Zero-Level Funnels for AD&D

One of the fun things about Dungeon Crawl Classics is the idea of the funnel for zero-level characters. The premise is that you create four to eight zero-level characters almost completely at random and run them through a tough meat-grinder of a dungeon. Whoever survives becomes your player character.

One can easily apply the same premise to AD&D. The AD&D module N4 Treasure Hunt from 1986 is essentially a funnel! Within this module, you create a zero-level character, get washed up on a remote island, and over the course of the adventure you answer the call of a character class.

I present here a generic recapitulation of the rules presented in that module which can be used to simulate DCC style funnels in AD&D.

Creating a Zero-Level Character

Abilities
The player rolls 3d6 for each of your abilities, in order. The Dungeon Master may allow alternative methods at his or her discretion.

Race
The player chooses one of the races in the Player's Handbook, or another race at the Dungeon Master's discretion. Modify abilities accordingly.

• Human (no modifiers)
• Dwarf (Constitution +1, Charisma -1)
• Elf (Dexterity +1, Constitution -1)
• Gnome (no modifiers)
• Half-Elf (no modifiers)
• Half-Orc (Strength +1, Constitution +1, Charisma -2)
• Halfling (Strength -1, Dexterity +1)

 Alignment
All zero-level characters are neutral. The player will choose an alignment when the character reaches first level.

Hit Points
Zero-level characters have 1d6 hit points. These hit points will be re-rolled when the character reaches first level.

Optional Hit Point Method (One I Made Up)
Alternatively, each zero-level character may belong to one of three "proto-classes". These proto-classes determine your starting hit points and will restrict the player's choice of class at first level.

• Sedentary: You lead a comfortable sedentary life. Perhaps you are a scribe, merchant, librarian, acolyte, high-born noble, or other such member of the upper class. You start with 1d4 hit points. At first level, you can choose any class for which you qualify.
• Active: You live an active life. Perhaps you are a carpenter or artisan, a servant, a sailor, or perhaps you were a ne'er-do-well or street tough. You start with 1d4+1 hit points. At first level, you may choose any class save Magic User.
• Laborer: You live a life the requires much physical activity. Perhaps you were a worker, a town guard, a ditch-digger, a farmer, or low-ranking soldier. You start with 1d4+2 hit points. At first level, you may choose any fighter class.

Languages
All zero-level characters speak the common tongue and the tongue of their race.

Background
The player rolls on the following table to determine your career to this point. The Dungeon Master may substitute alternative tables at his or her discretion.

Dice Score	Result
1-2	Armorer
3-4	Bowyer/fletcher
5-10	Former/gardener
11-14	Fisher (netting)
15-20	Forester
21-23	Gambler
24-27	Hunter/fisher (hook and line)
28-32	Husbandman (animal husbandry)
33-34	Jeweler/lapidary
35-37	Leather worker/tanner
38-39	Limner/painter
40-42	Mason/carpenter
43-44	Miner
45-46	Navigator (fresh or salt water)
47-49	Sailor (fresh or salt)
50-51	Shipwright (boats or ships)
52-54	Tailor/weaver
55-57	Teamster/freighter
58-60	Trader/barterer
61-64	Trapper/furrier
65-67	Woodworker/cabinetmaker
68-85	NO SKILL OF MEASURABLE WORTH
86-00	ROLL TWICE IGNORING THIS RESULT HEREAFTER

Weapon Proficiencies
All zero-level characters are proficient in a single weapon. Choose one of the following: dagger, dart, quarterstaff. Characters suffer -5 penalty when using any other weapon.

A zero-level character can learn one additional weapon during play after using that weapon in two combats. However, learning an additional weapon prevents the character from becoming a magic user.

Equipment
A zero-level character begins play with a staff, club, hand-axe, or dagger (choose one), and 2d3x10 gold pieces to purchase equipment.

Experience Points
Zero-level characters begin play with -500 experience points.

First Level
Once a zero-level character earns 500 XP, putting them at zero total XP, they advance to first level. At this point, the player selects a class for which the character's abilities qualify and rolls new hit points. The new hit points override the original zero-level hit points.

"Return to the Temple of Pain and Suffering" Chapter 22 of the Xanthus River Campaign

This week the entire gang takes up arms to assault the Temple of Adhinatta. While the town guard occupy the main entrance, the party sneaks in through the secret back door. They make their way to the temple chambers and confront the guardians of penitent suffering!

Our party this week consists of:
Player Characters

• Ser Valerius, Defender of Justica (Level 4 Human Paladin)
• Absolom, Curate of Justica (Level 4 Human Cleric)
• Jalani, Curate of Amun-Tor (Level 4 Human Cleric)
• Gwen, Archer of the Otherworld (Level 3 Elf Fighter)
• Biscuit, Footpad/Minor Trickster (Level 2 Gnome Thief/Illusionist)
• Thaddeus, Stider of Swallow (Level 2 Human Ranger)

Henchmen

• Babu the Conjurer (Level 3 Human Magic User)
• Knott the Axeman (Level 3 Human Fighter)
• Brown Tom the Warrior (Level 2 Human Fighter, Squire of Valerius)

Hirelings

• Clench (Human Mercenary Heavy Infantryman)
• Squat (Human Mercenary Heavy Infantryman)
• Push (Human Mercenary Heavy Infantryman)
• "War Dog" (Valerius' War Dog)

When we last left our party, Thaddeus and Babu had successfully infiltrated the ruins of Leggach, the new home of the pilgrims of Adhinatta, god of penitence and absolution from Kalmath west of the Great Wall mountains. They had rescued Blue Tom, son of Black Tom, leader of the Path of Fear and Thunder criminal syndicate, and led a revolt of the converts that had become enslaved by the priests. During their escape, Thaddeus had been felled by crossbows and had to be carried back by Babu.

Justice

The sun rose as Babu reunited with Brown Tom in the forest and together they carried Blue Tom and Thaddeus, both infirm, back to the boarding house that had been rented by the party for the month. Babu woke everyone and asked them to gather in the common room. So gathered, Babu informed the party of the events of the previous night as well as the activities of the priests of Adhinatta. Together, the party formulated their course of action. 

First, they took Blue Tom and Thaddeus to the temple of Justicia. The visibly annoyed Zhamach denied any healing beyond the most basic care for Blue Tom and Thaddeus but did agree to give them sanctuary within the temple. 

The party left the temple of Justicia and proceeded to the barracks of the city guard. There they met Yano, captain of the guard. The captain listened to their story and showed genuine concern. He had been distrustful of the priests of Adhinatta since they arrived a little over a month ago and had been looking for any reason to take action against them. Thus far, they had broken no laws and had made several influential friends among the patrician class. Now he had cause to move against them. He sent a messenger to the archon to obtain formal approval for action. 

Meanwhile, Thaddeus asked an acolyte of Justicia to carry him over to the temple of Thumina, goddess of the moon. The acolyte did so and Thaddeus soon had an audience with the priestesses of that order. Thumina was also the goddess of healing and rest and as luck would have it, the high priestess of Thumina happened to be in town, visiting from Thither. Thaddeus made a significant sacrifice to the goddess and was, in turn, rewarded with a miracle, he was completely healed of his recent injuries!  Reinvigorated, he rushed to the citadel to rejoin the rest of the party.

With an official written warrant from the archon, the party, backed by twenty men of the city guard, moved against the priests of Adhinatta!

The city guard were to serve as a diversion, surrounding the ruins of Leggach and occupying any defenders on the surface. The party, meanwhile, would search for the secret entrance to the dungeons beneath the ruins via the river. The party boarded a large river boat and scoured the shore. Thaddeus the ranger soon found the entrance concealed by some rocks and low-hanging branches. The tunnel appeared to be a natural cave but was large enough to admit their boat if they crouched low.

Commando Raid!
They cautiously made their way into the flooded cave. When the cave branched, they took a left. After snaking through the watery passage for several hundred feet, they emerged into a large natural cavern with several passages as exits. The far half of the cave rose out of the water. In the far corner they spied a door in a man-made entrance. They disembarked and climbed the sloping cave floor to the entrance, 

The party explored the corridor, a series of ascending stairs. They were stopped by a heavy door, swollen shut from centuries of disuse. They forced it open, knowing that this was not the supply route that Thaddeus was looking for but confident the way would lead into the dungeon anyway. 

The room was an ancient prison with a deep shaft at its center and a shaft in the ceiling which had become plugged with debris. They explored a side door and discovered a series of prison cells filled with the skeletons of those left to die. They entered and explored the room. An unseen force slammed the door shut behind them and pulled a lever opening all the cells. The skeletons rose and advanced on the party. Absolom, however, easily turned the skeletons back with a display of his holy symbol. Valerius forced the door open and the party retreated. An anguished spectral scream echoed futilely through the ancient passages. 

The party took a different exit and found two long-abandoned rooms, both with deep pits. Within one room was a pit with the skeleton of a winged humanoid chained to the floor. The pit in the other room was empty. 

Taking another exit, they followed a winding passage that opened onto a platform overlooking a storage room, a room known to Thaddeus from his brief recconnaisance beneath the quarry. The party began climbing the ladder in the wide shaft that led to the quarry.

Trap!

On the way up, they noticed a deep room cut into the shaft like a wide nook. At the end of the nook was the statue of a torso wearing fine chain mail. Two bracers lay crossed before the armor and a wand was placed on a silk pillow. Confident that the items were an obvious trap, they sent Biscuit the thief to investigate. Biscuit made it look easy as he identified the drop-away floor, purposefully and safely triggering it, and disabling the trap so that it would not reset. The floor, however, was stuck open leaving a ten-foot gap all around the armor. Biscuit easily climbed the wall and recovered the heirlooms. No time was wasted identifying the items, they were placed in the bag of holding for later.

They party continued up, through the now empty quarry, through the slave barracks, and up the ladder to the secret room. Valerius led the way, his war-dog suspended by a harness on his back. 

At the top the ladder, Valerius found that the room was no secret. A temple acolyte, armed with nothing but a dagger, was guarding the ladder and sounded the alarm. Valerius rushed up and disengaged his war-dog's harness. Valerius charged into battle followed by the rest of the party. The small force of acolytes and priests guarding the door were quickly cut down by Valerius but not before one of the priests opened the great carven doors to the temple to shout his warning. 

The Temple Guardians

The large temple within was a chamber of horrors. Dozens of worshippers hung naked and suspended by hooked chains, their flesh flayed from their bodies, their blood collected in chalices placed under them. Their moans of pain and suffering creating a droning hymn to their evil god. Each of them showed signs of repeated torture and healing. 

The party was met by seventeen zombies, the reanimated bodies of the acolytes and guards who were killed the night before. The zombies, in turn, were led by two mighty warriors, one clad in resplendent splint-mail armor and carrying an axe. The other was naked save for two bracers, a helmet, and a spear. Each of the warriros was, in turn, supported by a temple priest.

Knott, Jilani, and Babu on the left flank; Valerius, Gwen and Absolom on the right flank

Absolom and Jilani easily turned back the zombies, leaving only the warriors. Babu's sleep spell was wasted against the naked warrior as they both charged to attack. Jilani was able to paralyze the naked warrior with a holy prayer while Babu immobilized the armored warrior with a magical web spell. The party focused on killing the naked warrior before the paralysis wore off and soon discovered that mundane weapons had no effect on them! Magical weapons were brought to bear and the warrior was soon killed. They then eliminated the two priests. Finally, they released the armored warrior from the webbing and ganged up on him with magical weapons. Even outnumbered so, the warrior was a fierce combatant, but eventually died before their onslaught.

Valerius, Gwen, and Absolom

 

After the battle, Valerius turned to the zombies, destroying each one in turn until they were all eliminated.

TO BE CONTINUED!

Next week, the party explores the rest of the temple area, hunting the high priestess in order to put an end to the evil of Adhinatta!

After Thoughts

Instead of playing out the final battle with the zombies, Trevor (Thaddeus' player) and Scott (Valerius' player) did the math, comparing damage per round and determinning how many rounds it would take for Valerius, alone, to reach the forgone conclusion of destroying all the zombies, and how much damage he should expect to take as a result. Instead of playing it out, I just had Valerius take that much damage (19 pointns).

By the way, here's how Thaddeus got around the week of down-time after having been reduced to zero hit points.

Trevor's plan was to pay for a priest to cast Heal, a fifth level spell that restores 5d4 hit points and eliminates the one week downtown from a near-death experience. Unfortunately, Heal requires a tenth level caster and I told Trevor there were no tenth level clerics in Swallow. However, I am a benevolent overlod and said he could have a 1-in-6 change there'd be a visiting high priestess from Thither. Die roll. 1 of course. Of course, she's only visiting so she won't be there in the future. They'll have to go to Thither for that spell.

"The Temple of Pain and Suffering" Chapter 21 of the Xanthus River Campaign

This week, Thaddeus and Babu delve into the Ruins of the Monastery of Leggach to take on the cult of Adhinatta, the god of pain and suffering, in order to rescue Blue Tom, son of the local crime lord.

Our party this week:

• Thaddeus, Strider (Level 2 Human Ranger) 
• Babu, Conjurer (Level 3 Human Magic User)

Thaddeus, spent the previous week learning what he could about the disappearance of Blue Tom, the son of Black Tom, infamous leader of the Path of Fear and Thunder criminal gang in Swallow.

The Cult of Adhinatta
He learned that Blue Tom had joined the cult of Adhinatta, the god of pain and suffering from the wastelands northwest of the Great Wall Mountains.

Thaddeus consulted with Princess Murti and Babu, both natives of the "Exotic Lands Beyond the Wastes", regarding the cult. The princess described the cult as secretive and decadent. They profess a philosophy that sins are absolved through penitent suffering. Through pain, self-mutilation, and flagellation, one will be forgiven for all sins, and for the sins of all mankind.

They recruit devotees through a kind of magic that is not magic: a charm built on pretty words. Publically, they appeal to the poor and hopeless with promises of absolution of sins. Privately, and secretly, they appeal to the wealthy and the nobility with promises of forbidden decadence and pleasures of the flesh.

She knows not why they travelled to Swallow or why they purchased the ruins atop the bald knob of Leggach.

Thaddeus knew, however, that since the arrival in Swallow of the eighty or so pilgrims about two months ago, the cult had secured over two hundred recruits. All who joined were taken within the rubble walls of the ruins atop the bald knob. Only a handful have been seen since.

The monastery ruins that they purchased once belonged to the Monks of Leggach. Little is known of this ancient order other than they ceased to exist when the Empire of Agartha fell over a thousand years ago. Their monastery, like most of the architecture in and around Swallow and the upper Xanthus river valley, was designed and constructed the squat race known as the Daro (dwarves).

In the past month, it was clear that construction was happening atop the bald knob. The cult was rebuilding the monastery with the labor of the new recruits.

Brown Tom
Late one night, well past midnight, Thaddeus and Babu spied Brown Tom sneaking away from the boarding house. They followed her down to the draw-bridge, which she bribed a guard to lower so she might cross. They followed her across and caught up to her in the woods.

She was planning to sneak into the ruined monastery and rescue her brother. Thaddeus and Babu stopped her and told her to wait here in the woods. They would reconnoiter the monastery and find her brother. Thaddeus knew Blue Tom and would recognize him on sight. They asked Brown Tom for a token, something that would show Blue Tom that they came at his sister's behest. She gave them a small object that would serve the purpose.

They pair told Brown Tom they would return with her brother if they could, or come back and summon the rest of the party for further action. If they did not return to this spot by dawn, Brown Tom was to return to town and consult the rest of the party. Brown Tom agreed to the plan.

Babu then cast invisibility on himself and on Thaddeus. Each then held onto the end of a long thread so they could would not be separated. The pair then crawled over the partially-reconstructed ruined wall and entered the monastery grounds.

The Ruins of Leggach
Within were some small living structures for a handful of guards and a stable for the draft animals. About twenty guards patrolled the grounds or stood watch in the newly re-built flanking towers or stood watch atop scaffolding inside the shell of the ruined keep tower.

The Ruins of Leggach

 They entered the ruins of the monastery itself. The ruins primarily consisted of foundation walls and lacked a roof or upper floors. The pair trod cautiously, noting the neat piles of stones and construction scaffolding, and also that many of the stones were freshly quarried. They reached the center of the tower without incident and found a large shaft descending into the old bald knob. From cranes built of stout timbers hung chains attached to winches and large buckets. Iron ladder rungs were hammered
into the sides of the shaft. Thaddeus and Babu descended into the darkness.

The pair found a ledge that led into a cavern while the shaft continued to descend. There they found a wooden boardwalk path leading through a cave. Unable to discern the depth of the cave in the darkness, and unwilling to light a torch, they returned to the shaft and continued down the ladder.

They eventually found bottom of the shaft. Confident that they were unobserved and in a relatively confined space, they lit torches. Though still invisible, the torches would be seen by others, so they explored slowly and carefully. The platform turned into winding stairs that descended into the earth.

They were in a multi-level subterranean complex, constructed for human habitation by the Daro in a lost age. They explored softly and gently, preferring a quiet reconnaissance. They noted the utilitarian wooden door to their right, the ornate brass doors with bas relief depicting scenes of pain and torture leading to exaltation and salvation.

They explored a corridor that led to a mysterious pit filled with spikes, over which hung two dangling chains. Unwilling to swing by the chains, they chose another passage. It led to ascending stairs that ended in a collapsed ceiling.

Down another passage they found a ladder that ascended into a shaft. At the top of the shaft was an unworked cave with a wooden boardwalk path. They followed the boardwalk path to a stone platform. Cranes lifted stones from a deep shaft. They climbed down a ladder into the shaft and found another platform.

The Quarry
This platform overlooked a deep crevice, a cleft in the earth forty to fifty feet across, over a hundred feet wide, and several hundred feet deep. Chains hung from pulleys attached to the roof of the crevice. Winches at the bottom of the crevice raised and lowered massive buckets filled with stone. Stone ledges were caved into the wall at several levels. Wooden scaffolding and ladders clung to the walls of the crevice. Far below, dozens of people were quarrying rock and loading it into the buckets. Masked overseers cracked whips and scourges at any laborer who paused in their work. Each of the laborers wore ankle chains that inhibited their movement and were chained together. They were enslaved!

The pair clung to a length of chain and descended to one of the lower ledges where they disembarked and explored another passage, which they soon discovered to be the other end of the spiked pit. Voices approached and they clung cautiously to the wall and placed their torch in a nearby wall sconce. Guards came forth carrying some kind of gang-plank. The gang-plank was attached via hooks to the dangling chains, allowing the guards to safely cross the spiked pit.

The guards looked over the precipice to examine above and below. Finding nothing, they retreated the direction they came, taking the gang-plank with them, to the chagrin of Thaddeus who realized too late they could have used it to cross the pit while the guards were looking the other way.

Soon afterwards, Thaddeus and Babu spied a small group of robed initiates carrying candles exiting through a secret door just past the pit trap and cross to the passage with the ladder. Curious.

The pair returned to the quarry and descended the network of ladders and scaffolding to the lower ledge. They paused and looked to see if any of the workers was Blue Tom. None were.

Slave Quarters
The quarry itself reached further into the bowels of the earth, its true extent unknown. At the lower ledge, they took a passage that led to a large room filled with over a hundred slaves, all sleeping in a common room bound to each other by chains and manacles. A raised platform was set aside for the overseers, all of whom seemed to be sleeping or dozing at the moment. A small lantern provided dim illumination.

They gingerly crept through the sleeping throng checking for Blue Tom. Not finding him, they explored a passage that led down some twisting stairs. Once out of view, they cautiously lit another torch  and descended, only to find a dead end. The pair spent forty minutes trying to find a secret door but to no avail. They doused their torch and returned to the sleeping room.

Thaddeus carefully removed the keys from the belt of the drowsy overseer and one of the unlit lanterns and opened the locked door at the rear of the overseers' platform. Once beyond the door, they found themselves in complete darkness. Confident they were alone, they lit the lantern. They were in a small room with a ladder leading up and another door. Behind the door was a room filled with over a dozen sleeping cultists, none of whom appeared to be slaves or bound against their will.

At the rear of the room was a small natural passage. The pair explored the passage which led to a false wall. Moving the wall aside, they found themselves inside a barred prison cell. Beyond the bars was a shaft filled with five levels of dark but occupied prison cells.

Guards
They retreated the way they came and climbed the ladder. The ladder led to a secret room with a false door through which they saw the initiates exit earlier. Outside they heard guards, speaking the incomprehensible language from beyond the wastes.

Luckily, Babu is of those people and knew what they were saying.

"We have searched all levels and found no intruders, sir."

"The mistress has sensed them. They are here! Search again! Find them!"

"As you command!"

The guards then split up once more.

Babu waited for the guards to leave and told Thaddeus what he heard. They doused the lantern and carefully exited through the secret door. Every torch in every sconce was now lit. They crept invisibly past the brass doors, and used their stolen keys to open the utilitarian door.

The Chamber of Penitent Excruciation
Within they found a chamber filled with instruments of pain and torture. A fat priest wearing nothing but a leather apron was busy mutilating a bound subject, cutting them, removing strips of skin, inserting long needles into muscles, etc.

A winch was connected to a platform suspended by a chain through a pulley in the ceiling. The platform could descend into a large shaft in the floor. The shaft contained the five levels of prison cells observed earlier. The torturer was absorbed by his work and failed to notice the door open and close as the invisible intruders continued into another room.

One of the half-dozen guards in the next room, however, did notice the door open and close. He immediately called out, "The door! The intruders, they must be invisible! Search every corner! Prod with your weapons!"

The pair quickly moved through into an adjoining room and managed to avoid detection. They were in the guard barracks, which were now empty as every guard had been awakened for the search. In the next room, they found several warriors, some sleeping, one awake at a desk, studying a scroll. They retreated to the abandoned guard room to quietly discuss their options.

After a quick conference, they executed their plan.

The Soft Probe Goes Hard
They waited for the guards, satisfied that no invisible intruders were in the torture chamber, to leave. They then rushed in and killed the torturer, cancelling their invisibility. After hurling his corpse down the shaft, Babu manned the winch while Thaddeus descended the shaft on the platform. Thaddeus found Blue Tom huddling the back of one of the cells.

Blue Tom had been mutilated nearly beyond recognition. His lips had been cut away, his face and body scarred, and his right hand had been removed. Blue Tom recognized Thaddeus and begged for help. He said he had made a horrible mistake, that the wealthy initiates were rewarded and made acolytes while the poor ones were enslaved and forced to work in the quarry. The slaves that resisted were punished, imprisoned here and tortured for the pleasure of the priests and the wealthy acolytes.

Thaddeus called Babu to climb down the chain and the trio escaped through the secret door in one of the cells. They snuck into the room of the acolytes and killed every one of them in their sleep. They then crossed over to the platform of the overseers. The drowsing overseer was now fully awake. He was killed before he could rouse the other overseers, all of whom soon joined him in death.

Freeing the Slaves
Thaddeus then ran into the quarry room in order to get the attention of the overseers. Having done so, he led them back to the corridor and to the slave room. Thaddeus slew each in turn as they rounded the corner and Babu felled the remainder with arrows as they ran down the corridor.

The commotion of battle woke the slaves and Thaddeus and Babu began unlocking their manacles, distributing the multiple sets of keys they now possessed among the slaves. They slaves, now armed with mining implements, were beginning to become unruly. Thaddeus called for one among their number to act as leader and spokesperson. He asked the spokesperson to organize the slaves and prepare for an escape. While that was being done, Thaddeus quickly returned to the crevice and climbed a ladder down to a lower level, where he found a store-room and stairs leading into the darkness and heard the lapping of water. He promptly returned to the slave room.

The Great Escape
The slaves were now somewhat organized. Thaddeus told the spokesperson to lead the slaves up the ladder, across the corridor, and up the other ladder to the cave, then follow the boardwalk path to the final ladder and up to the surface. Thaddeus and Babu would lead the way and hold off the guards. With that, everyone started up the ladder in a huge line.

At the top of the ladder, Thaddeus and Babu encountered a half-dozen guards led by the officer they saw reading before, now fully clad in armor and carrying an ornately carved spear. Thaddeus and Babu held off the guards while the slaves filed across the hall and up the second ladder.

Babu cast a spell that put the guards to sleep while Thaddeus took on the officer who was unaffected. After a fierce battle, the officer was slain and Thaddeus took the spear. Thaddeus and Babu then hurried up the stairs to the third ladder and slew some more guards. They then climbed to the surface ahead of the escaping slaves. Babu fired his crossbow at the crossbowmen on the scaffolding while Thaddeus engaged guards on the ground.

Babu

During the ensuing melee, Thaddeus was felled by a lucky shot. Babu cast a spell to put the remaining guards to sleep then rushed to Thaddeus' aid. Babu had one of the escaping slaves take Blue Tom while Babu threw Thaddeus over his shoulder. The mass of people scurried over the debris of the half-reconstructed wall and fled down the hill to the safety of the trees. Many of the escaping slaves were cut down by guards or were slain by archers on the towers, but the mass of them successfully escaped.


TO BE CONTINUED!

After Thoughts
I originally cancelled this week's game for lack of quorum. I had the quest up river to fight the Red Orcs in Flinch. However, Trevor and Lucinda talked me into running a side-quest for just them: they wanted to rescue Blue Tom! So at the last minute, I turned to the Ultimate Dungeon Delve at Wizardawn to create a random dungeon for the secret temple of the Cult of Adhinatta. The very first one I created is pictured above. I loved it. It was perfect. I created a few more just to see if I could get something better, but I didn't so I stuck with the first.


Temple Side-View (spoilers redacted)

I ignored the randomly generated dungeon denizens and filled the above with my own list. Here's my original notes.

(note - at the request of one my players, I have removed all spoilers)

1.       Ladder descends down shaft. Tunnel leads to caves.

2.       Caves with stirges (I changed this to being empty when I realized the slaves needed a safe way to carry the rock out of the quarry.
3.       Room with shaft. 
4.       Stairs to room with collapsed floor. Save vs. Paralysis or fall through floor. (again, I changed this so that the slaves had a route to the surface). SPOILERS REDACTED
5-10. Prison cells lined along vertical shaft, accessible only by elevator mechanism.
5.      Penitents
6.      Penitents
7.      Blue Tom
8.      Decadent penitents who can leave any time they wish through secret door
9.      SPOILERS REDACTED
10.    SPOILERS REDACTED
11.    SPOILERS REDACTED
12.    SPOILERS REDACTED
13.    SPOILERS REDACTED
14.    Platforms suspended by chains over deep chasm. Used in ancient days for quarry.
15.    SPOILERS REDACTED
16.    SPOILERS REDACTED
17.    SPOILERS REDACTED
18.    SPOILERS REDACTED
19.    SPOILERS REDACTED
20.    Stairs and ladder lead down to river access
21.    SPOILERS REDACTED
22.    SPOILERS REDACTED


Temple of Pain and Suffering with spoilers redacted

 During the dungeon, as they were mapping, Lucinda noted "this dungeon seems very two-dimensional, like an ant-colony". I blushed because, event though I tried to give the dungeon a Z-dimension on each level, they were right. The dungeon was pretty vertical.

I made some changes on the fly to accommodate their actions and some better ideas I had. For example, I realized during the game that the slaves had no way to move their stone up to the surface, so I changed the stirge cave to an empty cave and changed the collapsed floor room to a platform for lifting the stone out of the quarry. Suddenly, the dungeon made much more logical sense. There are still huge areas unexplored or undiscovered. There's an entire lower level they haven't been to yet, and the entire priest's quarters. I'm glad they didn't go in there because I didn't have any higher level NPCs statted out. I also just realized that I put the torturer in the same room as the winch. Oops. I totally forgot there was a separate torture chamber in SPOILER REDACTED.

Another nifty thing I did this week was the use of random encounters to ratchet up the tension. I keep close track of time, not only for torch life but also for random encounters. Every turns (10 minutes), I would make a d6 roll. On a 1, they would encounter a guard or a slave or something wilder in the untraveled parts of the dungeon. Every time they got the guards, I would ratchet it up. Now they guards were suspicious. Their mysterious mistress sensed the presence of intruders. Now I would have guards show up on a 2-in-6 every ten minutes. The second or third time they showed up, the guards actually witnessed the door opening, confirming that some invisible intruder was present. Now I was rolling 3-in-6 and the guards were actively searching for invisible intruders.

My goal was to maintain the soft probe as long as possible. So many of our soft probes go hard almost immediately that it has become a joke. This time, I let the player characters explore as much of the dungeon as they could, but eventually they were going to be seen. I just did my best to postpone that as feasibly as possible to preserve that fun. Plus, I wanted to play up the search. It worked out fantastically.

When the players finally cancelled their invisibility, it was because they CHOSE to, not because I took it away from them (although one can argue they HAD to to continue, but it was still their choice). It was a good feeling all around.

The plan of the players is to return to town and tell the magistrate and the archon what was happening in the ruins of Leggach, raise a small army, and storm the place. Of course, the remaining cultists, most of whom are high level clerics and fighters (and others) will have retreated into the dungeon and sealed the entrance. They have an agenda that is as yet undiscovered and they will not be stopped! If only there were some secret entrance from the river or something.

Unfortunately, we aren't gaming next Friday for Independence Day, so I'll have to wait a few weeks to see what the players do.

Anyway, this impromptu dungeon turned out to be a LOT of fun given I came up with it in like 30 minutes on the day of the game.

The Temples of Justicia

What follows is a little bit of information about the holy order in which Absolom is ordained.

Justicia

Justica is the goddess of justice and fairness. She is  judge of the guilty and the innocent, Justica carries a scale in her right hand and a double-edged sword in her left hand. She has a third eye in the center of her forehead with which she sees truth and falsehood.

Priests and priestesses of the goddess are known as justiciars (not to be confused with a paladin's 8th level title “Justiciar”). Justiciar are empowered by law and tradition to act as judges and mediators in legal and criminal disputes. Most justiciars are assigned to a temple in a village and are granted legal authority by the local archon (equivalent to a baron). Larger towns have a magistrate (equivalent to a bishop) or arch-magistrate (arch-bishop), who oversee and coordinate all the justiciars in a region. In the old days of the Agarthan Empire, the magistrates reported to the imperial legate (a regional governor), but there hasn't been an empire in many generations, and since legates were not hereditary titles, there hasn't been a legate either.

Absolom is a peregrine justiciar, meaning he is not assigned to a temple. He wanders the land, hearing cases and resolving disputes wherever he goes. His legal authority is recognized in all the provinces of the former Agarthan empire and anywhere where Justicia is worshiped.

The knights of justicia are called executors (pronounced like executive). They carry out the sentences pronounced by the justiciars. Most paladins are assigned to the justiciar(s) of a temple. Valerius, however, is assigned to Absolom. Most executors are simple fighters. An exceptional few are chosen by Justica herself to serve as paladins. These holy champions are few and far between. Fewer than a dozen can be found in both the upper and lower reaches of the Xanthus river valley.

All executors report to a master. Masters are true paragons of justice and virtue, they are great leaders and tactical geniuses. Masters oversee the training and discipline of all the paladins of the temple. Masters are appointed by the temple magistrate. Large temples will also have a grand master who is assigned by the magistrate or arch-magistrate. 

When a paladin reaches 8th level, they are not only executors of the will of Justicia, they are also justiciars in the legal sense, able to make judgments on their own like a cleric. The party has yet to go to a city big enough to have either an arch-magistrate or grand-master.

It is important to remember that justiciars and executors are not constables. The job of keeping the peace and apprehending lawbreakers falls to the city watch. It should also be noted that not all judgments need to be made by justiciars. A town's archon or a legal lay-magistrate may pass their own judgement on lawbreakers for committing crimes. However, most archons know that punishing the innocent is a crime against Justicia and fear her wrath, so many cases are deferred to the justiciars.

Once a justiciar has passed judgment, it is the duty of the executor to carry out the sentence. Often, the perpetrator is sentenced in absentia. It is then the duty of the executor to apprehend the guilty so that the sentence can be carried out in public. Where that is not practical or possible, they must carry out the sentence using any means necessary.

Party of Five (out of Nine)

Here are some quick sketches I did of some of the party members yesterday afternoon. These are probably not at all how the players see their characters, but it's how I see them in my mind's eye.

Absolom

A slightly more bad-ass Absolom

Babu

Original Gwen, I drew this one a few months ago

A new Gwen

Valerius, Champion of Justice!

Jilani, another one I drew a few months back.

"The Spider's Bite" Chapter 20 of the Xanthus River Campaign

This week, the party escapes the sewers of the rat-men, Valerius is killed, Valerius gets better, there's some leveling and maintenance, and Absalom befriends a princess!

Our party consists of:

Player Characters

• Ser Valerius, Protector of Justica (Level 3 Human Paladin)
• Absolom, Priest of Justica (Level 3 Human Cleric)
• Jalani, Priestess of Amun-Tor (Level 3 Human Cleric)
• Gwen, Warrior (Level 2 Elf Fighter)
• Biscuit, Rogue/Prestidigitator (Level 1 Gnome Thief/Illusionist)
• Thaddeus, Runner (Level 1 Human Ranger)

Henchmen

• Babu the Evoker (Level 2 Human Magic User)
• Knott the Warrior (Level 2 Human Fighter)
• Brown Tom the Veteran (Level 1 Human Fighter, Squire of Valerius)

Hirelings

• Clench (Human Mercenary Heavy Infantryman)
• Squat (Human Mercenary Heavy Infantryman)
• Push (Human Mercenary Heavy Infantryman)
• "War Dog" (Valerius' War Dog)

Left back in town

• Favreau (Human Cook, Paula's spouse)
• Paula (Human Cook, Favreau's spouse)
• Donkey and Cart for Favreau and Paula's supplies

When we left our party, they had just defeated the rat-king and his cohort of rat-men deep in the ancient sewers beneath the town of Swallow.

As the party makes their way back to the surface, they come across a large fleshy creature settling in to a pool at an intersection of drainage canals. The creature had two long tentacles ending in flattened pads and a large bulbous eye at the end of a long flexible eye stalk. It had not yet noticed the party, so they used the element of surprise to quickly run past it before it could react. Their flight past the creature caught it off-guard and they made it safely past.

The Spider's Bite

Later, they found a bend in the tunnel blocked by massive cobwebs. Absolom prepared a flask of burning oil and tossed it into the webs. The fire destroyed the webs around the passage and angered two large spiders and one huge spider. The spiders were quickly dispatched, but not before one of them delivered a deadly bite to Ser Valerius! Valerius staggered and fell, dead!

 

The party carried Valerius' comatose body back to the basement of the Path of Fear and Thunder and rushed past Black Tom Riddel, leader of that organization, paying him no heed in order to take Valerius directly to Magistrate Orthat, the high priest of Justica. Thaddeus and Babu stayed behind to settle accounts with the treasurer over the bounty paid for the rat-men.

Valerius was brought before Magistrate Orthat, though Zhamach attempted to delay them citing ritual and propriety. Zhamach was overridden by Master Coquille, head of the order of the Executors of Justica. Coquille is a handsome knight with a strong chin, long flowing hair, and immaculate smile. He is also Valerius' mentor. Coquille brought Valerius before Magistrate Orthat. Orthat said that there was nothing he could do today, but he would keep Valerius' body in the temple where it would lie in state overnight. He also informed the party that they must offer a sacrifice worth at least 6,500 gold coins to the goddess Justica. Coquille immediately volunteered to stand watch over the body, followed quickly by Brown Tom, Valerius' squire. That night, Orthat prayed to Justica for mercy and offered the sacrifice provided by the rest of the party. On the next morning, Valerius miraculously returned to life!



Down Time

The party spent the next two weeks in Swallow either recovering from their injuries, training, or performing research. 

Babu and Jilani

Babu

Babu spent the first week researching and identifying the various magical items they had found, including:

• "The Gong of the Sewer", a gong that could summon rats.
• "Flambeaux", an ancient magical sword that can burst into flame. 
• "Giant-Killer", an ancient dwarfish dagger used to fight large creatures.
• "Stalwart", a pair of magical bracers used to deflect attacks.
• and "The Scrying Stone of the Vanishing Star", a magical orb that Valerius had acquired way back in the first session.

Afterwards, Babu traveled to the Wandering Gortheflexion to train under Urso's former, and now his, mentor the wizard Marrubio.

Knott

Knott spent the first week recuperating from his near-death experience and the second week training under his mentor Sergeant Gleen of the Swallow Watch.

Absolom

Absolom spent the first week recuperating from his near-death experience and the second week studying under his mentor Magistrate Orthat. 

Valerius 

Valerius spent a few days recuperating from his brush with death, then a week training with his mentor Master Coquille. After training, Valerius received word that a wealthy patrician in the town of Swallow wished to wed one of his daughters to the young knight. In exchange, Valerius would be provided a dowry of 27,700 gold coins to be spent on building a manor home on his property near Wince. Valerius accepted the offer and a wedding date was set for eleven weeks.

Jilani 

Jilani spent the first week training under her mentor, Rahasya, the high priest of Amun-Tor in Swallow. Jilani spent the second week resting.

Gwen

Gwen spent the first week recuperating from her ordeal and the second week practicing her sword-fighting under Sergent Gleen with Knott.

Thaddeus

Thaddeus spent his first week living in the forests outside of town, living off the land, learning the ways of nature from the animals and the druids of the woods. When he had returned from town, he learned that he, too, was offered a proposal in marriage from a wealthy patrician family with a significant dowry. He politely turned the offer down.

An Offer from Black Tom

During the first week, the party received a note from Black Tom Riddel. Black Tom was impressed by the actions of the party and offered them another job, which he did not specify in his note. Thaddeus asked around of some of his associates in the Path and learned that Black Tom's son, Blue Tom, had recently joined the cult of Adhinata, God of Penance and Suffering, which had arrived in town several weeks ago and had taken residence re-building the ruins of the ancient monastery on the Bald Knob of Leggach west of town. Black Tom would like to hire The party considered the offer but turned it down. Brown Tom beseeched the group to reconsider but Valerius advised his squire that there were greater threats elsewhere.

The Ruins of Leggach

Greater Threats Elsewhere

The party considered their options. They had learned that the town of Flinch had recently fallen to a tribe of Red-Orcs from Mount Zinnober and that the townspeople had been captured and enslaved. The orcs now held the town and blocked all access to the Defile of Castagon.

In addition, the defile itself had recently come under attack from ogres, stopping all merchant traffic through the mountain pass.

A Princess in Peril

The party spent the better part of a day weighing these events with their other options (tackling the river pirates, slavers along the coast, the dwarfish city of Duirnhold, etc.). That night, returning to the tavern from the temple of Justica, Absolom came across a woman being attacked by three masked men, foreigners by their garb. Absolom preyed for Justica for assistance and the assailants were all miraculously held as if by paralysis. Absolom escorted the woman to safety in the tavern.



The woman was also a foreigner from the east. She wore a stolen cloak over old and dirty silk pants and midriff-baring top. He recognized her as the slave whose escape he witnessed in Thither several weeks ago. 

She introduced herself as Princess Murti of Kalmath, a realm far to the east, beyond the Wastelands. A few months ago, her mother, the Queen of Kalmath, was assassinated by forces loyal to her chief advisor, the Mantri. The Mantri had all of the royal guard imprisoned in the remote outpost of Horek. The Princess was arrested and taken to Thither where she would be sold as a slave to a foreign trader. She managed to escape and is trying to make her way to the city of Horek, where she hopes to free the Royal Guard, travel across the Wasteland, and overthrow the treacherous Mantri. 

Princess Murti of Kalmath

She asked for the party's help in returning to Horek. She is unable to pay them now but she has many friends in Horek and would reward them handsomely if she were returned there.

The party agreed to help the princess. Along the way, they will need to free the village of Flinch and defeat the ogres menacing the Defile of Castagon, and all the while avoiding or defeating the sinister assassins and cutthroats of the Mantri. 

TO BE CONTINUED!

"The Under-City of the Rat-King!" Chapter 19 of the Xanthus River Campaign

This week, the party fights a lot of Rat-Men, Valerius says "NOPE!" to a metal-eating grey ooze, some Carrion Crawlers almost make off with Absolom, Biscuit almost bites it from a Gelatinous Cube, and the party brings the pain to some Rat-Ogres!

Our party:

Player Characters

• Ser Valerius, Protector of Justica (Level 3 Human Paladin)
• Absolom, Priest of Justica (Level 3 Human Cleric)
• Jalani, Priestess of Amun-Tor (Level 3 Human Cleric)
• Gwen, Warrior (Level 2 Elf Fighter)
• Biscuit, Rogue/Prestidigitator (Level 1 Gnome Thief/Illusionist)
• Thaddeus, Runner (Level 1 Human Ranger)

Henchmen

• Babu the Evoker (Level 2 Human Magic User)
• Knott the Warrior (Level 2 Human Fighter)
• Brown Tom the Veteran (Level 1 Human Fighter, Squire of Valerius)

Hirelings

• Clench (Human Mercenary Heavy Infantryman)
• Squat (Human Mercenary Heavy Infantryman)
• Push (Human Mercenary Heavy Infantryman)
• "War Dog" (Valerius' War Dog)

Left back in town

• Favreau (Human Cook, Paula's spouse)
• Paula (Human Cook, Favreau's spouse)
• Donkey and Cart for Favreau and Paula's supplies

When we last left our party, they had taken on a job from the Path of Fear and Thunder, the thieves' guild of Swallow, and had discovered the secret parts of the sewer ruled by the Rat-Men. Knott was benched in the first fight so he limped back through the sewer to the surface. 

The Rat Patrol

After resting and taking stock of their options, the party explored the room they discovered. A large pool filled with thick grey liquid occupied the center of the room. The passage to the east was blocked up with rocks and debris but a small gap allowed observation. Through the gap Valerius espied what appeared to be the lair of a rat-man chieftain and his attendants. Babu took a look but was spotted. The gap was sealed up with additional stones. The party took a passage that led that direction.

As they entered the passage, they were met by a patrol of rat-men. The rat-men were taken completely by surprise and the party rushed into combat. Most of the archers, however, were forced to re-string their bows after their wet bow-strings broke. 

As the party pushed forward, a grey protoplasmic mass heaved itself from the pool in the room they left. As the ooze advanced, the party in the rear retreated. Once re-strung, the archers turned their arrows towards the grey ooze. Thaddeus charged the slime with his sword, killing it. The mass of the grey ooze, however, dissolved the sword, rending it useless. Luckily, the ooze was dead and drained away through the grate at the bottom of the pool, revealing a pile of gold and silver coins. 

The rat patrol, however, was quickly decimated. 

The Hoard of the Sub-Chief

The party advanced around the corner and encountered the forces of the sub-chief. Babu cast a sleep spell and knocked out most of the opponents. The rest were quickly dispatched. A lone survivor ran to open the gate to what appeared to be a barred prison cell. For his trouble, he was killed with arrows. 

The party shined their bulls-eye lanthorn into the prison chamber, showing stacked wooden crates and piles of stolen items stored like a warehouse. In the center of the room was a circle formed of iron rings hammered into the floor. Bones and body parts lay chained in the center of the circle. As they shined the lanthorn around, a large form skittered into the shadows behind the corner where the lanthorn could not reach. 

Valerius and Absolom cautiously entered the large cell and checked out the body. On the arms of the body were two forearm bracers of ancient manufacture. Prodding the body caused rot grubs to scurry harmlessly away.

The Crawling Horror

Suddenly, from the shadows emerged a large centipede-like creature the size of a bear. Eight writhing tentacles waved in front of its gruesome melon-sized head. It moved with surprising speed as it charged Absolom, attacking him with its tentacles. Absolom became immobilized as if overcome by some form of paralysis. Valerius backed away cautiously. The archers feared opening fire on the beast for the danger of hitting Absolom. As the giant insect began to drag Absolom back into the shadows, Valerius bravely rushed back in and engaged the creature. A few lucky arrow shots and the deadly sword of Valerius quickly felled the invertebrate horror before it could drag Absalom to his doom.

A Hideous Carrion Crawler!

The repositioned lanthorn revealed a second tentacled monstrosity was revealed in the shadows. The archers moved around for a different angle and soon killed the other creature.

Believing the warehouse secure, Biscuit set about opening the locked chest located in the back corner of the cell. He managed to unlock the chest but, as he did so, he was set upon by a large cube of clear gelatinous material that emerged from a dark passage in the back of the cell. Biscuit was immediately knocked unconscious and absorbed into the giant transparent cube. The rest of the party unleashed a deadly torrent of arrows against the beast, causing it to burst. The incapacitated Biscuit was deposited onto the stone floor with the semi-liquid mass of the dead creature, along with various bits of coin and other treasure. 

The team gathered all their treasure and withdrew to the chamber of the grey ooze to rest and re-group. Biscuit lay in a coma and Absolom remained paralyzed for nearly an hour. After an hour, Biscuit decided to take his chances following the party rather than limp back to the surface by himself. With that, the party chose one of the six exits they had found and set off into the darkness.

The Course of the Party's Exploration of the Sewers Below Swallow 

The Source of Foul Effluence

All My Rat-Men

After searching the sewers for an hour, the party found a passage from which loud squeaks, and the occasional heavy "SQUONK!" could be heard. Preparing for battle, Valerius consumed a potion of giant strength and charged down the passage, followed by his companions.

They were met by two cataphracts mounted on giant rats and over a dozen rat-men warriors. The chamber ahead was a confluence of three large pipes emitting foul effluence from the city above, forming the shape of a cross. Each channel could be crossed by a crudely fashioned wooden bridge. At the confluence of the passages were more rat-men: the Rat-King, the shaman of the rat-men, an assistant carrying a medium-sized gong, a rat-man carrying a bladed whip, and four rat-men bodyguards. 

As the party fought against the mounted rat-men The rat-man carrying the whip called forth two giant ogre-sized rat-men, which he led with the lash of his whip. The rest of the rat-men "nobility" hid behind the corners to avoid bow fire.

The first line of defense was soon overcome, though Gwen was incapacitated by a rat-ogre. The rest of the party advanced. 

As the party battled the bodyguards and additional rat-men soldiers, the gong-bearer began beating the gong. Suddenly, a mass of twenty giant rats emerged from the nearby pipe. Babu quickly responded, throwing one of the vials of Stinking Cloud powder into the mass of the rat-men, incapacitating several rat-men and the entire mass of giant rats. Absolom quickly followed up by pouring oil over the rats and setting them ablaze. 

The Shaman, his Assistant, and the Gong-Master

The rat-king, wielding a flaming sword, and his bodyguards ran down the opposite side of the passage and successfully flanked the party to attack its rear, but it was too late. The shaman, the rat-king, and the bodyguards were all killed after a fierce melee. Two surviving rat-men fled by diving into the sewage and swimming away. 

In the end, the party recovered the sword of the rat-king, the gong that summoned the rats, and a chest of treasure tied to a rope and submerged beneath the sewage.

TO BE CONTINUED

Next week, the party will return to Swallow with their loot, identify magic items, level-up, seek out training from superiors, etc. 

"Are You Sewer?" Chapter 18 of the Xanthus River Campaign

This week, the party returns to Swallow, consults with an arch-mage, and explore the sewers to fight some rat-men!

Our party:

Player characters

• Ser Valerius, Protector of Justica (Level 3 Human Paladin)
• Absolom, Priest of Justica (Level 3 Human Cleric)
• Jalani, Priestess of Amun-Tor (Level 3 Human Cleric)
• Gwen, Warrior (Level 2 Elf Fighter)

Henchmen

• Babu the Evoker (Level 2 Human Magic User)
• Knott the Warrior (Level 2 Human Fighter)
• Brown Tom the Veteran (Level 1 Human Fighter, Squire of Valerius)

Hirelings

• Clench (Human Mercenary Heavy Infantryman)
• Squat (Human Mercenary Heavy Infantryman)
• Push (Human Mercenary Heavy Infantryman)
• Favreau (Human Cook, Paula's spouse)
• Paula (Human Cook, Favreau's spouse)

Others

• "War Dog" (Valerius' War Dog)
• Donkey and Cart for Favreau and Paula's supplies

When we last left our party, they had cleared the first level of Duirnhold of its infestation by kobolds. They returned to the surface village of Duirndown to discuss their options. 

Wizards Only, Fools!

Wanting to know more about the mysterious Ogremoch and the protective spells placed upon Duirnhold by the Mages of Baakhru, they decide to go to Swallow to inquire about the mages at the wizard's guild there, an institution that operates within the only magic shop, "Wizards Only, Fools!".

The entourage travels to Swallow, a eight hour hike down river from Duirndown. They stop for lunch in Choke and Gwen catches up on the latest gossip from her friend Donnan of the town guard.

They arrived in Choke late that afternoon and split up for the evening. Valerius, Babu, Absalom, and Gwen head to Wizards Only, Fools! and ask about the Mages of Baakhru. The proprietor of the establishment, a thin wiry fellow, shrieked his objection, "Can't you people read? What does the sign outside say? WIZARDS ONLY, FOOLS!" Urso, the ghost of the dead wizard that haunts Babu, was visible to the proprietor, who recognized him. Urso managed to talk the proprietor into allowing the outsiders entry and asked him to hook up a meeting with Gaitex the Sporn, Disciple of the Roving Gortleflexiyon, and member of the Mages of Baakhru.

The proprietor led them into a back room containing three concentric silver circles inlaid into the stone floor. He motioned the party to stand in the center circle. Powder was poured into each of the four corners. They were then consumed by a flash of light and the strong smell of the color red. 

The Roving Gortleflexion of Emeril Lagasse

They found themselves standing on a similar circle on a stone platform outside a castle built atop a comet hurtling through space. The castle was built partly out of the comet and party inside the comet. A long fiery red coma trailed off into space as meteors, debris, and coruscating auroras whizzed by. 

An elf with long white hair, glowing green eyes, and blue and yellow robes manned an anachronistic steering wheel, one with rubber grips and chrome spokes like those on an old muscle car, on a platform jutting off the comet like the bowsprit of a ship. A small wooden marionette, a minute copy of the elf himself, clung to the elf's left shoulder, gently suckling green blood out of a wound on the elf's neck. 

They approached the elf, calling out the name "Gaitex". The elf spun around, startled! After calming down, he introduced himself. His name was Emeril Lagasse, Archmage of Nerath and Septarch of the Roving Gortleflexiyon. With a swoosh of his hand, he indicated that the comet was the roving Gotleflexiyon. He explained that Gaitex was a student of his and that this was his school of wizardry. Gaitex was unavailable but he would help him if he could.

They explained their quest, asking for information on the enchantments placed upon Duirnhold and about Ogremoch.

Emeril explained that Ogremoch was one of the Elemental Princes of Evil, confined to the Elemental Plane of Earth. He said that two thousand years ago, the dwarf Duirn had dug so deeply beneath his mountain that he opened a passage into the elemental plane of earth. Ogremoch utilized the breach to come forth into our world, corrupting the dwarfs of Duirnhold, turning them into evil Derros. The subterrene realm of Duirnhold fell to civil war. The derros called upon the help of the evil wizard Ezekiel and his army of orcs and goblins. The alliance of the derros and Ezekiel defeated the good dwarfs, who were forced to flee their land. 

The Mages of Baakhru were unable to defeat Ezekiel and his army and the derros, which they would need to do in order to seal the breach to the elemental plane of earth. So they cast a temporal enchantment on the entire mountain. Nothing within it would experience the passage of time. It was hoped that one day, a force powerful enough would return and defeat the armies of Ezekiel and the derro. But there was nothing to worry about, they had all the time in the world.

Absolom, Priest of Justica

Absolom explained that they had recently used the key to enter the mountain, and that time had, indeed, advanced, though at a slower rate than outside. Emeril expressed his disbelief and asked Absolom to allow him to touch the key so that he could inspect the mountain. Absolom presented the key and Emeril grabbed the other end. Suddenly, the two were zooming through space at the speed of thought. They approached the planet Earth and fell towards the continent of Agartha. They landed outside the entrance to Duirnhold with Absolom wretching and heaving from motion sickness. Emeril inspected the gate, commenting, "What? That's not possible!" Soon afterwards, they zoomed back through space, back towards the Gotleflexiyon. To the rest, the pair never left the platform.

Emeril explained that the spell was weakening and that time was accelerating. He estimated that Ogremoch will be free in roughly fifty years. At that time, Ogremoch will spread across the surface of the earth, covering Agartha under thousands of feet of rock. 

The party asked what they could do to stop Ogremoch. Emeril replied, "Get tougher." He explained that no army on Agartha would be enough to defeat the combined forces of Ezekiel and the derros. "However...", he pondered, "One might be able to take them on a little bit at a time, maybe."

Emeril explained that Duirnhold was constructed in such a way as to be easily compartmentalized. There were twenty-four checkpoints located throughout Duirnhold, and that as part of their enchantment, the twenty-four Mages of Baakhru had sealed each section with a separate key, and entrusted all twenty-four keys with the dwarf-lords of Duirnhold after their diaspora.  One could, conceivably, re-take the city one section at a time. 

The party thanked Emeril for the information and asked how they were to return home. Emeril said, "go inside and ask for a guy named Feldspar. He's the guy made of large ruby crystals. He's got a blue crystal dog named Component. Tell him where you'd like to go and he can send you there. As long as they have a dimensional gate." They did so and were soon back in Swallow.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party was looking for things to do in Swallow. They spied a flyer on the notice board posting a reward for those who could rid Swallow of the pestilence of Rat-Men. A reward was offered of 1500 gold pieces for eliminating the rat-men, plus 10 gold pieces per rat-man body. Interested parties were told to inquire with Black Tom Rittle in Worker's Row.

Black Tom Rittle

Reuniting with the rest, the entourage went to Worker's Row, a poor section of tenements and hovels guarded by thugs and ne'er-do-wells. Inquiring about the bounty, Valerius, Babu, Absolom, and Gwen were shown into the basement of one of the tenements where a shady fellow wearing all black held a sort of make-shift court of goons and bodyguards. He was Black Tom Rittle, leader of the crime syndicate known as the Path of Fear and Thunder. Black Tom explained that the Path would like to rid the town of the filthy vermin what have been stealing from the good fair folk of Swallow.

When asked why he cared, he replied, "They're the competition! They're unregulated! They keep going the way they're going, they're going ta' bring the law down on all of us! They has to be eliminated! We searched all over the sewer for them, but we ain't never found their lair, and I lost plenty of guys down there looking for it! Ain't none of my guys willing to go down there no more. So I has to hire you idiots!" 

Absolom took umbrage at the man's tone, calling him rude. "Of course I'm rude! I'm a fuckin' crime boss! Idiot!"

Absolom, offended, said that they wouldn't take the job until he was polite. Black Tom replied, "Okay. Pretty please. With sugar on top!" 

Absolom said that he tought Black Tom was being "Saccharinistic." 

"He's being what?" Everyone else replied.

"You know, Saccharinistic. When you say something sweet, but it's really fake!"

Black Tom, taken aback, said, "Okay, whatever. I'm sorry."

The party asked if any of Black Tom's men could at least guide them into the sewer. Black Tom called forward two fellows, a gnome thief/illusionist name Biscuit and a human ranger named Thaddeus.

At that, the team took the job. Biscuit and Thaddeus showed them the entrance into the sewer from the basement.

As the entourage filed past, Black Tom recognized his daughter, "Tomasina?!" She, caught off guard, replied, "Daddy?" He came forward but Brown Tom said "Gotta go!" and rushed forward down the stairs into the sewer. The gate was closed behind them.

Babu and Jilani

The party spent several hours exploring the sewers beneath Swallow, finding little. Thaddeus was able to locate spoor that indicated the path of the rat-men, but it led to a dead end. Jilani, however, located a secret door, a section of false wall that slid aside, revealing another section of sewer.

Sewer Rats!

Beyond the secret door was a patrol of eight rat-men with six large rats. The party entered into battle with the rat-men. The rat-men let out a loud piercing squeak that echoed throughout the dark sewers. The squeaks multiplied until there was a cacophony of rat-like squeals, accompanied by several deep gravelly "SQUONKS!"

Jilani looked at the Absolom, "What was THAT?"

Absolom grinned with cool anticipation, "Rat-Ogres!"

A second wave of rat-men, these riding massive dire-rat mounts, rode forth to engage each flank. These were followed by a third wave of rat-men.

The sewers ran red with the blood of rat-men! Valerius, his war-dog, and his hirelings Clench and Squat protected the left flank. Knott, Babu, and Jilani held the right flank. Gwen, Thaddeus, and Brown Tom provided cover fire. Knott soon fell to the carnage of the rat-men and Absolom rushed forward to provide aid. Babu cast a spell that put the entire right flank, save a few at the edge, to sleep. Absolom, Push, and Buscuit advanced around the corner to take out those that were not sleeping.

The First Battle of Swallow's Sewers

Eventually, all the rat-men were killed, though the sound of enraged squeaking echoed through the dark sewer passages, presaging the battles yet to come.

TO BE CONTINUED!

After-Action Report

The sewer battle was because my players wanted a break from Duirnhold. This being a sand-box game, they are free to pursue any story they wish. They could have tracked down the pirate's treasure, or freed the Defile of Castagon from marauding ogres, but they chose rat-men infesting the sewers of Swallow.

They were a little intimidated by the concept of fighting hordes of orcs and saving the world from Ogremoch so I gave them the staged approach with 25 challenging but winnable levels. This is what I sort-of had in mind anyway, but one of my players strongly suggested it, so I verified it for him to assuage his concerns. 

The rat-men fight was tough but fun, I thought. It was challenging. I only have like eight to ten skaven and were-rat minis (not counting plague-seers and rat-ogres). We're taking next week off so I'll use that time to paint more of my skaven miniatures so I'll have plenty next time.

Rat-men, by the way, have the same statistics as goblins in AD&D, but with the 5% per bite chance of infection. However, since rat-men usually use weapons, it is less a danger.

Rat-men leaders, like goblins, will be orcs and hobgoblins and will have better armor and weapons.

The rat-mounts were treated as dire-wolves. Rat-ogres, when encountered, will be treated as ogres.