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Post by davegibsongreyhawkdm on Dec 11, 2017 13:17:25 GMT -5
Allan: is your lower caverns map in the same orientation as the upper DMG monastery map, or is it rotated 180 degrees? Do the stairs at #30 go straight down to lower caverns location #1, or do the stairs have a landing to switch back, making the lower caverns map in the same orientation as the upper level map?
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Post by grodog on Dec 11, 2017 22:38:26 GMT -5
Allan: is your lower caverns map in the same orientation as the upper DMG monastery map, or is it rotated 180 degrees? Do the stairs at #30 go straight down to lower caverns location #1, or do the stairs have a landing to switch back, making the lower caverns map in the same orientation as the upper level map? The latter was my intention at the time, Dave. Allan.
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Post by davegibsongreyhawkdm on Dec 14, 2017 10:51:14 GMT -5
I've used, with some modifications, several of Allan's expansion and details in the non-crypt area. The party has now made multiple expeditions into the former shrine of Norebo non-crypt area, so I need to detail the remainder of the non-crypt areas and start detailing the crypt area as well.
1) I'm considering going with skeletons in #11 guarding the #10 prisoner cells. What various prisoners has anyone used? Are they prisoners of the bandits, the goblins, or both? Or instead were they prisoners of the deceased abbot, that are now long dead?
2) I need to determine what contents/denizens/purposes rooms #19, 20, 21, and 23 {with concealed door connecting to #9} - any ideas?
3) Allan has noted that #38 entered via secret door has a shrine - would this be previously established by the abbot or else the 3rd level evil cleric, what kind of shrine ideas?
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Post by davegibsongreyhawkdm on Dec 14, 2017 15:28:54 GMT -5
Also, I notice that in one of the fire beetle rooms {#12}, that the 10' x 10' square circumscribing the #12 is shaded darker - might this be an indication of a trick, trap, treasure, or low-walled or sunken area? Any ideas? A sunken area fire beetle nest where the evil Druid is feeding the fire beetles in order to harvest their glands? Some other purpose from the original monastery cellars? A vertical shaft to the lower caverns that fire beetles and other critters use? A well starting from the surface above continuing deep to an underground river/lake in the caverns below?
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Post by davegibsongreyhawkdm on Dec 14, 2017 16:14:12 GMT -5
The secret door connecting #28, 29, & 30: is it a pivot either way type of door to open from #28 to either counterclockwise #29 or clockwise #30? Or does it first need to pivot clockwise to open #28 to #30, and then need to be activated a second time, by the abbot's key, in order for it to pivot clockwise a position further to connect #30 to #29? Would you envision that the treasure room for the former monastery is yet of unknown location by the 3rd level evil cleric and his hobgoblin mercenaries, perhaps with tricks/traps and/or undead guardian(s)?
Are the ghouls in #24 coming up from the lower caverns via this secret entrance, that the evil cleric is yet unaware of? Are the ghouls allied with the evil cleric and hobgoblins, or are they contesting within the crypt area? The ghouls positioned at #24 seem to be in an ideal position to cut off the evil cleric and his mercenaries from much of the crypt area, and also the lower caverns below - perhaps the evil cleric is searching for the rumored huge fire opal, and will attempt to dupe an interloping PC party into cooperating with his minions against the ghouls in order to accomplish his objective?
Maybe the evil cleric and hobgoblins originally accessed the crypt from #39, and have since hidden the #39 egress route, and now maintain a strong guard force just east of #24 to hold of the ghouls? Maybe the evil cleric is negotiating with or attacking the bandits and goblins in the non-crypt area in order to gain allies, whether alive or undead, to overcome the ghouls?
Perhaps the evil cleric is a lawful evil devil worshipper, a half-orc necromancer, or both?
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Post by davegibsongreyhawkdm on Dec 14, 2017 17:08:14 GMT -5
Maybe the evil cleric needs the huge fire opal in order to complete a geas to reactivate/activate a devil statue shrine that has been discovered/created?
I wonder if the 1e PHB cover is actually depicting the two people on the devil statue sneakily inserting a huge fire opal into the eye socket, activating/reactivating the shrine unbeknownst to the unsuspecting PC party in the foreground?!!!! It appears from the picture that they may truly be trying to push a huge fire opal into the devil statue eye socket, instead of trying to pry it out and steal it?
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Post by Zenopus on Dec 14, 2017 23:01:51 GMT -5
I was looking at this map again while working on my post about the Hall of Many Panes dungeon level & was wondering what other clues the map can give us based on other Gygax dungeons. Some thoughts and questions: The Evil Cleric and Hobgoblins in Areas 35-37: Area 36 or 37 would most likely be the evil cleric's room, with the concealed doors being his (or her) escape route. This was a recurring motif for Gygax, which I covered at the end of the HoMP post. Examples include the OD&D Sample Level, the evil priest in the Caves of Chaos, and the evil cleric in HoMP. If Area 36 is the cleric's room, they could escape via the concealed doors to Area 37, and then make for the southern exit at Area 39 to escape the dungeon, perhaps attracting ghouls from Area 24 on the way, if any remain after a party has been through that area. Concealed Doors: This dungeon has five of them, which feels like a lot. In addition to the ones mentioned above, there is one between Areas 9 and 23 and one concealing the narrow passage from Area 25 to 34. The section of the DMG describing Concealed versus Secret Doors is right in the middle of this Sample Dungeon section (page 97), and I don't think this is a coincidence: Gygax included these in the Sample Dungeon to provide an example of how to use both types. How might the various doors be concealed in this dungeon? The section on page 97 gives a few examples, so it would be natural to look to these to fill in details: "behind a curtain, covered with plaster, a trap door under a rug, etc". I would suggest using the "behind a curtain" (or a tapestry, perhaps) for the evil cleric's passage from Area 36 to 37. Another possibility would be something like B2 where a wardrobe hides the escape door in the evil priest's quarters. Secret Door to the east of Area 1: This leads to a passage that can be easily entered from other directions. Is this also an escape passage, perhaps for the goblins in Areas 7 to 8? Or do they hide behind the secret door and spy on the passage? The Bandit Lair in Areas 4 and 5: Secret trap doors connect Areas 4 and 5, with a passage running beneath the floor marked by a dotted line. This is similar to the example in the OD&D Sample Level, where a secret door in a pit leads to a below-floor passage marked by a dotted line that leads to a trap door in the floor of a nearby room. Is Area 5 open to the hall to the north or not? It appears to me that the mapper has drawn a slightly heavier line across the north wall of Area 5. If so, Area 5 is only accessible from Area 4. Is this where the bandits hide? Or just where they hide their loot? The secret passage leads right under the stairs - do the bandits have some way of using this to detect parties entering the dungeon - perhaps a spy hole or just by listening from beneath? Areas 22 and 16: Do they connect? At first glance, yes, but the line between the two seems slightly heavier, as if it were a wall. As we've seen elsewhere, Gygax's original maps often use thin walls. But other separating walls on this map are drawn much heavier. See also Area 5 above. Area 18: This room has a Trap Door marked like a concealed pit right in the center. Is it just a standard Gygax pit, or does this trap deposit victims on the second level of the dungeon? Did the monks use it for some reason to access the caverns below? Refuse disposal? Did the Abbot use it to dispose of those who opposed him? Area 38: The numerous dead end corridors are good for concealing the secret door to this area; parties won't automatically know there is one here. The Ghouls in Area 24: The Wandering Monster table indicates that 1-2 can be encountered from Area 24, which would seemingly be where their "nest" is. However, four of them show up in the Example of Play right behind the secret door from Area 3. So what exactly constitutes Area 24? Is it just where the number is on the map, or is it the entire double wide corridor from where it is marked all the way around up to Area 25? It's weird how the number is placed way down to the south of where the numbers for 25 and 26 are. The Abbot's map states that it shows "the passage to 3., a smudge where 3. is and the passage to 24. about 20' south of the secret door leading from 3. to 24. - the latter being shown with miniature sarcophagi drawn in the 80' or so not water soaked and ruined." This makes it seem as if the area right below the passage from 3 is also considered part of Area 24. Perhaps all of the double-wide passages are "Area 24" and are where sarcophagi line the walls. We could look to Area 14A in T1 for an example of what the ghoul's lair might look like: "a heap of bones and skulls is made where the ghouls nest" The Skeletons in Area 27: the WM table indicates these "patrol" from Area 27, which is the area that leads to the passage to the secret door to the treasure room or lower level. Since they can be encountered anywhere in the crypt area, some or all of them must be patrolling the entire crypt area, but starting/returning to Area 27 periodically. Use of "patrol" makes it seem as if the skeletons were placed here to guard the crypts and/or the treasure. The cleric from Area 35-37 is only 3rd level, not high enough level to animate undead (although the evil priest n B2 is the same level, and does command skeletons and zombies). Perhaps the skeletons predate the fall of the monastery and were set by the Abbot?
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Post by davegibsongreyhawkdm on Dec 15, 2017 13:34:01 GMT -5
Looking at the map again, I'm wondering what I'd do with it now. We know a few features/inhabitants from the wandering monster table and text, but there's that big chunk of unexplained rooms (14-23) that I can't figure out what they would've been used for when the monastery was active - if they're all/mostly empty now it feels like there are way too many of them, but if they're inhabited why don't any of the inhabitants wander like the bandits, goblins, and fire beetles do? Plus there's the question of what those bandits and goblins are doing there, and how they're getting in and out leaving only "light and infrequent" tracks (presumably the evil priest and hobgoblins in the crypt section are going in and our via location 39, but not the others). The secret/not-secret passage by room 8 is also weird. FWIW, here's the additional stuff I sketch-keyed when Henry was exploring the monastery dungeon last summer: 4 - 5 bandits 5 - 2 bandits + leader (Thief 2) 6 - old mess hall with 7 sets of tables/chairs 7 - 1 goblin lookout at entry to corridor 8, looking N 8 - 7 goblins 9 - goblin leader + 2 guards 10 - cells 11 - 12 - 2 fire beetles 13 - 4 fire beetles 14-16 The Fungoretum: a fungus garden with dirt floor and paths, glowing plants, etc. (I sketched these on my DMG map) ----- 14: 2 shriekers, 1 violet fungi; the shriekers are generally (3 in 6, check for both; if not: random) in a) 20' E of the # 16, and b) 10' E and 20' S of the # 14 (with 20' between it and the S wall); the violet fungi is usually (4 in 6, if not: random) in #16, within 10' of 16A ----- 15: female NE druid 2 (S 14, I 16, W 12 5% fail, D 12 C 14 Ch 15; hp 13; AC7; spells: 1st Entangle, Animal Friendship, 2nd Obscurement ----- 16A: tree with magic fruit 17 - doors completely blocked/covered by dirt (can't be detected in passing, PCs must actively probe/engage with the dirt floor/walls) 18 - pit 20' deep with earthen floor = 2d6 D reroll 5s/6s My old key from BITD was a bit more pedestrian, although I apparently mapped out the magical treasures for the level too: Occupied Areas: 1, 4-5 bandits, 7-9 goblins, 10 skeletons, 12-13 fire beetles, 17-18, 20, 24 ghouls, 25, 27 skeletons, 32-33, 34 ghouls, 35-37 hobgoblins + EHP Treasure Areas: 1, 2, 4-5, 7-9, 15, 18, 25, 28-9, 33-37 Traps: 5, 18-18, 29, 36, 39 Tricks: 26, 28? Magic Items: - 7 potions (blue dragon control, gaseous form, philtre of love, heroism 2 doses, healing, poison (save at -2 or take 3-12 damage), plant control - 2 scrolls: 1) 3 CLR spells: Silence 15' R., CLW, Darkness at 3rd level; 2) 1 ILLU spell: Non-Detection at 6th level - 1 wand: Secret Door and Trap Location: 15 charges; commands: "portal arcane" (s doors) or "prast tulfrisg" (traps) - 1 misc magic: Boots of Opening (when kicked against a door and commanded to function ("open yon portal" ), knocks the door per spell; usable 2/day. XP 2000/GP 7500. - misc weapons: 1 dagger +1, 7 bolts +1 (5 are light); 4 arrows +1 No key info for the crappy caverns map, Scott. Allan: What kind of traps did you place in #5, 29, 36, & 39? What kind of tricks did you put in #26 & 28? What kind of magic fruit is on the tree at #16A - is the tree a relic from the former monastery or is it planted and tended by the evil Druid? Who is responsible for placing the various 'learning features' you added: illusionary wall, audible glamor, possible magic mouth, teleporter, concealed door at bottom of the pit in #18 leading to hidden corridor connecting #25 & #34, and pair of portcullises? Why is the door at the north end of room #22 barred from the outside? Are those barrels in the hall that approaches #5 & #6 that bandit guard(s) with light crossbows are using to provide cover for opposing missle fire? Is the shrine in secret room #38 established by the evil cleric or is it yet undiscovered by the evil cleric? Who is the secret shrine dedicated to?
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Post by davegibsongreyhawkdm on Dec 16, 2017 10:43:22 GMT -5
I was looking at this map again while working on my post about the Hall of Many Panes dungeon level & was wondering what other clues the map can give us based on other Gygax dungeons. Some thoughts and questions: The Evil Cleric and Hobgoblins in Areas 35-37: Area 36 or 37 would most likely be the evil cleric's room, with the concealed doors being his (or her) escape route. This was a recurring motif for Gygax, which I covered at the end of the HoMP post. Examples include the OD&D Sample Level, the evil priest in the Caves of Chaos, and the evil cleric in HoMP. If Area 36 is the cleric's room, they could escape via the concealed doors to Area 37, and then make for the southern exit at Area 39 to escape the dungeon, perhaps attracting ghouls from Area 24 on the way, if any remain after a party has been through that area. Concealed Doors: This dungeon has five of them, which feels like a lot. In addition to the ones mentioned above, there is one between Areas 9 and 23 and one concealing the narrow passage from Area 25 to 34. The section of the DMG describing Concealed versus Secret Doors is right in the middle of this Sample Dungeon section (page 97). I don't think this is a coincidence; in the Sample Dungeon Gygax is trying to show an example of how to use both types. How might the various doors be concealed in this dungeon? The section on page 97 gives a few examples, so it would be natural to look to these to fill in details: "behind a curtain, covered with plaster, a trap door under a rug, etc". I would suggest using the "behind a curtain" (or a tapestry, perhaps) for the evil cleric's passage from Area 36 to 37. Another possibility would be something like B2 where a wardrobe hides the escape door in the evil priest's quarters. Secret Door to the east of Area 1: This leads to a passage that can be easily entered from other directions. Is this also an escape passage, perhaps for the goblins in Areas 7 to 8? Or do they hide behind the secret door and spy on the passage? The Bandit Lair in Areas 4 and 5: Secret trap doors connect Areas 4 and 5, with a passage running beneath the floor marked by a dotted line. This is similar to the example in the OD&D Sample Level, where a secret door in a pit leads to a below-floor passage marked by a dotted line that leads to a trap door in the floor of a nearby room. Is Area 5 open to the hall to the north or not? It appears to me that the mapper has drawn a slightly heavier line across the north wall of Area 5. If so, Area 5 is only accessible from Area 4. Is this where the bandits hide? Or just where they hide their loot? The secret passage leads right under the stairs - do the bandits have some way of using this to detect parties entering the dungeon - perhaps a spy hole or just by listening from beneath? Areas 22 and 16: Do they connect? At first glance, yes, but the line between the two seems slightly heavier, as if it were a wall. As we've seen elsewhere, Gygax's original maps often use thin walls. But other separating walls on this map are drawn much heavier. See also Area 5 above. Area 18: This room has a Trap Door marked like a concealed pit right in the center. Is it just a standard Gygax pit, or does this trap deposit victims on the second level of the dungeon? Did the monks use it for some reason to access the caverns below? Refuse disposal? Did the Abbot use it to dispose of those who opposed him? Area 38: The numerous dead end corridors are good for concealing the secret door to this area; parties won't automatically know there is one here. The Ghouls in Area 24: The Wandering Monster table indicates that 1-2 can be encountered from Area 24, which would seemingly be where their "nest" is. However, four of them show up in the Example of Play right behind the secret door from Area 3. So what exactly constitutes Area 24? Is it just where the number is on the map, or is it the entire double wide corridor from where it is marked all the way around up to Area 25? It's weird how the number is placed way down to the south of where the numbers for 25 and 26 are. The Abbot's map states that it shows "the passage to 3., a smudge where 3. is and the passage to 24. about 20' south of the secret door leading from 3. to 24. - the latter being shown with miniature sarcophagi drawn in the 80' or so not water soaked and ruined." This makes it seem as if the area right below the passage from 3 is also considered part of Area 24. Perhaps all of the double-wide passages are "Area 24" and are where sarcophagi line the walls. We could look to Area 14A in T1 for an example of what the ghoul's lair might look like: "a heap of bones and skulls is made where the ghouls nest" The Skeletons in Area 27: the WM table indicates these "patrol" from Area 27, which is the area that leads to the passage to the secret door to the treasure room or lower level. Since they can be encountered anywhere in the crypt area, some or all of them must be patrolling the entire crypt area, but starting/returning to Area 27 periodically. Use of "patrol" makes it seem as if the skeletons were placed here to guard the crypts and/or the treasure. The cleric from Area 35-37 is only 3rd level, not high enough level to animate undead (although the evil priest n B2 is the same level, and does command skeletons and zombies). Perhaps the skeletons predate the fall of the monastery and were set by the Abbot? Very interesting...I like the idea that the goblins or bandits have a guard set behind the secret door east of #1 to spy on the passage - looking and listening for interlopers or else spiders, since there is a goblin skull in area #1, an indication that the goblins may have been victimized by spiders previously? Since both trap doors in #4 & #5 are shown as secret doors, I assumed the tunnel below was a hiding place for the bandits if faced with a significant threat? I think that the bandits and goblins might be in cahoots with each other, and have another way into the non-crypt area other than the stairs down from the burnt out shell ruins above - they wouldn't want to use egress through #1 due to the spiders, and the spiders provide handy inadvertent protection from interlopers to their lair. Perhaps the bandits use egress through a still standing chimney or well to above - Allan showed a chimney in #6, so that could be a possibility? Or else they egress to/from connection to the lower caverns? The 3rd level evil cleric could be using devil/demonic/magic item/scroll means to animate the dead and/or command the ghouls? Allan's necromancer class has animate dead as second level spell, so if the evil cleric is a necromancer class, that would work also.
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Post by davegibsongreyhawkdm on Dec 17, 2017 2:52:21 GMT -5
The abbot:
According to MM, any human killed by ghouls will become a ghoul unless blessed.
Did the abbot place a blessing on himself, and was thereafter slain by ghouls, perhaps in league with a traitor underling 3rd level cleric bent on usurping the abbot in greed for the abbot's treasure and the huge fire opal? Whoever killed the abbot doesn't seem like they were interested in searching the abbot to find the map and key in the abbot's possession - why? Why would the abbot need a map of the area if he knew it well already - did the abbot become suspicious of his underling, finding this map in the underling's possession, and was then slain by the underling and ghouls with his body discarded in the water room, and his underling then burnt the above ground monastery down, reducing it it to ruins, so that it would be abandoned by its followers? This would let the underling 3rd level cleric work quietly unimpeded to pursue the abbot's treasure, which could include the huge fire opal?
Maybe the thief 'guide' was originally the leader of the bandits and hired by the underling cleric to shakedown the abbot, and then the underling cleric betrayed the thief and his bandits, cutting them out of the pursuit of the abbot's treasure by aid of undead minions? In that case, the 'guide' might direct the remaining bandits to 'aid' the PC party, only to turn traitorous on them after the cleric and his undead minions, and humanoid allies(?) are overcome and the abbot's treasure, and most importantly, the huge fire opal is obtained? Or instead is the underling cleric still in league with the thief 'guide' but they need the PC party assistance in order to find the abbot's treasure, and most importantly, the huge fire opal?
I looked at the map again, and I think you {Zenopus} are correct, that #5 is a secret room and does not connect to the north passageway. So the bandits may be hunkered down, waiting for their thief leader to return with PC party assistance as their 'guide'. Maybe the bandits have struck an alliance with the goblins against the cleric with his hobgoblin mercenaries and undead minions...sounding like some similarities to the Caves of Chaos...
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Post by davegibsongreyhawkdm on Dec 17, 2017 18:13:42 GMT -5
If the 3rd level cleric were (1) aware that the abbot had died and (2) has been animating the undead into skeletons, then the abbot's body would not be found encrusted over in the water room. Therefore, either the third level cleric is unaware of the abbot's death, or is not the one responsible for animating the skeletons - or perhaps it's both?
What explains the abbot's death? Was the abbot being pursued and tried to hide underwater (the map was in a water-tight tube, so maybe it was known to be going underwater, and placed and protected the map in the water-tight tube?) in the water room, and there drowned and passed? Was the abbot either using polymorph self, shapechanging ability/magic, or underwater breathing ability/magic and died or was slain while under water? Was the water room pool at one time known by the abbot to have beneficial properties if bathed in, yet had since become contaminated/poisoned and thus killed the abbot?
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Post by grodog on Dec 18, 2017 0:15:24 GMT -5
It looks like the big reply I was working on yesterday or the day before got eaten, Dave. I'll reply to your Qs again tomorrow!
Allan.
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Post by davegibsongreyhawkdm on Dec 18, 2017 12:34:56 GMT -5
Do you think it is possible that EGG was inspired by myths related to England's petrifying wells, such as Mother Shipton's Cave and Petrifying Well in Knaresborough, in his DMG sample dungeon description?
Mother Shipton, said to be hideously ugly since birth {people believed her father was the devil himself}, was both an astrologer displaying psychic prophetic powers and the daughter of a local prostitute born in a cave near the well. Mother Shipton's Petrifying Well was variously attributed for miraculous healing properties and at other times cursed by the devil {the side of the well looks like a giant's skull}. Time required to petrify objects under the cascading waters of the well range from three to eighteen months, depending on the porosity of the object. People became afraid that if they were touched by the well's water, they would also be turned to stone.
Maybe the former abbot originally founded the monastery at this site for the miraculous healing properties of its water, while the {psychic/witch/prophetic astrologer} evil cleric is a devil worshipper who has subverted and contaminated the water for nefarious ends? Maybe the evil cleric is the daughter of the debauched abbot and a devil who was masquerading as a monastery temple prostitute?
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Post by davegibsongreyhawkdm on Dec 19, 2017 8:25:29 GMT -5
It looks like the big reply I was working on yesterday or the day before got eaten, Dave. I'll reply to your Qs again tomorrow! Allan. Allan: I am looking forward to your big reply, when you get the chance!
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Post by davegibsongreyhawkdm on Dec 20, 2017 15:57:55 GMT -5
The PCs killed the large spider in #1 three weeks ago, but did not burn the overhead webs to kill the nine 1hp young spiders within.
How soon would these young spiders grow into more large spiders? Do you think d3 per week or every other week would grow into large spiders, and may be worth adding into the wandering monster table for the non-crypt area?
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Post by geneweigel on Dec 20, 2017 16:36:26 GMT -5
Spiders usually hatch in spring then are full grown by mid-Summer (roughly 3 months.)
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Post by davegibsongreyhawkdm on Jan 2, 2018 22:19:24 GMT -5
From last night's kickoff to a fresh WOG campaign, the PCs: Sylvan, gray elf cleric/ranger from a noble family in Narwell that owns and operates a fine blacksmith business, his family in years past hailed from the Elven Kingdom of Celene. Sylvan and his family have connections across the central Flanaess trade routes throughout the Wild Coast, the Elven Kingdom of Celene, the free city of Greyhawk, the great walled city of Dyvers, the Viscounty and Town of Verbobonc, the Archclericy of Veluna, the Kingdom of Furyondy, and beyond. Sylvan and his family received word from leadership of the garrison at Ferd, {which independent militia company patrols and collects tolls at the ford of the Jewel River to the west of Narwell}, that a merchant caravan en route out of the Gnarley Forest on the trade road spotted a dark column of smoke rising several miles to the northwest of Ferd, where it is known that a Shrine of Norebo is located alongside the Jewel River. Concerned for disruption to the Western trade route, and the free excercise of faith, Sylvan reaches out to others to form a party to quietly investigate. Sylvan contacts Athyra of Narwell, a half-elf {of high elven stock} aspiring cavalier {horsewoman}, to join the expedition. Athyra has been sponsored by her deceased high elven aunt's estate. Her aunt hailed from the Independent Town of Highfolk, herself a former Knight of the High Forest. They ride to Ferd, and are put into contact with Dontae, a recent arrival to Ferd, and a known traveler and gambler to the Shrine of Norebo. Dontae is a monk who was orphaned and raised at a monastery dedicated to Xan Yae in the Free City of Greyhawk. He is of mixed Baklunish/Suloise stock. His parents are an unknown mystery to him - perhaps from Ket, who knows? Sylvan has a mind to reach out to others to enlarge the party, but feels pressured to act quickly, so the three purchase gear and supplies and set out for a first exploratory expedition... Events from the first expedition: Sylvan, Athyra, and Dontae rode their steeds {light riding horse, light warhorse, and mule, respectively} to the burnt-out shell of the former Shrine of Norebo sited alongside the Jewel River. Amongst the surface ruins, the party found a still standing stone chimney, and not far from that, stairs leading below the ground. The party tied off their steeds to the stone chimney. Lighting their hooded lantern, the three proceeded together down the stairs, and found a large room with cobwebs overhead and husks, bones, and glittering objects below in the center of the room. Ignoring the corridors leading out from the center of each room wall, Sylvan went straight to the center of the room to look more closely. A large spider fell upon him from the webs above, surprising him and biting him twice. Sylvan succeeded with two poison save rolls. Dontae declared that he would direct his quarter staff underneath the spider's body and pry it off of Sylvan. Athyra declared her attack with her long sword. Tied initiative was rolled. The spider bit Sylvan a third time, and he made a third save versus its poison. Dontae rolled a 20 to hit, and dislodged the spider off of Sylvan. As the spider scuttled away, Athyra ran it through with her long sword. The party cut open each sack found in the corner of the room, finding moldy grains and flour within, yet no yellow mold in the last sack. They saw a small skull in the center of the room, yet were too creeped out to explore it further. One silver piece was picked up, and the rest of the coins were then ignored. The party proceeded down the east corridor, listening at the door found at the end of the passage and heard moaning. After a successful strength check was made to force open this door, a gust of wind from within blew out their lantern. The party closed the door and relit their lantern. Investigating the room, they found a stream and pool, with mineral formations within the pool. The party also checked out and found some barrels either empty or containing water. After looking more closely at the mineral formations, one appeared to have the general shape of a body. Creeped out again, the party left the pool room, and crossed straight through the entry room at the base of the stairs into the opposite passageway. Turning left, they ignored a branching corridor to their right, continuing until the passageway ended with doors to their right and left. They listened at the doors, and were surprised by four patrolling bandits in leather armor who fired upon them with light crossbows. They quickly opened and entered the door to their left, then attempted to quickly close the door on the pursuing bandits. Unable to force the door closed, melee ensued. Sylvan had taken a hit by their previous crossbow fire, and was now badly wounded with just a few hit points remaining. Athyra and Dontae now traded blows with the bandits, with Athyra slaying one and Dontae taking a serious wound from a bandit's short sword. Sylvan, having fallen back into the room behind Athyra and Dontae's defending line, cast CLW on himself. His healing roll was poor, but slightly improved his condition. During the next round of melee, Dontae and Athyra fell back fighting into the room, while Sylvan stepped forward to join the melee with the remaining three bandits. Sylvan took another wound from a bandit's short sword, and Athyra took her first wound as well. Cornered by the bandits, the situation was desperate. Athyra struck down another bandit with her long sword, while Sylvan deeply wounded another bandit. The PCs won initiative for the following round of combat. Athyra swung and missed with her long sword. Sylvan struck down the remaining unwounded bandit. Dontae struck to subdue/knock unconscious the wounded bandit, and was successful with a 19 to hit roll. The PCs then hurriedly exited the dungeon with their unconscious and bound captive, and mounted their steeds to return to the garrison at Ferd. They lived to fight another day, happy to have escaped with their lives! Sylvan worked his network to gain more compatriots for the next expedition, which was to follow a week later, after gaining two more adventurers in the party and questioning their bandit captive...
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Post by GRWelsh on Jan 3, 2018 10:17:07 GMT -5
That sounds like a fun game. I've had so many 1st level adventures like that, where everything hangs in the balance coming down to a few lucky rolls and with the party barely surviving after only an encounter or two, and missing most of the treasure! I've also had many games where it went the other way... TPK...
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Post by davegibsongreyhawkdm on Jan 3, 2018 20:18:29 GMT -5
That sounds like a fun game. I've had so many 1st level adventures like that, where everything hangs in the balance coming down to a few lucky rolls and with the party barely surviving after only an encounter or two, and missing most of the treasure! I've also had many games where it went the other way... TPK... Yes, I was concerned it was gonna be TPK, but they hightailed it out of the dungeon after the close scrape!
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Post by davegibsongreyhawkdm on Jan 3, 2018 20:29:06 GMT -5
For the background to the adventure, it was Lareth and his humanoid band who fell upon the shrine of Norebo, pillaging it and then burning it to the ground.
Surviving bandits holed up underground at the shrine of Norebo pursued Lareth's band to the west with their bloodhounds tracking. The bandits attacked Lareth's encampment days later, killing five gnolls due to their carelessness guarding Lareth's encapment. Due to this snafu, Lareth recruited some bugbears to join his forces at the moat house.
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