Category: Session Reports

We resume the game as the PCs stand across the street from the estate of Scumtown noble Rivas Greel, back in an alley. Mick, disguised as a crippled beggar, has just failed to pick the magic dagger from Rivas’s pocket, but succeeds in a deception roll to cover up his attempted theft as the simple clumsiness of a stooped panhandler.

They know that Rivas and his bodyguard Larsh have left for the evening, so they decide to look around the walls of the estate. The estate sits on a square lot, 120′ x 120′. They go down the narrow alley on the west side, bordered by 3 multi-story buildings. The wall is 15′ high, made of stone. Mick examines the wall and decides he can probably climb it. He makes is roll. Debi and Simon wait below. As Mick reaches the top, he peeks over. He can see that the wall is 2′ thick. He can see trees in front of him through the heavy nighttime fog as well as the house, which is three stories high. Dim light shines through the curtains of most of the windows, but is brighter in the middle window of the second floor. As Mick raises himself higher her hears something moving in the treeline and fog and hears quiet snarling sounds. He drops back down and reports to his companions.

They continue down the alley, and at the far end Mick does the same thing. In that far corner of the yard he sees a small building, and beyond it another small shack. He again hears movement and snarling and sees two large wolf-like creatures coming toward the wall, each with a spiked collar. The collars also have metal wolf face piece facing forward, similar to the image on the wolf amulets worn by Rivas, Larsh, and the goblin gate keeper.  He drops down and reports. Debit make a history roll, recalling lore she has read about creatures called Worgs — huge twisted wolves of evil temperament, what were ridden by goblins into battle in past ages.

They turn the corner and enter the alley behind the house. On this side there are two buildings, then a small stone shed, and two buildings. They examine the shed. It has a locked heavy wood door. There is a very small window. It is dark inside. As they get to the next corner, just to test the water, Simon casts a Thaumaturgy spell, creating the squawking of a bird in a tree, loud enough for the worgs to hear. They start making noise. Then the PCs hear a harsh squeaky voice yelling at the animals in an unknown language and they quiet down.

Deciding that they really have no clear objective inside the house, and having found no easy and safe way into the grounds, they decide to return to the Eye of the Beholder tavern to confer.

At the Eye they see the mysterious thief they have encountered a couple of times, who Mick has somewhat befriended. After they’ve been there an hour, Rivas and Larsh walk in. Apparently the Eye is now one of Rivas’s preferred drinking spots. The group brainstorms ways to relieve Rivas of the dagger. They consider having Debi use Charm Person on the bodyguard and various other tactics. They also consider paying the thief to create some sort of distraction to draw the bodyguards’s attention while Mick attempts to lift the knife.

Mick approaches the thief and they finally introduce themselves, learning that the thief’s name is Slovas. Mick makes his proposal. About this time Rivas sees Debi in the bar and is DELIGHTED. “AHHH…the talented elf! Sing us a song, elf! Sing us a song!”. Put on the spot, Debi takes the stage, takes out her lyre, composing and singing “The Ballad of the Worgs” on the spot. Hearing the subject of the song Rivas is even more delighted. Debi makes a great performance roll. All eyes are on her. Mick and Slovas start to move, while Simon sits tight and keeps an eye on things.

Suddenly behind Rivas, near the bar, Slovas pushes a man and loudly accuses him of trying to pick his pocket! Slovas makes a very effective Deception roll. Mick has moved into position. Even Larsh turns his attention to the uproar. As Larsh and Rivas turn, Mick deftly removes the dagger from inside Rivas’s tunic!

Seeing that Mick has finished his crime, Slovas stops the commotion, looks at the man and says “Oh – I am sorry! I thought you were someone else!” and embraces the man in friendship, picking his pocket in the process.

Slovas leaves the tavern. Mick quietly leaves as well, meeting up with Slovas outside and paying him for his work. Simon quietly leaves. Debi finishes her song, leaving the crowd and Rivas in a great mood. She tips Vern the barkeep as she leaves. As she is walking out she hears Rivas loudly order a steak…

The PCs leave the area and go to Mick’s mentor’s house. Blix Yodarian, the 300 year old gnome Arcane Trickster is glad to see them, even at this late hour. He is impressed by their work, and tells Mick that he believes Mick is ready to start learning some magic, having proven himself by getting the dagger. Blix casts an Identify spell on the weapon. It is finely crafted and of amazing quality, with jewels in the hilt, and a pommel shaped like a hideous monster. Despite its evil appearance, Blix determines it is not cursed, but is in fact magic. The group decides that Mick should keep it. It is a +1 magic dagger.

They decide to go to the Temple of Ahki in the morning to show it to Abbot Lightman.

End of Session
XP awards: total for 2 sessions, fantastic roleplaying, use of non-combat skills and abilities, thinking on their feet, tactics, etc. 165XP
Game days elapsed: still 4

On the way out of the Temple of Sethi the party stops to check a few things. They discover that the dagger in the skull, on the sacrificial platform, is only a fancy lever to open the secret door, not a real dagger. Mick finds another secret door, but is unable to figure out how to open it.

They go back to the Temple of Ahki, so that Simon can report in to Abbot Lightman regarding the excursion. The Abbot compliments them on a job well done, accepts 25gp for the temple from the loot found, and casts spells on the magic ruby, discovering it is cursed. Again, he compliments the group on using Debi’s Mage Hand spell to handle it, rather than touching it directly. He orders that it be locked away in the temple’s vault and made secure.

The Abbot says that the evil cleric is not talking. Simon can tell he is frustrated, as he doesn’t want to let her go, but also has no desire to keep prisoner in the temple’s dungeon indefinitely. Debi suggests that you might catch more flies with honey, and asks to take the cleric some blankets and some wine to try to loosen her tongue.

As Simon leads Debi down to the small cell block in the basement, Mick chats up Abbot Lightman to find out about temple.

In the basement, Simon and Debi come to the wooden door to the small row of cells. Debi opens the viewing window and sees the cleric asleep on a stone slab, gagged, with her hands bound in front of her. Debi casts a Charm spell on her from behind the door (DM rolls in secret for the cleric’s save — which is a natural 20! Secret roll – Debi doesn’t know if it worked). They enter the cell, removing the gag but not the bonds, and offer her some wine. Debi uses her high charisma to great effect, softening the woman’s mood a bit. Simon plays bad cop to some extent. Debi play a song on her lyre, about the recent adventure. The cleric compliments her, still refuses to give her name, but does say that if they release her she’ll take them back to the temple and show them what that ruby is for, which is valuable info. Then she clams up again.

Abbot Lightman suggests that the group get some sleep, that Mick get cleaned up (he is still slimed up from the monster fight), and the celebrate their success. He praises Simon for his skill as well as his friends.

The next day they meet at the Eye of the Beholder for lunch. While there a larger party enters the tavern. The center of attention is a man recognized by Mick as a “Scumtown Noble” name Rivas Greel. He and his party are loud and celebratory. Debi takes the stage to entertain and get a good view of the tavern. Mick sees the thief he met up on the roof a few days before in the bar. They all notice that Rivas is eating his steak with a very very nice jewel-hilted dagger. This draws Mick’s attention. He wanders by the table and overhears Rivas bragging about his recent adventure and engages Rivas in conversation.  Entertained by Debi’s music Rivas is in a great and talkative mood. His massive bodyguard is stern and unimpressed. Apparently he recently “lead” a group of adventurers to the Old City, days away in the mountains, where a few perished but the rest got away with loot, including this beautiful dagger! He LOVES it. The PCs notice that the pommel on the weapon is molded into the likeness of demon, much like the statues they saw in the Temple of Sethi. (at this point we’ve made lots of perception and skill rolls with a lot of roleplaying interaction).

Simon quietly says a prayer — actually a Detect Magic spell — and sees that dagger has a magic aura. The PCs also notice that Rivas and his bodyguard are both wearing small wolf-face amulets. These are also radiating magic (which I forgot to tell the PCs, and will have to tell on the next session).

The Rivas party breaks up and Rivas and the bodyguard leave. Debi and Mick stealth along the busy streets trailing them deeper into Scumtown. They see them go up to an estate with 15′ stone walls and enter the front gate.

The group meets back up and consults with Abbot Lightman and Mick’s mentor, Blix Yodarian.

The Abbot suggest to Simon that he should investigate, since the dagger does look like it could be connected to whatever evil source the cult worships. Blix Yodarian, a 300 year old gnome Arcane Trickster and Mick’s mentor, is excited and impressed by his student’s exploits. He tells Mick that if he’ll bring that dagger to him to see (stealing it from Rivas Greel), he thinks Mick will be ready to start learning some magic. He says, regarding Rivas, “the fool doesn’t even know what he’s got!”, adding the he’d pilfer the house too.

The group scouts out Rivas’s estate, but can’t see a lot due to the high walls. There is a tall house, probably three stories, and trees on the other side. Rather then burgle the place, they decide to try picking Rivas’s pocket and getting the dagger as a first try.

Night falls. The fog rolls in.

Debi uses her disguise kit to make Mick up as an old beggar. The group waits in an alley across the street, and Mick takes to the role out on the sidewalk, walking like a stooped cripple and begging from passersby. Finally Rivas and his bodyguard come out the gate. The teams sees the gate is opened by a skinny goblin. Quickly, Debi gives Mick Bardic Inspiration, and Simon casts bless on him. Properly magically boosted, Mick approaches the duo. Rivas is still in a fantastic mood, and says “Larsh, give this man a few coppers.”  Mick accepts the offer in his cup and falls upon Rivas in gratitude, attempting to steal the dagger from inside his tunic. Mick fails his roll badly! He then makes a Deception roll with a very high roll, and manages to play off the incident as clumsiness. The bodyguard pulls him away and the pair continue on their way.

End of session. Excellent roleplaying! The group will continue to Plan B in the next session.

Game days elapsed: 4
Time in session. 3.5 hours
XP awards (to be added at the end), 30 for fantastic roleplaying! So proud of our players! Great stuff! and 25 for great use of skills and abilities out of combat. Resourceful and creative.

We join the game where we left off. The PCs have just defeated and bound what appears to be a priestess of an evil cult, the one that Simon had been tasked by his Abbot at the Temple of Ahki to watch.

They take her to Simon’s temple, where they meet with Abbot Lightman. He congratulates Simon on a successful mission and thanks the others. Examining the robes of the captured cleric, he identifies her as a member of the Cult of Sethi, an evil sect that disappeared from Langwon decades earlier for unknown reasons. He detects magic on the scroll case they recovered in Session 1, and then Dispels Magic on the warding spell that has been cast on it. Inside they find a simple map depicting the street and buildings around DemonHeads Brewery, a producer of ale in Langwon. Mick remembers (makes a roll) that he’s been in the area before. Apparently the brewery and the street, as well as the associated plaza, are name after the two statues of demon heads that stand along the sidewalk outside the brewery. Legend has it that during the old days, from time to time, the heads would moan and scream in the middle of the night. While this has not happened in decades, the area has become known for that legend, thus the brewery, etc.

Abbot Lightman, impressed by Simon and his friends’ success, tasks Simon with further investigating the map.  The group accepts. They go to the brewery late at night. Mick uses the map to locate what appears to the trigger for a secret door on the back of the building. The team decides a long rest is in order, plus some planning. They agree to meet up again in the morning.

The next day, Debi Harree goes back to the Eye of the Beholder and asks the bartender Vern what he knows about the brewery. He doesn’t know much except the ale is good.

The group goes to DemonHeads Brewery pub for lunch, to investigate. They have lunch and some ale. It seems to be a legitimate business. They see nothing weird, except that under the somewhat goofy “demon” decorative motif Simon notices what look like real religious icons of the Cult of Sethi. Debi inquires about entertaining at the pub and auditions. She is immediately hired to play that night.

Leaving the pub, they encounter a noble beating a child servant. Mick intervenes and tries picking the man’s pocket. He fails, and the man starts a commotion. Mick runs.

That night the PCs return to the DemonHeads Brewery Pub. Debi entertains the crowd with her songs and stories, and earns some good money. They close the place up. The PCs head around back. From about 25 feet away, Debi uses Mage Hand to trigger the secret door. Mick looks in. A landing and a steep flight of stairs going down. Simon ritual casts detect magic, and also casts the Light cantrip on his mace. Mick is leading. He sees a landing at the bottom leading down a short stone hallway with an arched ceiling. Beyond the arched opening at the end is a 15′ x 15′ room with an 8 foot ceiling, with a magical red glow illuminating the space. A door is in the middle of the opposite wall. The group stands back, and Debi uses Mage Hand to open the door. Two crossbow bolts fly across in front of the door. None of the PCs are in the right row to get hit, though Mick is close!

Beyond that door is a long room with a 15′ ceiling. Inside are 3 statues of clearly evil abominations. There are two troughs full of human bones. At the other end, raised 5′, is an alter. They see that looks like a sacrificial table atop it.

Debi notices that the air is fresh in this temple. They notice two 3′ diameter holes in the ceiling. Apparently this is ventilation.

They examine the room closely. On the sacrifice table is a stone skull attached to the table, with a silver dagger stuck in it. Mick the rogue is very interested in the silver dagger. They all back up, and Debi again uses Mage Hand, this time to attempt to take the dagger. It doesn’t budge. She tries moving it back and forth. It moves, and a secret door opens behind the alter.

Mick explores the opening. To the left he and the group discover a ladder leading up to a landing, which in turn leads to another ladder that goes up one of the ventilation shafts. He climbs it, coming to an iron grate near the top. He can tell he is just below one of the demon heads on the street outside the brewery. He reports back to the group, and they surmise that in the heyday of the cult, sounds of the sacrificial victims were heard up on the street, though the ventilation shafts, from the open mouths of the demon heads. The one just explored served as an emergency escape from the ceremonial temple.

To the right they find 1) a very narrow passageway leading one way and 2)a room containing some old storage crates, but also with a metal demon head sculpture on the wall. Mick explores the narrow passageway, discovering that it is the service corridor for a couple of crossbow traps. He finds one that the group didn’t trip, as well as the one they did. He returns with the information. In his absence Simon has again ritual cast his Detect Magic spell, and does find magic coming from the sculpture. The three adventurers search the room for the arrow holes they suspect may be there. They find two on each of the walls to the side of the demon face sculpture, clearly set up to create a crossfire of bolts hitting anyone examining the sculpture.

Debi uses Mage Hand to place a silver piece in the demon’s mouth. Nothing happens. She used the hand to push down on the demon’s protruding tongue. They are all about 10′ from the mouth, and out of range of the known crossbow traps. As she pushes the tongue down, a bolt is fired out of the the mouth, hitting Mick square in the chest and doing a lot of damage. He drops, badly injured but not out. He drinks one of the three healing potions provided by Abbot Lightman and is OK.

Debi continues to test the demon head with Mage Hand. She pushes in one of the eyes and they all hear a click from inside the head but nothing happens. She pushes up on the tongue, and the demon’s jaw drops down, revealing a pile of gem stones, including one very big ruby which is what Simon’s Detect Magic spell was picking up.

The air in the middle of the room shimmers and a portal opens.

A ghastly tube of pale slimy flesh falls out of the portal, plopping to the floor. The creature has a around mouth full of teeth, and large disgusting pores along its side.

The PCs attack. Mick does damage with his weapons. Simon calls upon the power of Ahki to blast the abomination with Sacred Flame, but the creature is unaffected (rolls 20 for a save). Debi attacks, doing damage with her short sword.

The creature turns its side toward Mick and one of its pores vomits forth a disgusting slime all over the rogue. He fails his save and is incapacitated (sickened) for his next round.

The battle continues!  Simon batters the creature with his mace, Debi slices with her sword, while singing to Mick, bestowing Bardic Inspiration on him. The monster attacks Mick with a bite from its grotesque moth but misses.

The team then focuses more attacks on the creature, all hitting. Simon smites the creature in the name of Ahki, his mace ablaze with his Light spell. His blow ruptures the thing, slime and bile flooding over the floor.

The team takes the gems, using Mage Hand to handle the enchanted Ruby until they can discover its nature.

They leave the complex.

End of Session

Game days expired: 2

EXP. 170 each.

It’s 10pm and the fog has long-since rolled into Langwon for the night, like it does almost every night. The moon is full, and shrouded by the fog. The stars are visible only from the highest towers in the city – the stars are for the rich.

On the edge of Scumtown is The Eye of the Beholder (known locally simply as “the Eye”), a small and cozy tavern. Above the large fireplace  is a huge eye, taken from a Beholder. At one table a group of men is playing cards. At the bar two women, each carrying a longswords, are drinking, talking, and laughing loudly as they enjoy flagons of ale. A beggar goes from table to table with a cup. At one table a woman in a fine red cloak (too fine for this place) speaks quietly and secretively with and older man with a white beard.

The Player characters…

• Debbi Herri, a local musician and urban elf (and known to a few as an authentic bard) has come the Eye and plays with Greenteeth and the Darrels, a fairly terrible music troupe from outside the city walls. Her skill instantly raised the quality and the tip jar begins to fill.
• Young half-elf cleric Simon Templar follows the lady in red to the tavern, having been charged to keep track of her by his superiors.
• Mick Flynn, human thief, out looking for opportunity, notices the out-of-place lady in red going into the Eye. and follows her in out of curiosity.

The beggar successfully begs a few copper from Mick and Simon as Debbi plays on stage and observes the suspicious couple at the table, signaling her suspicion to Vern, the bartender. The lady in red and the old man tell the beggar to fuck off when he approaches them. He apologizes and makes his way out of the tavern. The old man suddenly stands up as if looking for something. He thinks the woman has stolen a scroll from him that he was trying to sell her. “You idiot!” she says “it was the beggar!” They get up to chase the beggar.

All the PCs follow them. Up the street the PCs see the couple has stopped at the entrance to a narrow alley between two buildings, and then follow the thief down there. The three PCs quickly introduce themselves to each other. Debbi and Simon follow the others down the alley, where they see that the beggar, who was obviously a thief, is climbing the side wall of a building, approaches the roof 3 floors up. Seeing this from the street, Mick climbs the building in front of him.

Up on the roof, Mick speaks in Thieves Cant with the thief, who is quite proud of himself. Below, the lady in red leaves the old man, exits the alley, and walks around the building, where the thief drops a small bone scroll case to her. He was working for her!! Debbi and Simon see this. On the roof, the thief takes off.

Simon, who knows the woman is part of evil cult, walks right up to her an uses his Command spell. “GIVE” he says, holding out his hand. She fails a fairly easy saving throw and hands the scroll to him. Realizing he has cast a spell on her, she says “THAT was a mistake” and casts her Chill Touch to attack Simon. However, Debbi has successfully use Vicious Mockery on the woman, now clearly a cleric, and she attacks with disadvantage, missing Simon!

From the roof Mick throws a dagger, hitting the evil priestess. More fighting. Debbi casts Hideous Laughter on the cleric, who again fails a save. The evil cleric falls to the ground laughing hideously and uncontrollably. Simon ties her up and gags her!

End of session. The PCs have captured a 5th level cleric of an evil Anti-Source cult, and have the scroll she sought to acquire. Simon can tell from the runes on the bone case — it is EVIL.

XP: 150 each (50 for great roleplaying, 50 for clever and bold use of skills and abilities, and 50 for defeating a foe who could have killed them had they not used great teamwork and tactics.

Very interesting session for the DM to run. Not too many D&D games end with enemies still alive.