This is one is gonna be fun. This week Oldvay, Mark, Laurentius by Laurentius' Little Brother (another cleric) and after a long absence, Hazzik the dwarven delver. So the players this week decided to head out the Old Bastard. Two of our players this week have never been, but were up for some dungeon crawling. Taking a wagon with them, our happy adventurers set off. With only a small trail leading to the Old Bastard, one that's over hills, hollows, and through forests, I decided it would take the same amount to get there as it would on foot.
On the first night, the group managed to avoid being dinner to a group of giant bats. The four giant, flying rodents were descending to the party only to soon fall down to the ground from Oldvay's sleep spell. They were soon dispatched.
During the next day, around late morning, the party began to hear singing and talking of a man and children throughout the woods. They decided to flee. Going at full speed, they finally stopped around dusk, only to hear the same singing and laughing throughout the trees. It seems their pursuers didn't give up. Soon after, the party took cover behind their wagon and witnessed four figures emerge from the barren woods. The first was that of a man, the other three of children of various heights.
As they approached, they continued to laugh, sing, and even ask the players to join them. And that they are hungry. The party wasn't having none of it. Getting closer, the skinwalker family began to transform: limbs becoming longer, faces more skull like and with elongated teeth, and black, short fur emerging through their skin. Combat ensued. Hazzik and another player throws some military oil over the wagon, but misses and only causes some splash damage on the father and one of his children. A flask of holy water was thrown but missed. Mark the thief shot a silver arrow into the left of the father, who, while hurt by such metal, jerked the arrow, and his eye, out and threw it down to the ground.
Hazzik managed to throw a flask of oil onto the father skinwalker, burning him badly. But the poor dwarf soon became the target of one of the diabolical children. Laurentius managed to throw a flask of holy water, this time hitting and damaging the larger skinwalker. His little brother even managed to use turn undead, but to no effect and the father laughing at his failed attempt. Eventually, Oldvay, after his wardog was attacked, managed to cast sleep, and put all three of the children into a deep slumber. Unfortunately, the father managed to kill Laurentius's little brother. While the little brother was giving up his last breath, Mark had snuck off and came around the behind the father, and drove his dagger into his back, severely wounding him further. Unable to wake his children, and horribly wounded, the father skinwalker began to retreat, but not before being killed with an arrow shot from Mark. His body soon to turned to dust and the fur burned away, leaving only his heart and eyes. The smaller creatures were soon put down as well.
The next morning, the remaining party collected themselves, and set out to find the skinwalkers' lair. Oldvay sent out his raven familiar, and with a nat 20, managed to locate their wicked abode and soon relayed the information to party. Making their way through the winter-dead woods, our survivors managed to find a dugout in a hill covered in black vines. After searching for traps on the wooden door, the party enter in. Inside they found a small chamber with a blood covered, wooden table with runes carved into it around a skull and candles, and dead, butchered bodies in various states of decomposition. On the back wall, lay various clothes, items, and other debris collected from their victims. The party finds, after looking through the heap, a pouch of 1,400 copper pieces and six gems, magical chainmail of dwarven make, a potion, and most surprising of all, a purple leather bag, with gold stitching around it and forming the words: BAG of HOLDING. Groovy! The cleric does the necessary rites on the dead bodies before they are buried and the group heads back to Pottsfort, to bring the inhabitants the news of their accomplishments.
So the party managed to find the rest of the family of skinwalkers. They also found out that silver is effective. And that though they're not undead, due to whatever unholy rituals that made them into what they are, holy water is very effective against the vile creatures. Unfortunately, due to them being very much alive, turn undead has no effect. And unlock werewolves, skinwalkers can transform anytime, regardless what phase the moon is in. And it also seems they possibly possess magical capabilities. Despite the one death, or not managing to get to the Old Bastard, I would say it was a good night!
Total XP and GP:
Skinwalker Father: 175 XP
Skinwalker Children: 3 x 100 XP
Treasure (not including potion or Bag of Holding) = 1889 XP
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