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Kaveman26
2014-01-13, 12:41 PM
So I wanted to run a mega-dungeon campaign after completing a very extensive open world sandbox game. The DM Screen was passed back to me after a lengthy hiatus and I decided to enact an idea I had been tossing around in various threads here for some time. The first session was unlike anything I ever dreamed to expect and while I have recapped a bunch of my groups sessions before, this one is on a whole different level.

If this first session is any indication I am in for a world of hurt.

Campaign Premise:

On the border of three nations a complex which stretches deep below the earth is discovered. For one hour every thirty days, the doors to this dungeon come open, and at the conclusion of one hour, no force mundane ,arcane, or divine can keep them open. At first this structure was deemed an oddity. Once tales of those who survived the thirty days and exited with vast wealth and long forgotten relics spread it became a boomtown. It has been six months since the doors opened for the first time and strange tales of those altered by their experiences have been whispered.

Three base camps exist outside the dungeon:

The Northern Camp, controlled by Frost Giants and presided over by their Jarl. Most of the humanoid bands (orcs,ogres etc) make this their camp. Thievery is harshly punished.

The Eastern Camp which is presided over by the magistrate of a human kingdom. Well organized, and most reputable of the three, also the most congested and hardest to gain entry and exit.

The Western Camp which is the Thay camp. Prices are the highest, but the merchandise is the most valuable. Crime is rampant and it has more of a survival of the fittest feel to it.

The hour of entry is controlled chaos, or complete madness depending on the point of entry. Merchants and Vendors of all sort litter the territory around the dungeon and wares range from the genuine oddity to random garbage. Adventuring supplies are all available but at inflated rates. Trade routes into the territory are all through rugged terrain and heavily poached by bandits.
Inside the complex are interior vendors, all heavily paranoid and willing to sell wares at staggeringly high prices.

The World In General:

*Item Crafting has been lost to antiquity. Brew Potion, and Scribe Scroll are the only remaining craftable skills.

*Magic items are vastly overpriced based around normal expectations. Any wonderous item or magical arms/armor are heirlooms, rare and treasured.

*No characters exist beyond level 9 in the world. For intents and purposes it is as if the world is just breaking free from the constraints of an E6 setting.

*The Drow were shattered and spread out from the Underdark. They exist now as nomads and wanderers. Lloth is but a whisper to history though some do still cling to the old ways.

*Planar Travel is all but eliminated, and those scant few demons and devils that exist on the Material Plane are awesome in power and infamy.

*Dragons are scarce. Few are ever sighted, and fewer still ever engaged.

Game Mechanics:

*There is an extensive “Ban” list of spells and items. Some spells have been dramatically altered.

*Level caps are illusionary, once the adventure takes off any perceived limitations on level or ability will go out the window.

*Magic items and items of power will be available once they are located in the dungeon. Martial Classes dependent on gear will not be gimped, just delayed.

Ban List:
All Teleport Spells and items
All Flight spells and items
All Raise Dead/Reincarnate etc
Terrain Altering Spells, StoneShape, Soften Rock, Earth to Mud etc.
All Calling Spells


Altered List:
Summon Chains:All summoning spells now have a casting time of 1 hour, and the duration is 1 minute per level.

Create Food/Water: May only feed one creature per casting. May be used to alter food from one edible form to another. I.E. meat to fruit or fruit to meat.

Detect Secret Doors, Knock, and other trap locating, door opening, trap disabling spell now provides a bonus to a rogue or similiarly trained skill user.

Session 1:Rolling With My Gnomie’s


So with preparations as complete as they can get I finally am introduced to my new group. They have elected to enter via the Eastern Gate, and their group leader is the first to enter the vicinity of the dungeon camp.

She is called Seraphim…a dainty and demure half elf with ivory skin and flowing golden hair. Her voice is musical and she is bundled head to toe in snow fox furs. She hails from a remote tribe of elves in a frozen country and as she moves from stall to stall she enthralls and entices just about every merchant with her grace and beauty. She is well versed in diplomacy and actively engages most of the magistrates official’s and vendors to her favor. Her player (previously Kemen) hands me her character sheet.

DM: So your flirty and entrancing half elf is a NE witch focused on poisons and evocation spells huh? And I see that she has several undead minions from Command Undead?

Seraphim: Yep. She took trustworthy as a trait so she could have Diplomacy as a class skill.

Waiting for her outside the camp are the rest of her party. Most noticeable are the nearly 7 foot tall skeletally thin twins. Both wear long black robes with hoods, their waists adorned with simple rope sashes. Across their backs are matching scythes with bony handles. They are pasty to the point of nearly looking undead, and while they are extremely slender, there is corded muscle underneath, and if you had the fortitude to really focus under the hood you would see elongated canines that could easily pass for fangs. They are introduced as Hades and Pluto. Both have this glazed over, far away look in their eyes, and they each have constant half smile that seems vacant and forced, the effect is unsettling and very bizarre.

DM: You made matching dhampir undead lords?

Twins: Yes, we worship the literal incarnation of death and this hallowed place is surely his one and true domain. We come to apply our unique brand of worship in this holiest of his temples. To him we shall render many offerings.

In their wake is a powerfully built spectre in full plate armor, heavily ensconced with skulls and reliefs of utter anguish and depravity. The figure in the armor is vaguely humanoid, like a serpent given limbs and stocked with muscle. His visage is grim beyond mortality and there is an odor of the grave that emanates from his center. A shield and scimitar hang at his sides like very old friends. Emblazoned on his shield is a sigil, that of an open crypt. In Yuan Ti runes is a motif “The grave is a resting place only for those who lack the conviction to rise”

DM: And this grim warrior’s name? A: Dis Pater

Dis Pater: Yes, I serve the God as well.

By serving the God he means that he is a literal servant of death, Dis Pater is a knight of the sepulcher (cause anti paladin wasn’t extreme enough) and he serves the twins cause.

In control of their goods and handling their mounts and tack is a Hobogoblin with a naginata strapped across his back. An assemblage of strange mounts dot the pack mules and horses. The surly and constantly stalking goblinoid is moving and forth and seemingly controls the animals with the barest motion of his hand or even the slightest movement of his head.

DM:So…Cavalier, Barbarian, and you are going to add Ranger

Skalagrim: Controlling animals is what I was born to, every path has it’s own quirks. I just looked at them all.

Skalagrim’s goal is to take Horse Master at level 6. With the ability Expert Trainer he can take the feat at level six and treat his character level as his effective druid level for his Cavalier mount, his barbarian mount, and his ranger mount. He will basically have three fully scaled druid animal companions. It seems a bit unusual, and perhaps unbalanced (certainly not as intended) but we run with it for the time being.

Lastly, almost hidden amidst the chaos of their mounts is a tiny cloaked figure virtually invisible on the back of a spinosaur, it is of all things a goblin and he looks like MacGuyver if MacGuyver had a severe speed and cocaine addiction. Various pieces of disassembled traps and artifice litter the saddlebags on his mount and he has a constant unnerving shake to him.
Skalagrim shakes his head at the goblin and names him Chomper.

Chomper is a Horse Lord/Trapper Ranger who has a spinosaur as his companion and is heavily invested in Stealth and Traps.

So I have a pair of undead lord clerics, a socially gifted witch, a lunatic antipaladin, an animal companion obsessed warrior, and a twitchy goblin Macguyver on a dinosaur.

They are like a self-contained gothic circus and once the rest of the group hits the main camp they are sure to raise considerable eyebrows. The last time I had evil characters they pretty much all backstabbed and murdered each other, but they assure me that everyone is on the same page and they will play nice (with each other anyway).


Pluto:
Dhampir Undead Lord 5: Str 14 Dex 14 Con 12 Int 11 Wis 17 Cha 18
Feats:BF:Command Undead, Spell Focus:Necromancy,Selective Channeling,Undead Master

Hades:
Dhampir Undead Lord 5:Str 14 Dex 14 Con 12 Int 11 Wis 17 Cha 18
Feats:Spell Focus Necromancy,Selective Channeling,Undead Master

Dis Pater:
Nagaji Knight of the Sepulcher 5:Str 18 Dex 14 Con 14 Int 10 Wis 13 Cha 18
Feats:Channel Smite,Extra Lay of Hands,Extra Lay of Hands

Skalagrim
Hobgoblin Mounted Fury1/Cavalier4:Str19 Dex 14 Con18 Int12 Wis14 Cha 7
Feats:Calvary Formation,Power Attack,CleaveMounted Combat

Seraphim
Half Elf Gravewalker (Patron-Elements)5:Str10 Dex14 Con12 Int20 Wis12 Cha 16
Feats: Skill Focus Diplomacy, Brew Potion,Extra Hex (Cackle),Ability Focus (Hex),Extra Hex (Cauldron)
Hexes: Evil Eye, Cackle, Cauldron

Chomper
Goblin Horse Lord/Trapsmith Level 5:Str 12 Dex 22 Con15 Int14 Wis15 10 Cha 5
Feats:Calvary Formation,Mounted Combat,Two Weapon Fighting,Weapon Finesse

Undead Minions:
Witch:
Via Bonethrall (5HD): Skeletal Unicorn
Via Command Undead (5HD):Skeletal Grizzly Bear
Undead Lord 1:
Corpse Companion (5HD):Skeletal Centaur
Command Undead (9HD):
Via Animate Dead (20HD-8 open): Zombie Hill Giant
Undead Lord 2:
Corpse Companion (5HD):Skeletal Centaur
Command Undead (9HD):
Via Animate Dead (20HD-8 open):Zombie Hill Giant
Animal Companions:
Skalagrim:Heavy Horse (via Mounted Fury)+Anklosaur from Cavalier
Chomper: Spinosaur via Horse Lord

Every character has equipped themselves with masterwork weapons and armor along with spare/range weapons and masterwork tools where relevant. The dinosaurs and horse are all armored, and they have outfitted most of their undead with various saddlebags, backpacks and provisions. Seraphim has built a good stockpile of potions mostly cure and inflict spells but also some such as hold person,blindness/deafness, and alter self.

All told they still have over 40,000 in liquid resources. The majority of which they are hoping to use and acquire extra dimensional storage or magic weapons.

Amidst the outside bazaar atmosphere she skips and moves from vendor to vendor and from cart to cart, and comes up with only one bag of holding for sale. A type one for 35,000. Magical arms are scantly available from outside, and only for trade. Before they can take their first step into the dungeon they all have to confer on how they will spend remaining funds, or if they stand pat and and wait until their next exit to spend their money.

Seraphim: My instinct is to believe that coin and gem bare little value in this vicinity. At least not for the goods we seek. Best served in soaking all the money we have into poison, and further scrolls/potions.

Dis Pater: We should maintain a reserve for bribes, otherwise sure.
Twins: Agreed.
Chomper: Need more parts…but that won’t run more than a few hundred.

Skalagrim: Did they have any cheap horses? True nags or run down workhorses? The ones that look one step from the grave?

Seraphim: Not that they were advertising, but they were all certainly amidst the stables and corrals.

Skalagrim: Buy as many as you can. Preferably broken down oxen or old oxen.

Pluto: What need for broken down horses that will leech our supplies?

Skalagrim *grinning*: Three Fold. First: A stampede has immense value, Second: It’s supplies that walk, Third: Once we get our supplies from their flesh, we have fresh bones for skeletons. Should come cheap too.

Add to their list of minions 25 head of cattle and 8 badly aged or injured light horse. Their last piece of business before actually entering the dungeon is to arrange entry into the dungeon. For this camp everything is based on two factors:

1st: Time spent waiting for entry-I.E. first to arrive gain vouchers for their place in line, and are then free to move about, and if you were passed over from the previous month then you get higher priority for the following month.

2nd: Donations to the monarchy can escalate your priority for entry. Yeah it’s basically a bribe in a tuxedo, but morally they are fine with that. Entry is limited to 10 “parties” each with a six minute window to get inside, anyone or anything not inside within those six minutes is not allowed access.

Seraphim inquires about the current “reservation” status and logistics for her party. She is politely informed there are currently 23 parties with priority ahead of her own, and that with three days until entry the best that could be arranged is a donation that would bump them to 11th, so first crack to entry the following month.

They are more than three days distance from the next nearest camp, and have no desire to wait an additional month. She actually offers nearly their entire remaining reserve (close to 30,000) and is still told 11th is the best they can offer. She accepts the initial donation (5,000) and takes her voucher back to the party. They are hardly pleased with this outcome.

Skalagrim: Why settle for 11th? If you couldn’t manipulate a toady, then you should have gotten us and we would have intimidated him.

Seraphim: No need for that. If we want to work from this camp in the future we can’t go murdering all the administrators.

Dis Pater: Then what are you suggesting? That we wait a month?

Seraphim: No…simply that we murder the party that is tenth in line. Or at least disrupt them enough to cause them to give up their place. Killing someone out here is murder and could lead to execution. Killing people inside is status quo.

The whole market is crowded and there are small camps of would be adventurers all over the place. It is an easy enough matter to locate party #10, but a whole different matter to attack them. Party #10 consists of two elf archers, a gnome bard, a dwarf cleric and a human shield fighter. They are all well equipped and apparently well supplied. Ambushing them in an open market is ill advised, so they decide to have Seraphim do a drive by. The alluring witch parades past most of the group camps to a mix of cat calls and whistles while Chomper watches from obscurity for reactions from the party. The gnome definitely takes a second glance, the elves look a bit disgusted and the fighter’s jaw is hanging open.

She circles back to the group outside the camp and they compare notes. The goal is to pull at least one of the party to the forest where he can be ambushed and killed. Then use him as bait for some or the rest of the group to come get him. The ruse they are going with is straight forward seduction with a bluff check from Seraphim to convince the fighter to follow her back to her camp for some privacy. Once loverboy is toes up, she will return and ask for help carrying their friend back as he got a little carried away with the wine and can’t walk.

The first part of that plan goes off without a hitch. Fighter boy dopily walks into the mass of undead and is quickly dispatched. The second part hits a bit of a snag. They are smart enough to send Chomper as Sera’s shadow in case something is amiss otherwise this could have been severe. When she returns to inform the party of their warrior’s inebriation she is met with very questioning stares.

Gnome: Colin never drinks wine, not a drop. Can’t stand the taste of grapes.

Dwarf: I am thinking you are not telling us the truth strumpet, and that the guards would be best suited to sorting this out.

Sera immediately puts on a great performance, great sobbing tears , total meltdown.

Seraphim: Please don’t! My pimp will kill me as soon as he finds out. If I delay too long in returning he will come looking for me and if I am with the guards he will kill your friend and then me. He is a savage hobogoblin with no remorse, I am just trying to survive. Please! Follow me back you will see what a brute he is. I was supposed to drag one or two of you back to a trap, but you are strong and number four, together you can beat him.

Elf: We have no reason to believe you. But our friend is in jeporady, for your sake pray he still lives. Reggie…you and Tanks follow the whore. Siblin and I will cover you from the trees by bow. If everything looks as she says then we will pepper the hobogoblin with arrows, and should we get Colin back then we make a case for supporting her with the guards. If he is dead, we kill them both and leave them to rot. Everyone got it?

Chomper: Heh Heh Heh. Yeah I got it.

As Seraphim meanders them through a winding path back to the group’s base, Chomper rushes back to warn everyone of what is going on and to set up a welcoming committee. They tie and bind the dead fighter after animating him as a zombie…just so he moves around a bit. Then Skalagrim plants himself with his horse near Colin while everyone else moves the mass of animals and skeletons back and away. Chomper sets himself up in well hidden spot near enough Skalagrim to help. Everyone else moves off quite a distance so as not to spook the incoming rescuers. Once Skalagrim makes contact he is going to stall for time to allow everyone to work their way back in.

Seraphim brings the gnome and dwarf in and cheerfully tries to finish her original ruse.

Sera: Alright boss, his friends are here to help carry him. You can untie him know…I’m sure he won’t try to fight you anymore.

There is the slightest hesitation when she sees him actually moving.

Skala: Your friend can’t hold his wine, and he is rude enough not to pay up front. I take you are also going to pick up the tab for his entertainment?

Tanks (dwarf):We are going to pick up your carcass from the dirt once we get our friend back you thug. See thing is, you are the one about to get rolled.

From the trees the two elves burst in with bows drawn and trained on the hobogoblin.

Elf 1: Drop the dagger, and maybe you can explain this away to the guards.

Seraphim falls to her knees clutching Elf 2 and begins sobbing.

Seraphim: Please don’t let him hurt me! Please…I …Inflict Serious Wounds on the elf.

Chomper:Leaping from the tree to make an attack against the dwarf.

Skalagrim: Hefting Naginata mid charge against elf 1.

The gnome is the only person that doesn’t suddenly have a face full of trouble and he tries to yank a whip free and trip Skalagrim, but Skala is already on the elf and swinging.

There is a bit of back forth the next round, but then the animals and faster skeletons hit the clearing and from there it’s curtains for the elves and dwarf. Somehow the gnome managed to avoid hostility and he is cowering against a tree trying to inch away.

Chomper is ready for his spinosaur to eat the gnome when Skalagrim stops him.

Skalagrim: What is your name little whipping boy?

Bard: Reggie..Reggie Burrows.

Skalagrim: You have a choice Reggie. We always have room for more zombies, or you can join us. Join us and we will not harm you out of spite or malice. Betray us and your bones will stay with us for eternity, dancing to whatever tune I see fit.

Bard: Why would you want me?

Skalagrim: Gnomes amuse me. And you survived. While they died you lived. Some call that cowardice, I call it pragmatism. Just like when that gate opens and everyone lines up, you are going to be pragmatic when you say your group had a falling out and you decided to merge your party with ours.

So…we haven’t even set foot in the dungeon yet and they have successfully rolled a john, murdered a straggler in cold blood, ambushed his comrades who were attempting to ambush them in a double cross and blackmailed an NPC to join their party. My what a heroic start.

Final supplies are gathered and Reggie amends some paperwork to bump the group to 10th on the list.*

When the morning arrives for them to enter everyone is fully assembled and eager for the doors to pop open, support teams await their heroes exits like boxing trainers between rounds, and several vendors who have established stands at the nearest rooms inside await their resupply orders. The gate itself is cordoned into two separate paths, an exit path and an entry path.

Skala and company are one of 10 groups gaining entry today, while an unknown amount of traffic will spill out, as the exiters clear out the vendors will take over the exit path and restock inside. There is a festive excitement to the whole process and the other nine groups are assembled early and chomping at the bit to get in.

Seraphim and Reggie hold the team’s place in line by themselves and survey the other teams. Most are well provisioned and multiple have mounts, but none has the over the top insane entourage like the PC’s. Several administrators question the bard and witch and ask about the rest of their comrades.

Seraphim: They are running a bit late, but nothing to be concerned about.

The instant the doors come open three bands of heroes come spilling out, all are haggard and clearly exhausted. But they are sharp enough to clutch precious items close to their bodies as they exit with their spoils. A few stragglers from splintered or broken groups make their way out over the next 30 minutes, and the vendors are moving at full steam. Team six is already inside when the rest of the PC’s show up. The Dhampir twins are at the head of the procession, they are chanting songs proclaiming the glory and majesty of death with full hearted enthusiasm. In their wake comes a graveyard’s circus of skeletons and zombies all in full black robes to make their undeath a bit more discrete. The robes pretty much fail miserably in this regard.

Everything becomes deafening silent except for the chanting. Skalagrim comes behind the twins…his anklosaur leading him, the stocky dinosaur has a black skull painted on his head and a tombstone painted on the mace end of it’s tail. Dis Pater follows them, helm up to reveal his reptilian ancestry, as he oozes arrogance from the back of a skeletal grizzly bear. Bringing up their rear is Chomper astride his Spinosaur, who is driving the cattle and horses before him.

Seraphim: Ahhh yes here they are.

Administrator: Reggie are you sure these are the folks you trust more than Tanks and Colin?

Reggie sneaks a furtive look at Skala, who somehow gets the anklosaur to start smashing the ground with his tail without a word.

Reggie: Yep…salt of the earth these fine folks are. Trust them with my life. *probably salt the earth behind them would be more accurate*

The last part is whispered under his breath, but Seraphim manages to hear it.

Seraphim: We are more concerned with reaping than sowing.

As she says this, she delicately mounts her skeletal unicorn, a truly macabre mount that is barded with the finest blue silk emblazed with snowflakes. The undead unicorn’s name is Snowflake I am told.

Me: Of course it is.

The entire gruesome caravan piles in during their six minutes and Chomper’s mount is the last thing through. The door closes behind them soon after and they are left to the mercies of the dungeon from this point forward. Inside it is surprisingly well lit, continual lights are evenly spaced down the entire corridor an apparent enterprise of those who enter. Some of the people in line commented on this very fact. If you find a place with no lights, then you can be confident it is new territory. Of the ten groups entering none are repeaters.

As for the other nine…they have all scattered further in. Something Skala and company are taking their time in doing. Their hesitation stems from the person limping his way down the hallway. A human man in once fine robes, now badly torn and burned. He is covered in blood and leaning heavily on his quarterstaff. He whimpers upon seeing the closed doors. So distraught over his plight he barely noticed the unseemly nature of those awaiting him.

Serpahim greets him warmly and asks his name.

Stratix: I am called Stratix, a sorcerer from the east. My group was mauled by dire tigers and then harried by gnolls. I am the lone survivor. We were so close to finding the third set of stairs down when they hit us. I was so close to getting out.

Reggie: Surely you have the means to stay near the entrance, you can make it a month at the front.

Stratix: How? I have nothing left to barter with, nothing left to sell. The vendors are hard pressed to feed themselves, they won’t spare anything for a poor vagabond broken by the deep.

Seraphim: Rest easy my friend. We will shelter you, we have plenty to eat and share. With your permission, I can administer healing.

Me: He has spellcraft on par with your own, any attempts at deception will be noticed, and while murder here it not exactly illegal there is certainly enough firepower within screaming distance to create complication.

Seraphim: No deception, true and honest healing.

Sera heals the wounds of the sorcerer and they give him both bread and water.

Seraphim: Join us friend. Share with us your knowledge of this place and we will see you through to the next opening. Once we make camp and get an adequate fire I am sure we can cook more filling fare.

Stratix is a bit more focused and less addled with his injuries dissipated and nourishment fulfilling it’s duty and his attention is a bit distracted by the appearance of his rescuers. However they did rescue him from the brink and with no other option he joins in with them.

Seraphim: Tell me good sir Stratix, what magics do you call your own. I confess to having knowledge of the arcane, but I am also curious to learn more about other’s domains.

Stratix: A bit of this, a bit of that.

She makes a decent enough diplomacy check and he is forthright enough to share his capabilities given the need to potentially employ them in the near to immediate future. The entourage drives forward down a long hallway that opens up the vendor’s hub. Four merchants have established footholds in the first set of rooms. Heavily guarded is each, with crates reaching the ceiling packed with various goods and stuffs. There is a branch that veers to the north, and branches that lead to the NW and NE, along with narrower passages to the West and East.

They learn that merchants have check points set up at the NW and NE passages, while the north is mostly unexplored. Too many people went missing searching the north for it be to properly tamed. So in total six merchants have wares, two of each basically charge tolls to pass through their sections. Two passages are open but more tightly confined. Not to be overly scientific they roll a d6, 1 W, 2 NW, 3 N 4 NE, 5 E and 6 roll again.
The dice decree that they head W. Stratix is quick to point out that he came from that direction and is not in a hurry to return.

Chomper: If you came from the West and have familiarity with the territory then safety is increased. There is strength in numbers and we have numbers. Perhaps we could even rescue your lost partners, and failing that find some peace for their afterlife.

Stratix: You are oddly considerate for one of your kind.
Chomper: My kind? You mean a ranger?
Dis Pater: I think he meant Goblin.
Stratix: No insult intended, simply expressing my surprise.
Chomper *shrugs his shoulders and grins*:No insult taken, thing is partner…down here race don’t matter. IF you are green, white, black, big or small you got one thing in common.
Stratix: What is that?
Chomper: You are always going to be something’s next meal.

They begin the journey west from inhabited turf, to previously fatal grounds. Room after room shows signs of occupation, battle and abandonment. Ashes from hasty fires, broken tools and pieces of armor the only evidence of those who came before. Several rooms bear the scorch marks of fireballs and the gnawed upon bones of the devoured dead. The tighter corridors force a single file march and their default March order becomes:

Chomper at the front on Spinosaur
The Twins to his flanks
Seraphim, Reggie and Stratix in the center
Dis Pater to their rear
Skalagrim with his anklo on the rear

The Centaur zombies clog up the space behind them as they act as stoppers to corral the cattle and horses.

Then they meet their first encounter.**A trio of large zombies (previously ogres) come shuffling down the hall with clubs. The clerics grin like it is Christmas…and Santa DM just gave them presents. The first encounter does nothing more than bolster their ranks with additional undead fodder, fodder they gleefully put on the more than front lines as disposable bodies.

The second “big encounter” is a larger habitat type room with some fresher dead bodies, it is the biggest chamber they have found yet, with one entrance and one exit. The room dips to a valley with rock formations and a pool of fetid water. Prowling the habitat are four sleek dire lions. They are certainly hungry and they both smell and hear cattle. To a starving predator “moo” is a welcome sound.

And thus was I introduced to the diamond offense of Pathfinder. Dis Pater becomes the point of the triangle and the two clerics takes up position on either side of him. In their center goes Skalagrim with his anklo covering his rear.Roaming around them is Chomper and his Spino. Forming a thirty foot circle around them and surrounding anything attacking them are the undead minions. Just beyond the cordon is Seraphim on Snowflake tossing hexes and spells. The lions try to swarm the point man, Dis Pater, and they are met with stiff and coordinated resistance. With reach from the center of the diamond Skalagrim is able to slash and stab at multiple targets. With minions providing flanking buddies Chomper is getting attack bonuses for his kukri’s and Dis himself is sturdy enough even without smite good being a factor.

Then the channeling begins. The twins can exclude four targets (Read: Chomper, Spino,Skala,Anklo) and their negative channeling heals Dis Pater, themselves and all the undead. Seraphim barely lifts a finger as she Reggie and Stratix watch on.

They stop short of re-animating the slain lions and instead, Chomper begins field dressing the animals for food. Dis Pater and Skalagrim start a cursory search for any other obvious dangers, and the twins redirect the undead to stop up the entrance and exit to the room after herding all the cattle inside.

With the room preliminarily secured they get down to real business.

Skalagrim: This is good enough for base camp I guess.

Seraphim: Dis Pater would you be a dear and check on Stratix, I am out of healing spells for the day and I want to make sure none of his injuries was more severe than I anticipated.

Stratix: I feel fine. It hardly is required.

Dis Pater: No worries. Only take a second. Charging channel smite with scimitar in two hands…

Reggie: you rescued him and now you are killing him???

Seraphim: Yes dear, he knows lightning bolt and I do wish to learn that particular spell.

Reggie: How can you learn it if he is dead?!?

Seraphim: The blood remembers. The blood always remembers.

As Chomper strips the bones of the lions he also salvages the bones from the lions den and begins erecting a crude throne from the remains. Stratix is murdered in cold blood and his blood drawn for Seraphim to use Blood Transcription, stealing his lightning bolt spell and teaching it to her spell poppet.

Sera is performing the ritual to teach her familiar, and Skalagrim shudders.

Skalagrim: Playing with her doll again…always creeps me out.

Reggie: You have performed cold blooded murder, reanimated the dead, blackmailed and coerced people for nothing other than wanting to avoid waiting in a line, you openly communication and associate with aberrant horrors and yet her familiar creeps you out?

Skalagrim: It’s not natural is all I’m saying.

The dire lion meat becomes their provisions for the day, and in a subversion of it’s intended use Purify Food and Water is used to alter the meat into a form edible for the cattle and horses. They literally feed the lions to their cows.

The lion habitat becomes “base camp”, the centaurs are left behind as guards for some of their supplies and provisions and they are instructed to not allow entry or exit to anyone except the group. It is their intention to act as a central hub and work their way out from there, and once they are confident that a better area is ready, they plan to move the herd (or what is left of it) to the new location. Not wanting to be wasteful…Chomper sets about butchering the deceased Stratix.

Reggie: Are you seriously adding cannibalism to the list of crimes you have already commited?

Everyone looks at each other at the table when I say that through Reggie and the clerics give me their in character grins in real life…
Hades+Pluto: Technically none of us are human, so it’s not cannibalism. More like eating a steak that used to talk back.

Reggie: I am thinking I might be better served just running and taking my chances in the dungeon.

Skalagrim: Now now Reggie. Things could be far worse. At least you are on our side. Much better to be with us, than against us.

Chomper takes the human leg that was cooking on the spit and laughs as sorcerer grease dribbles down his chin…

Chomper: I did warn him.
Sera: Oh?

Chomper: I told him we are always someone else’s next meal.

This is certainly the most bizarre first session to a game I can ever recall running.

*My original intention was to create a bit of drama with regards to them immediately entering and see if they bribed any other groups to hold off, and failing that they would have been grabbed with scant time remaining as another group withdrew their position. They obviously took a more direct approach.

**I had pre-planned the first several encounters as “breaking in” the party type stuff to fill the first several mostly empty sections. Little did I know Team Necromancer was in store.

ReaderAt2046
2014-01-13, 01:35 PM
So what are these "hex" powers Seraphim possesses? Also, could we get fanart of this party?

Kaveman26
2014-01-13, 01:38 PM
She took cackle, evil eye and cauldron.

They are class abilities principally tied around debuffs.

Cauldron gives alchemy boosts and brew potion as bonus feat.

Evil eye is a nasty debuff that is very hard to nullify.

Cackle extends duration of an active hex with move action.

I will try to exercise some Google fu to find what I perceive characters to look like. Would love others to contribute based on descriptions too.

QuintonBeck
2014-01-13, 02:12 PM
This is absolutely horrifying and awesome!

incandescent
2014-01-13, 02:26 PM
That was a pretty interesting read. I look forward to more :)

Axinian
2014-01-13, 02:54 PM
This is starting to look less like D&D and more like the war games it was based on :smalltongue: Seriously, they're gonna have to fight armies of guys to be challenged at all.

This is all pretty hilarious so far though! I usually ban evil characters but there's some good roleplay going on here.

Kaveman26
2014-01-13, 03:02 PM
They initially are treating it as such, I admire the fore planning to more or less synergize the party. But when they form up its going to be tough to crack.

If you swarm them they channel it like mad to soak damage and gain healing. If you send a single target they swarm it and debuff it down for the anti pally and cavalier to slaughter.

Concerns of food are secondary. They will eat what they kill.

A lot of my early stage encounters I have to scrap.

Some things planned will take on extra dimensions of awesome.

We rarely do evil. But give them credit....they went all in on the evil front.

Axinian
2014-01-13, 03:26 PM
There's obviously one really good way to challenge them, but you should save it for a special occasion


A more powerful necromancer. Have him suddenly gain control of their undead. That'll send em reeling.

Kaveman26
2014-01-13, 03:39 PM
Way ahead of you there. But as you said, kind of a one time

Joe the Rat
2014-01-13, 07:33 PM
Don't forget the joys of big AoEs... That's a lot of crunchy mook-monsters they've got running around, begging for a nice juicy fireball. Roasted marrow bones, anyone?

A party with a coherent theme, whoda thunk? I'd say the goblinoids are odd-men-out, except their beast-handling goes well with the cattle drive.

QuintonBeck
2014-01-13, 11:05 PM
It seems like traps (especially big pit traps), narrow passageways, and small rooms will be their bane. Can't use em all the time, but you sure can some of the time.

Kaveman26
2014-01-15, 08:58 AM
War Room 1: DM Thoughts and Pleas for Feedback

After the first week's introduction it was helpful to kind of have a self affirmation...

Rule 1: The game is just that...a game. We are here to have fun. No reason to take their cannibalism of npc's or sadism personally. Were they having fun? Yes. Was the story involving the characters and not just the game mechanics? Yes. Ok..then no reason to get confrontational or defensive.

What is On the Horizon:

The wing in which they have initially set up is primarily going to be an ambush zone. A tribe of well equipped and very lethal gnolls has occupied the territory and they act in coordinated guerilla fashion to kill invaders, gather supplies and capture those persons they deem valuable. Their principal concern is capturing a skilled trap-monkey. Their chief has located a vault or strongroom of sorts, but can't get anyone through the traps guarding it or disable the lethal devices. So he has sent his soldiers to harry the corridors and search out one who can.

*Primarily the gnolls will have ranger and rogue class levels. They are built for speed, stealth, and poison.

*They are not worried about bravery or overwhelming opponents and they are happy to melt away against superior forces.

*Some sorcerers and clerics will dot their ranks.
Points of Interest:

1st: The Vault itself is something where the characters will get their first taste of magic items and unique flavor. Should be a good reward for solving this particular wing.

2nd: There will be a bear druid who took over a habitat akin to the one in which they found the lions. He will have a few items that are designed to bolster animal companions. This was something built prior to knowing their character designs.

3rd: Stratix's party was killed by the gnolls, but their rogue was taken alive. He will likely still be alive when the party tussles with the chief.
Additional Character Backgrounds:

I pressed the gang a bit for added backgrounds on their characters and they surprisingly seem to make sense.

Skalagrim (Mounted Fury/Cavalier) was a tribal warrior and horse mounted raider. He was naturally gifted from the saddle and had an aptitude for animals. His hobogoblin clan began ranging further and further and they managed to locate a verdant valley flush with tombs and abandoned temples. Prime territory for raiding they tried to establish a foothold and were decimated by the local wildlife...namely dinosaurs. Wounded and left for dead Skalagrim was rescued by a local colony of Nagaji, descendants of the Yuan Ti that once ruled the valley. Given his ability to calm the dinosaurs and keep them from devouring him, they serpent folk took him in and fostered him as a more disciplined mounted warrior. In time he took an anklosaur as a companion and rose to prominence as an outsider amid the Nagaji.

He found kinship with another outsider, Dis Pater. Dis Pater viewed the extinction of the Yuan Ti in the valley as a weakness and embraced the tenets of undeath as a means to cull that weakness. He valued the martial prowess and anger in Skalagrim. Together they formed a strong duo, with Skalagrim training mounts for the Nagaji. They were part of a vanguard that had discovered a long lost temple fraught with traps and deadly horrors. Living happily amidst the ruins and the danger was a goblin. The last of his people and a half crazed mad men. He had spent so much time surviving the jungle and the temple's traps he had forgotten his own name. Against all odds he had created a bond with a spinosaur, and now lived in the temple where predators struggled to reach him. They admired his ability, even if they loathed his strange behavior and mockingly called him Chomper for his elongated and enlarged jaw.

The three of them split from the valley and sought fortune and glory elsewhere. In their travels they found a cemetary overflowing with undead. At the cemetaries heart...two pale skinned brothers who seemed to be preaching a service to the shuffling undead. Hades and Pluto. Dis Pater had finally found those who shared his doctrines and understood his faith. The three became five.

In there travels the twins revealed a history of ostracism based on their mother being a consort to a vampire. She died in childbirth, but even rarer than an offspring surviving, she produced live twins. Outcast from the cradles, they depended on the only thing that seemed certain...death. Always together, always as one they found their calling and answered with enthuiastic glee.

Chomper one day circled back to the group telling them he had discovered something of interest. He took the group to a hunting mansion, deep in the forest. The home of a wealthy noblemen no doubt. It now lay in ruin, zombies marching around it's exterior. The twins quickly took control of the zombies...only to have that control battled against. The opposer was formidable, but no match for their ability. Curious they explored deeper and found a terrified woman chained to the wall of what looked like a dungeon. An absolute beauty who radiated charm and grace. She begged them to help free her and rescue her. Chomper shook his head and bid his comrades to hold back.

Chomper: The chains aren't bound. She can get up and leave whenever she wants.

At that point something never before seen occured in the life of Seraphim. For once men did not try to take advantage of her. They didn't view her as weak and in need of protection. For the first time the witch was not objectified or trivalized as fragile. Finally she had found those who respected her. The twins were eager to find someone with their prowess, Skalagrim and Chomper admired her deception and cunning. Dis Pater recognized one who thirsted for vengeance. Their party was complete.

Joe the Rat
2014-01-15, 10:00 AM
Strong common grounds: How an Evil party best hangs together. This is like the antithesis of every party I've ever played with, and it's pretty awesome that they took the time to weave it all together.

ReaderAt2046
2014-01-15, 02:29 PM
Seriously, Seraphim reminds me of Wanda Firebaugh from Erfworld. I love this party!

Also, some suggestions:

1. Given that this was originally an ithillid vessel, I would suggest that you include multiple rings/amulets/items of Mind Blank, as ithillids would find those remarkably valuable. Also, I'm sure you thought of this, but if you want to throw the party a bone (pun quite intended), have there be traps that directly target the mind (and thus don't work on the undead). Inversely, if you want to make things harder for the party, have them encounter a lot of construct servants and guards, thus starving them of reanimatable corpses. (I'm sure the ithillids would appreciate having inedible servants).

2. Have the gnolls make good use of their cleric's spells. Good clerics are quite effective against an undead-heavy party, and even an evil cleric can prepare positive-energy spells and Rebuke Undead

3. Throw in a few things that would be of use to a regular party but not this one. (Wand of Cure Light Wounds, Holy Water, etc.)

Kaveman26
2014-01-15, 02:37 PM
I had same thought regarding Wanda. The player says its more saffron from firefly but with a much bugger chip on her shoulder.

ReaderAt2046
2014-01-15, 02:58 PM
A couple more thoughts

1. Ithillids are supposed to be naturally psionic, so perhaps have the vault be mostly psionic gear (dorjes, cognizance crystals, etc). Throw in a few universally usable devices (stuff like the crystal masks or certain of the skins (I bet Dis Pater would love the skin of the troll, for example)). A logical way to keep loot restricted.

2. Throw in a few rings of sustenance to cut down on the cannibalism. Logical items to find aboard an interplanar vessel.

Averis Vol
2014-01-15, 04:40 PM
Daaaayummmm..... Whelp, I don't envy having that headache. While it looks like hell to DM, I can tell this is going to be an awesome read. I can't wait to see more in the future.

Kaveman26
2014-01-15, 04:52 PM
They are definitely a creative lot, I do like their concept now that I have had time to process it. For an extensive dungeon crawl scenario they are very effectively built. Will be very intriguing to see how this plays out.

Jacob.Tyr
2014-01-15, 07:17 PM
The amount of effort they put into the synergy of their group and connection between the characters is amazing. I absolutely love it. You have an amazing group of players, no matter how evil the bastards are.

I took a necromancer into the Tomb of Horrors once. The undead quickly found a job as trap finders, and not much more.

A group of gnolls is going to most definitely set ambushes up around traps, either ones they've built or ones that already existed, and use the hell out of them. It's an incredibly dangerous area, and the gnolls know the layout and have been holding back adventurers probably since the whole thing started. Spring a trap, fighting retreat until you lead your enemies into something you don't even want to deal with, then ghost. Test them to see if they have someone who can deal with locks, by leading them to different areas you might want some help clearing. Hell, you could probably run a half-dozen sessions of them playing unwilling errand boys for the gnolls, clearing traps and enemies and opening magically or mundanely sealed areas for them.

Steal ALL the cattle. Probably damn near every rag-tag group of adventurers and semi-intelligent monster is going to be gunning for those the first time one of them moos. If you've been living off of lichens and dead Dire-beasties, a steak would probably really hit the spot.

Once the gnolls have put them through hell, have the leader of the gnolls approach them. Your players sound more like gnolls than heroes anyway, so have him offer them half the loot if they can help him open the sealed door. Of course your players are going to be planning on double-crossing the gnolls as soon as they get to the treasure, but the gnolls are probably planning for the same thing. Let the "heroes" walk unmolested to the magic door and unlock it, with them and all of their undead neatly surrounded by a force of gnolls packing cleric levels. As soon as the door goes *click*, all hell breaks loose.

Kaveman26
2014-01-16, 08:49 AM
A couple more thoughts

I actually...

...Have built some strange psionic crystals that will imbue the characters with psionic SLA's. Just something to add a bit of flavor and give a 2/3 per day ability appropriate for the class. It will also justify why some of the creatures in the structure have similiar abilities.


A group of gnolls is going to most definitely set ambushes up around traps, either ones they've built or ones that already existed, and use the hell out of them. It's an incredibly dangerous area, and the gnolls know the layout and have been holding back adventurers probably since the whole thing started. Spring a trap, fighting retreat until you lead your enemies into something you don't even want to deal with, then ghost. Test them to see if they have someone who can deal with locks, by leading them to different areas you might want some help clearing. Hell, you could probably run a half-dozen sessions of them playing unwilling errand boys for the gnolls, clearing traps and enemies and opening magically or mundanely sealed areas for them.

Love this idea. I would love to watch them serve the gnolls interests without a clue they are doing it.


Given that this was originally an ithillid vessel, I would suggest that you include multiple rings/amulets/items of Mind Blank, as ithillids would find those remarkably valuable. Also, I'm sure you thought of this, but if you want to throw the party a bone (pun quite intended), have there be traps that directly target the mind (and thus don't work on the undead). Inversely, if you want to make things harder for the party, have them encounter a lot of construct servants and guards, thus starving them of reanimatable corpses. (I'm sure the ithillids would appreciate having inedible servants).

This will have to be worked in. Especially if I can get them to blow up their undead army in some grand fashion.

ReaderAt2046
2014-01-16, 10:33 PM
There's this series of video campaign journals called Tales From My D&D Campaign (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL4wcBrYwyo&list=SPylLGJF4VZY7Wya1zdWY3ExLfitPCdJEN) that I like, and in particular there are a couple of cool magic items that you could use.

1. The Red Cap: The titular headgear of a species of evil fae known as redcaps, this is a head slot item that grants a profane bonus to AC. It is empowered by dipping it in the blood of freshly slain sentient beings. This process consumes the essence of the blood, meaning that the hat doesn't stink. The AC bonus is logarithmically related to how many people who have thus been "harvested". 10 deaths will give the hat a +1 bonus, 100 will bring it to +2, 1000 grants +3, etc. I'd suggest starting it with a random number of "charges" between 10 and 100. Can magically change form into whatever hat goes best with your outfit. Seraphim should love this thing, but Skaladrim or Chomper would also enjoy it.

2. Ytarran armor: This was a suit of +2 full plate, but with a few cool bonus features. It grants negative and electric resist 5, and has a stability mode which immobilizes the wearer but doubles the resists and grants +4 on checks or +2 on saves against effects that would move or knock down the wearer. Furthermore, its gauntlets both function as +1 locked gauntlets, and can lock or unlock to a weapon as a move action, and the armor as a whole can be equipped or dequipped in a single full-round action. On top of all that, in an Ytarran facility (or an ithillid vessel in this case), it adds 2d6 Electrical damage to its gauntlet attacks or 1d6 Electrical to any non-reach melee weapon attacks, deals 1d6 Electrical damage as a backlash to anyone dealing non-reach melee damage to the wearer and grants +2 to Will saves. As one final feature, it changes colors to whatever its wearer wants and, if worn by a divine spellcaster, will manifest the symbol of the wearer's god on its pauldrons. Perfect for Dis Pater.

Kaveman26
2014-01-17, 08:28 AM
There's this series of video campaign journals called Tales From My D&D Campaign that I like, and in particular there are a couple of cool magic items that you could use.

1. The Red Cap: The titular headgear of a species of evil fae known as redcaps, this is a head slot item that grants a profane bonus to AC. It is empowered by dipping it in the blood of freshly slain sentient beings. This process consumes the essence of the blood, meaning that the hat doesn't stink. The AC bonus is logarithmically related to how many people who have thus been "harvested". 10 deaths will give the hat a +1 bonus, 100 will bring it to +2, 1000 grants +3, etc. I'd suggest starting it with a random number of "charges" between 10 and 100. Can magically change form into whatever hat goes best with your outfit. Seraphim should love this thing, but Skaladrim or Chomper would also enjoy it.

2. Ytarran armor: This was a suit of +2 full plate, but with a few cool bonus features. It grants negative and electric resist 5, and has a stability mode which immobilizes the wearer but doubles the resists and grants +4 on checks or +2 on saves against effects that would move or knock down the wearer. Furthermore, its gauntlets both function as +1 locked gauntlets, and can lock or unlock to a weapon as a move action, and the armor as a whole can be equipped or dequipped in a single full-round action. On top of all that, in an Ytarran facility (or an ithillid vessel in this case), it adds 2d6 Electrical damage to its gauntlet attacks or 1d6 Electrical to any non-reach melee weapon attacks, deals 1d6 Electrical damage as a backlash to anyone dealing non-reach melee damage to the wearer and grants +2 to Will saves. As one final feature, it changes colors to whatever its wearer wants and, if worn by a divine spellcaster, will manifest the symbol of the wearer's god on its pauldrons. Perfect for Dis Pater.

Those look sweet, thanks. Especially the cap. I am going to have to watch those videos too.

Scow2
2014-01-17, 07:38 PM
Fear the might of the Necroranchers!

Averis Vol
2014-01-17, 09:20 PM
Those look sweet, thanks. Especially the cap. I am going to have to watch those videos too.

Redcaps themselves are pretty creepy. They're small creatures with powerful build, and I think their teeth give +2 to cha based checks with other fey and +4 with other redcaps. Pretty awesome deep dwelling creatures.

Kaveman26
2014-01-19, 10:24 AM
Session 2:

The players (collectively to be referred to as the Undead Cowboys or U.C from this point forward) all re-prepare spells and set out to explore the area around their present base camp. The clerics have animate dead at the ready and free HD slots for undead.

Having Chomper out front serves them very well as the hallways and doorways are now frequently going to be trapped by the gnoll reavers who operate in the domain. Forward progress is slowed by Chomper identifying trip wires, and several different poison needle traps. In conjunction with his disabling the traps, he also strips them for re-usable parts. The U.C. comes to a dead end hallway and decide to try and play the trap-makers advantages against them. They set up everyone inside a large room that serves as the end of the hallway and purposefully trigger the alarms and dart traps that are rigged near it.

Chomper: Like a fly hitting a spider’s web…dinner is served.

They tuck in to wait for several minutes and sure enough a cadre of gnolls comes searching. The door slowly opens and a gnoll archer in camouflage matching the walls peeks it’s head inside. From a position near the door Dis Pater slashes a scimitar attack at the onlooker, who ducks out of the way and slams the door shut…yelping in warning to the others.

Skalagrim bursts from one of the doors further down the hall and he and his anklosaur block the hallway, creating a stoppered bottleneck. In total they have pinned down four gnolls, who all fight ferociously to try and get free of the jam. They elect to try and break through the Skala hallway as opposed to facing the rest of the party inside the large room at the end. They eat the attacks of opportunities and two of them manage to break through, the others are thrown back, where they fight back to back with poisoned spears and blowguns.

It takes some time to reposition everyone into striking positions and Skala+Dis Pater face the brunt of the initital attacks, but they have good fort saves negating most of the poison, and with the sheer numbers they feel no danger of engaging. As their trap develops, further barking and yelping alerts them to reinforcements coming. Amidst the scrum, Chomper tries to make a combined Survival/Perception/Knowledge Dungeoneering check to determine what direction they are coming from and how many. His best guess is a dozen, and the direction…from further west.

They fight savagely against the pinned gnolls who fight completely defensively. Doing everything possible to avoid being hit. The U.C. want these ones dead before the others arrive so they can reset their positioning to a better formation. Dis Pater uses channel smite to tear one’s chest open and the anklosaur connects with a critical tail slap that smashes the second’s head, but they held out long enough that from the T junction to Skalagrim’s rear missile weapons from gnoll support begin hissing through the air.

Dis Pater does an awkward dance with Skalagrim to bypass the hobogoblin and his dino, and he manages to get into a point position with the twins coming behind him for channel washing. Chomper is content to return fire from the safety of the rear. Seraphim holds actions and lines up ray of enfeeblement to any target that pokes it’s head in the hallway. The begin moving their pile forward towards the attackers and comment for the first time that their undead minions are severely hampered by lack of space.

Hades: It is proving tough to utilize the giants, always prefer to have Dis at the front instead of the minions.

As soon as the combat formations move forward, the reavers fall back…tossing tanglefoot bags, smokesticks and alchemist’s fire vials in their wake as they melt away to new hallways. As the U.C. hit the T Junction the gnolls have split in both directions and they launch readied blowgun needles and more fire, then retreat. Dis and Skala hold the breach of the T junction while everyone else falls back to clear the rooms of the dead end hallway, they also strip down the dead gnolls finding similar mundane equipment. Seraphim is confident that she can make anti-poisons for the Con and Str poisons they are coating their blades and needles with. Basically brew a potion that bolsters saves against that particular type.

Dis Pater: You need to finish up back there, the hyenas are coating the hallways with caltrops. Looks like they have at least one caster too. One just laid down grease in front of the caltrops.

U.C get all their minions massed together and send them to the left of the T junction while the rest of the group heads right. They are going to try and break them from their position and see if they can’t force them someplace else where they can’t run.

The giants and other minions take light ranged weapon fire, and a few last alchemist’s fire but then their gnolls all retreat further back and disengage. The second cluster continue to pepper the leaders with tanglefoots, and blowgun needles. Sera and the twins are now opening up their spellbooks (metaphorically for the clerics) to put damage from range. It’s give and take, with the gnolls giving more than they are taking.

The chase continues down several hallways, with the undead minions slowly playing catch up as they return to their masters. They start leaving skeletons and zombies behind like bread crumbs to function like their own alarm system. The ogres are dispatched by the more brazen gnolls and reduced to dust, the giants are mostly ignored as not being worth the trouble and the unicorn+grizzly bear take heavy damage but survive. Chomper mounts up as does Dis Pater and Skalagrim and they try to out kite the kiters. The clerics group up with their minions and get them healed, while Seraphim acts as a look out. Something like 11 rounds go by with only one further gnoll killed and a lot of spells/channels expended. Disgusted and aggravated they all huddle back up and move back to back with readied actions all the way back to their base camp.

Chomper tells them it is all but certain the gnolls left scouts to backtrack them, and that their “base” is pretty guaranteed to be known. The dead gnoll corpses are tossed to the ground in a pile and they put their heads together for further brainstorming.

Skalagrim: I am not happy that some freaking hyenas just treed us like a fox hunt.

Dis Pater: It is disgraceful that is for sure.
Chomper: They are good at what they do. It’s how they hunt.
Skalagrim: So we need to figure out ways to isolate and lock them down.
Seraphim: I can prepare web bolt.*

Chomper: If we know where we want to drive them I can set up some trip wires and use the tanglefoot bags we got off the dead ones.

Hades: Perhaps…we too could contribute to holding them in place. Although… it may complicate our ration situation.

Reggie: Just as long as no eats me…
Skalagrim: Well prove you are worth having around and that shouldn’t be an issue.

Up until this point Reggie has been along for the ride, more as hostage than eager teammate. He mostly stays discreet and pops off the occasional spell to heal the mounts, or the errant sling stone here and there.

Theparty starts to trap up a few corridors proximate to the base camp, but far enough away that the gnoll patrols should pick up the movement. They basically rig up three parallell hallways. Tanglefoot bags intersperse the cross sections and trip wires are placed as triggers for opening the bags.

They split up into two teams, with Chomper,Hades and Skalagrim as one team, and Pluto, Dis Pater, and Seraphim as the second. The gnolls pick them back up this time more en mass and with cleric support. They begin resuming their hit-run tactics but the traps and bags work enough to slow them down and leave them vulnerable.

There is a lot more back and forth skirmishing but attrition takes it’s toll and soon the pile of dead gnolls has increased to six. The remaining forces are wounded and out of supplies and they shrink back to the west. The battle wounded U.C. take up the trail of blood and shed fur and Chomper leads them through a winding path back towards what is presumably their base. He is quite adept at tracking, but the gnolls are rangers and equally skilled at obscuring their tracks. Eventually the doubling back and crossing their own tracks makes them lose the trail.

Frustrated and weary they make their way back to the base camp. Entering the camp they find the herd in a panic and the centaurs running in circles. Dire weasels of incredible size are culling the weakest from the herd and devouring them. Two cattle are down, and a third is hamstrung. The arrival of the U.C. startles them and in mid run they seem to shrink down to a fraction of their first size and scurry into tiny holes in the wall.**

Dis Pater: If we keep scurrying about the same halls being annoyed by these gnolls we are never going to make forward progress. Especially if leaving the herd makes them vulnerable to scavengers. We need something direct and bold.

Seraphim: I agree. I think we should parley.
Dis Pater: Parley?

Seraphim: They are highly efficient trackers and guerilla fighters who know this section of terrain and are well equipped. I propose we find common ground with their leadership and create an alliance. One born of pragmatism and mutual benefit.

Skalagrim: For how long? I don’t want to be splitting my share of the wealth with some stinking hyenas.

Seraphim: Eventually the alliance will crumble or no longer be worthwhile, but in that case they will still have any items of value we trade or barter with. Simply think of it as investing.

Reggie: But you have already killed six of them!
Hades: We can give back those who have already met the God, he is surely finished with them by now.

*long pause at table*

Reggie: You are seriously strange my friend.

The U.C. pull half a dozen cattle and leave Skalagrim and Pluto with the remaining herd, while everyone else goes forth in an attempt to parley with the gnolls. As a good faith gesture they have animated the six slain gnolls as Skeletons (on desecrated ground no less). Roaming the halls where they have already met hostility sees them find marauders in short order, and through the missile fire and retreat they manage to convey their stated request.

Runners are dispatched to “leadership” and an uneasy stalemate holds for the time being. After several hours a gnoll cleric arrives and agrees to a parley at a place of their choosing. It is to take place at dawn the following day. The U.C. are told that a messenger will arrive at their camp to bring them. As a token of good faith the gnolls are given six cows, and returned their now animated dead.

Hades: I have instructed them to follow your orders as if they were my own. May their serve you in life as they did in their pre-death. ***

Reggie: Aren’t you afraid of a trap? I mean that is kind of what they are all about.

Seraphim: They have done nothing but trap and ambush. If they do so at the parley, it is simply status quo. If they agree to terms or listen to terms we have shifted status quo in our favor. Either things remain the same or improve, I count that as a win.

The messenger arrives at dawn, and is unharmed. He brings them through a long series of hallways and even one secret door to a long narrow hall that steeps upward. He bids them to stay put. The entire hallway is a murderers row of caltrops, grease, pit traps, wire traps and dart traps. The messenger ties a rope to his waist and drinks a potion of levitate, then tugs on the rope, letting those at the end of the gauntlet pull him through unharmed.

The gnoll chieftain is well protected by warriors with tower shields, and he seems calm from initial contact. He addresses the U.C. in well spoken Common. Rusk is his name.

Rusk: You are the grave robbers troubling my tribe?
Hades *angry*: I prefer the term grave liberator.

Rusk: This is our territory and you are trepassing, leave tribute to our clan and you may leave this place unspoiled. I extend this as a courtesy for the meat you provided.

Hades: We also returned to you those brave enough not to flee. You now have six warriors no longer in need of food or rest.

There is an uneasy shifting amongst the gnolls. Some don’t seem to appreciative of the “gift” the undead lords provided.

Rusk: They are cursed. What you did was no boon, but a blasphemy. This is a hard place though. One too dangerous to dismiss anything which benefits the tribe.

Seraphim: Then join with us. Surely we can benefit each other. That which we kill we will share with you. The spoils we unearth we shall divide to mutual benefit. Let someone else’s tribe be “cursed” and you and yours will only grow stronger. Tell us what you desire and we shall see if our minds share similar ground.

Rusk: My scouts tell me that many of our hunting traps are dismantled and stolen. I would know which of you is doing this.

Chomper: I helped take them apart, and I can put them back together again. Your boys are good…but I am better.

There is some animated discussion between Rusk and his captains and an agreement is reached.

Rusk: Perhaps we can find a common ground, I would show you something.
Reggie: Are we really going to follow them into the heart of their territory, drastically outnumbered?

Dis Pater: Absolutely. They will be less likely to run that way. I hate when they run.

Rusk leads them to a secured room with a massive vault built into the wall. Furtively assessing the vault and it’s multi stage locking mechanism is a Halfling Rogue, bound in chains, and very haggard.

Rusk and his Captain’s along with a few of the more predatory gnolls line the outer wall of the vault and the rest of the U.C. give Chomper room to view the vault door. He introduces himself to the Halfling…a chap called Gup.

Chomper: Been studying this long?

Gup: Close to a week now. Ever since the rest of my party got ambushed. Our sorcerer got free, hope he made it out ok.

Chomper: Sorcerer? Lanky human? Called Stratix?
Gup: You saw him? Did he make it out?

Chomper: Nah…he knew how to make lightning so we ate him.
Gup: You did what?

Chomper: We ate him. Our witch needed his blood so we killed him and roasted him over a campfire.

The Halfling just kind of slumps to the ground in shock.

Chomper: Alright mates. I can get it open, but it’s going to take a while. Going to need a very hard to find tool to get through the assembly housing. To bypass that segment I need an adamantine drill bit, which I don’t have. Have to check with the vendors at the front or wait for the big doors to open again.

Rusk is none too pleased with the answer, but hostilities do not occur. Instead the PC’s are bid to leave until a decision is reached. The U.C. all return to the base camp where they slaughter a cow to purify and feed to the other animals.

Seraphim: So…can you really get into the vault? Should we look for this drill bit?

Chomper: Nah, I can make the check to open it, just figured giving them a MacGuffin to ponder over would buy us some time to discuss things. Wasn’t sure if letting the door swing open was right thing to do in that moment.

Dis Pater: How weak are the horses Skala?

Skalagrim: They are all pretty worn down, a stiff breeze could fell some of them.

Dis Pater: I have an idea…

The following day a messenger arrives seeking further parley on behalf of Rusk. The U.C. accept the invitation and tell him that they have devised a method to open the vault that day. The gnolls do some running back and forth and agree to open the vault, but with the provision that all the undead be left behind. The U.C. are surprisingly ok with that. They are once again escorted back to the gnolls sanctum where Rusk urges them to allow Skalagrim and Chomper**** into the vault room along with himself and his two captains. Everyone else will remain in the main common area. I should note at this point the U.C. brought twenty of the remaining herd to celebrate opening the vault.

While Chomper starts to do his thing he asks for as much alchemical fire as they can provide…instead of drilling the housing assembly he is going to melt a secondary relay deadlock. (random rogue mumbo jumbo). The chief is amped enough open it that he readily gathers the tribes vials of fire and provides them to Chomper.

Meanwhile…The clerics are ineptly trying to push the herd into a corner and seem to be failing miserably.

Hades: We really need our hobogoblin, have they started yet?

A gnoll runner confirms they are locked into the room to avoid distractions and are not to be interrupted.

Pluto: Oh my…I suppose we shall to think of a different means of corralling the cows.

Hades: Channel Negative Energy
Dis Pater: Channel Negative Energy
Pluto: Desecrate
Seraphim:Gloomblind Bolt the toughest looking gnoll.

The sudden surprise round catches all the gnolls off guard, as suddenly the whole herd of cows is slain splash negative energy damage hits them. The following round Hades and Pluto Both animate dead the slain herd and rise them as large skeletons. Prior to leaving the base they voluntarily left their giants to run wild and juggled the gnoll skeletons off their animate dead slots.

The six gnoll skeletons suddenly jump to attention and join in on the spontaneous massacre. With 20 2 HD skeletons suddenly all in their faces and the clerics nova’ing out negative energy and Seraphim playing goalie to prevent anyone going for the door it’s complete anarchy.

There is a long enough hallway leading to the vault room and with Chomper making a ton of noise with his half assed blowtorching using the fire, that the chief is unaware of the party outside.

There is a lot of gnolls, close to 30, and they are more than adept at defending themselves, and the U.C. find themselves in a much tougher fight than they anticipated. The sheer volume of AoE damage and the fact that is is a double edged sword (damaging enemies while healing themselves and their minions) gives them the overall edge.

By the time Chomper has just about opened the vault, the gnolls are either dead or fled. The clerics animate gnolls to replace their fallen cows/horses and make an entourage down the hallway to meet up with the suddenly clan-less chief.

Dis Pater politely knocks on the door and waits for a response.

Rusk: I told them not to interrupt in here. Karak see who it is.

A Captain, Karak moves to open the door and sees the undead horde and smiling clerics just outside. Dis Pater pushes the shocked gnoll aside and they begin to fill the room surrounding the speechless chief.

Dis Pater: The feast got a bit out of hand.
Rusk: My warriors?
Seraphim: Some died, others fled.
Rusk: Well what are you waiting for? Kill me.

The U.C. all look at each other and Chomper finally speaks to break the silence.

Chomper: yeah about that. We had a meeting and decided that we wanted you alive.
Rusk: What?!?

Chomper: Your tribe was a bit torn about the skeletons we returned. You seemed to be less emotional, more aware of what it takes to survive in a place like this. That is a sign of talent…and just ask Reggie over there. We don’t like to waste talent.

Rusk: You joined them?

Reggie: Not exactly. They ambushed and murdered everyone in my party and strong armed me into letting them join my charter and enter the dungeon. I then had to watch them kill a man they rescued and eat his flesh. They are hardly the friendly type.

Rusk: But you live?
Reggie: Until they run out of use for me.

Seraphim: We are offering you a chance. Follow our lead and aid us in our endeavors and prosperity is in your future, deny us and you can join your undead brothers knowing you stood on principal.

Chomper: Take a few minutes to think it over. I want to see what is inside here…

A cautious eye is kept on the gnoll and his two captains, but Chomper successfully opens the vault to reveal the spoils inside.

The interior is very much how one might picture a wealthy man’s closet to appear. Elegant Robes and garments hang from stands, and a weapon’s rack is mounted at the rear of the room. A few very strange items rest in candle holders, but they appear to not be wax but crystal. On a stone pedestal is an Hourglass filled with salt.*****

Item Inventory:
Two Cognizance Crystals (5-PP) Undivided
A Monk’s Robe-Given to Seraphim for time being
A longsword+1-Skalagrim
A dagger+1-Chomper
A Greataxe+1 flaming-Dis Pater
Ring of Sustenance-Skalagrim
Hourglass filled with Salt

The hourglass strikes their attention the most and Seraphim sets about researching how it functions and what it does. Her U.M.D. is maxed out and she is able to quickly identify a command word for the item. Speaking the command word causes a swirling cloud of salt to issue forth and then form into a Salt Mephit. The creature stretches and then addresses the group.

Salt Mephit: I am Kurgan of the Hourglass, you have summoned me and therefore I am summoned, for one hour I am yours to command. Holy S**t you are the strangest looking band of flesh based creatures I have ever seen. Nevermind that though…who do you need me to kill?

U.C.: uh….


*I didn’t tell her that she couldn’t take Web as a spell, simply encouraged her to avoid Web for the sake of mixing things up. Web gets used A LOT for our groups.
** Dire Weasels with psionic ability to enlarge and compress.
*** I tried to convey this exactly as he said it, but I may have botched it. Basically he tried to express Death as being the actual “life” while life was just what happened before you died. Kind of a reverse after life.
****I let them pick Chomper+1 and they picked Skalagrim. Thought I was odd they took the animal handlers away from the animals…
*****I saw this concept in a thread on the forum and I absolutely loved the idea of it, so I asked about using it for this campaign and got a thumbs up.

QuintonBeck
2014-01-19, 10:55 AM
The Salt Mephit habitat with all the little Salt Mephit buggers! Awesome!

jguy
2014-01-19, 05:23 PM
Oh this is going to be awesome. Love your journals Kaveman

ReaderAt2046
2014-01-19, 07:40 PM
Session 2:

The players (collectively to be referred to as the Undead Cowboys or U.C from this point forward) all re-prepare spells and set out to explore the area around their present base camp. The clerics have animate dead at the ready and free HD slots for undead.

Having Chomper out front serves them very well as the hallways and doorways are now frequently going to be trapped by the gnoll reavers who operate in the domain. Forward progress is slowed by Chomper identifying trip wires, and several different poison needle traps. In conjunction with his disabling the traps, he also strips them for re-usable parts. The U.C. comes to a dead end hallway and decide to try and play the trap-makers advantages against them. They set up everyone inside a large room that serves as the end of the hallway and purposefully trigger the alarms and dart traps that are rigged near it.

Chomper: Like a fly hitting a spider’s web…dinner is served.

They tuck in to wait for several minutes and sure enough a cadre of gnolls comes searching. The door slowly opens and a gnoll archer in camouflage matching the walls peeks it’s head inside. From a position near the door Dis Pater slashes a scimitar attack at the onlooker, who ducks out of the way and slams the door shut…yelping in warning to the others.

Skalagrim bursts from one of the doors further down the hall and he and his anklosaur block the hallway, creating a stoppered bottleneck. In total they have pinned down four gnolls, who all fight ferociously to try and get free of the jam. They elect to try and break through the Skala hallway as opposed to facing the rest of the party inside the large room at the end. They eat the attacks of opportunities and two of them manage to break through, the others are thrown back, where they fight back to back with poisoned spears and blowguns.

It takes some time to reposition everyone into striking positions and Skala+Dis Pater face the brunt of the initital attacks, but they have good fort saves negating most of the poison, and with the sheer numbers they feel no danger of engaging. As their trap develops, further barking and yelping alerts them to reinforcements coming. Amidst the scrum, Chomper tries to make a combined Survival/Perception/Knowledge Dungeoneering check to determine what direction they are coming from and how many. His best guess is a dozen, and the direction…from further west.

They fight savagely against the pinned gnolls who fight completely defensively. Doing everything possible to avoid being hit. The U.C. want these ones dead before the others arrive so they can reset their positioning to a better formation. Dis Pater uses channel smite to tear one’s chest open and the anklosaur connects with a critical tail slap that smashes the second’s head, but they held out long enough that from the T junction to Skalagrim’s rear missile weapons from gnoll support begin hissing through the air.

Dis Pater does an awkward dance with Skalagrim to bypass the hobogoblin and his dino, and he manages to get into a point position with the twins coming behind him for channel washing. Chomper is content to return fire from the safety of the rear. Seraphim holds actions and lines up ray of enfeeblement to any target that pokes it’s head in the hallway. The begin moving their pile forward towards the attackers and comment for the first time that their undead minions are severely hampered by lack of space.

Hades: It is proving tough to utilize the giants, always prefer to have Dis at the front instead of the minions.

As soon as the combat formations move forward, the reavers fall back…tossing tanglefoot bags, smokesticks and alchemist’s fire vials in their wake as they melt away to new hallways. As the U.C. hit the T Junction the gnolls have split in both directions and they launch readied blowgun needles and more fire, then retreat. Dis and Skala hold the breach of the T junction while everyone else falls back to clear the rooms of the dead end hallway, they also strip down the dead gnolls finding similar mundane equipment. Seraphim is confident that she can make anti-poisons for the Con and Str poisons they are coating their blades and needles with. Basically brew a potion that bolsters saves against that particular type.

Dis Pater: You need to finish up back there, the hyenas are coating the hallways with caltrops. Looks like they have at least one caster too. One just laid down grease in front of the caltrops.

U.C get all their minions massed together and send them to the left of the T junction while the rest of the group heads right. They are going to try and break them from their position and see if they can’t force them someplace else where they can’t run.

The giants and other minions take light ranged weapon fire, and a few last alchemist’s fire but then their gnolls all retreat further back and disengage. The second cluster continue to pepper the leaders with tanglefoots, and blowgun needles. Sera and the twins are now opening up their spellbooks (metaphorically for the clerics) to put damage from range. It’s give and take, with the gnolls giving more than they are taking.

The chase continues down several hallways, with the undead minions slowly playing catch up as they return to their masters. They start leaving skeletons and zombies behind like bread crumbs to function like their own alarm system. The ogres are dispatched by the more brazen gnolls and reduced to dust, the giants are mostly ignored as not being worth the trouble and the unicorn+grizzly bear take heavy damage but survive. Chomper mounts up as does Dis Pater and Skalagrim and they try to out kite the kiters. The clerics group up with their minions and get them healed, while Seraphim acts as a look out. Something like 11 rounds go by with only one further gnoll killed and a lot of spells/channels expended. Disgusted and aggravated they all huddle back up and move back to back with readied actions all the way back to their base camp.

Chomper tells them it is all but certain the gnolls left scouts to backtrack them, and that their “base” is pretty guaranteed to be known. The dead gnoll corpses are tossed to the ground in a pile and they put their heads together for further brainstorming.

Skalagrim: I am not happy that some freaking hyenas just treed us like a fox hunt.

Dis Pater: It is disgraceful that is for sure.
Chomper: They are good at what they do. It’s how they hunt.
Skalagrim: So we need to figure out ways to isolate and lock them down.
Seraphim: I can prepare web bolt.*

Chomper: If we know where we want to drive them I can set up some trip wires and use the tanglefoot bags we got off the dead ones.

Hades: Perhaps…we too could contribute to holding them in place. Although… it may complicate our ration situation.

Reggie: Just as long as no eats me…
Skalagrim: Well prove you are worth having around and that shouldn’t be an issue.

Up until this point Reggie has been along for the ride, more as hostage than eager teammate. He mostly stays discreet and pops off the occasional spell to heal the mounts, or the errant sling stone here and there.

Theparty starts to trap up a few corridors proximate to the base camp, but far enough away that the gnoll patrols should pick up the movement. They basically rig up three parallell hallways. Tanglefoot bags intersperse the cross sections and trip wires are placed as triggers for opening the bags.

They split up into two teams, with Chomper,Hades and Skalagrim as one team, and Pluto, Dis Pater, and Seraphim as the second. The gnolls pick them back up this time more en mass and with cleric support. They begin resuming their hit-run tactics but the traps and bags work enough to slow them down and leave them vulnerable.

There is a lot more back and forth skirmishing but attrition takes it’s toll and soon the pile of dead gnolls has increased to six. The remaining forces are wounded and out of supplies and they shrink back to the west. The battle wounded U.C. take up the trail of blood and shed fur and Chomper leads them through a winding path back towards what is presumably their base. He is quite adept at tracking, but the gnolls are rangers and equally skilled at obscuring their tracks. Eventually the doubling back and crossing their own tracks makes them lose the trail.

Frustrated and weary they make their way back to the base camp. Entering the camp they find the herd in a panic and the centaurs running in circles. Dire weasels of incredible size are culling the weakest from the herd and devouring them. Two cattle are down, and a third is hamstrung. The arrival of the U.C. startles them and in mid run they seem to shrink down to a fraction of their first size and scurry into tiny holes in the wall.**

Dis Pater: If we keep scurrying about the same halls being annoyed by these gnolls we are never going to make forward progress. Especially if leaving the herd makes them vulnerable to scavengers. We need something direct and bold.

Seraphim: I agree. I think we should parley.
Dis Pater: Parley?

Seraphim: They are highly efficient trackers and guerilla fighters who know this section of terrain and are well equipped. I propose we find common ground with their leadership and create an alliance. One born of pragmatism and mutual benefit.

Skalagrim: For how long? I don’t want to be splitting my share of the wealth with some stinking hyenas.

Seraphim: Eventually the alliance will crumble or no longer be worthwhile, but in that case they will still have any items of value we trade or barter with. Simply think of it as investing.

Reggie: But you have already killed six of them!
Hades: We can give back those who have already met the God, he is surely finished with them by now.

*long pause at table*

Reggie: You are seriously strange my friend.

The U.C. pull half a dozen cattle and leave Skalagrim and Pluto with the remaining herd, while everyone else goes forth in an attempt to parley with the gnolls. As a good faith gesture they have animated the six slain gnolls as Skeletons (on desecrated ground no less). Roaming the halls where they have already met hostility sees them find marauders in short order, and through the missile fire and retreat they manage to convey their stated request.

Runners are dispatched to “leadership” and an uneasy stalemate holds for the time being. After several hours a gnoll cleric arrives and agrees to a parley at a place of their choosing. It is to take place at dawn the following day. The U.C. are told that a messenger will arrive at their camp to bring them. As a token of good faith the gnolls are given six cows, and returned their now animated dead.

Hades: I have instructed them to follow your orders as if they were my own. May their serve you in life as they did in their pre-death. ***

Reggie: Aren’t you afraid of a trap? I mean that is kind of what they are all about.

Seraphim: They have done nothing but trap and ambush. If they do so at the parley, it is simply status quo. If they agree to terms or listen to terms we have shifted status quo in our favor. Either things remain the same or improve, I count that as a win.

The messenger arrives at dawn, and is unharmed. He brings them through a long series of hallways and even one secret door to a long narrow hall that steeps upward. He bids them to stay put. The entire hallway is a murderers row of caltrops, grease, pit traps, wire traps and dart traps. The messenger ties a rope to his waist and drinks a potion of levitate, then tugs on the rope, letting those at the end of the gauntlet pull him through unharmed.

The gnoll chieftain is well protected by warriors with tower shields, and he seems calm from initial contact. He addresses the U.C. in well spoken Common. Rusk is his name.

Rusk: You are the grave robbers troubling my tribe?
Hades *angry*: I prefer the term grave liberator.

Rusk: This is our territory and you are trepassing, leave tribute to our clan and you may leave this place unspoiled. I extend this as a courtesy for the meat you provided.

Hades: We also returned to you those brave enough not to flee. You now have six warriors no longer in need of food or rest.

There is an uneasy shifting amongst the gnolls. Some don’t seem to appreciative of the “gift” the undead lords provided.

Rusk: They are cursed. What you did was no boon, but a blasphemy. This is a hard place though. One too dangerous to dismiss anything which benefits the tribe.

Seraphim: Then join with us. Surely we can benefit each other. That which we kill we will share with you. The spoils we unearth we shall divide to mutual benefit. Let someone else’s tribe be “cursed” and you and yours will only grow stronger. Tell us what you desire and we shall see if our minds share similar ground.

Rusk: My scouts tell me that many of our hunting traps are dismantled and stolen. I would know which of you is doing this.

Chomper: I helped take them apart, and I can put them back together again. Your boys are good…but I am better.

There is some animated discussion between Rusk and his captains and an agreement is reached.

Rusk: Perhaps we can find a common ground, I would show you something.
Reggie: Are we really going to follow them into the heart of their territory, drastically outnumbered?

Dis Pater: Absolutely. They will be less likely to run that way. I hate when they run.

Rusk leads them to a secured room with a massive vault built into the wall. Furtively assessing the vault and it’s multi stage locking mechanism is a Halfling Rogue, bound in chains, and very haggard.

Rusk and his Captain’s along with a few of the more predatory gnolls line the outer wall of the vault and the rest of the U.C. give Chomper room to view the vault door. He introduces himself to the Halfling…a chap called Gup.

Chomper: Been studying this long?

Gup: Close to a week now. Ever since the rest of my party got ambushed. Our sorcerer got free, hope he made it out ok.

Chomper: Sorcerer? Lanky human? Called Stratix?
Gup: You saw him? Did he make it out?

Chomper: Nah…he knew how to make lightning so we ate him.
Gup: You did what?

Chomper: We ate him. Our witch needed his blood so we killed him and roasted him over a campfire.

The Halfling just kind of slumps to the ground in shock.

Chomper: Alright mates. I can get it open, but it’s going to take a while. Going to need a very hard to find tool to get through the assembly housing. To bypass that segment I need an adamantine drill bit, which I don’t have. Have to check with the vendors at the front or wait for the big doors to open again.

Rusk is none too pleased with the answer, but hostilities do not occur. Instead the PC’s are bid to leave until a decision is reached. The U.C. all return to the base camp where they slaughter a cow to purify and feed to the other animals.

Seraphim: So…can you really get into the vault? Should we look for this drill bit?

Chomper: Nah, I can make the check to open it, just figured giving them a MacGuffin to ponder over would buy us some time to discuss things. Wasn’t sure if letting the door swing open was right thing to do in that moment.

Dis Pater: How weak are the horses Skala?

Skalagrim: They are all pretty worn down, a stiff breeze could fell some of them.

Dis Pater: I have an idea…

The following day a messenger arrives seeking further parley on behalf of Rusk. The U.C. accept the invitation and tell him that they have devised a method to open the vault that day. The gnolls do some running back and forth and agree to open the vault, but with the provision that all the undead be left behind. The U.C. are surprisingly ok with that. They are once again escorted back to the gnolls sanctum where Rusk urges them to allow Skalagrim and Chomper**** into the vault room along with himself and his two captains. Everyone else will remain in the main common area. I should note at this point the U.C. brought twenty of the remaining herd to celebrate opening the vault.

While Chomper starts to do his thing he asks for as much alchemical fire as they can provide…instead of drilling the housing assembly he is going to melt a secondary relay deadlock. (random rogue mumbo jumbo). The chief is amped enough open it that he readily gathers the tribes vials of fire and provides them to Chomper.

Meanwhile…The clerics are ineptly trying to push the herd into a corner and seem to be failing miserably.

Hades: We really need our hobogoblin, have they started yet?

A gnoll runner confirms they are locked into the room to avoid distractions and are not to be interrupted.

Pluto: Oh my…I suppose we shall to think of a different means of corralling the cows.

Hades: Channel Negative Energy
Dis Pater: Channel Negative Energy
Pluto: Desecrate
Seraphim:Gloomblind Bolt the toughest looking gnoll.

The sudden surprise round catches all the gnolls off guard, as suddenly the whole herd of cows is slain splash negative energy damage hits them. The following round Hades and Pluto Both animate dead the slain herd and rise them as large skeletons. Prior to leaving the base they voluntarily left their giants to run wild and juggled the gnoll skeletons off their animate dead slots.

The six gnoll skeletons suddenly jump to attention and join in on the spontaneous massacre. With 20 2 HD skeletons suddenly all in their faces and the clerics nova’ing out negative energy and Seraphim playing goalie to prevent anyone going for the door it’s complete anarchy.

There is a long enough hallway leading to the vault room and with Chomper making a ton of noise with his half assed blowtorching using the fire, that the chief is unaware of the party outside.

There is a lot of gnolls, close to 30, and they are more than adept at defending themselves, and the U.C. find themselves in a much tougher fight than they anticipated. The sheer volume of AoE damage and the fact that is is a double edged sword (damaging enemies while healing themselves and their minions) gives them the overall edge.

By the time Chomper has just about opened the vault, the gnolls are either dead or fled. The clerics animate gnolls to replace their fallen cows/horses and make an entourage down the hallway to meet up with the suddenly clan-less chief.

Dis Pater politely knocks on the door and waits for a response.

Rusk: I told them not to interrupt in here. Karak see who it is.

A Captain, Karak moves to open the door and sees the undead horde and smiling clerics just outside. Dis Pater pushes the shocked gnoll aside and they begin to fill the room surrounding the speechless chief.

Dis Pater: The feast got a bit out of hand.
Rusk: My warriors?
Seraphim: Some died, others fled.
Rusk: Well what are you waiting for? Kill me.

The U.C. all look at each other and Chomper finally speaks to break the silence.

Chomper: yeah about that. We had a meeting and decided that we wanted you alive.
Rusk: What?!?

Chomper: Your tribe was a bit torn about the skeletons we returned. You seemed to be less emotional, more aware of what it takes to survive in a place like this. That is a sign of talent…and just ask Reggie over there. We don’t like to waste talent.

Rusk: You joined them?

Reggie: Not exactly. They ambushed and murdered everyone in my party and strong armed me into letting them join my charter and enter the dungeon. I then had to watch them kill a man they rescued and eat his flesh. They are hardly the friendly type.

Rusk: But you live?
Reggie: Until they run out of use for me.

Seraphim: We are offering you a chance. Follow our lead and aid us in our endeavors and prosperity is in your future, deny us and you can join your undead brothers knowing you stood on principal.

Chomper: Take a few minutes to think it over. I want to see what is inside here…

A cautious eye is kept on the gnoll and his two captains, but Chomper successfully opens the vault to reveal the spoils inside.

The interior is very much how one might picture a wealthy man’s closet to appear. Elegant Robes and garments hang from stands, and a weapon’s rack is mounted at the rear of the room. A few very strange items rest in candle holders, but they appear to not be wax but crystal. On a stone pedestal is an Hourglass filled with salt.*****

Item Inventory:
Two Cognizance Crystals (5-PP) Undivided
A Monk’s Robe-Given to Seraphim for time being
A longsword+1-Skalagrim
A dagger+1-Chomper
A Greataxe+1 flaming-Dis Pater
Ring of Sustenance-Skalagrim
Hourglass filled with Salt

The hourglass strikes their attention the most and Seraphim sets about researching how it functions and what it does. Her U.M.D. is maxed out and she is able to quickly identify a command word for the item. Speaking the command word causes a swirling cloud of salt to issue forth and then form into a Salt Mephit. The creature stretches and then addresses the group.

Salt Mephit: I am Kurgan of the Hourglass, you have summoned me and therefore I am summoned, for one hour I am yours to command. Holy S**t you are the strangest looking band of flesh based creatures I have ever seen. Nevermind that though…who do you need me to kill?

U.C.: uh….


*I didn’t tell her that she couldn’t take Web as a spell, simply encouraged her to avoid Web for the sake of mixing things up. Web gets used A LOT for our groups.
** Dire Weasels with psionic ability to enlarge and compress.
*** I tried to convey this exactly as he said it, but I may have botched it. Basically he tried to express Death as being the actual “life” while life was just what happened before you died. Kind of a reverse after life.
****I let them pick Chomper+1 and they picked Skalagrim. Thought I was odd they took the animal handlers away from the animals…
*****I saw this concept in a thread on the forum and I absolutely loved the idea of it, so I asked about using it for this campaign and got a thumbs up.

Were the items you listed in the inventory all that was in the vault, or just all that they examined or made use of? I'm kind of curious. Really looking forward to more of this group!

J-H
2014-01-19, 08:10 PM
Tucker's gnolls.

Palanan
2014-01-19, 10:55 PM
Originally Posted by Kaveman26
Additional Character Backgrounds

I have to say, that's probably the most coherent set of character backgrounds I've ever seen for a party. In most campaigns I've run or played in, a random cacophony is the norm, but your players are all dancing to the same dirge.

Speaking of which, I'm not sure which theme song would be best for this group. For some reason "Thriller" seems to fit.

:smalltongue:


Originally Posted by Kaveman26
The battle wounded U.C. take up the trail of blood and shed fur....

One of many grimly hilarious touches here.

Also, do you have two different players running the two dhampirs, or is it one player running two characters? I get the sense it's two players, but they'd have to be coordinating really closely.


Originally Posted by Reggie
You are seriously strange my friend.

I don't see a pleasant future for Reggie. :smalleek:


Originally Posted by Chomper
Nah, I can make the check to open it, just figured giving them a MacGuffin to ponder over would buy us some time to discuss things. Wasn’t sure if letting the door swing open was right thing to do in that moment.

You have great players. Ordinarily I really dislike evil campaigns, but these guys are rolling like champs.

NowhereMan583
2014-01-20, 04:47 AM
I'm thrilled to see the salt mephits showing up in a campaign log -- now I get to see how it plays out before I try it in my campaign.

Also, really enjoying the story so far. The relatively-morally-unfettered characters are pretty entertaining. And, you know, there's just something about a good old-fashioned dungeon crawl.

Kaveman26
2014-01-20, 12:41 PM
Were the items you listed in the inventory all that was in the vault, or just all that they examined or made use of? I'm kind of curious. Really looking forward to more of this group!

That was the extent of the items in the vault.


I have to say, that's probably the most coherent set of character backgrounds I've ever seen for a party. In most campaigns I've run or played in, a random cacophony is the norm, but your players are all dancing to the same dirge.

Yeah, I imagine they worked at this for some time. I was genuinely surprised at the effort put in.


Also, do you have two different players running the two dhampirs, or is it one player running two characters? I get the sense it's two players, but they'd have to be coordinating really closely.

It’s actually a Father/Son duo. The father is a longtime friend and familiar gamer. His son is a bit newer and they created them in tandem.


You have great players. Ordinarily I really dislike evil campaigns, but these guys are rolling like champs.

We did one “evil campaign” before and there was all kinds of backstabbing and vengeance all over the place. Was a blast but complete anarchy. This is scarier, cause they are cooperating. The fact that there is characterization and thought behind their treachery and evil is a real treat. It’s not just murder and pillaging, there is reason and pragmatism in their decisions.


I'm thrilled to see the salt mephits showing up in a campaign log -- now I get to see how it plays out before I try it in my campaign.

I loved this concept and when I sat down to hammer it out I had something of an inspiration (an uninspired inspiration). Thought to myself “If I was stuck with the same twenty or so people for all eternity and we couldn’t actually die and basically lived forever what would it be like?” and myself answered “Kind of like Highlander…but if immortals were the genie’s in a bottle”

So…I have 20 mephits in the hourglass that will all be more or less knock off’s of the Highlander characters. They will model their show/movie counterparts and can only be permanently killed via vorpal weapons (cause you know…decapitation).

Kaveman26
2014-01-20, 01:02 PM
War Room 2:

What is on the Horizon:

*With the gnolls more or less crushed, barring the U.C. making some strange decisions, they will now have to press on further into the dungeon and hopefully explore newer territory. A lot of their herd has been culled and food may now be an issue.

*I am going to weave in psionics a bit more now. The next wing they locate is going to have many creatures altered by psionic radiation. Things like the expanding/compressing dire weasels and other oddities will crop up. The core “villians” will be psychic warrior minotaurs.

*The gnoll chief Rusk may bide his time with the gang, much like Reggie but I don’t intend to see him as a permanent ally.

*Some of the other adventuring groups are going to have start clashing with the Necro-Ranchers soon (loved the post by someone with this in the thread). I have a couple fleshed out concepts for characters in other groups. One of which seems like a fitting counter. I call them “The Illuminated Canticle”. Party consists of a Cavalier (knight in shining armor) a Paladin (more diplomat than crusader) a Magician Bard, an anti undead cleric and Bow Ranger

Points of Interest:

*The cog crystals are currently useless. Exposure to the hubs in next wing will trigger psionic abilities.

*The Salt Mephits will slowly grow in power over time and their attitude will be a measure of how they are treated and used.

*The monk’s robe is meant to be a future “hook” of sorts. I want a martial character to hunt them down when word of the robe spreads.

*They are not the only evil party in the dungeon and I need to flesh out more evil groups.

Random Musings:

I thoroughly enjoyed the application of slaughtering the cattle to get on the fly back up, and the fact that they more or less Trojan Horsed the six gnoll skeletons to a place where they could be of use. Having said that, the sheer number of undead they can muster (especially depending on how you interept Undead Master) makes certain pre-planning of encounters daunting to say the least.

The group is having a blast without having to worry about right or wrong and they are getting into their characters quite a bit. That makes me happy to know they are enjoying things so far. I am going to continue with the elements I have prepped without over worrying about countering their characters. I did let them know that level progression will go slow, much slower than usual which dissapointed Skalagrim a bit, as level 6 is a big shift for him.

All in all, I am pleased with how the dungeon is going.

Palanan
2014-01-20, 02:54 PM
Originally Posted by Kaveman26
This is scarier, cause they are cooperating.

Oh yeah.

:smallbiggrin:


Originally Posted by Kaveman26
The fact that there is characterization and thought behind their treachery and evil is a real treat. It’s not just murder and pillaging, there is reason and pragmatism in their decisions.

You're really lucky that you have a group capable of the planning, the creativity, and the maturity to pull this off. I've never run or played in a campaign where the players could even conceive of something like this--or if they did, they never managed to mesh their characters to such a smooth extent.


Originaly Posted by Kaveman26
Some of the other adventuring groups are going to have start clashing with the Necro-Ranchers soon....

As it happens, I have a group of fifth-level characters from a previous campaign, which were developed independently by several players who ended up not joining the game. If you like I can share the basic builds and let you polish them up into a random adventuring group. They actually work pretty well together, although fairly low-op by Playground standards. I'd love to see how they manage against your crew.

:smalltongue:


.

Kaveman26
2014-01-20, 03:19 PM
Sure. If youmcan send me notes as a pm that would be great

turbo164
2014-01-20, 03:38 PM
Longtime reader, loved all of the logs I've gone through so far and this is no exception :smallsmile: Definitely one of the best uses of weaponized cattle I've ever seen.

Mind linking the mephit hourglass? And also, what happened to Gup?

Palanan
2014-01-20, 04:29 PM
Originally Posted by Kaveman26
Sure. If youmcan send me notes as a pm that would be great

PM sent, and feel free to ask me about any of those builds. Hope they're useful, and I'll be looking forward to their first meeting with the Necro-Ranchers.

:smalltongue:

The_Werebear
2014-01-20, 04:34 PM
You'd think a party so inclined to treachery would be more wary of it. If Rusk doesn't turn at the worst possible time for the party, I will be shocked.

Kaveman26
2014-01-20, 04:43 PM
Longtime reader, loved all of the logs I've gone through so far and this is no exception :smallsmile: Definitely one of the best uses of weaponized cattle I've ever seen.

Mind linking the mephit hourglass? And also, what happened to Gup?


Gup's fate is currently unknown. It is likely he will be located next week.

Demon 997
2014-01-20, 09:20 PM
Really enjoying this so far. Keep up the great work.

How much food is the party consuming per day? Seems like most of their stored food (cattle) would be going to feed their cattle. Would meat having more nutritional value (may very well be wrong on this) than an equivalent mass of grain or hay affect how much transformed meat the cattle need to eat?

Also, have you done any other campaign journals? Feed my procrastination...

Jacob.Tyr
2014-01-20, 09:31 PM
Really enjoying this so far. Keep up the great work.

How much food is the party consuming per day? Seems like most of their stored food (cattle) would be going to feed their cattle. Would meat having more nutritional value (may very well be wrong on this) than an equivalent mass of grain or hay affect how much transformed meat the cattle need to eat?

Also, have you done any other campaign journals? Feed my procrastination...

Kaveman's signature holds many of the best campaign journals you'll find anywhere. Personally I love the Big one, and Calimshank Redemption. The city of the Over Gnome is awesome, too, but very different.

I might be a bit of a fanboy, though. I'd kill to play in a game with Kaveman.

NowhereMan583
2014-01-20, 09:48 PM
Mind linking the mephit hourglass?

I believe his inspiration comes from my thread here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=322649).

Demon 997
2014-01-20, 11:59 PM
Kaveman's signature holds many of the best campaign journals you'll find anywhere. Personally I love the Big one, and Calimshank Redemption. The city of the Over Gnome is awesome, too, but very different.

I might be a bit of a fanboy, though. I'd kill to play in a game with Kaveman.

The old hiding in the plain sight obvious place where I should have looked trick. Gets me every time. :smalltongue:

Scow2
2014-01-21, 02:18 AM
*Some of the other adventuring groups are going to have start clashing with the Necro-Ranchers soon (loved the post by someone with this in the thread). I have a couple fleshed out concepts for characters in other groups. One of which seems like a fitting counter. I call them “The Illuminated Canticle”. Party consists of a Cavalier (knight in shining armor) a Paladin (more diplomat than crusader) a Magician Bard, an anti undead cleric and Bow RangerThat was me :smallredface: I came up with the term on the spot over on the Bay12 forums in response to people realizing that in Dwarf Fortress, animating the dead made them stronger... and due to the simulationist-beyond-reason nature of the game, that meant they also got bigger and more muscle mass, which converted to more meat upon butchery. So now we had dwarf fortresses capturing Necromancers, putting them in rooms where they could see cows, killing the cows, animating them, killing them again, then butchering the greater yield (Is there any monster/threat a Dwarf Fortress can't use to its advantage? We have Vampire lever-operators, all sorts of horrific warbeasts, and... well. DF players are a creative lot!)

I saw the title of this thread, read through it, and wanted to re-use the term.

Kaveman26
2014-01-22, 08:22 AM
I'd kill to play in a game with Kaveman.

That is about the highest form of compliment a gamer could hope to receive. Much obliged.


How much food is the party consuming per day? Seems like most of their stored food (cattle) would be going to feed their cattle. Would meat having more nutritional value (may very well be wrong on this) than an equivalent mass of grain or hay affect how much transformed meat the cattle need to eat?

I am pressing them as needing a lot of sheer food/calories. They are only on Day 3 or so though, and they have stripped bare a human, six gnolls and several dire animals. So in terms of raw quantity they have not yet run into many issues.

ImperatorV
2014-01-22, 02:13 PM
This sounds like an AWSOME group. I'll be watching this thread.

Astral Avenger
2014-01-23, 04:43 PM
awesome, just saw this thread, glad to see I have more of your stuff to read :smallsmile:

ReaderAt2046
2014-01-23, 05:56 PM
Are you playing with psi-mag transparency?

Also, some suggestions:

1. I think a really good defense for one of the more psi-heavy vaults would be a couple of astral construct (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/astralConstruct.htm) traps, probably summoning level 4 or 5 constructs. It's the sort of thing you'd expect to see in a vessel like this, and it's a good way to challenge the party a bit.
2. Have there be a barrier to enter a certain area that only a psionic creature can get through. That way, they won't be able to get at *whatever* until the mutating effects of the psi radiation kick in.
3. This is a bit of a more long-term one, but you could have them encounter further in a community of elans who date back to the vessel's original creation. (elans are clinically immortal, and can sustain their bodies indefinitely with pure psychic energy if necessary). Great way to drop any necessary exposition, and may be used to force the players to work within a social system.

Demon 997
2014-02-16, 01:56 PM
Any chance this is still ongoing? Really hoping to hear about what they do next.

ImperatorV
2014-02-16, 02:14 PM
Any chance this is still ongoing? Really hoping to hear about what they do next.

Seconded.White space to meet character limit

ReaderAt2046
2014-02-16, 02:26 PM
Thirded.

BTW, I did some fanart of the party that you might like:

Skalagrim (http://readerat2046.tumblr.com/post/76869189025)

Seraphim (http://readerat2046.tumblr.com/post/76869155483)

Hades/Pluto (http://readerat2046.tumblr.com/post/76869091544)

Dis Pater (http://readerat2046.tumblr.com/post/76869019742)

Chomper (http://readerat2046.tumblr.com/post/76868976879)

jguy
2014-02-16, 03:04 PM
You know you have an awesome campaign when other people are doing fan art of your characters.

Palanan
2014-02-16, 05:14 PM
*sigh*

I eagerly clicked on this thread when it bubbled up again, hoping that another session had been written up. Alas, seems 'tis not to be.

So, when is the next session? You've got a fan base here.

:smallsmile:

The_Werebear
2014-02-17, 09:07 AM
Fourth'd. Maybe fifth'd. I saw it was up and clicked it first.

Envyus
2014-02-17, 01:05 PM
Question does Dis Pater have anything to do with the actual lord of Hell Dispater if not you should totally have him get annoyed that someone is using his name at some point and have his devils make moves against the party.

Kaveman26
2014-02-18, 03:17 PM
The campaign is still running. Two more sessions complete just not written up. Love the fanart btw.

Dis pater is a roman/greek (dont recall which culture) death god. As are hades and pluto.

Asmayus
2014-02-18, 03:27 PM
Good to hear it's still going. I was disappointed when Kaveman's new post wasn't an update though :P

ReaderAt2046
2014-02-18, 04:13 PM
I had same thought regarding Wanda. The player says its more saffron from firefly but with a much bugger chip on her shoulder.

I've actually seen Firefly, and it seems to me that that's a very bad comparison. Saffron's one crippling weakness was her utter inability to keep faith with her team, but Seraphim, as has already been noted, seems to get along just fine with her teammates. Since this team's unity is so remarkable, it seems to me that any comparison to Saffron is missing one of this group's biggest advantages.

Relatedly, has your group read the Giant's gaming articles? He has this essay on the importance of illogical, emotional, reaction in designing good characters, and there's this one example of two villians who despite having every rational reason to distrust each other were friends, had agreed to split the world between them, and would honor the agreement. Sounds like a perfect inspiration for your party.

Palanan
2014-02-18, 04:42 PM
Originally Posted by Kaveman26
The campaign is still running. Two more sessions complete just not written up.

Type, my good man, type like the wind!!!

:smallbiggrin:



Really, this is one of my favorite campaign journals, period. Pretty sure I'm not alone on that. You have a fan base now, and we want MOAR!!!

:smalltongue:

Rethmar
2014-02-18, 07:01 PM
Reader, do you have a link to that essay? Sounds like a good read.

ReaderAt2046
2014-02-18, 07:47 PM
Reader, do you have a link to that essay? Sounds like a good read.

Click on the big link that says "Gaming" on the sidebar. It's the essay labeled "emotional responses."

Rethmar
2014-02-19, 01:28 AM
Ah, thanks. I'm going to read all of these now.

QuintonBeck
2014-02-19, 08:46 PM
Looking forward to your next update Kaveman!

Red Rubber Band
2014-02-20, 10:03 PM
Halfway through the second page I realised that this was a recent campaign journal and got all sad because now I have to wait for the damn things to be released! :smalltongue:
Same reason I hate watching incomplete seasons. I'd rather just let them finish and watch it all in one bang.

But good job! I really, really am liking your journals so far (started off with reading the Overgnome journal yesterday) and your group sounds awesome.

Sorry to everyone who gets a thread update in their subscription list :smalltongue:

Envyus
2014-02-21, 11:31 PM
The campaign is still running. Two more sessions complete just not written up. Love the fanart btw.

Dis pater is a roman/greek (dont recall which culture) death god. As are hades and pluto.

I know this. But there is a lord of hell. (Lord of the 2nd to be correct.) named Dispater in D&D and while he would never go himself (He is the most paranoid lord of hell) he could take an interest in the upstart that dares use his name.

ReaderAt2046
2014-02-22, 12:34 AM
Wait a sec, how'd Seraphim cast ISW on that human back in the camp? It's a fourth-level spell and she should only have level three spells at witch level 5.

jguy
2014-02-22, 10:55 AM
Inflict Serious Wounds is the 3rd level spell that does 3d8+Caster level, Inflict Critical Wounds is the 4th level spell that does 4d8+caster level.

ReaderAt2046
2014-02-22, 01:05 PM
Inflict Serious Wounds is the 3rd level spell that does 3d8+Caster level, Inflict Critical Wounds is the 4th level spell that does 4d8+caster level.

Seraphim is a Witch, and ISW is a 4th-level spell for witches.

Kaveman26
2014-02-22, 01:08 PM
Yeah it was a typo on my part.

New one should be up soon.

Palanan
2014-02-24, 06:29 PM
I saw that Kaveman had posted again.

Briefly, ever so briefly, my hopes flickered anew.

Kaveman26
2014-02-28, 01:05 PM
Bull Rush of Adrenaline: Session 3 (Partial)

When next we meet up, the U.C. surprise me by not trying to bring Rusk along with them. They give him command over 8 gnoll skeletons and tell him to gather up his fled tribe.

Dis Pater: Thrive for a week on your own, and we shall reap glory and riches upon you. Or die.

Kurgan Mephit: I can kill him now and save you the time.

The mephit draws forth a greatsword befitting his small stature and snarls.

Chomper: Easy there buddy. No one needs to be killed right now.

Kurgan Mephit: Then why did you call me forth? I’m a warrior not a childs play thing.
Seraphim: We honestly didn’t know what would have happen. I still don’t understand what is happening.

Kurgan Mephit: It’s not overly complicated…you speak the word and gain the service of one of us for an hour.

Dis Pater: One of you? There are a set number?
Kurgan Mephit: We number 20, and yes one of the twenty will always appear.
Seraphim: Can we control which one?

Kurgan Mephit *clears his throat*: Warrior…not a scholar.

Chomper: right…ok then mighty warrior, in a room not too far from here a nest of dire weasels killed some cattle that belonged to us. Prove your worth and bring me back one of their dead.

Kurgan: Yes Master. My blade’s thirst for weasel will be quenched…

And off runs the Salt Mephit…

They part ways with Rusk and begin a room by room search of the gnoll quarters. In what amounts to a closet they find a chained and vacant Gup. The lights are on, but no one is home.

Hades: I think this one is ready to meet The God.

Skalagrim: Or it’s time he met reality. Cut him loose, give him a knife, give him a water skin and some tools Chomp. If he is still around in a few weeks maybe he is worth having.

Reggie: What is with the sudden mercy? You kill Rusk’s tribe then let him loose, now you are going to put a blade in the hand of someone that you have wronged in the worst ways imagineable? Wouldn’t it be kinder to kill him?

Skalagrim *grinning*: Kinder…certainly. But far less fun. When my clan was broken and the Nagaji took me, they could have killed me “humanely” instead, Dis Pater urged them to push me, to amount to something and in time I did. The path to strength is often lined with hardship. I am simply returning the favor visited to those who need that chance.

With Gup armed and equipped they more or less just wash their hands of Rusk and the gnolls, moving on for other grounds. They retreat to their base camp and pack up shop, spending a night replenishing spells and deciding what direction to strike out next. They ultimately elect returning to the central entrance and seeking out information from the stationed merchants as to any developments over the last few days. As they get back to the camp a roar of joy sounds out in the hallway as Kurgan kicks the door to their camp in. On his shoulders in a fireman’s carry is a slain dire weasel nearly as large as himself. Like a sodium filled Tarzan he lifts it overhead and growls as he tosses the body to the ground in front of us. Then…with his hour up he vanishes.

Chomper: They seem like fun chaps.

The journey back to the entrance is uneventful and the merchants are very leery of anyone approaching. The different vendors all seem united in defending their wares and are highly paranoid of those approaching in groups. Seraphim approaches once again and tries to gather intelligence on recent events.

*Business is slow. Typically within the first week of a new phase there is a rush of PC’s scooping up forgotten or broken items that they suddenly have a pressing need for. No one has yet returned.
*Raids by denizens approaching the surface are commonplace enough to bear constant attention, but the last four days has seen nothing test the entrance.
*They are informed that group number 1…The Illuminated Canticle set out north. At this time they are the only returning group, seeking additional vials and flasks to house holy water. That sparks a further line of questioning that tips off the “anti undead” nature of that group’s cleric.

Seraphim: Very little in the way of leads to work with. Things are quiet which could mean complications are rising within. There is a party who seems to share an opposed viewpoint to our own that went north.

Skalagrim: How so?
Seraphim: Their holy man views the undead as abomination.
Hades: Well then we must seek to convert this poor lost soul
Pluto: Yes brother we must show him the truth.

Reggie: Are you talking about changing his viewpoint? Or re-animating him?
Both: Perhaps both.

So born from a desire to attack their mirror image north is the direction they set out. As they reach the vendors guarding the northern pass a toll is required before passage. They want 500 gold for the privelage of journeying into the wealthiest corridor. Seraphim barters with them and offers 10 potions instead*

They accept the barter and move through. Chomper takes the point on his spinosaur to seek sign of either the group they are after, or other dangers.
Progress down the corridors is steady. Every room they pass has been scoured, blessed and carefully marked. When I say blessed more of a feeling than anything meaningful in a tactical manner. Enough to give the Cleric’s a sour taste in the air but nothing that imposes penalties or bonuses.

Skalagrim: They are neat…I will give them that.
Chomper: Did they seriously number the physical rooms?

Me: Yep, catalogued for contents (in a code you can’t decipher from a glance) and given a label to identify upon return visits.

Perhaps even odder is when they begin finding the slain creatures and inhabitants of those rooms all properly laid out and from what they can gather given funeral rites.

Seraphim: They took great care in seeing these creatures off to their final resting place.

The two clerics break down laughing themselves into hysterics at the table.

Hades: I would greatly question the phrase “final” resting place. More like a temporary repose.

Seraphim blinks at that.
Seraphim: Just how decomposed are these?
By these the current count is one dire lion, six ogres, and 3 blink dogs.
Me: Hardly. They died recently.
Seraphim: I have an idea…

It costs them nearly full day and a half, but they go to the trouble of zombifying the slain monsters, casting gentle repose on each and then mixing them up through the various rooms to confuse the previous marking. There is a bit of discussion over whether they can “release” wild undead and eventually I capitulate that they can.

Me: So you just zombified and released a hallway’s worth of monsters to what end? Messing with the npc group?

Seraphim: Yes, some battles are won with sword and spell, others are won in the mind. I prefer to attack where the enemy is vulnerable. Anyone that is compulsive enough to mark the rooms and provide after life consideration for a fallen foe is clearly going to be upset by their system being rummaged.

They continue on and search already explored hallways trying to find a path towards the NPC party. Eventually they come to a set of massive doors that remains unmarked. Behind the doors is an audible commotion. The Necro Ranchers stack up into an offensive array and Dis Pater and Skalagrim prep to burst into the room with weapons in hand, and everyone else has spells at the ready…

The room is sprawling. Easily the largest room they have yet seen. The rival NPC group they have been tracking is engaged in a pitched combat against a swirling force almost too fast for the eye to see.

A mounted knight frantically works his mount in a tight circle around a huddled mass of his comrades, spots of gleaming armor barely visible amidst an overwhelming amount of gore and viscera. The entire room looks like something out of a charnel house. Rancid and rotting flesh form mounds through the room, and the stench of blood in the air and the swirl of flies is enough to make a satyr gag. Swarming the besieged NPC’s are a legion of cricket like diminutive creatures, with ragged and torn gossamer wings, they are adorned in bone armor and painted in blood. Each is riding what appears to be giant mosquitoes with razor honed proboscis.

Dis Pater: Berserker grigs on stirges? Now I have seen it all.

In my head I am thinking this will likely play out one of two ways.

1st: They aid the grigs in destroying the NPC party. This fits with their evil personas and follows their most common M.O.
2nd: They will aid the NPC Party in defeating the grigs then double cross them and kill them afterwards. This is the “smarter” option and suits their deviousness.

They confer amongst themselves for a few moments and then break out from a group huddle to declare actions and intent.

Seraphim: The twins and I are going to trail Skalagrim and his anklosaur, they are clearing a path to the second party. Chomper is going to act as a door stopper with his spinosaur to keep everything inside. Dis Pater is taking a round to try and locate a chieftain or leader to single out and engage directly.

(Ahh…good old option 2)

The mounted pixies are surprisingly durable (barbarian levels will go a long way towards that end) and they are strong in numbers, but waves of negative energy and area of effect do them severe harm. Dis Pater focuses in on a sturdier and more ornate Grig shouting orders with gestures of a tiny greataxe. He peels off towards the grig chief and begins dueling with a creature 1/20 (estimating) his size.

The Canticle party is equal parts horrified and relieved to have reinforcements. Their cleric is clearly disgusted by the twins and their nature but given the circumstance help is help. It is here that I run into a major problem. For ages we have ruled that a roll of twenty on a skill check is not an automatic success, but instead opens a further roll. Pluto casually mentions that he is utilizing his Knowledge Religion when he witnesses the Canticle’s cleric casting a spell. He rolls a natural 20. He then follows up with an 18.

Now in the midst of my planning I decided on having a sect of recurring antagonists that were part of a cult serving one of the last remaining mind flayer colonies outside of the structure. They had an inkling of the true nature of the mega dungeon and would serve as a source of conflict and exposition. The Canticle’s cleric is one such NPC. He is not a LG “devout” man of piety. He is really a LE deep cover agent. The knowledge religion roll is high enough that subtle components of how he words his prayers or spells should tip off Pluto based on the result. Such a result is premature but not enough to shatter longer term plans. It does create a fun situation where he knows something no one else knows. In the past such intelligence was not always shared for the better of the party but for the advantage of the individual.

It’s nice to have players that don’t let you down…

Demidos
2014-02-28, 01:06 PM
Been waiting for a month. Saw it the second it came up. Regrets? None.

ReaderAt2046
2014-02-28, 02:48 PM
SQUEE!! Love the "my blade's thirst for weasel will be quenched" line. Also, this is quite the group. Dis Pater's weird brand of Darwinianism deserves further elaboration. I'm kind of surprised that they helped out the I.C., though. It seems to me it would be smarter just to hang back and wait until one side or the other had won, thus maximizing the amount of resources whichever other side would have to expend. Though if they are trying to get information or aid from the Canticle, I can see their idea making more sense.

By the way, I would suggest that at some point you feature a "clan" of adventurers who've been stuck in the dungeon for months (or years, depending on how long it's been since this place first opened) and have gone homicidally insane. So basically Reavers from Firefly.

Also, are you still looking for adventuring party designs?

Hope we get to see the second half of this soon!

Axinian
2014-02-28, 04:11 PM
HUZZAH! Another entry!

Gotta say that the faerie barbarians are pretty cool.

Red Rubber Band
2014-03-02, 08:36 PM
Gotta say I really liked that last part. Twists are always fun.

ImperatorV
2014-03-02, 09:04 PM
More Salt Mephits plz.

Great as usual. Looking forward to the next one :smallsmile:

QuintonBeck
2014-03-03, 02:33 AM
Awesome stuff as always Kaveman, looking forward to seeing where this IC Deep agent cleric line goes...

Palanan
2014-03-09, 06:02 PM
Arrgh!! Just enough to really draw me into the ongoing scenario--then a sudden cliffhanger, made doubly compelling by the results of that knowledge check....

Write, Kaveman, write!!!

:smallbiggrin:

Norin
2014-03-17, 04:26 PM
I just want to express my deep, aching, heartbroken longing for more stories from this campaign. :smallbiggrin:

ReaderAt2046
2014-03-17, 08:16 PM
Thoroughly concur.

ImperatorV
2014-03-18, 06:37 AM
More agreement. Maybe someone can PM Kaveman? It seems a little rude to pressure him like this, but d***it I want more Undead Cowboys.

commander panda
2014-03-18, 12:36 PM
subscribed. this is awesome.

Kaveman26
2014-03-19, 09:41 AM
They are a coming. Have more posted hopefully by weekend.


Advanced apologies for posting without it being an update.

ImperatorV
2014-03-19, 11:12 AM
They are a coming. Have more posted hopefully by weekend.


Advanced apologies for posting without it being an update.

W00T! Thanks for the update, and type like the wind!

Palanan
2014-04-02, 05:23 PM
Ahem.

:smalltongue:



We miss you. We miss your creepylicious party of gothic malcontents.

Laserlight
2014-04-03, 09:19 AM
Kudos for allowing your players to coordinate like this. I'm okay with a DM who says "Play whatever you want to play", but too often that means "I'm not going to give you any information about the party." What I want to play is "something that has decent synergy with the party". Not, say, the third Leader in a party of five, nor a drow blackguard in a party of Good-to-Neutral characters. Letting your players coordinate function and personality? Gold.

DSmaster21
2014-04-07, 08:01 AM
It looks like Kaveman hasn't logged on since the forum went down. Anyone got a way to email him or something to tell him it's back up?

Sorry for bumping this thread up on people's subs page without it being an update from Kaveman.

ReaderAt2046
2014-04-09, 08:42 PM
It looks like Kaveman hasn't logged on since the forum went down. Anyone got a way to email him or something to tell him it's back up?

Sorry for bumping this thread up on people's subs page without it being an update from Kaveman.

That would be a good idea, but I don't have any way to contact him.

Palanan
2014-04-17, 08:28 PM
I'm guessing no one's heard from Kaveman in the past two weeks?



:smallfrown:

DSmaster21
2014-04-17, 08:43 PM
I'm guessing no one's heard from Kaveman in the past two weeks?



:smallfrown:

He logged on on the 14th but he hasn't posted since the forums went down. (It seems kind of creepy that you/I can see other members activities on the site but it is readily available on their profile page so I use it.)

Kaveman26
2014-04-24, 11:49 AM
Session 3 Continued:

Pluto is very curious as to what his Knowledge check may portent and while we dissuade table talk to a large extent it still happens. For this given circumstance if he shares his thoughts out loud I tell him it will be in character and have to be loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. I get the following scribbled note back:

“Not sharing it with anyone right now. Holding it to myself.”

Aye Aye…

The majority of the action is centered on the biggest mass of PC’s and they utilize their abilities to basically defend the center and protect the NPC’s. Narratively speaking not much happens.

Dis Pater successfully manages to engage in 1 on 1 combat with the Grig chief and he proceeds to get his spurs handed to him. If the Grig was water he couldn’t hit him if he fell out of a boat. The Chief for his part is landing shot after shot from the back of his stirge.

After a few rounds the Stirges all pull back to watch their Chief dismantle Dis Pater and his peers are equally amused by the proceedings.

Reggie: Aren’t you going to help him?
Seraphim: Haven’t you been paying attention? He is not the type that wants “help. He would rather die than have us intervene in a fair fight.
Dis Pater: Actually wouldn’t mind that much…there are dozens of them.
Chomper: Not really…they are hanging back to watch what happens too.

The Stirge has a hefty strength bonus despite his tiny stature, but Dis Pater is sturdy and as the dice begin to level out he stages a Rocky-esque comeback. As the room’s attention is heavily focused on the “honor” duel Pluto discreetly informs me that he is whispering in the Canticle cleric’s ear “I know you are not what you appear to be. Turn on your comrades when I bid you or I will expose you to all”
That simple statement is enough for the cleric to give a start but nothing that draws attention away from the duel.

Dis Pater is really starting to get the upper hand when alarmingly loud hoofbeats and what seems to be the sound of a bull grunting ring out.

Seraphim: Our cattle doesn’t sound like that…and we didn’t give them metal shoes did we?
Chomper: That aint our cows and no they are not metal shod.

The grigs seem much more aware of what the sound portends and it is every mosquito mounted fairy for themselves as they all peel out through nooks and hidey holes strewn throughout the room. The chieftain happily tucks himself in and lets a swing land center to take advantage of the added momentum. The Canticle and Necro-Ranchers all huddle up from a sense of shared protection and the twins heal off Dis Pater.

Their holding pattern is abandoned when they begin to hear the slaughter of their livestock from outside the room. Dis Pater and Skalagrim rush out as the casters and Chomper trail behind. Pluto is practically attached to his would be double agent’s hip.

As they breach the hallway they see a cadre of “enhanced” minotaurs rending their livestock and slashing down the remaining horses. One of the minotaurs seem to be covered in an iron skin, a second is literally dripping venom from his horns and claws. A third is literally cooking the cattle with blasts of fire.

Skalagrim: The bulls are eating our cows!
Chomper: I’ll be damned…figured we would be the only cannibals for at least a few more weeks.

(Small side confession…given their relative ease in progression so far I ramped up the minotaurs perhaps a bit more than I should have)

The hobogoblin and najanti throw themselves at the iron bodied minotaur and are about as effective as a Kleenex plugging a hole in a dam. The entire group gets their asses handed to them in convincing fashion and are forced to retreat as their herd is dismembered and floated away. Nothing like psionic telekinesis to transport BBQ.

Seraphim: We just got cattle rustled by minotaurs…
Canticle Paladin: You drove a herd of cattle and horses into a dungeon?
Canticle Bard: They also are apparently using skeletons of said herd as mounts.

As things are now calming the two groups are inching further and further apart in a patient and polite “we are probably going to start killing each other any minute now” fashion.

Seraphim: I think that a preemptive truce and parley are in order…

The cavalier draws forth a longsword and hefts his shield.

Seraphim: Please?

Sorry for it being a short update. Will try to get a full section up by weekend.

ImperatorV
2014-04-24, 01:42 PM
Yay! Kaveman's back!

CoffeeIncluded
2014-04-25, 09:34 AM
How the hell have I passed over this for months?!

ImperatorV
2014-04-26, 05:40 PM
How the hell have I passed over this for months?!

Because it's been on and off the first page?

Palanan
2014-04-27, 06:47 PM
KAVEMAN'S BACK!!!!




Originally Posted by Kaveman26
Seraphim: Haven’t you been paying attention? He is not the type that wants “help. He would rather die than have us intervene in a fair fight.
Dis Pater: Actually wouldn’t mind that much…there are dozens of them.

Whether you guys planned it or not, this is straight out of Firefly:

Zoe: This is something the Captain has to do on his own.
Mal: No he doesn't!!

:smalltongue:


Originally Posted by Kaveman26
As things are now calming the two groups are inching further and further apart in a patient and polite “we are probably going to start killing each other any minute now” fashion.

This and Seraphim's "Please?" hilarously rounded out the all-too-brief experience. I just laughed more than I have in days.

Is there more? You must give us more.

:smallbiggrin:


Originally Posted by Kaveman26
...and while we dissuade table talk to a large extent it still happens.

What do you mean by table talk?

Kaveman26
2014-04-28, 08:50 AM
Table talk for us is two different things. It is using information the player has knowledge of but not the character. I.e. "hey guys the doppleganger we have been tracking caught me...so its not really me". That would be a blatant example.

Or it spending ten minutes to discuss actions and coordinate attacks mid combat. A few seconds is fine. Blueprints and extensive flow charting mid flow is not allowed.

Rethmar
2014-06-02, 05:49 PM
Keep up the good work, Kaveman. :smallsmile:

Demidos
2014-06-07, 07:41 PM
Next episode pretty please?

ReaderAt2046
2014-06-13, 12:59 PM
Next episode pretty please?

With a cherry on top?

Jermz
2014-07-20, 05:50 AM
And maybe some sprinkles??

(Sorry for the false positive to all those people who have subscribed to this thread!)

Fire Lord Pi
2014-07-20, 07:45 PM
I feel it goes without saying, but I'm following intently.

In gratitude for this campaign journal, I offer this praise: my primary goal on the playground is to make my campaign journal as great as any of Kaveman's. :smallbiggrin:

Palanan
2014-07-21, 09:23 AM
It's been three months since the last campaign update, and that was only a partial. I fear the worst.

:smallfrown:

ReaderAt2046
2014-07-22, 09:14 PM
It's been three months since the last campaign update, and that was only a partial. I fear the worst.

:smallfrown:

He's dead?

Kaveman26
2014-07-28, 09:37 AM
I'm defiantly still alive. Current priorities involve helping my wife with our newborn baby girl (she is almost six weeks old). So as much as I would love to update the remainder of what we finished I am on an indefinite hiatus right now. Got about nine long game days completed that would need to be written up. No eta on when that may happen yet.

Rethmar
2014-07-28, 01:45 PM
Congratulations!

Palanan
2014-07-28, 02:49 PM
Sounds like your life is a good kind of madness these days. Certainly that comes first.

But however long it takes, your fanbase will be here.

:smalltongue:

J-H
2014-07-28, 04:19 PM
Congrats!

Things started getting back to close to normal around the 4 month point for us (currently at 4.5 mo).

ImperatorV
2014-07-28, 07:57 PM
Congrats and thanks for the update. Also thanks for reminding me I haven't finished Adversarial Process.

ReaderAt2046
2014-08-22, 06:44 AM
Any update on when you might be able to resume this recap?

geeky_monkey
2014-08-22, 07:21 AM
Well he's just had a baby, so it'll be when she isn't taking up all his free time.

So that'll be in about 18 years when she goes off to college in my experience.

Inevitability
2014-08-22, 10:04 AM
Congratulations Kaveman! Looking forward to seeing this update again. :smallsmile:

IllogicalBlox
2014-08-23, 04:41 PM
Great Pelor's knuckles, you could get over-powered in 3.5 (or PF, I didn't check which it was.)

Perturbulent
2014-10-01, 02:59 PM
Well he's just had a baby, so it'll be when she isn't taking up all his free time.

So that'll be in about 18 years when she goes off to college in my experience.

I do have to wonder how long we may be waiting. This isn't a complaint, but I could see this being pushed to the wayside for a year, easy.

blacklight101
2015-01-02, 02:01 PM
Well, I hope this gets updated soon, having just finished it. It's been a blast to read. Awesome group dynamic there too.




edit

in danger of necro-ing this thing, I know. Others should know of it though.

CrispyCriminal
2015-01-03, 03:02 PM
Necro was received well in my case. That was a fun read! Hope we get to see continuations of it soon.

Kaveman26
2015-01-07, 01:06 PM
Saw this got updated and back to the front page and realized it had been over a year since I had posted. Tried to wrangle some free time and break in my typing hands again. In truth I have missed writing these and recapping. Spare time is still at a minimum, but with holiday season in retail complete I figured I would try to get something up once or twice a week. Happy New Year all!



Session 3 Completed

Brief Recap:

When I last left off recapping this campaign the PC’s were set to clash against a rival NPC party. Neither side was in much shape to fight as they had both just been in involved in hefty skirmishes against barbarian grigs and psionic minotaurs. Both sides had expended considerable resources and for sake of clarity I want to highlight a couple points.

Undead Minions: At this point Seraphim had her skeletal unicorn (Snowflake) but all other undead minions were currently destroyed. The dhampir clerics did have 8HD a piece tied up in skeletal gnolls they had left with the gnoll chieftain Rusk.

Other minions: Chomper has his Spinosaur, Skalagrim his anklosaur.

Seraphim is doing her best to let cooler heads prevail and prevent further violence (at least til it’s more suited to their purposes) but reason is being pushed to the wayside in favor of prejudice.
The Cavalier and Paladin are dead set on eliminating what view as heretics and blasphemers while the Magician and Ranger are not going to avoid backing their play. The double agent Cleric is in a tight spot realizing his cover could be blown. A third party intercedes to try and put sense into place and it is from an unlikely source.

Reggie: Whoa everybody. I realize how awful they look but you got to trust me that they are on the level. My whole party got wiped out and they kept me alive. When we got inside two weeks ago there was a poor shmuck on his last leg and they healed him, fed him and took him in. Every group we have met they have fought to protect their own lives but they have sought mercy and provided protection to those willing to accommodate them. I know the undead thing is creepy but sometimes you got to play the hand dealt to you.

The Halfling gives an emphatic and heartfelt speech, a heavily omitted speech, and gets everyone to back off and relax a bit. The two sides agree to back off and give each other a day to recuperate. The group is somewhat perplexed that their reluctant companion would come to their aid and press him(by proxy me as DM) why the sudden change of heart.

Reggie:If I have learned anything from my time with you guys it’s that its better to give you time to control events. Less people get murdered or cannibalized that way. I guess to put it bluntly I feel safer knowing the demons are on my side.

With that line Dis Pater and Skalagrim straight up jump from their chairs and high five each other.

Dis Pater: I told you I would Stockholm syndrome someone within the first month!

Yep…they are congratulations each other on making the gnome so desperate that he views his captors as a better option than the “good guys”.

By happenstance this is all occurring right at the day 15 mark. As the U.C. are gearing up and prepping for a potential run in against the Canticle all the party members with hair on their bodies notice the hair standing on end. An arcing crackle sounds through the halls outside and there is a deafening groaning sound like rusted metal being pulled apart. The whole interior structure of the room they are in beginning to pulse with a faint red light and sigils that were previously invisible light up in a clear neon green.

Seraphim: Anyone have a read on the symbols?

Negative from all fronts.

They elect Chomper to poke his head into the hallway and see what is going on. I smirk while handing him a description.

The goblin barely gets his head out the door when a crackle of electricity sends him flying back into the room. His eyes are bugged out wide open and his character frantically pleads for someone to close the door.

Chomper: Lock it…bar it…throw anything you can to keep it shut. NOW! NOW! DON’T HESITATE.

Something passes the room they are locked in and sounds far beyond anything witnessed by mortals cascade against the barred portal. The illumination and sigils persist for exactly one hour then cease. The group is desperate for an explanation for what he saw. A highly distraught and traumatized Chomper does his best to explain what he caught a single glimpse of.

(I had mentioned in the initial onset of this campaign’s description that dragons existed, they were rare and barely ever messed with but knowledge of the creatures was common…if not entirely accurate)

Chomper: It was like someone severed the head of a massive dragon…and suspended it mid air. It was black as night and looked dusty. It had lots of eyes…at least six…maybe ten, all suspended at the end of stalks. It had brackets of metal drilled into it’s skin from all angles like someone did a horrible patch job using rivets. Metal rods like horns stood from the top and seemed to gather electricity. The eyes were sweeping the hallways while blasting forth rays of something. I saw a creature running and midstride a ray caught it…and it was just gone. Not even ash remained. Then the electricity caught me. I have never seen anything like that before. Just a glimpse of it left him quivering and practically paralyzed.

In character they have zero idea of what is going on or what that sighting signifies. Out of character I have some very experienced and seasoned gamers giving me a cold look and asking mouthing the question…

“Half dragon beholder?”

It’s enough of a change in status quo to leave them reeling and reacting instead of maintaining the tempo and dictating the pace of events. Currently they are depleted on undead minions, scared out of their minds over the unknown creature just sighted and what its intentions are, and aware of a rival NPC party that has had time to get their legs back under them. There is also still the lingering presence of stirge mounted grig barbarians (Dis Pater is not one to leave a grudge lightly) and some cattle thieving psionic minotaurs. We end session on that note as they try to regroup.

Side Notes:
*The creature they sighted is indeed a dragon/beholder hybrid. More construct than independently intelligent creature. It is intended as a cleaning mechanism, like a street cleaner but with disintegration and acid. Unless interfered with it follows a specific route cleaning the halls then ends its path within a hidden recess in wall. If you mess with it’s progress it will stop is preprogrammed path and defend itself. It runs once a month. They don’t know this and how they react because of that is hysterical.

Reverent-One
2015-01-07, 01:10 PM
Saw this got updated and back to the front page and realized it had been over a year since I had posted. Tried to wrangle some free time and break in my typing hands again. In truth I have missed writing these and recapping. Spare time is still at a minimum, but with holiday season in retail complete I figured I would try to get something up once or twice a week. Happy New Year all!


...Kaveman's back? Kaveman's back! Huzzah! It really is a happy new year now (ok, it was pretty happy for me beforehand, but this just makes it better). :smallbiggrin:

EDIT: So after actually reading the update now:

Geeze, a dragon/beholder used for tunnel cleaning services, that's something most would call overkill. And anyone who doesn't (like whoever created this dungeon) would be someone I wouldn't want to mess with.

blacklight101
2015-01-07, 01:33 PM
I do wish we had that level of a cleaning crew here, it wouldn't take long at all that way.

Kaveman26
2015-01-07, 01:56 PM
...Kaveman's back? Kaveman's back! Huzzah! It really is a happy new year now (ok, it was pretty happy for me beforehand, but this just makes it better). :smallbiggrin:

EDIT: So after actually reading the update now:

Geeze, a dragon/beholder used for tunnel cleaning services, that's something most would call overkill. And anyone who doesn't (like whoever created this dungeon) would be someone I wouldn't want to mess with.

It's definitely overkill. But it fits with the overall backstory of the mega dungeon. It's also a really cool visual and strange application of that creatures particular abilities.

Inevitability
2015-01-07, 03:12 PM
Kaveman is back. EPIC YES.

He comes bearing updates. MOAR EPIC YES.

He's got a Half-Dragon Beholder. SO MUCH YES.

Demidos
2015-01-07, 09:02 PM
Just saying...I would trade any or all of my christmas presents for another chapter. :smallbiggrin:

Reverent-One
2015-01-07, 11:30 PM
It's definitely overkill. But it fits with the overall backstory of the mega dungeon. It's also a really cool visual and strange application of that creatures particular abilities.

Oh, totally, that wasn't meant as a criticism.

Laserlight
2015-01-08, 10:53 AM
Kaveman is back. EPIC YES.

He comes bearing updates. MOAR EPIC YES.

He's got a Half-Dragon Beholder. SO MUCH YES.

Quoted for Truth.

Kaveman26
2015-01-09, 12:59 PM
Session Four Part 1: One does not simply walk into Moo-Dor

When next we meet the gang has assembled a new plan of attack…and by plan of attack they are going to tactically withdraw to the safest area of the dungeon possible while gathering information on the unknown creature they encountered. The twins and Seraphim want to replenish their undead ranks and have a full cadre of minions along with utility spells before they press forward against the minotaurs or Canticle.

Skalagrim: We think the safest course of action right now is to avoid hallways as much as possible.

Until we know more about the floating electrical dragon head we stick to rooms with sealable doors as much as possible. Chomper being best suited to recon should take point and be first in the hallway.

Chomper: Heck no. Ill feed myself to my own mount before stepping outside a room solo.
Seraphim: Someone has to be the first one out. If not the stealthiest, then the most stalwart?
Dis Pater: Why not the most diplomatic? Perhaps you can reason with the severed head?
Pluto: Why not the dinosaurs? They are stalwart…they are expendable…and they don’t have a vote in party matters. We might even be able to grace them with undeath should the circumstances line up.

Neither Chomper nor Skalagrim is eager to serve up their mounts/companions as potential offerings.
They ultimately decide on what they feel is the most reasonable course of action.

Skalagrim: Alright Reggie….time to earn your keep. You are small and should draw little attention. Pop your head out and tell us where the next closest room is at.

Reggie: Didn’t I stick my neck out enough for you guys the other night? You know, lying to the people that wanted to send you back to your graves.

Seraphim: Yes..you performed admirably. We appreciated your conviction to our cause so much that we are entrusting this next to you as well.

And so it was that the maruding horde of necromantic raiders was reduced to shoving their press ganged gnome bard into the hallway first so they could scurry room to room like a bad mockery of a Scooby Doo chase scene.

Every round’s worth of actions is bogged down as they all calculate exact routes and procedure to ensure no ends their turn while still in a hallway. They are seriously acting like four years olds pretending that anything without carpet is lava. It is all I can do to stop from laughing.
After about five rounds of high level paranoid scurrying they inadvertently corral themselves down a new path that is previously unexplored. They initially wanted to hightail it back to safer/explored territory and recapture some of the undead they cut loose on their backtrail. Instead…as they strive to avoid staying in the halls, they have pushed deeper into minotaur controlled territory. I realized that I had overtuned the minotaurs to compensate for their group synergy and had placed some “tester” encounters to better gauge their power level.

One of these tester encounters resulted in some remarkably unexpected change in events.
They stumble into a room that opens into a completely different layout and structure than what they have experienced in the 15 days since entering the mega dungeon. Heavily peppered with glowing crystals and more cavern than “room” there is a lone minotaur sentry who seems to be moving from crystal to crystal and tapping them with a tuning fork. The U.C. are on super high paranoid alert and having gotten reamed by the minotaurs the day before panic dictates their actions. For lack of a better tactical description they swarm the lone minotaur and throw the kitchen sink at it.

In the span of ten seconds they kill it three times over and instantly reorganize themselves into a ready position to prepare for more attackers. Having lost their herd and most of their provisions, they are eager to butcher the slain bull humanoid and harvest some needed rations. They also don’t want to draw the attention of multiple minotaurs while being distracted. Ultimately the prospect of weighing themselves down with the body persuades them to have Chomper take as much usable flesh possible, after which they will animate the minotaur as a skeleton and figure out a means to backtrack.
Past experience has trained them to recognize any item as being future viable…so they also pack up the tuning fork. All goes to script until Hades animates the minotaur and has to battle for control.

Hades: What the frick? Only intelligent undead require battle of wills. Just wanted a basic skeleton.
DM: It is intelligent…and not keen on being controlled.

Hades does take control of the creature and discovers that it has retained it’s memories and will.*This makes them a bit leerier of whole scale “drop them and rise them” hijinks. It also means they have a reluctant source of intel. The minotaur (they name him T-Bones or just T for short) is less than thrilled at his current role, but is willing to accommodate his newfound masters. Attitude wise he is curt and antagonistic but not treasonous. From T-Bones they manage to uncover the following expository tidbits…

*There are nearly 100 minotaurs…an entire colony housed within the megadungeon. Their perception of time has been skewed, T thinks there has been nearly 7 generations born and raised within the structure. They don’t recall the origin of their clan.

*The crystals emit a low level psionic radiation…extended exposure to the crystals has imbued them with psionic gifts.

*Some crystals react when struck with the tuning fork. These are “non depleted” crystals and their clan sages have devised a means in which to liquefy and consume the crystals properties. The process is lethal 1 of 5 times applied and extremely painful, but the weak who would be cast out or perish are willing to attempt the concoction if it means they may acquire an essential ability.

*T has no knowledge of the floating head and thinks Chomper was seeing things. He has no previous knowledge of the electrical discharge or illuminated runes.

The information gained from their conversation with T focuses their attention on the minotaur clan and away from the grigs/Canticle. T basically informs them that the clan organizes raiding parties in a consistent and methodical manner. They strike out in a preset pattern to scavenge for food, and other resources. The U.C. utilize that pattern to place themselves away from the raid focal points and they resume room hopping to what they surmise will be a safer area to plan an assault against any isolated minotaurs.

They encounter very little else that day and end up setting up a camp for the night inside a spacious open room. The door is heavily secured. In what is certainly a social mis-step, they begin cooking the butchered flesh of T-Bones. As the meat roasts upon a magical fire it emits a strange crackling and soft glow.

T-Bones: Good luck to whoever eats that…I think the radiation soaked into my muscles and blood.

Not to be dissuaded from a beef dinner they tentatively feed some to the anklosaur first. At first the dinosaur seems unfazed…then it keels over twitching and convulsing.

Chomper: Think the meat’s gone bad.

As they deliberate whether to pitch the minotaur roasts, the anklo wobbles to it’s feet and begins to cough violently, after the third or fourth wracking spasm a field of energy pops up around it…like a mower struggling to start the coughs activate a new found psionic ability…Inertial Armor.

Skalagrim: Did my dinosaur just become psionic?

The paranoid scurrying that has prevailed their thoughts instantly gives way to an impromptu feast as they all gorge on roasted radioactive minotaur steaks. To their great dismay no one suddenly develops the ability to shoot mind bullets…

Dis Pater: Perhaps we waited too long? Has to be fresher?
Seraphim: Definitely merits further experiments.
Skalagrim: So…are we just going to charge into Cow Town? See how many we can kill and then run?
Seraphim: “One does not simply walk into Mordor”
Pluto: More like Moo-Dor *snicker*

So begins a tidal wave of horrificly groan worthy puns…


*This was an idea I had tossed around that psionic imbued creatures would have a chance of retaining their intelligence/abilities upon death. Just an added wrinkle I wanted to manipulate and play around with. It ended up being a poetic fit based on the group.

Honest Tiefling
2015-01-09, 04:41 PM
I can only wish my evil campaigns went like this. I think your players deserve a lot of credit for being cohesive and interesting with their evil. And your skills in rolling with it seem pretty legendary. Especially with the psionic radiation.

Lord_Burch
2015-01-09, 04:48 PM
That was awesome! I'm so glad you're continuing this journal.

Out of curiosity, what would've happened if one of the PC's had eaten the meat first?

Kaveman26
2015-01-09, 05:26 PM
I can only wish my evil campaigns went like this. I think your players deserve a lot of credit for being cohesive and interesting with their evil. And your skills in rolling with it seem pretty legendary. Especially with the psionic radiation.

They worked together well for a little while. They are more than capable of backstabbing and treachery on a grand scale.

As for whether a PC ate first I would have given 20 percent chance of gaining a power. I made the Dino automatic....cause it was fun to see them squirm.

ImperatorV
2015-01-09, 11:21 PM
This campaign is genius and I am very glad it is updating again. Also the dynamic between the gnome and the party is hilarious.

turbo164
2015-01-10, 08:51 PM
Psionic...dinosaur...

*head asplodes from the awesomeness*

Alex12
2015-01-11, 08:54 AM
Psionic...dinosaur...

*head asplodes from the awesomeness*

Psionic undead dinosaur. Like in Dresden Files.

Inevitability
2015-01-11, 10:48 AM
Psionic undead dinosaur. Like in Dresden Files.

This is the second time I'm posting this in a little over a day, but...


I just found another reason to go read those books.

Echobeats
2015-01-11, 05:36 PM
So, blacklight101 necros the Cattle-Driving Necromancer thread, and... it actually comes back to life.

How very fitting.

The Bandicoot
2015-01-11, 08:57 PM
Kaveman is back! Long live the Kaveman!

Kaveman26
2015-01-12, 12:44 PM
So, blacklight101 necros the Cattle-Driving Necromancer thread, and... it actually comes back to life.

How very fitting.

I had been missing the process of writing for a while, and it definately served as a jump start to start typing again. If people still wanted it back after months (i think a full year maybe) it must be worth sharing.

DireSickFish
2015-01-12, 12:54 PM
I had been missing the process of writing for a while, and it definately served as a jump start to start typing again. If people still wanted it back after months (i think a full year maybe) it must be worth sharing.

I'm glad you are still sharing your campaigns. I've read all your logs and they are an absolute blast to read. Amazing stories and well written. Thank you for the updates, and for writing in general.

Norin
2015-01-12, 12:59 PM
Thank you for keeping this thread "alive", so to speak.
Amazing log, my hat is off for you and your group.

blacklight101
2015-01-12, 03:31 PM
So, blacklight101 necros the Cattle-Driving Necromancer thread, and... it actually comes back to life.

How very fitting.

At least my necromancy didnt turn into a near-tpk this time.:smallwink:

Echobeats
2015-01-12, 05:20 PM
Have now read the two recent updates. Seeing the U.C. brought into line is oddly satisfying.

Kane0
2015-01-13, 06:01 AM
Always happy to read a Kaveman story!

Dr_Dinosaur
2015-01-14, 01:22 PM
I had been missing the process of writing for a while, and it definitely served as a jump start to start typing again. If people still wanted it back after months (i think a full year maybe) it must be worth sharing.

It is good to see such a wonderful journal necro'd brought to true life after its death temporary repose.

Kaveman26
2015-01-16, 12:28 PM
The Rib-Eye of Sauron

The U.C. continue to slowly delve into minotaur controlled territory and the change in architecture is growing more and more pronounced. Everything becomes jagged and straight lines are non-existent. Crystalized protusions and clusters just out from unidentifiable material in the walls. Forward progress is stilted by their paranoia and constant pauses to harvest viable crystal from the walls. Seraphim somewhat puts two and two together and places the cognizance crystals found in the gnoll vault against a large crystal formation and in short order it seems to soak up some of the radiation. A few hours into the search T-Bones begins acting oddly and Skalagrim picks up on some strange tells.

Skalagrim: He expecting something in particular? Keeps glancing down hallways and if he still had hair it would be standing on end.

The skeletal minotaur is not eager to share anything but a command from Hades pulls the reasoning for his mood.

T-Bones: We run a tight schedule. I would be seen as overdue by now. A search party should be dispatched any time.

Chomper: Think we can throw a hood on him and act like his prisoners? Make it look like he took us captive?

Seraphim: He is considerably altered from his living state. Not sure we can conceal losing several hundred pounds of flesh and muscle with a hoodie.

Chomper: Anyone prepare spells that alter appearance? Or give illusion of his still being a minotaur?

Nope.

Dis Pater: Just leave him on point like we are captives, and when the search party shows up just have T tell them it’s a new ability to conceal his appearance but he can’t quite control it yet.

Chomper: That will literally buy us what? Ten seconds? They will see through that in no time.
Dis Pater: If it buys us six seconds…that is all we really need *grin*

They establish an exhaustive list of specific instructions to avoid immediate tip offs and decide to roll with the whole “Im not actually a skeleton I just sneezed and accidentally psionically made myself look like one and coincendentally I captured these six heavily armed/armored dinosaur riding miscreants” ruse

Almost as if on cue, a search party of four minotaurs all armed to the horns and glowing with unnatural light turn the twisted corner of a narrower corridor. They immediately see T-Bones leading a pack of “bound” adventurers. Their leader calls for a halt as T-Bones addresses them in their own language. Not for even one second do they “buy” the deception. But the oddity of the situation slows them down enough to parley with their former brother. After a few minutes back and forth the leader sends off one of his four and the remaining three all stand ready and on guard.

Chomper: So much for coaxing a surprise round.

The leader after several long minutes lets out a big snort and speaks in common to the group. He identifies himself as Lane.

Lane: I send a runner to the tribe requesting additional warriors. Soon many will return. Far more than needed to kill your measly pack. That is always the easiest way. Our lord may have use for your alive. I leave you the option. Walk to our leader alive…or be carried dead.

Dis Pater: We could kill the three of you and walk out the way we came.
Lane: You could try.

An impromptu huddle occurs and the group consensus is to follow the cattle to their base. The trek to Moo-Dor central is without consequence and serves as a major eye opener to the party. The minotaur’s lair or stronghold is quite immense. There are heavy fortifications, housing structures, barracks, even a functioning smithy. Everything is derived from the crystals and any discarded material found. Pieces of armor and weapons, even bone that been hardened and bleached is used to create function. Nothing seems to go to waste in this place. T-Bones estimate of 100 minotaurs is more accurately “100 minotaurs of fighting age and ability” the real number is closer to 250.

The coolest feature of the place is their fountain. An ornate and extremely bizarre in appearance water fountain sits at the center of their lair. It seems to spring water from nothingness.** By and large I have not pressed them too hard on water needs as they have clerics capable of creating water and they literally have two members capable of drinking blood and the rest are hardly opposed to the idea.

Lane takes them to a crude stairwell that descends beneath the stronghold and leads them to the minotaur’s chieftain. The chieftain does not sit upon a throne, he instead walks through an underground meadow. At first glance the chieftain resembles a massive centaur, but closer examination reveals the upper body not of a man, but of a two headed burly humanoid. Their chief is a centaur-ettin (Centtin?). The crystals that trace the entire minotaur compound glow a different color in the meadow and trees that seem blended from wood and stone emerge from the ground all around him.

Chieftain:Why does our meal walk into my domain Lane? Is it not customary to slaughter the sheep first?

Lane:Indeed Lord Dion, you did however encourage us to utilize all that is around us to the fullest potential. These creatures killed one of our brethren and put his spirit back into his very bones, casting aside his flesh. Perhaps they can be of benefit to us beyond the cookpot.

Dion fully appraises the U.C. and a strange smirk twists his face.

Dion: Necromancers. A fine gift for a place such as this.
Hades: The finest gift one could aspire to attain.

Dion: You have taken one of my scions. It will take much convincing to avoid our cauldrons.

Seraphim: I of all people can certainly appreciate the benefits of a well cooked adversary. Only a few weeks ago I skinned and boiled a sorcerer to gain his spells. You are welcome to take the Halfling as a token of our esteem, and a gesture of our willingness to parley.

Reggie seems genuinely shocked despite the vast evidence demonstrated that he is expendable. He whimpers softly and tries to find words of salvation.

Dion: Halfling’s taste ill to my tongues.
Pluto: Well what is more to your liking? You took our cattle and horses.
Dion: Man flesh is what I seek. The girl has the scent of human upon her…but it is strangely tainted.
Seraphim: Alas I have elvish blood spoiling my flavor Lord Dion. I do think we can arrange a banquet fit for your clan…

Dion: oh?

Seraphim: Indeed. It just so happens that a band of humans was engaged against us in conflict when your scions acquired our herd of cattle. You are welcome to their flesh…all we desire is the return of their bones. In return we would happily form an alliance. From this alliance we can provide human flesh in great quantity.

Dion: A band of six is hardly a banquet. For my sons that is the barest morsel.
Seraphim: Of course. May I have a moment to confer with my comrades? I hate to be rude…
Dion: With my leave elf child.

The U.C. all pull together an impromptu huddle. From behind the screen it is clear they are talking in loose code and from the grins and snickers I doubt it bodes well for the future control of events.

Seraphim: I think it’s round up time.
Chomper: Already? We still got almost two full weeks.
Seraphim: For allies like this and a stronghold where we can potentially store much greater stockpiles? I think it’s worth it.
Skalagrim: So we are going with “Round Up”? (the quotation marks are used by Skala at the table)
Seraphim: Just about. I think we can make the Canticle pull double duty and be the fall guys too. Just need to convince one of them to play along.
Pluto: I got that covered. I have a strong suspicion their cleric will see things our way.
Dis Pater: The one that feels we are a walking heresy?
Pluto: Yes…he is due for a change in heart.

The U.C. turn back to the Centtin chief and Seraphim gives her most playful innocent smile imagineable.

Seraphim: May we borrow some sleds?

They in essence strike a bargain with the minotaur clan. In exchange for safe passage (barring acts of aggression against the clan) through their territory and assistance transporting vast quantities of dead and butchered cattle they will provide at minimum 20 humans in edible form to the Chieftain. They also commit to providing a minimum of 10 per month each month after as means of maintaining their alliance. They also enter into extended parley for information about the structure and how he came to be there.

*He has no formative memory of anything before the dungeon. No recollection beyond things we all take for granted. He has personally overseen the clan for just over one year. This is strangely against the notion of there being seven generations of minotaur within the structure. There is from his explanation a staggeringly quick maturation process brought on by the crystals and infants become adults within a matter of weeks. This rapid maturation strains their food supplies and causes excessively high mortality rates.

*There is a gateway within their stronghold they are unable to open. Chomper can’t even find a lock or keyhole on the thing.

*He too has no idea about the floating head thing.

*T-Bones, Lane and 1 other minotaur Tarn are assigned to the U.C. as babysitters and liasons.

*While Dion views his clan as “big dogs” of this area, he is very pragmatic and concerned with security and outside threats. Requests to mobilize en masse are rejected. Raids and harriers are organized and frequent but he is loathe to part with any sizeable force from their base of operations.

The group takes a full day acquainting themselves with the clan and hoping that scouts will bring back word of the Canticle party. They are not disappointed when a raid group returns (no casualties but multiple wounds) after skirmishing with the righteous adventurers.

Dis Pater: Target acquired. Let’s go get us some fall guys…

*This was an idea I had tossed around that psionic imbued creatures would have a chance of retaining their intelligence/abilities upon death. Just an added wrinkle I wanted to manipulate and play around with. It ended up being a poetic fit based on the group.

**The Decanter of Endless Water makes something of a cameo appearance

blacklight101
2015-01-19, 10:59 PM
I really do like the way it fits with the group, I couldnt think of a mechanic technically working better in this case, at least of the ones I know in 3.5 anyway. I love my group, but im still envious of how yours and a handful of others have such great chemistries. I can only hope to be half that good with my (now) players.

Fable Wright
2015-01-19, 11:50 PM
Just dropping by to say that this journal is awesome. I started reading it around the first necro, and had to go back and read your other journals after reading this one's start. Eagerly awaiting the next installment.

Perturbulent
2015-01-20, 01:23 PM
I am endlessly pleased that this picked back up

Synar
2015-01-20, 04:48 PM
You know how if you give a lollipop to a child just to steal it back right after, he will be far less happy than if you did nothing? And what he would feel if you waited long enough for him to lost hope and become serene again and only then give it back to him? That's what I'm feeling right now.

Seen too much threads die and just fade slowly into oblivion.
So happy to see you back.

But, it's a necro, right?
Fear the mods!

Kaveman26
2015-01-21, 12:24 PM
Session Four Complete: Round Up!

The Necro-Ranchers gear up for an all out assault. No defensive or curative spells are prepared. Dis Pater and Skalagrim pull Reggie the gnome aside and basically have a heart to heart conversation.

Dis Pater: No more simpering or whining. Today you earn your life. When we fight you fight as if every breath you draw is your last, because if you don’t and we survive your death will be long in the making and its aftermath will be a mockery of anything you ever held dear.

Reggie: You were ready to feed me to the minotaurs! I thought we had bonded.

Skalagrim: Offering you and actually cooking you for them are two different things. We could always feed you to the witch. She likes new spells…

Reggie: I’m not much of a warrior.

Dis Pater: We aren’t asking you to charge in and go toe to toe with their armored fighters. I just want you focusing on countersonging their bard. Trip him up with your whip, whatever you can do to help keep their caster occupied.

Reggie: You got it.

The actual fight against the Canticle is so remarkably one sided, I am going to mostly skip over it. Between having Reggie as an added secondary caster, Lane,T-Bones and Tarn as added muscle, and the Canticle’s cleric switching sides mid attack it’s a route. They keep the Canticle party members alive just on the off chance Dion and the minotaurs like very fresh meat. The turncoat cleric is fully revealed to the party and quick to make himself invaluable. He is introduced as Micko.

Pluto informs the U.C. of Micko’s affiliation not to righteousness and purity, but to deceit and ambition. Originally Micko was going to play much more of a behind the scenes role and the Canticle much more of a reoccurring presence. That plan went up in smoke. Instead I have Micko deliver some intelligence about the structure itself.

Micko: By now you have realized certain elements of this place are not like anything previously witnessed. The architecture of the place is foreign. The biology and racial diversity of the inhabitants is unnatural. Sigils and runes of a language unknown are everywhere. My master is a rare individual. He beckoned me to this place to provide first hand confirmation of his suspicions. I don’t have the whole picture but enough pieces to get the gist.

Seraphim: You have our rapt attention. Especially if you can explain the severed head that annihilated everything in it’s wake.

Micko:My master told me that creatures like this once existed and that they were both fearsome and powerful. He called them Eye Tyrants and one of the few species he respected as peer. They were also a sign he told me to watch for to confirm his hunch.

Dis Pater: Strange symbols, stranger monsters, and bizarre walls…it’s a massive underground dungeon those things are expected.

Micko: That is where you are mistaken, this is not a dungeon. It’s a research vessel and an Ark. My master’s race left this place millennia ago and sought the stars. This place is a vessel of their once proud dominance. These halls and everything you seek is simply a observational deck. A place for them to watch the mice scurry and see them look for cheese. Only deeper will you find the true treasures.

Skalagrim: We have a lead on a path further in. But no way to open the portal.

Micko: I might be able to help there. I will have to get word to my master first. And that requires the doors opening. The merchants who hold the entrance will surely find my presence with you strange. Hopefully one of your party has a good explanation.

*the whole party snickers at this comment*

Seraphim laughs and shrugs.
Seraphim: That won’t be an issue.

The Cowboys take a few days to line up their ducks and pow-wow with the minotaur clan. On day 23 they begin massing their resources and structuring their “Round Up”. Based on the cache of dead bodies they keep stockpiling I have a gist of what they intend. My expectations are drastically exceeded.

I fully expected them to attack any “exiting” parties. I did not expect them to attack the entire defensive merchant convoy. I had gone out of my way to establish them as well prepared, well armed, and with spell support. None of that made a difference.

Quick lesson (refresher for some) on how Animate Dead functions. In essence using a standard action a necromancer can animate up to twice their level in HD of undead. With the feat Undead Master a cleric can animate as if they were four levels higher. So Hades and Pluto can animate as if they are 9th level…meaning 18HD of undead with one casting. However…if you animate in an area that is desecrated you can double that amount with a single casting. So Hades and Pluto can animate 36HD of undead with a single casting of animate Dead. They have 2 3rd level spells +1 domain spell (which happens to be animate dead for both). So they can cast animate dead 6 times between them.
There is an added sub clause to Desecrate. Basically desecrate gives bonuses to the creation of the undead, and if you have a shrine, or fixture of a deity in the area desecrated, the bonuses double. Remember when way back they took out the dire lion enclosure? The first thing they did after was build a throne of skulls. A shrine to death. Yeah…they carried that up with them.

Undead Minions:
Witch:
Via Bonethrall (5HD): Skeletal Unicorn
Via Command Undead (5HD):Lion-Skeleton
Undead Lord 1:
Corpse Companion (5HD):Lion-Skeleton
Command Undead (9HD):T-Bones, Blink Dog (skeleton)
Via Animate Dead: (20HD):10 Horses (skeleton)
Undead Lord 2:
Corpse Companion (5HD):Lion-Skeleton
Command Undead (9HD):Minotaur (Skeleton) Blink Dog (skeleton)
Via Animate Dead (20HD):10 Horses (skeleton)

In reserve (corpse form):
20 Horses (2 HD each)
6 ogres (4 HD each)
2 dire lions (8HD each)
20 gnolls (2HD each)
4 Minotaur (6HD each)
20 Orcs (1 HD each)
8 Bison (5HD each)

There are four merchant “rooms” which are basically stockpiles of adventuring supplies, arms, equipment, and potions. Two hallways are also used as checkpoints and “tollways”. The Cowboys reach the first checkpoint, one where a few weeks prior they paid a toll in the form of 10 potions to use that pathway. Without a word they unleash a wave of fury and attack the half dozen guards. The checkpoint is meant to allow for a fighting retreat and the outnumbered and outgunned guards use it accordingly. Skalagrim rages at them as they lay down caltrops and try to hold everyone at bay with pikes.

Skalagrim: You warn everyone that we are coming. WE thirst for blood and crave flesh, all that which belongs to you will slack our hunger!

The guards hightail it back to the central entrance and the second checkpoint’s garrison follows suit. The Cowboys then set up shop just around the bend leading to main room. The hallway is about 60 feet long and whilst dodging a hail of bowfire Chomper confirms that the guards are gearing up for battle and massing in the central room. Shields and spears at the front, archers and casters behind them in ranks form up.

They give time for the guards to prepare and fortify, all while patiently dragging their corpses into place at the junction. The twins desecrate the ground and plant their thrones. They grin like madmen at the table while their characters lean back in their thrones, not a care in the world.

Chomper: They look about settled, I think they may start to come out if we don’t go to them.

The Necro-Ranchers all heft weapons and and check the straps on their mounts.

Dis Pater: It’s on the twins now.

Hades/Pluto/Seraphim: We are ordering every undead minion except T-Bones into a suicide attack…full charge to overrun the position and engage everything that fights back. T-Bones is shifting to Seraphim’s control. Repeat…every slot we control is in full attack except T-Bones.

DM: Understood.

Hades:Animating 36HD worth of horses…20 in my control, 8 of which will be commanded by Pluto, 8 of which will be commanded via feat by me.

DM: That will cause you to lose control of all the undead you just sent into the meatgrinder.

Hades: Yep…figure they are occupied enough with the stuff attacking them to worry about us.
DM: Fair enough.

Hades/Pluto:Once the next wave is fully attacking and engaged…we will repeat the process in the following waves.

Wave 1: 20 Horses (40HD)+ 3 lions (15HD) + 2 Blink Dogs (6HD)
Wave 2: 16 Horses (40HD)
Wave 3: 16 Orcs (20HD) 10 Gnolls (20HD)
Wave 4: 7 Bison (5HD each)
Wave 5: 5 Ogres (18HD) 2 Dire Lions (16HD) 1 Horse (2HD)
Wave 6: 4 Minotaurs (24HD) 6 Gnolls (12HD)

Once Wave Six is fully away we are going to use domain abilities to make the dinosaurs benefit from negative healing along with Skala and Seraphim. Death Clerics can touch someone and make them benefit from negative healing.

Within the span of about sixty seconds…the merchants are beset by the better part of 200HD worth of undead. With everything deteriorating in complete madness they are able to do nothing other than give ground and retreat into various rooms. Then comes the wedge of PC’s. Dis Pater at the forefront…Skalagrim in the rear, with a block of the twins and Seraphim at the center. The Gravewalker’s aura of desecration bolsters the DC of negative channeling and with the clerical domain ability negative channeling now heals every member of the party plus their dinosaur mounts for the next four turns. It also heals every single undead and harms the guards. They had to burn parts of their channeling from the command undead shenanigans but they still have 3 each.

Chomper plays goalie and holds the hallway with his spinosaur for any guard that tries to make a break for it into the dungeon.

Our battle map is a straight nightmare…the logistics of tracking everything are beyond migraine inducing and the head exploding blatant abuse generated by their synergy is enough to drive a normal man to drink.

It’s also a hell of a good time…

Chomper: That is a whole lot of skeletons.

They rout the entire garrison. Chomper doesn’t have to raise a finger. As the guards become overwhelmed the U.C. pull back into the hallway and wait for the dust to settle before determining what undead are left and controlled/uncontrolled. It is a small consolation that they do have to guard against the ones they set free, it was an overwhelming display of force but it did require every 3rd level spell slot, a couple second level spells slots, every channeling per day, and most of their daily domain abilities to pull off.

Butcher’s bill…
78 Humans killed
2 Half Elves
2 Dwarves
3 Elves
4 Halflings
Countless undead skeletons…

At this juncture they in essence split their party. Some hold the entrance and sift through all the goods acquired, while others cart dead humans to the minotaurs as payment. The merchants had some very serviceable wheelbarrows and carts that the scant remaining skeletal horses lodge no objections to pulling. They drag the majority of trade goods to the minotaur stronghold as well for safekeeping. Taking for themselves coin, gem, potions and a few odds and ends. They fulfill their promise in delivering humans to eat (they actually had a dozen or so they stabilized before dying that are delivered still alive…to them it was good manners for their “hosts” not emotional torture and abuse)

From their Perspective:
*They have amassed a considerable stockpile of trade goods, replacement equipment, adventuring tack and consumables.

*The entrance to the dungeon is in their control and they are free to ambush or murder any groups coming for the exit.

*They have an “alibi” in the form of Micko who will back their story that the Illuminated Canticle were killers in disguise and they led the slaughter at the gate. Only the timely arrival of the U.C. allowed for the passage to be secured.

*An alliance with a formidable dungeon force was been established and reinforced via human sacrifice.

*Said alliance gives them a defacto secured stronghold within the dungeon interior along with control of the next potential passageway deeper in

*Micko has provided them intelligence as to where the true wealth of the structure may preside.

*Seraphim gorges herself on the slain casters amongst the murdered guards and picks up some added spells for her poppet. The dhampir half vampires even chide her for being something of a glutton.

From My Perspective as DM:

*Virtually every NPC introduced has been butchered (figuratively and literally) or subverted.

*My hopes of a reoccurring antagonist in the form of the Canticle now fills a minotaur stew pot

*My “sleeper agent” is now in alliance with the PC’s

*The most formidable force within the first true section of the dungeon has every logical and practical reason to continue the alliance and mutual benefit garnered from the Necro-Ranchers.

*The merchantile system meant to provide a heavy fee for replacing or acquiring needed equipment just became a jackpot for the undead army that massacred them.

*Any exiting PC group will now be subject to making it past a team that has time to secure the area, desecrate the ground, establish shrines and bring in mass quantities of minions that shine in desecrated areas.

*All of this has transpired in the first month of the dungeon crawl and has overall been a blast in terms of gameplay and organic storytelling. I feel like the characters for the most are developing nicely and each is standing out in their own way. The twins come off as aloof and somewhat unsettling, Seraphim is all sweetness and charm until the blade reachs your vitals, Dis Pater is harsh and sour, Skalagrim a bit more hot headed and blunt, Chomper is the closest thing to a level headed voice in the group and has developed more a “just roll with it” mentality.

When the dust settles there are five days until the gate opens and the world outside discovers the genocide from within. The Cowboys are still unsure if they are exiting or remaining inside. A massive quantity of undead turnover has already occurred and they are leery of the well running dry if they remain inside. Exiting and restocking gives them more control, but also puts them outside for thirty days and in a position where they may have to answer some tough questions.

If they remain inside any treasure they have accumulated can’t readily be spent, nor can they receive additional intelligence from Micko’s mysterious master. With a better grasp of what is inside they are also itching to restock certain potions and scrolls.

(I am summarizing about an hour’s worth of back and forth into two paragraphs here)

They ultimately decide to exit, and almost as an afterthought they make an attempt to locate Rusk and Gup. Rusk is located alive and none too thrilled to see them. In the midst of their undead juggling they lost track of the skeletal gnolls in his sub-command and nearly got him lynched by his own re-animated gnolls. Given the choice of bathing in the witch’s cauldron with some veggies and seasoning or exiting the place with them he accepts the latter. Gup is nowhere to be found.

They resolve to expend all remaining undead minions prior to leaving the structure and use them liberally to assist in bushwhacking any exiting parties or party members that make their way out in the last few days. I had only a trickle of broken parties slated for leaving…so pickings are slim.

On Day 30 the appointed hour arrives and the gates open with barely a sound. Calmly waiting from the inside is Seraphim on her undead unicorn (it somehow managed to survive virtually everything that transpired…reasonably certain it was an error on my part that she retained control of it…but she uses it more for show than substance so I didn’t press too hard) followed by the rest of the U.C. along with Micko, Reggie, Rusk, and T-Bones. Without a care in the world they lead their macabre processional through the exit and wait for the riot to come.

Without being bidden they had already sought out directions to the camp’s security tent. At that place they calmly provided a pre-canned statement and testimony to the Canticle losing it and attacking the entrance. They scolded the military personnel in charge for their lack of interior oversight and gave hollow apologies to each of the merchants exterior counterparts.

Several different authority figures press them for more details and further questioning, and they are firm on not providing more than what they have already done.

Seraphim: We have spent a month in a place filled with murder and acts of horror. Frankly we trust each other and no one else at this point. So pardon our isolation…but we feel more secure this way.

We end session with the entrance in complete disarray as merchants scramble for a Plan B and the 10 parties set to enter all second guessing themselves. Four of the ten change their minds and don’t enter. The U.C. become the epicenter of swarming parties and emissaries from other contingents looking for information about what they encountered and what they discovered. They advance to level six and we pack it in for the night.

blacklight101
2015-01-21, 01:16 PM
That was definitely an unexpected move, I may have to try some of those same shenanigans. That was quite amusing. Quite a good read as all the rest have been.

LokiRagnarok
2015-01-21, 04:29 PM
Bwahaha. That was amazing. Thank you for keeping us updated and a thank you to whoever necro'd the thread!

Red Rubber Band
2015-01-21, 06:39 PM
Absolutely brilliant.

Aldurin
2015-01-21, 08:34 PM
Fairly impressive what they accomplish with their low-level, but it's also a testament to how much balancing is beaten and left on the side of the road when necromancy is properly utilized.

Props for being a good DM about this stuff, I know that many people would freeze up and start saying "no you can't do that!" as soon as their plans started falling apart.

Kaveman26
2015-01-23, 08:25 AM
Props for being a good DM about this stuff, I know that many people would freeze up and start saying "no you can't do that!" as soon as their plans started falling apart.

Yeah...I have learned that you can't take things personally. It's all a game and at the end of the day it's about enjoying one's self. At one point I was shaking my head and sighing as they sent wave after wave against the merchant envoy and I said " You guys really know how to beat a dead horse"...the response I got was " Yep...and we will make it get back up and pull a wagon with the rest of it's dead body inside too"

Session Five: Interlude

The phase between dungeon crawling doesn’t involve a great deal of eventful material. For the most part the U.C. behave themselves and avoid any capital punishment eligible activity. Inadvertently they have become local celebrities, and a great deal of interest is steered their way in the form of those who want information about the interior. They are happy to oblige in exchange for alchemy materials and well cared for livestock.

Character Developments:

Seraphim advances to level 6 in Gravewalker, which grants her animate dead and a new hex. She selects Misfortune as a new Hex (basically forces a target to make two rolls and keep the worse roll). She also functions as group brewmaster restocking and preparing potions for party use. By the time the group is ready to re-enter the dungeon she has all 24 slots of her animate dead filled with six ogres each outfitted in chain shirts and longspears. Her bonethrall is T-Bones (also fully armored and equipped), and her command undead is Snowflake…her unicorn mount.

As a brief side note. The ogres came from a raiding party of ogres and orcs that staged an attack to a road leading to the central camp. The Necro-Ranchers were happy to assist of “disposing” of the bodies without the added labor of a burial, or smell of a bonfire. They even haggled for some “camp credit” due to their public service. None was provided, but they tried.

Chomper continues down the ranger path (HorseLord/Trapsmith) and takes Mounted Archery as new feat. He spends most of his downtime crafting traps that can be set up in a pinch.

Hades/Pluto both kee on trucking with Undead Lord…they restock their own supplies of undead and provide assistance in crafting potions.

Skalagrim takes a second level in mounted Fury (Mounted Fury2/Cavalier4) and replaces his lost Heavy War Horse. Most of his downtime is devoted to working with his anklo and his horse to lockdown training.

Dis Pater keeps on with Knight of the Sepulcher.

Side Notes:

*Micko secretly meets with his boss and soon after returns with commitments of being able to open the gateway currently sealed in the minotaur’s domain.
*They pretty much empty the camp of all livestock and arrange a sizeable herd of horses and oxen(using bison for stats on the oxen)

The Big Stuff:

As arrangements are being completed and the 30 day mark approaches Seraphim goes to file the requisite paperwork at the camp’s central command only to be told that several revisions have been made to the protocols for entering the structure.

A party may not exceed six members each of which is permitted a single mount. A restring of replacement mounts is allowed but nothing further. Basically she is told this is to prevent any large scale chaos or massacres of overeager groups. To her it looks an awful lot like discrimination…but she politely requests for multiple copies of the new guidelines and smiles saying that she will return shortly.

Very soon thereafter Seraphim returns to the central command office with ten duplicate registrations. In essence they have filed ten separate party registrations with the six group members heading six parties, Reggie, Micko, T-Bones and Rusk head the remaining four. All their various undead and livestock are dispersed as mounts and re-mounts to be split between them all.

Once again my attempt to create a bit of an obstacle is rapidly avoided. The camp’s general blusters his way through a stammering explanation of why it may take several months before they are allowed entry but virtually no one has registered to enter based on waiting to see what happens when the gates open again. They accept a bold faced bribe and dissolve the updated registration standards. The ten parties are once again merged as one.

The day before gate opening…word is dispatched to the U.C. that they have been granted a full thirty minutes for entrance, as only one other group has decided to enter.

What Comes Out:
Nothing.
No single person emerges from the exit

What Goes In:
The Full Group of PC’s, T-Bones, Rusk, Reggie, Micko
20 live horses
20 live bison
Seraphim Undead:
Command Undead: Snowflake (skeletal unicorn)
Bonethrall: T-Bones (psionic minotaur skeleton)
Animate Dead: 6 ogres with full tack and equipment
Hades Undead:
Corpse Companion: Skeletal Minotaur (full gear)
Command Undead: 2 Bison
Animate Dead: 12 Horses
Pluto Undead:
Corpse Companion: Skeletal Minotaur (full gear)
Command Undead: 2 bison
Animate Dead: 12 Horses

Live Creatures:
Chomper’s Spinosaur
Skalagrim’s anklosaur, and heavy war horse.

As Skalagrim drives the last of the livestock inside a second column of entrants begins forming up at the gate. The hobogoblin watches with fascination as an armored phalanx of strange dwarves forms ranks. Nearly 50 heavily armored and regimented dwarves follow them inside with a string of mules and small wagons. Their leader is the biggest dwarf any of them has ever seen, nearly five and a half feet tall. He is extraordinarily good natured and festive greeting the Undead Cowboys with a hearty laugh and something approaching a bear hug. He calls himself Russ.

Russ: Tis good to be back underground. Don’t mind my boys and me, we will be out of your way soon enough.
The arrival of an armored dwarf legion gives them cause for alarm and they begin the next leg of their journey with great trepidation.

ImperatorV
2015-01-23, 08:52 PM
How to counter necromancers with a big army? Send in Dwarves with just as big an army.

Seriously though this party is great and the way you and your players play off of each other is hilarious.

Leon
2015-01-23, 10:56 PM
How to counter necromancers with a big army? Send in Dwarves with just as big an army.

Seriously though this party is great and the way you and your players play off of each other is hilarious.

How to counter Necromancers with a Big army is to not send in another large living force

Honest Tiefling
2015-01-23, 11:01 PM
How to counter Necromancers with a Big army is to not send in another large living force

But then it wouldn't be any fun. And better dwarves then psionic minotaurs.

Bad Wolf
2015-01-24, 01:13 AM
This is a shining example of what evil characters should act like. I wish I was part of that group...though I'd have to learn pathfinder first.

oshi
2015-01-27, 01:04 PM
Hey Kaveman, just finished reading all of the stuff you've got in your signature over the last few weeks.
I wanted to thank you for what I imagine is an enormous amount of time and effort spent on your work, it's all been very cool and quite well written.

Bob of Mage
2015-01-27, 09:30 PM
Wonderful read! This is a clear example of why magic is so broken by nature.

Demon 997
2015-01-28, 04:18 PM
Just wanted to say how much I've been enjoying these. I'll need to go back through them as well.

Togath
2015-01-28, 05:19 PM
I might as well comment as well~
It's a really interesting campaign so far, and I'm looking forward to seeing more.
I'm also finding it fun to see undead getting used, always irks me how rarely pcs use them(I know there's usually the whole "evil" thing attached in most settings, but even in evil games they seem uncommonly used by players).

Kaveman26
2015-01-29, 12:38 PM
Session Five Part 1: Delegation

The entrance is now completely abandoned and bereft of a merchantile presence. The dwarves cordially ask if the U.C. plan on utilizing any of the interior rooms. They inform the dwarf army that they intend to push forward deeper and that they are welcome to the entrance. Their column of undead and npc’s form up down the hall and watch as the dwarves begin assembling transportable fortifications at the entrance. From their observations it looks like the dwarves have assembled a hybrid tower-shield/ballista contraption. Segmented and joinable shield walls interlock, and open to allow siege weapons clear line of sight to fire. The whole assembly is mounted on wheels, and fortified with braces that clamp into the floors and walls to prevent rolling.

A separate company of dwarves seems to appear from the small wagons and they immediately start fabrication on replacing any and all doors with ones of their own design.

Skalagrim: This is the strangest dungeon party ever…that includes us.

Seraphim: I’m pretty sure they aren’t an adventuring party, I think they are colonists. They are going to take over this section and slowly push their way out. With those customizable rolling siege units they will be able to move at a slow even pace and literally take control of a given hallway, sealing off the doors and securing each section.

Hades: I don’t like the idea of sending a stampede straight into the teeth of those ballista, nor do I relish skeleton’s advancing against dwarven hammers. The damage reduction bonus they received against slashing/piercing is thrown out the window against warhammers.

The party breaks down into a wide spread back and forth over potential concerns this invading “colony” might present. They actually debate going full bore offensive before they have time to dig in. Skalagrim and Seraphim are on board with attacking immediately. Dis Pater is neutral and the twins are for waiting. Chomper is looked at as the deciding vote and he by happenstance is the most quiet during the majority of discussions. While they bantered about tactics he was poring over maps and notes from previous sessions.

Chomper: They can fortify all they want. We don’t need to lift a finger or lose a skeleton. Let’s say we take them at face value and they are not concerned with us whatsoever. They legitimately want to just take control and secure the dungeon. Fine, let them. We are more concerned with getting deeper in not swatting the flies looking to leave. If they are a threat and they want to come after us…let them. We are certainly going to be more mobile, they have some spell support but no one that jumped out as being a game breaker. Let them inch forward and chase us deeper in. We can draw them back to Moo-Dor and see if Dion and his own boys like dwarf meat. Even if they are strapped and nasty we got sheer advantage in numbers. Also…good chance they run into the street sweeper floating severed head. All the tower shields in the world aint going to matter against that thing. Let’s head for Moo-Dor and if they follow we go nova, if not let them screw around in this area, we already mostly cleared it anyway.

Everyone provides a thumbs up to Chomper’s plan and they start trekking off towards the minotaur controlled compound. They manage to reach Dion’s stronghold and give him a primer on the dwarf forces.

Micko successfully opens the gateway previously sealed off with the aid of a small parasitic creature that seems to be attached to his chest. Whatever it is, it clearly seems to be connected directly into his body.

The gateway opens and reveals a stairwell that seems to disappear into darkness. No light from torch, nor spell lights the path. Dispel Magic is equally useless.

Chomper: Before anyone asks…no I am not going first.
Reggie: Count me out…you can feed me to the witch first.
Skalagrim: My dinosaur has psionics now…and I just got a horse back, so I’m not sending mine.
Seraphim: Someone has to go first.
Dis Pater: Can send a skeleton.
Pluto: That only tells us if something is a threat. They don’t excactly talk.

Everyone is reduced to head scratching and character sheet searching looking for options. Skalagrim finally comes up with a solution.

Skalagrim: Don’t we still have the hourglass filled with salt? Can’t we get a mephit for an hour a day from it?
Chomper: Yeah…the thing that popped out and killed the weasel.
Skalagrim: They are expendable…we can get a new one after a day and they provide feedback. I call that a win win.

The U.C. all form up as a new salt mephit issues forth to the Material Plane.

The little dude is dressed head to toe in rich silk and velvet, an enormous hat with a billowing feather trails off nearly the length of his body. A rapier hangs at his hip. With a flourish and badly voiced Scottish accent he identifies himself as Juan Saltez Ramirez.

Ramirez: At your service.

Skalagrim: Right…we need you to go down the stairs and poke around at as much stuff as possible while yelling back what you see, hear etc. If someone tries to kill you let us know what it is.

Ramirez: You expect me to scamper off down some filthy stinking hole like some kind of half cocked miner’s parakeet? I am an esteemed poet and warrior. So sod off and do it your damn self.

Skalagrim: Aren’t you supposed to follow instructions for one hour? Are you refusing?

Ramirez: I will provide service for an hour, but I’m not going to listen to any bloody stupid nonsense about waltzing into the unknown while trying to trigger traps. Nor will I cheerfully tell you what color fur the animal that tries to disembowel me had on it’s back!.

Seraphim: Truly you are wise and dashing.

The witch lays on some thick charm schmoozing the mephit and he is FAR happier with her persuasion than Skalagrim’s.

Seraphim: You are a most skilled swordsman yes? Then all by means take point and tell us what dangers to expect…that is unless you dispatch them with the tip of your sword first.

With that encouragement Ramirez cheerfully sallies forth into the unkown, rapier in hand and a song on his lips.

Ramirez: The darkness gives way after a few paces. The stairs lead into an open room with a high ceiling, nothing too distinctive as far as landmarks go. Wait…I see movement. Something large and fast. It’s hard to pick out from the shadow…there is light but bloody little. Oh hell…it’s coming for me and my sword won’t pierce it’s hide…its…*gurgle gurgle*

A blood curdling scream echoes up the stairs…
Ramirez: The tentacles tore off my legs….
There is a crunching noise then silence. *

Skalagrim: Well it’s a good thing we sent the mephit.

Chomper: There is definitely something large…fast…and with tentacles.

Seraphim: At least one…maybe more. Whatever it is ate Ramirez before we could find out.

Hades/Pluto: I say we drive a few skeletal horses in…have them split off and go opposite directions. If only one draws attention then we assume it’s one creature. If multiple draw attention we assume it’s more than one. We send a second wave to draw it/them off the entrance then go down in formation and attack head on.

Dis Pater forms up at the head of their attack column…Seraphim and the twins fill in the center with Chomper and Skalagrim forming the rear. The twins use their clerical domain ability to let Sera and Chomper gain from negative channeling. Their undead decoys number four and all four are torn to shreds and dusted in one round. From that they are figuring on multiple creatures and being in a position of panic they form all their remaining undead around themselves like a bone circle of protection. The second decoy wave is sent in and they follow on the heels of the soon to be sacrificed horses.

They charge/canter into the next level of the dungeon and watch shadowy tentacles rise from beneath the floor to grab their skeletons and crush their mercilessly. **

Dis Pater: It’s a giant squid!
Seraphim: It is swimming through the mother freaking ground…!

A volley of attacks and spells launch into the squid and half the attacks pass right through the creature without effect. Dis Pater ends up eating a pair of tentacles and gets constricted. Their skeletons are getting pummeled by the multiple arms each round and in all honesty the squid nearly ends the campaign right here. The twins begin their healing/damage channeling and immediately recognize the squids scant few wounds closing.

Hades: The negative energy is healing it.
Dis Pater: We can’t risk trying to pace it, can’t afford healing it. We got any positive energy spells?
Pluto: That’s a negative.

Seraphim becomes the runaway MVP of this encounter. She uses evil eye to target saving throws, and cackles to extend the duration. Follow up round sees her use misfortune to force duplicate rolls, and she cackles again to extend duration of both. As she laughs like a crazed person Skalagrim takes back to back criticals from the giant squid’s lashing attacks and he drops into negative health.

There is a mad dash to reposition everyone and triage Skala, as Dis Pater continues to get bashed at the center. The twins direct traffic trying to put as many undead into the line of fire as possible, while Chomper dismounts and sends his spinosaur in. He snipes from distance and tries to maneuver into a safe spot. Seraphim pops a bestow curse trying to make the squid freeze and take no actions for a turn. She lands the curse and with misfortune still running from her cackling the squid is forced to roll twice each turn, if it fails either roll it takes no actions.

Pluto manages to reach Skalagrim’s prone form and announces that he will be casting an inflict moderate wounds.

DM: Are you certain that is the action you want to take?
Pluto: Yep…
DM: So you are casting Inflict Moderate Wounds on your unconscious and dying ally?
Pluto: Yep…
DM: I would offer you a saving throw…but you are completely out.
Pluto: Why would he want a saving throw? I’m trying to save his life…

DM:Well…a few minutes back when you guys were prepping to come down the stairs I specifically asked who you were using the domain ability on…and you said “Chomper and Seraphim…we can selective channel out Skala and the dinosaurs” I believe the reasoning was that you didn’t want to burn two extra rounds and uses of the ability.

Everyone at the table groans…Pluto finally has the lightbulb go off in his head.

Pluto:So we never flipped Skala to benefit from negative channeling…ergo I just finished him off…***

So as the giant squid ragdolls skeletal horse after skeletal horse and Skalagrim get’s inadvertently euthanized by one of his party’s clerics the rest of the crew hammer away furiously against the squid. All attempts at tactics vanish and it becomes a mad dash to inflict as much damage as possible. They catch the mother of all breaks as the misfortuned curse makes the squid miss 3 of it’s next 4 actions. Hades gets knocked into negatives and Pluto hits 2 health. T-Bones actually gets the killing blow and prevents any further party loss.

There is a cautious and very exacting clean up phase where in everyone is extremely carefully topped off with the appropriate form of healing. The toll was quite high, they lost 11 horses, 2 ogres and Skalagrim.

Amidst the tentacles and shattered horse bones they find a strange obsidian clasp at the base of the squid’s skull. The clerics work to identify it’s purpose but once removed from the squid the strange shadowy/incorporeal nature of the creature vanishes. So they have a fairly good idea of what is can do.

Chomper: So…what do we do with Skala?
Hades: Shame to just leave him here…
Pluto: Pity to see his death be in vain…
Seraphim: I know that he would want to be remembered.
Skalagrim: You are going to freaking eat me and reanimate me aren’t you?
Dis Pater: Waste not…want not.

A skeletal Skalagrim soon stands up and joins ranks with the rest of the remaining undead and the party toasts their fallen hobogoblin companion with a feast forged from his flesh.



*I really wish they had just gone down instead of putting out some bait first…*grin*

**It is a giant squid with incorporeal and shadow qualities. I.E. it gains from negative healing and is treated as if Ghost Touch is needed to fully affect it.

***I was completely willing to allow a bit of backtracking here. For right or wrong I was willing to forgo the indignity of having your cleric finish you off due to an oversight. Skalagrim waved off the “intervention” and said he wasn’t exactly feeling the build and wouldn’t mind trying something different anyway. I am amenable to new character and working him/her in with just a few provisions. First…can’t be a third undead lord, nor can it be a Gravewalker. Second…it may take a while for the new member to get worked into events as they unfold. Third…I make no promises that he/she will immediately be welcomed into the fold. During the interim Skalagrim focuses on creating a new character.

xroads
2015-01-29, 04:47 PM
Session Five Part 1: Delegation



**It is a giant squid with incorporeal and shadow qualities. I.E. it gains from negative healing and is treated as if Ghost Touch is needed to fully affect it.



Nice. I think the addition of this and the dwarven "colonists" was a great way to step up the challenges.

Quick question. Why is Reggie still with the group? I would of though he'd of slipped it into the crowd the moment the doors had opened up a month ago to let party out. Or at least tried to find some way to elude the party during that month.

commander panda
2015-01-29, 04:53 PM
Nice. I think the addition of this and the dwarven "colonists" was a great way to step up the challenges.

Quick question. Why is Reggie still with the group? I would of though he'd of slipped it into the crowd the moment the doors had opened up a month ago to let party out. Or at least tried to find some way to elude the party during that month.

extreme Stockholm syndrom

Kaveman26
2015-01-29, 04:58 PM
Nice. I think the addition of this and the dwarven "colonists" was a great way to step up the challenges.

Quick question. Why is Reggie still with the group? I would of though he'd of slipped it into the crowd the moment the doors had opened up a month ago to let party out. Or at least tried to find some way to elude the party during that month.

Partially owing to fear and also owing to the fact that they tend to make it a point to emphasize security protocols. They have very organized consistent "general orders" when it comes to things like watch schedules and oversight. They also had multiple sets of eye (eye sockets). Had he attempted to slip away his disappearance would be noted. I also roleplay a bit as him fearing recapture even more. I fully intend/intended to have him take a shot at the single most Inopportune moment.

Bob of Mage
2015-01-29, 11:19 PM
Partially owing to fear and also owing to the fact that they tend to make it a point to emphasize security protocols. They have very organized consistent "general orders" when it comes to things like watch schedules and oversight. They also had multiple sets of eye (eye sockets). Had he attempted to slip away his disappearance would be noted. I also roleplay a bit as him fearing recapture even more. I fully intend/intended to have him take a shot at the single most Inopportune moment.

It might be more interesting if he never does. Imagine if he really did come to care about the party. For example he gets a chance to get away from the party and betray them scotfree (say they think he's dead). Instead he goes out of his way to help them. It would be fun to see how the PCs react to someone helping them purely out of the "goodness of his heart" even knowing all they have done. Might mess with their heads to know they really hold nothing over Reggie's head any more and he for some reason likes them.

Kid Jake
2015-01-29, 11:25 PM
It might be more interesting if he never does. Imagine if he really did come to care about the party. For example he gets a chance to get away from the party and betray them scotfree (say they think he's dead). Instead he goes out of his way to help them. It would be fun to see how the PCs react to someone helping them purely out of the "goodness of his heart" even knowing all they have done. Might mess with their heads to know they really hold nothing over Reggie's head any more and he for some reason likes them.

So just commit whole hog to the Stockholm Syndrome. :smalltongue:

Axinian
2015-01-30, 02:48 AM
Partially owing to fear and also owing to the fact that they tend to make it a point to emphasize security protocols. They have very organized consistent "general orders" when it comes to things like watch schedules and oversight. They also had multiple sets of eye (eye sockets). Had he attempted to slip away his disappearance would be noted. I also roleplay a bit as him fearing recapture even more. I fully intend/intended to have him take a shot at the single most Inopportune moment.

Getting some revenge for having experienced Snickle, huh?

Kaveman26
2015-01-30, 08:40 AM
Getting some revenge for having experienced Snickle, huh?

I am reasonably certain that I lack the manipulative and spiteful imagination required to ever approach something that resembles adequate revenge for Snickle. That is an NPC with the ability to haunt gamers of all manner for decades.

xroads
2015-01-30, 09:22 AM
I am reasonably certain that I lack the manipulative and spiteful imagination required to ever approach something that resembles adequate revenge for Snickle. That is an NPC with the ability to haunt gamers of all manner for decades.

And now I'm suddenly interested in the story of Snickle.

Anyways, thanks for continuing to post your groups adventures Kaveman. I Look forward to next one.

turbo164
2015-01-30, 10:10 AM
And now I'm suddenly interested in the story of Snickle.

Anyways, thanks for continuing to post your groups adventures Kaveman. I Look forward to next one.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?247997-The-Big-One-Campagin-Log

Snickle shows up around post#86.


Re UC: The Inflict "heal" reminds me of another campaign log where one of the players got Cure Moderate Wounded to death by a teammate because he was disguising his healed-by-negative-energy race as a Human...trying to remember which one that was.

Ramirez was great XD

Kaveman26
2015-02-02, 02:05 PM
Session 5 Part 2: The Museum.

After dispatching the squid and consuming their dead comrade they explore the full breadth of the room and check for any other entrances/exits. They locate two separate hallways leading out of the squid chamber and elect to place undead packs at each point while they try to fully examine the obsidian clasp. The twins are able to discern that the clasp is cursed. It has potent magical properties but some serious drawbacks.

*When worn the user benefits from a 20% miss chance from concealment unless in bright light
*When worn the user benefits as if they had the incorporeal status as relates to 50% chance of spells or attacks being ignored.
*When worn the user is healed by negative energy, and harmed by positive energy.
*The wearer suffers a -4 penalty to their Con Score, this effect remains in place for 24 hours after the clasp is removed
*The wearer loses one ability point per day at random each day the clasp is worn. Once removed the ability point will restore at natural rate.
*To remove the clasp causes the wearer to suffer damage equaling 75% of their maximum health. This damage can’t be healed by magical means and must heal naturally.

There is some serious debate as to the merits and potential of this item. Initially when I included this unique item as part of the dungeon I envisioned a back and forth of characters switching the clasp out or being used for extreme circumstances. I wanted it to be a catalyst for tough choices and tension.

As it stands for this group…their “meat shield” or front line hitter already benefits from negative energy and is not over eager to see his stats hurt (even antipaladin is a bit M.A.D). Their next warrior is dead, and Chomper avoids direct confrontation.

Still…so many intriguing possibilities…so many ways to see them squirm to reap the benefits of concealment and 50% percent miss chance…Surely they will…

Seraphim: Slap it on a horse and make them the lightning rod at the front.
Chomper: Heck yeah…as they die we can just keep cycling back to the next one.

*sigh*

Lo it was that the era of the My Little Shadow Pony was born. They attached the clasp to a random undead horse and let it be their point man. As hostilities arise they can hit it with negative energy and let the horse utilize the miss chances and be the decoy/speed bump to getting at the PC’s.

My Little Shadow Pony takes the lead and begins their journey to the left facing hallway. Almost immediately the “dungeon” gives way to a drastically different interior. Wall mounts for what look like light-orbs are welded to the walls. The rough metallic/stony material that compromised the majority of structure gives way to smooth and textured granite. Every so often there are murals of what look like iridescent paint splattered onto crystalline canvas. Like a kid’s finger drawing using glow in the dark paint.

Micko: I think that is meant to be art, but art appreciated by one whose thoughts are far different than our own.

The hallway spills them into a circular room, the walls are covered in runes very similar to the ones that lit up right before the draconic beholder nuked the hallways, and the faint glowing just about sends the whole group into a panic.

Dispersed on the walls are various sketches of large humanoid creatures. Some are remarkably detailed and vivisected like anatomy textbooks hung open on the walls. They recognize some of the creatures as ogres, orcs, hobogoblins, even ettins. Some are completely unknown to them. At the center of the room is a circular stairwell that spirals down. They send the shadow pony first and when it comes back up undamaged they delicately begin the process of winding everyone down as well. The cumbersome nature of lumbering skeletal ogres and horses makes simple procedures like this fairly problematic and the logistics or juggling all the undead are starting to grate on the players.

At the bottom of the stairs is a showroom. In glass cases are all the various humanoids pictured above. They are extremely life like…extremely.

Chomper: I’m confident these are not mounted or replicas…these are actual creatures…I don’t know…suspended…or frozen in place.

Some of the displays are empty, but marked. One diorama shows a muscular humanoid of at least 15 feet in height clutching a trident that he seems to be brandishing at something that is no longer there. From the sketches around it they surmise that the squid once stood in the same display.

They do a rushed count looking through the display cases and to their best estimation at least four stone giants, 8 hill giants, 4 ogres, and 4 unknown humanoids larger than a stone giant are no longer in their designated showcases. At the edges of the showroom are large gateways that from a distance lead to other showrooms. Faint noises are audible from all directions.

Seraphim: I am getting creeped out here.
Dis Pater: I would sure love to know how some are getting loose and others aren’t.

Once again they post their undead packs at the positions near the other showrooms and go about examining everything they can for the displays. Chomper gets the best take on what is happening and how.

Chomper: I am starting to get a feel for some of their runes…not so much what they say, but what they represent. Whatever built this place had to come from underground or spend a lot of time in the dark. The color and brightness of their runes seems tuned to a specific purpose. Flickering lights are warning. So rapid bright/dark cycles are notices of danger or caution. Pulsing lights, ones that ebb and flow more slowly are informational. See the namecard under this ogre? The light is constant, but changes from red to green moving left to right. The namecards where things are gone are red to green moving right to left. That means a status change.

Seraphim:I’m lost…
Chomper: Ok…if the name-card is red to green moving right to left and flashing fast it means that the thing tied to namecard is about to come loose.
Dis Pater: That is remarkably complex and excessive.
Chomper: I know right.
Hades: So if the massive trident guy frozen while fighting the squid were to have a flashing name card and the color is moving right to left that means he is about to wake up?
Chomper: yes…great example.
Hades: No I mean the massive trident guy’s namecard is starting to flash brightly.

*blink*
*blink*

Seraphim: Perhaps it’s time to go back to the other hallway?
Chomper: Are you suggesting we run away without being complete cowards?
Seraphim: Oh heck yeah

They move the entire column back up the stairwell, through the hallways and return to squid central, then proceed to follow the alternate path. Their reversal of course leads them to a room very similar to the first, except this one has diagrams and sketches of dragons everywhere.

Chomper: So…back to the humanoid exhibit? Agreed?
All: Yeah…agreed.

The full column of dead and their necromantic handlers proceed back to the location they just turned tail and fled from. This time they set up an ambush at the top of the stairwell and use Chomper+My Little Shadow Pony to draw any moving creatures back to their prepped spot. Chomper stealths his way down and uses the obsidian clasped horse to scout for anything free of it’s display. The massive trident guy (aka storm giant) is gone.

Chomper is discreetly peeking out from behind the display of an orc warband when he sees a pair of hill giants move from cover on opposite sides against the horse. They are using heavily spiked clubs and their grunts of frustration are audible when their swings seem to pass right through. The goblin uses the commands given him by the twins and brings the horse back to the stairwell like a fisherman reeling in his line and the hill giant are happy to oblige, he even manages to beat the horse back to the stairwell to announce the incoming duo of giants.

Chomper: Hill Giants…two of them coming in hot.

They have a cordon of ogres with longspears able to reach over their skeletal horses surrounding the stairs. Dis Pater is waiting with sword and shield in hand at the center and the remaining casters are spread out behind the double wall of horse and ogre. All told they can leverage a staggering amounts of attacks into a concentrated area. The giants work their way up the stairs in pursuit oblivious to the ambush that awaits and are startled by the presence of a small army. To their benefit they take the development in stride, fighting back to back and swinging for the fences against the first line of defense.

Dis Pater is treated to a surprise of his own, as the lead giant sprouts a pair of spiky exoskeletal scorpion tails from it’s shoulderblades…the tips are dripping a viscus poison and they lash out with supernatural speed. Dis takes solid shots from both stingers and before he can really react finds himself with 7 strength damage.

A collective eye widening and jaw dropping commences at the table and Seraphim breaks the “what the freak was that” surprise with something even more alarming.

Seraphim: Whatever you do don’t kill them! We need them alive.
Dis Pater: A hill giant just sprouted poisonous stingers and tried to suck the strength from my frigging bones and you want me to let it go?!?

Seraphim: Not let them go, just don’t kill them.

Dis Pater eats more strength damage and they lose a handful of horses but they manage to pummel the giants unconscious without killing them.

Dis Pater: Don’t know why you wanted them alive…not like I can help you carry them or anything now.
Seraphim: Well I wanted them for a couple of reasons…first we can milk the poison from the stingers…second I want to get that one for sure back to Moo-Dor.

They drag the hill giants all the way back to the minotaur compound and locate the guy in charge of the crystalline formula.

Seraphim: So T-Bones told us that the liquefied crystal can trigger latent psionics right?
Formula Guy: Yes…but too much can kill, and sometimes even a small amount can kill. Very dangerous.
Seraphim: How much is pushing it?
Formula Guy: For one of us…3 ozs.
Seraphim: Ok…hill giant is about twice to three times the size and weight. So give me an 18oz dose.
Formula Guy: Are you sure?
Seraphim: Yep. If it kills him that is fine.

They administer a surely fatal dose for a minotaur and wait to see what happens to the hill giant without the stingers. He survives…but they see no apparent immediate change. Formula Guy informs them this is not uncommon, it can take a few hours. They dose the second giant with the stingers and he too survives. They wait six hours and discover that scorpion stinger giant has developed a new power, as has the second giant.

Seraphim: You ever doubled down?
Formula Guy: No one has been that crazy…
Seraphim: Give me 30ozs each for both.
Formula Guy: You are going to kill them you do realize this right?
Seraphim: Well I sure don’t plan on reanimating them alive…

The second round of “formula” kills the stingerless giant who now possesses Animal Affinity as a psionic power (+4 to a stat of choice for duration of effect). The scorpion stinger giant survives again.*

They expend the last formula already collected to give it a euthanasia sized cocktail and I’ll be damned if the freaking thing doesn’t take it on the chin like Rocky fighting Drago and just shrug it off. All idea of delving deeper into the dungeon stalls and the whole necromantic entourage suddenly changes gears to crystal hunting as they seek more drugs to shove down their rapidly evolving hill giant captive.

The whole party scours the surrounding caverns and passageways for crystals that have become viable. Upon returning they proceed to dose the big guy for a fourth time and this one finally does kill him. With great excitement they animate the two hill giants and discover the full array of their new toys. Both come back intelligent. This creates the beginnings of a dilemma. The hill giants are normally 10HD creatures. With the added psionics on their scorpion enhanced giant I made him 12HD. With those two alone they have 22 of 24 HD animate slots held for one cleric. They name their first Animal Affinity giant Vanilla. The scorpion giant they call Melty, based on his array of powers. Melty’s first power was corrosive aura (like a haze of acid that surrounds him and burns those in proximity) when he received a second power it was the ability to manifest acid resistance, and when they hit the home run for a third ability I gave him dissolving weapon (adds 4d6 acid damage to a weapon swing).

They do both giant as Zombies instead of skeletons. At this point they rejuggle undead slots and decide to call it a day.

New Gameplan:
*Utilize Vanilla as new obsidian clasp point man.
*Establish a mobile command site inside humanoid corridor of the showroom.
*Locate further intelligence on why the “stasis” is breaking and where it came from

They caravan their way back into the showroom upper chamber and carefully work down into the showroom floor very leery of anything. Now that I have thrown all manner of oddity at them the paranoia factor is ratcheting up. Pausing at every display to check and recheck the namecards to see if anything will suddenly break free they progress at a crawl. They inch their way further and further and try to work towards unsearched territory. A loud chanting and angry groaning grabs their attention.

From a distance they see the smoke from a fire and observe a heavily scarred orc chanting while working. The groans are coming from an ogre that has had it’s legs and arms removed. The orc is cheerfully arranging the various limbs onto impromptu spits. He spots them and with a furrowed brow he puts down the severed arm and picks up a crude and heavily damaged greataxe…the edge is still sharp even if the rest seems ready to crumble.

Seraphim…ever the ambassador approaches the lone orc.

Seraphim:Greetings there friend, I see you are having yourself a bit of a cook up.
Orc: Yep…he was throwing sharp sticks at me, so I use sharp sticks to cook em.

At this they realize the spits are actually the ogre’s javelins.

Seraphim: I also can’t help but notice he is still alive.
The orc seems to get confused by this…
Orc: Stick is metal stick…it not alive.
Seraphim: The ogre…
Orc: Yeah him still alive. Not polite to kill someone without them having last meal.
Hades: He is feeding the ogre his own leg?
Seraphim: I know it’s adorable…can we keep him? Pllllllllease?

At that point I stop speaking for the Orc and Skalagrim picks up the conversation. He introduces himself as Doctor Lovebones, orc witch doctor.

Doctor Lovebones (Orc) Barbarian1/Scarred Witch Dr5 Str 22 Dex 14 Con 18 Int 5 Wis 12 Cha 5 Feats: Ability Focus (Hex), Extra Hex, Extra Hex Hexes: Fortune, Misfortune, Ward, Cackle

As a Scarred Witch Doctor his Con score functions as Intelligence, meaning he can be a neigh unto primary caster without sacrificing physical attributes. The intention is for the Doc to take Eldritch Knight and be something of a rampaging caster. Most of his spell selections and Hexes are actually built around supporting. He is also a lunatic with outrageous strength and a greataxe. As a token of unity and bonding they offer Doctor Lovebones their flaming greataxe which he cherishes like it’s his newborn baby. The two witches hit it off like long lost twins and compare their familiars, in Sera’s case a grisly spell poppet doll, and for the Doc a wooden fetish mask.

The good doctor takes a liking to the Cowboys and does his best to describe how he came to be in the dungeon.

Doctor Lovebones: I was hunting bears…then I woke up in room.
Hades:When did this happen?
Doctor Lovebones: Before.
Hades: Before when?
Doctor Lovebones: Before now
Hades: How long ago?
Doctor Lovebones *shrugs*: I sleep five times since waking up.

All attempts at communicating just long he was asleep are strained and exceedingly useless. They try to quiz him on current events, recent knowledge and nothing seems to add up. They eventually try to puzzle out from his clothes and weapons a region or general tribe. Nothing is familiar or recognizable. With mounting annoyance they try to quiz religion…his tribal role was to worship the ancestors (also his witch patron-Ancestors) and most of the “gods” he mentions are so regional or minor nothing is picked up. Pluto lucks out on identifying a rival god as one that was wiped from the face of the planet at least five millennia ago. From that framework they work towards landmarks and major political forces etc, and are loosely convinced that Doc was frozen for the better part of 5,000 years inside the dungeon.

One quirk of my players and something I encourage maintaining when I am on the opposite side of the screen is a whiteboard with “plot points” or “aha!” type moments. Their whiteboard looks like this:

The Dungeon:
*Three known entrances that can’t be breached by means known to the world at large
*Set intervals allow for entry and exit.
*Very bizarre architecture and denizens, many are hybrids or pairings of traditional species/races
*Heavy Psionic influence and radiation
*Likely that the first few “levels” are designed to lure in those seeking wealth/power
*Whoever built the place came from a dark place
*The same builders were also by all appearances Collectors as well.
*The mechanics/magics used to “stasis” their collection is failing or being removed.
*The things inside are so far unaware of how they came to be inside.
*They have also likely been in there for a very long time.

The group shares notes with Doc and he joyfully agrees to accompany them and even offers to share his ogre bbq. He also places a Hex ward on Vanilla (+2 AC and saves until something hits him or a save is triggered. Can only be active on 1 thing at a time, but it’s infinitely reusable). He also gives them a lead on where the “four legs” are at. I.E. he tells them where to reach the animal showroom which was his destination until the ogre chucked a javelin at him.

Chomper: Let’s go find some more stuff to re-animate!



*Basically I built a chart before the campaign began with a list of psionic powers separated by level. If a creature imbibes the formula there is a 25-30% chance of it living. A second roll tells me the level of power it acquires. On the fly I decided that repeat exposure doubles mortality rate…so 2nd dose brings you to 15% 3rd dose 7% etc. The sheer amount ingested I never truly factored in.

blacklight101
2015-02-02, 04:32 PM
You have some awesome players. When they get their heads together, it almost seems like the plot wants to start fraying at the edges just a little bit.

I really like the story so far.

ImperatorV
2015-02-02, 04:37 PM
First, your dungeon designing prowess is amazing. Second, my little shadow pony :smallamused: I love how they keep taking the stuff you give them and using it in an unintended way.

Also, will there be an undead showroom?

Kaveman26
2015-02-02, 04:54 PM
First, your dungeon designing prowess is amazing. Second, my little shadow pony :smallamused: I love how they keep taking the stuff you give them and using it in an unintended way.

Also, will there be an undead showroom?

Spoiler Alert: reveals moderate development in near-ish future

Yes. I was in a position where I didn't want to retroactively counter plan against them. So while I edited and added stuff beyond original intent. I resisted urge to remove undead showroom because it was like putting a sadistic Charlie inside his own chocolate factory.

Lord_Burch
2015-02-02, 05:02 PM
Spoiler Alert: reveals moderate development in near-ish future

Yes. I was in a position where I didn't want to retroactively counter plan against them. So while I edited and added stuff beyond original intent. I resisted urge to remove undead showroom because it was like putting a sadistic Charlie inside his own chocolate factory.

It'd be interesting if they managed to figure out how to use the stasis fields, too- freeze any undead they can't control but want to keep in stasis, while periodically returning to switch out as the situation demands.

The Grue
2015-02-02, 06:28 PM
How appropriate that this thread would be necro'd. In before the lock?

Fable Wright
2015-02-02, 06:32 PM
How appropriate that this thread would be necro'd. In before the lock?

As the thread-starter is providing content again, I think that the thread is safe. I'm not positive, but I remember reading something along those lines in the forum rules.

arcane_asp
2015-02-03, 05:43 AM
Love this thread, inspiring stuff! :smallcool:

Kaveman, your campaign journals are high class as always - have you thought about compiling them into a single file? Probably enough great readable stuff there for a novel length read! :smallsmile:

Asmayus
2015-02-03, 04:41 PM
Hey, I just wanted to check in since this thread has, gloriously, been necro'd - I'm reading the updates as you post them. :)

Kaveman26
2015-02-05, 04:02 PM
Love this thread, inspiring stuff! :smallcool:

Kaveman, your campaign journals are high class as always - have you thought about compiling them into a single file? Probably enough great readable stuff there for a novel length read! :smallsmile:

I am actually going to try and make graphic novels of a kind. I pulled the first campaign I wrote up (adversarial process) and it was 350+ pages in word. The big one may be twice that size. Trying to determine a format and context to make it work. Thinking part novella/part graphic novel with character sheets and duplicates of maps and scenarios as part of the whole book. Want to visually illustrate the characters and several scenes while still providing the gaming portion to go along with the story.

zabbarot
2015-02-05, 04:30 PM
I am actually going to try and make graphic novels of a kind. I pulled the first campaign I wrote up (adversarial process) and it was 350+ pages in word. The big one may be twice that size. Trying to determine a format and context to make it work. Thinking part novella/part graphic novel with character sheets and duplicates of maps and scenarios as part of the whole book. Want to visually illustrate the characters and several scenes while still providing the gaming portion to go along with the story.

Mixed graphic novel/novella are a hard balance to strike I think. Too much graphic novel and the novella bits are like a brick wall of text. Too much novella and the graphic novel bits seem superfluous.

You could probably manage it fully as a graphic novel if it sort of 'zoomed out' to the table now and then.

Joe the Rat
2015-02-06, 08:40 AM
Mixed graphic novel/novella are a hard balance to strike I think. Too much graphic novel and the novella bits are like a brick wall of text. Too much novella and the graphic novel bits seem superfluous.

You could probably manage it fully as a graphic novel if it sort of 'zoomed out' to the table now and then.

The Erfworld mix is probably what you're after. Show the action, narrate the set-ups with insert illustration, splash tables occasionally, that sort of thing. I suppose the question is how much of the story you want to be about the system. And in a way, you have three stories here: The in-character story (which is pretty awesome), the game (which is also awesome), and the players surrounding antics (which is its own awesome. The Silent One has my favorite player moments. I'm inclined to suggest that each mode of the story take a particular format, but then you'll have to blend elements. Though I'm sure the characters would probably have the same expressions as the players would at some of the reveals or player events. The discussion of nymphs and dragons, for example...

Demon 997
2015-02-06, 11:13 PM
I'd go nearly pure graphic novel, with some text at the start and end of chapters. You're core audience will still eat it up, and it's easier to sell broadly. Then if it goes well do a more anthology type.

arcane_asp
2015-02-09, 06:35 AM
I am actually going to try and make graphic novels of a kind. I pulled the first campaign I wrote up (adversarial process) and it was 350+ pages in word. The big one may be twice that size. Trying to determine a format and context to make it work. Thinking part novella/part graphic novel with character sheets and duplicates of maps and scenarios as part of the whole book. Want to visually illustrate the characters and several scenes while still providing the gaming portion to go along with the story.

Awesome, it will make a great read, illustrations will add to the depth too! Can't wait to see it :smallsmile:

Kaveman26
2015-02-11, 12:59 PM
Session Five Part 3+Session Six: The Menagrie

The Animal Showroom is a hard left straight through the humanoid showroom. More and more displays seem to be emptying and sounds are constant in various directions, conflict seems to be growing in all areas.

The animal showroom has a makeshift barricade blocking it’s entrance, formed from torn apart display stands and repurposed decorations.

Chomper: Melty should be able to bust that apart and push through with no problems.

Dis Pater: Seems straightforward enough, have the giants punch a hole and we will cover for surprises
.
The surprises start from the moment of contact, a barrage of magic missiles streaks from all directions from within the barricade, peppering sections of the entire entourage. The source is clearly from within the debris, but no one spots a caster.

At least seven originated sources cast spells, and this spooks the team considerably. Hades drops a channel to wash away the missile damage, and almost instantly Melty takes on the sudden glow of faerie fire and all the volleys resume now targeting the giant. The clerics immediately move to heal the giant as everyone tries to hone a target for where the spells are coming from. With all those Perception checks someone should see something, but they again come up blank.

A foreign chirping sound, like a morse code chitter rises from the debris of the barricade and Chomper is left scratching his oversized head.

Chomper: That sounds like squirrels.
Seraphim: Is it a squirrel?
Chomper: Squirrels don’t communicate in code…or cast magic missiles.
Doc: Got much bigger problem. There is an elephant in the room.
Hades: Drop the metaphor and speak bluntly.

Doc points at the other side of the barricade….A Mastadon with crude barding is charging the barricade at a rush…it is moving remarkably fast and not making a single sound.

Hades: Oh…literal elephant.

As the elephant comes charging in, the center portion of the barricade seems to vanish from sight and it gains a clear line of sight and path to smash into Melty. In unison a series of baboons come swinging in on vines from the alcoves above wielding scimitars. Near as they surmise via Spellcraft and Perception the baboons were in wait with invisibility.

Almost in unison the chorus rises up…

Group: F*** This!

The U.C. move in one solid pack in a concerted retreat, washing negative energy as they go. In the midst of their tactical withdrawal a pack of squirrels rises to the top of their barricade and make crude gestures at the necromancers.

Dis Pater: We just got our ass handed to us by woodland critters!
Chomper: Hey, those woodland critters had a mastodon…and spells!
Doc: I told you they were awaking.
Seraphim: I think he means Awakened…not just no longer sleeping. *
Dis Pater: How do we punch through without getting sniped by missile slinging squirrels or trampled by an elephant?
Seraphim: We could try diplomacy.
Hades: You want to parley with squirrels?
Seraphim: Sure…why not?
Hades: Because they are squirrels!!!!!
Seraphim: We parleyed with cows…
Hades: they were intelligent psionic cows.
Seraphim: These are intelligent spellcasting squirrels…now you are just splitting hairs.

They top off the battered giant, and elect to keep the horde at bay. Rusk,Reggie, Micko, are all left with the undead mass. The core party of six plus T-Bones and Chomper’s mount reapproach with weapons holstered and hands open and out. From a moderate distance Seraphim requests a temporary truce to establish terms and objectives.

There is a great deal of behind the scenes shuffling and maneuvering. Eventually the mastodon returns to the Barricade, with a cadre of baboons moving amongst the artificial trees at it’s flanks. Presumably the squirrels are hidden somewhere amidst the entrance’s defenses. A pack of wolves trail the Mastadon acting like a sort of ironic honor guard. The various animals set up a defensive perimeter and shortly thereafter a very lean and nimble dire bear approaches the barricade…he speaks serviceable common and requests that a single representative meet him.

Seraphim volunteers and approaches the bear on foot.

Seraphim: Clearly we got off to a poor introduction. The circumstances that have drawn us to your domain are unusual to say the least, and we had no intentions of violating your territory. We do require passage through this place and are happy to uncover any supplications you may benefit from.

The dire bear appraises the witch and lets out a clearly unimpressed huff.

Bear: I smell the scent of blood from too many species to count clinging to you woman. You deal in death. We have no need of anything you may have.

Seraphim: Surely that can’t be true. A host such as the one you oversee must require a great deal of nourishment, and unless I am mistaken…the nuts on these trees are artificial and surely of no help to your squirrels.

Bear: We have no shortage of food, nor do we suffer for comforts.
Seraphim: Well what do you want? Are you content to stay in this place all your days?
Bear: We have no alternative. We can protect our own and survive for generations. I see no better option.
Seraphim: We could escort you back to the world at large. We could get you free of this place and back to the real forests and hills.

That raises his eyes…

Bear: All that we encounter are from within. None knows the way out.

Seraphim: None save for us. We came to this place from the outside and we can take you there.
Bear: Why should I trust you?

Seraphim: Because I am a killer through and through. I am the deadliest creature in this place…you said it yourself. You can smell the blood on me. If your senses are that keen you should be able to detect if I am lying, you should smell the sweat from stress on me. I know you are picking up none of those things because I tell the truth. We can take you outside.

Bear: This will require additional conferring. Wait here for my return. We are watching you.

The bear and his vanguard retreat back into the animal showroom and Seraphim holds a very brief parley with the rest of the group.

Seraphim: told them we can escort them outside. He is taking that proposal back to whatever else is deeper inside. How do you want to play this out?
Dis Pater: Well it’s still over three weeks until the gate opens.
Chomper: Drawing them out from the area fortified is a win. We could set up ambush points in the squid room.
Hades: Or we could draw them back to the minotaurs and let our psionic friends take the brunt of the assault.

Seraphim: We don’t have to attack them. We could simply tell them it is going to be a while before we can exit and leave them be. We are only pressing in this direction to avoid approaching dragons.

Pluto: I don’t like the prospect of allowing squirrels and monkeys to drive us off even more than I dislike the prospect of being burned to a cinder by a winged reptile. Better to meet the god in fiery death, than cower before a furry tailed rodent.

(I am damn near laughing myself into tears at how much frustration a few volleys from sorcerous squirrels is causing them. As a side note I was not privy to most of this conversation as it was happening, only post fact was I explained their line of thinking)

Doc: You said that the cows have an elixir that grants powers?
Seraphim: Yes, but it’s very dangerous.
Doc: And some of the dead you bring back still have memory?
Hades: Yes.
Doc: My ancestors would say that sometimes the third buck gets the doe.
Chomper: Huh?
Doc: When two bucks fight during mating season, sometimes they exhaust or kill each other…and then the third buck takes the doe for a mate.
Seraphim: Yeah we are familiar with that tactic and in full support of letting the minotaur’s take the lion’s share of the fighting.
Doc: You not think like proper orc. My ancestors say sometimes the third buck gets the doe…but the wolves take them all.

The Dire Bear returns and this time it is with a full assortment of beasts. The animal showroom is organized into the following battalion:

One Dire Bear (powers unknown)
6 scimitar wielding baboons (shown swashbuckling ability)
10 Sorcerer Squirrels (magic missile for certain)
1 Mastadon (powers unknown…shown charging preference)
12 Wolves (Dire Bear honor guard)
2 Rhinos (unkown)
4 Tigers (unknown)
6 Lions (unknown)
2 Dire Lions (unknown)
20 Rats (not dire rats…just rats)
1 Camel

The whole entourage is portrayed as extremely focused and cautious but also hopeful. As they travel with the U.C. back towards squid central bits of optimism are overheard…”can’t wait to feel the sun again”…”be nice to have room to really run”…etc.

It is just the core six PC’s at this point. The horde of undead and their various NPC’s have been sent back to Moo-Dor ahead to help prep the minotaurs for the incoming animals. As they reach the steps Chomper calls for a halt.

Seraphim: So…here is the deal. At first we were going to march you up these stairs and into the waiting teeth/axes of a minotaur clan with psionic powers. We were going to let the two of you duke it out and then wipe out the rest of your animal companions once the majority of your strength was expended. We decided against that. Instead, we have a host of undead minions waiting behind the ambush ready minotaurs. My dhampir friends are going to give them an order to start attacking, once that order is given we are going to throw our entire strength into supporting them in slaying the minotaurs. If we succeed you have clear path to freedom, if we fail you are stuck down in this place for the rest of your lives.

Bear: So you are extorting our desire for freedom to further your own ambitions of murdering these creatures you call allies?

Seraphim: Perfectly summed up. Now if you would be so kind…focus all your squirrels on attacking the centaur with the body of an ettin.
Bear: What is an ettin?
Seraphim: A two headed beast with the body of a horse.

The U.C. ascend the staircase and find the full assemblage of minotaurs prepped and waiting. The twins form up with their undead minions while Seraphim and Doc come to Dion’s side to help “support” the minotaur chief. Dis Pater stays with the twins and they inform Dion that Chomper is about to bring up the animals any minute.

Chomper comes up on his Spinosaur and immediately leaps off the dinosaur ducking to the side…
Chomper: Here they come!

As the minotaurs all focus on the stairwell the full might of the undead masses immediately sets upon the bull-men…the clerics go full nova…every ounce of their channeling is going to be dispersed to soak against bulls while bolstering their minions. Dis Pater is their bodyguard and reserve party for any minotaur that seems particularly feisty. Melty, Vanilla and T-Bones form the business end of an advancing wedge while Rusk, Reggie, and Micko snipe from a safe distance.

The U.C. are drastically outnumbered and the minotaur’s pack some serious heat.

For their part, Seraphim and Doc do everything they can to neuter the minotaur chief. Misfortune stacks against Misfortune and Bestow Curses help to gimp the tribal leader. Their position is the most dangerous and the least supported. As all hell breaks loose the Mastadon comes charging in at a full charge to ram directly into the minotaurs protecting the chief. From it’s back the sniper squirrels volley magic missiles against the chief, and various lions and tigers all break from invisibility in positions to create flanks amongst the maelstrom of violence. The various cats all pack sneak attack damage and some serious strength bonuses. The Baboons work the edges, making presicion attacks and the wolves constantly make leaping trip attacks.

The rats stay hidden amongst the various creatures, riding their animal compatriots while throwing out faerie fires to focus targets and renew invisibilities. The Dire Bear reveals himself as a monk, flurry of paws and kicks that shatter bones hew down minotaur after minotaur.

The element of surprise and attack of the awakened animals swings momentum into the Cowboys favor…but these are still some nasty brutes and they have the advantage of home turf and numbers. The battle turns into a straight up brawl.

Seraphim and Doc nearly get killed in the first non surprise round. The lesser undead are getting one shot by the stronger minotaurs…and the twins rapidly fall behind in the war of attrition. Only Melty rolling like a boss in the first two rounds makes this a fight. He manages to clear a path to Dion…and get the twins in a position to aid the witches. That position becomes the maelstrom of the fight. Dis Pater abandons all pretext of attack and uses his own channeling negative energy to try and help the twins pace the damage being done to their giants and T-Bones. A few of the ogre undead last a while, but in short time the PC’s are surrounded by minotaurs and using each action in a desperate bid to not become overwhelmed. The animals work from the edges and cull the ranks of minotaur warriors. Dion is surprisingly robust and their hopes of taking him out in the first two rounds are nullified.

That becomes immediately relevant when Dion manages to actually take an action and make the two rolls needed to hit on an attack roll. He brings Seraphim from nearly full health to knocked out and dying in a single stroke. The combat gets suddenly more tense and it comes down to Doc with the last action of the round. They are operating under the assumption that if aid is not provided she will be coup de graced by some random bull the following round. So Doc can either try to lay a cure spell or swing for the fences hoping to knock out the chief. He opts for the home run shot.

The scarred witch doctor works himself in a barbaric frenzy and makes a single overhead two handed chop while still cackling like a crazed maniac. He rolls a natural 20. Suddenly the chairs are pushed back from the table and people are standing to see if he can confirm the critical…Doc practically does his own voodoo dance at the table and lays down a solid enough roll to hit…confirming the x3 crit. With a functional 26 strength he has a chance to kill the chief…he rolls a 12 on the d12. The burning greataxe lodges itself deep between the ettin’s two heads, practically cleaving though to the rib cage…arterial blood sizzles as it strikes the flames on the axe, and the chief twitches as he falls to the ground. If at all possible the orc seems to laugh even louder, the rise and fall of his sternum casting off blood in all directions as he wrenches the greataxe free. The fall of their leader doesn’t rout the clan…but it does leave them backpedaling and looking for exits.

They organize a fighting retreat and try to scoop up families in the process. The animal platoon seems to recognize that the battle is won, and they finish off the stragglers and those within reach, but seem more preoccupied with tending to their own wounded and fallen. There is the briefest of lulls where it looks like the battle is about to disengage. The U.C. top off healing…bring Seraphim back to her feet and get her healed, while re-assessing resources.
Seraphim: Finish it?

Dis Pater: Yeah…I vote finish it…we still got enough in the tank.
Chomper: Aye…

The necromancers organize up their undead and reengage the minotaur’s as they try to withdraw…
Bear: The battle is won…what are you doing?
Doc: They just come back if we let them leave. We end this now. If we die…you stuck.
Bear: Damn you all! We didn’t want this.
Chomper: Well you got it now chum. So nut up or shut up.

Very Begrudgingly the animal leader rallies his own troops and helps to stopper up the retreat. They press hard on the minotaur clan…and strangely they take every step possible (nothing that hinders themselves) to preserve the women and children. They accept surrenders from the warriors, but anyone still fighting is dispatched with brutality and finality.

It is still a tense roller coaster of an engagement…there is a lot of close calls and near misses. Without the animal clan the cowboys would have been slaughtered. Eventually the minotaurs are broken completely and the scant few warriors still alive have surrendered. They are lined up with their weapons in front of them and made to kneel. The minotaur dead are piled up into heaps and the rest of the clan are in essence locked into the grove where the chief previously called home.

The animals form up into their own group and see to their own.

Seraphim calmly walks up and down the line…speaking softly to each warrior. Based on their reaction they are either executed or patted on the shoulder and reassured. Few are executed. The Bear approaches the U.C. as the twins desecrate the ground beneath the dead bodies.

Bear: You are the foulest and cruelest creatures I could imagine. Have you no souls? Are you simply that bloodlust driven to crave such wanton destruction.
Seraphim: Yes…Yes we are. We also recycle.

As she says recycle the twins pop their domain animate dead slots and bring up a slew of minotaur warriors.

Hades/Pluto: Join your living kin and seek revenge on those who aided in your betrayal…wipe out the animals! Kill them all!

The surrendered warriors…all of whom agreed to Seraphim’s proposal of ambushing those who ambushed them and weren’t executed snatch up the weapons before them and join the fray in near berserker rages.

Reggie: What did you say to them?

Seraphim: If a single animal remained alive by the day’s end we would let them watch all the young be killed and reanimated…the ones who retained their memories would then be forced to kill their families. Pretty standard stuff…Oh…I also told them that if they succeeded in killing all the animals for us then they would be spared execution and allowed to care for their families…provided they recognized us as tribal leaders. Always helps to provide a carrot…
The minotaurs fight like they intend to save their clan, and the animals are routed to the last. It took damn near everything they had…virtually every daily ability, spell and channeling use is expended and the whole chamber is in tatters.

Seraphim: This was a good day’s work everyone…tomorrow I think we will take a day off.

*Yeah…I awakened the entire animal room and gave them class abilities and levels.

Aldurin
2015-02-11, 01:22 PM
I don't know why I wasn't expecting them to deal with every potential threat in a way that allowed them to strip-mine XP and hold all of the cards. So I can assume that the U.C. declare the dungeon a sovereign semi-undead nation at the end of this campaign?

Kaveman26
2015-02-11, 02:00 PM
I don't know why I wasn't expecting them to deal with every potential threat in a way that allowed them to strip-mine XP and hold all of the cards. So I can assume that the U.C. declare the dungeon a sovereign semi-undead nation at the end of this campaign?

It's still ongoing so I don't know their endgame. I will say that I never anticipated the direction they go. The big fight took an entire weekend. We have at this time eight more gaming sessions complete, and are averaging one game every three weeks. Once I get caught up to current I will be inviting feedback and ideas to throw at them.

Norin
2015-02-11, 02:12 PM
Hahahaha! The end there had me giggling. Priceless.:smallbiggrin:

blacklight101
2015-02-11, 04:03 PM
Now that was some good thinking right there. If my players are one third that creative, i'm in trouble for sure.

Loving every recap, I can't wait to see where this campaign goes.

GorinichSerpant
2015-02-11, 04:09 PM
"Yes, and we also recycle" is a glorious quote. As always, wonderfully done.

Fable Wright
2015-02-11, 05:06 PM
I'm just left wondering when the Necroranchers' Onyx is going to run out. Surely there can't be that much lying around the dungeon.

Kaveman26
2015-02-11, 05:24 PM
I'm just left wondering when the Necroranchers' Onyx is going to run out. Surely there can't be that much lying around the dungeon.

To be honest we ignore majority of spell components. For crafting sure, but tracking bat guano and sprite urine etc for spells is too much.

Reverent-One
2015-02-11, 06:01 PM
To be honest we ignore majority of spell components. For crafting sure, but tracking bat guano and sprite urine etc for spells is too much.

Well, the onyx requirement is more than just bat guano and other basically costless spell components (any you get from the spell component's pount) since they have to be worth 25/50 gp per HD. That's significant enough that a group can justify not ignoring that, even if they ignore the minor ones. Still, without ignoring that, this game would be far less interesting. I think the main reason to track it is to keep one undead-creation focused player from showing up the other players and/or the DM's ability to give significant challenges. In the case, neither of those are really concerns.

Fable Wright
2015-02-11, 06:08 PM
To be honest we ignore majority of spell components. For crafting sure, but tracking bat guano and sprite urine etc for spells is too much.

For bat guano, etc. it makes sense to just put it in a material component pouch, sure, but when the costs are 25gp/HD of animated minions and the players are using the spell as much as they do, tracking it might be a good idea. Unless their 35,000gp in liquid assets were all Onyx, in which case, I could see doing away with the hassle. Kinda. (Given that each animated cow should cost roughly 75gp per head, it'd put some rather severe limits on the players' capabilities.)

Kaveman26
2015-02-11, 06:52 PM
I had always glossed over the per hd stipulation on that spell. Hmmmm.


I think my players may have a new reason to dislike feedback.

Spoiler alert:

I think it is only a matter of time before an onyx wraith comes to collect his "taxes" in lieu of onyx he will take lives. Thinking some kind of inquisitor class levels on a wraith chassis.

Kid Jake
2015-02-11, 07:41 PM
I had always glossed over the per hd stipulation on that spell. Hmmmm.


I think my players may have a new reason to dislike feedback.

Spoiler alert:

I think it is only a matter of time before an onyx wraith comes to collect his "taxes" in lieu of onyx he will take lives. Thinking some kind of inquisitor class levels on a wraith chassis.


Let him randomly seize control of any undead they still owe him for to be extra vicious. :smalltongue:

Kane0
2015-02-11, 10:59 PM
Loving it so far!

Question, and i'm not sure if you've answered this already:
When your clerics use their channel do they have to choose to do the Heal or Harm option or do you roll them both into the same thing? Apparently RAW you are supposed to only be able to do one or the other to prevent abuse (presumably like what you are seeing here) but it doesn't make much sense to me to rule it that way.

Kaveman26
2015-02-12, 12:51 PM
Loving it so far!

Question, and i'm not sure if you've answered this already:
When your clerics use their channel do they have to choose to do the Heal or Harm option or do you roll them both into the same thing? Apparently RAW you are supposed to only be able to do one or the other to prevent abuse (presumably like what you are seeing here) but it doesn't make much sense to me to rule it that way.

They channel negative energy by default. This is function of their being evil. As dhampir the twins are healed by negative energy. Dis pater's anti paladin archetype heals him by negative energy as well. The twins also have a domain granted ability to provide negative energy healing with a touch. Failing all that they have selective channeling to exclude targets from being damaged.

Fable Wright
2015-02-12, 01:02 PM
They channel negative energy by default. This is function of their being evil. As dhampir the twins are healed by negative energy. Dis pater's anti paladin archetype heals him by negative energy as well. The twins also have a domain granted ability to provide negative energy healing with a touch. Failing all that they have selective channeling to exclude targets from being damaged.

The problem is, by RAW, when you use the ability, you have to choose: Heal undead, or harm living creatures. Dis and the twins have the 'harm living creatures' option heal people, but by the rules as they are, they should not be able to heal their undead herd and harm enemies/heal living party members in the same Channel.

Kid Jake
2015-02-12, 01:54 PM
The problem is, by RAW, when you use the ability, you have to choose: Heal undead, or harm living creatures. Dis and the twins have the 'harm living creatures' option heal people, but by the rules as they are, they should not be able to heal their undead herd and harm enemies/heal living party members in the same Channel.

Hrm...I'd never noticed that before. It looks like I've been ruling contrary to RAW all this time too.

Lord of Shadows
2015-02-12, 02:51 PM
The full rule includes both Negative and Positive energy:


Any time you Channel Negative energy, you must choose whether to heal undead OR harm living creatures.

Any time you Channel Positive energy, you must choose whether to harm undead OR heal living creatures.

I believe that an early "feature" in the 3.x rules did allow a single Channel Energy to do both, but it was quickly changed. It seemed that to do both was a bit overkill.

But.... The U.C. story is soooo much better using the "original" rule. Overkill is in their blood. Err... Bones.
.

Fable Wright
2015-02-12, 04:04 PM
I believe that an early "feature" in the 3.x rules did allow a single Channel Energy to do both, but it was quickly changed. It seemed that to do both was a bit overkill.

But.... The U.C. story is soooo much better using the "original" rule. Overkill is in their blood. Err... Bones.
.

Correction: 3.X never had a channel energy feature. Turn Undead, the original cleric ability, had no ability to affect living creatures, and would not affect undead at all on a failed turning roll. It might have been an early Pathfinder feature during the playtest, but the very concept did not exist before Pathfinder.

Lord of Shadows
2015-02-12, 04:12 PM
Correction: 3.X never had a channel energy feature. Turn Undead, the original cleric ability, had no ability to affect living creatures, and would not affect undead at all on a failed turning roll. It might have been an early Pathfinder feature during the playtest, but the very concept did not exist before Pathfinder.

Sorry, that's right, it was the Pathfinder Beta that had the "blast everything" channel energy feature. I remember also that before it got fixed, Clerics were becoming very popular.
.

Kane0
2015-02-12, 07:06 PM
Yeah i only asked because the one time i played a cleric i couldnt blast undead and heal my allies with the one channel, i had to choose which sucked. Good to see tey are able to take full advantage of the synergy.

I totally encourage you to keep on going as is, but better to be aware i suppose.

Incorrect
2015-02-13, 08:55 AM
This tale is absolutely fantastic.
I really appreciate the work you put into writing all this.

I think that managing combat on this scale might be some kind of super power!

Kaveman26
2015-02-13, 09:09 AM
This tale is absolutely fantastic.
I really appreciate the work you put into writing all this.

I think that managing combat on this scale might be some kind of super power!

It's time consuming (both the writing and the combat), but I love big scale stuff every so often.

My more experienced players help the newer and I get a lot of help managing numbers as things unfold. This one was quite chaotic, but on the overall scale we have contended with far more complex battles.

Side note:going to spot check most of their class mechanics and see if I have missed any other gaps in how they are utilizing their abilities.

GorinichSerpant
2015-02-15, 03:34 PM
Kaveman, have your campaigns ever ended in a TPK do to some mistakes the players made?

Tenmujiin
2015-02-16, 03:28 AM
Kaveman, have your campaigns ever ended in a TPK do to some mistakes the players made?

He has said in previous logs that they have, still waiting on some logs of them though :smallfrown:

Nevereatcars
2015-02-18, 11:49 PM
Kaveman, can you link to this thread in your signature?

Asmayus
2015-02-21, 08:41 PM
This is fantastic, keep it up :)

Kaveman26
2015-02-22, 02:26 PM
Kaveman, have your campaigns ever ended in a TPK do to some mistakes the players made?

I pulled a couple examples of these (some I posted through different threads. Here are some examples of our less glorious moments...and yes TPK's.

Dark Sun: Death by Fire

Character details for this campaign are more vague. It was run ages ago and I was nowhere near as obsessive with notes and record keeping. The group was eccentric even by Dark Sun standards. We had…

A Mul gladiator that specialized in tortoise blades and acrobatics. He was basically wolverine…but if wolverine was a half dwarf mutant ninja with turtle shells hooked to short swords hooked to his forearms.

A Half giant Gladiator with obscene Strength and Con and not much else. A true one trick pony. Smash…still moving? Smash again.

A human defiler that thought he was best suited for front line combat.

A thrikeen ranger that was bit obsessed with using all four arms to wield longswords and hand crossbows.

An Elf bard that specialized in poisons and blowguns.

Almost from the get go this group was doomed. We began play as slaves in a caravan heading for a major city. In transit the Bard manages to slip his bonds and free the rest of us. We are absolutely equipment less and resort to using our loincloths (our only starting equipment) as makeshift slings and garrotes. My naked half giant manages to strangle a guard and we get access to a single set of clothes and a spear.

As we are slipping free from our wagon raiders attack the caravan and we sneak into the desert to hide and await the raids completion. Come dawn we are searching for water (a constant activity in Dark Sun) and we realize that we have no way of storing the water…so we do the only thing we can. We use the half Giants loincloth as a make shift waterskin…and quench our parched lips with crotch flavored brackish cactus water.

Such dire measures are short lived as we scavenge the sacked caravan and scrounge some basic clothes and a few clay jars that double as water barrels. Some broken chains and wagon wood become improvised clubs and chain whips and off we go.

Our first encounter is against a nest of ankhegs and we smash them with broken chunks of wood and a single obsidian spear. We take as solid beating in the process and bemoan our complete lack of healing. Inside the ankheg nest we locate globs of honey that function as cure light wound potions. We tear apart the carapaces from the giants insects and use the half giant loin cloth for a rucksack to carry our honey.

We wander the desert for days no knowing what direction to head in…half us nearly die of thirst as we fail checks to find water. Salvation comes in the form of a burial cairn that bears weapons and scraps of armor. We fend off a host of skeletons and emerge from the tomb almost respectable for 1st level characters (we started at level 3 though so we are still raggedy for our level).

By the end of our first session we stumble upon a camp of humanoids (I don’t recall what they are named) that gain attack bonuses as more of them attack you. We get our asses kicked but manage to break them and run them off. In their camp is a solid metal chest that we are super eager to break into. Our DM warns us off it and we ignore his hints to leave it be. The Bard tries to pick the lock with a scrap of metal from a chain and he rolls a natural 20. Our cheers are short lived as a fire elemental rises from the chest and attacks us. I am sketchy on the actual rules but as I recall the fire elemental in 2nd edition had immunity to anything less than a +3 weapon. The chest was a McGuffin we were supposed to hold onto for some time before opening. It killed all five of us without breaking a sweat.

What else do you put in a Fountain?

A 2nd edition campaign with a very small player base. In traditional cliché style we were investigating a newly discovered temple in a dense forest outside a wilderness town. We had three characters…a NE druid that was obsessed with baboons and would only use a greatclub for a weapon. A N Fighter Mage that dual wielded longswords and a Wizard that specialized in flint lock pistols and fire spells.

Some unusual behavior in the townspeople (amnesia and unexplained wounds) led us to believe they were involved with the temple and must be part of their cult. We found the temple and dispatched some cultists we found on the grounds. The temple was non descript and only had three rooms. In the center room was a fountain. The fountain was empty. We searched the three rooms for DAYS. We could hear noises under the floor but could not find a way to get under there. More cultists showed up and we killed them too. Finally the fighter mage decided to try and fill the fountain. He found some bloodstains on the fountain floor and deduced that it must be filled with blood to trigger the secret door to the lower levels. So we slashed the throats of the dead guards and tried to drain them into the fountain. Only problem…blood doesn’t really flow from a dead body. Our solution? Find live bodies!

Our increasingly psychotic group tracked the forest for cultist to take alive and we would drag them screaming and begging for mercy back to the fountain where we drained their blood inside. Still no door or entrance made itself available. At this point our DM was practically hitting us over the head with

DM: THE BLOOD HAS NO EFFECT ON THE FOUNTAIN. CLEARLY THE FOUNTAIN IS NOT PART OF GETTING TO THE OTHER PART OF THE TEMPLE.

We went back into town and the druid who was getting hungry decided to eat the first thing he could catch and kill…which happened to be a townsperson domestic goat. He walked to their little garden and clubbed the leashed goat to death and then proceeded to gut it in their back yard and eat it raw. The city guard came and pressed him for an explanation…he offered them some of the goat and looked confused.

The townsfolk had us hanged after killing three of the town guard.

As we swung from the gallows the DM almost in tears yells out
DM: The entrance WAS BEHIND THE TEMPLE IN THE CELLAR. WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU NOT LOOK AROUND THE OUTSIDE! Ahhhh!!!!!!

Death was a Pale Horse:

I genuinely think this campaign was the closest our DM came to having a nervous breakdown. In the infancy of 3rd edition we put together a squad of characters and began play working with a horse merchant. We were all level 1 and had fairly cool characters for level 1. What they were was not important…what happened is.

The horse merchant was well known and established for some of the finest mounts for a hundred miles. We all went through some checks to find mounts best suited in temperament and personality for our characters. A ton of thought was put into this and I think it was meant to make us care about our horses instead of using them as cover.

In an isolated corral was a princely horse…a fine stallion of remarkable speed and strength. A truly bad ass horse. We all made rolls to try and see if the horse would take us as riders. All of us failed. We pressed anyway. Our fighter tried to break the stallions will and got thrown from the mount in response. Our wizard tried to daze it with color spray before mounting it…the horse kicked him in the head and rolled maximum damage…killing him outright. Outraged the fighter charged and tried to avenge the wizard…the horse hit him with two hooves and a bite attack the next round and knocked him out. Our ranger tried putting an arrow into the horse and he actually managed to connect…the merchant took offense and lit into the ranger. The campaign ended before it began with the horse killing four of us and the merchant killing the ranger.

A Charmed End:


So...this one time we decided to try and synergize a broken group of characters. We built two half-ogre fighters with spiked chains and combat reflexes that would go the way of spring attack. Think about the very early OOTS strip where Roy fights the half ogre. Exactly like that. Except...we made two of them. We then made two evil cleric who would raise dead and summon creatures to choke a battlefield. Our fifth character was a halfling rogue that was meant to stalk the twirling circles of chainy death.

Our very first encounter was against a force on the other side of a ravine. As the first opposing arrow fell against us...the question was raised.

"Did anyone pack a missile weapon?"

A few turns of arrows and a pair of failed will saves against Charm Person later, our ogre death machines had fulfilled their purpose against our clerics and dismantled our rogue into small squishy bits.

DM: So...you ready to roll up a new party?

Know Your Role:

This campaign is the reason one of our oldest house rules got thrown out. Once upon a time we would randomly roll up a magic item to begin the game with. Kind of a family heirloom that the youngsters take with them when they hit the road. We would do so randomly. This was the last time that ever happened.

I think (memory is fuzzy on this one) this was our attempt at running the Sunless Citadel...we didn't get very far in and never reattempted it again so not sure. For those with better recollections...Sunless Citadel had Meepo right? The kobold jailor?

Anyway...one of our party was a rogue/sorcerer, another was a drow wizard...we also had a dwarf ranger with dual waraxes and an elvish archer. . The drow rolled up a Ring of Blinking and despite being a first level wizard with a con penalty he somehow decided that the ability to walk through walls (with bad side effects) made him a front line fighter. The rogue was hellbent on sneak attacking something...he didnt care what and we ended up fighting against a pack of humanoids. The drow tried to walk through a wall to help set up a flank for the rogue and he ended up taking enough damage by botching the blink effect that he knocked himself out. The rogue summoned a critter (while in melee) to become his replacement flanker and the attacks of opportunity this afforded got him killed outright.

The fighter and ranger both tried to bug out and I think successfully escaped. A fifth party member died, but I can't recall exact details. We never got random items again based on how horrifically mismanaged the ring of blinking turned out.

GorinichSerpant
2015-02-22, 06:37 PM
I see your group has had some fun times.

Kaveman26
2015-02-23, 01:34 PM
Session 7: Even Tyrants need Logistics

The staggering results of the previous week have earned them a much faster than expected bump to level 7. I will detail the breakdowns for that development a bit later, as what happens immediately is more relevant. Having broken the minotaur clan, and animal pack they now have a heap of bodies and no spell slots remaining. 11 minotaur warriors are still breathing (and heavily wounded) along with a host of non fighting young and women.

The first order of business for them ends up being rest and security. They separate the living warriors into different areas and withdraw their weapons and arms. The remaining undead are placed as guards dispersed with the 11 warriors. Vanilla and Melty function as guards for the assembled remaining bull-folk. With the area more or less secure they arrange to turn in for the night and try to recuperate while formulating a game plan. I told them they had earned level 7 but they held off on processing all the details…only asking if that would affect spell slots and spells per day etc…not yet feats or the others. I told them that was fine.

As they scheme amidst their bedrolls, Reggie quietly gets Rusk’s attention and sidles over to the gnoll.
Reggie: Now is our shot. We take them in their sleep and make a break for it. Their bony army is occupied everywhere else and they are run ragged…we slit their throats and strike out on our own, may never get another chance.

Rusk: That is a bold play little one. If It goes wrong?
Reggie: Then we die. Hopefully quickly. If we succeed we strike back up and find the dwarves. I don’t think they will kill us outright…especially if we bring anything they have on their corpses.
Rusk: When would you strike?
Reggie: First watch…before they have a chance to recover or prepare spells.
Rusk: That means the Goblin*…he is the most alert.
Reggie: He is also the weakest and most easily held down for the dagger. You can take him in a rush and I will work the blade.

The two reluctant lackeys start down the path to assassination…Reggie putting Bull’s Strength on Rusk who hails Chomper on his approach before bursting into a charge the last few steps to try and bull rush/grapple the goblin. He succeeds in tackling Chomper and wrestling him to the ground, stifling any cries of alarm. Reggie almost gleefully dances forward dagger in hand…only to get snatched about the midsection by Chomper’s spinosaur.

Reggie squeals in pain trying to shake off the dinosaur while slashing with his knife. Rusk maintains the grapple and tries to deliver some overhand shots to the squirming goblin. The dinosaur is making a fair amount of noise and the gnome is hardly silent. It is enough to bring Dis Pater and Pluto to the edge of their room, where they rouse the remaining party to action.

The goblin is banged up, but in no real danger…Reggie is pinned and held by the dinosaur while Rusk is forced to kneel at the edge of Dis Pater’s scimitar.

Dis Pater: Well played…trying to strike when we were vulnerable. At least some degree of cunning resides in your quivering whimpering souls. What do you think Seraphim? Cauldron or stewpot?

Seraphim delicately caresses the sobbing and snarling gnome’s curly hair.

Seraphim: Break their arms…break their legs…cut out their tongues…stabilize them enough that they won’t bleed out. Then tuck them away someplace quiet.

Dis Pater: Wow…you must have hurt her feelings. She wants to save you for something worse.
Seraphim: Nonsense…I only want to help them grow. First we need more medicine.

Doc and Dis arrange for the traitors to have their various bones fractured, and they remove the tongues from both Rusk and Reggie. Then without another word or complaint…they go back to sleep.
The following morning sees a bright and chipper group starting out with a yawn and a smile.

Chomper: Today is going to be fun!

“Today” encompasses the next few weeks. With spells expanded and recovered they set up taking stock of their undead legions and its waiting reinforcements.

Hades: It’s shame to keep burning through so many minions. Especially when we see what can happen from the evolved ones.
Pluto: I agree…I actually had an idea on that. Is there any reason for us to fear the mindless ones? Even if one of us botches a roll we have plenty of chances to try again.
Seraphim: Absolutely.

Pluto: Why not cull the weak and leave them above as roadblocks for any that come after? We cart up the mindless ones and fill them in rooms…provide loose general orders and then set them free. **

Hades: That frees up more room to farm the corpses for psionic/intelligent ones.

So begins the second phase of Necromantic Cattle Driving…they begin seeding livestock (or Deadstock) for preferred traits. They have become breeders. Trips are organized to release the mindless undead to the above levels and corridors, The process of sifting through the dead minotaurs for further gifted ones also gets under way. Joining the ranks of T-Bones comes…
Sir Loin-Full Plate armor wearing Expansion enabled “charger” skeleton
Mignon-Claws…poison…kind of creepy
Well Done-An Energy Ray shooter
Tenderizer: Concussive Onslaught
Sparky-Energy Burst

They leave a reserve of “reinforcement corpses” behind for future raising.

All of the skeletal minotaurs are treated as Manifester Level 6 (I am using magic/psi transparency so CL=ML etc…Spellcraft=Psioniccraft, SR=PR etc) and have power point pools of 11.

Chomper harvests, seasons, and cures as much edible flesh as possible from the carnage previously inflicted. They create a trash heap with the various entrails, unusued bones and random viscera. Cleaning up future illness or disease spreading hooks I get…but then they put a group of mindless skeletons to “protect” the heap…and set them free. That I don’t get…

They also scour the minotaur complex for serviceable goods, then reorganize the minotaur’s homes into something more along the lines of barracks. With patience and kindness they do a bizarre kind of physical exam for all the living bulls. Not just like checking for wounds, but doing full blown interviews, tracing heritage and aptitude. I am honestly perplexed.

Interesting Stuff To Mention in Passing:

*None of the animals comes back with abilities, some come back with memory and speech (side effect of being awakened and a way for me to chide them from beyond death) but most are mindless shamblers. They reanimate the 10 squirrels and 8 come back with memory and speech intact. Hades seizes on this for some reason with far more excitement than the psionic minotaurs.

Hades: What do they count as?
DM: Diminutive 1hp skeletons with moderate intelligence and speech.
Hades: So…how do they affect my control slots?
DM: They are 1/8HD…literally 1HP creatures incapable of breaking skin with a bite, or carrying items of weight.
Hades: So I can have all 8 with one slot?
DM: If you really want 8 squirrels that will goad you and taunt you for the rest of your life, sure 1HD of command undead and they are yours.
Hades: Awesome!

*Each Player receives Wild Talent and Expanded Knowledge as a bonus talent. This is a result of prolonged exposure to the crystals, and the fact that they consume a safe amount of minotaur meat. They all gain a PP reserve of 2…with their primary stat adding to the pool. They are treated as ML of half their HD (rounded down) and may take additional expanded knowledge to gain more abilities.

*Seraphim drinks the blood of damn near every freaking animal in the hopes of gorging herself into some new spells. She has varying success and her spell list continues to swell.

We reach a point where housekeeping is about done. The minotaur clan is well situated and appear to be settling into the new status quo…most are just happy to be alive. Corpses from the large battle are either reanimated, stockpiled or risen and freed to be a nuisance for anyone else heading in their direction. A cadre of intelligent and gifted undead now make up the majority of a much smaller and far more focused horde. Which brings us to…

Seraphim: Reggie…Rusk…good morning…are you ready for more soup?

The two captives groan, unable to form full words with their tongues removed. Everyday Seraphim has been force feeding them a concentrated psionic bull broth…not as potent as the crystal formula and much slower to act…but certainly as dangerous. When they willfully rejected the proffered broth she began preparing Beguiling Gift to in essence coerce them into drinking it. She reveals that the reason for letting them live was to replicate the same process they performed on Melty and Vanilla…force psionic mutation on them until they die and then potentially reanimate them into something more useful.

Seraphim: You will be stronger in death than in life…and certainly more obedient.

She makes it a point to use her misfortune and evil eye hex while cackling everyday to ensure the highest chances of getting her way.

The steps for continuing on start to take form and they hit me with one last item.

Hades: I am sending my eight squirrels in four two man teams to scout a few different directions. They have orders to avoid conflict if at all possible and report back any sighting of mobile and sentient creatures, living or otherwise. I want them to run silent and run swift.

DM: You are using your skeleton squirrels…for recon?

Hades: They are reasonably intelligent…follow orders and can report back. They are also freaking damn near impossible to spot if our first battle was any indication…so heck yeah.

The twins put their heads together and assemble a catalog of where they deposited free willed undead and like a squirrel that doesn’t want to lose track of buried nuts they use a keycode on their dungeon map to highlight where they left undead behind. Seraphim has a lightbulb go off and she goes off with Chomper to plot her own little agenda. They scounge the stockpile of stolen merchantile goods and work together to create a series of trapped chests, deadfalls, arrow traps, tripwires and anything else annoying and cheap. The witch brews up multiple dangerous potions and masks their nature. They then retrace their steps to leave trapped loot in all the rooms where they deposited their wild undead. To add salt on an open wound they also leave small clues and leads to bring anyone searching towards Moo-Dor, this prompts the following realization…

DM: So…pretty much at this point I think it’s safe to say that you guys are basically commandeering and controlling the upper level of the dungeon. In essence you are now the DM’s of the upper levels.

Group: Yeah…pretty much. It’s like an advanced form of recycling. Plus we wouldn’t want the NPC’s that are modeled on adventuring groups run out of things to do.

Their final little “by the way” moment. They are highly encouraging a selective breeding program for the minotaur clan. After their extensive survey and examinations of the survivors they are nudging the clan to breed along certain lines to encourage maximum physical attributes and maximum mental attributes.

DM: You do realize they are not actually livestock. They are intelligent and free willed humanoids capable of family bonds, monogamy and loyalty?

Group: Yes…and we are making it a point to encourage the growth of the group dynamic to preserve future generations to come…and if they don’t get down the way we instruct them, then we will simply cull them from the herd and keep the ones that listen.

DM: Can I at least ask why you are trying to thread humanoid livestock? Are you guys really going to spend years here waiting for the next generation?

Dis Pater *coughs* as he references the notecards from their original discussion with Dion the Minotaur chief.

Dis Pater: He has personally overseen the clan for just over one year. This is strangely against the notion of there being seven generations of minotaur within the structure. There is from his explanation a staggeringly quick maturation process brought on by the crystals and infants become adults within a matter of weeks. This rapid maturation strains their food supplies and causes excessively high mortality rates.

Dis Pater: So basically…we get a new batch of harvestable cows every month as long as we keep feeding them. We will feed the dead to the living and keep harvesting more fresh.

They end the day completing their advancement to level 7, which I where I will pick up from next update.


*Their default “watch rotation” is Chomper (non-caster best Perception) Dis Pater, twins, Doc, Seraphim.

** We more or less came to the agreement that mindless undead would in essence follow out the gist of their last orders…unless something impeded their well being. So basically if you leave a skeleton to it’s own it will “guard” a room but if something attacks it, it will retaliate. If you aid it…it just keeps following orders.

ReaderAt2046
2015-02-23, 01:44 PM
Session 7: Even Tyrants need Logistics

The staggering results of the previous week have earned them a much faster than expected bump to level 7. I will detail the breakdowns for that development a bit later, as what happens immediately is more relevant. Having broken the minotaur clan, and animal pack they now have a heap of bodies and no spell slots remaining. 11 minotaur warriors are still breathing (and heavily wounded) along with a host of non fighting young and women.

The first order of business for them ends up being rest and security. They separate the living warriors into different areas and withdraw their weapons and arms. The remaining undead are placed as guards dispersed with the 11 warriors. Vanilla and Melty function as guards for the assembled remaining bull-folk. With the area more or less secure they arrange to turn in for the night and try to recuperate while formulating a game plan. I told them they had earned level 7 but they held off on processing all the details…only asking if that would affect spell slots and spells per day etc…not yet feats or the others. I told them that was fine.

As they scheme amidst their bedrolls, Reggie quietly gets Rusk’s attention and sidles over to the gnoll.
Reggie: Now is our shot. We take them in their sleep and make a break for it. Their bony army is occupied everywhere else and they are run ragged…we slit their throats and strike out on our own, may never get another chance.

Rusk: That is a bold play little one. If It goes wrong?
Reggie: Then we die. Hopefully quickly. If we succeed we strike back up and find the dwarves. I don’t think they will kill us outright…especially if we bring anything they have on their corpses.
Rusk: When would you strike?
Reggie: First watch…before they have a chance to recover or prepare spells.
Rusk: That means the Goblin*…he is the most alert.
Reggie: He is also the weakest and most easily held down for the dagger. You can take him in a rush and I will work the blade.

The two reluctant lackeys start down the path to assassination…Reggie putting Bull’s Strength on Rusk who hails Chomper on his approach before bursting into a charge the last few steps to try and bull rush/grapple the goblin. He succeeds in tackling Chomper and wrestling him to the ground, stifling any cries of alarm. Reggie almost gleefully dances forward dagger in hand…only to get snatched about the midsection by Chomper’s spinosaur.

Reggie squeals in pain trying to shake off the dinosaur while slashing with his knife. Rusk maintains the grapple and tries to deliver some overhand shots to the squirming goblin. The dinosaur is making a fair amount of noise and the gnome is hardly silent. It is enough to bring Dis Pater and Pluto to the edge of their room, where they rouse the remaining party to action.

The goblin is banged up, but in no real danger…Reggie is pinned and held by the dinosaur while Rusk is forced to kneel at the edge of Dis Pater’s scimitar.

Dis Pater: Well played…trying to strike when we were vulnerable. At least some degree of cunning resides in your quivering whimpering souls. What do you think Seraphim? Cauldron or stewpot?

Seraphim delicately caresses the sobbing and snarling gnome’s curly hair.

Seraphim: Break their arms…break their legs…cut out their tongues…stabilize them enough that they won’t bleed out. Then tuck them away someplace quiet.

Dis Pater: Wow…you must have hurt her feelings. She wants to save you for something worse.
Seraphim: Nonsense…I only want to help them grow. First we need more medicine.

Doc and Dis arrange for the traitors to have their various bones fractured, and they remove the tongues from both Rusk and Reggie. Then without another word or complaint…they go back to sleep.
The following morning sees a bright and chipper group starting out with a yawn and a smile.

Chomper: Today is going to be fun!

“Today” encompasses the next few weeks. With spells expanded and recovered they set up taking stock of their undead legions and its waiting reinforcements.

Hades: It’s shame to keep burning through so many minions. Especially when we see what can happen from the evolved ones.
Pluto: I agree…I actually had an idea on that. Is there any reason for us to fear the mindless ones? Even if one of us botches a roll we have plenty of chances to try again.
Seraphim: Absolutely.

Pluto: Why not cull the weak and leave them above as roadblocks for any that come after? We cart up the mindless ones and fill them in rooms…provide loose general orders and then set them free. **

Hades: That frees up more room to farm the corpses for psionic/intelligent ones.

So begins the second phase of Necromantic Cattle Driving…they begin seeding livestock (or Deadstock) for preferred traits. They have become breeders. Trips are organized to release the mindless undead to the above levels and corridors, The process of sifting through the dead minotaurs for further gifted ones also gets under way. Joining the ranks of T-Bones comes…
Sir Loin-Full Plate armor wearing Expansion enabled “charger” skeleton
Mignon-Claws…poison…kind of creepy
Well Done-An Energy Ray shooter
Tenderizer: Concussive Onslaught
Sparky-Energy Burst

They leave a reserve of “reinforcement corpses” behind for future raising.

All of the skeletal minotaurs are treated as Manifester Level 6 (I am using magic/psi transparency so CL=ML etc…Spellcraft=Psioniccraft, SR=PR etc) and have power point pools of 11.

Chomper harvests, seasons, and cures as much edible flesh as possible from the carnage previously inflicted. They create a trash heap with the various entrails, unusued bones and random viscera. Cleaning up future illness or disease spreading hooks I get…but then they put a group of mindless skeletons to “protect” the heap…and set them free. That I don’t get…

They also scour the minotaur complex for serviceable goods, then reorganize the minotaur’s homes into something more along the lines of barracks. With patience and kindness they do a bizarre kind of physical exam for all the living bulls. Not just like checking for wounds, but doing full blown interviews, tracing heritage and aptitude. I am honestly perplexed.

Interesting Stuff To Mention in Passing:

*None of the animals comes back with abilities, some come back with memory and speech (side effect of being awakened and a way for me to chide them from beyond death) but most are mindless shamblers. They reanimate the 10 squirrels and 8 come back with memory and speech intact. Hades seizes on this for some reason with far more excitement than the psionic minotaurs.

Hades: What do they count as?
DM: Diminutive 1hp skeletons with moderate intelligence and speech.
Hades: So…how do they affect my control slots?
DM: They are 1/8HD…literally 1HP creatures incapable of breaking skin with a bite, or carrying items of weight.
Hades: So I can have all 8 with one slot?
DM: If you really want 8 squirrels that will goad you and taunt you for the rest of your life, sure 1HD of command undead and they are yours.
Hades: Awesome!

*Each Player receives Wild Talent and Expanded Knowledge as a bonus talent. This is a result of prolonged exposure to the crystals, and the fact that they consume a safe amount of minotaur meat. They all gain a PP reserve of 2…with their primary stat adding to the pool. They are treated as ML of half their HD (rounded down) and may take additional expanded knowledge to gain more abilities.

*Seraphim drinks the blood of damn near every freaking animal in the hopes of gorging herself into some new spells. She has varying success and her spell list continues to swell.

We reach a point where housekeeping is about done. The minotaur clan is well situated and appear to be settling into the new status quo…most are just happy to be alive. Corpses from the large battle are either reanimated, stockpiled or risen and freed to be a nuisance for anyone else heading in their direction. A cadre of intelligent and gifted undead now make up the majority of a much smaller and far more focused horde. Which brings us to…

Seraphim: Reggie…Rusk…good morning…are you ready for more soup?

The two captives groan, unable to form full words with their tongues removed. Everyday Seraphim has been force feeding them a concentrated psionic bull broth…not as potent as the crystal formula and much slower to act…but certainly as dangerous. When they willfully rejected the proffered broth she began preparing Beguiling Gift to in essence coerce them into drinking it. She reveals that the reason for letting them live was to replicate the same process they performed on Melty and Vanilla…force psionic mutation on them until they die and then potentially reanimate them into something more useful.

Seraphim: You will be stronger in death than in life…and certainly more obedient.

She makes it a point to use her misfortune and evil eye hex while cackling everyday to ensure the highest chances of getting her way.

The steps for continuing on start to take form and they hit me with one last item.

Hades: I am sending my eight squirrels in four two man teams to scout a few different directions. They have orders to avoid conflict if at all possible and report back any sighting of mobile and sentient creatures, living or otherwise. I want them to run silent and run swift.

DM: You are using your skeleton squirrels…for recon?

Hades: They are reasonably intelligent…follow orders and can report back. They are also freaking damn near impossible to spot if our first battle was any indication…so heck yeah.

The twins put their heads together and assemble a catalog of where they deposited free willed undead and like a squirrel that doesn’t want to lose track of buried nuts they use a keycode on their dungeon map to highlight where they left undead behind. Seraphim has a lightbulb go off and she goes off with Chomper to plot her own little agenda. They scounge the stockpile of stolen merchantile goods and work together to create a series of trapped chests, deadfalls, arrow traps, tripwires and anything else annoying and cheap. The witch brews up multiple dangerous potions and masks their nature. They then retrace their steps to leave trapped loot in all the rooms where they deposited their wild undead. To add salt on an open wound they also leave small clues and leads to bring anyone searching towards Moo-Dor, this prompts the following realization…

DM: So…pretty much at this point I think it’s safe to say that you guys are basically commandeering and controlling the upper level of the dungeon. In essence you are now the DM’s of the upper levels.

Group: Yeah…pretty much. It’s like an advanced form of recycling. Plus we wouldn’t want the NPC’s that are modeled on adventuring groups run out of things to do.

Their final little “by the way” moment. They are highly encouraging a selective breeding program for the minotaur clan. After their extensive survey and examinations of the survivors they are nudging the clan to breed along certain lines to encourage maximum physical attributes and maximum mental attributes.

DM: You do realize they are not actually livestock. They are intelligent and free willed humanoids capable of family bonds, monogamy and loyalty?

Group: Yes…and we are making it a point to encourage the growth of the group dynamic to preserve future generations to come…and if they don’t get down the way we instruct them, then we will simply cull them from the herd and keep the ones that listen.

DM: Can I at least ask why you are trying to thread humanoid livestock? Are you guys really going to spend years here waiting for the next generation?

Dis Pater *coughs* as he references the notecards from their original discussion with Dion the Minotaur chief.

Dis Pater: He has personally overseen the clan for just over one year. This is strangely against the notion of there being seven generations of minotaur within the structure. There is from his explanation a staggeringly quick maturation process brought on by the crystals and infants become adults within a matter of weeks. This rapid maturation strains their food supplies and causes excessively high mortality rates.

Dis Pater: So basically…we get a new batch of harvestable cows every month as long as we keep feeding them. We will feed the dead to the living and keep harvesting more fresh.

They end the day completing their advancement to level 7, which I where I will pick up from next update.


*Their default “watch rotation” is Chomper (non-caster best Perception) Dis Pater, twins, Doc, Seraphim.

** We more or less came to the agreement that mindless undead would in essence follow out the gist of their last orders…unless something impeded their well being. So basically if you leave a skeleton to it’s own it will “guard” a room but if something attacks it, it will retaliate. If you aid it…it just keeps following orders.

So each of them got a psionic power and a PP reserve? What did they get? Or are you going to tell us what they got in the next update?

Also, I kind of like how this dungeon is gradually turning into a series of feudal kingdoms. You have the area controlled and colonized by the dwarf squad, then the Necrocracy's territory, then below that the wild region that nobody yet claims.

Kaveman26
2015-02-23, 01:50 PM
I'll up updated character sheets with next update along with a bit more detail on overall assets etc.

blacklight101
2015-02-23, 04:45 PM
Wow, that was fantastically well thought out on their part. I cant believe they went as far as to re-seed the upper levels. That was just a fun little thing to read, and they have got to be one of the more creative groups ive ever read about.

Kaveman26
2015-02-23, 05:16 PM
They are evil incarnate and devious to boot. I mean them as people not their characters btw. I normally play alongside and aid in the madness so trying to DM through the same hijinks I typically act as a catalyst for is tough.

Makes for some fun times and it becomes a thousand times more satisfying when they overthink themselves or have their scheming backfire.

Gilphon
2015-02-23, 05:51 PM
Huh. Kind of expected Reggie's betrayal to amount to a bit more than that, when it came.

Axinian
2015-02-23, 08:27 PM
I'm just waiting for an army of frost giants from the northern camp to come and start wrecking house on them :P

Norin
2015-02-24, 06:30 AM
Oooh, last update was epic as always. :smallamused:

Looking forward to your next update with the sheets and also the continuation of this tale of pure destilled evil undead awesomeness.

Wolfofmibu66
2015-02-26, 11:00 AM
Awesome logs Kaveman, I stand in awe of your party's practiced and collected application of evil. I only hope that one day my characters can sink to their level.

Kaveman26
2015-03-01, 01:43 PM
It’s not the size of the dog in the fight:Session 8

Seraphim
Half Elf Gravewalker (Patron-Elements)7:Str10 Dex14 Con12 Int20 Wis12 Cha 16
Feats: Skill Focus Diplomacy, Brew Potion,Extra Hex (Cackle),Ability Focus (Hex),Extra Hex (Cauldron), Wild Talent, Expanded Knowledge
Hexes: Evil Eye, Cackle, Cauldron,Misfortune,Spell Focus Necromancy
4th Level Spells Selected:Wandering Star Motes, Enervation
Psionic Powers Known: Share Pain
PP Reserve: 7
Bone Thrall: T-Bones
Animate Dead (28HD): Sir Loin (6HD) Mignon (6HD) Tenderizer (6HD) 5 Horse Skeletons (10HD)
Command Undead: Snowflake (skeletal unicorn)

Pluto:
Dhampir Undead Lord 7: Str 14 Dex 14 Con 12 Int 11 Wis 17 Cha 18
Feats:BF:Command Undead, Spell Focus:Necromancy,Selective Channeling,Undead Master, Extra Channeling, Wild Talent, Expanded Knowledge
Psionic Power Known: Force Screen
PP Reserve 5
Corpse Companion: Well Done (6HD)
Animate Dead (28HD):Melty (12HD) 2 Skeletal Minotaurs (12HD)
Command Undead (11HD): 1 Skeletal Minotaur (6HD)

Hades:
Dhampir Undead Lord 7:Str 14 Dex 14 Con 12 Int 11 Wis 17 Cha 18
Feats:Spell Focus Necromancy,Selective Channeling,Undead Master, Extra Channeling, Wild Talent, Expanded Knowledge
Psionic Power Known: Force Screen
PP Reserve 5
Corpse Companion: Sparky (6HD)
Animate Dead (28HD):Vanilla (10HD) 8 Squirrels (1HD) 2 Skeletal Minotaurs (12HD)
Command Undead 11HD: 1 Skeletal Minotaur (6HD)


Dis Pater:
Nagaji Knight of the Sepulcher 7:Str 18 Dex 14 Con 14 Int 10 Wis 13 Cha 18
Feats:Channel Smite,Extra Lay of Hands,Extra Lay of Hands, Power Attack, Wild Talent, Expanded Knowledge
Psionic Powers Known: Animal Affinity
PP Reserve 6
Chomper
Goblin Horse Lord/Trapsmith Level 7:Str 12 Dex 22 Con15 Int14 Wis15 10 Cha 5
Feats:Calvary Formation,Mounted Combat,Two Weapon Fighting,Weapon Finesse, Wild Talent, Expanded Knowledge
Psionic Powers Known:Wall Walker
PP Reserve 8

Doctor Lovebones (Orc) Barbarian1/Scarred Witch Dr5/Eldritch Knight1 Str 22 Dex 14 Con 18 Int 5 Wis 12 Cha 5
Feats: Ability Focus (Hex), Extra Hex, Extra Hex, Power Attack, Improved Initiative, Wild Talent, Expanded Knowledge
Hexes: Fortune, Misfortune, Ward, Cackle

Psionic Powers Known: Psionic Lion’s Charge
PP Reserve 6

As preparations for basically taking ownership of the dungeon near completion Seraphim is going about her daily ritual of poisoning Rusk and Reggie when she discovers them missing. The undead minotaurs guarding their cell area are torn to pieces and shattered. No one cops to seeing anything enter or leave and they are exceptionally infuriated that their hobbled captives somehow slipped away. Chomper searches the area and turns up some tuffs of canine hair and some unexplained scratch marks. The hair could be gnoll hair…the scratches are way too small for a gnoll though.

Seraphim: Can you tell if they were carried or dragged out? I don’t expect that they were able to walk out with shattered limbs.
Chomper: Drag marks should have left a minor trace…tracks aren’t much help. If I had to guess they were either healed and walked out on their own…or something managed to exit in ways we can’t determine.

They set about forming full search parties and organize efforts to track down the errant NPC’s. Squirrel recon team three reports back in and informs the cleric that they spotted several small humanoids with a gnoll heading for the surface.

Dis Pater: Doors are scheduled to open up soon. I think tomorrow.
(I confirm that fact as accurate)

Hades: If they make it out we are not going to be able to play naïve or aloof come time to make our own exit.
Pluto: Don’t think we have much cause to leave as of now. Everything is running to our benefit.
Hades: Yeah…but a month from now that may change, and I do not think the welcoming committee awaiting our exit would be very keen on our presence.
Seraphim: There is still twenty four hours until the doors open. More than enough time to find our wayward prisoners.

A lock down procedure goes into effect and they get Micko to close the door leading to the lower level.

Dis Pater: How do we secure the minotaur colony? If we take the intelligent skeletons, and the giants we have maybe six or seven undead to leave behind? They wouldn’t be able to hold back the remaining warriors and young.

Hades: Crap…Didn’t think about that. How do we secure them without leaving the vast majority behind.

Doc: Lock them behind door. The one only Micko can open. Leave whole clan there. If they want to ever get out then they need hope we survive. Or they can try to find safety deeper in.

Pluto: That means we could take the whole undead battalion with us.

Chomper: Why not just leave the women and kids behind the locked door? That basically forces the remaining warriors to aid us or never get their clan back. We stash the whole clan behind the sealed portal, take the 11 living minotaurs with us, and leave behind the mindless ones to stand as guards for the non combatants. Means we get 11 EXTREMELY motivated minions and we still get to take the bulk of our undead fighting strength.

Seraphim: Sold!

The Squirrel Recon teams are sent as scouts while the U.C. shift into motion as one large moveable unit. As the squirrels check back in with potential leads, Chomper leads the horde in a tracking mission to locate Rusk and Reggie. Tufts of canine hair and the occasional aroma of dog urine clue them into the correct path to track.

They are amped up and eager to get back their NPC’s, so when they turn a corner to see Reggie and Rusk behind a shield wall manned by the dwarf expeditionary force they are definitely ready for bloodshed. Reggie hops onto the platform of a rolling ballista and flips a double bird at the party as they come into sight. The dwarves grin…and the audible clicking of siege bolts being cocked is practically like thunder.

A shield wall warrior shouts before anything pops off.

Warrior: Don’t bother trying to talk or banter, we ain’t buying. No one behind this wall has anything but contempt and hatred for your lot. So crawl back into whatever hole you have been skulking in.

Seraphim: We don’t have to quarrel with you…we just want Rusk and Reggie returned to our protection. Then we walk away.

Russ…the dwarf leader appears from the end of the hallway with Rusk and Reggie on either side of him.

Russ: I wouldn’t commit to these two just yet witch. We got a full breakdown of your protection…along with your cannibalism, murder, blackmail, extortion and double crossings.

Dis Pater *quietly*: How did they learn all that in twenty seconds?
Russ: Twenty seconds? We have been hearing stories about you for weeks now.
Russ steps ever so slightly to the side and reveals a beleaguered and ragged Halfling.
Russ: Gup here has been extremely helpful to us. He was even kind enough to help rescue the gnome and gnoll here for us.

There is a long collective pause as they all look each other to try and figure out what the heck is happening.

Chomper: Oh yeah…Gup…the rogue from the gnoll vault. We threw him a knife and kicked him back into the wilds to see what would happen. Little bugger went and stole out our prisoners from us and gave them to the dwarves.

Seraphim: Who…I get. Why…I get. But how? He couldn’t carry them, he couldn’t drag and he has no means to heal their broken bones. Also…how did he hear Dis just now? I think we should take a very close look to see if anything is amiss before acting rashly. Something isn’t adding up.

The whole group takes a few cautious steps back and tries to really focus in and seek out anything off with the dwarves and their new allies.

*Armor everywhere is banged up and seemingly put back together by some hasty repairs.
*They all look more haggard and run down then the neat and tidy legion that marched in a month ago.
*Chomper rolls the highest check and seems to clue in some more subtle oddities…

Chomper: These are some very hairy dwarfs.
Hades: What dwarf isn’t?
Chomper: No I mean…furry. Like the fur we found on the ground…
(they more or less “knew” what was about to happen…but they were trying to be certain)
Seraphim: Did you notice if they also had exceptionally large teeth Chomp?
Chomper: Yeah…much bigger teeth than a normal dwarf.
Doc: Maybe it’s time to let them go?

As the U.C. start to backpedal ever so subtly Gup snarls and the sound of shifting cracking bone echoes through the halls…this sound accompanies the whole host of dwarves as well.

Doc: Maybe go faster?

The Halfling rogue shifts from a ragged hobbit to a much larger lupine form in a matter of seconds, the dwarves follow suit as they shift into a hybrid werewolf form. For my own amusement Gup looks like a wolf-poodle and the dwarves look like bulldogs.

Some of the dwarves launch siege weapons, and advance in still organized shield wall ranks, while others bound over top the shield wall and charge on all fours in something closer to true wolf form. Massive crossbow bolts slam home into the front rank undead and a mass of fur and claws clog up the hallway. Some return fire and energy channeling exchange as the group works backwards in a steady retreat.

From side halls and what looked like barred doors, more dwarf-wolves emerge to nip at the groups flanks and harry them in retreat. What damage they return to the shapeshifters is visibly dissipating in seconds…

Chomper: they have fast healing!

Dis Pater: Smoke em if you got em…we need to deliver heavy damage in quick time or they will back and let their natural healing catch up.

Acid Psionics from Melty go online…the psionic minotaurs immediately burn through their PP reserves to nova out what damage they can muster to those immediately attacking and Chomper+Seraphim throw their attacks directly into what Dis Pater is attacking. The twins channel like madmen and try to staunch the bleeding. Every corridor they approach is met with more resistance and in short order they are surrounded and fighting on all fronts.

With no regard towards conserving resources they are capable of hearty offense…but damage reduction and fast healing play havoc with their general plan of attack. The targets receiving high individual focus are dropping and seem to be staying down…but the were-dwarfs are fine with eating an AOO to disengage and cycle in more recovered troops. As their backwards progress stalls…the shield wall rolls around a corner and they can hear the siege crossbows winching back. Gup, Reggie, Russ, and Rusk are all laughing from behind the wall. Reggie and Rusk are both in hybrid wolf form as well. *

In desperation they throw everything they have to hold the front…all their undead…all their mounts…even grabbing a salt mephit from the hourglass…Cullen the swordsmen mephit appears with a sabre and is almost instantly eaten by the wolves. They arrange the giants and minotaurs in a thick line towards the front and then have their remaining horses, Snowflake and Chomper’s spinosaur charge out the back in a half cocked stampede. Then they follow on the heels of their mounts with a full blown retreat. The twins, Dis Pater, and Doc all break free pretty easily. Chomper and Seraphim get charged by waiting wolfs. Seraphim manages to dodge her attacker on a natural 1 attack roll…but Chomper gets tripped mid retreat. He is immediately swarmed by wolves and they watch over their shoulders as their undead begin to fall.

Dis Pater: If we don’t turn back he is a goner.
Seraphim: If we turn back we just join him as a meal.
Hades: Farewell brother…we will honor you in the life to come.
Chomper: YOU ARE LEAVING ME????

He actually manages to get his feet back under him and he puts feet to ground in a mad attempt to run free. He has to make four separate attackers miss on attempts to grapple or pin him and he jukes past the first three. The fourth is a super tense roll…which he rolls a natural 1 on the opposed check. As the rest of the group turns the corner Seraphim sees them in essence draw and quarter the goblin ranger while consuming him.

As they continue their mad dash to retreat Seraphim is able to get back on Snowflake and she doesn’t hesitate to put distance between herself and the rest of the party. Dis Pater tries to reign in the now masterless Spinosaur who relentlessly bucks him off…hissing and baring teeth at the anti-paladin.
The dinosaur hisses softly and then roars…leaving off in it’s own direction.

This puts Dis Pater at the back of the pack and he is the first to see full wolf form were-dwarves come barreling in pursuit. The twins redirect the remaining undead horses to clog up the hallway and Dis Pater manages to get ahead of the swirling mass of claws.

Seraphim: We need to get back to Moo-Dor central and get behind the sealable door.
Dis Pater: They are moving faster than us…you are the only one that can outpace them since you are mounted.
Seraphim: Not eager to split from safety….
Hades: No choice…get back to the gateway, have Micko open and as soon as we are all through we slam it shut.

The twins consult their map and start doing some complicated math. At this juncture everyone is wounded…the only remaining undead under any kind of control is Snowflake and they are about to overtaken by swarms of lycanthropes. They draw a straight route for Seraphim to take back to the central minotaur compound, then draw a second alternate meandering route they intend to take.

They converse as they move…

Dis Pater: Why are we taking a long path?

Hades: We deposited uncontrolled undead in several different rooms to move about freely…going to command them back under uncontrol and shove them behind us as roadblocks.

Pluto: Should help buy a little extra time and force them to divide or slow down. I think we should stagger in two man teams. Dis and I take first room, Pluto and Doc take second. We push the fodder towards the first team and play leapfrog. Seraphim will use an animate dead to bring some of the stockpile corpses back to this juncture where we meet up. We make a fighting retreat back towards Moo-Dor with Hades and I tagging out to bring more animated corpses as calvary. If we can stall them enough we make a break for it through the gateway and get our heels back under us. **

So in short order “Run Away! Run Away!” has morphed into “Run and find dead bodies to animate and throw in their face”. A series of smaller skirmishes erupts as Dis Pater and Doc swing away at the fastest wolves…Hades and Pluto play a bit of leapfrog and send a stream of reclaimed undead to join the fray. The aggressive tactics of the wolves continues, as they seek to trip and grapple any target possible…those who take wounds or AOO to do so seem not to mind as they cycle fresh bodies in and out. The retreat made the wolfpack string out to an extent and the time it took for them to finish off the giants and skeletons is buying precious rounds for the U.C. to avoid being run over in one mass swarm.

Seraphim makes it back to Moo-Dor and alerts Micko to the current state of affairs. She stays long enough to scoop up her HD allotment animated from their stockpile of bodies…taking anything with four legs and faster movement. She then stampedes back into the fray.

The leapfrogging is starting to lose by this time. The stragglers are all catching up and the mass of claws and teeth is growing at a much faster pace. Dis Pater and Doc are running out of options and health, and the twins are measuring out their remaining command undead attempts. As panic sets in, a small herd of skeletal horses comes tearing through the juncture with all the finesse of a fullback hitting a packed goal line defense. It plugs up enough space to let the whole PC group fall back as one and get some much needed healing, Seraphim cedes Snowflake to Hades who plays courier galloping back to Moo-Dor for a fresh batch of corpses.

The tactics let them hold the line and as the rounds creep on they begin measuring just how long they have to hold out until they can literally run through the door into the safety of the lower level. With a certain degree of smug satisfaction their celebratory grins at seeing the finish line turn rather sour as Micko shrugs his shoulders from the lower level side of the door and slams it shut…locking them on the Moo-Dor side.

Dis Pater: Well…anyone got some other bright ideas?



*Gup infected them and waited for the changes to take effect…fast healing got them into moveable shape and they all escaped in wolf form. For what its worth…I modded “lycanthropy” a bit for my purposes. Making the “infection” much faster acting and I bolstered it with fast healing.

**I definitely overbuilt the were-dwarves…but from my perspective they keep trivializing difficult situations and I have to keep ramping up the risk. This one got Chomper killed, and just when I started to feel a twinge of guilt they organize a very effective and creative strategy to regain control of the situation.

Kid Jake
2015-03-01, 03:07 PM
It does players good to have the fear of God tossed into them on occasion; keeps them on their toes. :smalltongue:

CrispyCriminal
2015-03-01, 03:31 PM
Heh, Karma for taking your job I see.

I feel bad for em. But I hope they get a sweet case of revenge out of it.

blacklight101
2015-03-01, 04:12 PM
Yeah, I think that should work to hold them back a bit. It's pretty nuts, but that works really well.

I think they have been given quite a lot to think about.

Axinian
2015-03-02, 03:31 AM
He actually manages to get his feet back under him and he puts feet to ground in a mad attempt to run free. He has to make four separate attackers miss on attempts to grapple or pin him and he jukes past the first three. The fourth is a super tense roll…which he rolls a natural 1 on the opposed check. As the rest of the group turns the corner Seraphim sees them in essence draw and quarter the goblin ranger while consuming him.


Just FYI, grappling is not an opposed check in Pathfinder. If the attacker didn't beat his CMD he should've gotten away.

DoctorProfessor
2015-03-02, 03:50 AM
The cliffhangers!!! :smallmad: Well played~

I really can't get enough of this campaign journal though. I... went through the entire "Big One" in between waiting on updates for this one. Honestly? The twins alone have sorta inspired the class selection for my main planned antagonists in my first attempt at DM'ing Pathfinder. Although faaaaar less capable and a bit more light-hearted than this particular party of PCs. I just kinda want my main antagonist be just that less evil and less of a problem than 90% of other things cropping up on the PC radar at any given point.

Normally, I wouldn't mention this given the fact that the people I play with occasionally frequent this forum as well. Seeing how one of them, our current DM, has already played a bit of a hand in optimizing one of those antagonists, I don't REALLY see the point in hiding it too much.

I also really enjoy occasionally getting to see what you have planned further down the road.

Anywhoo, on the edge of my seat to find out what happens next and see how they get out of this predicament.

Lord of Shadows
2015-03-02, 02:57 PM
Just FYI, grappling is not an opposed check in Pathfinder. If the attacker didn't beat his CMD he should've gotten away.

Yes... Er, well, the Attacker rolls d20 and adds his or her Combat Maneuver Bonus (CMB) against a DC equal to the Defenders Combat Maneuver Defense (CMD). CMD is almost always larger than CMB, due to the way they are calculated. We generally have a tie go to the Defender, although I am not sure what the RAW is on that.

Although, in the current example, however they calculated it seems to work OK. To paraphrase Meat Loaf (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5hWWe-ts2s), "3 out of 4 ain't bad."
.

Ionsniper
2015-03-02, 05:52 PM
This campaign is so amazing, I just cant get enough. Now you got me itching to find out how the dwarves became werewolves and how the Ranchers are going to fix the mess they've created.

Khaiel
2015-03-03, 02:06 PM
I've been loving this so far. Your players have an intellegent way of being evil magnificent bastards. I am even getting some good ideas for a game I will be running for some friends.

Keep up the good work!

Kaveman26
2015-03-04, 08:51 AM
Just FYI, grappling is not an opposed check in Pathfinder. If the attacker didn't beat his CMD he should've gotten away.

Yeah...transcription error on my part. In translating notes to recap I still apparently think of it as an opposed check even though the mechanic changed in PF.



I also really enjoy occasionally getting to see what you have planned further down the road.

I will pick this back up once I am current and caught up with everything that transpired after my hiatus.

Kaveman26
2015-03-05, 12:56 PM
I posted this as a seperate thread. Soon I will be taking a break from this campaign to let a friend roll out an idea of his own that he is going to experiment with...anyone with ideas please throw them in that thread.

System: Pathfinder
No Advanced Class Guide
No 3rd party publishing (This includes Dreamscarred)

House Rules:
No Flight...no flying by item,spell, or ability
No Raise Dead, Reincarnate, or Ressurection
No Teleport...or "shortcuts" to travelling
No Calling Spells (Planar Ally etc)
No Summoner

Character Builds:
7th level (probably won't run past 10th or 11th)
32 point buy
Traits allowed
No custom races...featured, uncommon etc are allowed from Advanced Race Guide
2x Wealth by Level (loaded up early based on expectation of not finding a lot along the way)
Evil is Fine

Campaign Expectations:
*Extensive Overland Travel
*At least one dungeon delve that can't be bypassed.
*The world has already been "destroyed", evil has won. Demons, Devils, Undead, Vampires, etc all control the world at large. Very scant minor "points of light" persist but are few and far between.
*A being of good has been captured and will be "sacrificed" in 90 days coinciding with celestial event that will bring about the coup de grace for humanity and the Material Plane. We are tasked with stopping this sacrifice. This can involve simply murdering the sacrifice before it is completed.

Oh...one more thing....

Tucker's Everything:

Every single encounter, random or planned is being stated up front as absolutely brutal and played for maximum lethality. We are told before even cracking the first line of a character sheet that we can expect CR and encounters way above the stated level. There will be five PC's total and we will not be replacing lost characters...so no revolving door of new characters.

Last Minor Details:

*Those creatures capable of flight and teleportation will have kind of a rules limitation. Since we are restricted from flight and teleport hijinks they will have escape capabilities but not ambush capability. So if we lock horns with a demon he can teleport out, but not teleport in to nuke us in our sleep. Its a small matter but worth noting.

*We are asked to provide cursory backstories, but nothing overly extensive. For purposes of this campaign we are considered to have knowledge of each other and a willingness to go forward with this mission.

Kaveman26
2015-03-06, 01:08 PM
Session 9: The Chase

Feeling of betrayal compound the dire situation they currently face. Thoughts of retribution for Micko’s apparent betrayal are quickly pushed to the side as they try to figure out a solution to their current canine problem. The closest they can manage to a plan is to literally fight inside the room where they stacked all their corpses. Their “locker” was basically the former chief’s grotto and it permits a narrow entrance and lots of dead bodies to raise. It is also a large room, so any wolves that make it past the chokepoint have plenty of room to spread out and use guerialla tactics.

Survival is their first order of business and they get enough skeletons upright that they can block off easy access to the grotto and they plant Dis Pater right at the center of the entrance with Doc on his side. The clerics and Seraphim hang back a bit to act as crowd control and battle triage. At this point the dwarves shift tactics…the full court press is lifted and they back off to regroup themselves.

Dis Pater: Why fall back when they have us on the ropes?

Seraphim: because we are stuck in this room, and they have plenty of ranged artillery and mobile cover. They can take some time to get their rolling siege in range, shift back to dwarf form and just push us in like a rugby scrum until they can swarm the edges of the room and surround us.

Doc: Lots of them bunched together helps with our AoE channels.

Seraphim: Yes, but it also benefits them from being able to swarm us and keep us from focusing on any one target, they have major advantage in numbers and fast healing, that is a war of attrition we won’t win en masse.

Hades: So do we hold the line and run undead at them until we run out of corpses? I would prefer to make them fight their own fallen, but 1 HD dwarf skeletons/zombies won’t do much. Might make the cost of taking us out not worth the effort.

Dis Pater: We need to get access to the second level of the dungeon, or make it to the surface and get out the exit. Put silver weapons in our hands and this is a whole different game.

Seraphim: I would rule out the surface, we can’t hold out for a full day. They will just nip at our heels until we longer have feet. If we can spread them out and force them to work in smaller chunks that works to our benefit. Really need a head count for what we got left to re-animate. Also a spell count to determine who has what remaining.

Hades:
3rd: Animate Dead, Animate Dead
4th: Enervation (Domain slot), Divine Power

Pluto:
3rd: Animate Dead
4th: Enervation (Domain Slot)

Seraphim:
3rd: Animate Dead
4th: Moonlight Star Motes, Enervation

They have a scattering of second level spells (mostly desecrate) and some first level spells (bane and bless that will likely be burned and converted to healing

Doc:
3rd Level: Inflict Serious Wounds
Lots of buff spells

Remaining Bodies:
6 Baboons (1HD)
2 Rhinos (5HD)
1 Mastadon (14 HD)
18 Minotaurs (6HD)

Hades and Pluto can animate as if they are 11th level, and with Desecrate running they can bring up 44HD with a single casting, they can control 28 each.

Their remaining stockpile measures out at 138HD, 44x3=132…so they can actually get everything minus the baboons with three castings. They gameplan using Enervations to target Russ/Gup as a primary target.

They load up Dis Pater from scrolls/buffs to get Bulls Strength, Bears Endurance, and Eagle’s Splendor all running. He ditches his shield and uses a +1 longsword two handed for a bit of added power. Doc gets a similar treatment to buff strength, con, and Dex, and he has his flaming greataxe. Whatever Dis swings at, Doc targets.

Seraphim uses her Animate Dead to pop 28 HD worth of undead. 2 Rhinos and 3 Minotaurs. Hades Pops his for the Mastadon, 5 Minotaurs, Pluto pops his for 7 Minotuars and 2 Baboons. The twins each commandeer a Minotaur and Rhino for their Command Undead slots, and all three take a minotaur as their class companion (bonethrall/corpse companion). The baboons are thrown to the forefront as fodder.

Hades: So now what…we wait?
Pluto: Buffs will wear off before they may decide to harry us again.

Dis Pater: What If we mounted the rhino’s and Mastadon…then just made a mad dash through their ranks. Force them to string out and pursue. We play hide and seek through the halls and force them to keep moving. If they want to bring their heavy equipment and mobile cover at us they are going to eventually get tired of changing direction. If we can take them in smaller chunks then I think the attrition works better to our advantage. Ideally we Benny Hill them so much we get a clear shot at their leadership. Swarm the boss and see if they look for a new alpha.

Benny Hill chaos is the only appropriate description of how this devolves. I would have absolutely been playing the freaking music if I realized just fitting it would have been. They pull a Rider’s of Rohan charging from Helm’s Deep gambit into the teeth of the forming were-dwarves and set off a chain reaction of mobile skirmishes. The were-dwarves are faster than most of the undead…and slower than the mounted running undead. So this kind of yo yo effect takes shape where the Mastadon’s and Rhinos hit a dead end…have to stop and turn…the dwarves catch up…eat a ranged volley, engage…get hit with negative energy…then get swarmed from the rear by a mass of minotaur skeletons who finally caught up…and then the whole thing repeats itself. Their burst capability is low…but the combination of A.O.E. and constant engagement start to make their fast healing less of a boon. Dis and Doc take out a wolf at a rate of about 2/3 rounds. I had intended to keep Gup and the rest of the “leaders” safely behind their shield walls and as the casualties rise from their soldiers I eventually have them relay a retreat order. The wolves disengage and pull back to their barricaded and defended territory.

The U.C. are spent. Chomper is dead…no body to be found. Their spells are undead ranks are in
shambles (again), and they have expended virtually their entire stockpile of buff scrolls and potions. They have virtually no useable corpse stock left (1HD dwarves are too humiliating to bother with) and their main avenue to the lower level (Micko) left them figuratively and literally to the wolves. For salt in the wound their minotaur breeding stock is locked on the other side of the gateway. As we are preparing to end session they find themselves back in Moo-dor. They scavenge their looted trade goods for missile weapons, ammo, re-equips for their remaining undead troops, and any silver weapons.

Seraphim: We really need a way further in. The dwarves are not going to let us walk out the gate.
Dis Pater: Well unless we find a way to will the gate open with positive thinking I don’t see it happening.

DM: Do any of you have any PP lefts?
Dis Pater: Yeah…I have 1 point.
DM: Your pool drops to zero…and the gate opens.

*blink blink*

I figured it would be easier to just hand them the pre-written note card from my side of the screen. As written was the following.

“Gateway is designed for psionic capability entrance only. Micko was given a pointless relic that simply facilitated mental command for the gate to open. His Master knew this and was trumping up the importance of a “key”. Any being with a power point in their pool that thinks about the gate opening will cause it to open”

We end session here.

blacklight101
2015-03-06, 03:33 PM
Man, those are definitely solid tactics on all fronts. Unexpected, but they really work.

The gateway thing just made me laugh a little.

Gilphon
2015-03-06, 04:12 PM
I laughed hard at the gateway thing. Though I had reread a bit until I realized just how apt Dis' comment was.

I also imagine that the players must've been a bit annoyed with you when they realized that they could've used that to easily escape the Dwarves.

Kaveman26
2015-03-06, 05:12 PM
They don't talk it personal when stuff like this happens, it did take the wind out of their sails, but they are highly adaptable if nothin else.


And as a side note....in retrospect I was thrilled that chomper died because his replacement has become one of my favorite characters ever. You will meet him next session.

This got us through ninth session. We have completed 16 at this point. Might be one or two more before we take a break and I get a chance to adjust next phases. They can chew through prepped content or outstrip my plans pretty quick and I'm looking forward to a break from DM.

commander panda
2015-03-06, 06:32 PM
.....so, how did the minotaurs not accidentally open the gate? did one of them never stand in front of it and think "i wish this thing would open?":smallconfused:

Inevitability
2015-03-07, 06:11 AM
.....so, how did the minotaurs not accidentally open the gate? did one of them never stand in front of it and think "i wish this thing would open?":smallconfused:

Wondered about that too. I guess the psionic ones were too busy doing important stuff, rather than trying to open a stupid gate? Or the minotaurs gave up on opening it some time before the radiation altered them.

Kaveman26
2015-03-07, 09:13 AM
As it would have been inconvient for my purposes I will answer the following,

"Against all logic and reasoning and in denial of common sense they never once thought the door open"

Lord of Shadows
2015-03-07, 11:37 AM
As it would have been inconvient for my purposes I will answer the following,

"Against all logic and reasoning and in denial of common sense they never once thought the door open"

Typical DM response!! :cool:
.

Inevitability
2015-03-07, 11:39 AM
Or... maybe some did get the door open, and against all common sense wandered in. Then the door closed behind them and squids happened. Since they still didn't know how to open the door, the minotaurs eventually gave up trying to open it.

darkscizor
2015-03-08, 01:18 AM
This is awesome. I'm writing an RPG, Realms of Lefras, and I've been making a few magazines for it too (a bit like dragon magazine, and with more items, extra classes, remade monsters and the like). Necromancy is a cool idea and I think I should add it to my game, but I'd like something to go with it. Could I use a simplified version of things (a few minotaur rooms, psionics crystals, doors, etc.) and link this thread for the GM?

Kaveman26
2015-03-08, 09:24 AM
Sure go nuts.

Kaveman26
2015-03-11, 12:27 PM
Session 10: The First True Prince of Darkness (partial)

So when Chomper was torn to shreds and consumed by were-dwarves I had a few requests from his next character. First, no Undead Masters, No Witches, Animate Dead not on Class Spell List, and if it all possible make something that fits with the general context of the party. He had only one ask of me…”Can I have an intelligent non armor/weapon item?”

“Like more flavor than crunch?”
“Yeah…something that has my same skills, just a thing to kinda RP off of”
“ Yeah…that is cool…just let me see the overall build before I try to figure out how to weave him in”

Side Note:

If you have read and enjoyed the approach we bring to tabletop gaming then you know we consistently break the fourth wall in terms of character-vs-player…we routinely use puns (badly) and in many cases quote pop culture and reference pop culture. That is just us and how we go about the game. Bear this in mind…

Now safely behind the protection of the Moo-Dor gateway the group finally has the potential to catch their breath. Micko and Minotaurs are nowhere to be found. Hades and Pluto in particular are leery of others figuring out the trick to entering the second level but they reason the dwarves have not been overly exposed as of yet, and with their strip mining the crystals that formed and helped bolster psionic evolution they figure they are safe for at least a little while.

Their remaining undead are massed at the two paths leads into the squid chamber and used as non sleeping lookouts. They immediately begin process of recovery from the day’s events. As they confer and assess a gameplan a loud voice is heard echoing from the dragon showroom hallway. There are two distinct voices…

Voice 1: Alright…I git it…they wuz female, but that don’t mean I need to shag everything that lacks a male anat-imy.
Voice 2: I know…but I am just saying that at this point anything is better than nothing, am I right?
Voice 1: Bollocks to that! A man has gat a haf standards. Besides..the manky git bugger driving dem bovine beauties seemed like he had more than a coupla screws loose playin wif that damn thing on his back.

Seraphim: He has to mean Micko and the minotaurs. I think we need to learn more.

Dis Pater: Yeah until we find out the two voices are Dion’s brother who just woke up from stasis and he is looking to find out what happened to his centaur-ettin brother.

As they lay in wait for the duo to come into sight, they pull all their undead back not only to allow entry to the squid room, but also to act as a protective cordon…their paranoia is once again swelling to comical rates.

Much to their surprise a single person comes into the room. For all intents and purposes he seems completely unaware of his surrounding and from they see he is talking to himself. The fellow in question is medium height and exceedingly slim. His skin seems like it was once a brilliant golden hue, but now faded and waxy…his hair is long and unbound falling past his shoulders and dark as night. There is a certain otherworldly quality to his presence. On his back is a shortbow, and in his hand is a guitar…the guitar is apparently the second voice. He is also wearing strange tinted glasses with tiny wire frames. His attire is all black leather with hip boots and studded wrist guards.

He practically walks into the group before finally stumbling to a halt and blinking through his glasses.

Man:Bloody Hell…you mates look like the mob what tried to run me out of that cemtary gig last year. You ever been to Canton?

The group is left staring at each other, trying to make sense of just what the heck is front of them.

Seraphim: By gig…do you mean concert?

Man: Course I do luv. You can make a killing off those foppish dandy spoiled nob brats…so much angst and life is pain rubbish…stroke a coupla chords and hop on top a grave marker and you got coin to last for a year.

Hades: You exploit wealthy teens by pitching a concert in a graveyard?

Man: Damn right I do…make a bleeding killing off em too. Especially once the boys from below them graves pops up for a snack…but you know what I mean there don’t you guv? Am I right? *grins*

Pluto: You may be a man after our own hearts good sir. Have you a name?
Man: I am the crown prince of darkness mates…names Azzie Azborne.
Dis Pater: Azzie?

Azzie: Yeah…after my aasimer heritage…got to remember where you started.

At this point everyone is looking at the guy that was Chomper and they connect the dots.

Seraphim: You made an aasimer bard called Azzie? Tinted wire glasses, musician, dark rocker, horribly thick incomphrensible british accent. It’s Ozzie Ozborne in rpg form right?
Azzie: Damn straight luv.

Meet Azzie…Dirge Bard and archer. As an aasimer he took the alternate feature that lets him cast lesser age resistance everyday, so he is middle aged and benefiting from the bump to mental stats while eliminating the penalties. He also liked working with his hands and veered towards the guitar from a young age, but also liked mechanisms of all sorts…this eventually led to him working part time as part of a thieving ring, cracking safes, disabling alarms in rich homes etc. He often used crime to fund his calling of being a musician…something he readily exploited without compassion or emotion for personal gain. The darker part of the world held his attention and he became quite adept at knowledge of the occult and the undead. He is also completely off his rocker and something of an aloof lunatic. He didn’t think of his party that entered as a group so much as it was a band that couldn’t tie down a gig inside once the doors closed.

Azzie Azborne DirgeBard7 Str10 Dex14 Con12 Int17 Wis15 Cha 21 Feats: Skill Focus Disable Device, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Spell Focus Necromancy

He is greeted with open arms into the group and they are happy to have added support and a good hand with traps. When they probe about his talking guitar he seems confused as to what they are talking about. They press him for a while and more or less deduce that he doesn’t realize the thing talks.

Dis Pater *grinning*: So uh…the conversation about the cow ladies? Been a while huh mate?
Azzie: I been in this place for bleeding months mate. Ain’t cuddled up next to something with a pulse for ages. Does fings to a man’s mind.

Guitar: You and me both mate. Even the skeletons are starting to look a bit of alright...
Seraphim coughs politely but pointedly.

Azzie: Sorry luv…no offense meant…but I got this thing about your type.
Seraphim: Witches?

Azzie: Hell no…witches are brilliant, always said “covens of three…sounds like a busy night for me”, but I stay away from blondes like a disease that clerics can’t fix. *

They are able to confirm that Micko did go into the dragon’s showroom with the minotaurs in tow, and that he indeed came from that same direction. Everyone is very keen to learn if there are in fact dragons still in the room.

Azzie:A few stragglers are stilling popping in and out. Most of the nasty ones went deeper in. Too many ***** in the coop.

Seraphim: Excuse me.

Azzie: It’s a metaphor ya tart! You put a bunch of egomaniacal winged beasties together and they are gonna have to put it on the table and measure. Sides…from what I heard they were so busy killing each otha that the real smart ones made it the hoard room ahead.

Doc: You mean treasure hoard?
Azzie: Aye mate. Whatever done thrown them in here and made them all stiff and statue-y took their stash wif em. Had em all held deeper inside. So now the ones that lost their fights or the ones too weak to make a move kind of lurk in the area…

*I was dying laughing at this, because from the moment he handed me the sheet he made it a point of emphasis that Azzie was a rock star and was going to be played like one. It was definitely of my favorite out of nowhere character quotes.

more to come...

commander panda
2015-03-11, 01:27 PM
this is wonderful. i've wanted to make this sort of bard character for SO LONG (though i would probably have used Freddie Mercury.)

though if he's never put in an epic Battle Of The Bards situation, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xkH0yINgQc) we will all be very disappointed in you.

blacklight101
2015-03-11, 01:49 PM
Loving the new character. Didn't expect a bard though, that was pretty cool.

JBPuffin
2015-03-11, 02:27 PM
...My god, this just gets better as times goes on. Azzie Azborne...just brilliant.

Blackhawk748
2015-03-11, 07:23 PM
Im the prince of Muthaf**kin darkness!! I love it lol Also the comment about blondes, absolutely brilliant.

Twice
2015-03-14, 03:16 AM
I recently got around to finishing this chronicle! This campaign is amazing! This is exactly why I enjoy evil campaigns as much as I do.

Kaveman26
2015-03-14, 09:41 AM
This game has definitely grown in appreciation and involvement. Only real drawback is the pace at which they are willing to tear through content. In the infancy of this concept I hoped to get ten sessions and a couple levels of progression. Now...I feel like they are going to push this campaign all the way to the end. I hope to make this reach level 20 or beyond.

They are even giving me a break to regroup as we delve into the Tucker's Everything experiment. Need some time to expand on further developments and flesh out conceptual ideas to working game areas.

Which btw...we did a "test run" with some of the goofier themed characters and got two full TPK's in the span of a single afternoon.

CrispyCriminal
2015-03-30, 11:46 PM
Not sure if this is spoiler worthy, but I really gotta ask: Are the silver boulders/cannon balls making their return in this campaign? It's been a thing with some of your campaigns, namely The Big One and (Chaotic) Goodfellas.

Also, chomper being someone's lunch is just poetic to what he said in the beginning...gotta hate when that happens but it fits for bad people like him.

Edit: Small tweak to question.