the palatial baths, their heads anointed with scented candle, the party reported back (but kept the detail of Stephen’s existence silent) and shared their concerns that the Shadow Elves might return. The king agreed that a small trusted honour guard could be placed under Gerald’s command at the fort – he seemed to accept without question Gerald’s status in the kingdom. By way of thanks, we rewarded the party with several items from his armoury – plant-based weapons, armour and trinkets that might aid them on future quests. He agreed to allow the Church of Asterius to trade for their unique liquor, and also small amounts of the weapons.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">The party spent much of the next few days travelling between Farshore and Sasserine, resting, resupplying and catching up on progress. Ji’s monastery was well underway, Mendel checked in with the Church of Asterius and Manthalay to discuss shipping additional cargoes to Farshore (Aloysius has ideas to fleece all parties involved, and set about sourcing appropriate goods). The alchemist had identified the fruits from the Isle of Dread as potent hallucinogens, and thought they could find value in the drug trade or development of alchemical gasses. Antony had Nosmo ferry passengers between Farshore and Sasserine, and also start spreading the word about the new route and port to other ship owners. Dacien asked the Temple of Ixion to send acolytes to Farshore, and teleported some there directly. Zhedd picked up his gloves for the Witchwardens, and then they were set to go.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">The next stop was to call in the favour from the Church of Asterius to get the party introduced to <b>King Koryn of Ne’er-do-well</b> – so they could follow up on their leads to track down the shadow pearls in Scuttlecove. Dacien teleported the group to Crossroads, the capital, and went from there to an inn named the Inappropriate Eel. <b>Crossroads </b>was an odd city – beautiful buildings and marble statuary lined the once fine streets, but now were covered in graffiti, defaced and anything of value broken off and sold on. Half the populace were wearing featureless masks and very little eye contact was being made. The party found the inn on the harbour front and, leaving a special coin with the innkeeper, waited to be summoned.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">A few hours later, they were shown in to a back room where a handsome man, with perfectly manicured fingers, lounged in a large cushioned chair. He introduced himself as Koryn and explained a bit of the history of Ne’er-do-well, Scuttlecove, and why his and the party’s goals were currently aligned</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Ne’er-do-well: originally a kingdom of two islands called Artesia and run by artists, poets and musicians, mismanagement caused it to fall into ruin and become a home for the unfortunate, desperate and criminal elements. Koryn worked to shape this into what he called his ‘anarchy’ – a state where anything is legal, as long as it causes no physical harm, and where people are free – as long as they acknowledge Koryn’s rulership. He was proud that this was a place where people could find whatever they wanted – at a price. The masked visitors were those wishing to keep their presence, motives and identity secret.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Scuttlecove: a small port on the volcanic swampy island of Lesser Ne’er-do-well, Koryn let his former travelling companions and pirates <b>Kedward Bone</b> and <b>Rhemus Caldakar</b> take up positions there. Kedward was a dashing pirate who fell to the ravages of a disfiguring disease, and became a recluse with strange predelicitions and drug dealing. Rhemus was a gnome sorcerer that has a business selling body parts. About 10 years ago, a group of <b>exile Monks of Dire Hunger</b> from the (Egypt-like) nation of Thothia petitioned Koryn for safe harbour and he allowed them to take residence in Scuttlecove. They built a palace, but then vanished a few years ago, leaving a haunted building behind. A sect of powerful Bellisarian wizards used to run a brothel in <b>Porphyry House</b>, but were ousted by a mysterious woman calling herself <b>Tylrandi </b>– who was seldom if ever seen. A group of coin skimmers, who make a living shaving gold off coins, named the <b>Eighth Coil</b>, had also become quite rich and powerful in the city.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">What had raised Koryn's concern was the arrival of the <b>Crimson Fleet</b>, a powerful group consorting with demons and operating from a magically hidden base near Scuttlecove. Now the city was on the brink of civil war between the factions and Koryn feared for his reputation with the Alphatian Empire if this become too unruly, and also that one power group might seek to rival him. He wanted to put down any thoughts of rebellion – at arm’s length with nothing to be traced to him – by having the party investigate what was going on in Scuttlecove and tip the scales in one groups favour as they saw fit. Koryn wanted his anarchists in control.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">So, if the party sought out the Crimson Fleet’s hidden base of operations, and took them out, Koryn could see stability returning. And he was willing to offer the party the resources of Ne’er-do-well, the favour of a king, in return. Koryn left at that point, and </span><b style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Felix</b><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">, a rakasta agent, entered to brief the party further. He had been sent by Koryn to find </span><b style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Zimon Alvaneer</b><span style="line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">, Koryn’s trusted spy in the city, who had disappeared without trace. When Felix got to the city, he found out the <b>Protectorate</b>, Zimon’s network of agents loyal to Koryn, had been killed to a man. He returned quickly to gather a larger group and help him look into this. One potential port of call in the city was the tavern <b>Rusty Shunt</b>, run by a former pirate <b>Lars Landicaster</b>, who had a noble heart.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The party were shipped in Scuttlecove and saw it for the bustling depraved shithole it was. They saw demonic apes, robed disfigured monks, harpies and other creatures amongst the bustling, fighting crowds. All eyes were on them as they arrived, sizing them up as potential marks. They made it to the Rusty Shunt, but Mendel’s questioning put Lars on edge, and he didn't reveal much. Anthony spoke to the patrons and heard more about the city – apparently dashing female pirate that the party thought might be <b>Harliss Javell</b> was seen asking questions, and might be linked to a group of mutineers from the Crimson Fleet. Lars warned Antony off asking too many questioned, and Felix sensed some regret behind his words that maybe others asking questions in his care hadn't fared well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The party decided to head through the thronging streets and explore the ‘haunted palace’ first, and in broad daylight (via the Plaza of Hanging Ruin, a mass crucifixion site run by the monks) went over the wall and broke in through the front balcony. In the entrance hall, decorated in Thotian style, they were attacked by shadows that lay hidden in large canopic jars. A vampire entered and told them they were trespassing, and left as swarms of other vampires attacked from either side. Dacien sent an arcane eye after the head vampire, but it stopped working once it got through the keyhole. As the party fought off the vampires, Zhedd and Felix who had been waiting outside on guard, arrived to warn them that a crowd was gathering by the gates outside.</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<b>Faction list</b><br />
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<br />Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-8294311236473937992015-01-27T21:56:00.003+00:002015-01-27T21:56:33.189+00:00Savage Tide Session 43Dacien reckoned the party had around 10 seconds before the building would collapse around them. The whole structure groaned and creaked. Rubble fell form one of the floors above, and along with it a giant bloated gruel-encrusted toad, the size of a wagon. The toad splashed into the water that surrounded Mendel. Near what remained of the entrance, other threats were now also visible - a swarm of piranha-like tadpoles, a mass of large rats with exposed brains struggling to stay afloat, and a ghostly female figure flitting between the remnants of a mangled series of pipes. The quiet after the explosion was broken by the sound of whooping and screeching from a band of oversized apes that had also been revealed by the blast.<br />
<br />
The party tried to group to escape. Antony manged to topple the cyborg off the seating area and over the balcony, into the waiting mouth of the toad below. Stephen appeared from above, dropping the 3 stories onto what remained of the ground floor with a sickening crunch. Desperation plastered on his pale face, he pleaded to the party. "Please, in here, it's the only thing I can think to undo this! A drinking game, like roulette - it could kill you, but it might repair this damage!" Dacien tried to buy some time by conjuring a pillar of stone to support the floor underneath the reactor, as the party moved into the room Stephen had indicated. By this time, Zhedd had fled, teleporting away with Faldak to try and get to safety. Outside, they both spotted four shadow elves in front of the main complex, one in the process of summoning two large earth elementals. Faldak's eye was caught by the fine dwarven waraxe one of the elves was wielding...<br />
<br />
Back inside the temple, Stephen led the players into what he referred to as the games room. A large metal table dominated the room, surrounded by several chairs connected to the ceiling with cables. The centre of the table appeared to the a flat polished gem, within which flickered green pixelated text and the image of a deck of cards. Stephen slammed his hand on the screen, a card appeared and, when nothing happened, jumped up in disgust. Dacien tried next, and a series of cards appeared which left him naked and surrounded by gems.<br />
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<br />
Gerald and Lenny were next, and suddenly the whole building morphed around them. The frog shaped imagery disappeared to be replaced by sturdy dwarven craftsmanship, the temple of the frog replaced by a plain dwarven fort (<i>DM: struck me after maybe it should have been shaped like a dwarven head?</i>). Lenny's coat all of a sudden looked more thick and glossy, and the sound of mechanical pumping could be heard echoing from the newly formed dungeons below.<br />
<br />
In the main entrance chamber, Mendel dispatch the ghostly figure, whose choral wailing was having little effect on the party. The other creatures were caught in the dungeon of the new Fort Gerald. Dacien tried calling out to Weewak but had no response, but dwarven faces built into the wall did respond to questions, and were commanded to pump out the water from the basement. Stephen was extremely grateful to the party, but started to refer to Gerald as 'my liege' and show him deference. Stephen left the party to check on his mechanical creation upstairs, as they explored the rest of the complex. Much of the contents had been reshaped to be of dwarfish design. They found the giant toad in the basement, along with a distillery, and were able to dispatch it with arrow fire. Several explosive devices were collected from around the building, and carefully placed in a bag of holding.<br />
<br />
Once the building was clear, Stephen explained that the power output of the complex should prevent further damage to the kingdom of Emerond, but the damage that the shadow elves had inflicted would need additional technology to repair and allow the kingdom to flourish again. This could be found in the craft that brought the 'cyborgs' here - an invisible stealth ovoid. The next day, after Dacien returned to Farshore to buy some clothes and bring along the Witchwarden Theurge <b>Faintly Macabre</b> to help Stephen with his vampiric condition, the party went hunting for the cyborg craft. The tracks from the shadow elves led to a tree and disappeared, but Zhedd communed to find the location of the craft to the southwest. With Banshee's sonar, they found the craft and after a fair bit of experimentation managed to gain access. Antony played with the controls and almost got whisked away into space, but, with Stephen in tow, was able to be rescued by the rest of the party. Stephen cannibalized the crafts electronics and thought he had enough to make a start on repairing the reactor controls.Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-28672336264920837202014-12-23T16:56:00.001+00:002015-01-04T16:21:31.576+00:00Savage Tide Session 42The rest of the party held off, as Mendel stepped forward brandishing the <i>sun blade</i> above his head, bathing the room in light and warning the vampire to retreat. The rest of the party stalled as the light from the blade grew. The creature spoke something, but Dacien's <i>tongues </i>spell had worn off and he couldn't translate. Instead, an answer came from a disembodied voice that echoed around the chamber. The vampire then backed off around the corner and out of sight. The two phanaton broke out a vial of <i>stonebreaker acid</i> and between them started dissolving the putty around the large red faceted window to flood the room with the light from the setting sun. Zhedd scrambled along the ceiling to do likewise with a <i>stoneshape</i> spell.<br />
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<br />
Back in the corridor, sitting in the silence area, Antony noticed a movement in the corner of his eye and spotted one of the large dog-like machines from the room to the north stalking along the corridor. Dacien reacted quickly and put a <i>wall of ice</i> in place to slow it down. Faldak, reluctant having been
warned by Dacien that the creatures will take pleasure in ripping through his
armour and weapons, took up a guarding position in the corridors as the other
made their way into the main room, with the dire wolves from Zhedd’s <i>summons</i> squeezing behind the dwarf to offer
support. The wall only delayed the creature for a couple of rounds as it tore
through the ice and made short work of the wolves too.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gerald conjured a <i>blade
barrier</i> back in the control room, knowing that there were two of the
dog-like creatures, to avoid being flanked. Mendel dashed after the vampire and
found him in a small chamber in the centre of the control room, dominated by a
large white ‘throne’. The vampire was stood at the back of the room, near some
vents in the wall, from which came the sound of chittering and squeaking.
Mendel’s blade dug deep into the vampire, and it fled as a gas through the
ventilation shafts. Mendel then found himself flooded by hungry rats that
poured out of the vents to carpet the room and the archer. The window now free
of its frame, Gerald and Lenny began <i>creating
water</i> to conjure jets to wash the swarms of rats into the <i>blade barrier</i> and clear the room. Dacien
took more time to examine the throne – with <i>comprehend
languages </i>he was able to decipher the writing in the room too. The throne
had a red dial on the left arm with the words <i>RECORD, REWRITE</i> and <i>REPLAY</i>
etched around it. The dial currently pointed at REWRITE. Inserted into the
right arm was a rectangular object that had flashing lights within, and written
on the edge of this was a name “<i>Stephen ‘The
Rock’ Rocklin”</i>; similar cassettes lined the wall with other names (one of
them was ‘Mendel’), but also ‘Temple Indoctrination 1’ and ‘Temple
Indoctrination 2’. Dacien sat in the chair, moved the dial to ‘REPLAY’ and his
mind was flooded with images from the life of Stephen Rocklin. This started
with a ceremony in front of a large crowd and a large metal ship of some kind; a
flight through space; a banner depicting the leaping frog they had seen
outside, but with the writing now legible reading ‘Terraforming Horticultural
Expeditionary Force: Rigel Outer Galaxy’; the metal ship taking damage and
crashing in a barren rocky mountainous
area; an argument with another officer on the ship; Stephen leading an escape
attempt with some other green-tinted skin folk in a smaller ship, which was
shot down; Stephen meeting some native elves and humans, and showing them the
frog symbol; the building of the frog-shaped temple; Holding some of the humans
and elves down in the throne and pressing ‘rewrite’; seemingly years later, one
of the strange golems the party met outside attacking the temple building and
damaging the large white tank the party had seen earlier; the golem being slain
and tied to the altar and its brain removed; the people fleeing the temple as
Stephen tried to repair the tank (bent over the terminal that the party had found
recently damaged); Stephen researching in books from the locals a creature that
had a certain longevity and resistance that might allow him to remain and
maintain the building despite the dangers; and finally, Stephen mulling over a
decision. The onrush of the mental images dazed Dacien and left him confused
for a moment. Fortunately he recovered his senses to aid Faldak in fighting the
mechanical dog, and ended the combat quickly with a <i>disintegrate</i> spell. The second mechanoid has slink down a side
corridor to the levels below. Feeling battered from the series of encounters,
the party <i>teleported</i> back to Sasserine
to rest.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dacien spent the night pouring over the diary they had
recovered, which mirrored the story he had seen upon the throne – that Stephen
Rocklin was part of a horticultural terraforming crew looking for new planets
to explore, their ship <i>The New City</i>
was struck by a missile whilst scanning Mystara, and crashed; the prime
directive of his training did not allow for engagement and interference with
native creatures, but Stephen felt, in the absence of any hope of rescue in the
short term, interaction with the locals was necessary. This led to a rift with
his commanding officer, and Stephen led a mutiny to escape in a life boat. That
was shot down by the main ship, and crashed in this swamp, where, using the
frog imagery from their vessel, they convinced the locals they were agents of
the Frog God. The explorers then used the brainwashing powers of their memory
recording technology to indoctrinate the locals into working with them, and with
the terraforming engine, building a community that would allow them to
interbreed and survive. Things went well for some time, until a cyborg sent by
the corps security force tried to destroy all evidence of their presence here.
This damaged the reactor power source, making the area dangerous for his colleagues. Stephen commanded them to leave and
build a new life in the surrounding areas, whilst he remained and tried to
repair the damage and keep the terraforming engines running. The locals had
spoken of a creature that had very hard to kill and could grant this power to
others, so Stephen set off to investigate. His last entry was simply ‘what have
I done?’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next day, several of the party woke up to find much of
their hair left on the pillows, and a general feeling of lethargy. This struck Lenny
the worst, who found his skin highly sensitive and fragile. Something about
being in the area of the temple had a prolonged effect on her. Dacien decided
to visit the Witchwardens to enquire about possible solutions to Lenny’s
problem. He also mentioned that they had met a powerful undead who might need
some guidance. Dark Priestess Annah Teranaki welcomed the visit and information
from Dacien. She alluded to some interference from the ’fool’ immortal Ixion
during the last war (~4 years ago) which had altered something Annah described as
the Radiance to drain entropy instead of energy/magic from the plane. This was
having damaging effects on the undead that the Witchwardens were trying to help
– and the vampire in control of the Radiance energy here was a prime example of
the short sighted effects of Ixion’s interference. Draining of entropy was
weakening undead, and causing any hungers that they might keep in check to come
to the fore and be much stronger. Annah did not know much about the Radiance
itself, but alluded to more happening in Glantri, and claimed to be researching
more now it was directly impacting them – but that its powers could transcend
magical effects, and cause damage that might be resistant to normal magical
healing. Dacien requested something for Stephen to help control his hunger, and
Annah gave some bloodroot. Zhedd had heard that this could sate a creature’s
hunger for blood temporarily, but also that in a distilled form it could
enhance it and drive vampires into a raging bloodlust.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The party gathered, had a fleeting moral crisis, and <i>teleported</i> to the Temple to try and peacefully
deal with Stephen. However, he was waiting for them and hit Faldak with the
heat beam weapons the party encountered before on the golems. Antony swiftly
tried to call a truce and managed to convince Stephen to hold off attacking
further whilst Dacien <i>telekinsed</i> the
bloodroot towards him as a peace offering. Antony’s words worked and gave the
party time to explain that they were in fact here to help. Stephen confirmed
the background, but added that there had been some pale elves here that had
wanted to investigate the technology inside the temple themselves – likely the
shadow elves that the party had heard of in league with Bargle. They had damaged
the terminal in the main reactor room, which meant the power levels were
running lower and that explained why the terraforming engine could not sustain
the structures within Emerond. Their tampering had also alerted the security
cyborgs to the existence of the temple here, and they had arrived recently to
try and remove all trace of the technology from the area. Stephen could not
face them alone, but the party offered to take them out instead.<br />
<br />
(<i>EDIT: Lenny also asked about having the damage from the radiation cured; Stephen knew of no sure way to do this, but did mention a 'game console' on the lower level that could help albeit with a risk)</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stephen called out to ‘Weewak’ and the same disembodied voice
from yesterday answered. Stephen asked for a report on intruders, and
pinpointed the location of the 3 cyborgs in the temple, as well as drawing a
holographic map for the party. As the cyborgs were mainly on the lower levels,
they then prepared t o assault the temple nave through the gap in the ceiling
they had seen previously. The party spotted several of the black cylinders with
glowing red gems they had also seen outside onthe walls, scatted around the
supporting pillars of the temple. The cyborgs were slow to react, but again
responded with their lasers when threatened. Faldak was identified as a novel
species, so a preservation protocol was engaged and they trapped Faldak in an
immovable force field. Antony tried to exploit this tactic but using his <i>hat of disguise</i> to appear as unusual as
possible. Zhedd spotted a giant toad on the levels above coming to investigate
the commotion, and conjured a wall of
teeth to catch the cyborgs. One was dispatched b y Dacien’s magic, and the one
o nthe lower level fell to Mendel’s arrows. Before it died, it ejected a
glowing green rod, which detonated in a crackling purple sphere. However, this
explosion caught the other black cylinders in its blast, which set off a chain
reaction of explosions, removing much of the floor and all supporting pillars from
the temple. An ominous groaning sounded from overhead...</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Images of the layout, and the effect of the explosions below</i></div>
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<br />Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-20854035595815325312014-11-21T06:22:00.003+00:002014-11-21T06:22:56.561+00:00Savage Tide Session 41<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The trees of the mangrove swamp began to form a 'V' ahead of the party, blocking their path forward and herding them back towards the perimeter wall. Duckweed and roots began to spout up between the trees making passage even more difficult. An ancient gnarled treant (<i>known as a Gakarak</i>) emerged from a nearby tree and demanded the 'sticking meatsacks' left its home, not wanting 'more intruders like the others'. The party paddled/few back a ways and discussed how to get around the blockade; they decided retreat wasn't an option and so planned a way to deal with the treants. When it reappeared nearby, there was a flurry of <i>fireballs </i>and <i>flame strikes</i> that drove it into a retreat and allowed the party to press on.<br />
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A few hours later, the party came to an island in the midst of the swamp. In the midst of the overgrown island sat a jade green building in the shape of a large frog, with two multi-faceted red eyes and an open mouth. Two stone walls enclosed an overgrown garden that led up to a gatehouse and courtyard around the base of the building. At the entrance to the garden, were two wooden jetties leading out to the swamp, with the bones of eels and crocodiles scattered in the water underneath. Beyond this, there were signed a other small jetties and buildings, a small settlement long since swallowed by the thick jungle.<br />
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Mendel and Faldak lead the party out onto the quays, which strangely quivered as they landed, and held them fast. Two <i>mimics</i> that were pretending to be the jetties, came to life and tried to grapple the warriors. With some frantic chopping and further magical fire, the two ooze-like impressionists were defeated, but the noise of the battle had drawn the attention of the gakarak which emerged from the trees and called upon more treants to join him. Gerald conjured a <i>blade barrier</i> to deal with animated trees, as Dacien blocked with retreat with a <i>wall of force</i> and Zhedd's summoned fire elementals hemmed them in. Mendel tried to attack the gakarak with his alchemical arrows, and Faldak used his potion of <i>invisibility</i> to catch it by surprise. The dwarven woodchipper launched into action, and in moments, all that was left was a cloud of splinters.<br />
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Antony scouted ahead through the enclosed garden, and spotted two humanoid figures atop the strange stone walls, moving in a strangely unnatural motion, and periodically bending down to examine the top of the wall. They hadn't seemed to spot him, so he pressed on. A drawbridge led from the garden into the main courtyard around the frog-shaped building. In the gateway, a red dome shaped object was on the inner wall, surrounded by a yellow and black striped panel. Antony snuck forward, and saw a set of large double doors between the frog's legs,with the a circular symbol above the doors depicting a frog in a helmet jumping on a starry background. Strange writing in an alphabet no-one recognised circled the emblem. The doors were ajar, and it was dark beyond. Somewhere in the dark a light was flickering, and an animal grunting could be heard.<br />
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Antony beckoned the party forward, and the noise alerted the humanoids on the walls. A burst of flame erupted from their back, and they leapt into the air to land in the courtyard ahead of the party. They spoke a strange language, but Dacien's <i>tongues</i> let him translate their odd way of speaking. He caught phrases such as "Target acquired", "New species identified, engaging containment protocol". The figures looked like humans, but with strange metal plates embedded in their skin, and an unnatural look about them. They lit up Faldak with a red light, and a tube appeared on one's shoulder. Mendel fired an arrow at that creature, and the response was "Attack protocol engaged, prioritising targets". A force field erupted around Faldak and tried to encage him, but he escaped. The other creature drew a strange dark rectangular weapon and fired it at Mendel, searing him with arcs of burning light. The attacks nearly brought Mendel to his knees, before Dacien warded him against fire damage. Faldak almost destroyed one of the creatures, but heard it call out "Critical damage - ejecting core!", and it exploded around him. The other was defeated but did not exploded. One the bodies, the party found various unusual objects. Mendel managed to get the weapon to fire after some experimentation, but put it away for now.<br />
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A buzzing noise above their heads drew the party's attention upwards. In the mouth of the frog, was a swarm of strange small winged lizards, buzzing about a trough of rotting meat which sat before a set of doors. Magical explosions and ice took care of the lizards, allowing the party to explore the doors. One was full of mangled bits of metal, which appeared to form a set of shelving, and hid a metal box which held bandages and alchemical type items. The other doors led deeper into the building. There the party found strange doors that were either jammed or flung open at their approach, and beyond were abandoned, well-appointed washrooms and bedrooms. Most of the rooms looks as though the portable contents had been removed in a hurry, although Dacien did find a book that Antony thought might be a diary - again, written in this new script. A further room held a series of metal cabinets, which made whirring noises and flashed their gem-like lights upon the party's approach. This had a strange effect on Antony and Faldak, who attacked the party until Dacien and Zhedd could ward them with a <i>protection from evil</i>. Mendel attached the largest cabinet in the room, and was struck by a bolt of electricity that somehow ran around him and flew into a door opposite revealing another room beyond. Concerned about the powers of the strange metal cabinets, Dacien used <i>telekinesis</i> to block the doorway with large wardrobes, which allowed the party to explore the other rooms beyond. Antony snuck ahead into a large room with a balcony filled with pews that looked down on a frog shaped altar - bound on top of the altar was the body of a humanoid figure, held down with ropes. Another room held a large white metal silo, covered in dents and with a yellow and black triangle painted on its side. Another metal cabinet was in this room, but smashed, and Mendel spotted traces of blood spattered around its base. White robes with blue brooches were hung on the walls - a white pattern on the brooches turned black on entering the room.<br />
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The party found some stairs leading up and there came across a large room with a hexagonal vat hidden under tarpaulin, guarded by two metal dog-like creatures that Dacien thought similar to extraplanar sentries that can rend armour and weapons with ease. Leaving that room alone, they followed some stairs leading up to the head of the frog - the room was caked in shadows despite the afternoon light filtering through the red faceted eyes. Two hovering metal creatures emerged form the shadows to attack the party, seemingly near invulnerable to most attacks until the party used <i>light</i> spells and the <i>sun blade</i> they recovered from the Isle of Dread to hold them back, after Dacien had sent one to the Plane of Shadow. As the last automaton fell, a pale human figure emerged from a chamber in the centre of the room, looking at the party with tired red eyes. As it spoke, two pointed teeth protruded over its bottom lip - clutching a device at its neck it said "<i>Please leave</i>".Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-26684599763776142702014-10-26T15:35:00.002+00:002014-10-26T15:35:16.633+00:00Savage Tide Session 40Dacien took the party back to the ship, where Captain Nosmo Beldan greeted them officiously. There was some discussion of visiting the tortles to explain recent events, but when Nosmo explained the winds would take them quickest round the western side of the island back to Farshore, this was soon forgotten. Back in Farshore, Lavinia listened with interest to the reports, and was grateful to have her 'tribute' to the dragon turtle returned - rewarding them all for their efforts. When talk turned to future plans, she left them to it, but not before a brief discussio nabout taking trade goods back to Sasserine to try and spark interest in the trading port. Mendel did talk with Manthalay about less above-board trade, which Manthalay seemed to agree with Lavinia was not to be the focus, although he did leave Mendel with some samples of an exotic fruit that he suggested not be handled without gloves.<br />
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The party set off for Sasserine, and spent much of the next few days shopping. Aloysius had returned from his travels with a substantial return, part of which was reinvested in the tailors shopfront in Shadowshore. Zhedd took some time to visit the Witchwardens, and look for additional items to go with the gloves he had commissioned from them.When he realised he didn't quite have the money for all the items, he asked for a 'loan' to cover the goods. Dark Priestess Teranaki was open to the offer - on the condition that Zhedd would partake in a mission for them. At the next full moon, undead would walk around the ruins of <b>Chekitewhan</b>, and adventuring parties would often interfere with the rituals; the Witchwardens wanted someone to stop the adventurers from doing so. When Zhedd complained he couldn't think of a way to achieve this, and a lack of willingness to help the organisation, Annah Teranaki grew angry at his lack of effort and imagination to aid the Witchwardens, and sent him away.<br />
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The party set about collecting their goods, and planning the next stage of their adventure. Mendel had convinced the others to investigate the trade disruption in Emerond, so they first went to the Temple of Asterius and spoke with Lirali Woarali again. She explained that all caravans had been barred from entering Emerond recently, and exports of their prized alcoholic spirit had ceased. They were a secretive nation generally, but friendly and peaceful so this was unexpected. She described the Emerondians as similar in appearance to elves, but with a greenish tint to their skin, and living in strange cities that were grown within and form the forest trees themselves. Lirali put the party in touch with a caravaneer that was in the capital at the time the borders were closed. He had been trading metal goods with them, as it it something they did not generate themselves. He told a tale of the Emerondians being spooked by a comet falling from the sky, and parts of their plant-kingdom withering and collapsing. Antony asked around and also heard tales of some pale-skinned elves accompanied by a dark haired human with a goatee asking questions about Emerond - the party described Bargle form the wanted posters, and surmised this was he in the company of some shadow elves. Zhedd led the party to a small shrine to Ordana in the Sunrise district - there had been whispers that the Emerondians were followers of Mother Forest. However, the elven priestess they spoke to dismissed this idea - she claimed that whilst the Emerondians lived as one with the forest, it wasn't wholly natural; trees were grown out of proportion and beyond which they should be able to sustain themselves. She saw no sign of Ordana worship in their practices. Mendel gave her a donation for her time, and she clearly was surprised and unsure what to do with the money.<br />
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They then bought horses and set out to the south, aiming to make the border to the kingdom by nightfall. They rode past the plantations that surrounded Sasserine, and skirted the mountains to the east. The land broke into boggy swamp, where the rain run off from the mountains had collected, and thick verdant jungle, with the southerly caravan route dividing the two. In the distance, a rusted chimney bellowed smoke and flame above the mountains to the west, and a dark obsidian stone tower rose above the jungle to the east - the party guessed this was Chekitewhan. Zhedd, flying on Banshee above the party, dropped to meet the others when he and Faldak heard a strange voice in the trees. It was a manic, alien tongue that neither recognized. As Zhedd flew up to investigate, dark beams of energy flew out form the trees and struck Banshee. A pair of Beholders were in the canopy of the forest, and turned their antimagic eyes on the path. Mendel and Gerald tried to make blind shots with bows and magic in their direction, as Dacien froze the air in front of them. Faldak and Ji charged into the fray. In a moment of premptive karma, Ji fell foul to the disintegrate ray of one of the creatures. Faldak was charmed, but the rest of the party managed to kill the bests before anything further happened. Looking at the jungle from above, and the scarred bodies of the beholders, it appeared as though they had been squabbling and fighting each other - Dacien confirmed it was unusual to find them in this terrain, and their insanity meant they practically never worked in teams unless a Hive Mother guided their actions. Finding no sign of how they got here, the party set up camp and continued in the morning.<br />
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Come dawn, Zhedd spotted the kingdom of Emerond a few miles to the south. it's border was plain to see - a ring of trees that were taller, lusher and a more vivid green than the surrounding jungle. The border traced a perfect arc, from what Zhedd could see. After a brief ride, the party came across a guard post on the trail - three of the green skinned folk standing with halberd drawn to block the path. Their weapons and armour were made from wood and hardened leaves. Behind them, a large snake sunned itself on a tree branch and a pair of giant flies waited with wickedly sharp forelimbs and saddles on their backs. The guards commanded the party to stop, but in discussion, when they heard the name Bargle and shadow elves mentioned along with an offer of help, they agreed to report back to the capital and see if they could be admitted. Eventually they were, and met by the High Councillor in the capital, who informed them <b>King Jerem Rhody</b> would meet with them in the baths presently.<br />
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The capital was an incredible feat of horticultural engineering - buildings formed from and within giant trees that spanned scores of feet across. There was preciseness to the growth of the trees that spoke against their natural origins, but at the extremities of the plants, blight and withering was clearly visible. The king met the party in a baths - a pool of sweet liquid fed from the phloem within the centre of the trunk of the largest tree. King Rhody listened to the party's tale and offer of help, and came round to the view that outsiders might be best placed to help with this situation. He was hesitant at first to describe in detail what he felt the problem might be, but as his story went on, probed by the party, it became clearer. He explained that a great power source - analogous to what the party would know as magic, but instead powered by technology, lay at the centre of the kingdom, and it was this that sustained the foresthome as it was and allowed the Emerondians to use the trees and plants as they did. The people of Emerond had long forsake the ways of the technology, and the king alluded to a great tragedy and sacrifice that was made long ago that precipitated this, and the centre of the kingdom was now off limits and potentially hazardous or toxic to enter. He feared something had recently happened to the power source that had weakened it, leading to the blight and affliction affecting the kingdom now. Two other things may be connected to this<br />
- a group of shadow elves had been introduced to the king by Bargle, petitioning to access the technology. The king heard their plight - that the ancient forest home of the elves (<b>Alfheim</b>) had been invaded by the shadow elves and left a dark barren ruin, and the shadow elves were looking for a means to regrow it. The king had not granted them access, but he did not explain how he knew of Bargle<br />
- a comet was seen falling from the sky and landing in the centre of the kingdom. King Rhody alluded to the fact that his people were not originally of this planet, and it may be that safeguards that were put in place to prevent his team interacting with natives could have been enacted.<br />
If the party were willing to investigate the problem, the King would offer what he could in return. Only a small cadre of close advisers still knew the ways of technology, and he feared sending them would cause too much fear in the city at their disappearance, but they could be called upon at the right time if others were needed to solve the problem. He agreed to trade, special goods, and education as a reward, on the condition that the party not return for fear of spreading to much knowledge of the origins of his people amongst his subjects. The party agreed and enjoyed the rest of their bath, Antony feeling quite light headed by the end.<br />
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The following day, the party ventured beyond the tick wall of vegetation that hid the centre of the kingdom, and were given two canoes to navigate the mangrove swamps that lay beyond. They had barely left the Emerondians for 20 minutes before and dry booming voice rang out form ahead in Sylvan. "<i>Leave my trees alone! Leave this place!</i>" Zhedd replied that they were determined to press on through, and the trees, which had seemed to flinch at the party's presence, began to uproot and move closer.<br />
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<br />Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-19740680870747740482014-10-03T22:30:00.001+01:002014-10-03T22:30:15.053+01:00Savage Tide Session 39The party stood on the deck of the leaking ship in the still waters of the cove. The northern coastline of the Isle of Dread was visible in the distance to the south, but spoiling the view was the belly-up bloated body of a dragon turtle. Mendel set about examining the ship for damage, and found as intact as could be expected for a wreck that had spent much of the last few months torn open and beached on a reef. Zhedd asked his crocodiles to examine the body of the turtle for treasures, and finding none, then sent them into the waters below to look for any dropped rings or jewellery. A few moments after disappearing beneath the waves, some thrashing and and blood appeared in the water under the ship.<br />
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A few moments later, Mendel noticed the water levels in the bilges rising, and all on deck felt the ship lurch to port. Gerald and Faldak went to help deal with repairs, whilst the others on deck kept an eye on the water below. Antony spotted a tortle swimming in the sea off the port bow and being casting a spell.<br />
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Antony and Ji were caught by surprise when a woolly mammoth appeared on deck in their midst. The ship lurched suddenly as the beast wrapped its trunk around the main mast and tried to keep balance. Antony tried to keep out of its way and watch the tortle, as Ji used oil to unbalance the beast, and send it slipping off the side. The ship was almost pulled to its side, and below deck, Mendel and Faldak saw signs of a tortle boarding party ripping apart the warped planks at the keel. Dacien set about leading the offensive above decks, once Antony had <i>held</i> the tortle druid, by using a wall of force to make a bridge from the sinking ship to the corpse of the dragon turtle. The party made a retreat from the ship, leaving Faldak as honorary captain to do the noble thing. Ji was caught by a spell as he leapt from the ship, and <i>polymorphed</i> into a pteranadon. Dacien caught the tortle in a <i>resilient sphere</i> to give them some breathing space, and prepare themselves. Faldak finished off the tortle boarding party, and joined the others. Dacien and Zhedd were the only ones able to tackle the tortle without entering the water themselves, and eventually finished him off, but not before many of Zhedd's metal items had been <i>transmuted</i> into wood.<br />
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With the ship on its side and sinking, the party used <i>water walking</i> to make their way to shore, and then up onto the cliffs. Zhedd <i>communed</i> to identify the location of the dragon turtle's lair, which lay 6 miles to the south. But as the party started their trek, Faldak spotted signs of a roc, nesting on the side of the cliff. A little drained from the earlier battles, the party decided to retreat to Farshore. They dined with Lavinia that night, and planned their expedition to the turtle lair.<br />
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Knowing they were facing coral golems, and neither Zhedd nor Dacien recalling much about them, the party decided to visit Sasserine and ask for help of the libraries. Zhedd visited the Witchwardens, whilst Antony and Dacien went to Blenak's Bazaar, the home of a noted sage. Zhedd's research took long in part due to an elderly gnome not being the quickest bout his work, but was asked to meet with Her Dark Priestess Teranaki, head of the guild. She praised Zhedd again on his work bringing them the zombie from the Isle of Dread, and claimed to have learnt much already from its construction. Also, a local artifact of Nyx had been recovered. She asked Zhedd to look out for other specimens of unusual undead, and refrain from attacking intelligent undead if possible - using the Witchwarden's name if it would help broker a peaceful encounter. She also mentioned that they could use some help with the up coming full moon in guarding the undead at <b>Chekitewhan</b>, a local vault, where local 'do-gooder' adventurers would attack the undead guardians that the Witchwardens wanted to protect. Finally, as an enticement to make Zhedd a more proactive member of the Witchwardens, she asked about his retraining to become a necromancer.<br />
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Dacien and Antony has a less unnerving meeting, and afterwards they pooled their knowledge about weaknesses of the golems. Armed with this knowledge, the party made their way to the lair, navigated their way past a <i>wall of dispel magic</i>, and set about ransacking its loot. The two coral golems were contained by some careful tactics and preparation, and quickly dispatched. This left the party to recover the crates and chests of treasure the dragon turtle had collected over many years.Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-71883830076044104012014-08-31T16:13:00.004+01:002014-08-31T16:28:42.191+01:00Savage Tide Session 38The party left their rooms at the Silk Purse (after a disturbing night's sleep thanks to Mendel bringing a barmaid back with him), and headed downstairs. Awaiting them was an Ethengari-looking gentleman with glowing blue eyes (a <i>Arcane Sight </i>spell), who introduced himself as El'Ariah from the Krondohar province of Glantri. He expressed suprise at seeing the party, having heard that some Glantian nobles of the von Drachenfels family were meant to be using this accomodation to take part in the golem hunt, and El'Ariah was hoping to meet his fellow contestants.After the party explained they would not be taking part, he seemed disappointed, and left them to go about their business - but not before mentioning that the von Drachenfels were supposed to have some 'edge' they were bringing to the tournament.<br />
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Before leaving Alchemos, the party visited the Temple of Koryis to send their message to Farshore, explaining their absence, and speak with the deceased spirits of Stefanie and Rissashtak. Stefanie confirmed that she did not wish to return, having given her life i na glorious battle, and Risasshtak stated that whilst there were still demons to fight in his homeland, we wanted to be there to continue the battle. Zhedd argued that the party should only use a cheaper <i>reincarnate</i> spell to bring the warrior back, but the others felt this an insult to how Rissashtak had fought for the party in the battle and resolved to <i>raise</i> him back in Sasserine.<br />
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Dacien used his newly acquired spell <i>Greater Teleport</i> to more accurately transport the party back to Sasserine. They headed for the Church of the Whirling Fury and met with Lady Silvermane there. She listened with interest to the report from the expedition on the Isle of Dread, and still expressed her concern over not fully knowing what Demogorgon was up to. The party discussed the next plans, and she agreed that hunting down the source of the pearls with the Crimson Fleet seemed the only avenue left to understanding more about their nature. She offered to take the pearls from the party to study them, but Dacien wanted to hold on to them as a potential bargaining chip in the future.<br />
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When the party mentioned the intelligent bow they had found, Lady Silvermane offered to introduce the party to the immortal Ixion to discuss its future. She was a priest in part in his name through his presence on the Council of Intrusion, and so was able to <i>gate</i> the party to <b>Pandius</b>, city of the gods, where they could meet the Sun Prince. Stepping through the portal, the party arrived in a large chamber, seated opposite a table from the follow powerful immortal 'deities'.<br />
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<b>Ixion (Otzitiotl) </b>appeared a a young man with eyes of flame, <b>Ka (Kalaktatla) </b>as a large dinosaur, <b>Odin (Oloron) </b>as an old man with an eye-patch and a raven, and <b>Protius (Manwara)</b>, who appeared as a porpoise swimming in a pool to the side, seemingly disinterested in the entire event. Ixion explained that he had convened the others as their powers had also gone in to the creation of the bow. Ixion seemed the more personable of the four, and claimed to be aware of the party's activities through Lady Silvermane and the Council of Intrusion. When the issue of what should be done with the bow came up, several options were raised, where the immortals might reward the party for delivering the bow to different destinations that might better suit its purpose.<br />
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<ol>
<li>Ka and Ixion both mused delivering the bow somewhere that might suit its purpose of defending the Oltec empire perfectly. They revealed to the party that the planet was in fact hollow, and in the <b>Hollow World</b> at its centre, fallen empires from history were stored and preserved so that knowledge might be saved, in a 'living museum' of delicately balanced lost civilisations. They explained that the Oltec Empire that had once spread across the now Isle of Dread was represented in the Hollow World, and there the bow could meet its goal of defending the empire. They seemed cautious about the bow knowing too much of the nature of the destination, and explained that certain magical effects ceased to function in the Hollow World due to its nature - severe restrictions on conjuration, divination and enchantment magic. But in return for taking the bow to the seat of the Oltec Empire, they would reward the party each with an item. Should the party choose this course, they suggested heading to Barleycorn Monastery in the Broken Lands north of Darokin, where the priests might be able to help with transport.</li>
<li>Odin seemed more matter-of-fact, and wanted to see the bow in the hands of a warrior. Acknowledging the strong nature of the intelligence in the bow, he suggested the bow could actually be given to the spirit that possessed it! Odin explained that the civilisation on the isle of Dread now revere undead but this once once a form of undead called <i>Deathless</i> powered by positive energy. Corruption at the heart of the empire that contributed to its downfall led the shamans away from this practice. Several Deathless, including Macutotnal, the king inside the bow, lay in slumber guarding the source of this undead corruption. If the party could remove the need for his guardianship, destroy the corruption, the Deathless might take the bow and return to rebuild the Oltec way of life on the Isle. In return for this deed, Odin would reward them with one item of more power.</li>
<li>Protius only chipped into suggest giving it to the aquatic races, or detroying it do the power invested in it could return to the immortals.</li>
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Mendel also asked about the Eye of Arik they were carrying. Ixion was surprised at its existence, and gave some background. Arik was a guardian created by the immortals to act as a sentinel on the look out for intrusions in to this dimension from Outer Beings, and to stand as guard and warden over the <b>Pits of Banishment</b>, an 'inescapable' prison dimension where dangerous creatures could be locked away. Arik had been tempted by the powers that the outer Beings offered, and so had to be locked away in the Pits himself. Dacien asked about the need for a guard at the prison, and Ixion explained his surprise at the existence of the Eye - that the only escape was by a creature 'opening the door to its cell from the other side'. The Eye contained some vestige of Arik's power, and so if brought to the Pits of Banishment might be used to free him.</div>
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Back in Sasserine, the party left Aloysius to sell their loot, which should take a fortnight. He was operating form an abandoned tailors in Shadowshore. On the docks, Mendel, Faldak and Ji spotted the crew of the ship they had visited in Farshore harbour carrying the Shadow Elves, surprisingly already in Sasserine. It became clear that the first mate did not recognise them, and from Antony's questions and pub crawl, it seemed their memories had been modified. Dacien scryed for the albinos and found them in a smuggler's cave to the west - in fact the one they had first encountered the evidence of the danger of the black pearls.</div>
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Zhedd then persuaded the party to help him retrieve a sample undead from the Isle of Dread - his <i>long</i> overdue mission from the Witchwardens. The party travelled to Mora, and met with the Witch Doctor there, and thanks to Antony's skilful negotiation, a large amount of alcohol, and Mendel's offer of exchange of the secrets of their power (training etc), Zhedd was handed a topi zombie in a box. It was clear the locals revered the undead as 'Walking Ancestors', and the witch doctor hoped for the return of the zombie in the future, but understood how it might have much to teach the outsiders. Zhedd and Dacien delivered the zombie back to the Witchwardens, and were met by the Dark Priestess <b>Annah Teranaki</b> who was very interested in the party's work. Before the party left Sasserine, Mendel visited the temple of Asterius, and spoke again with the priestess <b>Lirali Woarali</b>. She confirmed that the assassins had retreated from the city, and in response to Mendel's offer of assistance, the church and the growing thieves guild would benefit from an exclusive trade relationship with the nation of Emerond to the south - all trade had recently been cut off and if this could be resolved in the Church's name, they would benefit greatly.</div>
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The party still had time to kill whilst waiting for the funds from their loot, and so decided to deal with the dragon turtle on the north of the Isle of Dread. Back in Farshore, Antony's sea Captain Nosmo Beldan had reported sightings of the turtle near the harbour. Some of the locals had also claimed to see a red falcon in the sky to the east, and Mendel spotted this at night - a giant red falcon seemingly made from wood, lit up and hovering over the islands where they met the Hulean preists previously. They party spent some time planning how best to approach the dragon turtle, and decided to repair the <i>Sea Wyvern</i> they left wrecked on the north of the island enough to limp around in the the cove and use as a platform for their attacks. A carpenter helped with the makeshift repairs, with wood shaping spells from Zhedd. Nearby they met with some tortles, who reminded them of the dragon turtle being worshipped by some of their kin, and it guarding the birthing grounds they used. After some trade, they also revealed the dragon turtle had coral golems to add to its defences.</div>
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They limped the ship into the deep waters of the cove, and used the horns to attract the dragon turtle's attention as they had done before. It emerged moments later with a sneer, and was caught by surprise as the party attacked. A vast amount of magical firepower was unleashed from Dacien, Zhedd and Gerald to attack the creature as it tried to capsize the ship, and eventually Zhedd's summoned crocodiles tore it to pieces, leaving the body floating in the bloody waters. Somewhere below was its lair and collected treasure....</div>
Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-63468485923905523632014-08-04T16:33:00.002+01:002014-08-04T16:33:56.819+01:00Savage Tide Session 37The giant eel-like demon thrashed in the chamberer, as Faldak and Ji were thrust aside by its sudden appearance. Zhedd quickly teleported Banshee out of harms way, as Dacien racked his brains to identify the creature - a <i>wastrilith</i>, an aquatic demon that usually avoid direct combat, and has a vulnerability to fire. Before they could act, however, a <i>wall of ice</i> appeared between the demon and the bulk of the party. Quick thinking from Mendel saw him use the arrow of disintegration to blow a hole in the wall and press the attack. Soon after the creature was dead. There was no sign of the two headed creature returning, so the party started to explore the area. They found a statue of Demogorgon in a side chamber, with a fragment of a gold annulus held in its arms - similar to the one the party had found in the village of Mora.<br />
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Antony found a passageway south, and Dacien confirm with a use of <i>locate object</i> that the kopru had fled in that direction. The party found two pools which appeared to lead to underwater passageways, and signs that the two remaining kopru had come this way. As the party prepared to enter, there was a ebllowing roar form the main chamber - the two-headed demon had returned. The party returned to the room, and spread out along the walls to attack. The beast was in the centre of the chamber looking healed form its previous wounds but drained of energy. Wary of the original encounter, the party feared it may be an illusion. Faldak and Ji hurried forward, and spotted the real demon hiding in one of the rooms. As the party tired to pin it down in the room, it <i>teleport</i>ed behind Mendel and attacked. This allowed the rest of the party to close in. Driven by an desire for vengeance, the beast would not flee, and the party soon brought it down. A it died, the body collapsed in on itself in a bubbling mass of black ichor. Dark smoke rose form the putrefying corpse, and coalesced into the image of Demogorgon, whose gaze fixed the party. One head snarled in anger, whilst the other hissed "<i>You have my attention</i>!".<br />
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The party then return to face the kopru, cowering in their flooded cavern. Gerald warded Faldak with a <i>freedom of movement</i> spell, and the dwarf used his <i>necklace of adaptation </i> to breathe under the water. Zhedd conjured a pod of dolphins to guide them, and turned into a dolphin himself to tow Faldak along under the water. Together, they cornered the two remaining kopru and between a wet dwarf and some summoned crocodiles, they managed to defeat them. The cave contained lots of furniture carved from coral, and appeared to be where the kopru kept most of their treasure. One chest was chained to the floor and trapped, and Anthony soon found out why - one trap caused him to grow gills, and an innocuous handbell inside the chest dropped a <i>fireball</i> when accidentally rung. The party were then more cautious retrieving a set of bellows form the chest - which Dacien later identified as <i>Bellows of the Fascist Swarm</i> that could summon a swarm of bees to attack hippies (<i>CG creatures in preference</i>).<br />
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The party then spent a day ensuring they had cleared out the complex. They found no sign of other kopru, but did find underwater routes that lead into the main lake. A small fish informed them a large predator guarded the lake, and as a shadow loomed overhead, the party quickly retreated. Zhedd wanted to approach the treants again before he left. Zhedd <i>communed </i> again, and picked up the treants trial, as well as spotting that several demons still plagued the lands around the plateau. Mendel accompanied him, and, dodging a flock of wyverns, they managed to find the treants. Zhedd informed them that the island had been cleared of skinwalkers, and the treants again thanked him for removing the taint of civilisation form the plateau. They seemed resistant to accept any further help, and eager to see the party leave so that they could reclaim the land for nature themselves without man- or elf-kind.<br />
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Dacien gathered the party to <i>teleport </i>back to Farshore, focussing on Professor Aldwattle's laboratory. As the spell neared completion, a fly darted up his nose, causing him to lose concentration. The party vanished and reappeared in an alchemical laboratory - but not the one they intended. As a bookcase golem started to move to defend its masters room, Dacien quickly <i>dimension door'</i>d the party out to the street. They found themselves in an immaculately kept cobbled road, an avenue with well kept plants and topiary. The smell of smoked haddock and hot metal filled the air. A passing dwarf with a wheelbarrow informed them they had arrived in Alchemos, on the continent of Bellisaria in the Empire of Alphatia - a great many hundreds of miles from their intended destination. Alchemos was the home of the Alphatian School of Alchemy, a prestigious site of learning.<br />
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The party started looking for somewhere cheap to stay, when Mendel decided to pick somewhere more upmarket, and spotted a lavish inn named The Silk Purse. At the door, after an initial look of derision, the proprietor seemed to mistake the party for some expected guests that were due to take part in 'The Hunt'. The party happily went along with the ruse, and were shown to a lavish suite of rooms. The next day, Dacien and Zhedd did some research at the library and Mendel and Antony did their 'research' at the taverns. They found out that The Hunt was actually an annual event where the Alchemists Guild would unleash a hellish alchemical golem of their own devising upon contestants trapped within a maze of invisible force fields. There had only been 2 winners in recent years, and taking part was seen as an act of desperation by down-on-their-luck mages looking to get their hands on the 100,000 gp prize for defeating the golem and leaving the maze. The party (<i>almost </i>universally) began to think taking part was a Bad Idea.Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-44600778643081562912014-06-29T16:19:00.002+01:002014-06-29T16:19:38.848+01:00Savage Tide Session 36<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Zhedd's Escape</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As the rest of the party disappeared with Dacien's teleport, Zhedd and Banshee were left behind with two mocking </span>baboon<span style="font-family: inherit;"> faces leering hungrily at them both. Zhedd quickly </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">dimension door'd </i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> the pair of them upwards and out over the lake on the surface. Using illusions, Zhedd kept the two of them hidden as he sought out a refuge to hide and await contact from the others. He found a crevasse on the sheer </span>cliffs<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that surrounded the plateau, and created a ledge to rest upon. Having rested and memorised new spells, Zhedd </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">communed</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> to get a feel for the creatures that lived nearby, and identified a powerful unnatural creature living in the lake on the plateau, and the treant he'd met earlier currently somewhere in the forest to the south. Zhedd searched the forest for some time, luckily avoiding any encounters, until he found signs of the treant's passage. </span>The<span style="font-family: inherit;"> treant recognised Zhedd, and agreed that the druid could accompany him to a meet with his grafted partner for safety. In return, the treant explained he was distraught at the 'two-legged civilisation' that had come to the plateau and cut down trees to build </span>structures<span style="font-family: inherit;">, and exacted a promise from Zhedd that the druid would destroy any further spread of this 'civilisation'. In the meantime, Zhedd found a pool and, after failing to contact Dacien, managed to scry Mendel and pass on the message about where he was hiding. Dacien came up with a plan to retrieve Zhedd, and after a series of teleports the party were reunited in Farshore.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Catching breath in Farshore</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The party had filled Lavinia in on what had occurred and looked to return to Sasserine to get supplies. </span>Getting<span style="font-family: inherit;"> an update on events in the settlement, it appeared that Manthalay Meravanchi had started an operation to source criminals from the natives and ship them back as slaves, to keep a trade ticking over for the growing operation. Lavinina also introduced the party to two phanaton that were seekign adventure with the party in return for passage away from the Isle of Dread - <b>Gerald</b>, a reincarnated dwarf, and his companion <b>Lenny</b>. Three new ships were in harbour - one of Karameikan origin, looking to resupply on the voyage south, a ship of Vanyan pilgrims heading south, and the other a strange ship of dried aged wood with rigging and sails made from webbing. Of the latter, there had been no sign of activity on the ship, save for a pteranodon which had been caught in a spider-web bag on the central mast, and was fluttering listlessly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Karameikan ship <i>Ekaterina </i>was strange for not docking at one of the jettys and remaining further out in the harbour - also, all windows were blacked out. The crew had made little contact save for the first mate Ivan Ivanov who was overseeing supplies. None of the crew had been ashore for leave. Mendel spied on the ship from one of the clifftops and saw a pale figure hiding in the shadows. When Ji and Faldak escorted the supplies to the ship, there as resistance to let them board, but Ji persisted, drawn by the smell of stale sweat, and also spotted the strange figure. Slipping the first mate some coin, Ivanov let slip that he was carrying a cargo of strange albino humanoids he'd picked up from the caves to the north, at the behest of some <i>shadow elves </i> form the nation of Aengmor.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Mendel spoke to the head of the Vanya </span>missionaries<span style="font-family: inherit;">, Heinrich, who spent most of their time in weapons training by the docks. They were headed to Raven's Scarp on the southern continent of Davania as part of a pilgrimage to a place called Vanya's Rest. They suggested </span>approaching<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Steefanie's mercenary contingent for burial rites, but felt that the death in battle against a major foe would suffice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The webbed ship caused more interest, and the part approached it. Strange metal plates adorned it surface, and after hailing the ship, something from within tapped on the metal sheets. After contact was made, a group of large dark spiders emerged on deck and spoke in piping voices. The leader introduced himself as AckAck, of a race of planar spiders known as Chak that called the Astral plane home. They often travelled as merchants, picking up exotic wares and information to trade. They explained that they had been drawn here following ships from the Material Plane that were sailing on other planar seas, and they were curious who and how. The ships carried flags of a skull over crossed swords on a red background - the same flag the party had seen carried by the Sea Reavers of the Crimson Fleet. After exchanging tales, and signal books, the party were able to trade with the Chak and get the supplies they needed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Round Two on Taboo</b></span><br />
Once<span style="font-family: inherit;"> the party were rested and prepared, and items identified or traded, the party returned to the temple on the plateau. They gathered at the top of the stairs descending to the chamber filled with mud pools, and cast their spells in preparation. The chamber below was empty, so the party hurried through the broken wall as they did before. In the main chamber, four kopru, a crocodile demon, and the two headed beast </span>waited<span style="font-family: inherit;"> for them. In the arms of the statue now rested the defiled bodies of Stefanie and Rissashtak. Battle commenced, and the party fared better this time, as they resisted more of the attacks and ere able to focus on dealing damage to the large creature. </span>Some<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of </span>the<span style="font-family: inherit;"> party succumbed to the confusion, including Banshee, and were caught in melee with the beast. Then, with the kopru killed or driven off, as the demon was looking increasingly beaten, it suddenly vanished, and in its place, conjured forth by some demonic pact magic as far as Dacien could tell, appeared a large thrashing eel-like demon. It wasn't over yet...</span><br />
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<br />Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-40118150531675544322014-05-26T16:21:00.003+01:002014-05-26T16:21:49.657+01:00Savage Tide Session 35The party gathered at the steps down to the steamy cavern full of pools of bubbling volcanic mud. Feeling emboldened by the <i>Heroic Feast</i> Stefanie had conjured for them earlier, they set about planning their approach to tackle the kopru base of operations. Dacien and Stefanie drew up wards against evil mind control, and the party huddled in a protective circle as the descended the stairs. The cavern was very large, with thin, slippery mineral-encrusted walkways criss-crossing the pools. The heat was nearly unbearable, and each of them was covered in sweat within seconds; sweat that had nowhere to evaporate to in the humid, sulphurous foetid air.<br />
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Stefanie took off her armour to avoid sinking into the pools, as the more nimble team members scouted ahead. The occasional bubble of boiling mud burst over a party member, and more than once Rissashtak and Faldak lost their footing and fell in. They knew the kopru were in hiding, and it was Antony who spotted them first, as two muscular kopru swam at them through the mud. Throgiff was caught by surprise, and crushed by its muscular tentacle. Mendel was caught too but managed to escape. The halfling was overcome, as his skull was crushed and his body dumped in the pool of mud. Taboo temple had claimed its first victim of the day. But not before a quick acting Ji retrieved the body and its goods.<br />
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The two kopru were killed, and Antony saw another in the distant shadows disappear back into the mud. Macutotnal's anger against the kopru came to the fore, as the intelligent bow took control of Mendel, and argued to press the attack. The rest of the party managed to counsel caution. From then on the party decided to travel together. They explored the northern half of the chamber and found, encrusted in a large stalagmite, a skeletal body sat upon a throne. Macutotnal/Mendel explained that this is where the king of Thanaclan would receive guests before entering the temple to the west. The body bore a ring - the king's insignia with a power of telekinesis - and a bronze bastard sword with a sun emblem, that was strangely light for its size.<br />
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Ji used the telekinesis to move an arrow with a light spell cast upon it about the chamber and assess the layout. A well of boiling water lay on the southern wall, and Antony's keen eye spotted a buried box containing several emeralds. They also spotted a breach in the western wall, from where Ji had heard a bestial roar earlier. The party headed there next, narrowly missing a walkway that almost collapsed under them, which Zhedd then filled in by turning the mud to rock. The crevasse led to a small cave filled with the skulls of many different humanoids. Each skull bore signs of the brains having been scraped out through the nose. A passageway led out to the west and drier ground, so Stefanie set about putting her armour back on, whilst Ji did his best to give the skulls a more dignified send off. Faldak moved up to fire an arrow around the corner to the west, only to see a terrifying beast staring back at him; a disturbing cross between kopru and baboon in a twisted semblance of Demogorgon himself. A demonic crocodilian creature was entwined around his legs.<br />
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Ji tried to speak but Faldak had fired an arrow. The party geared for battle, only to find the creature was an illusion, which was still able to cast spells! Ji, Mendel and Faldak fought through into a large partially-flooded temple, where they were swarmed by six of the crocodile demons. The soundd of hawking and snorting came from the north, and a viscous acidic glob of snot and bile flew from the darkness to cover the trio, burning their skin and very souls. Mendel fired a light arrow back in that direction, and illuminated the real creature, stood in front of a fractured statue on a dais where there was also a melon-sized black pearl throbbing with eldritch energy. Zhedd conjured a <i>solid fog</i> about the creature to buy time whilst the others fought off the crocodiles. The wicked barbed tails on the demons caused wounds to bleed heavily, and Faldak and Ji began to struggle under the pressure. Suddenly, the large demon appeared in their midst, bringing an aura of fear and confusion with it which scattered the party immediately. It's tentacles carried a rotting power that caused flesh to slough off and decay.<br />
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A frantic battle was fought. Antony almost died, but managed to skip into the water ans swim to the pearl, which the party washed free form the bile and semi-digested brain matter around it, and slip into his haversack. He was met with a glob of energy draining snot for his efforts. Ji found a pile of treasures in a side room in which he was hiding in fear - likely the possessions of Noltus Innersol, given the blood-stained symbol of Ixion in their midst.<br />
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Once the crocodiles were dispatched, it left Stefanie fighting a vain battle alone against the beast. Rissashtak was being crushed by one of its limbs, but managed to escape. Ji, Mendel, and Rissashtak rushed to surround it, but the demon lashed out at all of them in a flurry that caught them all by surprise. Rissashtak and Stefanie felt their hearts rot from the inside before the life ebbed out of them. Two more victims to Taboo temple. Ji fell to the floor convulsing, and bleeding his last.<br />
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Dacien finally realised the game was up and called for retreat. Zhedd swapped a rat from bag of tricks with Ji and the party desperately ran into Dacien's <i>teleport </i>spell back to Farshore. The beasts's mocking voice followed them "<i>I will kill either your healer or your means of escape! I will find out where you live and kill everyone there!</i>"Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621798103539173376.post-2528432950662074752014-04-30T16:53:00.001+01:002014-04-30T16:53:48.232+01:00Savage Tide Session 34Before the party could rest, they were alerted by Dacien's <i>alarm</i>. Looking outside their chamber, nothing was visible, but Zhedd could make out the sounds of someone casting <i>invisibility</i> spells. The party crowded around the doorway, as Stefanie tried to use a jet of water to find the invisible foes - a couple of feet were spotted, but quickly retreated. In the end, Zhedd launched off the balcony on Banshee to locate the enemies, and was pounced on by two Vrocks that appeared mid air. Soon after, a skinwalker appeared near the column of flame, and launched a fireball into the midst of the party. Two more skinwalkers started to move to flank the party but Faldak cut them off. The vrocks spread their toxic spores amongst the party, and leapt into melee.The foes were soon brought down, but the spores continued to eat away at the party. Eventually, all were healed and managed get back to rest.<br />
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The party decided to venture to the lower levels via the main steps they had seen to the west, and found themselves on a landing. to the east there was a flooded murky chamber with a large snake motif running around its walls. Antony snuck down a corridor to the south and found a storage area - urns, crowbars and fishing equipment, next to a large underground oyster pond. As Antony beckoned the others to join him, three Hezrou teleported to flank the party and attacked.<br />
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Their stench sickened several of the party, but Dacien and Stefanie acted quickly to use their magic to send two of the toad-like demons back to their extraplanar holes. The third was killed off soon after, allowing the party to continue. The urns held strange substances - a quivering red mud or planar origin, and disturbing headless insects, not immediately recognisable as being of this planet. Stefanie and Zhedd went to explore the oyster pond, but Ji noticed Zhedd starting to behave strangely - under the influence of kopru mind control. Before they could command him to act, Dacien used <i>protection from evil</i> to ward off the kopru influence, but by the time the party ran across the chamber to find the beasts, they appeared to have disappeared into an underwater tunnel. The party did their best to block the tunnel, finding another that led into the lake outside too, and returned to the oysters. Six of the creatures were abnormally large, black and pulsating with red veins. Cracking these open with the crowbars was difficult, and caused the oysters to shrill and shriek with an unearthly keen. Inside each of them was a large black pearl.<br />
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The party set off back to the north, and followed a flooded corridor west. Antony stepped into pool that contained a green slime, and had to be rescued by Ji burning the slime off as it ate away at his legs. Whilst ji set about clearing the pool of the rest of the slime, the rest of the party bound and gagged Zhedd in case the kopru mind controlled started again. What they hadn't factored in was his ability to shapeshift, and so, under the kopru influence, Zhedd turned into a squid to escape the bonds and flee. Mendel quickly pinned him to the wall with some well placed arrows, allowing Dacien to break the enchantment the kopru had on the druid, leaving a sullen Zhedd to skulk back to the party.<br />
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In a room at the end of the corridor, the party found an old library of wax tablets, that had long since lost their writing for the most part other than a carefully bound section of stone slabs. An obsidian dagger was also hidden in a stone drawer, and seemed to draw shadows into itself as it avoided the flickering torchlight.<br />
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In another corridor, the party were attacked by a large ochre jelly, but managed to fend this off to battle out of the water. Antony cleverly spotted the risk of opening doors in flooded corridors and cut off the top half of another door to access the chamber beyond, without washing themselves away. This led to a steam vent that the party bridged, and beyond that a statuary. Mendel entered first to investigate the room, only to be trapped by a falling portcullis, as four of the statues moved to attack. Zhedd summoned a wolverine to swap places with Mendel, but it was taking too long and Mendel was being beaten heavily by the statues, so Dacien <i>dimension door</i>'d him out. The statues were relentless, and bashed down the portcullis to pursue the party. It became clear the party's weapons were not harming the creatures, so they retreated, laying a trap by the steam vent. Ji acted as bait to lure the statues forward; the first one fell intothe steam vent and backed solid, and the next two got swept away by the on rush of water as they broke down Antony's dam. This left one for the party to defeat in melee. The wounds the statue caused itched and were difficult to heal, draining the party of much of their remaining healing to finally cure them.<br />
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A set of stairs led down, and Antony went ahead to explore. The stairs opened up into a large chamber filled with bubbling pits of boiling mud. Anthony felt a kopru invade his mind, and managed to break free before it took real hold. Running back upstairs, the party decided to avoid this for now, and find somewhere to rest - the kopru would wait for another day...Wyrinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584859518433388278noreply@blogger.com0