Sunday, November 5, 2023

Three Specters - The Land of Jo'Ril, Chapter 20


The party once again returns to the Tomb of the Lost Lich, where they barely escape the deadly touch of three specters!

We are playing Old School Essentials, which is another way of saying Basic D&D circa 1981.

The Party:

  • Arrn, level 3 magic user 
  • Wumpus, level 3 dwarf
  • Waverly, level 3 ranger
  • Andrew Price, level 3 cleric
  • Gordon Binghampton, level 4 cleric, out this week
  • Boots Stavish, level 1 half-elf
  • Hildetrude, a level 1 Halfling NPC hireling
  • Aerert, a charmed NPC man-at-arms
  • Alard Lacey, a charmed NPC man-at-arms

Here's a quick summary of their hex-crawl exploration of the land of Jo'Ril as generated by HEXROLL.

DM Note - Be aware, we are playing full-on tomb plunderers. We are aware of and deplore the real-world issues of colonialism, cultural theft, etc. We are role-playing characters and situations with different cultural mores and norms than our own. This is not an endorsement on our part for such behavior in the real world. 

After resting overnight at the Wight and Crying Queen Inn, the party reunited with Gordon Binghampton and returned to the Tomb of the Lost Lich, this time without Boots.

1. Random Spitting Cobra killed Aerert.

2. 3 Specters. The door was cold and stuck. Forcing it open revealed a chill room. The partyh's breath was visible. Two ruby hearts were placed on iron bars atop an altar. Three warriors had commited ritual suicide before the altar. Wumpus took the hearts and triggered three specters to arise from the bodies. The doors magically slammed shut. Wumpus forced open the east door. The party fled from the deadly specters. Gordon Binghampton lost a shield to one of the specters. The party escaped, closing the door behind them. The specters did not pursue.

3. Dead Goblin. Room full of cages large enough to transport humanoids. A dead goblin lie on the floor. Looting the body revealed stolen expensive jewelry.

4. Random Pit Viper. Room with a large bear rug. The body of a dead human lie on the rug. Andrew Price searched the body, revealing a hidden pit viper! The pit viper struck, somehow ruining Price's shield. The party retreated from the body, leaving the pit viper alone.

Wumpus scouted the next room to the east and spotted some coffins and a ceiling covered in bats. He quietly returned, whisphered what he had found, told the others to remain silent, and that they would be leaving to the south.

5. A Stuck Door that no one could open and a fruitless investigation of the dead end hoping to find a secret door.

6. Encountered Waverly (who's player had just shown up).

7. An Old Laboratory, used for the exsanguination of victims. On the floor was the body of an orc. Looting the body revealed 210 gp, two gems worth 110 gp, and a useable pole.

8. An Old Library with a barrel on the north wall. Wumpus opened the barrel, breaking a gas-filled bladder that spread poion in a 10-foot radius. Wumpus coughed but survived. (Wumpus saved vs poison). The barrel contained 200 gp.

9. 18 Rats. A small shrine with 18 rats feasting on the corpse of a goblin. The rats were quickly killed. The goblin had two small gems worht 36gp sewn into its eye sockets. 

10. A Known Room. A locked door revealed this room, covered in rose petals. They had been here before. They exited to the east.

11. Mushrooms. A room covered in green and purple bioluminescent mushrooms. A dragon skull sat in a large basin surrounded by cloves of garlic. A large bag lay in the corner. Wumpus carefully avoided the mushrooms and retrieved the bag with his 10-foot-pole. The bag contained custom-fit armor bearing the seal of House Solomon. The party took the dragon skull and the garlic. No mushrooms were eaten.

12. Strange Vines grew over an arch. The vines contained hanging fruit resembling dark red jellied eggs. Each fruit contained the dark form of a tiny humanoid creature. Bits of flesh and bowls of blood were left as offerings around the plant. The dead body of an orc lay sprawled at its base. One of the eggs fell to the floor, bursting. The tiny monstrous creature rolled over and crawled towards the flesh and began to feed. 

Waverly said, "NOPE! Burn it with oil! ALL the oil! I'm using all my remaining flasks of oil!" The others followed suit, burning the vine as the eggs popped with tiny hideous screams.

The body had 10 gp, a dagger, and a key.

13. An Old Torture Chamber, the floor covered in blue and red bioluminescent mushrooms. Searching a shelf revealed a key.

14. 25 Rats. A Library, the books rotten and useless. A crate on the west wall contained 220 gp. A concealed door in the southwest revealed a secret room filled with rats. The rats were quickly killed. A goat skull hung on the wall. Hidden within the skull was a key.

15. Prisoner. A locked door opened by one of their keys. A room containing a prisoner - Gebehrt Wanthilde, nephew of Milia Wanthilde from Arkon. Andrew Rice pushed a crate on the north wall with his 10-foot pole, activating a trap causing heavy stones in the ceiling to fall. The crate contained 40 gp.

16. 9 Kobolds. A room filled with kobolds carving graffiti onto the walls. The kobolds were as surprised by the party as they were by the kobolds. The kobolds scurried into defensive positions, waiting to see what the party would do. Wumpus attempted unsuccessfully to communicate with them, eventually resorting to pointing and waving his hands. They got the message and evacuated the room via the door to the east. Wumpus saw them approach a set of wooden stairs down the corridor. They avoided the stairs and instead climbed the sheer wall to escape. 

The room was otherwise filled with small cages, large enough for children, goblins, or halflings. 

17. 5 Goblins. While searching the room, a concealed door opened in the southwest corner. Goblin faced peeked out to see if the coast was clear. Upon seeing the party they quickly closed the door. 

The party formed around the door. Wumpus quickly determiend how the door opened, revealing five goblins which were quickly dispatched - but not before causing some serious wounds to the party.

The goblins carried 5 gp. A pile of bones in the corner of the secret room contained a key. 

18. Secret Door. While carefully examining the utilitarian wooden stairs, Wumpus found the words "Darkened Heart" painted on the ceiling. Litera noticed a symbolic heart carved into the wall nearby. 

19. 36 Rats. While touching the heart, they said "Darkened Heart", revealing a concealed chamber. The chamber was filled with rats, which Arrn put to sleep with a spell. Inside were 4 gems worth 180 gp. 

DM Note- when using sleep vs. 1 hp rats, I had Arrn's player roll the number of HD = 9, Then roll 9d8 to determine how many 1 HP rats he put to sleep.

20. 3 Spitting Cobras. Wumpus and Waverly returned to searching the stairs. Wumpus became impatient and climbed the stairs, triggering the attack of three hidden cobras! Wumpus was bitten once but survived the poison (Wumpus saved vs. poison).

Arrn put the snakes to sleep with a spell and the party left the dungeon. 

They returned to the Wight and Crying Queen Inn to rest and recover. 

DM Note- Andrew Price and Godron Binghampton leveled. 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment