RPG

Choose a Sponsor for your Dungeon Delve

David Skelector Fantasy, megadungeon, musings, Roleplaying Game, RPG, world-building , , , ,

A neat idea from the gamebook Battlepits of Krarth (Dave Morris, Oliver Johnson) is to make you start the adventure while choosing a sponsor as the first obligatory step before entering said battlepits. In pure gamebook fashion you can choose blindly and then of course you risk getting a bad one (one sponsor is actually a vampire who, guess what, is more interested in getting your blood than having champions to compete), or, you know, you could try to get some information first and make a better choice…

Those are « Sponsors » too but they’re a bit, huh, different?

Of course, a Choose Your Own Adventure has a limited scope and so there’s only three sponsors to choose from (others are mentionned but aren’t availaible). One good, one bad and one really bad (the aforementionned vampire). An interesting twist is that the good one, Magus Balthazar, is harder to get, he’s actually picky as to whom he chooses. It’s not like he wants the first boneheads to cross his door to represent him in this prestigious, yearly competion. No, no, no. You will be tested, and if your intelligence is found lacking, well… You’ll have to find another sponsor.

This asshole doesn’t care one bit if you die horribly…

With a Tabletop RPG, of course, you could have a lot more options to choose from, leading to interesting roleplaying opportunities.

But what’s the point of having a sponsor? Well, suppose you get one that’s interested in your prolonged well-being, a sponsor could ensure that your chances of success are a bit better, providing you with starting funds, equipment, henchmen and so on… And, depending on the style of play, maybe a kind of insurance against setbacks (healing services, or even resurrection).

In any case, there would have to be something to gain for the sponsor too. A share of the profits, first bid on precious stuff, etc. In a TTRPG, a sponsor wouldn’t be a simple employer, there’s a long-term relationship (or debt serving) to consider.

If I ever do something like a megadungeon campaign, you can be sure there’ll be sponsors around!

Session 27 – Dead Man’s Thirst

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Ruins of chult campaign

Nous interrompons le programme – euh,  l’exploration du donjon,  pour changer de tempo un peu. Et nous passons à une side-quest de mon cru, linéaire mais avec une thématique de pirate assez classique et réussie je crois.

Personnages Joueurs (PJs)

  • (Félix) Flyzus, (level 7), Wood Elf Ranger (hunter), Outlander, n’a plus de famille ni de patrie, là pour l’aventure et se forger une nouvelle vie
  • (Chris) Pax Double-Poches, (level 6), Halfling Rogue (arcane trickster), Criminal, fuyant un passé criminel, à vu de ses yeux les trésors merveilleux qu’à rapporté le ranger Flyzus de sa dernìère expédition et s’est immiscé dans le groupe depuis
  • (Chris) Rufb (level 7), Half-Orc Barbarian (berserker), Mercenary Veteran; capturé par des pterafolks, seul survivant de sa bande de mercenaires, délivré par Flyzus au sommet du Firefinger
  • (Isaac) Anfi, (level 6) Locathah Fighter (eldritch knight), Outlander, venu sur la terre ferme en passant par la Caverne-Tunnel, là pour découvrir ce nouvel environnement

Soif Inextinguible

Se reposant de leur expédition à l’auberge la Cithare et le Crâne, les aventuriers sont rejoins par le halfeling Pélépon, tout haletant et surexcité.

-J’ai trouvé l’homme-qui-a-soif! s’exclame-t-il à répétitions.

-De qué… qui?

-L’homme-qui-a-soif, le lieutenant du Capitaine Malibar. Il va nous mener au trésor des pirates! J’ai besoin de votre aide, la suite peut être dangereuse…

Après quelques négociations sur un éventuel partage des richesses trouvées, les PJs acceptent de suivre Pélépon. Celui-ci les mènent le long de la côte nord, passé les plages de sables, jusqu’à un endroit rocailleux battu par les vagues.

Là, à marée basse, Pélépon et les aventuriers se fraient un chemin parmi les rochers et se retrouvent devant une tête posée sur le sol. Ou plutôt, dépassant du sol, le reste du corps étant ensevelis. Une tête avec une sale tronche, à en donner des cauchemars à plus d’un, mi-décomposée mi-desséchée… Et les yeux! D’un rouge vif, maléfiques, ces yeux fous de mort-vivant se fixent sur eux…

« Soâââââââââf »

Éberlués, les PJs voient dépassé du sol le goulot d’une bouteille. Une blague cruelle, apparemment, pour torturé cette chose qui jadis fut homme enterré vivant. (1)

En échange de rasades de la bouteille déterrée, l’homme-qui-a-soif révèle l’emplacement de la grotte où a été caché  le trésor du capitaine pirate.

Les Dents de la Terre

Les indications sont sommaires et la grotte est bien dissimulée mais le groupe finit par trouver l’endroit. Pélépon reste à l’extérieur. Une crevasse laisse place à une caverne vaguement circulaire avec des stalactites au plafond et une descente à l’opposé. Au milieu, une carapace de crabe géant gît sur le sol. (2)

Se méfiant de la carapace, les PJs décident de longer les parois mais la menace venait d’en haut! Des stalactites -des Piercers en fait- se laisse tomber pour embrocher les visiteurs. Heureusement les monstres manquent affreusement de précision et un fois à terre sont à la merci des aventuriers.

Mucus de Gorge

Plus avant, Pax, le premier de file, tombe nez à nez avec des chauve-souris squelettiques flottant (elles ne bougent pas) dans les airs. Par réflexe il donne un coup de dague à l’une d’elles mais son attaque se butte à une matière visqueuse.

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Un Cube Gélatineux! Coincé dans la crevasse, Pax hurle à ses compagnons de retraiter rapidement, avant qu’il ne se fasse absorbé à son tour. De justesse, les PJs reviennent à la caverne initiale, le slime balançant des pseudopodes d’acide tout en glissant lentement vers eux. Maintenant libres de leurs actions, les PJs tranchouillent le Cube Gélatineux sans trop de problèmes

Amygdalite Sévère

Ceci fait, les PJs parviennent à une autre caverne avec un espèce de promontoire en hauteur et un trou au fond. (3) Pax, toujours premier de file (4), est encore la cible. Des filaments gluants l’agrippent depuis le promontoire et le hisse rapidement, il est la proie de Cave Fishers, des monstruosités arthropodes. Tandis que Pax se fait « attendrir », Anfi envoi un Ice Knife sur les bestioles et Rufb effectue un bond spectaculaire et à tôt fait d’éliminer la menace. Dans le nid des Cave Fishers, les PJs trouvent un sac à dos avec un butin modeste et quelques potions.

Descente d’Œsophage

Maintenant dans le trou, d’une dizaine de mètres de profondeur, Pax plante des pitons dans la paroi rocheuse et repère également deux pièges dissimulés, dont un sur une poulie trafiquée qui semblait bien pratique. Ils approchent du but…

Ulcère d’Estomac

Pax, tout en bas, lâche un cri puis ne répond plus aux appels de ses compagnons. Flyzus, inquiet, descend à son tour. Il met pied à terre et peut voir Pax un peu plus loin penché sur un coffre au trésor. Ce dernier se retourne, son visage est méconnaissable.

« Le trésor est à moi! » Et il décoche une flèche sur Flyzus! (5)

L’Elfe tente de raisonner son compagnon mais rien n’y fait (6). Pax encoche une autre flèche. Flyzus se dépêche d’engouffrer une potion d’invisibilité et fonce vers Pax dans l’espoir de le maîtriser. Il est rejoint par Anfi et les deux ensemble assomment carrément le pauvre Rogue. Un fantôme sort du corps de Pax mais n’a pas le temps de palabrer, une attaque fulgurante de Rufb met fin à la menace.

Digestion

Le coffre est remplit de bouteilles de brandy (de luxe), ce que le capitaine pirate préférait entre tout! (6-7)

Ils trouvent également un squelette (du fantôme) dans le pit trap qui tient encore à la main un sabre (magique).

Notes du Dm

  1. dans le style de la punition infligée à Tantale
  2. purement une diversion
  3. j’ai tenté de recréer une caverne à peu près plausible, en y mettant des aspérités, de l’étroit et du vertical, etc.
  4. à sa grande irritation d’ailleurs
  5. j’ai mal lu le paragraphe sur la possession et j’ai appliqué le sneak attack habituel de Pax, pour beaucoup, beaucoup de dégats puis Félix devait réussir à ne pas tomber dans le pit trap en contrebas et a dû employé un point d’inspiration pour y parvenir. S’en est fallu de peu pour qu’il meurt!
  6. Félix était quelque peu dépité du trésor: « quoi, des bouteilles! » Hep, oui, mais elles valent cher! héhé
  7. Qu’il a caché pour sa retraite, tout en éliminant deux lieutenants trop ambitieux. Quand à lui? Qui sait? :p

Session 15c – Zotzilaha’s Guardians

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, jeux de rôles, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Ruins of chult campaign , ,

The PCs doing the HSoT in « reverse » (from top to bottom) meant, in my mind, that the final scene would be with Zotzilaha himself. Accordingly, I wanted the last few encounters before the finale to have a more otherworldly feel. Also, the PCs had the choice to fight Zotzilaha, or not…

Characters:

  • Shin (level 5), Tabaxi Fighter (Arcane Archer), Outlander; big-game hunter, has no patience for weakness
  • Phileas (level 4), Half-Elf Bard (College of Swords), Archeologist; “it’s not tomb-robbing if you do it respectfully”
  • Kalohan (level 3>>4), High Elf Wizard (Evoker), Inheritor; noble Elf, ill-suited for adventuring life
  • Flyzus (level 6), Wood Elf Ranger (hunter), Outlander; sole survivor of his tribe after an orc invasion
  • Rufb (level 6), Half-Orc Barbarian (berserker), Mercenary Veteran; captured by pterafolks, his fellow mercenaries killed, seeks riches and glory
  • Vorn, Shield Guardian, found masterless by the party, beside a gaping hole in the ground

I’m no botanist but I don’t think it’s a tree

téléchargement

In a water-filled basin stood a twisted, unnatural-looking tree. Phileas approached to read the bronze plaque at the base of the basin. This triggered a reaction from the « tree » as it threw a tendril-branch to grab the Half-Elf. Phileas cut the tendril with one deft move of his rapier and his companions jumped into action. Rufb, knee-deep into the turpid water, hacked at the tree-thing with his greataxe while the others kept their distance, trying to evade the numerous flailing tendrils. They vanquished the creature and found some valuables as they searched the basin (2).

Drowning Kiss

The PCs then went to the deepest level of the hidden shrine, finally ready to enter Zotzilaha’s acrid sanctuary. Turning right, in a flooded passage, they heard  cries for help. In a vast cavern (3), with the nearest two-third also flooded, a woman was seemingly drowning. Without a thought, Phileas swam frantically to get to her, albeit his companions tried to dissuade him. Surely something was amiss! He reached for the distressed, strikingly beautiful woman and she thanked him with a kiss.

Phileas started suffocating, his lungs suddenly filled with acidic water. His dismayed companions went into the water but were assaulted by a giant electric eel while the woman, who was in fact a water-spirit nereid, laughed evilly (4).

The adventurers killed the eel, but they couldn’t save Phileas in time. The nereid proved an elusive foe and she almost got Flyzus too before she was slain. She dissolved into water, only her silky shawl remained.

The Lord Snail is a Pervert

After the nereid’s cave, the PCs got into another area where the ground was muddy and  uneven. There were many bowls littering the place too but most unusual, in front of them stood a strange hunched old man with a large snail shell on his back. He welcomed the adventurers, first in olman and then in common language, and presented himself as Zotzilaha’s seneschal.

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« The Great Zoztzilaha, after being neglected for so long, is in dire need of offerings! » he said, as several giant crabs popped out of the ground, approaching the adventurers with threathening pincers.

The PCs determined that crab meat would have to do as an offering and proceeded to massacre the crustaceans. In the heat of the battle, wand-waiving Kalohan sent a lightning bolt directly at the Lord Snail. This angered greatly the seneschal and he transformed into a Humongous Snail! The viscous creature spat a stream of acid at the levitating Elf Wizard, sending her crashing to the ground, nearly dead. A shadow arrow from Shin softened the beast as Rufb, Flyzus and Vorn got in melee to finish the job.

The snail’s body disappeared, leaving behind it’s shell. Inside was a few of the seneschal personnal items, amongst them a lot of erotic drawings of the aforementionned nereid…

Zotzilaha’s Offer

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As the PCs placed (5) crab meat in the offering bowls, the surrounding acrid mist coalesced into a fearsome presence: Zotzilaha! (6) Its initial shape rapidly shrinked, reflecting the fact that it was worship-starved. Notwithstanding his somewhat vulnerable, weakened state, Zotzilaha was still frightful to behold. As he spoke, voicelessly, Zotzilaha explained that he had lost control over his subordinate spirits, three of whom the PCs had defeated in battle (the Cyclops, the Nereid and Lord Snail) and the fourth had left the Hidden Shrine not that long ago. If the adventurers would so endeavor to slay the treacherous Sting of Decay, Zotziloha would be grateful and reward them accordingly. As an act of good faith, they could have one artefact for now: the Axe of the Cyclops (7). 

Surprised by this turn event, the PCs accepted the offer, at least for now…

DM’s notes:

  1. Phileas’ player was in rather reckless mood this session.
  2. And a  wand of lighning bolt for my power-crazed sister…
  3. I’ve enlarged the original room a lot.
  4. A nereid, played with her strengths, can be a surprisingly tough encounter, I discovered.
  5. Nothing forced them to do so at that point ^^
  6. Zotzilaha makes no appearance in the original module, is barely mentionned in fact, I thought it strange.
  7. The berzerk axe, an ambivalent item, powerful but cursed, fittingly I think.

Session 15b – Serpent-Skinned Monks

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, Roleplaying Game, RPG , , ,

The PCs could not afford to take another long rest if they wished to be away from Tamaochan before the arrival of the Pick & Axe co. 

Characters:

  • Shin (level 4>>5), Tabaxi Fighter (Arcane Archer), Outlander; big-game hunter, has no patience for weakness
  • Flyzus (level 5>>6), Wood Elf Ranger (hunter), Outlander; sole survivor of his tribe after an orc invasion
  • Rufb (level 5>>6), Half-Orc Barbarian (berserker), Mercenary Veteran; captured by pterafolks, his fellow mercenaries killed, seeks riches and glory
  • Vorn, Shield Guardian, found masterless beside a gaping hole in the ground

Stay Still Forever

In a part of the dungeon yet unexplored – the PCs successfully avoided a sand-filling trap – a few turns later they got almost in the middle of two rows of skeletons, a sort of honor guard by the look of it, standing on a ledge each side of a passage. The 15 skeletons jumped down and attacked (1)…

The adventurers kept their calm, even after seeing a skeleton still fighting after receiving a killing blow, what should have been a killing blow anyway. It helped that they could  now count on the powerful Vorn to back them up. An exploding magic arrow from Shin did a lot to soften the undead warriors. It took some time but they managed to prevail with only a few light wounds in return (2).

You don’t see any traps

At the end of another passage they could see a golden bat statuette. Rufb took it from its pedestal and got shot in the back by several crossbow bolts. Wounded and angry, Rufb smashed the statuette under his foot. This released a creature made of light, a will o’ wisp (they knew from previous experience), that quickly got away along another passage.

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Shed Skin

Now, for some reason, having a will o’ wisp on the loose didn’t sit well with the PCs (3) so they tried to find it, backtracking a little doing so. Flyzus ordered his pseudodragon pet to follow the evil light but the poor creature got zapped and… died (4). Next, the PCs got into a room they had opened but had chose not to enter before. A room with two slabs of stone with shed serpent skins… waitaminute… weren’t there bodies the first time around? Darn! More things roaming free…

Stuck in the Middle with You

To go further in this area, the PCs had to move a heavy block of stone on some rail mechanism up a ramp, the Shield Guardian was put to the task. They were halfway when things got complicated… First, there was sudden resistance against the block, something was pushing back… Second, bats. Lots of bats. Third, the will o’ wisp chose this moment (of course it did) to come back…

Vorn proved more than strong enough to keep the block from crushing them. The Ranger got rid of the bats around him quickly and then attacked the will o’ wisp. He was joined soon after by Rufb (Shin was still swarmed by bats) and the two successfully avenged the pseudodragon.

No Escape

Finally out of this passage, the PCs saw two nimble figures sprinting away from them. The Barbarian, the fastest runner of the PCs, caught up with them in the central room of the ziggurat’s lower tier. Attempting to communicate  proved fruitless, as Rufb could not understand a word they said. Resigned, the two mysterious sleepers-no-longer assumed fighting stances (5).

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Rufb wasn’t in full combat shape at all, so facing these two adversaries with unknown abilities was daunting. He chose to use one charge of his gem of mud elemental summoning, a reward he had received from the Three Cascades’ frogmen. This proved a wise move as the mud elemental pummeled and mired in mud one serpent-skinned monk. Rufb then finished her with one massive blow of his greataxe. The surviving monk shrieked in anguish and attacked Rufb, sweeping his legs from under him.

Flyzus and Shin now got at the scene too. The outnumbered monk turned his back and fled once more. Shin shot an arrow at him but amazingly, he catched it middair without even looking!

Try to dodge that

He then started to cross the passage to the north, the one with spikes at the bottom, swinging from bar to bar. Rufb got back to his feet and jumped right beside his foe and started grappling him. He easily outmuscled the monk and sent him crashing through the spikes. Flyzus put an end to his life with precise sword thrusts (6).

The PCs finally felt comfortable enough to get down below, to the Hidden Shrine.

DM’s notes

  1. I had described them as skeletons but they were statted as zombies, with the undead fortitude that do a lot for their durability. But this fight was meh.
  2. Too easy! Would have been better if they had to be smart about it…
  3. Players paranoia!
  4. Félix kept forgetting that it existed, so… no big deal, I guess?
  5. The monks tried their best  to escape, the PCs, the barbarian in particular, just wouldn’t let them.
  6. This proved to be a really good fight, with a lot of cool, cinematic manoeuvers.

Session 13 – Naumachia

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, jeux de rôles, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Ruins of chult campaign , , ,

Characters (1)

  • Flyzus, Wood Elf Ranger (hunter), Outlander; sole survivor of his tribe after an orc invasion
  • Rufb, Half-Orc Barbarian (berserker), Mercenary Veteran; captured by pterafolks, his fellow mercenaries killed, seeks riches and glory
  • Lucky, Half-Elf Cleric of Tymora (Trickery), Street Urchin; the lowly will be exalted

Massacre at the Tej House

With their mission with the Gripplis finished, Flyzus and Rufb were going back to Port Nyanzaru. Near the river’s mouth they met scouts from the city and they learned that the Tiriky’s Tej House had been attacked by bloodthirsty gnoll reavers, with many casualties. Here with the scouts was Lucky, and whilst the others departed to report to Port Nyanzaru’s authorities, he decided to join his erstwhile companions to take a closer look at the site of the massacre.

Sure enough the members of the Tej House’ staff were all dead but there was also 2 half-eaten gnolls amongst the corpses, killed by defending fishermen by the look of it. The Ranger sensed that something was amiss, the awful odor of a Giant Hyena was terribly overwhelming and very much recent, like less than an hour-recent. They knew that they had to prepare for a fight…

Lucky hid in a damaged hay house and summoned his illusory double. Rufb and Flyzus prepared their weapons. A Giant Hyena emerged from the jungle, followed by a Gnoll Hunter. Another gnoll, a large and scarred Pack Lord howled a warcry and the 2 dead gnolls got up on their feet: Whiterlings!

The Barbarian filled his soul with rage and cursed the gods that he had lost his great axe in a chasm… He only had this ridiculous lameass trident (however well-balanced), not a true warrior’s weapon at all (2)! Nonetheless he charged the Gnolls with abandon. Flyzus’ skillful swordmanship did great damage while Lucky’s double provided opportune distraction and soon, the PCs had triumphed (for the third time) against the savage Gnolls.

Naumachia (3)

Finally back in town, the PCs  spent well-earned gold and learned that the next big gladiatorial event was near ready. The captured pirates of the Stirge were to meet justice in the arena, and the organizers were quick to publicize the participation of the « Lord Elf « (Flyzus), the very one that had helped capture them!

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At the Grand Coliseum:

The Pirates vs the Mercenaries!

1 swashbuckler, 2 thugs, 6 bandits

vs

Flyzus, Rufb, 4 bandits, 1 halfling acolyte, 1 halfling archer

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Water pumped in the arena wasn’t deep, 4 or 5 feet max, but it was sufficient for sharks to swim in, adding to the spectacle. The pirates couldn’t hope to surrender this time and thus were determined to fight ’til the end. The pirate captain, showing off his acrobatic skills, jumped behind his foes while his men crossed the planks. The Barbarian got in a duel against a tough pirate lieutenant while Flyzus got in a confused melee at the center. The pirate captain tried to take advantage of a busy Flyzus and wounded him with quick rapier stabs but the latter killed the outclassed men around him and focused his attention on the dishonorable scoundrel.

The so-called « mercenaries » had only  lost 2 men and another had fell in the water but had been helped out just before a shark could bite him. As for the pirates, they were decimated… With the Ranger and Barbarian responsibles for most of it. The pirate captain fell last, but not before attempting some daring manoeuvers. With multiple wounds already from Flyzus’ swords, he couldn’t escape the enraged Rufb dead-set on killing him.

Victory to the Mercenaries!

DM’s Notes

  1. The passage of time in my campaign got a little fuzzy so I could accommodate players to have their characters together…
  2. It was funny as hell as Chris seemed to botched rolls every 2 rounds and blamed the trident!
  3. It was many sessions ago that we had an arena fight. I figured that an aquatic set-up would be suitably memorable!

Session 12 – Terrible Mandibles

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Roleplaying Game, RPG ,

I had a cold and was dead-tired but it was still a worthwhile session, if a little of the filling sort. Guillaume had to look after his baby son (the joy of parenthood!) but he managed to join us halfway in the session.

Characters

  • Lucky, Half-Elf Cleric of Tymora (Trickery), Street Urchin; the lowly will be exalted
  • Shin, Tabaxi Fighter (Arcane Archer), Outlander; big-game hunter, has no patience for weakness
  • Corpos, High Elf Wizard (Necromancer), Archeologist; antiquary, strange fixation on the undead
  • Kalohan, High Elf Wizard (Evoker), Inheritor; noble Elf, ill-suited for adventuring life
  • Phileas, Half-Elf Bard (College of Swords), Archeologist; “it’s not tomb-robbing if you do it respectfully”
  • Goro-Tso, Human NPC (Berserker template), Mercenary, devotee of Malar; bought by promises of gold and tej, have yet to see much of either

Spider Riders (1)

The previous session had the PCs in a fight against a small patrol from the Canopy Drummers (batiri goblins) and they had emerged victorious. Next, they tried to put some distance before nightfall between themselves and their goblin foes, and had crossed into another tribe’s territory. This, apparently, did not suffice to deter pursuit, or at least not from some fast-moving skirmishers: Spider Riders.

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A (spider) Swarm descended from the trees upon the poor, terrified Kalohan, while 3 Spider Riders moved to attack the PCs from a distance. Shin, quick to assert the main threat, let loose 2 magically-charged shadow arrows, killing the leader of the skirmishers, a goblin warchief wearing a weird spider hat. The cleric of Tymora and the Elf wizard blasted to bits the spider Swarm with magic bolts and divine fire while the bard tried in vain some mind-trick on a Giant (medium) Spider.

The 2 remaining spiders failed to catch anybody with their webs. The goblins threw venom-dipped javelins and one downed Kalohan and the other wounded Philleas. However, the adventurers still clearly had the advantage after these first exchanges and they finished the skirmishers despite their annoying shoot-and-hide tactics.

A few antitoxin vials and healing spells from the cleric later and the PCs were good to go.

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Jason’s character is now wearing this, on his head… The start of a new trend?

The Mantis Warrior

On top of a huge fallen tree stood a Giant Mantis. Eerily still (2). Already upset with her recent encounter with giant spiders, Kalohan immediately hurled a fire bolt at the thing. The Giant Mantis dashed towards the PCs but their combined attacks forced its transformation into its true form, that of a disgusted-looking goblin shaman. The latter didn’t wasted time and transformed back into his more threatening Mantis-Shape and attacked savagely Philleas with spiked forelegs and ferocious bite.

The Mantis Warrior proved to be a worthy adversary but he was alone against 4. His wild shape once again used up, he tried to flee but the adventurers shot him in the back and killed him.

Should have killed that dude the first time

Later the same night, the PCs were alerted by some ruckus, something was approaching. In fact, it was Corpos and Goro-Tso, running away from a pack of ghouls (3). Scavo, the ghoul they’d freed (and tortured) earlier, told them that he wasn’t such a big fan of goblin flesh after all…

The 5 ghouls caught up with the 2 they were pursuing, but the cleric of Tymora intervened and his Turn Undead sent 3 of them sprinting wildly the way they came. The PCs had no intention to let them go however and they used their (always efficient) ranged attacks to mow down the flesh-eating monsters.

Scavo attempted a pathetic plea for mercy (yet again) and Philleas the bard responded with the quote of the day: « indeed, I know, i know, I totally agree, it’s just a big misunderstanding », then he lopped the ghoul’s head off…

A Giggle in the Dark

Now near exhaustion from back-to-back fights, the PCs  saw goblin scribblings on the trees that Lucky deciphered as a warning to Batiri, that further ahead laid a dangerous area. That certainly posed a conundrum, it would mean a place away from the goblins but at what risk? What if whatever it was that rendered this area dangerous for the goblins proved too lethal for the depleted adventurers? They tried their luck…

But what was that they heard? A giggle? (4)

They were fortunate to have stumbled (5) into the territory of a friendly and somewhat over-excited Dryad. After some chatter to satisfy the socially-starved fey, the PCs could finally have a decent rest. Next day, after offering them a delicious breakfast of berries and nectar, the dryad asked if they could solve a problem of hers: a burrowing monster was damaging the nearby trees’ roots to her great dismay. She had gifts for them if they would be so kind…

Acid-Spitting Giant Centipede!

The PCs accepted gladly. Following her advice, they baited the monster with dead animals placed near its lair. The thing did showed itself and combat ensued (6). The well-rested adventurers had many tools at their disposal. The Tabaxi blinded the (Large) Centipede with a special arrow. The beast’s tremorsense couldn’t detect the levitating Kalohan, Shin perched on a branch, nor Corpos and Lucky whom were too far. It left the tough Goro-Tso and nimble Philleas as targets. It did managed to grab the bard between its fearsome mandibles, grievously wounding him, but it soon succumbed under the combined onslaught of its attackers.

The Dryad was overjoyed with this victory and gave the PCs well-crafted bows and magic mu-ngyengyue bracelets.

DM’s Notes

  1. I’m a bit cruel with my arachnophobe sister…
  2. The Mantis Warrior was waiting patiently and wished to make a deal with the PCs. He never had the chance! It just didn’t happen the way I planned…
  3. A player that is late is very often the cause of such a dissonant scene, whereas his character oddly re-appear just like that…
  4. Okay, turns out that  I’m totally inept at giggling! Ha! Ha!
  5. Lenient DM
  6. Took an ankheg from the monster manual and pimped it a little.

A note on Myconids

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Monsters, mushrooms, musings, Roleplaying Game, RPG, world-building , ,

27. sovereign basidia (2015) - out of the abyss

I don’t think I’ve ever used myconids, but that’s something I want to remediate soon enough. However, if I were to stick to D&D canon lore (which I won’t), myconids are supposed to be found exclusively in the underdark, the subterranean world home to the iconic drow. This was set in stone, so to speak, by Gary Gigax’s D1-2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth (1e), which of course, borrowed heavily on established hollow earth fiction (Jules Verne’s Voyage au centre de la Terre). More to the point, Gigax also borrowed the myconids, which were created in the earlier module  A4 In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords, which was an subteranean adventure (mostly) but in no way deep in the bowels of the earth-subteranean.

shrooms

They belong on the surface!

Leaving the myconids out of most of the more typical (surface) encounters is both sad and needless, in my opinion. Put in any setting, the potential is just mind-blowing…

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Deathbloom Thallid (MtG), perfect for a Chult campaign conversion

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sporecap_spider

A note on Batiri Goblins

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Ruins of chult campaign ,

Most intelligent creatures in Chult fear the
Batiri. They are relentless trackers, skilled in
jungle lore and the use of the bow and spear.

That comes from the Jungles of Chult (1993). That makes sense, I mean, the Batiri have been in Chult for a long time, in the middle of friggin‘ Dinosaurland! They have to be some tough little buggers!

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Art: Raph Lomotan

They’ll have some annoying tricks too!

  • poisoned arrows
  • jagged arrows
  • snares, nets, exploding spores, etc.
  • steeds & pets: giant wasps, troodons, giant mantis, spiders, bats, etc.
  • shoot & hide tactics (hide as a bonus action) is PERFECT for jungle warfare

Batiri Tribes (homebrewed)

Canopy Drummers

Live on tree platforms, at least 100′ above ground. They have an alliance with the Dwarves of the Pick & Axe co.

Steeds/Pets: Giant Spiders, Spider Swarms,

Favorite tricks: poisoned javlins, spider riders, spider swarm descending from trees, poisoned arrows, velociraptor ambush, snares, pits

Black Stripes (Tasloï)

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Live in dug hole and giant hollow trees. The Black Stripes have an alliance with treants, for their mutual benefit.

Steeds & Pets: Giant Wasps

Favorite tricks: poisoned javlins, waspriders, pits

Wandering Tremors

Live on top of large dinosaurs. No fixed territory. Constant warfare with other tribes which they bully for tribute.

Steeds & Pets: all kind of dinosaurs

Favorite tricks: triceratop charger, brontosaur « fortress » with 20 batiri on it

Mystic Creepers (Kuro)

Live in round wood and hay huts. Have a long and strong tradition of shamanism. Learned magic long ago from a wizard with his soul trapped in a gem.

Steeds & Pets: Giant Centipedes, Giant Ants

Favorite tricks: entangle spell, ensnaring strike spell, shoot immobilized foes from distance, spore bombs

Egg Stealers

Live in temporary huts. Far ranging hunter-gatherers. Even more adept than other batiri at stealth.

Steeds & Pets: troodon mounts

Favorite tricks: jagged arrows, ambushed archers, hit & run troodon lancer

Session 10c – Ossuary of the Eyeless Ones

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, jeux de rôles, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Ruins of chult campaign

The rogue would have been useful in the first true trap-filled dungeon of the campaign but he’s dead now…

Characters

  • Flyzus, Wood Elf Ranger (hunter), Outlander; sole survivor of his tribe after an orc invasion
  • Rufb, Half-Orc Barbarian (berserker), Mercenary Veteran; captured by pterafolks, his fellow mercenaries killed, seeks riches and glory
  • Leioppe (NPC), Grippli, Martial Artist (Volo’s: template); level-headed frogman, member of the Order of the Infinite Leap

Twisted Tricks of Blind Racists

Into the crypts of a long-dead culture of eyeless humanoids (1), the main gimmick was that the traps were all clearly visible to the PCs. How to evade them though, that was way less clear… A room where they had to step on the pressure plates on the floor. A room where their own shadows attacked them until they closed their eyes. Stuff like that. (Sorry, didn’t took enough notes!).

Hall of Bones and Horrible Statues

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A long hall bordered with rows of ominous, eyeless statues at either side. The floor is littered with countless bones. When the PCs step in, skeletons get up and attack. More and more of them. They had to get past the dark-energy filled statues with their eyes closed while fending off the waves of living bones. Not an easy feat but they managed to do it with only a few light wounds.

Exit

After some enthusiastic grave-robbing and mummy-killing the PCs arrived at the end of the dungeon. A door, with a sliver of light coming through, was barely visible amidst a wall made of bones. The central piece of the wall, a girallon skeleton, detached itself and attacked them but they didn’t have much trouble dispatching the monster.

Forbidden Valley

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While the PCs had a well-earned rest, Flyzus’ new pseudodragon pet (2) was put to good use as it surveyed the enclosed valley from the air (3). With a good idea of where to go the refreshed adventurers were happy to leave the crypts and explore the lush valley. The signs that an ancient civilization once flourished in the valley were almost erased, with the most visible being the central pyramid now little more than a big mound covered in vegetation. They found a few dead gripplis, presumably those that were sent to collect the cure before them. And they were found too, by a creature that seeked to accomplish its purpose even now that it was masterless: a chuul.

The cheap-d&d-version-of-some-well-known-lovecraftian-entity grabbed Leioppe but succumbed before the repeated assaults of Flyzus and Rufb.

Time to Collect

Collecting the medicinal plant after that could be done without further hassle (4).  The PCs had saved the frogmen and the pottery deal could now be respected. The Mud Shaman was chastised for his ill-fated bid for power and had to compensate the PCs for their troubles with some of his magic (5).

DM’s notes

  1. morlock/grimlock style
  2. homework: Félix will have to come up with a name for next session
  3. I rushed this part of this day-long session a lot so we could finish in time…
  4. return to Three Cascades, the grippli village, was conveniently fast-forwarded
  5. 3 gems of mud elemental summoning

Session 10b – Into the Pit

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Ruins of chult campaign

Characters

  • Flyzus, Wood Elf Ranger (hunter), Outlander; sole survivor of his tribe after an orc invasion
  • Rufb, Half-Orc Barbarian (berserker), Mercenary Veteran; captured by pterafolks, his fellow mercenaries killed, seeks riches and glory
  • Leioppe (NPC), Grippli, Martial Artist (Volo’s: template); level-headed frogman, member of the Order of the Infinite Leap

shaolin_monk_frog
art: Conor Nolan

The Pit

The PCs waited for night-time, as the ritual chants of the Gripplis would provide the opportunity to get to the pit whilst most of Bufo’s gang would be otherwise occupied. They cautiously approached, two burly (1) frogmen patrolled the area. Their newfound ally made a diversion so Flyzus and Rufb could get closer. Rufb then charged one guard and sent him tumbling down the pit.

The PCs then attacked the other guard (2), losing precious time. This led to Bufo the Mud Shaman intervening, summoning 4 mud mephits. Those were easily dispatched but then a more imposing mud elemental took shape before them. Flyzus and Rufb finally decided to go on with their mission and jumped in the pit. Leioppe followed.

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Mold Zombies

Below, the guard that was pushed was being overwhelmed by grippli zombies (3) but his pleas for help met indifference.  Rufb jumped over the dying frog and shoved multiple zombies aside, his companions close behind.

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The mud elemental messily got down too. Flyzus and Rufb sucessfully destroyed it while Leioppe did his best to lure the zombies away to give them space.

Killing about fifteen of these zombies was hard work once they turned their attention to it. They had to burn them (with oil and torches) or else they just kept coming.

Nearby, in a hard to get cave, the PCs found a group of survivors, infected gripplis that had not been transformed yet. There was hope for them still, but time was of the essence.

Another Mold Monster

Further through the caves, Rufb entered headlong into a tunnel infested with brown mold. That was painful… Aware of the danger now, the adventurers jumped from safe spot to another until they got pass the dangerous patch (4).

A few oozes later and less a short sword for the elf, they got before a massive disgusting pile of mold and half-dissolved grippli corpses, a Shambling Mound.

The poor Leioppe got grabbed and engulfed before he could do much. Fortunately, Flyzus and Rufb hacked the mold monster most efficiently and could get him out just in time before he was asphyxiated or crushed to death.

Through the Wall

After a short rest, the PCs pressed on but were soon faced with an obstacle: a precipice some 12 feet across and a brick wall the other side. They remembered something that Nesu the Skinless had said just before they left: « you will have to make the Blind Man’s Leap ».

-What the heck is that supposed to mean? asked Rufb.

The glass-skinned frogman had shrugged, palms up, in the universal « I’ve no idea ».

Well, here was a leap for sure but would they be so foolhardy to try it?

Nah… A lot better to throw a rock at the wall… Sure enough it seemed to become transparent, unreal.

So reassured they jumped across and through the illusory wall.  No problem, except (!) that Rufb let drop his gigormous axe in the chasm (5). Uh oh.

DM’s notes

  1. the fascinating morphic diversity of the frogs ought to be exploited more than just colors or whatnot
  2. they should have simply ignored him
  3. Flyzus could recognize from past experience that those were somewhat akin to vegepygmies
  4. for once they managed to not screw up their acrobatic checks!
  5. But wait! another 1! I mean, isn’t that amazing? It seemed a bit too cruel that Chris would lose 2 characters falling to their deaths in back to back sessions so, just the axe…