Spelljammer |
Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh
|
| |
| Current Turn? | No |  | Subject: | The Final Enemy |
| Campaign: | Greyhawk | | Turn Start Date: | 9/15/596 |
| Adventure: | Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh | | Turn End Date: | 10/2/596 |
| Adventure Number: | AAB | | Characters: | Darkthorn, Dyson Teague, Kalin, Lorcan Smythe, Morgan Dunst, Rory Rockhound |
| Turn Number: | 1.6 | | Send To: | fivewands@championsoftheempire.com |
| Greyhawk Campaign? | Yes | | Combat Turn? | No |
| Name | Lethal | NL | Current | END | PROT | LOW | DEF | ROF | Flash | Heal | Luck Pts | Fate Pts | |
| Darkthorn | 2 | 0 | 61/63 | /0 | 7 | 1 | 37 | 2 | 0/0 | 1/day | 1/1 | /0 | |
| Dyson Teague | 0 | 0 | 55/55 | 2/2 | 7 | 1 | 49 | 4 | 0/0 | 1/day | 2/3 | 0/1 | |
| Kalin | 0 | 0 | 44/44 | /0 | 8 | 2 | 22 | 0 | 0/0 | 1/day | 2/2 | 1/1 | |
| Lorcan Smythe | 7 | 0 | 47/54 | /0 | 5 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 0/0 | 1/day | 1/2 | 1/1 | |
| Morgan Dunst | 5 | 0 | 52/57 | 4/4 | 6 | 0 | 27 | 6 | 0/0 | 1/day | 1/1 | /0 | |
| Rory Rockhound | 0 | 0 | 45/45 | /0 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0/0 | 1/day | 1/1 | /0 | |
| Wiley Finch | 0 | 0 | 55/55 | /0 | 8 | 1 | 40 | 6 | 0/0 | 1/day | 1/2 | 1/1 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Mage/Psioncist Name | Psionic Pts | Spell Pts | Spell Pool | Miscellaneous Information |
| Lorcan Smythe | / | 12/13 | 5/9 | |
| Rory Rockhound | / | 9/9 | 16/16 | |
| Wiley Finch | / | 7/7 | 8/8 | |
| | | | |
Oceanus: 56/62
Ceanna: 46/46 - Spell Points 4/11, Spell Pool 12/21
Darkthorn - Water Breathing (4 hours) |
10/25/2018
The group complete preparations for the assault on the sahuagin fortress. They spent many hours attending town council meetings which also included a delegation of sea elves. Many plans were made, discussed and discarded before a workable plan was finally agreed upon. The final plan envisions a two-pronged initial approach that would hopefully give the sea elves time to complete the alliance and eventually build up an army to assault the sahuagin fortress.
The first prong of the two pronged approach is for the group to enter the fortress from the causeway side of the fortress. The council outlines 4 goals for the group, including Oceanus the lizardman and Ceanna the sea elven healer.
1. Determine the strength of the sahuagin forces, including the approximate number of warriors, lieutenants, barons, clerics, mages, etc.
2. Locate important areas within the fortress, such as the location where the warriors are barracked, the officer quarters, etc.
3. Discover any significant defensive measures such as traps, fortified doors, etc.
4. Discover how advanced are the sahuagin preparations and where they are planning to attack, and when.
The group is offered a reward of 8,000 silver for a successful mission, in addition to being able to keep the borrowed magic item that each one selected.
The second prong of the two pronged approach is for the sea elves to return quickly to their home and put together a quick reaction force of sea elves, mermen and locanthah who can move towards the fortress and begin harrying and attacking the sahuagin patrols. The idea is that this will focus the attention of the sahuagin on the sea and the quick reaction force, giving the group more time to explore the fortress. This will also allow the leaders of the sea elves, mermen and locanthah more time to build the massive army that will be needed to assault the fortress.
The two groups agree that the quick reaction force will begin their attacks on the sahuagin patrols 30 hours after the group departs Saltmarsh in the Sea Ghost. This will give the group time to reach the fortress.
The plan is put into action and, a few days later, at 6 in the morning, the Sea Ghost departs Saltmarsh heading to the southwest. The plan is for the group to cross the causeway around noon when the bright light of the sun will most interfere with the light-hating sahuagin. The Sea Ghost arrives in the vicinity very early the following morning when it is still dark. Oceanus scouts the sea around the ship as Lorcan is lowered over the side so he can open the Folding Boat. He has since discovered a new command word that allows the boat to fold out even larger.
The group climbs into the vessel and takes up the oars. They row for a few hours until Ceanna says that they are less than 2 miles from the fortress. There the oars are shipped and Lorcan casts a Mage Wind spell to propel the boat silently through the waters. The oars are much more likely to be heard by the sahuagin from much further away and the group is wary of the water patrols.
They reach the agreed upon landing point, which has a hill between them and the fortress, about a quarter of a mile away. It is almost noon. Lorcan folds the boat and the group moves cautiously down the path through the marsh. When they come into sight of the island fortress, just off the coast and connected by a 200 foot causeway, Ceanna stops and looks shocked. She tells the group that the island is a good 20 to 30 feet lower than it should be. The group puzzles on this but is unable to figure out how the island sunk so much. They continue forward.
They reach the end of the causeway and start across. In the bright light of day, the sahuagin are not likely to be able to see beyond 30 to 40 feet so the group stops about three quarters of the way across and Wiley casts an Invisibility on Dyson. By this time they are close enough to see the receiving ledge and the door at the back that leads into the fortress. Dyson moves up to the door, which is unguarded from this side. He examines it but sees not way to open it from this side. The group quickly makes plans around the Scroll of Knock that they received. Kalin casts a Silence spell on a rock which covers the ledge. Wiley backs out of the area and reads the Scroll of Knock. It takes him 4 tries before he is successful (using up half the duration of the Silence spell). There is no apparent change to the door but Darkthorn is able to give it a mighty push and open it.
Inside is a guard chamber with five sahuagin guards. A passage at the back is blocked by a portcullis.
Battle is joined. Darkthorn and Dyson attack the guards closest to a warning gong at the back while Kalin rushes in and gets the gong within the range of the Silence spell.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night. We are three rounds into the battle so there is one round remaining on the Silence spell. Two crossbow-wielding sahuagin have appeared at the portcullis and fired at Lorcan and Oceanus. The bolt intended for Lorcan killed the sahuagin he and Oceanus are fighting (a critical hit no less) while the one intended for Oceanus missed him and then came close to hitting Wiley a bit further back. The group sees no mechanism to raise the portcullis from this side.
11/1/2018
After Darkthorn took out his opponent, he made a run for the portcullis as the sahuagin on the other side were reloading, and attempted to lift it, but failed. He retreated around the corner. Once Morgan and Oceanus took out Morgan's opponent, Morgan ran up and Darkthorn joined him. The two managed to force the portcullus up just high enough to crawl/roll under it. Darkthorn dropped and started under it. His armor and clothing got snagged on the lower spikes and it took him the entire round to get under. The sahuagin crossbowman still managed to miss him however.
Darkthorn got to his feet as Dyson also came under. Meanwhile, Lorcan read off a Scroll of Fireball that engulfed all of the other sahuagin, and killed one of them. The group later learned that the sahuagin who was killed was about to trigger a weighted net trap that would have dropped nets on most of the group so it was a timely action.
Others follow Darkthorn and Dyson and the two force themselves forward. Oceanus rolls a double aught grievous against one of the sahuagin, killing him instantly and gaining a +20 SC for his next two hits.
The battle ends quickly thereafter with all of the sahuagin killed.
Ceanna begins First Aid using a Healing Servant to speed up the process. She uses magical healing bandages on both Morgan and Lorcan and normal first aid on the rest of the injured.
Meanwhile, Dyson investigates two mechanisms set into the wall around the corner from the portcullis. He determines that one of them is uses to raise and lower the portcullis and the other is the trigger for the net traps in the ceiling.
Ceanna also notes that the area has been significantly modified since the sea elves lived here. The room is barely recognizable on the map the sea elves provided to the group. Ceanna makes notes on the map of the changes and notes the number of guards encountered.
The group begins investigating the complex. They find a sprawling complex that barely resembles the sea elf map, indicating significant construction efforts. Some even hear very distant sounds of metal against stone. One of the rooms looks like it will be a barracks holding perhaps 120 sahuagin soldiers and 8 officers. They also find a weapons room containing 180 javelins, 60 spears, 60 tridents, 60 hooked nets and 60 daggers. They find storerooms and, deeper in the complex, nicer rooms that might be for senior officers. They do not encounter any more sahuagin and Darkthorn offers the thought that maybe this level will eventually be flooded as well and that's when it will become inhabited. The group agrees that this seems likely.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
11/8/2018
The group returns to the entrance and begins scouting down the eastern passages. They find another chamber that appears to be destined for a senior leader. As Darkthorn approaches a junction ahead of the group, he is ambushed by three sahuagin but they are not particularly skilled and they are easily defeated as the rest of the group comes up. Two of them try to run away. Darkthorn kills one while Dyson and Oceanus chase down and kill the other one.
One of the rooms off the junction leads to a very large slave pen where one wall is lined with manacles. At the very back of the slave pen, the group finds a very old and emaciated human who looks dead at first glance but Ceanna confirms that he is still alive - barely. She does what she can for him and even casts the Lay Healer version of Tenser's Floating Disc to create a stretcher but the man does not last long. He is able to talk and tell the group, in halting form interrupted by frequent coughing and wheezing, that he is the last survivor of a group of adventurers who entered the sahuagin lair weeks or months ago - he has lost all track of time - from a kingdom further south. They made the mistake of entering by the lower level sea entrance and ran into a large group of sahuagin right away. Everyone else was killed and he was taken captive. Since then he has been forced to work on enlarging the fortress day after day with very little sleep, poor food and no blankets for sleep. Before he dies, he mentions something about a secret room at the back of a storeroom and then he grabs Lorcan's cloak and says "remember metalworm!" These are his last words. Some people heard metalworm and others heard metaworm but most agreed it was probably metalworm.
Lacking any means of burying the man, they return his body to the location where they found it and press on. The sounds of metal on stone get louder and louder as they move towards the southeast corner of the lair until they reach a complex intersection. One of the passages leads to a large chamber that is still being worked. At the far end are a dozen or more prisoners, mostly non-human, working on the cavern walls. Darkthorn - stealthily watching from the entrance - counts six sahuagin guards.
The group takes a different passage and finds a storeroom filled with equipment and tools for stone working. Excited, they search for the secret room that the dying human mentioned and Darkthorn finds it. After determining that there are no traps, Darkthorn opens it and the group enters the small room, that measures about 10 feet by 8 feet. It contains an assortment of treasure that the group spends the next 20 minutes identifying to the best of their ability and then apportioning to various members of the group. A Cloak of the Manta Ray goes to Wiley. Kalin takes a set of magical chain mail and a large round shield. Oceanus takes a magical spear. Lorcan takes a magical broadsword. Rory ends up with a Wand of the Tunnel Worms which the group assumes the phrase spoken by the dying human is the command word. Darkthorn takes a ring of defense while Lorcan puts on an unknown magical ring. Dyson takes a ring of invisibility. Some of the items require some time for attunement.
The group also finds spells books for an Earth Mage which Rory takes. They also find four scrolls; Continual Light, Silence 15' radius, Opening and Ice Storm.
The group departs the treasure room and explores the rest of the level. Then they turn their attention back to the room with the prisoners and guards. As they are discussing tactics, Darkthorn reports that the slaves and guards are departing (he is keeping watch at a corner where he can see the passage leading out of the room where the slaves and guards were located). The group surmises that the prisoners are being taken to the slave pits and quickly alters their plan of attack.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
11/15/2018
The group follows the sahuagin to the slave pit and then attacks. These sahuagin are a bit more skilled than the previous ones they fought and include an officer but the group prevails in the end though Oceanus is badly wounded by the sahuagin officer. They free the prisoners, who include six lizardmen from Oceanus' tribe. Ceanna does first aid on the group and on the lizard men who are mostly suffering from exhaustion but have scars and wounds from maltreatment at the hands of the sahuagin. When they are better, they take the equipment from the sahuagin and depart after telling Oceanus what they know of the lair, which is very little. The other four prisoners - 3 orcs and a hobgoblin - are ignored by the group.
The group returns to the room where they originally saw the prisoners. Darkthorn and Dyson start down the staircase to do a little preliminary scouting but find that it enters the water. It appears that the next two levels have been flooded, which is in line with Ceanna's observation earlier that the entire island has sunk.
The group decides to retreat for now. They know that their exploits are likely be be noticed when it comes time for watch changes so they come up with the idea to hide in the secret treasure room. Some of the sahuagin obviously know about the room but the idea is that they will listen at the door and, if sahuagin come into the room outside the secret room, they will cast the Rope Trick spell from the scroll and hide until the sahuagin depart.
It happens exactly that way. A couple hours after they retreated to the secret room, it is Kalin's turn to listen at the door and he hears movement in the other room. Dyson and Darkthorn quickly move up to listen as well while Lorcan pulls out the scroll of Rope Trick and successfully reads it the first time. Morgan helps people up and, a couple of rounds after the last person has climbed into the extra-dimensional space at the top of the Rope Trick, and pulled the rope up behind them, a single sahuagin comes into the secret room, takes a quick but thorough look around, and then departs, shutting the door behind him.
The rest of the night passes uneventfully. Wiley learns the spell of Opening while Rory learns the spell of Tunneling.
GM: Marty, let me know if Rory wants to change his spells. Tunneling might be a useful spell to have.
The group sets out knowing that the main entrance is probably much better guarded now. They head to the stairs leading down to the next level. Lorcan casts Water Breathing on Darkthorn so that he and Dyson can be the scouts. Dyson has a Ring of Water Breathing so he does not need a spell. Ceanna uses the Wand of Air to create an area of Airy Water for the rest of the group. It will last for two hours.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night. |
|