HYPERBOREA / Xambaala Campaign

**Posted by francisca** 4/25/2019 3:22 pm

lige wrote:
francisca wrote:
ligedog picked the lock, not me. I rolled for $#!+ all night opening doors, but put a whoopin' on things in combat.
Was it four doors that our mostly fighter party was unable to open? Even when we opened that one any chance of surprise was long gone.

Also looking forward to maybe finding a way to short circuit my characters DOA-esque trajectory next game!

yeah, we suck

**Posted by gizmomathboy** 4/25/2019 3:32 pm

Giving my next character is tailored to deal with rat diseses...I think you'll be ok. :-)

**Posted by mavfire** 4/25/2019 9:55 pm

gizmomathboy wrote:
Giving my next character is tailored to deal with rat diseses...I think you'll be ok. :-)

Shaman?

I almost rolled one up before my current iteration...

who am I kidding this will not be my last PC in a chainsaw game.

**Posted by gizmomathboy** 4/26/2019 7:52 am

I was leaning towards runegraver until I rolled the stats. Now it's an amazonian paladin.

Shamans can only cure naturally diseases they are familiar with...which I think rat plague would count.

Monks, paladins, and runegravers can cure any disease. While rats have been our bane, zombies are also in that mix of something that can make for a bad encounter.

Plus, paladins are immune to disease so she only has to worry about the rats ripping her throat out instead getting rat plague. :-)

**Posted by Chainsaw** 4/26/2019 8:10 am

mavfire wrote:
who am I kidding this will not be my last PC in a chainsaw game.

Ha! And I think of myself as a softie referee.

gizmomathboy wrote:
Plus, paladins are immune to disease so she only has to worry about the rats ripping her throat out instead getting rat plague. :-)

I thought rats were the weakest possible enemy, man.

**Posted by gizmomathboy** 4/26/2019 8:16 am

Not when they pass along insta rat plague death or roll a natural 20 and then a 6 on the crit table...and then...like almost max damage :-)

Xambaala Campaign - A Series of Unfortunate Events...mostly for mavfire

**Posted by Chainsaw** 4/26/2019 8:41 am

gizmomathboy wrote:
Not when they pass along insta rat plague death or roll a natural 20 and then a 6 on the crit table...and then...like almost max damage :-)

Yeah, rolling a 20, a 6 and then a 5 for a total of 15 damage against your level one priest (4 hp?) was pretty much the end of him. I only had those other rats gnawing on him after that because it made me laugh.

gizmomathboy wrote:
Xambaala Campaign - A Series of Unfortunate Events...mostly for mavfire

Haha!

**Posted by francisca** 4/26/2019 9:19 am

Xambaala is ancient Hyperborean for 'See Mav. See Mav Die. Die, Mav. DIE. A LOT."

**Posted by Chainsaw** 4/26/2019 9:21 am

francisca wrote:
Xambaala is ancient Hyperborean for 'See Mav. See Mav Die. Die, Mav. DIE. A LOT."

I have a good feeling about his third PC, but I can't promise a 20 doesn't rear its head.

**Posted by Chainsaw** 6/12/2019 1:14 pm

5-27-19 – Xambaala Campaign, SESSION 14

Player-Characters
cadam – Josson, Common Scout (4rd Level)
ligedog – Nax, Half-Blood Pict Barbarian (3rd Level)
Ray – Xirixan, Hyperborean Necromancer (3rd Level)
gizmomathboy – Agathe, Amazon Paladin (1st Level)
Del – Brione Protaeos, Atlantean Berserker (1st Level)

Synopsis: Negotiating with a crazy cat man, being ambushed by a giant spider, meeting a new adventurer, loosing a gelatinous cube, being ambushed by giant ticks, being followed by a gelatinous cube, running into one-eyed orcs, being followed by a gelatinous cube.
Enemies overcome: giant black widow (x1), giant ticks (x4), one-eyed orcs (x8)
Treasure won: cask of garlic, cask of salt, a few casks of blood, map of level two and three books (Production of Green Slime from Common Algae [by Zathros Kril of Amon Slu]; Growth and Care of Living Jellies [by Sundrak Olos, University of Sparn]; Recipes for Useful Puddings, Black, Gray and Orange [by Anonymous]).
Adventurers slain (or captured?): None
Begin time/date: 10AM on Wednesday (1/4/577, Deluge [Early Summer])
End time/date: 2PM on Wednesday (1/4/577, Deluge [Early Summer])

Chillin' with Zovar and his cats. With the obsidian double-door riddle solved, our crew slipped beyond and quickly found Zovar’s hideaway – a super nasty smelling catbox of an area, packed with scrawny cats and cluttered with papers full of his insane scribblings. They traded the two cats in Brione’s net for Zovar’s fascinating life story, directions to level two and information that a strange machine down lower might teleport them home. They declined Zovar’s enticing offer of cat meat (cooking on a spit), then Xirixan used ventriloquism to make the charred feline urge Zovar to offer more information. He was totally freaked out and told them about a secret way to access level four from level three (and bid them goodbye).

Giant spider ambush. The party headed toward level two, entering a cobweb-filled kitchen where a giant black widow spider attacked them. They drove it into a concealed room, then followed it and killed it. In spider’s nest, they found a cocooned Amazon warrior, several casks filled with various contents and a map of level two. They freed the warrior (Agathe!), took casks of garlic, salt and blood and proceeded toward level two, especially excited by their new map.

Magical arrows, floating in a crystal vault? They descended to level two and made a beeline for the stair to level three because that’s where they thought Zovar said the teleportation machine was. The quickest way was blocked by a door covered in slime, so they took another route but then opted to stop off and explore for a second. They entered some sort of laboratory and found a few jars with various liquids inside and three weird books: Production of Green Slime from Common Algae (by Zathros Kril of Amon Slu); Growth and Care of Living Jellies (by Sundrak Olos, University of Sparn); Recipes for Useful Puddings, Black, Gray and Orange (by Anonymous). An adjacent door led to room with a crystal vault shaped like a cube – they could see what looked like magical arrows floating inside. Josson had only a one-in-twelve chance to pick it, but he did! Unfortunately this freed the giant gelatinous cube inside! They hauled ass out of there and ran down the hall, hoping to hide in another room. Brione scattered some salt behind them, hoping to stop the cube.

No rest for the wicked. They opened a new door and stepped inside – several giant ticks suddenly dropped from the dark ceiling! One latched onto Josson’s neck and another onto Brione’s (paralyzing him!). Agathe smashed a cask of blood in the corner, distracting the ticks so the crew could get the upper hand. They killed the ticks, peeked into the hall to see the cube still slowing slinking toward them and then started running like hell down the hall again toward the level three stairs.

One-eyed orcs. Suddenly a group of eight one-eyed orcs wearing silver loinclothes rounded the corner and a melee ensued! The party backpedaled into a side hall, while Xirixan cast Forest of Bones and trapped the orcs. Brione, Josson and Nax then methodically dispatched them all. No one could see the slow-moving cube, but they all knew it was probably still approaching…

**Posted by Chainsaw** 6/13/2019 3:18 pm

6-3-19 – Xambaala Campaign, SESSION 15

Player-Characters
cadam – Josson, Common Scout (4rd Level) – QUASI-UNDEAD
ligedog – Nax, Half-Blood Pict Barbarian (3rd Level)
Ray – Xirixan, Hyperborean Necromancer (3rd Level)
francisca – Ulfsteinn, Viking Fighter (3rd Level)
gizmomathboy – Agathe, Amazon Paladin (1st Level)
Del – Brione Protaeos, Atlantean Berserker (1st Level) – DEAD

Synopsis: Xylarthen the “Supreme Degenerated Sorcerer from Plutonis” warned our hardy crew to leave level three, but they persisted, only to be attacked by ravenous vampires!
Enemies overcome: troll (x1)
Treasure won: None
Adventurers slain (or captured?): Brione (decapitated by a vampire), Josson (charmed, quasi-undead)
Begin time/date: 2PM on Wednesday (1/4/577, Deluge [Early Summer])
End time/date: 6AM on Thursday (1/5/577, Deluge [Early Summer])

To Level Three and Beyond! With the dead one-eyed orcs bleeding out in a forest of bones, perhaps food for the creeping cube, they made for the level three stairs, bolting down a wide corridor covered in skulls. The doors at the end were composed of an hardened swirling green and purple sand and had an unreadable inscription. They pressed through them, hopped over a quicksand trap on the other side, and proceeded down some stairs (Ulfsteinn riding his shield, Griswold style!) to a glittering blue metal door. It opened easily as well, revealing a corridor with walls of hardened green sand. Farther ahead, the floor transitioned to semi-firm greenish sand and had doors on the left and right. When Xirixan probed the sand with his staff, two giant sand worms burst out to attack, missed and then disappeared back into the sand. The crew headed through the right doorway and down a long corridor with a narrow trench of sand in the middle. They carefully avoided it and came upon another door on the right.

Xylarthen’s warning. Before they could open the door, they heard a strange voice say, “I am Xylarthen the Supreme Degenerated Sorcerer of Plutonis. If you want a reward for making it this far, then follow me. If you came to serve me, then follow as well!” The voice came from a figure in a tattered robe floating above the sand trench, but instead of legs, it had a mess of tentacles. The group viewed his offers very suspiciously and declined both. He warned them to leave, “In these halls lies, death, dismemberment and transformation – flee while you can!” They pretended to heed his warning, seeming to head back to level two. He trailed behind them, then broke off to head in another direction. They double-backed to the door.

Obvious trap is obvious? Opening the door, they saw some pale-skinned children playing in a room. One beckoned them inside. They closed the door immediately, then headed further down the passage, which terminated at a wooden double-door. Behind it, they saw a long-corridor completely covered in greenish sand. Fearful of more sand worms, they closed the doors and headed back, checking for secret doors along the way.

Death, dismemberment and transformation! Suddenly two ravenous, pale-skinned humanoid creatures leaped out of the shadows and attacked! One charmed Josson with only a gaze. Nax landed a vicious critical hit that would have slain an mammoth, but somehow the creature seemed unaffected. The party exchanged nervous glances. The other creature charmed Ulfsteinn, who then landed a grievous blow on Brione. The foul beast then decapitated Brione! Agathe pommel struck Ulfsteinn into submission, while Nax hurled an incendiary oil as he retreated. The burning one clawed at Xirixan, but missed, and Xirixan activated his Cloak of Shadow and fled. The other creature paused to feed on Brione’s corpse. The party hauled ass back down the corridor and to level two, tossing a incendiary oil and casks of blood behind them.

Comfy place to sleep. In shadow form, Xirixan located a room on level two with some burnt up troll bodies that seemed like a safe place to rest. As the crew entered, a gnarly troll hand shot out from the bottom of the pile, grabbing at Agathe! She pulled it out the rest of the way, then Nax and Ulfsteinn nailed it with incendiary oil, burning it dead. They made camp and settled down for some rest and relaxation.

An old friend returns. On Ulfsteinn’s watch, he heard some scratching at the door. Everyone rose and prepared for action. Suddenly the doors burst open to reveal a very pale, bloody-mouthed Josson. He recoiled from the group and attempted to flee, but Nax charged and leaped toward him. Missed! Xirixan attempted to control him with his necromancy – and did! They took Josson back to the troll room, tied him up and watched him through the night. His condition deteriorated. The party was unsure what to do - Agathe the Paladin made the case to kill him, while Xirixan the Necromancer made the case that perhaps he could be salvaged somehow.