| Current Turn? | No |  | Subject: | Ruins |
| Campaign: | Greyhawk | | Turn Start Date: | 4/13/597 |
| Adventure: | The Dark Tower | | Turn End Date: | 5/14/597 |
| Adventure Number: | AAg | | Characters: | Darkthorn, Dyson Teague, Kalin, Lorcan Smythe, Orielne, Wiley Finch |
| Turn Number: | 1.3 | | 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 | 17 | 0 | 81/98 | /0 | 8 | 2 | 65 | 6 | 0/0 | 3/day | 2/2 | 1/1 | |
| Dyson Teague | 10 | 0 | 70/80 | 2/2 | 7 | 2 | 79 | 8 | 0/0 | 1/day | 3/3 | 1/1 | |
| Kalin | 7 | 0 | 67/74 | /0 | 9 | 3 | 53 | 0 | 0/0 | 1/day | 1/2 | 1/1 | |
| Lorcan Smythe | 15 | 0 | 44/59 | 4/4 | 10 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 0/1 | 1/day | 2/2 | 1/1 | |
| Wiley Finch | 7 | 0 | 68/75 | /0 | 10 | 3 | 61 | 16 | 0/0 | 1/day | 2/2 | 1/1 | |
| Barthon Brightwave | 23 | 0 | 46/69 | 10/10 | 9 | 3 | 80 | 14 | 0/0 | 1/day | 3/4 | 2/3 | |
| Orielne | 16 | 0 | 70/86 | /0 | 7 | 0 | 74 | 16 | 0/0 | 2/day | 0/2 | 1/1 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Mage/Psioncist Name | Psionic Pts | Spell Pts | Spell Pool | Miscellaneous Information |
| Lorcan Smythe | / | 3/17 | 5/15 | |
| Wiley Finch | / | 7/19 | 2/10 | |
| | | | |
| Name | Notes |
| Darkthorn | Ranger Pool (18/21), 25% DR Crushing & Elemental |
| Dyson Teague | -2 WP |
| Kalin | Cleric Pool (13/23) |
| Lorcan Smythe | Detect Magic (90 mins) |
| Wiley Finch | |
| Barthon | Magic Points (14/17) |
| Ori | 25% DR Slashing & Crushing, -1 WP |
|
04/16/2020 (GM-Jason)
Sometime later, we hear crows cawing. We continue moving up and see hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of crows, circling a clearing about 500 feet across. A massive tree is in the center of the clearing. It is surrounded by oblong stones. Two stones are knocked over. Ranger Lore tells Darkthorn that the knocked over stones were knocked over within the last day.
Among the crows flying around are some of the zombie crows. We sees crows occasionally landing and taking off again, including in the center tree. Darkthorns environmental sensitivity tells him that this is a natural setting but is warped in some way.
When we start forward, some crows start heading our way so we back away and so do they. We decide to head back to the logging camp where can maybe camp for the night and pray for spells appropriate for this situation. But first we look at the huge stump near us for magic. It is magic at level 1. Some wispy lines of magic head towards the big tree in the center but they are very faint. Another stump is similar, with wispy lines of magic heading to the big tree.
Kalin prays for a Detect Evil and studies the area. An area around the 2 downed stones is evil as are the zombie crows. We wonder if something evil is trying to get to the big tree.
We head to the logging camp, which is south of the clearing. We see occasional clumps of crows heading towards the clearing as we head south. There is a large swath of logged trees on the way to the logging camp.
At the edge of the camp, we stop and then Darkthorn and Dyson move ahead stealthily to scout it out. Dyson puts a Mind Link on Kalin before we go.
Smoke coming out of the chimneys of buildings 2 and 7. Darthorn sees a couple of cows near building 2. First building is a long house. There are about a dozen people inside who do not notice us.
We reach building 2 and peer inside. There are people inside seem a bit more serious than expected. Dyson and I decide to approach the house and ask questions. We learn from "Spike" that we should talk to John Axbury in the bunkhouse. He also tells us that crows that attacking people and we should be careful.
We head further into town looking for Axbury. We stop at another bunkhouse asking for John Axbury. The guy seems defensive when I ask what is going on with the crows. Dyson thinks it is because he really knows what is going on. We head up to the next bunkhouse (the first one we looked at). We learn that a week and a half ago, the problems with crows happened. They started swarming and took a dislike to the loggers. They were out logging. They've been logging the area for a couple of yeas. Zombie crows started attacking loggers though they didn't kill anyone. Then many of the other loggers were attacked but mostly by normal crows.
It started when they started logging the massive trees in the circle.
We join them for drinks. They all have stories to tell about being attacked but none admit being to the north. John Axbury's house is 11. We head over there now. We talk to John Axbury. Two months ago, one of the men came across the grove of magnificent trees. We cut down a bunch of them. Embarassed to say it, but there was magnificent tree in the center with a ring of stones. The men had been inside the ring many times. Thought it was an old, ancient grove. We were clearing the last of the large trees. It fell in the wrong direction and it knocked over 2 of the stones. Didn't think much of it at the time but then a day or 2 later, these crows appearing. They attacked the men at the time and have been hounding us every since. They started attacking the town about a week ago.
Darkthorn spins a story about being able to talk to a group of adventurers that we hung out with in Deep Port and we have a way to talk to them and they might be interested. They include a wizard that can teleport them all to us so they might be able to be here within a hour or two.
John throws in an offer of a wagonload of wood if we can take care of the crow issues.
Lorcan and Wiley both determine that a curse exist in the area and is strong on them. It is a level 25 curse that does not seem to be on us right now.
Shortly after the stones were knocked over, a lunatic came into town shouting and yelling that we destroyed his holy site and he was going to rein death and destruction on the town. He called himself a druid. He gives a description - 100 years old, white wispy hair, slathering at the mouth as he yelled, wearing ragged robes. They chased him out of town. He headed to the northwest (grove is to the north). Broke the seals on something. He had been around for awhile while we were logging over the past couple of years. We chased him off half a dozen times. He first appeared when they started logging the nice trees.
We were logging the area for a couple years and never noticed the grove. But once we found it we never had problems finding it again.
We head to the guest house to plan. John's son escorts us there and then gets "Sable" who will cook for us.
We want to seek out the druid. Should we do it yet today? We decide to wait until morning.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
04/19/2020 (GM-Jason)
We occasionally head out to the northwest seeking the druid but find no sign of him. We eventually reach the grove again and there are still crows circling.
Wiley casts a Wizard Eye to scout out the tree and the fallen obelisks.
Darkthorn cases Commune With Nature. Enchanted tree. Radiates goodness. Get nothing about opening into or under the tree. River to the west about a mile as well as a road. Excavations under the tree. Evil around toppled obelisks is that a seal of protection was broken.
We decide to check out the road and river to the west. We see large masses of underbrush that slow us down. Total of 6 clumps of undergrowth, each one takes 10 minutes to get through. We cross the river on the folding boat and the road is another 10 feet beyond. Darkthorn sees tracks on the road that don't look recent going in both directions.
Barthon tries his Arrow of Direction to find the location of the druid's home but it doesn't seem to work.
Levitate. Clearing to the SE (Axebury). Around the massive oak tree there are less crows circling but more in the tree. The road goes south to Axebury. To the north the road follows the river. We are farther south then we thought we were. When we came west from the tree, we angled more to the south than we expected.
We head north along the river for half a mile and Darkthorn levitates again. This time he sees an eighth of a mile to the north, he sees a momentary wisp of smoke.
We find the druid - Kay Mosborn.
Ask about the forest glade. Kay has been gaurdian of the tree since he can remember. Many centuries. The defilers (loggers) showed up. There is an evil creature trapped in the tree. The loggers broke the seal by cutting down a sacred tree. The loggers will be taken care of. But Kay is too old to deal with the problem anymore, at least not alone. We assure him we want to help deal with this issue. The creature is the crow god Malatach. He was bound to this tree for many centuries. Kay thought his followers had left him but it appears to be a high priest of Maultoch now, which amazes Kay. Kay had assumed that there were no followers of note after all these years.
If it had happened a couple hundred years, Kay could have handled this himself. There might be other larger birds that we might fight that Maultoch can animate.
To fix this we need to enter the dungeons below the tree. The Root of Malatach. Kind of like of a phylactery. You plant it and it turns into a large fortress whose roots reach into other planes. Then he can pull creatures from these planes. With every day that passes, his power grows stronger. The crows swarm Kay every time he goes near.
We need to make sure she doesn't get the Root. To defeat her, we need to "kill her" which will send her back to her plane of existence. Then we can raise the stones and recreate the seals.
Be prepared for him - adept at mitigating the damage we can do to him. Most attacks did almost no damage, especially from typical soldiers (so high PROT). Shee has the ability to cause fear. After her defeat, many of the men who fought her came down various diseases (many different diseases). She could seem to absorb the blood off of those fighting her. She seems to be very resistant to both cold and fire. They had a psionicist with them that fought her, she went unconscious with the first mental attack on Malatach.
Kay knows how to get to the dungeons under the tree.
Once under, don't go straight as it leads to a trap. First room is a large garden that gives the illusion of being outside.
As we prepare to leave, he stands up and says, wait a minute. Then he puts his hand on the hilt of his weapon. "My friend would like to accompany you." The friend is an odd-looking weapon. Punching dagger. Can be used as weapon or protection. Can be offensive or defensive. Main ability is "sword breaking". Can even break magical weapon when used defensively. Intelligent weapon. Also some animal powers. Lorcan takes it. +15/+3 weapon (defensively it is +15 DEF and +3 PROT).
Malatach does use a weapon (short sword) but can also attack with claws and bite.
Darkthorn casts Invisibility to Animals on everyone except Wiley (he can only affect 6 people). Wiley casts Invisibility on himself. Kalin casts Invisibility to Undead 10' radius and then we all head to the hidden entrance. We see a massive warthog but it ignores us due to the Invisibility to Animals. We reach the entrance and enter the dungeon.
We reach the garden room but it feels evil to Darkthorn. Hallway north with magical trap in the center. Vines shoot out and attack. We defeat them and move one. Combat arena with walkway around about 10 feet above the floor. Door at this level and combatant entrances at combatant level. Strong door ahead. Druid had mentioned that a spell caster had to open this one.
The lock is very complicated but Dyson is eventually able to pick it. The door won't open easily and Dyson figures we need to lift it. It is very thick and we get it up a few inches and wedge a board under it. We come up with a plan to raise it higher and wedge boards to hold it up. Darkthorn has woodcraft tools so uses the saw to cut four 2 foot sections. We eventually raise it enough to roll under it. The room beyond has a scarab engraved on the floor and two statues of priests holding lit braziers.
Instructions from the druid were that they followed the passage and found two more of the large doors. There were bedrooms to the south. They went north of temple. It was in the temple that they found a portal that they went through. Beyond the portal they confronted Malatach.
The north door has a magical trap. We head west down the passage. Next door on the north is big and heavy but has a lever to lift it. Takes a minute for the door to raise completely. Then the south door starts to open.
Several feet under the door. Booted feet. Guards. Lorcan uses Solid Fog and then Wiley uses a Mage Lock to seal another door as we flee north. We want to encounter Malatach without using our resources on lesser guards.
Another big door.
Fight with bunch of guards. Battle still ongoing at end of night.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
04/30/2020 (GM-Jason)
The battle with the guards continues. Kalin turned the ghouls. The guards switch to doing great blows, allowing them to hit for damage but making them much easier to hit (-25 DEF). We eventually defeat them all.
We search the bodies. We find lots of weapons and armor, plus 110 sp, 86 gp, 17 pp.
There is a magical portal here but we are unable to get through it.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
05/03/2020 (GM-Jason)
The battle continues but is quickly over when the female black mage surrenders. The three remaining cultists also surrender, though two fight for one more round.
We search the bodies and surrendered guards and find 43 sp, 1 gp, 2 pp
The black mage is wearing a charm that radiates magic at level 3. Wiley recognizes it. Allows the wearer to reroll one initiative (or set of initiatives) per day.
Kalin uses his Conversation skill for Subtle Extraction and learns that the high priest from the tower did arrive here but little more.
Portal radiates magic at level 5.
We decide to let Kalin pray for another Augury and ask if Darkthorn went through the portal wearing the charm, could others follow. The answer makes it clear that is a very bad idea.
We chop through the Wall of Thorns that we put up to stop the ghouls and Darkthorn starts shooting at the ghouls. After getting hit half a dozen times, each ghoul in turn steps into the fire and sinks down. The last one we move up and attack with melee attacks and we think we destroy it as it steps forward into the fire.
Lorcan checks the fire and the statues and finds complicated magic.
We move over to check out the door. It leads to a hallway with ritual circle patterns on the floor. The patterns are magical circles, possibly for conjuring. They radiate magic at level 2.
The hallway leads to a bedchamber, probably of a high priest. There is another portal flanked by a couple of menacing statues that radiate magic at level 3.
We begin searching. Books about the crow god.
Lorcan studies the portal. It seems similar to the last one. He also studies the gargoyle statues. They seem to have preservative type magic.
Dyson checks for secret compartments in the chest and desk. Something about the desk is not right. He finds a secret compartment containing a medallion.
- Book with drawings of harvesting herbs and what is and is not poisonous.
- Book related to Public Speaking and Diplomacy.
- Coins and gems
- 2 scrolls, Invisibility (E&E) and Web of Blackness (Dark) at rank 8
- Medallion related to the portals (4)
- 2 sets of manacles
We go through the portal. It leads to a recently used torture chamber with no victims.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
05/07/2020 (GM-Jason)
We step through the portal. It appears to be a looted crypt. We move forward and find another looted crypt with skulls lining the floor. The next chamber has a pentagram in the middle of the floor with a burning brazier in the center and surrounded by closed coffins. Dyson steps forward and the nearest coffin opens, disgorging a skeletal knight. Lorcan recognizes it as a Death Knight.
We engage it in battle. it quickly injures Dyson to badly wounded and he steps back. Then another crypt opens and a crypt thing emerges dressed like the death knight (at first we thought it might be another death knight).
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
05/14/2020 (GM-Jason)
We finally defeat the undead.
- +2 Short Sword of Quickness (4)
- +3 Two-Handed Sword (4) (Wiley)
- Death Knight armor (very nice but they look evil)
Open the remaining coffin and it is filled with treasure. Quite a few objects radiate magic.
There is also a chest surrounded by a writhing mass of insects that are magical (level 3).
- 44 pp
- 167 gp
- 2083 sp
- 7682 cp
- 177 gems
- 93 jewelry
- +1 dagger - matched set of 2 daggers
- +2 Plate mail (Wiley)
- Lute - Instrument of the Bards
- Broom of Flying (Darkthorn - successful attune)
- Scroll of Protection against Weapons/Non-magical Missile Weapons
- Scroll of Firewater (Fire Magic spell at rank 8 - in Unearthed Arcana) (used)
- +2 Broadsword - Undead Slayer (Lorcan - successful attune)
- Critical hit bypasses LOW
- Grievous instantly slays undead
- +2 Scale Mail
- Wind Fan - Cast a Gust of Wind once per day (plus more unknown properties)
- Flame Tongue (longsword) (Barthon - fully attuned)
- Potions (x8)
- Fire Resistance
- Heroism (Darkthorn)
- Extra Healing (x4) (all used)
- Super Heroism (Dyson)
- Plant Control
We try to use Telekinesis to lift the chest out from the mass of bugs but it doesn't budge.
We use the Firewater scroll.
As we are trying to get the chest, Darkthorn notices that the chest seems to be solid piece of stone and is actually part of the floor.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
05/21/2020 (GM-Jason)
Head out of the room to the north. Storeroom with lots of stuff.
Next room is a nicely appointed bed chamber.
Room with a Uniwolf - wolf with a horn stuck on.
Meeting room that is also a secondary storeroom. Stone doors.
Large room with large crates. Blood and bones about the room. Gout of flame.
Hallway with several options. Door to the north radiates magic at level 5. Lorcan is not able to determine anything about the magic of the door. Door is similar to the door that we needed the key to get into in the tower.
Darkthorn examines the uniwolf.
We head back and investigate the bed chamber more thoroughly.
We find a laboratory with demon in a pentagram behind a red curtain.
Room with a pipe from which pours forth some foul sewage that smells terrible. Lorcan, with his Necklace of Adaption, enters since he is immune to the stench. He finds two doors but finds that the sewage is acidic and damages his boots.
We head back to the storeroom and begin 10 minutes searches of the rooms we had cursorily searched previously.
Darkthorn dissects the uniwolf. He finds 2 vials.
- Potion of Human Control (Wiley)
- Potion of Greater Undead Control (Kalin)
We spend 30 minutes investigating the meeting room/store room.
Box of 6 vials and a scroll tube.
- Scroll of Magic Weapon (Battle Magic SK rank 13) (Wiley)
- Scroll of Raise Dead (Lay Healer SK rank 12) (Kalin)
- Potion of ???
- Potion of Healing (Ori)
- Potion of Heroism (Ori)
- Potion of ??? (increasing health)
- Potion of Clairaudience (Darkthorn)
- Potion of ??? (harder to be seen)
- Scroll of Animal Summoning I (Kalin)
- Scroll of Cure Critical Wounds (Kalin)
- Scroll of Cause Critical Wounds (Kalin)
- Scroll of Cure Blindness or Deafness (Kalin)
- Qualls Feather Token - Tree
Lorcan uses a Flash of Insight and learns that the flame is probably a medium size fire elemental.
Go back to room with sewage pipes. Deluge spell from Lorcan dilutes the acid a bit. Smaller door looks used, the bigger door does not.
Double door is locked, not trapped. Smaller door is not locked and leads to a hallway. Next door had a lock that looks damaged. Beyond is a crypt. Darkthorn thinks a combat took place where a large undead creature (ghast), visible on the floor, was destroyed. The victors searched the room and moved on. There is another door leading out.
The ghast looks like it might have once been a frost giant.
Long, winding hallway. Room with mist and gold light. No magic on the mist. Darkthorn enters. Large room. Large sculpture in the middle. Idol of Malatauch on one wall. Lorcan checks for magic. Sculpture and idol are both magical. In the chest we find robes and holy symbols of the crow god, 10 of each. Lorcan uses power perception. Sculpture radiates at level 4, the idol level 2. Might have beneficial effect for those who worship the crow god.
Search the room more thoroughly. Lorcan puts his hand near the sculpture but does not touch it.
Check out the foul water with the 10 foot pole but does not reach the bottom.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
05/28/2020 (GM-Jason)
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