[December 14 – 5th session for December 14. This session 2 more crypts are looted and time is spent figuring out how to get loot home.]
[This game uses the Fifth Revised Edition of the Hero System rules along with the Fantasy Hero supplement. This session happened May 9, 2022.]
Player Characters:
Jala – human female – a person of discretion, studier of Pact Magic with a focus on shadows
Ozrel Runeweaver – human male – Pugilist and Rune Magician
Zarek the Red – fox male – Golem-mancer
Vorgand – human female – Guildmaster and Chief Combatant for the Delvers Guild
Ricky the Astrologer – human male – Newly-minted specialist in Magic Circles and Teleportation Gates
Non-Player Characters:
Torsten, Fish, Harek – ex-bandits, now The Torchbearers for the Delvers Guild
Yggsday, December 14th, 1st year of the reign of King Vladik the Gamesman
Having just opened a second crypt for the day, Ozrel ran forward and held down the lid of one of the two spirit jars. Vorgand was caught nearly flat-footed by this action [she thought they were joking when Ricky suggested it] and the other lid slid aside, allowing the void skeleton inside to start forming. This triggered a spell Zarek had stacked and a lightning bolt slammed into the forming skeleton [11 Body, Armor Piercing]. Unfortunately, that was not enough to destroy the void skeleton and its magic suppression field flowed out once it finished assembling itself [38 points of suppression on all magic]. Vorgand finally closed with the skeleton and swept it with three attack, hitting all three times.
Vorgand quickly dispatched the skeleton with her next barrage of attacks. Zarek switched his spell [to Armor Piercing, Blast] and Ricky moved in. On a signal, Ozrel released the lid on the spirit jar he was holding closed. As the void skeleton inside started to form [but before its suppression field started], the Delvers unleashed their various attacks, destroying it before it fully formed.
After the group caught their breath, they examined the sarcophagus in the crypt. Ricky recognized the name of the elf on the sarcophagus as one of the hero elves in the main hallway, Tomakivka of Ubleth. He had no idea where Ubleth might be, having never heard of it before. Ricky and Ozrel lifted the sarcophagus lid with Vorgand ready to hit anything that moved inside.
Inside was a long dead and inanimate elf corpse. While its burial clothes were little more than shreds, the personal decorations were still in good condition. Zarek quickly cast Detect Magic and one of the two necklaces the body was wearing radiated magic. It had an amulet with the same unknown rune from the Delvers discovered in the previous crypt. Ricky checked his [eidetic] memory and realized that all the hero elves in the main hallway were depicted wearing this necklace and amulet.
In addition to the magic amulet, they retrieved an orb made of ebon [solidified shadow], an adamantine lapel pin with a morganite gem, an iron coronet with a ruby flanked on each side by 2 beryls, and a non-magical iron necklace with an emerald pendant. All of these were carefully removed and placed in the loot bag.
Avarice engaged, the Delvers decided to open the last crypt in this side hall. Zarek stacked two castings of his Lightning spell [configured to be Armor Piercing] with a trigger of him seeing skeletons. Ricky then spent time with the sledgehammer removing the plaster covering the door. Ozrel and Vorgand took position as Ricky cast Dark Leaching on the granite door. Ozrel charged through the door, letting the dust of it flow off him like water, and held down the lid of the right-hand spirit jar in the crypt. Vorgand immediately followed Ozrel and secured the lid of the left-hand spirit jar. Once the rest of the group was ready, Vorgand released her jar lid and the adventurers quickly destroyed the skeleton within. They then repeated this with the skeleton Ozrel had bottled up, clearing the crypt of threats quickly and efficiently. [I didn’t bother running the combat as they had a plan that clearly worked.]
The sarcophagus in this crypt belonged to Gaderian Greylash. Inside was another rune amulet and four other pieces of jewelry: a bone bracelet with several green gems in it [2 cat’s eyes, green agate, malachite, jade, green topaz], a bone armband, a headband made of animal hair with a beak as a crest, and a green opal orb with elven inscriptions.
At this point, Ricky realized that the distinctive jewelry they found on the corpses was shown in the murals of the elven heroes, including the orbs. This included the mural of Hefhauer. Ricky thought back to their interactions with the elf and thought he remembered seeing the chain of the rune amulet peeking out of Hefhauer’s armor.
Hungry and tired, the Delvers paused in their explorations to eat and rest. During this rest, they discussed the weight of various things they wanted to take with them, including the gold offering tray from the shrine [17 kg] and the individual sarcophagus lids. With the magical strength enhancements that Vorgand and Ozrel had, moving the lids around was not difficult, but getting them through the anti-magic zone in the sloped galley was another matter. This discussion and meal took an hour or so before they felt they had a viable plan.
Once they had a plan, they decided to implement it. It took Vorgand and Ozrel four attempts to get the three sarcophagus lids across the anti-magic zone [the first trip failed and nearly crushed Vorgand under the lid, so they tried again]. Once the lids were past the anti-magic zone, the group used what ropes they had and brute strength to haul each lid to the top of the sloped gallery where the portal was located. This took a couple hours more.
Looking at the dreadfully heavy lids and not looking forward to hauling them through the portal to the Moon manor and then maybe back through again to the moon, Vorgand thought to try setting the portal cubes to the moon base setting. The group was pleasantly surprised when the gate opened to the moon!
Vorgand and Ozrel hauled the sarcophagus lids to the treasure storage room in the moon base [the first room inside the base so they had easy access to it] and stored them there with the other highly-identifiable elven treasure they were hiding. While they did that, Ricky stood in the area between the portal and the moon base and looked back at the world. He memorized what he could see of the world from this location, believing that what he could see would give a clue as to where the Stone Halls were actually located. He also realized he could start drawing significantly more accurate maps of the world than anyone else as he could see the actual shapes of the land and waters.
Once the sarcophagus lids were safely stored on the moon, the Delvers returned to the Stone Halls to open more crypts.
End of Session
Guild Postings
[This past week was an emotional rollercoaster due to unexpected expenses, which is why this posting is late.]
[This session was pretty straight-forward. I didn’t actually have the names of the elves they were grave robbing for this session, but had them by next session. I merely told Ricky’s player that Ricky recognized the names from the earlier hallway murals. I also randomly determined the grave goods at the table, which is not best, but the players were OK with it. After this session I worked out all the treasure in the remaining crypts, including magic items where applicable, so it went faster. Don’t be afraid to improvise on the spot, but it is better to have things worked out ahead of time. At the very least it lets you work out other plot links in time to insert them.]
Delvers Guild
Arc 1
Arc 1 Landing Page – Links to all Arc 1 sessions
Arc 2
Arc 2 Landing Page – Links to all Arc 2 sessions, as they post
Last Session: Arc 2, Session 12
Next Session: Arc 2, Session 14
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