Session 9 Skinwalker Extravaganza!

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

Test Session or Play Session 1?

 

Play Report

This is a test Session. Maybe not necessarily session 1, but no way in hell a “session 0.” This session was just for me to get a feel of running something, anything really, online. I’ve been told by my brave players that I did alright. Which is good, cause I was worried I’d retard things up too much!

The Players:

Dread Pirate Roberts (Bard)

Lucky Callihan (Thief)

Rumbo Battlecock ( Dwarf Vaultgaurd)

Mickey the Mage (Magic-User)

About four days after meeting the local former trailblazer Rotho at the Piss & Stone Tavern in Pottsfort, about the recently discovered Old Bastard, the group sets to find the long forgotten keep. They head through a giant crack on the Dragon’s Eye after finding body parts and old, dried blood on it's steps. Soon the group makes their way north along an intersection until they come across a bridge over an underground stream. Passing this, they emerge into a plaza where they discover a two story structure, and other doors along the west wall of the plaza. They also find a large stone door in the western wall that has a moon and sun carved into it’s face. It’s locked, but the group ascertains that two special keys are needed to unlock it, one for the moon side, and one for the sun.

Dragon Eye Cave

Lucky scopes out north of the structure and hears some loud sniffing around from something. The group quickly realizes that the structure is about 80’ in length and 40’ in width. They plan on using their grappling hooks and rope to ascend to the second floor through one of it’s many windows. Before they accomplish this, Lucky spots a group of three giant albino weasels, each looking hungrier than the last. The weasels are fairly large. About 9 to 10’ in length and about as wide as a full grown horse. Our heroes decide to run back pass the bridge from earlier in hopes to avoid the weasels leave them alone. And to make it a bit more persuasive, Rumbo throws a weeks worth of rations on the floor as an enticement for giant rodents. The weasels take the bait more or less, and leave the group be.

Moon & Sun Door (but stone!)

The group heads back to the intersection, and takes the hallway left. They pass a handful of doors, including one on the north side of the hallway. They make their way all the to the most western door and manage to open it. Inside is an octagonal chamber, with seven doors, one for each side except for the southeastern wall. In the middle, the floor is made out of sand with a pit about 20’ deep. Dread Pirate Roberts decides to throw a flask of lit military oil inside of the pit. It hits something and causes the pit to light up in great flame, and bubbling shrieking emerges along with an odious smell that reeks of mustard and chemicals. I make the group save against breath, and only half succeeds. Dread Pirate Roberts and Lucky manage to get the other two out before they can cough up their lungs. After the gas subsides, they decide to head back to the north doorway they passed a few minutes earlier. It seems that noises from breaking the door down, the explosion, and coughing up a storm attract a group of humanoid creatures. They hear loud shuffling of feet. Dread Pirate Roberts soon belches out a song to help boost the group and soon hears the oncoming creatures respond by echoing his singing, but way off key. The group’s torch and lantern soon bear witness to three morlocks, one with a spear, the other two with clubs, and all three with drool dangling from their mouth and chins.

Some wild Morlocks!

The two groups soon engage in combat. Mickey the Mage soon blasts Burning Hands at the inbred humanoids, and all three take damage, while the one holding the spear drops his weapon to put himself out. Lucky shoots an arrow but it misses and hit the ceiling. Rumbo and Roberts soon take the two club wielding mongrels down in quick and brutal fashion while escaping harm themselves. The second proves successful for our adventurers as they quickly dispatch the third morlock. Our team resumes their way to the north doorway. They manage to open it and soon find a largely empty space, except for the large metal treasure chest that rests at the foot of the east wall of the chamber. They search the room and Rumbo discerns that there may be a trap 5’ above the chest: he see’s a slightly discolored stone brick. The group exists past door while Rumbo takes his rope and lasso’s the chest. It’s heavy, but makes it slowly to him. While it moves his way, it triggers what indeed was a trap. Quickly the brick gives way and long halberd like device pops outs to kill whatever that might have been in front of the chest.

The group opens the chest without any problems, and find 2000 gp, 500 sp, and a black sapphire worth 1,000 gp. Not a bad haul at all. They soon make their way out of the dungeon and back to Pottsfort without incident.

Total XP from Monsters & Treasure: 

30 xp from the Morlocks

58 xp from the Pit Ghouls

2,000 xp from gold pieces found

50 xp from the silver pieces found

1,000 xp from the black sapphire (must be sold first)

Each member receive a bonus amount from their Prime Ability Score.

Dread Pirate Roberts (10%) = 589

Rumbo Battlecock (10%) = 589

Mickey the Mage (10%) = 589

Luck Callihan (0%) = 535

Sweet Loot!

So yeah, the night went pretty good. I didn't have the entire 1st level keyed mostly because it turned out bigger than I realized. I also need to learn on giving better directions and descriptions of the rooms and what not. I've ran games before, but it's been a couple of years and I've never ran one online before. Still, it shouldn't take long to improve on these. Not sure when I'll get started, and it depends on a setting a schedule, but it shouldn't be too much longer. Anyway, here's hoping for the best and remember to Fight On!

The Red Frontier and The Old Bastard

 

Red Frontier

The Red Frontier. A vast wilderness made of lost kingdoms. Viscous barbarians. Eldritch Magic. Of the forgotten and unknown. A new world with a very ancient past. But a land where many are willing to risk all. For fame, glory, riches, and life itself. Many have tried to claim The Red Frontier for themselves, but it's has always proven to be unconquerable. And it always pays back in blood and death. Will you risk you're life, dare everything, to leave your mark? To make a name for yourself? Will you pay the blood price the Red Frontier demands? Meet your fate or ride to your doom!

The Old Bastard

Long ago, before the First Cataclysm claimed the entire Red Frontier and expelling the early colonies of the old world, there was Oggac, bastard son of king Oggar, who became a curse upon the land. Banditry, pirating, kin slaying, debaucheries, devil worshiper, and with many other foul deeds to his name, he began to build a keep to hoard his vast ill-gotten wealth and his brides. Instead of a large castle atop a hill, he built it within and under a large hill within the foothills of the mountain range, The Devil’s Spine. He used slaves, including dwarves and savages, and even foul magic to complete this task. Once the First Cataclysm swept over all the land, he retreated into his keep. Hidden within a strange hill, and behind a dragon’s eye, The Bastard’s Keep Oggac called it. After a few hundred years have passed, the old countries began to reestablish a foothold in the Red Frontier. And some remembered the vile legends of the bastard Oggac and his Keep. And some began to search for his fabled keep. None returned. The natives along with new comers began to call it something else, something that fitted it’s mythic and now infamous status: The Old Bastard.

But time moves on, and recently a party was sent out by the old trailblazer Rotho of Pottsfort. A month later only one survivor from that party came back. A man half naked, with horrible scars, and whose sanity was lost. The man rambled on about coming to hollow whose floor shimmered and then disappeared. Of finding a large cavern through the roots of trees on a side of a strange, large hill at the end of hollow. He drew a map with vague directions to the Old Bastard at Rotho’s insistence. And the poor soul soon killed himself that same night. Rotho sent out another team. This time they arrived back, in whole, and with treasure in tow. Now Rotho is calling in for more help to map out the area, and to map the lost keep. Will you accept the call and risk death, or will you stay home, safe and regretting you could have made a name for yourself?