[The Delvers get the loot from the Pyramid Crypt and make their way back to Aegea so they don’t miss any classes!]
[This game uses the Fifth Revised Edition of the Hero System rules along with the Fantasy Hero supplement. This session happened October 14, 2019.]
Player Characters:
Ricky the Astrologer – human male – has a thirst for knowledge but doesn’t know what he’s searching for, currently studying Astrology at Monarch University
Vorgand – human female – professional porter and Adventurer’s Aide, irregularly attends classes at The Tested military academy, practitioner of Steel Serpent martial arts
Zarek the Red – fox male – a cerebrally-unfettered spell researcher [read: Mad Scientist] turned into a talking fox, studying Natural Philosophy at Monarch University to find a way to become human again
Nick Stalwart – human male – part of the Stalwart family of merchants, studying Mathematics at The Interesting Institute of Profitable People, a college at Monarch University
Non-Player Characters:
Torsten, Fish, Harek – surviving bandits and now torchbearers for the Delvers Guild
Orm Axethrower – driver of the guild’s over-sized, double-decker vardo
Freysday, October 25th, 1st year of the reign of King Vladik the Gamesman
~7:00 PM at gate location 3-2 (Elven Graveyard)
Having taken out the last of the eight skeletons with skulls wreathed in blue flame, most of the Delvers spent some time putting out the flames in the elven cemetery. The sun had recently set and finding the embers was easy once the flames themselves were under control. Zarek was still down in the Pyramid Crypt, investigating the entry area to [what he hoped was] the true crypt. He reported [through the Ear Rings of Communication] the chamber was clear of threats, but the door to the next area was a stone slab.
The Delvers set iron spikes into the floor at the top of the pit the led to the entrance area of the true crypt. Vorgand tied off the third rope they had used so far on this crypt [the previous two were incinerated the two times the flame spout trap at the entrance to the false crypt had been triggered] and dropped the other end down the pit. She then climbed down the rope, past the illusionary false floor 30-feet down, and stepped into the entry of the true crypt another ten feet down. Ricky used his Shadow-Jump spell to teleport down to the crypt entrance while Nick followed Vorgand down the rope. Clarence and Jala stayed at the surface with the torchbearers. [Neither player was available, so their characters took background positions this session.]
Zarek and Ricky inspected the stone slab blocking their path forward. It seemed safe to them so Ricky took the sledge hammer and started breaking the slab. Vorgand appraised the pots the skeletons had emerged from and pronounced them valuable enough to take as loot.
After 20 minutes of hammering at the slab, Ricky broke through. The space beyond was a 10-foot square room with intricate geometric patterns on the walls. In the center of the floor was another round pit. Looking down they could see the pit descended another 30 feet into a chamber of some sort. Zarek dropped a piece of stone debris from the door down the pit and observed the stone bounce normally on the floor, indicating it was real and not another illusion.
Yet another rope was secured to an iron spike driven into the door jamb and dropped down the pit. Zarek floated down first [using his ever-present flight spell] and Vorgand followed on the rope. When they landed safely, Ricky and Nick followed.
The lower chamber was 20-feet square and the walls were also decorated with the same intricate geometric design, but these designs were painted on with pigment made from crushed gemstones. The back half of the room contained a stone sarcophagus painted with the same crushed-gemstone pigments. The top was carved to resemble an elf with an eye patch resting in his final repose.
Vorgand asked Ricky to open the sarcophagus, but the stone lid was too heavy for even his strength alone. She sheathed her rapier and helped him remove the lid and set it aside with an eye towards removing the crushed gemstone pigment for possible later sale.
Inside the sarcophagus was the remains of an elf. Next to the corpse was a small, bejeweled jewelry case, a scroll case, and a horn with a cork plug. On the corpse was a skull-shaped ring, a silvery metal eye patch [later determined to be mithril], and a button that stood out from the ragged clothing for being in pristine condition. Zarek cast Detect Magic and the button, ring, eye patch, and horn glowed in his sight, indicating they were magical. The items were carefully removed from the corpse and Vorgand examined them to see if she could work out their use while the group rested.
While Vorgand was examining those, Zarek opened the scroll case and found a vellum scroll that radiated magic. Ricky inspected the interior of the sarcophagus and located a concealed compartment. Inside was a small leather pouch. Inside it were 500 identical gold coins that appeared freshly stamped. Inspecting one of the coins, Ricky read the High Elven markings on it and determined the elven face on the front was that of Emperor Urbez of the Timeless Mesa. Ricky had no idea who that was, which suggested that the coins were old enough to be valuable antiques themselves.
Vorgand was unable to identify any of the magic items without any reference books and so they were all packed up in the loot sack. As the Delvers were preparing to leave, Zarek finally opened the bejeweled jewelry box to see if anything was inside it. He discovered a pair of Ear Rings of Communication, the very thing the Delvers had been looking for. [There was a point as the GM where I thought they were going to sell the jewelry box without ever opening it and I was consternated, thinking they’d miss the whole point for this gate location.] They now had four sets of the ear rings and only needed two more before they could explore the moon base as a group. [Reminder: The ear rings also provide breathable air for the wearer as a secondary power.]
The Delvers worked their way back to the surface, retrieving their ropes as they went. Back on the surface the group returned to the gate and passed through it back to the lowest level of the Moon Manor Ruins. Once everyone was through the gate, the control cubes were set to the Moon Base location and the couch was stashed there to preserve it for the next time the Delvers were back. The gate was then de-powered by removing the power gem. The stone control cubes were returned to the pedestal cabinet and the Delvers left the Gate Room. [One of the Delvers took the power gem with them, but I don’t have a note as to who exactly that was.] The Delvers then made the trek back to the surface of the Moon Manor Ruins.
Back on the surface they returned to their camp in the old chapel and rested. They discovered it was well past sunset here, approaching midnight. As much of the gear and loot was packed into the guild’s over-sized, double-decked vardo for the trip back to town. Watches were set for the remainder of the night and the expedition settled down to sleep.
Yggsday, October 26th, 1st year of the reign of King Vladik the Gamesman
Before Dawn
The Delvers awoke and packed up the last of their gear before the sun rose. They paid the torchbearers for the weekend’s work and asked what supplies needed to be brought next week for the camp. Torsten [the leader of the torchbearers] requested chicken wire for a coop for the chickens to keep them safe, some roofing tiles and nails to repair the chapel ceiling so it wouldn’t drip on the campsite, and some additional fencing timber to enclose the main courtyard. The goats were about done grazing out the inner courtyard and would need to be moved to the outer courtyard for a while. Nick took down the list of supplies and then the Delvers climbed aboard the vardo and left.
Just before Noon
The Delvers arrived at Little Wytheford in the vardo and had Orm Axethrower drive it to the Stalwart family warehouse. Nick arranged with Konrad Moonclub, the Stalwart family chief factor in Little Wytheford, for the storage of the vardo and purchase of the supplies Torsten requested. The Delvers then hustled over to the Noon ferry back to Aegea City, just making it before the ferry set sail. Most of the Delvers spent the afternoon-long ferry ride across Dragon Bay to Aegea City snoozing due to the late night.
5:00 PM
The ferry arrived at the docks of Aegea. They went over to Vorgand’s apartment so she could access her reference books and identify the magic items in the loot bag. Most of the magic items were apportioned out based on who could use them best or needed them. Only two of the items were slated for later sale: the Arrow of Rage [+1 OCV in combat, with chance to become enraged and gain some additional bonuses and penalties] and the Bracers of Archery [+1 OCV with bows and crossbows and +2 Range Levels]. The Arrow was deemed to hazardous to keep around and no one used bows or crossbows, so the Bracers were not useful to the group.
7:00 PM
Finished with Guild business for the weekend, the Delvers went to The Library for drinks and some street food for dinner.
End of Session
[First, apologies for the gap in posting. We missed two sessions of play, first due to me being ill and then half the group being out for multiple reasons, both fun and work related.]
[Second, I am taking a hiatus as the active GM so I can get ahead of the players in my planning. I came up with the idea for the gate and the control cubes, thinking the PCs would explore all the options off the first cube before adding a second cube to explore off of and sketched out what was at the other end of the six primary gate settings. They immediately started with the second cube settings. Sigh. As my “make stuff up on the fly” is OK, I’ve kept up with them so far, but I’m much better as a GM when I take the time to plan things out. Therefore the Other GM will run a short intermission using 1st Edition Pathfinder for 4-6 weeks, allowing me to get ahead in my planning and writing for this campaign. I will be posting session notes from that campaign as an Intermission here.]
Delvers Guild
Session A, Character Creation Part 1
Session B, Character Creation Part 2
Session 01
…
Session 10
Session 11
Session 12
Session 13
Session 14
Session 15
Session 17
[This game uses the Fifth Revised Edition of the Hero System rules along with the Fantasy Hero supplement. This session happened October 14, 2019.]
Player Characters:
Ricky the Astrologer – human male – has a thirst for knowledge but doesn’t know what he’s searching for, currently studying Astrology at Monarch University
Vorgand – human female – professional porter and Adventurer’s Aide, irregularly attends classes at The Tested military academy, practitioner of Steel Serpent martial arts
Zarek the Red – fox male – a cerebrally-unfettered spell researcher [read: Mad Scientist] turned into a talking fox, studying Natural Philosophy at Monarch University to find a way to become human again
Nick Stalwart – human male – part of the Stalwart family of merchants, studying Mathematics at The Interesting Institute of Profitable People, a college at Monarch University
Non-Player Characters:
Torsten, Fish, Harek – surviving bandits and now torchbearers for the Delvers Guild
Orm Axethrower – driver of the guild’s over-sized, double-decker vardo
Freysday, October 25th, 1st year of the reign of King Vladik the Gamesman
~7:00 PM at gate location 3-2 (Elven Graveyard)
Having taken out the last of the eight skeletons with skulls wreathed in blue flame, most of the Delvers spent some time putting out the flames in the elven cemetery. The sun had recently set and finding the embers was easy once the flames themselves were under control. Zarek was still down in the Pyramid Crypt, investigating the entry area to [what he hoped was] the true crypt. He reported [through the Ear Rings of Communication] the chamber was clear of threats, but the door to the next area was a stone slab.
The Delvers set iron spikes into the floor at the top of the pit the led to the entrance area of the true crypt. Vorgand tied off the third rope they had used so far on this crypt [the previous two were incinerated the two times the flame spout trap at the entrance to the false crypt had been triggered] and dropped the other end down the pit. She then climbed down the rope, past the illusionary false floor 30-feet down, and stepped into the entry of the true crypt another ten feet down. Ricky used his Shadow-Jump spell to teleport down to the crypt entrance while Nick followed Vorgand down the rope. Clarence and Jala stayed at the surface with the torchbearers. [Neither player was available, so their characters took background positions this session.]
Zarek and Ricky inspected the stone slab blocking their path forward. It seemed safe to them so Ricky took the sledge hammer and started breaking the slab. Vorgand appraised the pots the skeletons had emerged from and pronounced them valuable enough to take as loot.
After 20 minutes of hammering at the slab, Ricky broke through. The space beyond was a 10-foot square room with intricate geometric patterns on the walls. In the center of the floor was another round pit. Looking down they could see the pit descended another 30 feet into a chamber of some sort. Zarek dropped a piece of stone debris from the door down the pit and observed the stone bounce normally on the floor, indicating it was real and not another illusion.
Yet another rope was secured to an iron spike driven into the door jamb and dropped down the pit. Zarek floated down first [using his ever-present flight spell] and Vorgand followed on the rope. When they landed safely, Ricky and Nick followed.
The lower chamber was 20-feet square and the walls were also decorated with the same intricate geometric design, but these designs were painted on with pigment made from crushed gemstones. The back half of the room contained a stone sarcophagus painted with the same crushed-gemstone pigments. The top was carved to resemble an elf with an eye patch resting in his final repose.
Vorgand asked Ricky to open the sarcophagus, but the stone lid was too heavy for even his strength alone. She sheathed her rapier and helped him remove the lid and set it aside with an eye towards removing the crushed gemstone pigment for possible later sale.
Inside the sarcophagus was the remains of an elf. Next to the corpse was a small, bejeweled jewelry case, a scroll case, and a horn with a cork plug. On the corpse was a skull-shaped ring, a silvery metal eye patch [later determined to be mithril], and a button that stood out from the ragged clothing for being in pristine condition. Zarek cast Detect Magic and the button, ring, eye patch, and horn glowed in his sight, indicating they were magical. The items were carefully removed from the corpse and Vorgand examined them to see if she could work out their use while the group rested.
While Vorgand was examining those, Zarek opened the scroll case and found a vellum scroll that radiated magic. Ricky inspected the interior of the sarcophagus and located a concealed compartment. Inside was a small leather pouch. Inside it were 500 identical gold coins that appeared freshly stamped. Inspecting one of the coins, Ricky read the High Elven markings on it and determined the elven face on the front was that of Emperor Urbez of the Timeless Mesa. Ricky had no idea who that was, which suggested that the coins were old enough to be valuable antiques themselves.
Vorgand was unable to identify any of the magic items without any reference books and so they were all packed up in the loot sack. As the Delvers were preparing to leave, Zarek finally opened the bejeweled jewelry box to see if anything was inside it. He discovered a pair of Ear Rings of Communication, the very thing the Delvers had been looking for. [There was a point as the GM where I thought they were going to sell the jewelry box without ever opening it and I was consternated, thinking they’d miss the whole point for this gate location.] They now had four sets of the ear rings and only needed two more before they could explore the moon base as a group. [Reminder: The ear rings also provide breathable air for the wearer as a secondary power.]
The Delvers worked their way back to the surface, retrieving their ropes as they went. Back on the surface the group returned to the gate and passed through it back to the lowest level of the Moon Manor Ruins. Once everyone was through the gate, the control cubes were set to the Moon Base location and the couch was stashed there to preserve it for the next time the Delvers were back. The gate was then de-powered by removing the power gem. The stone control cubes were returned to the pedestal cabinet and the Delvers left the Gate Room. [One of the Delvers took the power gem with them, but I don’t have a note as to who exactly that was.] The Delvers then made the trek back to the surface of the Moon Manor Ruins.
Back on the surface they returned to their camp in the old chapel and rested. They discovered it was well past sunset here, approaching midnight. As much of the gear and loot was packed into the guild’s over-sized, double-decked vardo for the trip back to town. Watches were set for the remainder of the night and the expedition settled down to sleep.
Yggsday, October 26th, 1st year of the reign of King Vladik the Gamesman
Before Dawn
The Delvers awoke and packed up the last of their gear before the sun rose. They paid the torchbearers for the weekend’s work and asked what supplies needed to be brought next week for the camp. Torsten [the leader of the torchbearers] requested chicken wire for a coop for the chickens to keep them safe, some roofing tiles and nails to repair the chapel ceiling so it wouldn’t drip on the campsite, and some additional fencing timber to enclose the main courtyard. The goats were about done grazing out the inner courtyard and would need to be moved to the outer courtyard for a while. Nick took down the list of supplies and then the Delvers climbed aboard the vardo and left.
Just before Noon
The Delvers arrived at Little Wytheford in the vardo and had Orm Axethrower drive it to the Stalwart family warehouse. Nick arranged with Konrad Moonclub, the Stalwart family chief factor in Little Wytheford, for the storage of the vardo and purchase of the supplies Torsten requested. The Delvers then hustled over to the Noon ferry back to Aegea City, just making it before the ferry set sail. Most of the Delvers spent the afternoon-long ferry ride across Dragon Bay to Aegea City snoozing due to the late night.
5:00 PM
The ferry arrived at the docks of Aegea. They went over to Vorgand’s apartment so she could access her reference books and identify the magic items in the loot bag. Most of the magic items were apportioned out based on who could use them best or needed them. Only two of the items were slated for later sale: the Arrow of Rage [+1 OCV in combat, with chance to become enraged and gain some additional bonuses and penalties] and the Bracers of Archery [+1 OCV with bows and crossbows and +2 Range Levels]. The Arrow was deemed to hazardous to keep around and no one used bows or crossbows, so the Bracers were not useful to the group.
7:00 PM
Finished with Guild business for the weekend, the Delvers went to The Library for drinks and some street food for dinner.
End of Session
[First, apologies for the gap in posting. We missed two sessions of play, first due to me being ill and then half the group being out for multiple reasons, both fun and work related.]
[Second, I am taking a hiatus as the active GM so I can get ahead of the players in my planning. I came up with the idea for the gate and the control cubes, thinking the PCs would explore all the options off the first cube before adding a second cube to explore off of and sketched out what was at the other end of the six primary gate settings. They immediately started with the second cube settings. Sigh. As my “make stuff up on the fly” is OK, I’ve kept up with them so far, but I’m much better as a GM when I take the time to plan things out. Therefore the Other GM will run a short intermission using 1st Edition Pathfinder for 4-6 weeks, allowing me to get ahead in my planning and writing for this campaign. I will be posting session notes from that campaign as an Intermission here.]
Delvers Guild
Session A, Character Creation Part 1
Session B, Character Creation Part 2
Session 01
…
Session 10
Session 11
Session 12
Session 13
Session 14
Session 15
Session 17
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