Spelljammer |
Trials of the Feathered God
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| Current Turn? | No |  | Subject: | Jason Takes Over |
| Campaign: | Greyhawk | | Turn Start Date: | 7/30/597 |
| Adventure: | Trials of the Feathered God | | Turn End Date: | 8/18/597 |
| Adventure Number: | AAH | | Characters: | Barthon Brightwave, Darkthorn, Dyson Teague, Kalin, Lorcan Smythe, Orielne, Wiley Finch |
| Turn Number: | 1.9 | | 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 | 8 | 0 | 95/103 | /0 | 8 | 2 | 73 | 10 | 0/0 | 4/day | 1/2 | 0/1 | |
| Dyson Teague | 9 | 0 | 76/85 | 2/2 | 9 | 4 | 84 | 10 | 0/0 | 1/day | 3/3 | 2/2 | |
| Kalin | 0 | 0 | 74/74 | /0 | 8 | 3 | 65 | 0 | 0/0 | 1/day | 1/2 | 1/1 | |
| Lorcan Smythe | 0 | 0 | 64/64 | 4/4 | 10 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 0/1 | 1/day | 1/2 | 1/1 | |
| Wiley Finch | 9 | 4 | 72/85 | /0 | 11 | 4 | 63 | 18 | 0/0 | 1/day | 2/2 | 1/1 | |
| Barthon Brightwave | 2 | 0 | 70/72 | 7/12 | 10 | 3 | 87 | 18 | 0/0 | 1/day | 0/4 | 3/3 | |
| Orielne | 5 | 9 | 77/91 | /0 | 10 | 0 | 85 | 18 | 0/0 | 2/day | 0/2 | 1/1 | |
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| Mage/Psioncist Name | Psionic Pts | Spell Pts | Spell Pool | Miscellaneous Information |
| Lorcan Smythe | / | 14/19 | 3/19 | |
| Wiley Finch | / | 17/17 | 10/10 | |
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| Name | Notes |
| Darkthorn | Ranger Pool (25/25), 25% DR Crushing & Elemental |
| Dyson Teague | |
| Kalin | Cleric Pool (10/23) |
| Lorcan Smythe | |
| Wiley Finch | 25% DR Elemental |
| Barthon | Magic Points (19/19) |
| Ori | 25% DR Piercing, Slashing & Crushing |
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12/10/2020 (GM-Jason)
As we follow the path back to Saltmarsh, the magical path begins to flicker out. We pick up the pace but the path flickers out and we are in the middle of a forest.
The forest is more like a jungle than a forest and doesn't feel like we are close to Saltmarsh. Wiley casts Levitate on Darkthorn so he can rise up and see what he can see. Rolling hills under the jungle. Quite a ways to the east is a large river. About 15 miles away. On the other side of the river, the vegetation changes abruptly. It is more sparse, maybe a bog or swamp.
I head back down and we decide to head towards the river.
Kalin and Darkthorn cast Tree Steed spells. We travel for a couple of hours (at 5.8 mph).
Lorcan believes we are a good thousand miles south of Saltmarsh. But based on the plants we see, we don't think are as far south as the Almedo Jungle. After further thinking, Lorcan thinks we might actually be a long ways east near the Vast Swamp. There is a city about 300-400 miles west and another city about 500 miles to the east but with a mountain range in between us and both cities. We decide to head northwest along the road. That will hopefully get us to a port city eventually.
Time difference does not seem substantially different from the keep.
We travel for the rest of the day. We find a communal campsite last used a week ago. Oxen and wagon tracks and barefoot prints.
At night when the stars are out, we determine that we are indeed in the vicinity of the Vast Swamp.
The next day, we continue on. The day passes unventfully. We come across another communal campsite that is not being used. Darkthorn scouts and it looks like the road is heading towards the river.
While foraging that night, Barthon finds an active tiger trap. We are wary but continue foraging. Darkthorn cooks dinner.
The next day we hear the sounds of a predator in the jungle. We find another communal campsite, this one with a path leading off. We follow it for a few minutes and then Kalin casts an Augury that indicates that we should continue following the path.
We follow it for an hour and it reaches the river. There is a dock in decent but not great condition. Lorcan does Waters of Vision and looks up and down river. We take to the water. At night we are attacked by a massive alligator.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
12/17/2020 (GM-Jason)
EXP not yet awarded for 12/10 session.
45 minutes into 2nd shift, we are again attacked by the same massive gator, this time with some smaller ones as well. Darkthorn and Dyson manage to kill the big one. We kill three of the small ones before the last one flees.
A couple hours later, a swarm of giant insects flies towards us but Lorcan thwarts them first with a Solid Fog and then a Windsail spell to out run them.
1500 EXP for last week.
We reach the dock that Lorcan had previously noted. We come ashore. A loincloth-clad native comes out speaking Sunndi. Wiley uses his starting edge to be able to converse with him (for 2 minutes per overall level).
Across the river is Challa. Chieftain of Challa sent for a group of people to help him out. Somebody stole the Oracle and chieftain sent people to find it. Challa is about a day's journey. Gradsul is a larger city in the other direction that Lorcan has heard of.
We take to the road for the trip to Challa. It is an easy journey along a manmade road that is 5 feet above the swamp. Eight miles later we reach Challa. The area around the is cleared with lots of rice paddies. Challa has some wooden buildings and maybe a building or two made of stone. Natives wear loincloths and sarongs with no shoes or sandals. The townspeople are happy to see us. They think we are hear to save the "oracle". We reach a small pyramid in the center of the city. An elderly man sits on top of the pyramid. On each side are bodyguards. All are ornately dressed in ceremonial armor made of gold and encrusted with gems. The man smiles and comes down to greet us.
The chieftain cast some sort of magical ritual a couple of days ago to magically summon heroes, which is probably how we got to this vicinity. Someone stole an artifact called Tefnut, whom the chieftain also talks about like it is a god. They think it was taken into the swamp by lizardmen. They've had an uneasy truce with the lizardmen for many years but when Tefnut went missing, they found lizardman tracks leading to the pyramid so they are confident that it was the lizardmen who took it.
The tracker shows us the tracks and Darkthorn casts a Track Lore spell and gets an image of a Lizardman.
The people plan to throw a feast for us and they show us to our hut to prepare.
Later two young women arrive and beckon us to follow them. They also provide us with flower necklaces.
We all have a good time and none of us sleep with the friendly ladies.
We learn that some fishermen have gone missing lately, which is unusual.
Around noon the next day, we are summoned by the chieftain. He is very spry for a 70-something. He looks more serious today.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
12/23/2020 (GM-Jason)
Meeting with chieftain - Oracle is a statue of some sort. Last few weeks they had some strange goings on. A couple of fishermen have gone missing on 2 occasions. Empty boats upriver. In addition several groups of trappers have gone missing as well. The other night the Oracle was stolen and they found the lizardmen tracks. So they think the lizardmen are the culprits.
There have always been lizardmen in the area but they have largely stayed away from each other. They leave deeper in the swamp. Our trappers haven't even seen lizardmen in many years.
The village has had the Oracle since the village was created, here where the Oracle was found. We have prospered since the village was founded. They found it at the location where the temple was later built, a bit less than 2 centuries ago.
Anyone in the tribe who may have interacted with the lizardmen? Haven't seen them in 15 years.
We decide to take our boat upriver to where the lizardmen men tracks were found and then proceed overland from there. Lorcan casts Windsail.
Seven distinct sets of tracks.
Leafy canopy and thick trees. Little sunlight. Kalin casts Anti-Vermin Barrier to protect against bugs and slugs.
Darkthorn casts a Tracking spell and starts looking for tracks once we have gotten a mile or two in. He finds the tracks going both ways. We start following the tracks upriver.
Five minutes later, we come across a dry mound to camp on that is ideal for camping. We set up camp and cook food that we found and killed.
During first watch, Barthon and Dyson hear a large creature making its way towards the group. They wake everyone up. It is at least as large as the massive crocogater we encountered on the river. It is a massive lizard.
Wiley puts a witch light out there and Darkthorn shoots the massive lizard. It moves up quickly and we kill it in 3 rounds.
On third watch we hear sounds of scavengers chewing on the lizard body that we cut up and dragged away.
The next day, we continue following the lizardman tracks. We follow them until evening. We are heading deeper into the swamp. We find another perfect campsite and this time we are attacked by a massive, poisonous, spitting frog. We manage to kill it without taking any damage.
The rest of the night passes uneventfully.
In the morning, I try to find the tracks but fail until I cast a Tracking spell.
There are no flying insects here.
Follow tracks, which are getting harder to find. Have been using Ranger Pool rolls and Tracking spells. We follow for the day (I got Absolute Success after a Tracking spell). We do not find a very good place to camp. We unfold the boat to make a camp.
The night passes uneventfully. I find the tracks in the morning. After an hour, come to an edge of the tree areas and then come to a vast bog.
We cast a couple of Tree Steeds while Lorcan casts Water Walking on Darkthorn so he can continue to track. He must remain within 45 feet of his tree steed to give it orders but does not need to ride it.
We lose the trail in the watery areas.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
01/07/2021 (GM-Jason)
Continue in the same direction as last time we had been following the tracks. Darkthorn rides his Tree Steed.
By the end of the day, we have reached the end of the bog. The tree steeds allowed us to pass through the bog in a day instead of 3-4 days. Still foggy.
We reach the smell of something dead and rotting towards the end of the day. Definitely some sort of dead creature. We follow the smell to some humanoid bodies. Probably human, six of them. Probably not local natives. They were wearing robes. No obvious weapons. The bodies looked charred. Heavy signs of predation.
Fire lizards may live in the swamp and may have attacked them.
Darkthorn and Lorcan approach closer, both somewhat immune to the horrible stench. Lots and backpacks and books strewn about, but all ruined by immersion in water. Probably have been dead for about a week. One books was a personal notebook were we see reference to the town of Pontulver. Maybe they are from there or passed through there. It is to the NE of here about 400 miles or so. They are ill-equipped for the bog.
We search the equipment but nothing of significance except for some coinage (7 sp, 10 gp, 4 pp).
I used my Longbow of Infinite Arrows to Speak with Dead.
- What were you doing here in the Vast Swamp? Heard of a new tribe of lizardmen who had moved into the swamp and were peaceful. We came to study them.
- How did you get here? Walked.
- Originally from the academy in Pontulver. Ship to Dalstrand and then hired a guide to take us through the mountains and then then travelled into the swamp.
- What killed you? Infurnace Amphibious - sounds like a fire-breathing frog/toad. Also beset on by a swarm of darters (he uses a scientific term). Every hit seems to do damage, no matter protected someone is. They fled from them and ran into the frogs.
Animal lore tells me that there are fire-breathing frogs.
- Where are the peaceful lizardmen that you were seeking? Heading to the SE, about a week's journey away by foot.
- How big is the tribe? About 100 members.
- Why were they peaceful? Research
- How many were in your group? 7
Sir Wiltmore is back at the ruined temple.
- Where is the ruined temple where Sir Wiltmore is? 3 days straight north, before entering the bog.
- How long would Sir Wiltmore be there? Sir Wiltmore was injured.
- How wounded was he? Broken leg. Left him with 2 weeks of food.
- We found magical pot? Anything else magical for us to return to Sir Wiltmore? No but you can keep the pot if you return the books to Sir Wiltmore. We agree.
Wiley sees something in a hole near him, in the water. Barthon pulls it out. It is a large cooking pot. It is magic at level 3. Wiley recognizes it as a Pot of Plenty. Put in food for one and it multiples to make a meal for six.
We bury them as best we can and then set out north. We do not find a decent camping spot so we use the Folding Boat to sleep in.
In the night, we are attacked by a swarn if darters. Kalin puts up a Wall of Fire but they fly right through it. Darkthorn shoots three of them as they fly towards us. Dyson gets stung but resists the poison.
Kalin noticed poofs of smoke as they flew through the fire. Some of them burned up trying to fly through it.
They keep flying at us and we eventually take them out. Lorcan takes out a bunch with a Solid Fog that gets burned up by the Wall of Fire. Darkthorn takes out a bunch with his bow. Wiley puts up a Circle of Protection and it goes up just as we get down to a single darter, which Ori kills.
It takes a day and a half before we get to the edge of the woods and come out of the fog. We start looking for the ruins where Sir Wiltmore. Darkthorn heads the wrong direction at first and then retraces his steps and goes the other way. He finds their tracks. We reach a building in the swamp.
Large stone building still in decent condition. Looks old and in dissrepair but functionally intact. Two crumbling columns in front. Lots of tracks going in and out of the building.
Inside it is unnaturally cool. Pattern of a snake in the floor. In a back room is a pile of recent bones. Darkthorn questions him using his Longbow of Infinite Arrows and learn that he was Sir Wiltmore and he was killed by a large, sticky goo on the alter. His camp was beyond a secret door to the west. We find the secret room and his small camp. He has one book which is a self-kept journal. Journal mentions it was temple of Hisst.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
01/21/2021 (GM-Jason)
Lower a rock on a rope down the trap door in the hole. Put a light on it. It is more than 30 feet deep so Barthon and Wiley go down to investigate underwater.
Both go down about 80 feet and get caught in a bad current. Wiley has Levitate but Barthon is swept away. Dyson has a Mind Link on Barthon. He says he is going straight down and can't get back.
Wiley notices rectangular openings at this level and sees the water jetting down the holes, like a vortex pushing down. Barthon is moving at about 100 feet per round, straight down. The stone here looks worked. Passage is starting to curve. About a minute passes. The passage has definitely curved.
Wiley casts a Location spell to find Barthon. Grievous success. Doubles duration and range (64 miles).
About 5 minutes later, the current stops. Barthon is not in the tunnel anymore. He is in a lake or pool of water. He surfaces about 100 feet up. It is completely dark. He sees a ledge and swims for it. He seems to be in a cave, 100 ft by 100 ft. He pulls out his sword (Flame Breath) and sees he is on a worked stone ledge. There is an opening leading out from the ledge. Barthon thinks he is about 1000 feet under the surface.
Lorcan casts Water Breathing on everyone that needs it. Darkthorn lowers himself down and starts swimming down. Lorcan follows and then the rest. We conclude that we actually go quite a bit deeper than 1000 feet.
We end up on the ledge. Lorcan and Wiley try to search the lake floor but it is too deep and the currents are too strong. We follow the passage from the ledge for about 1000 feet and come to an ancient wooden door that has been smashed in. It was locked from this side. Something inside the door broke out. Cavern beyond with lichens and fungi and evenly slightly glowing crystals. Shaped like a large lava tube.
Lorcan thinks we might be in a place called the Underdark.
On the opposite side, we see an old castle with a guard tower. A wide, water filled gap separates them but is bridged by a badly damaged bridge.
We investigate the tower. It looks like it might be used for camping by travelers on the underground road. The bridge across to the monastery is badly damaged and uncrossable without some work.
We decide to rest on the upper level.
The night passes. Towards the end of the third shift, Darkthorn hears a bunch of bats to the east. They fly closer and closer. When the cauldron of bats gets closer, Darkthorn sees that they are very large with at least a six foot wingspan. We cover the opening to the roof and close the door and they fly by. They all fly by and all is quiet again. Darkthorn has heard of bats this big under the earth. He wasn't sure he believed it but now he does.
Open door and get attacked by vampiric vines. Darkthorn slams the door shut and cuts off the vine after it hits and drains him of 18 damage. Head up the roof and look down to the door to see the vampiric vines. Darkthorn recognizes them as Vampire Bushes, aka Vampire Vines. These are exceptionally large.
Wiley uses his Barrier Wand to cast two Walls of Force to create ramps across the gap. The vines do not try to reach us.
On the other side, we see a garden with a massive tree in the middle. It has some resemblance to the vampire vines. Maybe an ancient vampire vine grown into a tree.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
01/28/2021 (GM-Jason)
We try to avoid the tree for now. We make our way around the outside of the courtyard. There looks to be a pair of small humanoid corpses.
Search room G. It was once a library but it was completely looted a long time ago. Now it is occasionally used as a latrine. Up the stairs. Room overlooking courtyard.
Tree/vine is blocking further exploration but us. Wiley casts a Wizard Eye to further explore, together with a witch light.
Chapel. On altar is a gold carafe and bowl.
Wiley sees a closed room but with windows that he can send his wizard eye through. There is a large nest in there with coins scattered about.
Darkthorn notices that the vines from outside are climbing up and coming after us. Passwall to chapel. Lorcan checks for magic and finds none so Barthon retrieves the golden carafe and bowl.
Symbol on altar is spirit of spring.
We determine that taking the carafe and bowl triggered some sort of magical wall that would have prevented Barthon from getting back. He returns the items to the altar.
Down into the cistern as a vine finally reaches the room. We go through opening in the cistern and into a crypt.
Opens into a room. Dyson and Darkthorn sneak forward and peer into the room.
Growing mass of roots that grow up into the ceiling. Roots are growing out of a book into the center of the room. Probably the root of the tree in the courtyard.
Dyson does not think roots are growing out of the book. Tendrils seems to be tracing/reading the book. The tentacles are moving and then they flip a page. Book is magical at level 9. Gong is not magical. Vines are magical near the book but not much further up.
Wall of Fire radiating outward.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
02/04/2021 (GM-Jason)
The battle with the tree roots continues.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
02/11/2021 (GM-Jason)
We finally destroy the roots and the book stops attacking as well. We assume it was the book casting the mind control and mental bolts at us.
Book of Immortals - teaches how to become a lich - basically immortal. Or maybe stronger than a lich. Involves sacrificing quite a few souls to the books. Lorcan knows no way to destroy it. Willing souls are more valuable than unwilling but either would work.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
02/18/2021 (GM-Jason)
GM: Had to upgrade to Maptool 1.8.3 due to a massive security bug with previous versions.
We head down and search the courtyard. We find a gap between the dead tree/vine and the well. It is just big enough for an unarmored person to climb down. Kalin casts an Augury to determine whether it would be beneficial if we sent someone down.
Ori volunteers to go down. It is a difficult, and very tight climb, but she finds a treasure room of sorts.
- 2 bags full of coins =- 35 gp, 5 pp, 850 sp
- +1 Longsword (2)
- Bone scroll tube - 2 scrolls
- Animal Summoning III
- True Seeing
- Bone scroll tube - 1 scroll
- Broken box for potions but most potions are broken. There is 1 potion left intact. (6) - Potion of Longevity
- Quiver of a dozen arrows. 8 arrows
- +3 arrows (x2)
- 6 non-magical arrows
- 1 stick in shape of arrow (2) - Wand - light-generating - looks like a long stick.
- Javelin (3) -
- 13 gems worth 1100 sp
- Necklace - Dyson unsure of value but it is worth 1,000 sp.
Ori climbs back out. She is filthy with mud and dirt.
Head down into the catacombs. When we enter the room where we battled the tree, Lorcan is attacked mentally with a Mind Reave. We retreat. We prepare Ori to scout, flying and invisible, with clerical spells protecting her (total of +20 to saves). She finds nothing. Nothing attacks her so Wiley and Lorcan step into the room.
We all enter - and are targeted with Telekinetic Rage.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
03/04/2021 (GM-Jason)
As we are deciding to depart, crypt servants suddenly come down every passage. We fight our way to and through the passage we came in. Lorcan slows many of them down with a Solid Fog. Kalin turns more of them and Barthon, Darkthorn, Ori and Dyson clear the path of undead. Wiley keeps guard over Kalin, fighting the creatures.
We defeat enough to clear the way and then we flee. We head back up the rope and then flee the temple. Ori uses her Low Density Leap to bridge the first gap, and then anchors a rope so Darkthorn and Wiley, both with Levitation, can carry people across. She repeats this with the second gap, but uses Great Leap instead but the effect is the same. We get back to the lava tube. Lorcan points out that the clerics who designed this probably created a way back up to the surface so we head back to the underground lake.
We begin searching the watery cavern, including the next cavern reached through a underwater passage with a strong current.
Time passes as we continue to search. The second chamber has some air pockets but nothing of interest there.
Lorcan uses Flash of Insight and is sure there is something in this room that is the answer to the way back.
Darkthorn casts Commune With Nature. No settlements within 4 miles but learn best way forward.
Spend the night.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
03/11/2021 (GM-Jason)
Use Commune With Nature to find a path. Make it about 20 miles. Fog rolls in towards nightfall.
Cast Commune with Nature but felt a sense of discomfort when casting. There is some sort of malevolent force in the area.
In the middle of the night, dead trees animate and surround us. Augury indicates that fleeing is a bad idea. Darkthorn believes they are Fog Monsters based on what Kalin learned from his Augury.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
03/29/2021 (GM-Jason)
Fog Monsters attempt to run away. We kill one and the other flees. Wiley casts Location to find my axe but we are blocked by the other trees. We start attacking one of the trees to get through. They are Blood Trees.
We finally destroy a Blood Tree and then cast Tree Steeds and dart through the opening after the Fog Giant who took Darkthron's Life Axe.
We catch up with him and battle ensues. He has healed significantly since we ran off. We defeat him though Darkthorn is very badly wounded.
- 3 Chunks of Gold (250 gp value each)
- Large Vial
We head back to search the other fallen fog giant and find:
- 522 gp
- Branding iron
- Carved dragonbone flute
- Crudely-carved wooden figure
- Dead rabbit
- Map of a castle
- Pair of well-worn hide gloves
- 4 x Small boulder
- Tortoise shell bowl
- Wyvern skull
- 2 large vials
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We use the tree steeds and continue in our original direction for 4 hours. We come out of the oppressive area. We find nowhere to camp so we set up the Folding Boat and rest. We awaken around noon and continue to use the boat for movement. Lorcan casts Waters of Visions and finds a location not far away with a lot of bodies under the water. We head there.
GM: This is where we stopped for the night.
04/01/2021 (GM-Jason)
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