13th of Kytorn, year 2620
Player Characters:
Retainers:
Hrangvald, death cultist
At dawn, the party had breakfast inside the cracked dome, while Theras sat down to read his Blasphemous Nechrubel Bible (the secret roll failed, meaning he will be suffering from hallucinations). The heroes headed south, to an area covered with demonic statues. They examined them closely, trying to smash some of them. Euzebius searched for a spot that could be considered the center of the statuary and began digging through the snow. Under the snow, he found a frozen corpse, and as they cleared more, a whole pile of frozen bodies. Searching a bit farther, there were no bodies uncovered.
They then headed west, expecting to find more domes and artifacts. Passing through a frozen garden, Euzebiusz noticed two skulking "maw priests" (also called "gobblers" by the heroes). He discreetly informed Theras, who, glancing in that direction, saw not two but ten approaching priests. He unfurled his scroll and cast lightning bolts at them, but only burned the bushes; there was no trace of the priests.
Those 10 were a hallucination, and the 2 priests managed to slip away into the mist to inform their mistress about the intruders - they were the first priests the party encountered and survived. From that moment on, for random encounter rolls, I applied the following rule: if I rolled an encounter with Akünh, there was a 50% chance she was prepared for a fight and accompanied by an escort (d4+1 priests, 2 horned beasts). Rolling an encounter with Sark, whom the party had the chance to encounter, meant a 50% chance of encountering another group, which Brother Nasbert had sent north against Akünh - after all, who would expect one small group of misfits to be able to stop a demonic child? Nasbert recruited them somewhat incidentally, while awaiting for an audience at the Shadow King's court.
The party reached a frozen lake to the west, surrounded by undead trapped in the frozen mud, without encountering more domes symmetrically arranged as before along the way. They hoped to find a secret passage behind the waterfall, but the ice was too thin and brittle to walk on. They found frozen black lilies on the ice's surface. Urvarg picked one up, and Larv crushed it in her hand - immediately, she shivered and felt nauseous; the lily prevented her wounds from healing for a week and attracted vermin, intensifying the effect that had plagued her since touching the rotpriests (the effect would have worn off after a night's rest away from the valley, but now she had to wait a week). Larv stowed away a few lilies in her backpack, being careful not to crush any of them in her hands this time.
 |
| Spiral Cathedral |
Next, the heroes returned to the Spiral Cathedral and tried to pry the head of the statue with their knives. Their tampering activated a mechanism, and in the niche, they found a golden disc covered with a spiral pattern and star images, the disc's size matching the indentation in the center of the chamber. Urvarg tried to remove the partially molten statue from the niche and succeeded, but the trap struck her with an electric discharge.
After inserting the disc, the bottom of the niche slid aside, revealing a golden crown with a motif of a spiked halo and jeweled spirals. Adalberta took the crown and placed it on Euzebius's head. Euzebius rose half a meter above the ground, his eyes glowing with unnatural light. The philosopher lost all sensation, seeing only visions of an ever-expanding and contracting cosmos beyond his feeble mind's grasp. The rest of the party noticed it had become quieter, as if a sound that had constantly been there had ceased (the vortex to the north of the valley disappeared).
They heard a scream that seemed to come from all directions simultaneously, then some growing noise beneath the floor. A moment later, a rocky floor gave way to a maw, from which emerged a two-meter-tall figure in a richly adorned black robe, with a mass of eyes around its head, horns like a ram, huge claws, and a vertical, tooth-filled maw from sternum to crotch (it's Akünh, though the players mistook her for a lesser demon). The heroes panicked and removed the crown from Euzebius's head; he fell to the ground, disoriented but conscious. They managed to quickly defeat this opponent - it turned out I didn't pay enough attention to Theras' player, who accidentally wrote down that his spell casts d4 lightning bolts instead of d2; unfortunately, I only noticed this mistake much later.
Akünh began to regenerate in the heart of the Ziggurat, now fully aware of the threat the party posed, as well as the crown.
They tried to put the crown back on Euzebius, causing the same effect, but without summoning the demon (Akünh had not yet regenerated). One of the heroes went outside to make sure the vortex had disappeared. They removed the crown from Euzebius; the philosopher stated that the crown probably didn't summon the creature, but rather the demon reacted to it. They traveled half a kilometer north to approach the Ziggurat and ensure the crown worked outside the Cathedral as well. They put the crown back on Euzebius once more. The vortex vanished, and shortly after, they noticed approaching enemies: 7 priests and 4 horned beasts the size and stature of wild boars, with no visible eyes, round mouths - it was the weakened Akünh who sent all her available forces against them.
At this moment, my problem with conducting battles is apparent - I often forget important rules. In this case, I forgot that the beasts attack twice and have damage reduction. In the future, I gotta make sure to always reread the description of opponents prior to a battle.
The heroes removed the crown from Euzebiusz's head; this time, he fell unconscious. I took the player aside and explained to him that his soul had left his body and been sucked into the void. In the ensuing battle, Adalberta and the cultist Hrangvald died. Larv shoved one of the priests a black lily into its vertical mouth (it had no discernible effects). Eventually, the priests fled after suffering heavy losses, while the beasts fought mindlessly and fiercely until death.
The heroes looted Adalberta's corpse, and with Euzebius in a vegetative state, they dragged him into the Cathedral. They planned to rest overnight and set out towards the Ziggurat in the morning. Suddenly, they heard measured footsteps and clanking armor; after a moment, a armored troop entered the cathedral: seven spearmen with shields, in plate armor and helmets covering their faces. They exclaimed, "Heretics! Surrender in the name of the Shadow King!" The heroes' faces, previously expressing terror, lit up. They began to explain that their goal was to stop the demon, and in fact, they had once saved the Shadow King's heir, Aldon, and actually had an official letter of mark from the Shadow King. The commander of the unit, Captain Vradolak, leader of the Ashen Spears, sent his henchman Heneck to fetch this letter. The captain was convinced that the party was on his side and asked them about the situation.
Regarding the above: I rolled a random encounter with another group sent by Brother Nasbert. I had previously rolled that the monk convinced the Shadow King to help against Akünh, and the King sent a military unit. I knew it would look like I had deliberately summoned reinforcements for the weakened party to give them a better chance in the final confrontation. In reality, it wasn't so, and honestly, it would have been just as interesting for me if they had gone into a doomed battle and sacrificed themselves for the cause, or if they had fled (while Akünh wreaked havoc behind them). Well, since I decided to rely on the dice, it wouldn't be fair to abandon that now.
Vradolak informed the party that the soldiers had already defeated and killed the vile priests. It soon became clear that these were the cultists camping in the forest, the party's allies, not the "maw priests". Theras led them to the battlefield to the north, where, lighting their way with torches, they examined the corpses of the maw priests and horned beasts. Their presence scared off a ghastly figure that had been drinking blood from Adalberta's corpse through a long proboscis.
 |
| Larv |
Everyone returned to the Cathedral and spent the night there. Larv tried to calm Adalberta's jester, Mr. Giggles, and convince him to bravely persevere. She generally tried to make him useful somehow. Mr. Giggles was devastated but agreed to go with them, as he saw no chance of survival if left alone. They considered whether to put Euzebius out of his misery, but Captain Vradolak said that either they would all die soon, or they would return shortly, and in any case, his suffering wouldn't last long.
Meanwhile, I assumed that Akünh was also gathering her forces and preparing for the final confrontation. As long as no one wore the spiral crown, she wouldn't take any desperate moves. I estimated that she had about 6 priests left, and for the priests who fled the skirmish, I rolled for HP regeneration. Additionally, every 2 hours, I rolled for what reinforcements they could summon: 1/2 - nothing, 3/4 - d2 horned beasts, 5/6 - d4 undead.
In the morning, they set off north. They approached the vortex, and while the rest of the team and their allies saw only a foggy ice wasteland around them, Larv saw a lake and a causeway leading to an island with a walled necropolis. This was because she was the only one wearing a medallion stolen from the priests. When they realized that the medallions were necessary to reach the necropolis, they returned to the Spiral Cathedral for the medallions left in Euzebius's equipment. They were short one medallion to equip everyone, so the team (excluding the unconscious Euzebiusz) set off for the final confrontation along with Mr. Chichotek (intending to use the crown on him) and all the armed spearmen, while Heneck stayed behind at the Cathedral, preparing a crossbow to defend Euzebius if necessary.
The heroes reached the island with the necropolis. Besides graves, they found a bottomless pit - Vradolak threw a stone into it, but nothing was heard. Theras tried removing his medallion and suddenly found himself in a snowy wasteland, surrounded by undead who turned towards him and moved in his direction with a groan. He quickly put the medallion back on and returned to the island.
They moved forward to the Ziggurat, sending the armed men ahead. The battle began:
On one side were Larv, Theras, Urvarg, 7 soldiers of the Shadow King, and Mr. Giggles. (11)
On the other side were Akünh, 6 rotpriests, 3 horned beasts, and 8 undead. (18)
It was a big battle, which started around 1 AM, and I must admit that I missed a lot of details during it. Earlier, I had forgotten that the horned beasts had 2 attacks, so this time I mentioned that these beasts seemed more ferocious, so they attacked twice. Regarding the team helping the party, in the first round, I completely forgot about the opportunity attack for characters using polearms against approaching enemies (houserule), and that they were wearing plate armor. As a result, the warriors who would likely have survived much longer mostly died in the first round, and by the time I remembered, it was too late to correct the mistake. Additionally, I realized too late that Urvarg's lizard regeneration shouldn't work on non-healing wounds inflicted by the rotpriests. I remembered this ability of the priests only the first time when Larv was wounded. Although the final battle was very exciting and probably enjoyed by all players, I was quite disappointed due to these reasons. Well, at least I know what to work on and pay attention to in future sessions.
In any case, the course of the battle was such that the beasts and undead engaged the first line of soldiers in combat. While they fought, Urvarg transformed into a lizard, and Larv placed the crown on Mr. Giggles. The vortex flying into the mouth guarded by the priests in the center of the hall disappeared. Akünh teleported next to Giggles and killed him. Larv cast invisibility on herself and then on Theras in the next round. Using the invisibility, Theras placed the crown on Akünh's head (!!!), who rose with glowing eyes, weakened each round by the crown's power.
The priests rushed to remove the crown from Akünh, who eventually fell to the ground reduced to 0 HP (at this moment the undead also fell, but the rest of the enemies continued to fight). They tried to snatch the artifact from the invisible Theras, who stabbed them with his special knife, which had a 1/4 chance of causing instant death. Despite striking the enemies multiple times, the instant death effect was never triggered, and the priests surrounded and eventually tore him apart with their claws.
Larv, using invisibility, ran to the mouth in the floor. While her companions fought for survival, she spent one round looking inside the mouth, the next round, hanging inside on a spear stuck in the fleshy wall, she saw a giant, pulsating hear, and in the third round, she jumped down and pierced the heart with the spear.
At the moment the heart was destroyed, in accordance with the handbook, a Misery was activated, and I rolled prophecy 4:6:
AND LEVIATHAN SHALL COME AMONG YOU. CHILDREN WINTER-BORN AND FATED TO FALL BEFORE SNOW, BOTH SHALL HE TAKE.
Larv saw a bubble forming next to the heart in the fleshy wall. When she cut it, something resembling a human fetus flowed out. She pierced it with her spear. It was the regenerating Akünh, but after the heart's destruction, her regeneration was halted.
Urvarg was close to death, surrounded by enemies. Larv emerged from the mouth. Both heroines removed their medallions, which shifted them to a wasteland full of corpses, inanimate this time. It was noticeably warmer than before; the power binding this land with unnatural cold had disappeared.
The heroines returned to the Spiral Cathedral, where they startled Heneck, who saw Urvarg in her lizard form for the first time. However, they managed to calm him down and informed him about the course of the battle.
The heroines removed the plate armor from Euzebius, Heneck collected the most valuable items from his equipment (including the necrorune-covered whip). The girls decided to take the philosopher with them while he was still alive and there was a chance to save him. Heneck was surprised, claiming that hauling him up the cliff was too risky, but he didn't realize that the heroes had entered the valley through a tunnel. They finally reached the top, collected the horse and donkeys with the Ashen Spears' supplies, and set off back through Sarkash.
On the way, one night, they could hear growls and chomping sounds from a group of loudly feeding beasts, but they encountered nothing else. On the 16th of Kytorn, Euzebius body expired. On the 20th of Kytorn, they reached a settlement - Urvarg still in her lizard form. Seeing her, the peasants scattered in panic. She was surrounded by guards. Heneck quickly explained the situation to the guards. Urvarg transformed back into a human form, Larv covered her with a blanket and bought simple clothes for her. Heneck's intervention helped her regain freedom thanks to her merits, but she was warned that such incidents should not happen again.
I have a feeling that similar situations will happen to Urvarg (after all, the flaw she rolled for her character is forgetting important things), and in other conditions, she will likely face a much more aggressive reaction from both the people and the clergy or law enforcement.
The heroines asked Heneck to accompany them to the inn, where they found brother Nasbert. He was surprised to see them, and the girls told him that the rest of the mission's members had perished. He asked for proof of Akünh's defeat - they didn't have her head or heart with them. They only showed him a golden medallion, which the monk took. Heneck confirmed their story, noting, however, that he didn't witness the final battle himself, but the vortex had in fact disappeared, as did the unnatural cold. Nasbert also asked about other groups of adventurers, which the heroines hadn't encountered on their way. The monk paid them a reward totaling 875 silver pieces (each one was left with a hefty share, given the death of 3 party members) and quickly left. The monk went to the Shadow King's court to thank for the help in this mission and then set off to his superiors. Heneck eyed the sack of coins the heroines received and argued that he deserved something too. He even insinuated that they might have had something to do with Captain Vradolak's unit's death and could make his suspicions known within the palace. The girls agreed to give him 60 silver pieces, which satisfied him.
In the end, Heneck took their animals (the horse and the donkey), which the girl never mentioned were their, and the soldier assumed were fair spoils from the defeated cultists, he also took off with Euzebius' necrotic whip. Overall, he made a killing from the whole expedition.
Entries in the Book of the Dead:
†Euzebiusz Defekator, whose spirit left his body, taken by the spiral crown
†Adalberta von Dup, torn apart by a horned beast
†Theras, torn apart by a maw priest in the Ziggurat of Death
No comments:
Post a Comment