Oxybe attempts to run 2nd ed after like... 16 years

[oxybe]

A few weeks ago I mentioned getting ready to run a second ed game. We had a few snags getting the game setup, largely due to it being summer and people having a life outside the game, but this Wednesday we got the first post-session 0 going.

First I'd like to think that it went well.

Second: Hugenormous Spoilers for people who haven't played the Night of the Walking Dead module.

The party was a group of characters who were transported from out of space and time: two kord-bros (a priest & warrior) from the city of Grayhawk, a thief from some small, nameless village in Oerth, a dwarf from the spine of the world in Golarion and a second dwarf (priest) from some non-descript village played by the FLGS owner when he wasn't dealing with customers.

They meet up in the swamp and after some introductions, they decide to hoof it rather then risk rafting and getting tossed into the drink.

after a few miserable days in the swamp and one attack by a few giant toads to get people (as one player never played 2nd ed) acclimated to the d10 initiative and rolling ThAC0 to figuring out what they hit, we were on our way. The party had a pleasant time sharing food and stories with the Vistani until the doom and gloom of the prophesy came about and, having pick up our thousand yard stare lost one Luc D'Tarrascon in his hut, they made their way to western border of the Marais D'Tarrascon.

During these days the clerics realize that their connection with their deity is working, but weakened and muddled. They aren't in Kansas anymore. They're in the fantasy Louisiana bayou.

A quick look at what is the lord's townhouse after trekking 4-5 days in the swamp shows it to be locked, causing the pcs to ignore the building and make their way to the church, one of the Kord priest is rather unsubtly making it known that the villagers' cagey attitude towards the thumping coffin disturbs him, but he doesn't disrupt the procession or burial: they've got their rites and the party are clearly outsiders in this land.

He does, however, offer a prayer under the supervision of the gravekeeper and try to channel turn undead to lay the dead man to rest and fails. Which, unbeknownst to him, lets Jean D'Tarrascon, the Zombie Lord hiding out in the D'Tarrascon crypt in that same graveyard, know that there are new people in town and some of them are of divine origin... which could cause him problems.

After giving the innkeep a good spook by showing up with the missing Luc and openly talking about the vistani's walking dead and blood rain prophesies, they decide to skip an offer of a warm supper and go to the plantation home where they heard the town's current Baronet, a troubled Marcel D'Tarrascon, might be hiding out (he's not, he's actually in the townhouse they skipped without a second though) since his younger brother Jean's death and the following disappearance of his youngest brother Luc.

Noticing that the front doors are locked but still having some activity inside, the group's rogue goes about seeing if he can find a servant's entrance at the back... and he does!

Where, after taking a peek inside a window, he also finds the current servants are now ghouls getting ready for supper: a feast comprised of a dismembered dead man, likely one of the plantation workers or missing townsfolk. One failed hide check and the session ends with the ghouls being made aware of the rogue and him yelling for help as he's rounding the corner where the rest of the party is waiting.

So all in all, it seems to be going well. They jumped ahead with the plantation encounter, so this will be a bit interesting seeing how a group of 5 level 1 PCs are going to fare against the 3 ghouls, which gives us a nice in media res scene for the start of the next session.

[dino_park]

Thanks for the update

[oxybe]

Part 2, or, the one where the one-shot ends

So the session starts with the thief rounding the corner and alerting the party of the ghouls. The priest of kord fails once more to kick down the front door and afer a moment's deliberation they decide to explore the inside of the servants' dining area and see the grizzly carnage of the ghouls' weeks of feasting on the plantation's workers and town victims. But no ghouls in sight.

The rogue, seeing claw marks leading up to a higher window on the outside of the house lets the party know to be wary of an ambush. This saves the party, as they are constantly on the lookout and catch the ghouls trying to sneak behind them. A battle ensues and the 3 ghouls fall.

Returning to the inn, the party grabs a bite to eat and reports to the constable the horrific scene. Wary of these newcomers, he's hesitant to trust them but in the end relents, saying if all is truly quiet, he'll drop by in the morning. No sense bothering his few men with nightmare fuel at this hour.

When the party awakens, they decide to split up: the thief goes to the lord's townhouse while the rest to the local priest. The thief doesn't get too far as he bumps into the constable in the middle of investigating what seems to be a murder: a bloody pool of ichor in an alley with a piece of licorice stuck in the middle. Deciding not to linger with the clearly frustrated constable, he rejoins the party who have let the priest know they found Luc and after finding out all this started after Marcel's death, want to go examine the D'Tarrascon family mausoleum.

The priest is hesitant but eventually gives in, getting the key from the groundskeeper to the mausoleums and crypts area where they bump into an unkempt Jean, fresh from having delivered the corpse of his last victim in hopes of pacifying his undead brother.

This is where they let him know they found Luc and he's resting in the inn. While he's acting a bit sketchy, they chalk it to trauma and sleepless nights and reunite the two brothers.

After seeing them to the townhouse, the party leaves to go break into the mausoleum, somewhere Jean was not too willing to let them go snooping around. This is where Luc breathes his last breath. Killed by Jean.

See, Marcel D'Tarrascon was researching his family history and, with younger brother Luc in tow, found a scroll. But in finding it he also awoke the undead,of which one, a juju zombie, killed him. wracked with grief and blaming the scroll Jean hid it away and sent his traumatized brother away, as Marcel D'Tarrascon soon rises as a powerful Undead Lord. Now mad, Jean kills Luc, hoping to lay his undead brother to rest as there is no one alive (except himself, unknown to Marcel) who know the location of the scroll.

Managing to get the key from a wary groundskeeper, the party enters the mausoleum where Marcel and three zombies, one of which is the very juju zombie that turned him, are waiting for nightfall to arrive so they may hunt.

the clerics both try to turn the undead but fail: the dark powers of Ravenloft are interfering with their link to their deity. the dwarf warrior barrels forward and slashes at Marcel, stopping only for a moment at the putrid stench, but still landing a mighty blow. The elven warrior of kord, barely makes it into the mausoleum when his life is snuffed: the foul miasma is too much for him and he dies standing on his feet, a new servant for Marcel. The thief, at the back of the group lets fly a few arrows and they connect Marcel flinches but keeps his cool.

the dwarf holds her own for a moment but falls at Marcel's claws (note: we play with a death's door rule so down is not necessarily dead), though not without leaving one last mark on the undead. the juju zombie seems to hang back at Marcel's side as the zombies, now one elf stronger, charge forward at the cleric of kord, but fail to hit the warpriest. the cleric of pelor stings Marcel with a sling bullet but this will be the last damage he does (though not his lat contribution). the thief lets loose more arrows, wounding again Marcel who now turns his focus on the one who's been rather successful at hurting him. getting his zombies to overbear and pull down the priest of kord there is now nothing between him and his prey.

wounding both the thief and the priest of pelor with his claws, Marcel has the upperhand.

using his great strength, the priest of kord throws off the three zombies on him, and manages to get a swing into Marcel before falling victim to the zombies, which include his fallen temple brother, who swarm him. Marcel, seeing that accursed thief in front of him, fells him in one last swipe but fails to rid himself of the last thorn: the priest of Pelor.

figuring that he's not able to finish off the undead lord in front of him, with his friends and allies bleeding in front and at his sides with the stone mausoleum doors open behind him he does the only thing he can: he heals the thief.

sensing he's not dead and with a now livid Marcel staring at him, his kill having been stolen from him, the thief whips two daggers at Marcel, grazng him with one. And here is where the priest of pelor draws his final breath at Marcel's hand.

the thief, believing discretion is the better part of valor, exits the tomb figuring Marcel isn't a fan of daylight. Which he guesses right... until he sees the ground shifting and as undead are vursting from their graves. See, an Undead lord has command over the undead in a one mile radius. so all the recent burials, all his recent kills, all he's been storing and saving for the last three weeks are now convening on the mausoleum to kills the thief.

Laughing Marcel wishes the thief the best of luck as he reseals the stone doors the thief had just exited, severely wounded by the combat, far more then he let on.

The thief, seeing his demise at hand, known he cannot fight off the innumerable shambling corpses pauses and considers his options.

rather then running he decides to fight. adrenaline pumping, he turns on his heels and runs up the steps of the mausoleum and using strength he didn't know he had, flings open the heavy stone doors, leaving Marcel entirely surprised. Mortals are weird like that, and heroes doubly so as with this single unguarded moment, the thief draws his broadsword and lands the last deciding blow on Marcel.

The Undead Lord curses the thief, curses the damned scroll that would grant him ultimate power and falls to the floor, unmoving, the evil energies that animated him having left his body.

From here, all the zombies stop moving and fall down, inactive: with their master gone, they have no reason to walk.

All but one.

The one that had hung back at Marcel's side. The one damned JuJu Zombie who's bit killed and infected Marcel and started this whole thing. while he was at the time under Marcel's command, he wasn't one of Marcel's. Now free, he sees his next prey.

And that's the story of how a small-time thief, running from the law after stealing a bushel of apples got dragged into the mists and to the province of Souragne, only to become it's scourge: a powerful Undead Lord, a shadow in the night with his cabal of ghouls and zombies and the terror that wiped the Marais D'Tarrascon off the map.