Nightfall

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Posted by lige
2/02/2018 3:07 am
#1

I just started a new campaign with some of my guys here in Portland - thought I'd start writing down a campaign log.  Two of the players have played a little HYPERBOREA all are regular AD&D/OSR players.  I had them all roll up 2nd level characters using Method II except for the player with the thief who had played the character earlier.  Actually I gave them a choice of Method II or III but the first guy who rolled chose Method II and convinced (shamed) the rest of the players into using it!.  Without further ado ... 

Session 1:  A Lonely Tower 
rob - Kelvin, Hyperborean Cryomancer (level 2)
terry - Barbeau, Amazon Berserker (level 2)
wind - Progrok, Celtic (?) Thief (level 3)
mike - Gwendolyn, Celtic Witch (level 2)  

To give full HYPERBOREAN seasonal flavor and influenced by this thread (which has influenced all my thinking about Hyperborea after reading it)  http://hyperborea.boardhost.com/viewtopic.php?id=755 I set the initial adventure in the middle of the Year of the Bat - Nightfall. The characters are all currently residing in the small village of Shipwrights Cove located on the peninsula between the Lizard Coast and Dagon Bay.  The industrious folk of this village make their living building ships and this activity continues on even when the sun disappears from Hyperborean skies.  To protect themselves from reavers and worse they generously allow wandering ruffians to share in their winter stores in exchange for guarding the village (at this Terry said "So we're grasshoppers who have found some ants.").  In the meanwhile the work goes on in the vast shed where they build their vessels.  Of late a group of village youths has gone missing while gathering firewood in the forest.  Preliminary investigation has found that they had gone near an old ruined tower before they disappeared.  A strange light has been seen in the windows of the tower.  The village headman has asked the characters to investigate. 

The party had already investigated the tower when they first arrived at the village and found it a stripped and uninteresting ruin.  They started across the frozen plains towards the tower traveling over the drifts on snowshoes. Approaching the tower they saw a light in the window of the lower level. Gwendolyn the witch sent out her raven familiar to investigate. Looking into the window the raven saw two reptilian humanoid.  A larger one with a two handed mace exercising and a smaller one poring over scrolls in the light of a lantern.  In the snow in front of the tower several corpse could be seen.  The party decided to move closer.  From their earlier investigation they knew the tower was at one corner of the wall around a pentagonal enclosure.  The wall was now covered with snow drifts and only the top two stories of the tower visible above the snow.   

They reached the wall and again the raven was sent out to investigate a large object in the yard between the walls.  To the delight of the raven it proved to be the half eaten frozen corpse of a mammoth.  Tracks from the mammoth led towards the tower.  The party quietly moved towards the tower somehow not immediately notifying the inhabitants.  Progrok started climbing the tower to the level above the lighted women but this time notified the residents of the tower noticed the party.  Progrok made it to the upper level and found himself in an open chamber with four columns and spiral stair leading down.  Hearing footsteps on the stairs he hid behind a column.   At this point Barbeau began climbing the tower and and Kelvin boosted Gwendolyn to the lower window.  Progrok hid from the lizard with mace until Barbeau and the smaller lizard man arrived.  Barbeau clashed with the large lizard man and slew it quickly.  Meanwhile Gwendolyn had started up the stair to the top level as 3 more lizard men started coming from the lower levels.  Gwedolyn cast sleep and caught all three.  Meanwhile the smaller lizard man had cast a spell and then fled down the stairs evading the blows of the characters.  Meeting Gwendolyn on the stair he gave a mighty push (20!) and the witch fell down the stair upon the sleeping lizard men awakening them. Barbeau finished the small lizardman and the still prone lizard men were finished as well.  At this point several small two legged lizard creatures (non-humanoid) emerged from the depths.  Kelvin succumbed to their attacks after a successful Cold Touch leaving Barbeau to face 5 by herself as she held the stair.  Progrok investigated the corpses of the lizardmen and found each wore two bracelets of gray metal.  Each of the other creature wore a collar of the same metal.  Progrok attempted to climb down to the lower level to  help but fell from the tower into the snow.  Gwendolyn climbed away with her rope.  Progrok climbed back up the tower but arrived just as Barbeau fell to the creatures.  He slipped away again and joined Gwendolyn on the journey back to Shipwrights Cove perhaps to gather more ruffians for another attempt on the tower.

(edits all formatting changes)

Last edited by lige (2/02/2018 3:09 am)

 
Posted by Iron Ranger
2/02/2018 9:56 am
#2

I'm sure Kelvin's lonely head on a spike in the Tower yard will give them pause before they try that again! Lizard Men Forever!


 
 
Posted by Ghul
2/02/2018 8:31 pm
#3

Great start to a new campaign! Filled with flavor. My current campaign is also in Nightfall. 


HYPERBOREA- A Role-Playing Game of Swords, Sorcery, and Weird Science-Fantasy
 
Posted by lige
5/02/2018 5:39 pm
#4

Finally managed a second session and it only took me 2+ weeks to write it up!  Of the two survivors of the previous game only Wind could make it but Terry decided to roll another and we were joined by Ahi and EOTB.  Everyone rolled up new characters using Method II (for the last time I think but it was a good experiment - though of course I didn't have to use it!)  After gathering in the village the party set off to again enter the tower and see what happened to the missing townsfolk and to see what was happening with the lizard men.

Session 2:  A Second Foray

Terry - Barbana, Amazon Berserker (level 2)
Wind - Progrok, Celtic (?) Thief (level 3)
Ahi - Apex, Pict, Huntress (Level 2)
EOTB -  Bran, Celtic (?), Fighter (Level 2) - named under duress

The new party started by making plans.  They requisitioned a sled and two beartraps  from the village.  They  tried to get some incendiary oil but the village of ship makers didn't have that sort of thing on hand so they settled for lamp oil. 

Thus provisioned they set out.  Their scheme was to pose as simple travelers to lure out the inhabitants.  They also asked if it was normal for lizard men to be active during Nightfall - I said that this was definitely out of the norm.

At first only the huntress approached the tower with the sled in tow but she failed to gain any interest from the now dark tower.  After circling the tower the rest of the party joined and they decided to enter the tower.They entered on the top level.  The lizardmen corpses left from the earlier battle were here with some evidence of being fed on.  The party took the shiny metal bracelets from the wrists of the creatures.  Progrok tested the metal with a bare finger and found that it still burned.   They descended the stair and found the mostly eaten corpses of their friends,  Barbana shed a tear for her sister Barbeau.  Of Kelvin's body only the head remained. 

They descended further to the basement of he tower and here they encountered the prone body of one of the two legged lizards.  Progrok went closer to investigate short sword held high and the creature snapped at him but missed.  After this it was dispatched.  It was near a hole in the floor that appeared recently excavated reavealing an ancient stair. 

The party descended further and entered a chamber with more of the same creatures as well as three doors.  Two doors of ancient origin but otherwise normal and one that was studded with silver nails in a strange pattern and barred and spiked to keep it from opening.   The huntress attempted to tame one of the creatures with tough love and was eventually successful though the beast was so cold it could only move weakly.  The party checked one door and found a nest made of odd orange foliage of a sort unknown to the party.  Through the other door they found an upright 10' diameter brass hoop as well as two human size cages and a barrel holding food stuffs wrapped in leaves.  A pebble tossed through hoop triggered the sight of a sunny land with copious orange foliage within the hoop.  The party surmised that the hoop was a some sort of portal that the lizardmen had come from.  The decided to destroy it to protect the village but the huntress ( tinker by secondary skill) realized it could be disassembled by design and did so. 

Now the last door was considered - the party drew the spikes holding the silver studded door closed and entered leaving the bear traps armed at the door to trip up any pursuers in case they had to flee.   In the second room beyond the door they encountered an emaciated figure that attacked Progrok but was quickly dispatched by the berserker.  As they were pondering on whether to advance further they  were set upon upon by two more of the creatures - sadly identified as ghouls as they methodically attacked and paralyzed the whole party who seemed incapable of landing a blow over a period of about two rounds.

Hoping to revisit this soon - though sadly with another batch of characters!

(edited for formatting)

Last edited by lige (5/02/2018 5:44 pm)

 
Posted by Iron Ranger
5/02/2018 6:36 pm
#5

Fantastic! Third time's the charm!


 
 
Posted by Iron Ranger
5/15/2018 6:11 pm
#6

When's Session 3? Dying to hear how the village youth are rescued!! 


 
 
Posted by grodog
5/21/2018 12:45 am
#7

lige wrote:

As they were pondering on whether to advance further they  were set upon upon by two more of the creatures - sadly identified as ghouls as they methodically attacked and paralyzed the whole party who seemed incapable of landing a blow over a period of about two rounds.

Hoping to revisit this soon - though sadly with another batch of characters!

Ouuuuuch.  Better luck next time! ;)

Allan.

 
Posted by Ghul
5/21/2018 7:13 am
#8

grodog wrote:

lige wrote:

As they were pondering on whether to advance further they  were set upon upon by two more of the creatures - sadly identified as ghouls as they methodically attacked and paralyzed the whole party who seemed incapable of landing a blow over a period of about two rounds.

Hoping to revisit this soon - though sadly with another batch of characters!

Ouuuuuch.  Better luck next time! ;)

Allan.

This is part of the reason why I have my crew create multiple characters. We have different parties in different parts of Hyperborea. If one gets annihilated, there is always another group of characters to switch over to. Sometimes the groups mix and new parties are formed. It keeps things interesting, and if there is a TPK, there isn't a sudden lull in the gaming. I hope this campaign continues! It was great reading so far! 
 


HYPERBOREA- A Role-Playing Game of Swords, Sorcery, and Weird Science-Fantasy
 
Posted by mabon5127
5/21/2018 7:30 am
#9

Ghouls are awesome!!


“How can I wear the harness of toil
And sweat at the daily round,
While in my soul forever
The drums of Pictdom sound?” 
 
Posted by lige
5/25/2018 2:55 pm
#10

Thanks all for the interest!  I had to put most gaming on hold as I finished with the second part of a cross country move but I'm hoping to start up again next month after the dust settles.  

Ghul wrote:

[
This is part of the reason why I have my crew create multiple characters. We have different parties in different parts of Hyperborea. If one gets annihilated, there is always another group of characters to switch over to. Sometimes the groups mix and new parties are formed. It keeps things interesting, and if there is a TPK, there isn't a sudden lull in the gaming. 

I like the idea of the back up characters mixed with a backup location (also sounds like a good opportunity for the DM to prep/try out different stuff).  Do you always wait until a TPK or do you switch back and forth at different times?    

 
Posted by Ghul
5/25/2018 3:09 pm
#11

lige wrote:

Thanks all for the interest!  I had to put most gaming on hold as I finished with the second part of a cross country move but I'm hoping to start up again next month after the dust settles.  

Ghul wrote:

[
This is part of the reason why I have my crew create multiple characters. We have different parties in different parts of Hyperborea. If one gets annihilated, there is always another group of characters to switch over to. Sometimes the groups mix and new parties are formed. It keeps things interesting, and if there is a TPK, there isn't a sudden lull in the gaming. 

I like the idea of the back up characters mixed with a backup location (also sounds like a good opportunity for the DM to prep/try out different stuff).  Do you always wait until a TPK or do you switch back and forth at different times?    

No, TPKs are relatively rare. Typically we might switch character groups upon the conclusion of an adventure or some other significant event -- or even at a cliffhanger! I like to keep my players on their toes. When I DM, they never know which characters they're going to have to pull out from their folders.
 


HYPERBOREA- A Role-Playing Game of Swords, Sorcery, and Weird Science-Fantasy
 
Posted by Chainsaw
5/25/2018 3:24 pm
#12

Ghul wrote:

No, TPKs are relatively rare.

Ha ha ha! Well, until they went searching for the Lost Treasure of Atlantis, eh?


Blackadder23: Insanely long villain soliloquy, then "Your action?"
BORGO'S PLAYER: I shoot him in the face
 
Posted by lige
11/15/2018 1:42 am
#13

After only a six month hiatus I finally got to run a third session of this campaign!  As the last session was a TPK everyone rolled up a new character (using Method III this time).  Feeling bad about the last TPK I also let everyone pick from a selection of one off, somewhat (too?) baroque magic items I made for the occasion.  Since two players were new to the game I only had everyone roll up one charcter.   

Session 3:  Battle for the Leviathan (or Save the Whale)

wind – Zambrosia, Keltic Cleric (Level 2)
rob – Von the Unyielding, Kimmerian Cataphract (Level 2)
josh -  Grull, Kimmerian Barbarian (Level 2)
gabe – Venecius, Keltic Grocer (Assassin) (Level 2)

Since the events of the last game the region around Shipwrights Bay had begun to be plagued by sightings of and attacks by emaciated undead upon villagers as they gathered wood and hunted around the village.  Among the frost covered fiends the members of the last ill-fated expedition to the tower would often be seen.   Another expedition to the tower was seen to be warranted by the village head man but first he had another request for the guests of the village.  A group of villagers had spotted a recently beached whale about 2 miles up the shore.  A group was heading to butcher the whale and bring back much needed provender and the party was to go along to protect them.

The group that set out included the PCs as well as 6 villagers with two sleds pulled by shaggy ponies.  The party was all on foot save for Von the Unyielding who rode upon his reindeer (the player had asked about a mount – he wanted something that made sense in the snow and suggested an irish elk – I countered with the reindeer). The party made their way to a rise overlooking the sea where they first sighted the great creature – an enormous sperm whale. The cataphract rode ahead on his reindeer to make sure the way was clear and spotted a band of vikings and their one handed thralls making their way down the shore towards the whale.  Exchanging words he realized that they were aiming to claim the leviathan - with arms if necessary.

He quickly made his way back to the rest of the party, who had seen the vikings torches, and told them what he had seen.  The party resolved to protect the whale from the norsemen and hurried towards it.  The villagers were hesitant but Von gave a stirring speech (rolled an 11 on reaction + charisma bonus!) and they decided to join the defense.  The party decided to make their stand on one side of the whale with the 6 norse warrior and 9 thralls on the other.  Before the clash Grull lifted the assassin up to the whales back where he readied his crossbow.  The cataphract cantered away to allow for a charging attack into the flank of the vikings.   

The vikings attacked from both sides.  Von charged into one group  hitting one of the warriors with a blow that would have felled a weaker man but this warrior fought on eventually knocking Von out of the fight before succumbing to many wounds. The party fought a long battle losing all but one of the villagers in the fight though one slew several thralls and one warrior before he fell. The thralls attacked at first but as the tide  of the battle changed backed off.  In the end the hammer of the barbarian and the bolt of the assassin finished off the last of the warriors and at that the remaining thralls surrendered.  The fallen Von was tended to and brought back to his feet.  A fine sword was found in the hands of the viking Von hit with the initial charge and numerous gold and silver coins were also found.  Meanwhile the surviving villager had already dragooned the thralls into carving up the beast with a promise of a place to stay in the village.  

The party decided to help and utilizing their whale lore decided to look for ambergris in the stomach of the beast.  Zambrosia sliced open the stomach in this quest but instead of ambergris a pale, seemingly dead, maiden, with her hair in long braids and her hand gripping an enormous piece of amber, slid out onto the snow.  Venecius grabbed for the amber and was immediately struck unconscious.  The maiden awoke and changed in color in quick succession from red, to blue, to purple and then back to pale white.  After a short discussion it was found that she could speak common but knew little of how she came to be found within the whale or really of anything else.  Venecius soon awoke and declared himself her protector.  

At this point the sleds were full so they returned to the village. The party had decided that the girl had some sort of relationship to squid and asked for her name and when she didn’t know decided after a number of options (Squidla and worse) to name her Octavia. They went back for more of the whale and she accompanied them.  After filling many more sleds the party decided to burn the remainder of the whale and also threw the bodies of the fallen villagers and their foes into the oily pyre.  

Back in the village they rested and outfitted Octavia with leather armor and and a knife.  They made preparations for the journey back to the tower.  One of the former thralls, an Amazon, asked to go with them.  She claimed to be a warrior and said the vikings had not removed her swordhand. The party accepted and outfitted her with armor and a sword and since she had claimed to be an archer before she lost her hand they decided to try to rig up a crossbow that would attach to her handless arm. (This I allowed with the caveat that until they used the rig in combat they wouldn’t know if it really worked.).  

At this they set out to the tower.  Halfway to the tower they were ambushed by two unliving creatures – one an ancient corpse and the other the frost covered remains of Progrok! The party took out the two creatures in short order – Grull’s hammer ending Progroks unfortunate encore – his powerless laser pistol was found still on his belt. The party then continued on until they stood at the base of the tower.
 

Last edited by lige (11/15/2018 2:13 am)

 
Posted by grodog
11/15/2018 4:13 pm
#14

Good to see you guys back at it, as well as to the see the remains of the previous party in the mix =)

Did the PCs examine or otherwise try to divine the nature of Octavia and/or her amber boulder?

Allan.

 
Posted by Chainsaw
11/15/2018 6:59 pm
#15

Great write-up, Eli. Your games always have an earthy feel that I can't quite duplicate in my own, heh.

lige wrote:

Among the frost covered fiends the members of the last ill-fated expedition to the tower would often be seen.

Haha! Reminds me of our WDR game, when you and capitalbill randomly received the same rumor in town like five times in a row ("The land west of the Run is littered with the bodies of dead adventurers like yourself!") and then proceeded to TPK on the way to the dungeon (well, except one of your guys who had a horse and fled). Classic!

"ligedog" wrote:

The party was all on foot save for Von the Unyielding who rode upon his reindeer (the player had asked about a mount – he wanted something that made sense in the snow and suggested an irish elk – I countered with the reindeer).

Haha! It's no halfing on a ram, but it's still pretty cool. 

"ligedog" wrote:

The villagers were hesitant but Von gave a stirring speech (rolled an 11 on reaction + charisma bonus!) and they decided to join the defense.

Love it when you get an unlikely result and it creates a memorable situation. Too bad all the villagers except one died!

"ligedog" wrote:

The party had decided that the girl had some sort of relationship to squid and asked for her name and when she didn’t know decided after a number of options (Squidla and worse) to name her Octavia.

Haha! I hope to read about how Squidla - I mean Octavia - betrays them to some fish-men.


Blackadder23: Insanely long villain soliloquy, then "Your action?"
BORGO'S PLAYER: I shoot him in the face
 
Posted by lige
11/16/2018 5:45 pm
#16

grodog wrote:

Good to see you guys back at it, as well as to the see the remains of the previous party in the mix =)

Did the PCs examine or otherwise try to divine the nature of Octavia and/or her amber boulder?

Allan.

They quizzed her a bunch but she didn't give any real answers.  They've been observing her closely - they have noticed she can use two braids as extra hands.  They were real suspicious of why the Whale had beached and had some theories about that (and really checked the "tracks" in the snow of the event).  The amber they just pocketed!  Also (spoiler in case one of my players reads this) 

Venucias had brief dream/vision while in the trance after touching the amber.  In the dream he saw a school of white creatures swimming in the deep.  The enormous eye of an impossibly vast creature looked on.  He felt that the giant creature spoke into his mind saying "Recover that which is mine" and with that perceived an image of large pearl of shifting colors.

 
Posted by lige
11/16/2018 6:04 pm
#17

Thanks Chainsaw!

Chainsaw wrote:

Haha! Reminds me of our WDR game, when you and capitalbill randomly received the same rumor in town like five times in a row ("The land west of the Run is littered with the bodies of dead adventurers like yourself!") and then proceeded to TPK on the way to the dungeon (well, except one of your guys who had a horse and fled). Classic!

 
That horse was the best thing I ever bought as a starting character!  There's a pretty packed down trail leading to the tower now.  I figure with no sun there can't be much weather, either wind or snow, so it's not really covered up.

Chainsaw wrote:

Haha! It's no halfing on a ram, but it's still pretty cool.

  
Never did get that ram  

Chainsaw wrote:

Love it when you get an unlikely result and it creates a memorable situation. Too bad all the villagers except one died!

  
Totally I think that's the essence of roleplaying games.  I've been trying to roll on characters attempts to convince people a bit more because of that - also keeps Charisma in play!  

Chainsaw wrote:

Haha! I hope to read about how Squidla - I mean Octavia - betrays them to some fish-men.

You're saying there's something a little suspicious about her? 
 

 
Posted by lige
12/05/2018 10:37 am
#18

Only two weeks between games this time!  At this pace I’ll really need to learn how to write concise recaps!  Three players from previous sessions joined this time but they had to roll up new characters.  We decided they were a second force sent out from the village.  The new viking was from the same ship as the bunch they fought last time who had indepedently made it to the village.  He had no hard feelings and looked to prove himself to his new companions.  The cataphracts player was ill so Von the Unyielding was put to guard duty outside the tower.

Session 4:  Back to The Tower

wind – Zambrosia, Keltic Cleric (Level 2)
josh -  Grull, Kimmerian Barbarian (Level 2)
gabe – Venicius, Keltic Grocer (Assassin) (Level 2)
mike – Ole Oleson, Viking Fighter (Level 2)
terry – Sparky, Keltic Pyromancer (Level 2)
ahi - TerenceParkKhun (TPK),  Ixian Cryomancer (Level 2)

The party first scouted around the tower and noticed the body of the mammoth in the courtyard.  Deciding they might be able to recover some valuable ivory they went to investigate and discovered the "dead" body of one of the ghouls. Upon examination they saw it had been mauled by some sort of beast. At that they also noticed a large hole in the carcass of the mammoth out of which the broad head of a bear sized wolverine soon appeared.  Speaking in strangely accented common the beast warned them away from his prize and said they were lucky he was already full or he would eat them.  The party heeded his warning and made haste to the tower.

They again  entered on the second floor and surveyed the carnage.  Half eaten bodies of lizard men and adventurers were strewn everywhere and Kelvins severed head was placed so that his disapproving final expression greeted their entry.  They also discovered a broad brimmed, high crowned black hat lying on the floor.  They investigated this (with player speculation about which house they'd be sorted into) and Sparky ended up taking it. Taking no chances they dragged the corpses to the top level and with copious amounts of whale oil, and much of the roof structure, as fuel they set them all ablaze. 

They descended further to the basement where they found the icy corpse of one of the lizard hunters as well as a strange man shaped burn mark on the floor.  Sparky did not think good clean fire had caused the burn.  They moved further to the room with the excavation and were set upon by more ghouls including the remains of Barbana.  A furious battle ensued but the party was victorious.  They descended further by the stairs uncovered by the excavation.

At the lower level they found themselves in a room with many doors.  Another of the lizard hunting dogs  was found wrapped in a blanket.  It did not seem as icy as the other.  TPK implored the other characters to spare it.  They also  found bundle of brass rods tied in a blanket and one door that was open.  This was studded with silvery nails.  The nails "burned" Grulls fingers when he tried to pull them from the door.  The party decided to enter the open door - TPK did not join and instead stayed at the now shut door with Octavia - planning to open it when the rest of the party returned.

The party made their way into the chambers beyond the door methodically - watching out carefully for attacks from behind.  But because of this they found themselves split and fought what turned out to be the last ghouls encountered - including the remains of Bran and Apex - in two separate battles.  They did prevail however and in lieu of burning the bodies, and risking asphyxiation, Grull simply crushed their skulls with his mighty hammer.   Vambrosia recovered a pendant of clear crystal set in a metal loop hanging on chain from the neck of one of the ancient ghouls.  They then journeyed into a small central chamber where after fighting an invisible guardian they recovered three scroll tubes.   One containing a letter describing the gate that had been dismantled earlier accompanied by a map purporting to show the way to a wizards base of operation within a land of reptiles know  as Torth,  a second containing a magic user scroll and a letter imploring the finder to revenge the writer (apparently the wizard who had lived here) by slaying a traitorous apprentice named Praxigoras who had entombed him (promising an unspecified reward from the other side), and a third with two blank pieces of paper.  The letters were all dated nearly a hundred years in the past.  Sparky held a flame under the blank papers but no writing appeared.

The party, with the eager assistance of Octavia, then reassembled the gate in a side room.   They also discussed going after Praxigoras, who Sparky and TPK thought might be the person as an ancient and feared wizard of the same name  in Khromarium, but decided they would try their luck beyond the gate. The letter and map described valuable gems to be found there  (and of course fearsome beasts to fight) and they were not sure if they could stand against a foe like an ancient wizard.  They activated the gate by pitching a coin through it and illuminated a land of orange vegetation and purple skies. TPK stepped through immediately while the rest of the party decided to rest in the dungeon for at least a night to recover their strength.

 
Posted by Chainsaw
12/09/2018 7:39 am
#19

lige wrote:

Only two weeks between games this time!  At this pace I’ll really need to learn how to write concise recaps!

I've always struggled with journal format. These days I tend toward longer ones that can serve as a reference for me and the players, though I've added a synopsis and used some headings to make the content easier to follow. If someone outside of our group finds them interesting, great. If not, no big deal. Some people like shorter ones that are more like social recaps, but I'm not as good at writing those.

lige wrote:

Three players from previous sessions joined this time but they had to roll up new characters.  We decided they were a second force sent out from the village.  The new viking was from the same ship as the bunch they fought last time who had indepedently made it to the village.  He had no hard feelings and looked to prove himself to his new companions.  The cataphracts player was ill so Von the Unyielding was put to guard duty outside the tower.

Makes sense

lige wrote:

Session 4:  Back to The Tower

wind – Zambrosia, Keltic Cleric (Level 2)
josh -  Grull, Kimmerian Barbarian (Level 2)
gabe – Venicius, Keltic Grocer (Assassin) (Level 2)
mike – Ole Oleson, Viking Fighter (Level 2)
terry – Sparky, Keltic Pyromancer (Level 2)
ahi - TerenceParkKhun (TPK),  Ixian Cryomancer (Level 2)

Great names

lige wrote:

The party first scouted around the tower and noticed the body of the mammoth in the courtyard.  Deciding they might be able to recover some valuable ivory they went to investigate and discovered the "dead" body of one of the ghouls. Upon examination they saw it had been mauled by some sort of beast. At that they also noticed a large hole in the carcass of the mammoth out of which the broad head of a bear sized wolverine soon appeared.  Speaking in strangely accented common the beast warned them away from his prize and said they were lucky he was already full or he would eat them.  The party heeded his warning and made haste to the tower.

I love this! I'm stealing it.

lige wrote:

They again  entered on the second floor and surveyed the carnage.  Half eaten bodies of lizard men and adventurers were strewn everywhere and Kelvins severed head was placed so that his disapproving final expression greeted their entry.  They also discovered a broad brimmed, high crowned black hat lying on the floor.  They investigated this (with player speculation about which house they'd be sorted into) and Sparky ended up taking it. Taking no chances they dragged the corpses to the top level and with copious amounts of whale oil, and much of the roof structure, as fuel they set them all ablaze

Haha! Burn off your dead!

lige wrote:

They descended further to the basement where they found the icy corpse of one of the lizard hunters as well as a strange man shaped burn mark on the floor.  Sparky did not think good clean fire had caused the burn.  They moved further to the room with the excavation and were set upon by more ghouls including the remains of Barbana.  A furious battle ensued but the party was victorious.  They descended further by the stairs uncovered by the excavation.

At the lower level they found themselves in a room with many doors.  Another of the lizard hunting dogs  was found wrapped in a blanket.  It did not seem as icy as the other.  TPK implored the other characters to spare it.  They also  found bundle of brass rods tied in a blanket and one door that was open.  This was studded with silvery nails.  The nails "burned" Grulls fingers when he tried to pull them from the door.  The party decided to enter the open door - TPK did not join and instead stayed at the now shut door with Octavia - planning to open it when the rest of the party returned.

The party made their way into the chambers beyond the door methodically - watching out carefully for attacks from behind.  But because of this they found themselves split and fought what turned out to be the last ghouls encountered - including the remains of Bran and Apex - in two separate battles.  They did prevail however and in lieu of burning the bodies, and risking asphyxiation, Grull simply crushed their skulls with his mighty hammer.   Vambrosia recovered a pendant of clear crystal set in a metal loop hanging on chain from the neck of one of the ancient ghouls.  They then journeyed into a small central chamber where after fighting an invisible guardian they recovered three scroll tubes.   One containing a letter describing the gate that had been dismantled earlier accompanied by a map purporting to show the way to a wizards base of operation within a land of reptiles know  as Torth,  a second containing a magic user scroll and a letter imploring the finder to revenge the writer (apparently the wizard who had lived here) by slaying a traitorous apprentice named Praxigoras who had entombed him (promising an unspecified reward from the other side), and a third with two blank pieces of paper.  The letters were all dated nearly a hundred years in the past.  Sparky held a flame under the blank papers but no writing appeared.

The party, with the eager assistance of Octavia, then reassembled the gate in a side room.   They also discussed going after Praxigoras, who Sparky and TPK thought might be the person as an ancient and feared wizard of the same name  in Khromarium, but decided they would try their luck beyond the gate. The letter and map described valuable gems to be found there  (and of course fearsome beasts to fight) and they were not sure if they could stand against a foe like an ancient wizard.  They activated the gate by pitching a coin through it and illuminated a land of orange vegetation and purple skies. TPK stepped through immediately while the rest of the party decided to rest in the dungeon for at least a night to recover their strength.

Nice! After those valuable gems. 
 


Blackadder23: Insanely long villain soliloquy, then "Your action?"
BORGO'S PLAYER: I shoot him in the face
 
Posted by Ghul
12/09/2018 6:41 pm
#20

Love reading this thread!


HYPERBOREA- A Role-Playing Game of Swords, Sorcery, and Weird Science-Fantasy
 


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