DM's campaign log- Wrath Of The Righteous (PF & spoliers!)

[Kol Korran]

This post deals with conclusions from Mythic play, as well as conclusions from our Mass combat rules, army management, and how they were used in this campaign.

Experiences with Mythic play- Tier 1

So, we have played with the first tier of mythic power till now. How did it play so far? Well, the surge has almost never been used so far. (Maybe because it's just a 1d6). Each character used mythic power nearly solely for their path signature ability- the casters just used it to add a lot of spontaneous spells, and the mundanes added their powerful attacks (Either rolling twice and choosing the best or making it a sneak attack) not considering DR.

The effects?

• More caster versatility. For prepared casters, such as Sena, it means less dependency on scrolls (He hasn't used any since he got Mythic power), and "having" more utility spells. For spontaneous casters (Such as Julian), it means having a much more varied "spell list" to choose from.
• More caster power: since the spell level is only limited by the highest level the caster can cast usually, these extra spells are almost always from the highest spell level, givign the caster in effect a bunch load of extra spells of this high level, often more than lower levels! Sena for example was spamming Smite Evil left and right in the siege battle and the previous battles. I am less worried about this now, but as mythic power points increase by 2 for each level, this may mean a LOT of spells. It's the only problem I have with mythic power so far.
• More attacks, and more powerful- DR becomes a sort of a joke. (Soltengrabbe's epic DR didn't help much). Since the extra attack of the mundanes can be added to any round (As long as there was any attack there), the players spam as many extra attacks as the mundanes do spells. They often hit more and cause decent- serious damage.
• The "Hard to kill" Ability is a life saver. It saved 1 or 2 characters from dying (I think it was Mad dog on both cases ). Though I like the "double hp to die" aspect, I do miss the bleeding to death and tension it caused.

On the whole though, s Julian and Andera's player said- it gives the characters a feeling that they are something special, unique, beyond the normal constraints of others, or in other words- Mythic... So I guess it does get the feeling across. I did feel some challenges were easier to deal with, but not by a whole lot. It also makes the game less... clunky, since the characters (mostly casters) have more options, and thus they get stuck less and move the game more.

So all in all, I'm for it. I will discuss with the players about the "spamming the highest level spells" aspect with them before the next session, see what they have to say.

Leading a low level complex army

Well, this has been quite a ride! Some of the conclusions here are things I've been discussing with another forumist- Haktar in the Mass combat rules thread, but others pertain more to this campaign:

• Though I haven't played out the Paizo version of the siege, the players LOVED the mass combat, though it took some time to get used to. On the whole They loved dealing with the combats themselves, with tactical decisions, placing of troops, movement and such. A positive experience.
• In retrospect, I should have allowed only the characters to be army leaders, with all of the other NPCs to maybe add tctic, a bonus, and ability or such (Like Aravash as a support caster). The reality is that the players cared mostly for their own armies, and gave a lot less attention to the others. The amount of "NPCs" (Which included both commanding NPCs, face NPCs and the armies themselves) was too much for me to handle, or for the players to keep track off, and we kept forgetting about this or that (The Knights of Sarenrae were all but forgotten till the last battle, Qulin kept getting overlooked, and Aravbeth was in the background for most of the time). I suggest to focus on a smaller army (Number of units equal to number of PCs), and adjust the challenges accordingly.
• Inter- army arguments: This was mostly to how I played out Nurah, the prejudices and such in the army. I think it added to the game, but as Julian's player said in the last session: "This is the most undisciplined, rumor mongering and problematic army I've ever seen!" He is right about it, but perhaps it is worth to lower it down.
• For me at least as a DM it is hard to keep on the strategy track of all of the enemy units. Furthermore, adding the +4/-4 tactic to potential relentless brutality (another +4/ -4) makes for devastating suicide squads. I've avoided it most times (Due to the enemies trying to also... you know.. preserve themselves?) but these combinations are indeed problematic. Haktar suggested to forgo the strategy track altogether, which gives these tactics a more unique feel as well. But my players kinda liked having something extra to play with (There are notthat many options in mass combat). So we'll see
• Ranged combat has proven quite powerful when facing a non ranged combatant (Like in the combat with the vargoiles, elementals and skeletons). One track that Haktar suggested was to try and make the different kinds of units more specialized (Melee, ranged, mounted, ambush and so on) through tactics specific to them. Might make things more complicated, but I need to see if this can be done.
• A major thematic problem is having individual characters (Usually PCs) acting on the battlefield in "normal game speed (6 seconds rounds), along with the mass combat game (1 minute rounds). This showed it's ugly head in the battle of Keeper's canyon with Excorius challenging three characters to single combat, which ground the game to a halt, with 3 other players twiddling their thumbs. In the last battle Julian also embarked on her own, but this for some reason went much faster- into the tower, kill the brimorak, open gate. Then out and blast the cultists from a distance. So I'm not sure about this... I think with 2 or more characters it would be very difficult to manage.
• Consumption: I haven't touched upon this a lot in the log. All armies had supplies for 2 weeks, but I had some supply destroyed (Due to Worldwound effects or Nurah's sabotage). This came to be a hassle to keep track of these for some reason- who has what, who transferred how much consumption to whom, and so on. All in all- it didn't really interested anyone! Maybe on a more strategic or logistic minded game it would have matter, but not in this very focused and linear siege. (Not to mention they finished on the 10th day) I'd suggest to either keep it in the background entirely, or to have all the armies pull up their resources together, and just deduct the total consumption from that.
• Learning boons and tactics: Though it was difficult to gasp in the first 2 battles, it soon after became easy for the players. The armies and commanders were sort of saturated after they captured Paradise hill, which was the sweet spot. Haktar suggested maybe altering the mechanics also deepening on winning or losing. We haven't yet come to a conclusion about that. (As I feel a loss could potentially teach you MORE)
• Players' learning curve: The players understood how the mass combat works (more than less) at the battle of bloody sands (The ambush with elementals and skeletons). So I think it took about... 3 battles? The battle of Keeper's canyon proved very difficult to grasp for some reason, but I'm not sure why. Perhaps the introduction of Excorius and his challenges at the second mass combat made things too difficult to grasp. The players are not all fully certain of the 5-phses-of-mass-combat, but on the whole they understand how things work.

All in all a good experience. Some rough edges and things to work out (I heard there is mass combat at the fourth module as well? ) we'll work things out.

For now, the aftermath of the battle, and the citadel of Drezen awaits!

[Kol Korran]

For those intrigued, or who wish to participate and help me design, I've added This design thread: Remaking the Citadel of Drezen

[Red Rubber Band]

Thanks for the campaign log, I very much enjoyed reading it

[Kol Korran]

Thanks Red Rubber Band! It's nice to know people are reading and enjoying! It strengthen the resolve to keep this going!

Hola folks, I need your help!

The thing that always gets me the most about planning a session is... treasure placement. Now, I've tried to check the total loot value they give in the module up till it's finished, but it is utterly ridiculous, They go way, way beyond the WBL, and the party is already super strong...

So, here's the deal: I've decided to allocate treasure myself. I've already done Soltengrabbe's treasure (Which the party will find in the broken tower in the courtyard instead of inside. I thought to link it more to the struggle itself), Which is supposed to bring each character to about 35,000 gp value (Though they may decide to divide things differently, up to them). I see that the module is supposed to end around mid 9th level, which means around 55,000 each...

So this means I need to find 20,000 per character, or 80,000 loot worth in total. Some main things to keep in mind:
- Most of this should be in item form, not much in coin, gems or art, unless it's cool and fancy!

- A fair deal should be used by Staunton Vhane, who is by my making a CR 12, mythic tier 4 ghost He will have the "Grave trapping", ability giving him the ability to use several items as if they were ghost touch. I'm thinking up to 3 items, but these should be powerful and thematic. In need of improving defense, hitting with touch attack and Charisma in general. His equipment can take up to 50K of the entire loot, but it doesn't have to be. It does need to feel like a special loot.

- I seek to have 3 "corrupted/ evil" items that the party could try to return to good by reversing the corruption forge. Details later, cool items first. These can be items on any of the other sections I've mentioned.

- The Armor of the Pious Templar (Or whatever it's called). I'd like to put in some sort of a similar object, but for a none paladin? Maybe something that all might use- an interesting choice? Not sure how to approach this. Perhaps a small relic from the time of the Sarkori people?

- Not all items need to be usable by the characters, but I intend for about 2/3-3/4 to be so.

- The Sword of Valor of course is not included in this.

- Slight tweaks or changes are welcomed of course. It's not like I keep things straight and narrow!

A bit about the characters and items:
- Andera: Just got two fairly powerful Wakizashi, and a con +2 belt. Need things to help him survive better. The player looks for efficiency in a magic item first and foremost.

- Sena: Very high AC, but he likes to add to his defenses. The player likes "wild cards"- unexpected versatile things to be used cleverly. Does not need any more healing or spell help- he got that more than covered.

- Mad dog: Straight forward player- like stat boosting items that add up. Likes to sort of "go nova". He gets hit and dropped a lot. Needs better defense (I was thinking Mithral full plate of some sort).

- Julian: The player likes versatility and covering up any weak spot. He likes to have some sort of a solution for anything that may come. Mythic spells take care of that to a degree, but he likes more. If surprised, he gets hammered down quite easily.

The undistributed items from Soltengrabbe's horde:
Bag of holding type 3
Rod of Empower, minor
Boots of striding and springing
Helm of the fortunate soldier AA change of name from this one
Long arm braces
ring of protection +1
---------------------------------
I hope this helps, I often suck at magic item placement and choosing. Do you have any ideas for cool items that worked good with your game?

Thanks in advance,
Kol.

[Red Rubber Band]

Nps. I've enjoyed all of your campaign journals. And despite people saying that they're reading... sometimes you just want some affirmation!

A bit about the characters and items:
- Andera: Just got two fairly powerful Wakizashi, and a con +2 belt. Need things to help him survive better. The player looks for efficiency in a magic item first and foremost.

- Sena: Very high AC, but he likes to add to his defenses. The player likes "wild cards"- unexpected versatile things to be used cleverly. Does not need any more healing or spell help- he got that more than covered.

- Mad dog: Straight forward player- like stat boosting items that add up. Likes to sort of "go nova". He gets hit and dropped a lot. Needs better defense (I was thinking Mithral full plate of some sort).

- Julian: The player likes versatility and covering up any weak spot. He likes to have some sort of a solution for anything that may come. Mythic spells take care of that to a degree, but he likes more. If surprised, he gets hammered down quite easily.

Andera - Maybe boots with per day Abrupt Jaunt/Dimension Door? It can be used defensively or offensively. Or something with swift action invisibility? Oooh. Benign transportation! But then you'd need to shore up Mad dog's defenses as I'm assuming they'll be the target for it most of the time.

Sena - How about miss chance? Blur, Mirror Image? Is it the Twilight enhancement on armour that gives miss chance?

Mad dog - I'd agree with either AC, health, or miss chance. Health probably not something to boost, my stat views have been tainted by other RPGs I've played lately

Julian - Add a class feature from Factotum

[Kol Korran]

A quick update!

We tried scheduling the next session, but we couldn't find a time till a month and a half from now. This bummed everyone, but I was set to rework Drezen to something more interesting (To my group at least), and started to set to the project.

But... The players didn't like the long delay, and blessed their little murderous souls, they moved and shuffled things to make room for a session... this Saturday! But... this means I hve very little time to prepare (I got plenty of other things in my life). Oh my...

Should I just fall back and try something simpler? The work ahead is complex, and calls for quite a few unorthodox design. And I don't have enough time for it...

Bah! I laugh at the face of a time limit! So I've decided to face a CR 13 design challenge? Time to bring in all the resources and DM class abilities, along with potions of cola and tea (I don't drink coffee), and work a few hours more. Sleep? I scoff at the face of sleepiness! Lets make this a Drezen worthy to be remembered!

Ok, humorous boasting aside, I will need to work faster on this. I usually mull and think ideas through, shape them better in my head, I may need to forgo that to an extent for now. I'll try to keep up the main design process notes on The "Remaking the citadel of Drezen" thread, in case you're interested, or wish to help. All help would be apprecited. I hope I'll have enough time to update it.

Nps. I've enjoyed all of your campaign journals. And despite people saying that they're reading... sometimes you just want some affirmation!

Andera - Maybe boots with per day Abrupt Jaunt/Dimension Door? It can be used defensively or offensively. Or something with swift action invisibility? Oooh. Benign transportation! But then you'd need to shore up Mad dog's defenses as I'm assuming they'll be the target for it most of the time.

Sena - How about miss chance? Blur, Mirror Image? Is it the Twilight enhancement on armour that gives miss chance?

Mad dog - I'd agree with either AC, health, or miss chance. Health probably not something to boost, my stat views have been tainted by other RPGs I've played lately

Julian - Add a class feature from Factotum

Thanks for the suggestions! I see some of the ideas coming from 3.5. We're trying to stick to PF material only on this one though. As to your ideas:
- More movement options, especially some sort of teleportation might be cool for Andera indeed. Need to find something pathfinder-y for that though.

- Sena: I'd prefer to avoid using a miss chance mechanic. The player sort of dislike it and we keep it only to realy unique opponents (Such as Staunton Vhane) as the extra dice slow down game, nd they sort of ignore the enemy's abilities entirely, unless he can counter this ability specifically. No... for Sena I think some sort of an "Unexpected strange but versatile item" might be more appropriate. He loves those. I don't need to strengthen his defenses more. He withstood nearly 15 attacks from Soltengrabbe.

- Mad dog: I'm thinking more and more about some AC boosting item. Can mithral full plate be worn by someone without heavy weapon proficiency? Not sure. But looking for something a bit more... interesting...

- Julian: We don't use a factotum (Never seen one in play). I was thinking some sort of stave, mage robes or the like.

Suggestions folks?

[Red Rubber Band]

Thanks for the suggestions! I see some of the ideas coming from 3.5. We're trying to stick to PF material only on this one though. As to your ideas:
- More movement options, especially some sort of teleportation might be cool for Andera indeed. Need to find something pathfinder-y for that though.

- Sena: I'd prefer to avoid using a miss chance mechanic. The player sort of dislike it and we keep it only to realy unique opponents (Such as Staunton Vhane) as the extra dice slow down game, nd they sort of ignore the enemy's abilities entirely, unless he can counter this ability specifically. No... for Sena I think some sort of an "Unexpected strange but versatile item" might be more appropriate. He loves those. I don't need to strengthen his defenses more. He withstood nearly 15 attacks from Soltengrabbe.

- Mad dog: I'm thinking more and more about some AC boosting item. Can mithral full plate be worn by someone without heavy weapon proficiency? Not sure. But looking for something a bit more... interesting...

- Julian: We don't use a factotum (Never seen one in play). I was thinking some sort of stave, mage robes or the like.

Suggestions folks?

Sorry, I'm not really knowledgeable on PF. I guess I was hoping there were some PF versions of the stuff I suggested

I'd still second looking at the Factotum abilities. Slap one or two of them onto an item you give Julian or Sena and see what kind of mischief they get up to. I may also really like Factotums...

Does PF have armour enhancement? I swear there was one (in 3.5) that allowed armour to be worn if someone had a lighter proficiency... oh, it may have been just making it out of mithral...

[Kol Korran]

Sorry for bombarding with help posts, but I've put a side thread dealing with Making finding the Sword of Valor into a (hopefully) fun riddle. I'd love any inspiration on the matter!

Sorry, I'm not really knowledgeable on PF. I guess I was hoping there were some PF versions of the stuff I suggested

I'm not that knowledgeable of PF myself. We keep finding things we did a bit wrong. Andera's player is our rule adjuciator. I never know the rules of a game that well, I just make up scenes and try to make them work!

I'd still second looking at the Factotum abilities. Slap one or two of them onto an item you give Julian or Sena and see what kind of mischief they get up to. I may also really like Factotums...

I've only seen factotums mentioned very favorably on these boards, as better than rogues and ultimate skill monkeys or such. But I don't have the source book, or the time to go looking for this. Sorry.

Does PF have armour enhancement? I swear there was one (in 3.5) that allowed armour to be worn if someone had a lighter proficiency... oh, it may have been just making it out of mithral...

I don't really know. I will try to look into it.

[Red Rubber Band]

I've only seen factotums mentioned very favorably on these boards, as better than rogues and ultimate skill monkeys or such. But I don't have the source book, or the time to go looking for this. Sorry.

I can give you a brief run down. Might prompt an idea or two.

Factotums are on page 14 of Dungeonscape.
They get Inspiration points per encounter which they use to boost their abilities and cast spells. Though it's not treated as casting, nor are they treated as spells. More like using an SLA that has limited use per day.
Inspiration points can do things like give them a competence bonus equal to their Int modifier to skill/ability checks, saves, AC (dodge bonus), attack rolls; they can also get d6/point spent of sneak attack-like damage, or d6/point spent of healing (like channelling); spending 3 points gives them an extra standard action; 2 points and they can ignore someone's spell resistance for a turn; 4 points to avoid an attack or spell that would reduce them to zero or less hp; they (at 19) also gain the ability to emulate 3 different extraordinary abilities that are from character classes (eg Flurry of Blows).

Edit: What about something like Karmic Strike or Robilar's Gambit for Mad dog? Seems like a retaliatory kind of character. Hit ME?! I'll CRUSH YOU!

[Kol Korran]

Hey there folks! I'm sorry for the latest bombardment of "help me design this" mini threads, and that I haven't updated them much. I've been working all the time I had to actually design stuff, as beside the main map I've changed most of what Drezen is about.

We played yesterday! And it was a hell of a session! I will get to that soon, but first of all a few things that happened in between sessions, very briefly:

Between sessions 12 & 13

1) 8th level! I've went through my notes, and somethign bugged me- through my calculations the party was supposed to be 8th level, not just short of it (adding things up). Xp got aa bit messy when we had the 5th player, but I saw that by calculations the party was supposed to be a bit ahead of 8th level when conquering Drezen, supposing they got most of the things done (Which they did. We added the cemetery and dark vault to it). This was on purpose, since I had my general ideas for Drezen a long time ago, and entering it meant getting some the "level up" mechanical benefits quite complicated. Plus, it was a befitting enough place to level up.

So I talked with the players, aand we agreed to be 1,000 Xp fter 8th level, or 52,000 XP per player.

Main level up changes:
- Julian got 4th level spells. Some new spells are black tentacles, deep slumber.
- Sena got his 8th level domain powers- Holy lance (Make a weapon holy a few rounds a day), Aura of heroism (Gives heroism to allies a few rounds a day). Also- a second attack.
- Andera: Due to his archetype he is a skirmisher (Can sneak attack if he moves at least 10 feet). Also took the "bleed" rogue trick (Can cause bleed damage of 4 hp/round).
- Mad dog: Not many changes that I'm aware of, didn't send me the sheet before we played.

2) Talking to Julian and Sena's player they've been wondering how to improve the roleplay within the group. We decided to try and get the players to open up, and add a bit more conflict possibly to Julian. This turned out interestingly at the start of the session.

3) I've been working myself off to complete the changes to Drezen. In order not to drag you up along with all the details, I'll summarize the main concepts here:
- Drezen is a trap, putting a time pressure on the party so they can't rest.
- Staunton Vhane haunts the place, and "accompanies" the characters on their journey, adding complications.
- Most low CR encounters have been scrapped and their XP used to bolster fewer, but tougher encounters. Most using the stats of the book, but some different.
- The sword of Valor is not at the end, but actually a complex riddle, which the party must solve in order to get to where Staunton resides. There are no dungeon steps to below.
- The Shadow demon possesses Commander John, and will pose a very different fight experience for the party. It also comes before Staunton's Vhane's spirit, which is drastically changed. (I fear both encounters may well be a TPK )

Ok, enough said, time to write about the session!

[Kol Korran]

( Important note: If you haven't read the "between sessions" post above this one, I suggest you do. It explains a few important things between sessions.)

So we played last night, a shorter session- 8 hours. It was a good session, some roleplay to start, and then a lot of tense battles and tense atmosphere. Without further ado...

Session 13, Part 1- Matters of trust, entering Drezen

Last we finished, the party just conquered Drezen, though at a heavy price- the Queen's Knights were butchered at the gate, and the remnants of the Silver Banner veterans were mostly killed by dretches, and stray demons. The Knights of Sarenrae were the last to enter, brignign the siege engine with them. As they entered Senatef drew his sword "For brother John!" The knights seemed uncertain, but then drew their swords and joined the call, followed closely by the mongrelfolk. Andera, tending to his heavily wounded army, looked angrily at Sena. Rooting for the traitor? he thought, but said no word.

(A small discussion comes between the players about what happened, and if brother John has been traitorous or not. Sena's player is convinced of his innocence, and that he has been a pawn. So does Julian's player, though he is quite worried about how easy it is to possess him. Andera's player however thinks that this may have just been the catalyst, but that he has "turned to the dark side", and is with us no more. Interesting...

Make yourself at home

Heart of courage extended
(I thought it was a good victory music)

The armies were quite battered, but on the whole felt a feeling of great elation! But it was dampened by the eerie image of the citadel- it was covered by a sort of a sickening reddish web. Sena commanded the Knights to surround the place, and the mongrel folk to go on the walls, and post a look out. With that settled, the party and armies went to deal with some of the after math:
- The crystal constructions which Staunton Vhane used to command the troops were crushed, the crystal might be quite valuable, but they did not know how much.
- The magical contraption that summoned the spirit turned out to be a sort of a small maze built upon bodies of templars dug from the grave yard. As Sena and Julian though of how to subvert the magic, Mad dog went by the straight way and just rampaged and destroyed all of the maze..
- The armies find improved weapons and armor, enough supply to last for some time, and their moral rises.
- Lann also found Excorius temporary house, which held the ranseur of the gargoyle that he lost (under a different player, in Keeper's canyon)
- They found Soltengrabbe's loot! Unlike in the module, I moved the loot to the tower inside the courtyard, which I have made her home (I wanted to connect between her defeat and her loot more closely). other than money loot they found:
The undistributed items from Soltengrabbe's horde:
Bag of holding type 3
Rod of Empower, minor (Went to Julian)
Boots of striding and springing (Went to Sena)
Helm of the fortunate soldier AA change of name from this one (Went to Mad dog)
Long arm braces (Also mad dog)
ring of protection +1 (Andera)

You might note that the party doesn't have a tendency to distribute loot equally, but rather by whomever it fits or whomever wants it if there is no taker. Andera's player keeps being not interested in anything very tailored to him... Oh well...

Out of the command staff, fewer remain- Arabeth is bloodied but has survived. Anevia hugs her as she sees her. Qulin and Bartlet are tending to their people, while Aravash examines the strange web. Julian joins him, and tries to dispel it, using the mythic version. The web disperse slightly, and resumes. They decide to leave it for later. It's time to discuss the situation.

In the command tent, tension rising

Which is when I sent Julian's player an SMS, about something we've discussed, we'll get back to that later.

The party and the other commanders find a building, and Arabeth spreads the map they have of the citadel. I hand over to the party the grid less and marker less map from the module's file, one copy to each. I did this for two reasons:
- The party in game had a map of the citadel, though without the wreckage and debris (I "fixed" that by providing info fro ma few prisoners. Yep, not ideal, but works)
- Mapping takes a long time, and it is tedious. The Drezen exploration is supposed to be fast paced, tense, and on the run (sort to speak), I didn't consider mapping it as the main challenge, only a hindrance.

A free image of a very similar map
(It is not exact, some rooms, doors and such have been changed, but it'll do if you don't have one and wish to follow things. If you have the module's file better follow that.
Two important changes to the map: No stairs down F19, and F6 is instead joined to the room south of it, and has no known secret doors)

Julian is all serious. "So, what is our goal?"
Senatef answers simply: "Find the banner, kill the dwarf!".
"And how do you suppose to do so? What is our strategy?"
"I don't yet know! We need to find a way through the walls first..."
Julian pressed on. "We'll need power. What sort of power do you have Senatef? What power dos your goddess vest in you? And you Andera? Mad dog? What sort of magic do you have? What abilities?" (No one found this questions strange...)
Mad dog looked at her. "I kill demons. Hit them hard."
"So, just straight physical prowess..."
Andera got annoyed. "What do you mean? I sneak on them and hits them where it hurts! But now I can store some power in this sword! Sena, can you put some useful spell in it?" Julian also looked to hear what sort of spells Sena has.
Sena however responded rather tersely "The power given to me comes from my goddess, as does the responsibility for it. I will not just give it to someone whom I barely know and shares nearly nothing with me, and who consorts with demonic folk! I do not trust you!"
(Oh no you didn't! )
Andera became furious "You don't trust me?! I'm not the one possessed with demons like Mad Dog and Julian! And I did not try to protect a traitor despite all proofs otherwise!"
Sena responded coldly "We know that brother John was not at fault, but you are right about Julian!" He turned to her "I don't know you either, woman with strange powers, speaks to demons! You said you came from the Queen, but we saw Nurah! How did you come to be at her side!"
Julian hesitated a bit, and answered "I... did some assignments for her, became trusted enough." (When the party didn't even flinch, I was ready to face palm. This never happened, but they never before did ask) Julian tries to deflect "But anyway, I'm not the one who nearly killed us! You don't trust me, but you trust Mad dog?"
"He fought with me at Kenabres! He's shown his worth? How long do I know you?!"
"About a week less than you know him! I haven't shown my worth?!"
Mad dog at this time threw his hands in the air, and left to throw rocks at the red web barrier... Arabeth tries to stop the flaring of spirits. "What's the matter with all of you? We've conquered Drezen, and now this? What happened?"
But they ignore her. Sena continued with Andera "He who belongs to some secret organizations, converse with spies and scouts, skulking around."
Andera burst again "And you? You who time and time protect your... mentor... even though it's OBVIOUS that he was up to something, either possessed or of his own accord! You walk in blindly! What you say is just your theory, and nothing more!"
Julian tries to come things just a bit. "Ok, so we don't know about each other, let us talk, reveal all, out in the open, right?"
Mad dog returns, "regular rock don't work. I need magical rocks. Can yu make me some magical rocks?"
Julian ceases on this possibility of conversation. "i will try, but what is your motivation here Mad dog?"
Mad dog shrugs. "Kill demons. Save Kenabres. Kill more demons." And goes looking for some magical rocks.
The conversation goes on like this for a few minutes, with the other commanders trying to intervene, as accusations and distrust flares up, until Julian suddenly seems to have a slight shock, and shakes... "What just happened?"

Reconciliation
They ask her what happened. "I was in a dark place, a pit, a prison, but not physical, but rather mind. So filled with utter despair, but with accepting it. A darkness so vast, so profound, so nihilistic... it was horrible, it was Staunton Vhane. How long was I gone?"
Sena seemed to think nothing of it "Oh, it was just a second ago..." Julian shook her head. "No, it was when we entered the command tent."
Now... THIS shocked them. Sena's player especially it seemed. Sena spoke in a bewildered voice "I never even realized it wasn't you! The could have been amongst us all the time, and we would never know! How did it feel?"
Julian seemed troubled. "It felt as if my mind was sort of leaking, spreading, merging with demonic minds... Staunton's was the strongest one here..."

Spoiler: DM's design- what's up with Julian?

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I sought to advance the affliction to Julian has through her "exposed to awefulness" trait. So far the player treated it positively! A sort of free telepathy? Why not? He easily made most of the concentration checks.

The player sought to bring more roleplay into the group, possibly more conflict, but something else for the group to deal with. I decided it with him before the session that Staunton will "semi- merge" with him- both aa glimpse on Staunton's mind, and a chance for a bit of a different roleplay. We discussed the basic limits of the play (Knows mostly of Senatef, (Through the imprisoned John) doesn't know the rest, doesn't much know of Julian's past other than the basics, seeks to learn of the party's strategy, motives and capabilities. Knows how to bluff basically, but not above making mistakes here and there.)

The player loved it, though he is worried of the implications. It had an unexpected effect of making the players realize how much they don't know of the other characters, which led to the following.

Everyone is alarmed. After a quick conversation they decide they had better know each other a bit better in case of various imposters. The 4PCs go to another tent, Sena casts protection from evil on all, and they begin. Sena goes first, telling of his birth to a noble family, which first supported the Kenabres government but later on decided to form a small knighthood organization- The Sovereign order of the Knights of Sarenrae. He told of his long connection to John. He mentions but briefly the devastation of his family's estate, and the death of his family in the attack on Kenbres. (Julian softly speaks. "I'm so sorry... I now understand your anger and determination more. And your connection to John" Sena thanks her, a bit embarrassed)

"What I believe in? Don't do what your god tells us to do ,but what your heart does." (Andera- You sure she heard that?)
"Why am I here? To PROTECT. The city, my teacher (Here I failed, miserably), and those who came with us, you amongst them." ("Well thank you very much!")

Mad dog wasn't much into this, but repeated a bit about his village coming under attack from cultists, most killed, some experimented upon, and then him leaving to live in the wild. "My motive? Said it already! Kill demons. Save Kenabres. Kill more demons!"

Andera tells of his chance encounter with the Desnan archer woman in his childhood, and how he seeks to return the favor. He tells a bit about the secret organization for which he works, enough to make the others understands that it's goal is to hunt down demons and imposters, by stealth, cunning, and playing unfairly. Julian and Sena makes aa very interesting suggestion- "So you might train the mongrelfolk in this? Or even your tielfings? Deskari's bane?" Which I though might be an awesome idea, but... Andera doesn't fully trust them. "It would be hard to persuade the order to enable such beings into it's ranks!". Julian "But the tieflings could be the perfect spies!". But Andera was unsure... "Perhaps a select few... it takes time. Not time that we have now. Let us focus!"

Julian finished. "Unlike you Sena, I was not born to a wealthy, I was an orphan in Kenabres." She speaks of her seeking to see the Wardstone, getting hit be a demon, the wardstone saving her somehow. Being give to the care of Father Cristopher of the Iomedae church, and later Brian, and then a complicated life on the streets of Xer till she came back to Kenabres, only to find it destroyed, finding another fragment of the Wardstone which has awakened more sorcerous power in her than she ever knew (Mythic ascension). She was escorted to the Queen, who tied her power to the other PCs.

"I don't know why I'm here, but it all ties to these horrid dreams I have. I don't intend to run no more, I ntend to face my demons, and the road seems to be with you!" Senatef responded. "I do not belive in coincidences. You were first struck by a demon, saved by the wardstone to which you have returned, and now we will fight these demons together!"

The party seemed satisfied with this. A few brief experimentation made it clear that the web responds to mythic power, as Mad dog came near it, the web receded. "So... it's just us?". "Yes, but first we rest. On the morrow."

Spoiler: Group roleplay- how did it went?

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In one of our previous games ("It began with a crash" in my sig) the group dynamics were a HUGE thing, which made things a lot better, mostly due to an interesting triangle between three characters. Sena and Julian's players (Mostly Sena's) have been trying to create something similar in this campaign.

We don't much expect Mad dog's player to join. He adds his bits, but he doesn't like the acting part much. He is very concise about what he wants, of which I tend to deliver in enough amounts. Andera's player is part here, part there- at times he give fabulous acting, at times he seems very guarded, uncooperative and suspicious. And so far in this AP he was resistant to most hooks me or the players tried to throw at him.

Sure, this wasn't the best of play, but I hope it will help ease up into something more later. Anyway, I try to clear off pushing to play, just providing enough hooks and responses to make things interesting, if you bite.

Springing of the trap

Julian released her eagle familiar, and made the ritual to bind a greensting familiar before sleep. Worried that Staunton Vhane might come into their minds (They forgot it's due to Julian's condition, or they just didn't take any chance) They sleep with some guards on each, just in case!

At morning they give a few last orders: Arabeth takes the Lucky bastards to clear the cemetery (Just a flavor thing), Anevie takes a few mongrelfolk and horses, and heads towards Kenbres ("We need mroe troops, supplies, engineers, and various professionals and craftspeople if we wish to keep this place!". Lastly, Aravash and Qulin Longshadow start to research into the strange crystals structures, and Bartlet commands the fort's battered troops while they are gone.

Qulin adds a Vampiric touch spell (3d6) to his master's sword (Andera) and bids him success.

Though there are potentially several approaches to the fort (through ballista bolts holes or the summoning beacon tower) The Party decides not to risk climbing (cough*Sena in fullplate*cough) And heads through the main doors. Mad dog's player- "Now we get to kill stuff?". "Yes, now you kills stuff..." The party reaches the main doors, and the reddish web recedes back, they enter to the dusty, forsaken outer gatehouse (F1) of Citadel Drezen...

(I suggest that if you haven't read the major conceptual changes I've made to the citadel in the "in between sessions" post, that you will read it now. It helps clarify things.)

When the doors swing and slam shut behind them. In front of them, behind the bars, appears Areelu Vorlesh, or an illusion of her. She still hasn't healed since the last time the party met her at the Wardstone Chamber, but she seems to not notice the pain, and carry herself regally. The programmed illusion speaks in a powerful, beautiful, menacing voice "Heroes of Kenabres. Though you have won once, This time I am prepared. Though not all demons would agree, I have forseen the Queen's plan, and with the sacrifice of dear Staunton, in whose halls you now stand, the trap has been triggered. You have sought the Sword of Valor, and now it will seal your fate! Enjoy watching your army die of the red ache, as you sink the depth of despair that is Drezen!" (With a bit more intonation it sounds quite ok!" )

Andera cursed "This changes nothing!" But they suddenly heard cries from outside. They rushed towards the balista ports and noticed two things- First, the web had considerably thickened into redidsh ghost chains, writhing and sliding around the citadel. Secondly- their army was in trouble- varius red lesions and sores were appearing o nthe alarmingly fast.

Julian exclaimed "We have not time! We need to finish this quickly!" Andera rejected "It is just an illusion! So we will make mistakes!" Senatef gave him an angry glare "I'm not taking that chance!" Mad dog just rushed to the partly rotten bars, and pushed them aside...

As the progressed they heard an echo, from the walls, from the ceiling, the floors. A somber, dispassionate voice, dejected, emotionless, cold. "Many boasts, many words. It matters not. You are now here with me. In my Prison. My tomb. You tomb. Our grave, our end."

Spoiler: Areelu VOrlesh involvement

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The WotR AP has a recurring problem- it has some interesting villains, but absolutely no build up. As I guess Areelu is either THE greatest or the second greatest villain of this entire campaign path, but other than a short and disappointing appearance in the first module, I haven't seen mention of her in the 2nd or 3rd module. I believe it is vitally important to keep her as a main nemesis of the party in some way. So she has set this trap (Her relationship with Aponavicius complicate matters). She has a major role in the fate of Staunton , on which I wish to build to show her as well. Lastly, she is one of the only powers capable of such a feat as the rapidly advancing disease outside and the red barrier.

The party wasn't impressed though. Players rarely are. Haven't mastered that feat entirely yet!

Battle at the inner gate house

The party rushes past the long walkway, seeing figures of dwarves in ascending age, and ascending "Bad assery" depicted in the statues. As the reach the doors before the main inner gate house of the citadel (Separating F2 and F3) Sena begins casting his defensive spells: Magic vestments, circle against evil, resist energy fire and Aura of Doom (Which became quite a big factor in the game! He becomes an utter buffer/ debuffer tank.

Julian listens and hears something behind the door, but this helps not, and Mad dog opens the door to... two fireballs coming their way!

Dark Blade, Two steps from Hell

(The battle takes place at the top of F2, before the doors, in F3, and the bottom of F4(
The two fireballs came from two brimorak demons near the doors to the main hall (F4). Andera shoots at one with an evil outside bane arrow (He has been hoarding those since the first module). Mad dogs rushes to the bars, trying to lift them, when he comes under a hail of arrows from the east ramp in F3C, laced with acid.
Sena's Holy smite kills the brimorak, and wounds severely the other, blinding it.
Julian is enthusiastic and tries a black tentacles spell on the half orc archers, but rolls a 1 for it's grapple. She and Andera are then surprised when 4 gargoyels emerge from the top statue in F2 (In my game Gargoyles don't look like statues, but can meld into any worked stone)and rush at them.

The brimorak teleports away (Behind the western most door of the west ramp), while the archers hit him again, and get away from the tentacles. With those gone, the battle seem to shift to the gargoyles but also a Vrock with 6 mirror image which suddenly appears! Mad dog rushes back past Julian and gargoyles, (using the "burst through" ability of his path), and manages to land a solid hit on the demon, which lands some nice gashes and wounds in return!

Sena rushes to heal, when suddenly some of the ceiling falls upon him! "I am Drezen, and I will use it as a weapon if need be!" Staunton just ripped and flung part of the ceiling at him, but it can't penetrate his armor. (I ruled it as a violent thrust of telekinesis, which Staunton has). regardless, Sena's healing and Aura of doom helps quite a lot! He hers the Brimorak behind the western door (In the real map the wall to there is ruined, and there is debris), and climbs the debris, only to find that it is an illusion, and he falls into a 10 ft tip, with poison laced daggers, which again, don't penetrate the armor (Though he uses Mythic power for a surge)

The battle with Gargoyles and Vrock isn't going so well, Mad dog is hit a lot, and so do Julian and Andera, without inflicting a lot of damage (Julian has the worst luck with dice! ) .Sena can't get of the hall, but tries casting area spells (Another Holy smite), While Staunton tries again to land rocks on him.

The Brimorak, now with a summoned brimorak opens the west door, and approach the pit (The summoned one can't get close due to the circle), They try dispelling Sena's spells but fail. The 4 archers arrive at the north door, opens it and come close to the bars, and unleash arrows.

Julian manages to dispel the Vrock's magic mirrors, and Mad dog manages to kill it with fury, and cleaves+ finish cleaves two gargoyles, the party (Except Sena), hide behind a wall, Mad Dog desperately drinks potions. The Vrock left nice gashes in his hide. Senatef, unable to climb out of the pit on his own, decides to use the "generous" help from Staunton Vhane, and climbs on those rocks part way through, and kills the Brimorak, and the summoned one goes away as well.

Julian has had enough! She rushes about half way to the bars, and unleashes an empowered diamond spray (Thanks to her rod), and makes minced meat of the half orcs.

The party takes a breather- it was a tough fight, and demanded quite more of them than I anticipated. (Mad dog was down 91 hit points, the rest about 15-30, and they used quite a few spells, even a few mythic power points).

Spoiler: Battle at the gate

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This battle basically took the enemies of 4 encounters- F1, F2, F3 and F4 (Plus a little helping hand from Staunton) and used them in a somewhat dynamic battle. The demons' teleportation makes of a very interesting power. The ramp, the pit and the bars added a lot to the battlefield to my opinion. It was quite fun!

I was surprised though of how taxing it was on the party. For some reason I expected them to waltz through this, other than the Vrock.

The battle also gave me an estimate of how challenging the battles felt for the players. It challenged them nicely, and seemed to be quite on par with what I have planned. So as a Lithmus test for challenge, this went quite ok!

Staunton's voice returned. "It matters not. They are expendable. As I am, as you are, as is everyone... They have served their purpose- battle after battle, spell after spell, power after power, wound after wound, Drezen will grind you."

Senatef was defiant "What will you do? Throw another rock at me?". "No, I will do what I must, what needs to be done, and watch your armies die outside." ("Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me..." ) Julian tried a different tactic. "Staunton, I have been in your mind! Embrace hope! Seek the light! It needs not be so dark!". Staunton would have laughed, if he was one to laugh. "You seek to feel me with hope? I understand hope, I was once mortal. I know what it can drive people to do. Demons, Aponavicius, do not fully reaalize it's power, it's drive in you. But I do, and so does Areelue Vorlesh as well, for she was once mortal as well. But I now understand there is no hope. Just acceptance of futility. You too will learn... Drezen... I... will show you..."

The walls were made clear for a few instants- panicked, suffering soldeirs were outside, the red welts growing bigger, starting to bleed.
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I'll stop here for now. I hope to finish with the second part soon, when the PCs delve into the depths of Drezen and it's difficult challenges, understand part of their predicament, and learn more about the people involved.

Hope you're enjoying!

[Kol Korran]

Session 13, part 2- The halls of Drezen, visions of the past

With the sight of their armies echoing in their minds, and the ever presence of Drezen/ Staunton Vhane, the party decided to explore. They decided to look for the Sword of Valor, and decided to search for a secret entrance into the secret room where the Sword of Valor was held in past days- F7 on the map. (In my version F^ was just a part of the room below it, and they knew not where the secret entrance was.

Spoiler: Link to the map again

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A free image of a very similar map
(It is not exact, some rooms, doors and such have been changed, but it'll do if you don't have one and wish to follow things. If you have the module's file better follow that.
Two important changes to the map: No stairs down F19, and F6 is instead joined to the room south of it, and has no known secret doors)

They went over the pit and through the gap in the west of F3 (Not on the free map), and towards the north-south corridor beyond, when something changed...

First vision

They were suddenly on the worldwound, part of a big troop of soldiers, not unlike one of their own armies, somewhere unfamiliar to them... The soldiers wore symbols of Iomedae, and most seemed quite serious, some glancing at the reddish yellow worldwound sky above...

But not all were serious- there were a small bunch of soldiers in quite high moods, even joking. One of them was commander John! Only... he didn't have the markings of a commander, and looked... 25? 30 years younger? And quite different.

"Hey Marekai! This is taking too long! When the hell are we goona kill some demons! My, get me a Balrog and I will show you some demon slaying!" Young John was in high mood. Sena, alarmed and cuatious approached him. "Sir John..."
"Ain't no Sir steward! Keep that for the McClanes up the line! Them be running the show, not us grunts!" (Julian's player picked up on theat- McClane, was Andrew's family's name!)
Sena nodded respectfully. "What is the goal of this force? Were are we going?"
John laughed "Why, to kill some demons or such! Isn't that right Borosus?" Another big and serious soldier, but just as young gave a dismissing wave. "Nah, The McClane got this expedition looking for something deep in the worldwound. They say they found something that might change the crusade or something..."
Suddenly a trio of robed figures rode by. "Hush! We do not speak of such matters!" The 3 mages looked serious, one tall in the middle, old and grim. Another to his right looked small and shy. The last was... Quendys, whom the party met back at Kenabres! The three gave some stern stares and rode on.
Meanwhile, Andera surveyed the force, and noticed 3 big carts.... not something you usually bring for forays into the worldwound. He got close and looked under the coverings- supplies, but not for an "in and out" quick expedition. There were things here to prepare for a settlement. One that could last a few years...
John slapped Sena's back, almost if he was some college buddy. "Stick with us, we got some demons and fun coming! Worldwound? Peh! We'll show them a thing or two!"
Sena replied "So you are experienced knights?"
Marekai laughed. "No, just out of the academy. But we will be once this is over! This is supposed to be glorious! Even for lousy Sarenrae worshipers like this bugger here! He just want to shag her!"
John scorned but laughed at Marekai. "hey, don't talk like that about her! Besides, she's hot!"
Sena was having enough, and grabbed John's arm, trying to get his attention. "What is it you seek?!"
Suddenly John's face changed.. as if struggling, as if trying to focus, and his voice came as his present day, serious, full of intent: "Seek that which was lost, and free it with the power the gods vested in their chosen ones!"

With that the whisps of this vision faded away, and the party was back at the corridor of Drezen. Mad dog replied slowly. "Well... that was quite odd. I didn't like it. Not at all.". Sena was Shaken, but Julian laid a comforting hand, and spoke to the air. "Let the past rest..." Sena spoke hoarsely "John is here! He is trying to talk with us!" Andera was doubtful "Orthis could be an illusion to lead us astray. The pwoer the gods vested in us? The power from the wardstone." (The party realized they will somehow need mythical power to "free" the Sword of Valor). "We should be weary to not let our reserves down too low.

At which point the hollow, impassionate, stoic voice of Drezen returned. "It matters not. Drezen will grind you. Sooner or later, you will fall. Even your power will hold just for so long. All flames die. Even the bightest ones. Darkenss endures."

Not wishing to deal with him at the time, the party decided to continue.

Getting to know you
The party continued south on the north-south corridor, and turned left into what appeared to be a dining hall. HE place looked deserted, but recently used- some dishes, cuttleries, although things looked fairly orderly, if with a thin layer of dust on them. To give the place the proper atmosphere, I put on the following music.

Fallout Las Vegas ending theme (I think)

Unfortunately Andera's player knows the music well, and it gave him other associations. Oh well... The party set out to search the corner of the room, for a secret door, when two wraiths rose from the floor and attacked the party. The battle was very quickly with the party's lucky rolls they avoided getting hit, but Sena used two more of his channel energy charges, and Julian a spell or two.

Staunton Vhane spoke through the battle "You speak of hope? These two belonged ato a special order of paladins- the Hammers of Heaven. And now? What hope is left for them? They serve as the new protectors of Drezen. They, me, you don't matter..."
"You were part of them?"
"Yes I was."
"This was your home?"
"I... I was born here, I served here, I died here, and now it is my prison, my tomb, and yours. I AM Drezen. Nothing more, nothing less."

Spoiler: Where do the wraiths come from?

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The wraiths are not part of the original module, but they are part of the arsenal that Stuanotn Vhane uses as Drezen to grind down the party- the avalanches, the wraiths, and some things later on. They serve a few goals:
- first, they enhance the atmosphere that Staunton is always present, and haunts the place.
- Secondly, the party start leaning of his powers even before meeting him, but not to the full extent.
- They add another time pressure.
- They enable to make battles less or more challenging by adding complications.

Except for key locations, I have a limited number of "extra challenges" that I can throw at the PCs, limited by XP and such. The wraiths are a simple complication.

The party continues to the room to the west (In the map it looks like a corridor with a tiny room to the north. These spaces are joined in the original map). In here they found a kitchen, probably serving the dining hall they were just in. The party does a quick search here, but is disturbed by the eerie quiet and "deserted fell" of the place.

They go to the hall in the west, which connects north, west, (In which there was an avalanche) and south to the barracks and parapets. Here they saw marks of an old battle, mainly old blood. "This was the hall of the Sentinels of Dawn... A valiant group, which died as well... Since then the place have been used by countless demons, used for endless perversion and debauchery. Their memory exist only in my fading spirit. For all their valor, deeds and courage- where are they now?"

Sena was greatly disturbed by this, as was Julian, but she advised to carry on. As if to agree, the walls turned transparent, and they saw the forces outside, some of the welts starting to ooze blood, some of the troops lying on the floor... Still focused on finding an entrance to the secret room, the party headed to the northern corridor, and searched the eastern wall.

"You keep on seeking... We all seek for things. And for what? For the price of finding what you want, is having something you once wanted..." (Credit to Neil Gaiman and the Sandman comic novels for this line. ) But as those words echoed, another vision formed, but of a different kind: They were in a much busier Drezen, teeming with dwarves, with Staunton, dressed in a magnificent full plate bearing a mithral hammer on the background of a great light (The symbol of the Hammers of Heaven), strode to a great hall, knelt, and spoken to some figure in the shadows of great burning hearths.

"I come again, and ask of thee, for I have found no answer! WHY will we not attack? Why do we stay behiond these walls, cowering while the demons run rampant? Is this Valor? We should march into battle, and lay waste to those abominations! We have lost hope of the sky citadel, and now we lose hope of here as well? Are we so guarded that we will not venture beyond our walls?" There were hushed conversations and murmurs, but Staunton Vhane just prayed, silently to himself, but loud enough for the part. "Iomedae, put your trust in me, your servant. Guide me, show me, make me the righteous sword of your judgement, of your might, of your glory! Show me the way!"

And with that the vision faded... The party had nothing to say of this, but ventured on towards the western chapel (F5)

Spoiler: Drezen sections and the southwest barracks and Jestak

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The party indeed didn't explore the place, but I had the place planned with some story and atmosphere of one of the troops that formerly guarded this place- The Sentinels of Dawn, and the current occupiers, led by the barbarian Jestak, that killed all of them in the madness of imprisonment.

I divided Drezen into areas, which helped me look at the fortress as a whole- gate, main hall, mid-south west section were for the sentinals of dawn,. east for the hammers of heaven, north east (Including the room with Kirandia and so) another order. Above the main hall the officers greeting hall, to it's west the officers quarters and planning room, to the north a museum + defenses, and at the north west wizard's tower and beacon.

The inheritor's chapel

As the party opened the door, they saw four templars kneeling in prayer before... a vision of Iomedae, but an overly sensualized one. "Ah, succubus" The players mumbled, but decided to try and play to see where it leads. The succubus turned to the party "Heroes! I have sent an image of me, into this darkest of places, to make for you a safe place, and help your cause."
The party squirmed uncomfortably. "How can this be done?" Sena asked.
"My power here is limited, but if you put more holy power to this place, restore my church, my pwoer here will grow!" Senatef's player bought this, and tried a sanctify spell. "More! More power! Perhaps, Perhaps if I will give you my direct give, a holy power..." This intrigued the party, but Mad dog took the reins, and approached her. "What sort of a gift?" the vision of Iomedae smiled at him benevolently "Just a blessed kiss on your forehead... Let me bless you, champion of champions! With great power..."

She didn't finish the sentence cause Andera had enough and shot an evil outsider bane arrow at her. (also causing bleed- SA) She hisses "Attack them! They are demons in disguise!" The 4 feverish templars rose to attack, but Julian and Sena got her charm person dispelled between the two of them (Using mythic power), and Mad dog grabbed the last.

When the statue of Iomedae behind him suddenly animated, with the stone warrior wielding a very big stone sword "Even the symbol of your faith is mine here." Stated Staunton dryly, as he attacked Mad dog. He starts trading blows with the statue as the rest of the party tries to talk the templars back from their misconceptions about the situation. The succubus in the meantime is a bit away, summons a babau, and the two appear at the south of the church (With the Succubus having taken some bleed damage in the meantime, planning on using vampiric touch to restore herself).

But as she appears, Andera sighs, tumbles his way towards her and attacks twice (Usning mythic power) to cut off her head! Mad dog manages to destroy the statue, and so the party comes to rest.

Spoiler: Iomedae's statue

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A specific location intervention of SV. Mad dog's sword makes it less of a problem, as it bypasses hardness (Made out off adamantium). I gave the statue a large great sword instead of slam attack (2v construction points or something)

Of templars and another vision.
Soon after the battle, again the room shifts and they are in a fairly wide, but simple and a much more primitive looking building. This looks like a Sarkori building. This place looks like a mess hall turned into sleeping quarters- quite a few sleeping bags and piles of equipment around, but there are a few people here- John, his friends Marekai and Borosus, and two Sarkori women- looking lithe, strong, a bit "primitive" in matters of clothing and the like. One of them lies cuddled with John, as they caress each other, and the other at Marekai's lap. John again laughs. "Don't worry Lesh. I told you- once this little boring expedition is over, I'm bringing both you and your sister to Kenabres, and then we will mount a second expedition to find your people!" The other woman, with Jade green eyes (Thankfully the party recognized her as Jerribeth of the Jade in disguise), "But what they inside old place for? What they searching? They must not waken old spirits! very bad!" Even though her speech was broken, her voice was mesmerizing, powerful. Marekai patted her thigh, and kissed her. "Don't you worry! the McClanes and Nethir are smart people."

Sena asked cautiously. "Who is Nethir?" John turned surprised. "Oh, didn't see you there steward! Nethir? One of the mages, clever one. all the time in the ruins." Andera was more curious "What sort of ruins?" John dismissed it. "Ah, some kind of old Sarkori ruins, they think from before the war even. McClane is certain that their is something major here, but while them geniuses work inside, we keep watch for any demons. Been real slow though, Not a demon in months!" He then kissed the attractive Lesh' cheek.

Borosus snorted a laugh. "Besides, if anything comes out, Lesh will take it down with that bow of hers. I swear woman! I've never seen such a shot!" She gave a smile, and rose to hold her bow, which Andera recognized from his vision in the Temple of Welcome Knight, of the woman praying to Desna.

This REALLY alarmed the player. "Wait, but she is Jerribeth' sister?"
The others: "Maybe before they were demons"
"Jerribeth is supposed to be for a long."
"So the archer woman is also a demon?"
"But she's a good person who got turned to demon worship and tries to get back!" (Really? )
"Maybe half sister, or tribe sister?"
In any case, Andera's player was quite troubled that his archer woman might be tied with Jerribeth and evil somehow, or that she might be a demon herself.

(Back to the vision) Sena tried something- He grabbed John's hand, and drew his attention. "You know me! You know you do! And these are demons!" For a few moments there was confusion in John's eyes, but then he laughed it off. "Don't look so serious steward! The sarkori are no demons, even though women in generally are!" The the three soldiers laughed, while Jerribeth did quite a convincing "I'm so shocked- what is he talking about?" act. As Sena tried again John again seemed lost, trying to focus, as if to reach, trying to collect his thoughts, and spoke briefly. "Not all is it appears. Some things hide, some things are hidden by other forms. But nothing can fully hide their true nature..." and the vision/ dream/ memory faded...

Julian spoke "The sword of valor is in a different form, or hidden or something." Sena added "But it should somehow retain hints as to itself. Andera was more worried about the archer (Lesh)- "Do you think she's a demon? Can she be redeemed?" At which point Staunton Vhane joined in, and gave a bit of explanation on the nature of demons (In my world at least) "Demons are not as mortals are. They are rarely full beings. They are manifestations of ideas. All include malice, but some are mroe focused on this or that idea, like a succubus is focused on deceit, sexuality and seduction, and an Abrikandilu is the ugly destroying the pretty, they lack the fullness of a mortal soul, but are more purified convictions of the idea that they embody... She has no good in her."

Julian, ever the defiant spoke against this. "Has no demon ever redeemed?" Staunton Vhane hesitated. "A rare few at most, but..." Julian cut him out. "So it IS possible, that is all we needed to know!" Staunton continued "You do not see- a mortal is created with good and bad in itself, which might enable turning to either side. A demon does not have that in itself. It is thoroughly evil." Sena turned this around "So what about you? You were mortal? What about your soul?"

If Staunton could laugh, he would have. "My soul? My souls is forsaken, belongs to the void. I have long ago given up on any shred of... "good" within me. "Where is your dead body?", "Where you will not find it." And will speak no longer...

With that done, he party focuses entirely on the templars, and don't search the temple. They manage to gather that they have been here about 7 years, but they believed that Iomedae has made a sanctified place to protect them here ("Sometimes demon would even pass through and didn't see us!") A sort of a semi real chapel within the demonic fort, all for their prayers and their... um... "help"... in trying to make "holy god child warriors". (Julian's player laughed- "I know many people who were held in a LOT worse conditions than these! )
The party decided to take them with them, and Sena even healed one (Was hit by the statue in an AoO). With 3 charges of his CLW wand (about 10 charges left at this point)

But Julian's player demand that they have a name. "Nameless NPCs die too easily!" (Oots reference ) So... Here are Caleb and the gang! (3rd level warriors, half plates and halbereds) Or as Mad dog's player calls them- Cannon fodder 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Spoiler: Of the visions

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There are sets of visions from two sources- John and Staunton. The first set the ground to the next adventure, link some stuff, and give basic hints about finding the Sword of Valor (And of course some nice roleplay opportunities), while the others give much subtler hints, but serve mainly as a way to portray Staunton Vhane in a different way.

Trap room

The party did find the secret door in the chapel, but before entering they went. "Wait, we know it can't be here, so why to go in?" butt..... they went in anyway. (F7) The room held statues of the Hammers of Heaven paladins, and the Sword fo Valor on the south wall. They left Caleb and the gang outside, and as predicted, the door locked, Deeper darkness was cast, the big statue got animated, and poison gas filled the room. But Senatef used mythic power for communal delayed poison, and the statue was easily taken care off. With that settled, they reopened the door and went outside.

(This brought up this lovely quote from "Space balls" )

The welcome hall

The party (and Caleb's gang), went into the main hall (F4)- in the original map the northern doors are blocked by debris, as are the north eastern gallery and the east door to the chapel. The ceiling of the room is made to look like a night sky, with various gems to look like stars, although many were taken. On the north west gallery there is a mural depicting the dwarves Quest for the Sky, and on the north wall between the two doors (Up from the pile of rubble. There is a Scythe of Deskari over broken weapons of the five crusading faiths (Sena took the Scythe down and Julian fixed the weapons through mending. I didn't quite know the spell, so I enabled this) As they were in this room, another vision came upon them.

This time it was Staunton Vhane, walking through the halls of Drezen, still wearing his shiny Hammers of Heavens armor, but Drezen is bloody, and the sounds of violence and suffering feels it, as multitude of demons kill templars all around, from Babaus to much tougher demons. Staunton is in shock, seems on a nervous breakdown. He mumbles silently. "Me... Mine... I... I did this. A ma beyond redemption. I killed all of these, I made Drezen fall... Beyond absolution, forsaken, lost..."

The doors to the main hall opened, and Aponavicius, the Merilith general slithered inside, with the smiling Jerribeth of the jade (Dressed as an elven war leader) followed inside. Aponavicius pointed her sword at Staunton. "You... betrayer... will be my puppet!" And as Staunton knelt, the vision ended.

Sena speaks angrily at him "What DID you do?" Staunton replies solemnly. "I sinned. The sin of pride- I wanted, I knew what was right, I will lead, I acted... I took the great banner, seekign to lead a glorious war, and by that making a swift, brutal defeat..." Staunton was not answering anything else.

Julian was worried. "We need to find the banner, and quickly. We explored but a bit of the fortress, we don't have a lot of resources left." the party surveyed the map, and decided that the most hard to reach place (due to the boulders) was the north west tower. Sena used stone shape to clear some way to the doors to the great hall, and they went in.

Spoiler: room features

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The room features serve two purposes: First they add atmosphere, but also... they could be the sword of Valor. I tried emphasizing this, but the party seemed intent that they will kill some big boss and find it. (We ARE programmed this way. Heck- the module does it this way!) So they don't even search the rooms much (As they didn't search the church) Oh well, they'll learn.

Damn, that's big!

The officer's hall used to be a huge place, with quite splendor, all that remained however are the 3 ever burning hearth in the north wall, east and west wall. The ceiling here was meant to represent the morning sky, but a lot of tiles have fallen off since, and the golden globe meant to represent the sun is quite cracked.

But these are minor issues, cause in the center of the room is a gargantuan statue of Deskari, and with Staunton's force, it moves! (I didn't have a gargantuan miniature, we may do with a huge that was positioned to cover enough space). You could almost see the tears of joy in Mad dog's player's eyes.


Mad dog and Andera charged, and started chipping at it's hit points, but the statue replied, and mad dog had to use two mythic points to evade the gargantuan Scythe!

But, this was not all, for the ghost of Staunton Vhange himself appeared near Julian and Sena. "How long will you stand?", "How long will you?!" (This was the last battle of the session, I felt they needed to have it count! ) Stauton passes through Sena's armor with a corrupting touch, but lucky rolls hasd it that he suffered little damage.

Julian is more worried about the statue, lets one of her mirror image take an AoO and finds a spot to try a malfunction spell on the statue. Sena tries a 5ft step, but Staunton follows (Step up) He summons instant armor (Force armor), which later saves his hide a few times. Staunton comments stoically. "I admire your determination, but does it matter? Battle after battle, blow after blow, till we finally fall..." Andera tumbles back to try and hits Staunton, leaving Mad dog alone vs. the Deskari statue, and lands a small hit on the ghost. "Strike after strike, the endless battle, the endless dance, the game we play, and all for naught. A pointless exercise in futility".

Mad dog does nice damage to the statue, which in returns nearly kills it with a confirm... only he has the helm of the fortunate soldier (from the Soltengrabbe loot) which negates this one critical (otherwise it would have been an almost certain instant kill)

The rest of the battle is short: Mad dog trades blows with the statue, while the rest tries to gang up on Staunton. A haste spell from Julian, good rolls from Mad dog, and a ghost touch holy weapon (from the domain power) on Senatef manages to take down their foes at the end. A great point in the battle is when Mad dog hits the statue 3 times in a row, crumbles it, then extends his arm (Longarm braces) to hit Staunton, and again with a sudden attack! A whirlwind of pure destruction. (Though he took quite a bloody beating! Hanging on the 10-20 range after some healing)

As Sena destroyes "Staunton", the fort replies. "This was but an minor apparition of mine, a fragment of my real power. I cannot die, for I return, again, and again, and again. While your power dwindles. I have told you- Drezen will grind you. This is my prison, my tomb, our grave, our end..."

The party greeted their teeth, they have won, but it has been a tough fight, and took quite a bit from them. How much more punishment can they stand?

Each player's XP: 65,100.
Current Mythic points: Julian- 1, Sena- 4, Mad dog- 4, Andera- 5
--------------------------------------------------------------

We ended things here, the session was a lot of fun, and quite exciting, though (As Julian's player said) "Quite worrying. We've explored about 1/4-2/5ths of the place, and expanded about half our resources...".

The plan so far worked quite nicely:
- The beefed up battles are more fun for the players.
- The visions are received well enough. (I especially like how they are starting to tie John, Arulashee and Jerribeth together.)
- Staunton Vhane comes out nice, an antagonist that interests them, and does not feel TOO cliche.

What doesn't work is trying to actually look for the Sword of Valor. The players are looking for the "big boss" and expect to find it there. We'll see next session. I think that the other visions might help narrow things down.

The atmosphere is tense, but fun, which is great! I'm happy everyone found somethign to relate to in the session.

Oh, and finding the sword of valor isn't the end of things, there is still the shadow demon, along with John, (Which might be a reeaaall doozy!) and in a place not easily accessible by mortals- Staunton Vhane awaits.

I truly do fear TPKs for those encounters... Thanks for reading! Please tell me what you think, your ideas, questions and the like.
Thanks,
Kol.

[Kol Korran]

Hey folks. Our next session will take place on the 2nd of January. (Happy new year? ) Until then I'll be working on a few issues, most of them concerning the next module, a few about the end of this module:

1) Downtime in the third module: Again, I'm not much of a fan of the system they put out- mostly number crunching and shifting, and little if any kngdom management. I've put this thread to discuss this and other matters. I've asked the players about it- Julian's player would like the opportunity to perhaps start a mage's order, build a more permanent home, and such. But Andera's player is quite opposed- he feels there is little precious gaming time as it is, and that we should focus on the adventures themselves, and not "side tracks that do little to promote the plot or characters". Which he is half right, only I think that personal projects may bring a lot to the depths and involvement of some characters. (Though now I finally realize why he repels any hook I put on to enhance interactions between him, the teiflings, the spy network in Kenabres and so on) So we're at a disagreement, and trying to find a solution. Sena's player is undecided, and Mad dog's player hasn't chimed in with his opinion yet.

We think of simplifying things so that each player (if they want to) can have 1-3 projects they are undertaking in their downtime, and I plan (Possibly with them), possible decision points and/ or challenges that will help shape the final form of their project, and give a sense of accomplishment. Perhaps some more minor benefits, perhaps some XP, don't know yet.

2) The challenge with the shadow demon and John: I'm still not fully satisfied with it yet. John will be possessed, and will try to make it look like he has fallen, but I want there to be some tough decision for Sena. Should he save John or the wounded outside (John is in one direction, Staunton Vhane in an entirely different direction). Maybe between John and a friend? (The shadow demon drops John near some danger, and possesses another, who is in some other danger?) Maybe the road to Staunton Vhane requires someone to die? (John? Sena? Caleb and company?). Not fully sure here. There are plans for the encounter, but they can still be changed.

I'm aiming at a tough decision, a bit like in the first spider man movie when the green goblin holds his girlfriend by 1 rope, a bus of children by the other. But Unlike in the movie, I'd like to make it REALLY hard (though not impossible) to do both. (Green Goblin: "Spider-Man. This is why only fools are heroes - because you never know when some lunatic will come along with a sadistic choice. Let die the woman you love... or suffer the little children? Make your choice, Spider-Man, and see how a hero is rewarded!")

I am also quite sure that unless the party falls for the shadow demon masquerading as John who has fell, that they will try to break the demon's hold by talking, I'd like to give them a try. You might check this and a bit more mechanical possession questions here.

3) The riddle of the Sword of Valor: it is mostly ready, but more ideas are welcomed. You can check things here.

4) Looking for some good music: For when the PCs battle the shadowdemon, (Looking for insidious slithery sounding music. One that makes you suspicious, but also reasonably fast paced) and for when they battle Staunton Vhane (One of doom, gloom, inevitable fight, or possible huge slabs of rocks falling or such. ) suggestions are welcomed!

That's all for nowa bit of time to rest, and think. Next session we're ending the module

[Biotroll]

Your journal is excellent as always. I can't wait to see how will your players fare, almost makes me wish I could be at the table too.

I've been thinking of playing this campaign with my party, as it seems quite simple: hack and slash some demons and then do it again. Exactly what my players need, but you made it into something better. Guess I will be using at least some of your ideas should we decide to play it.

I'm going to give you some suggestions on music, but don't know how much you will like it:
Quake 1 soundtrack - Hall of souls - maybe too technological, but I like it as background music. Grisly grotto might be better.
Dragon Age: Origins - Deep roads probably better for background as well.
Planescape Torment - Fortress of Regrets shame it's so short, only 2 mins.

I'll try to check your other threads if I get the time to do so. I'm interested in how you plan the adventure to go. Good luck.

[Kol Korran]

To All: I've putten a sort of a "track list" for each module in the second psot of the log (under the entries for each module, in a spoiler). Hope this can help those who wanted a more organized list.

Your journal is excellent as always. I can't wait to see how will your players fare, almost makes me wish I could be at the table too.

I've been thinking of playing this campaign with my party, as it seems quite simple: hack and slash some demons and then do it again. Exactly what my players need, but you made it into something better. Guess I will be using at least some of your ideas should we decide to play it.

Thanks for the praise! It's a fun hobby. The thing that interests me as a player the most is the difficult choices people make, portraying interesting and in depth characters, and last overcoming challenges. I've read more and more of FATE core for some time now, and it is quite appealing, but my group tried FATE core and we lack detail, and the "overcome a challenge" more. And yeah, they quite lack hack and slash to a degree, I'm just trying to make it a bit more interesting the "just" hack and slash. So far working ok, we'll see.

If you need any off my notes, I keep nearly all of them on word files. I'll be glad to share them, though in many cases they are adapted specifically for my group.

An important note: The modules are designed to be VERY EASY on the characters, from what I experienced, and that many other DMs commented upon on various other threads upon the net. Most people felt like they were easily hacking their path through it. If that's your aim go for it. If not, I suggest to ramp up the challenges.

I'm going to give you some suggestions on music, but don't know how much you will like it:
Quake 1 soundtrack - Hall of souls - maybe too technological, but I like it as background music. Grisly grotto might be better.
Dragon Age: Origins - Deep roads probably better for background as well.
Planescape Torment - Fortress of Regrets shame it's so short, only 2 mins.

I'll try to check your other threads if I get the time to do so. I'm interested in how you plan the adventure to go. Good luck.

I love these! the music I was using for exploring Drezen got Andera's player thinking on Fallout all of the time (Which is the problem with using well known music) these would do great. Once they get to the next "level" (Sort to speak, my semi-replacement for the dungeon, they could work even more. Thanks!

Oh, and by the way, some forumist (forgot on which thread) showed me a lovely tool- "The Infinite looper"- basically, you find a track you like on the net, and just copy it's address there and voila! It repeats itself endlessly! So better than looking for looped tracks, much simpler.

Thanks!

[Kol Korran]

(EDIT: I've just noticed that the first link in a few posts above is broken. Here is the link to the original thread dealing with the Demon's Heresy matters (including Downtime mechanics. )

We have different tastes in the party: Julian and Sena's players wish to roleplay a few leadership challenges, or partkae in a few personal projects. But Andera and Mad dog's player just wish to get on with as much "straight adventuring" as possible.

So... a compromise- We'll roleplay a few "Leadership challenges", and I will work with the two interested players, partly outside screen, partly on, but nearly entirely by roleplay (Maybe a few dice rolls, not much). We'll NOT be using either the downtime rules or the kingdom management rules. Hmmmm...

Anyway, I've put on Yet another thread ("Leadership challenges") if anyone wants to suggest anything. You folks know the characters involved mroe than the random forumists, so your input would be greatly appreciated.

[Equilibria]

Hey Kol. Just wanted to say that i've enjoyed this log very much and i can't wait for january 2.

[Kol Korran]

Hey Kol. Just wanted to say that i've enjoyed this log very much and i can't wait for january 2.

Thanks Equilibria! It's always nice to know that people are reading and enjoying.

In Between Sessions 13 & 14

1) We are trying to move the session to this weekend. The players are quite antsy about the whole "trapped in Drezen" thing.

2) The discussion about leadership and down time after (IF) they capture Drezen, led to quite a lot of interesting discussion about roleplay, mainly between myself, Sena's player and Julian's player (Who also DMs at times. He DMed the "It began with a crash" campaign).We are all frustrated at the seeming lack of interparty roleplay in this campaign. We usually have a lot more. After some long discussions I came to some conclusions... Soem regarding my DMing style, some about the players:

• Stressful play: Perhaps it's the nature of the campaign, but more likely it is me- I tend to create very tense, very stressful, "It all depends on us, lets hope not to mess this up!" kind of atmosphere. Julian's player claims that the players become all "battle ready/ alert", and try to handle the overload of threats, so they are not open to just roleplay their characters. Sena's player is a mroe natural character, and he actually thrives under pressure, but the rest are not so.
• Julian's player suggested to put in some less-plot-centric situations, that enable roelplay, where the consequences of the interaction don't greatly affect the big game. I put a lot of roleplay opportunities (Such as a whole lot of army troops and commanders) but the players are stressed about these as well, as these can impact the adventure greatly. He mentioned that he put such light hearted occasions in his adventure, specifically to enable the party to ease up, lessen the tension, relax a bit and goof up slightly. And he is right- those occasions were quite a lot of fun, and enabled even Mad dog's player (Who is the least roleplay prone of us), to indulge.
• On the whole Julian's player said that his very basic structure for adventures was "build up=> build up=> climax=> relaxation and goofing off=> build up...". With the current campaign path, we had buildup up to 4 levels at a time, so people just don't have an outlet, and not enough relaxed opportunities.
• Something we all noticed about the Adventure path, is that there are very few "big events/ turning points/ twists". The entire first module led to the Gray Garrison. The entire second module leads to the Siege of Drezen. Now, I'm not sayign that there aren't big battles en route, but there are very few actual major decision points the characters make, that can change the outcome or shape of the adventure. And decisions define character, and are the best opportunities for roleplay. In our "home made" campaign each 1.5 levels could turn the entire situation around, and character decisions had a lot of weight. This agency is taken from them in the Adventure path... I wonder how to fix that... The third module is more free ranging. Perhaps I can adapt it.
• Sena's player feels strongly that good interparty roleplay come from interparty conflict. He has tried to do this a few times with Julian, with Andera, but to little success. Which leads to some plans he has- he intends to make a fairly major character development in the next session, as he feels the entire situation in Drezen, the culmination of a successful siege that seems to end in disaster, calls for it. The change might create some new bonds with the other PCs, but also some new conflicts. We're discussing this heavily on emails. You'll see the results once we play.
• Lastly, we decided that IF the party survives Drezen, that we will open a discussion in the group about expectations from the adventure path, from roleplay with NPCs, inter- party roleplay, and a few other issues. We feel we need to see how we all stand upon this.

3) Julian's player has been writing short scripts and such (It helps him get into the character's mind). We've discussed her beliefs a bit, and he sent me the following. Brian is a priest of Iomedae that has been a sort of a father figure to her. This takes place shortly after she touched the last fragment of the Wardstone (Post explosion), and got her mythical powers (We changed things slightly to fit his idea of Julian)

Spoiler: Julian and the gods

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“It is silly, I will not go. It will only get these people killed.”

“You must go, child.” Brian replayed calmly. Unlike Brian, who at least kept a calm posture, I was furious.

“I am not a child anymore!” I yelled and stomped my leg on the ground. Gods, I do behave like one, and for the first time since a very long time. which infuriates me even more! Brian was not moved.

“The Queen believes you are destined to go, along with the heroes of Kenabres. This is a great honor.”

“An honor that will get me and many others killed. What do I know of leading an army? As you might recall they threw me out of the Iomedae scouts, and even in the orphanage I made a mess.” I could hit him when he smiled at my words.

“I can’t forget that, yet I also recall that where ever you went, the others always followed you, to whatever mischief you decided to do. And besides, you will not lead the army alone, there will be experienced army commanders by your side and also the rest of the heroes of Kenabres”.

“Ha, great. The heroes of Kenabres. A group of people that no one heard of before, surfacing from the tunnels beneath Kenabres with a small army of deformed men, and then destroying the wardstone that defended Kenabres from the demons. You might as well send a group of demons along.”

Brian sigh “Look at me Julian” He used to do say that when I was a small girl and did not want to listen to him. I looked into his eyes, holding his gaze. He looked very serious. “This is not just the queen asking you to go, Julian. All those powers you showed as when you woke, they are not something someone just get. You were chosen not by the queen but by the gods themselves, and for a reason. And with great strength comes great responsibility.” “The gods?” I asked, my voice rising “Where were your gods when my friends were slaughtered by the demon? Where were they when I was thrown out of the Bakers? Where were they when I lived in the streets for so many years? And where are they every night when I ask myself why I survived and my friends died. Can you tell me that Brian?” Brian kept his gaze locked into mine “Maybe, just maybe, those powers and the chance to go against the demons were granted to you so you can get an answer to that last question. Have you considered that?” and with that he left my room, leaving me staring at the door, confused.

4) Something that comes up on occasion during play, but which Julian's piece made me realize even more- a rising theme in our campaign is "the role of a hero"- this was thrust on the party, and all except Andrew the paladin, don't feel themselves heroes, even though it is apparent that many will consider them living legends (After the deal with Drezen? for sure!) So I'm thinking to try and explore it a bit. Stay tuned!

Other than that, I keep thinking up things for the game- some reworking of The Drezen challenge (I keep changing the way the shadow demon encounter works. Not quite satisfied yet), the time between modules and the start of a city (I wish to put some more relaxed encoutners there), and the basis of the next module and exploration of the wordlwound. More open ended, so I may need to prepare to lots of stuff.

Till next time, Kol.

[Kol Korran]

Hey folks, some small issues I could use your help with:

1) Random events of exploring the Worldwound. I think this thead could prove a useful tool to whomever runs the third module (And possibly the second as well)

2) This thread deals with Sena's player's idea for his character development for the next session. I tried to void some issues, but there are probably spoilers there. Still, if you wish to help, I'd love to have it: What haunts a man

[Kol Korran]

More between Sessions 13 & 14

Sorry that this isn't a game update. We play on Saturday, and so far it looks like a hell of a meeting. A lot has been going on in the background:
1) I've been doing quite a lot of work, both reworking and adjusting Drezen to fit the concept I have in mind for it better, but also on future stuff, namely the 3rd and 4th module. Lots of ideas, thoughts and concepts. I hope we could make it interesting enough. One thing I really don't understand is why-oh-why are there so many "demons of temptations" in this adventure path? All looking like very seductive, scantly clad women with wings and various demonical markings (usually horns or tail)- Arrelu Vorlesh, Jerribeth, Arulashee, that lilitu demon that keeps escaping the PCs in the 4th module (forgot her name),Nocticula, Nocticula's second in command, That "talent agent" succubi, A WHOLE CITY/ PLANE FOR SUCCUBI! Weird... just weird... There are plenty of other themes for demons.

Anyway, back from the rant, Getting a bigger perspective of things enables me to plan better. I do like The Midnight Isles' premise of going to the abyss... We'll see.

I'm quite sorry that Drezen doesn't come more into the fore in these two modules, after the party have conquered it. I guess i may have to input some thigns of my own. Speaking of which, I would love your help with the "Populate Drezen" thread!

Also, another "help me with music" thread!

2) Sena's player has been working with me quite a bit on his character. He feels that the desperation in Drezen, having all these people whom he was responsible for die outside are a big strain on Sena, strain that will lead to quite a change. I quite like this interplay. He will have some interesting things to play out in this session, providing he survives. I need to make sure he doesn't get too much spotlight. It's quite odd, but just yesterday Julian's player came to me with nearly the exact concerns and ideas that Sena's players came up with! Without revealing too much, we decided that I do not have time to work something fully out with him till the session, so he will roleplay things by ear now, and we'll think up something next. I'm starting to have some ideas already though, lets see what he comes up with though...

3) Commander John- does he reek? Andera and Sena's player have been dueling/ bantering/ arguing over the web over John's innocence- Did he betray them? Was he under the influence of drugs? Did taking drugs that were associated with demons not betrayal enough? What makes the man innocent, in a military rule? and so on... sometime in jest, sometimes with serious underlines.

I'm so going to build on that in the shadow demon's encounter!

4) And another issue that steers up the group- Julian's suggested organization that she wants to put up in Drezen- a sort of a secret police organization. The player is terrified that with the demons' abilities to assume various forms and tempt mortals, that they will try to corrupt/ influence the powers in Drezen once they start rebuilding it. This stirred up a small hornets nest- talks about becoming a dark regime, that inhibits human rights, and those saying it is necessary in an outlying outpost in demon lands and more. Quite a lot of back and forth on this, with no real agreement.

Interesting...

5) And all of this is IF the party survives Drezen. I' m quite worried about the shadow demon encounter, which is both very interesting to play roleplay wise, and combat wise, but can be disastrous, mostly as the party will come there with little resources.

But the encounter with Staunton Vhane, the Haunt of Drezen? I fear for a TPK. Still, this is supposed to be a death trap, and the end of the module. They just might pull a fast one like in the last module's end battle (Where Sena used silence to lure the boss out of her safe place). We'll see. Something to look up to!
-------------------------------------------------

Last thing- the players are all excited/ worried about the coming session, so I hope it will live up to the expectations. I'm in a sort of a buzz myself while working on it!

Thanks for Reading,
Kol.

[Kol Korran]

Hello again. We had... an excellent session yesterday- very tens,e very exciting, but which took a lot of us (At least from me!). It was supposed to last 7-8 hours, but ended up 11 hours long. (Our second longest session ever, topped only by the last session in the "Many facets of darkness" campaign). The session was quite... intense, but in a good way!

I will divide it to 3 parts, due to length. Pardon me for doing so. Hope you enjoy the ride!

Session 14, part 1- The search for The Sword of Valor, Chorussia, Sena's call

A link to the map again, and a quick recap if you need it

Spoiler

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A free image of a very similar map
(It is not exact, some rooms, doors and such have been changed, but it'll do if you don't have one and wish to follow things. If you have the module's file better follow that.
Two important changes to the map: No stairs down F19, and F6 is instead joined to the room south of it, and has no known secret doors)

The party entered Drezen seeking the Sword of Valor and Staunton Vhane, (SV from now on) but found out it is a trap, designed by Areelu Vorlesh, with the haunting ghost of SV in the center of it, harassing them. As they explored, they had visions, both from SV's past, but also from Sena's mentor, Commander John. The visions showed that long ago he was on an expedition, led by Andrew's parents, with his friends- Marekai and Borsosus. They also showed that they were involved with Jerribeth of the jade and Arulashee (Though the party only knows her as "the archer woman",) as humanoids trying to charm the.

Commander John sent two clues through his visions:
"Seek that which was lost. And free it with the the power the gods vested in the chosen ones!"
"Not all is as it appears to be, Yet you cannot evade it's true essence."

The party battled a few foes, a trap, and ended up fighting a gargantuan statue of Deskari (With Mad dog soloing it with the use of mythic points, and the ghost of Staunton Vhane, but it was only a weaker apparition of his, he could not be so easily killed...

Third vision
The party is currently at the officer's hall (F17). Though they have won, Mad dog suffered great damage. Healing his empties the last 16 charges on the CLW wand the party has. They have a partially depleted CMW wand, with about 12 charges or so... That, combined with about 1/2 spells, and low mythic points, made them edgy.

The hall had a golden globe in a blue tiled ceiling, mimicking the sky, but heavily deteriorated. There were 3 hearths, 1 of them with an ever burning fire, but the party was disinterested. As they debated on what is next, another vision befell them.

They were in a big underground cavern, there were about 30 people there, all kneeling, praying, in a religious fervor, John, Marekai and Borosus amongst them. Sena understood that the sermon had to do with Iomedae somehow. He tried to get closer to the center, seeing Daria McClane, Andrew's mother, a powerful priestess conducting some ceremony.

Meanwhile, Julian noticed Jerribeth and "the archer woman" at the back, looking tense. She tried to confront them, but the vision objected, immediately their composure changed to entirely relaxed "Do... do we know you?"

Suddenly there was a great light, as something... holy, powerful, beneficial, appeared in the center of the room, the party could just see some figure in white, a great light emanating from it. John and Marekai cried "We never saw we would see such a thing!" Julian turned to the two demons, who tensed much more, and discreetly fled.

Sena turned to John, grasping his hand, clling for his attention. "What is happening here?" John looked back at him, more serious, older, as he knows, as if speaking from afar, trying to concentrate. "This was the core we sought, and so you too, must seek the core of Drezen, the dwarven fort." and with that, the vision faded...

Command room and SV's room

Mood music (The grisly grotto)
(Thanks to Biotroll! )

The party didn't quite understood. "The core if Drezen?" they debated a bit, but decided it must be underground- in the vision there was an underground cavern, and dwarves live underground, no? While originally they thought to go to the tower (F22- F23- 24), they decided to head west instead. They thought the shape of the rooms there looked important. (?? .... )

In the map in the link it doesn't quite show the rooms correctly. F18 is long and diagonal, and has doors leading to f19 (without stairs) and f20 which is a big room with 3 smaller adjoining rooms. they went to f18 instead.

The room looked a bit posh ()In dwarven standards, even after years of demon mutilation). The center of the room held a long table with the map of the Worldwound and surrounding lands around it, with a few metal gloves chained to the table, radiating faint magic. There was a big shattered mirror (This will be important later), and two book cases. This was Drezen strategic planning room, or war room. Examining the gloves they understood they can create mage hands over the tables, to move pieces.

There was also the Sword of Valor! "Hey, isn't that what we're looking for?" Said Mad dog. But of course it was but a fake. SV speaks, and tries to tell of the campaigns they have led against the alliance from here, but Sena just shuts him up. (He gave a nice little speech from LoTR, but I forgot what it was). "We are spending too much time here!" Sena was stressed.

They decided to go to F19 (I think they meta gamed a bit and hoped to find stairs down ). The place proved to be spartan in decor, with but a few beds, a table, and a few chests. A quick inspection found to interesting initials- SV and JV. Sean found an old family tree of the Vhane family, including his brother Joran, and a nephew- Millorn Vhane! (From the first module. The players- "I guess mental instability runs in the family). There were marks there,but no one knew Dwarven. Sena pulled a comprehend language scroll- SV was marked as holy man and commander, JV was a priest and blacksmith, Millorn was a mage and... outcast.

Sena calls to Staunton "So this is your cousin? we met him." SV replied "Yes, a lost case, lost after me, lost for a long time." Julian retorted "Is he lost? We helped him, and now he is the disciple of a paladin no less, doing much better now! You could come back too". For once, this got a laugh of Staunon, a sad, grim laugh. "The madness he has seen pales compared to what I've been through, what I've done, what I've become... I am far beyond that. That paladin of his..." Sena again cut him out "You don't speak of paladin! You, you have never truly been a paladin." SV was nonplussed "Perhaps it is so... it doesn't matter what was, matters what I am..."

At which point another vision came. Of this very room, a longtime ago, with SV talking to an elven women with green clothes and Jade likes eyes. The two figures faded and moved around the room, near the table, on the bed, holding each other, SV pushing her away painfully, and her persuasive words came again and again. "Your heart seems true, not like those here"... "If we only had the true power of Iomedae behind us, we could win this war"... "A leader to lead us to glorious battle! Our army will follow you!"... "Trust what's true in your heart, not in your mind"...

Then the image faded to another scene- SV was climbing up a hill in the SV, excited, determined, holding the Sword of Valor banner. He brought it to the elven woman. "Here! Now where is my army! Time to do battle!" She laughed "Your army? Here is your army!" A few hundred demons climbed the crest of the hill, and with a horrible shriek all teleported... And so the vision ended.

The party, and SV were silent. They found his journal, but had little time to read. Sena just went towards the last entry. "It is time. Areelu Vorlesh has one last task of me. A highly painful one, but perhaps it will be the end? I will be free? It matters not, what must be done, will be done. If this is my punishment, so be it. I deserve nothing less..." Julian also looked for any info on the Sword of Valor, but saw that section ripped out.

Pocketing SV's journal, the party heads out.

Chorussia's lab
The party goes back to the officers' hall, then up to F16- part northern defense, part museum, with mural of dwarven victories defaced by demon occupation. They find three banners, of the Hammers of Heaven (The unit SV belongs to), the Sentinels of Dawn and the Mithral Pure (Two other units that protected the place). Sena wishes to maybe use his mythic power to try and transform one, but Julian persuades him to look for more clues first. "We're too low on mythic power, and we won't rest for a long while yet!" they check the room just to the east- supply of oil, wood (that had rotten) and ballista bolts. They make a very quick search and move on.

As they reach the tower, (F22), they rush up, (F23 is one big round room in the module), but neither them nor the Babaus in the room get surprised. Roll init!

Battle music- Titan dune

Mad dog charges at a Babau, thankful yet once again of his adamantine sword. Sena cast channel vigor on himself, (Choosing to hate himself) and he rushes into what looks like a... demonic lab? In the center there is a 20 ft lon glowing rune of Deskari, with smallr runes to it's side and top, a rune of flesh, bone and blood (Thanks for investing in abyssal!). And there is a tiefling caster there. She yells "Do not let them interupt me!" There are 3 babaus other than her.

The diabolical with casts a wall of force around her. The party curses... Andera and Julian advance, Julian takes one of the demons out with hideous laughter (Which proves to be a VERY useful spell). Mad dog and Andera bash some of the demons, while taking damage, but Sena focuses on Chorussia. With inflamed anger he calls "Shut up b*tch!" and uses the same trick he used at the last battle of the last module- he cast silence inside of her wall of force! Unable to cast (I think I should give my casters silent spell? ) she dismisses the wall of force, and moves to the back, both Sena and Andera rush to her while Md dog and Julian finish up the Babau.

She tries to capture them with black tentacles, but they manage to escape, Julian throws at her magic missile, only to be swallowed in her ring! (Ring of forcefang). But the battle is effecively won, As Andera kills her. Sena seems strangely gleeful. "You have met your fate, witch!"

The party search the corpse and the room. they find what looks like a diabolic mage's library, and some magic items. With the forcefang ring going to Sena ("Finally! A ranged attack!" This ring proves to be quite useful, and Julian charges it to it's 9 missiles). But they also find a strange box- with lead, cold iron and demon ichor padding. In it lies what looks like a fastened and secure metal potion container. Even getting close to the empty container feels... evil, wrong, diabolical... the party closes the lid careful, and checks the notes quickly, noting just the "Highly volatile" notes. They pocket them, feeling they have no time.

Julian examines the Deskair rune and three smaller runes, while they fade. She doesn't know what it is, but the bigger rune is comprised of many smaller runes, and it's a... replica? clone? of something else? And it's tightly tied to the three runes of flesh, bone and blood. But the weirdest thing is that this witch was looking for ways to... break it?

Sena urges on "We have no time for this!" So they decide to ascend.

Spoiler: GM design - Chorussia, the runes, the container

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Chorussia is orginally in the dungeon of Drezen (Of which there is none in my campaign, well... not in the traditional sense. ). There she was supposed to be in the middle of a ritual to collapse Drezen. From there I got the entire idea of "Drezen as a trap". Here though she was trying to do the opposite. Later on the party finds the REAL rune in a much more central place. THis was a clue, a build up, mostly the relation to the three runes. Chorusia works under Aponavicius, and resented being trapped here, and tried to reverse Areelu's spell.

As to the container- it hold an empty Nyhadrian Elixir- the potions that can make demons and such ascend. The notes include info about it, the info the module wishes the party to discover. I thought to leave it to give the party a bit of a glimpse to the future, and maybe they could even come up with an interesting idea of what to do with them.

The "silence to ruin a caster's safe zone" trick is quite useful. Using the wall of force was supposed to be her shtick, to cast spells from there. Oh well, party got to smash face!

Sena's call
As the party reached the top of the small tower (F24), they found a ruined beacon of summoning. But more than that, they could finally see outside of Drezen- they could see the troops outside- some suffering, some not moving anymore...

Andera is furious! "Staunton Vhane! You cowardly spirit! Come out here!" SV replies in kind "We do not play by your codes of "honor", "valor", "courage". We aim to win, by every deed necessary. We do not fight... "fair." Andera rages "We shall show you what is unfair!"

Sena however, is taken by the sight, he moves to the edge, looking all around, and falls to his knees. "So it is all true... it wasn't just a trick..." SV replied" Why should we lie? When there is NOTHING you can do to prevent it." Julian, worried at Sena put her hand on his shoulder. "There is nothing we can do here, we are wasting time. C'mon, let's go!"

Sena reeled around angry "And do WHAT? We don't even know what we are looking for! They are dying out there!" Mad dog steeped forward "We will kill this ghost, that must be tied to it!" Julian tried to comfrot Sena. "Look, I feel the same as you do, more than you know. But Mad dog is right, we need to stop Staunton, that will probably help!"

Sena will not be consoled. He turned to the dying troops. "But this is OUR fault, we led them here." Andera retorted "We were tricked, it's not out fault." Sena snarled back. "But WE. LED. THEM. HERE!" Julian tried to calm him. "You are right, we are responsible, which is why we must hurry and try to do something about it." Sena looked at her intently for a few seconds, and replied. "I will do something.

Sena turned, and looked up, putting his arms aside. "Sarenrae! Hear me! I always went your way! Where you pointed, I followed! Now look on my bretheren, your followers, our army, help me, help us ease their pain, I will sacrifice myself for that if need be!" (Players rolled their eyes a bit)

Sena continued. "I lost my fathers, my mother, my brothers and sisters, and now my brethren and other brothers of mine. it is my fault, my fault alone. My fault that John has disappeared, my fault that they are dying here in this place, because of Areelu Vorlesh. I don't have the power against these demons! They are acting unfairly, unjust, not with temperance, with patience... I call for you to even the score! Just once- show them that we are not alone! I don't care if I'm one of the chosen ones or not. My life is as equal as theirs. My life is as expendable as theirs. Hear me Sarenrae!"

At which point Sena felt as a sort of a warm presence inside of him. Not exact words, but impressions "Not expendable! Higher role. Greater purpose in the struggle. You cannot take the power you request. Too much, endanger. Risk everything."

Sena was furious. "Higher role? SO they would just die because of that? I can take it, use me! ease their pain!" At which he got impressions again. "No. Not ready yet. Too much power. Risk you. Risk all. Not yet child. Their sacrifice for you. hundreds for tens of thousands and more... many more. Cannot risk. Greater good."

Sena was furious. "Greater good?! That was an excuse for lots of atrocities!" The reply came. "Yet at times it is true. Sometime it is a must. Cannot risk. Trust me... trust me..."

Sena's voice broke. "Trust you? Like John trusted you? Where is he now?! Answer me!". The presence was still warm, accepting, trying to comfort, to soothe "He did as needed. He will be saved. Trust me... trust in me... trust Sena, child. Not ready yet."

Sena's tears ran. "I wish none of this has happened" and he remembered John's words long ago "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

Sena was lost, on his knees... when something, another presence, womanly, intense, raw, and amused was in his mind. "What do you feel? In your heart? I can help you. Do you wish it? It can shatter you. I accept that...". Sena's eyes opened "I accept, with all of my heart!" The presence seemed to pull "then open it!"

Suddenly, Sena stood up as if hit by a jolt, and there was a wailing, and spirits rushed towards Sena encompassing, pressing into his body, and some surrounded him, much like John's spirits did. Sena's eyes were ablaze, though he could feel the dying, their pain, their whispers, cries, in a far off way. "Thank you, thank you for giving me what I need to ease their pain". The presence felt as if smiling. "Just trust your heart, your deeper heart. It will guide you!"

At which point Julian exclaimed "What the blazes just happened?!"

Spoiler: Sena's transformation

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The player and I have been working on this. He saw Drezen as a serious breaking point for his character, a crisis of faith. He also didn't quite feel in tune with the Sarenrae principles, and sought some power he could relate to more. Not telling yet which power it is, though the party suspect a demon pact. (It's not).
The player thought (and pushed) towards the tower for this scene, but I was ready put a similar scene if they went elsewhere. The effect of the spirit will mostly be flavor, though Sarenrae was not kidding- there is a cost (though apparently not that high as it turned out).

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This is enough for the first part. I hope to write more as soon as I can. Thanks for reading!

[Kol Korran]

Session 14, Part 2- The search continues, Kirandia, Getting lost.

At which point Julian exclaimed "What the blazes just happened?!". Sena dismisses the concern. "I got what I needed- to ease their pain, it's the least we could do." Andera was more suspicious "Who did you talk to? You made a deal? With a demon?". Sena scorned at him. "Not a demon. Sarenrae did not give us what we needed, the other one did. I trust her." Andera stung a bit more "Like you trusted Sarenrae?" Sena dismissed this again. "As Julian said, we are wasting time! She will give us more guidance!"

At which point he cast Divination (using a mythic point) "Where is the core of Drezen?" The amused woman's voice came "At the center of dwarves toil, in a place of metal and fire!" Julian guessed it on the spot- "A forge! We're looking for some sort of a forge! But I'm not going until I know what sort of a pact you made- what did you give in return?" Sena replied "Just myself, my heart." It was Andera's turn to scorn "Good forces will not ask for a sacrifice!"

Suddenly Staunton Vhane voice chimed in "You do not yet know the meaning of sacrifice". Sena shouted at him "I am not like you! You were tricked by lust! By ego!" Staunton gave another mirthless grim laugh. "And you? Where is your ego? And I was "tricked" by trying to do the right thing, as you did". Julian was worried "How do you know who it was?" Sena dismissed "It was a force for good, it did good". Julian exclaimed at him "The gods do not interfere we directly!" Sena smiled "They have interfered through out my journey, or else what would you call my spells?" Julian was not convinced. "Not in this way though!" Sena continued his smile "Not the gods we knew, but this one does..."

At which point a transperant spirit appeared rushing from the troops. Sena knew it as Tyrus, a soldier in the knights of Sarenrae, but the voice surprised him, it was a much softer woman's voice, and the layer peeled to show it indeed was a woman. The party felt that this is Alisha, age 22. She hovered for a few seconds, her last thoughts 22, also known as Tyrus. "My family wouldn't let me, but I love Dean, and it's the only way I could follow him. If only I had told him…" before she spirt slammed into Sena's body, the shock injuring him.

This seemed to have settled matters "We ARE wasting time." They decided to head towards F20 and the three adjoining rooms (In the original the NW room was part of the main room. They thought that if those were officer's quarters, maybe there would be a forge there? or it could be the core... On the way Andera hissed "I think you are taking us down with you!"

Spoiler: DM design, accompanying spirits

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Since here onwards every so often a spirit would appear from the armies (Except for the tieflings. This may come later), speak a bit of it's dying thoughts/ impressions, and slam wound Sena. Many of the suggestions (Like the one above) are from LokiRagnarok (Thanks a bunch!) on this thread that I posted just a little while ago. The spirits also mke it hard for Sena to cast any spells (Concentration 17+ spell level). Both of these effects were what concerned Sarenrae.

4th vision of John
As they reached the officers quarters they found themselves once more in one of John's visions. This time a battle was going on, between some of the crusaders and other humanoids, but with demonic signs similar to Mad dog when he is manifesting. John was in tears, and they saw Andrew's Father- Altus McClane- "Hold them off! We must get those two! Hold them off!" John fought his way past some "demons", till he saw Marekai. With tears he fought and killed his ex-friend, and then a woman, with blooded lower portion. He killed her, when he heard suddenly the sound of a baby crying... The woman, nearly dying just called out, in her human voice "He was protected by the light! Don't take him!" John went and saw the newly born baby, and raised him.

Sena again gripped his arm "Where is the forge", but John seemed quite lost. Looking at the baby, at Sena, at the baby, at Sena. "Betrayal leads to more betrayal. The betrayer tainted the light, till it shines more more." and the vision ended.

Quarters of Aponavicius

More exploration music- Dragon age deep roads
(Thanks to Biotroll! )

The party entered F20, which turned out to belong to Aponavicius the merilith (now gone to lead demons army to the south)- vast strange mural, on the west wall lots of instruments of torture, on the east a few bone statues, and quite a few racks for weapons, all gone. In the center there was a round coiling depression- her bed. The party searched the room quickly, and then wen to the SE door.

It was Arulashee's prison- an anti magic magic field, and lots of prayers on the walls, including Arulashee's prayer- "HEAR MY PRAYER, LADY LUCK. FOR IT IS LUCK I NEED IN ESCAPING THIS CELL. NOT JUST THE LIFE BEHIND THESE BARS, BUT AN ETERNITY SPENT SHACKLED TO THE ABYSS ITSELF. IF YOU TRULY ARE THE TENDER OF DREAMS, THEN TENDER UNTO ME A NEW EXISTENCE. LET ME SING THE SONG OF THE SPHERES, SEE THE STARS WITH NEW EYES, AND ESCAPE THE PIT INTO WHICH MY SOUL WAS CAST. BRING ME GOOD FORTUNE, MY LADY. BRING ME A NEW SPIRIT MADE CLEAN. AND I WILL FOREVER BE YOURS, IN LIFE, AND IN FAITH. I AM READY. FINALLY READY."

The party felt calmer here, as if the horrors of Drezen are pulled back. Andera took it as a good sign. "So she is good... but then why was she with Jerribeth? They are sisters? why was she a part of all of this?" Julian theorized that "The archer might be going through what Mad dog is going? But maybe she found a way to fight it?"

Spoiler: DM design- wait, wasn't her cell supposed to be in the dungeon?

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Since I don't do the dungeon as it is, but rather heavily modified version, I decided to move her cell from there as well. I did so with the forge of corruption (Later)

As they returned to the main room, another spirit appeared- Kanis, a mongrelfolk. "Why we die here? We got out of the caves for this? So much pain, so much death, and all for..." (force wound slam). They entered the next room in line, which was lined with shelves of skulls, mostly humanoid, but not just- of many various species. There was an orb at the end of a staff there, which felt evil. A detect magic found out auras of necromancy and evil, but they couldn't identify what it does. (Lousy spellcraft rolls).

Mad dog wanted to smash it, but the party decided to pocket it as well.

(The inspiration for this room came from Planescape torment)

The last room proved to be a small weapon smithy, quite clean. They searched yet found nothing, Sena tried to pour his mythic power (spend a mythic point) to the forge, which did nothing, and dissipated. they decided to serch more.

in the main room they came upon another vision, this one was Staunton's. In this very room, as he was tortured extremely- blood drained, hooks in his skins, or cuts into his inner organs, slowly pulling ,tearing, and an albino looking human, with a symbol of Shax, the sadistic god, cutting and... deboning Stautnon. Staunton was obviously in great pain, but Areelu Vorlesh was next to him, caressing him. "Endure this dear Staunton, only great suffering will suffice fro what we plan."

Mad dog noticed something in the shadows- A shadow demon. He confronted him directly "Who re you?" The shadow demon seemed surprised but then responded. "Me? I am his jailor!"

At which point Staunton cried through the pain "Is this enough? Is this enough punishment? Finally?" Before the vision dissipated.

The forge
The party continued the search. They decided to head for the NE wing. They saw signs of The Mithral Pure" there, another order that was killed long since. If you go from S16 through the south east door, and then the door east you get to a small square room, which had a few crashed barrels, and a few newer ones, containing... water? They then went east, to the room with many exits, and chose the door to the south, where they came upon the... Corruption forge!

Spoiler: DM design: Corruption forge

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This also exists in the module, but in the dungeon level, so I transported it here. It is something major for the party to find out. It enabled demons to transform holy weapons and armor and such into unholy ones.

The party finds the strange forge, with many runes, but do to crappy knowledge skills and ranks (Sena put 1(!!) ranks in knowledge religion. ) They just understood the thing "was evil". They found Joran Vhane's notes (in code), two lanterns- one beat, old and broken, the other with a silvery glow, though dusted, with mithral runes ("Shine thy way!") and some tools.

The party manages to theorize that THIS is where they changed the Sword of Valor's form! (In fact, this is where they tried... ) Due to the clue from the divination ("Center of dwarves' toil, place of metal and fire) they figure out it must be here. They try various things- lighting the "Shine thy way" lantern, casting consecrate, Andera tries to climb up the chimney, but nothing works, they try to move on.

Kirandia/ Meresne
They go north and then east, to the barracks of the Mithral pure (With signs, two mithral chains and more), but the prisoner attracts their attention- an old haggard man calling out curses to them, trying to reach his sword. This is the succubi Kirandia under guise. Though Sens is suspicious, Kirandia plays the "was charmed and now is forgetful" act to the hilt, and the party decides to trust "Merense, the greatest duelist in the west!" and "free" him and give him his sword. They then go on to completely forget about him, assigning him to guard Caleb and the other 3 templars they saved from the other succubi earlier on (forgetting about them all...

Getting lost
Then begins a long process of practically searching every other place (nearly) in Drezen. They reach store rooms, ore rooms, bathing place, the chapel of Torag, the SE barracks (used to belong to the Hammers of Heaven) who were utterly destroyed by a long occupation of the Vescavor swarm that attacked them on the siege, but they didn't found anything that convinced them that "This was it". Staunton Vhane tries to regale them with sayings such "How many more die while you dally here? This is futile, it is beyond your reach" and so on, but the party just ignores him. except for Sena that seethes "We shall find your blood, and we shall cleanse it from this place!" (He is certain that the solution is by SV blood, due to the vision of torture). Quite aa few more spirits, Bartlets, Sarenraes, Mongrelfolk coem and imbed themslves in Sena, and he uses more and more charges of his CMW wand. Andera notices that oddly- no tielfings appear. But Sena speaks nothing of it.

Spoiler: More spirits, if you're interested

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Lones, 24, mongrelfolk- This is as a spirit taught us! We should have lived a good life! It is because me and the others stole from the ruins the night before. We should have told the others, we thought the gems could help make a new life!
Beans, Halfling- Russel, don't die! Come on boy, you gotta leave through this! That potion didn't help him enough. Here, have another, it's my last one, c'mon russel, you can't…
Goma, 33, human Sargent- Those privates still owe me 12 GP! Sarenrae and all that, I didn't go through all of this to be cheapened by whole 12 gps!
Ruak, 16, mongrelfolk- memories of a last meal, of faces of family, of father giving him some advice, sending him on his journey.
Halek, halfling- I don't realy feels my arms anymore… it's good, the pain stop… I wish I could see… Or maybe not. I wish I could stop to hear… the pain, the praying… Ah… here comes silence…
Dean, 23, human- Why? Why? Sarenrae, please hear me! I never wanted this! The army! The crusade! To die out here in a cursed temple! I just went along with the others! Please! Let me leave! I will …
Nura, mongrelfolk- Spirit! Brother! Where are you? Where are you? Help us! Help us! Please! Don't forsake us! Not now! Spirit! Brother…
Banya, halfling, 28- "Bartlet he still tries to rally us, to save us, he doesn't have a clue. The old bastard, he's just a big softy. Never before have I seen him cry. Not once in 10 years. Are we really that bad? I'm losing my sight…"

The Sword of Valor
So the party returned to the forge. Sena tries using his mythic power to transform the mithral lantern, but to no avail. Julian spoke calmly "We are losing ourselves. This IS the center of dwarves toil, we found nothing better. Lets observe the clues that John told us" So I went over them again:
"Seek that which was lost. And free it with the the power the gods vested in the chosen ones!"
"Not all is as it appears to be, Yet you cannot evade it's true nature and essence."
"This was the core we sought, and so you must seek the core of Drezen, the dwarven fort."
"Betrayel leads to more betrayal. The betrayer tainted the light, till it shines more more."
It was this last clue that solved it for them, they have forgotten about it. "So it's not the silver/ mithral lantern, but the beat up crappy one!"
So Mad tries to transform it, and...

Sword of valor's music- Mercy in Darkness, 2SfH

The party have found the Sword of Valor! (Finally! ) But before they could examine it, Kirnadia betrays them! (SV- "Haven't you yet learned of the theme of Drezen- betrayal after betrayal...") She tries to dominate Mad dog, who uses mythic power to block the attempt. She looks confused "I thought you were the simple minded one!" Mad dog grinned "I'm the one who kills!" And jumped at her. But Julian obviously didn't have time for this. She used hideous laughter, which took her out for the fight for 2 rounds. And 2 rounds is all it took, where Andera cut off her head once and for all Sena' was beside himself, cursing "betrayer!"

As they won, another vision from John descended on them. He was in a cave, with no exit, but with a great chasm in the middle. A dark and foreboding one. And he was tortured, in many ways, as well as made to fight all kind of demons, but also other captured templars, pushing some into the hall. And between fights, there was a shadow demon beside him, cutting it's arm, and letting him drink from his blood, with John's arms rolling back. "Finding the key to your prison, is one thing. You must also find the door out. "

The party examined the sword of valor. Again, crappy rolls and crappy ranks let them know very little of it's powers. The banner was somewhat intelligent, and communicated in impressions, slight emotions and the like. They felt it's power was very low, very few "charges" as it is. They could feel it could partly rejuvenate them (A sensation similar to that of the Scales of Terendelev). It could shed a powerful light, or use a minor sort of miracle (A sort of limited wish, in regarding for spells, but with divine spells more than arcane). The party decided to use nothing for now.

They felt the Banner pulling. Julian took it with her (As only she had 2 free hands), and they moved. Julian felt that the banner helsp ease her fears, her loneliness, her terror of this place. It led them towards the broken mirror at the war room (F18) As the light from the banner shone, the visage beyond the mirror looked like another place, with mist and shadow...

Sena called. "We are coming for you Staunton! Where are you now?" Staunton replied. "You have found the way to my prison, but it is still far from over." Sena returned. "We are coming, and we'll END you!" And with that, the party entered Staunton's Prison...

Spoiler: DM design: The Sword of Valro Riddle, and the sword of valor itself

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I thought this would be an interesting little puzzle to explore. It lso gave me a chance to show John and Staunton a bit, and some of the expedition to the worldwound that will be a major part of the next module, as the party come to deal with their campaign traits (Again, thanks for that discussion Biotroll!)

I was worried that the riddle was too vague, but from later on the party told me that once they had all the clues, and knew of the forge room's contents, that it was obvious enough. (Which is good- never design a riddle the party shouldn't solve, unless it's for a bonus content). SO this went well. The "going through most of Drezen rooms" was a bit annoying, but just a bit, and it gve the place a feeling of space. We didn't dally about it too much, so it didn't took a lot of game time.

I also wanted to let the Sword of Valor itself play out a bit. In the module the party just finds it in the end of the module, and then forget about it as they get to the third. It's practically nonexistent. I wanted to have the party seek "A light in the darkness" sort to speak. Which will have a few powers. Also, each time the banner's power gets used, I put up the music. which also helps put an impression.

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This has been a long part, but There is a storm outside, and I have some free time, so I'm going to start writing the third part immediately. Hope you enjoy!

[Kol Korran]

Session 14, part 3- The "Inside" Drezen, The choice, Shadow demon, Staunton Vhane

Sena called. "We are coming for you Staunton! Where are you now?" Staunton replied. "You have found the way to my prison, but it is still far from over." Sena returned. "We are coming, and we'll END you!" And with that, the party entered Staunton's Prison...

At this point it was about 23:00-23:30 or so. We usually end at midnight. I asked them if they wish to continue. They voted yes!

The party found themselves on a very odd place- just outside of the Drezen fort! But everything looked a bit eschewed- slightly wrong, slightly blurry. Looking behind them they could see only mist. Whatever this place was, it extended just around Drezen. Looking up the skies were starless, and filled with shadow. They could feel powerful magics pervading here (The 3 effects pervading the shadows), and what sounded liek whispers, barely audiable whispers, like those in... Staunton' mind?

Music for the "inside" Drezen- Whispering halls, Quake
(Thanks again Biotroll! )

Spoiler: The effects of the "Inside" Drezen, similar to the dungeon effects on the module

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Abyssal Infusion: The dungeon is strongly chaostic- and evil-aligned as a result, and lawful and good spells and spell-like abilities are impeded (Concentration DC 20+ spell level to cast) Know Planes/ Arcana 20
• Unhallowed: An unhallow effect (CL 20th) suffuses the dungeon. A dimensional anchor is tied to it that affects all creatures save for chaotic evil worshipers of Deskari. Know religion 20
• Whispers of Madness: Demonic spirits haunt the walls of the dungeon, and while their constant whispering never becomes loud enough to allow intelligible speech to be heard, the constant susurrus grates on the mind. At the start of every 10 minutes spent in the dungeon, non-chaotic-evil creatures must succeed at a 17 Will save to resist taking 2 points of cha damage as the whispering slowly drives them mad—a creature that takes an amount of Charisma damage equal to its Charisma score becomes afflicted by a random insanity. Knowledge dungeneering 20 http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemasu gon thtering/afflictions/madness this is a mind-affecting sonic effect.

Sena's magic circle crashes under the abyssal infusion.

Staunton Vhane spoke, as if greatly tired "Finally, we come close. Finally my punishment, my price will be complete."
Sena snarled "Oh, you will be redeemed! By fire! My fire!" Julian tried a more moderate approach "Staunton, the deeper you have went, the higher you can climb!" Staunton gave a tired laugh. "Really? You have sw what I have done, what was done to me... You think a few passing words could change all of that?" Julian stayed without an answer to that. There is no reason in resistance. It is a done game, it is futile!"

When Mad dog's player surprised me "Resistance is never futile, only you are futile, for you have given up, and that is really why you fell. Now you, everything you have done, will be gone, destroyed, returned to ashes, with your ashes!" (The longest he has said in a few session!)

The whispering madness take their toll of Andera, nd he loses 2 Cha.

Another spirit, coming from the court of the fort, came into view: Kell, 40, healer- "And here I thought the gods have forgiven, but Sarenrae hasn't forgotten. Well now I'll atone, for that one murder long ago. I am sorry Linda Toll, If I could take it back I would…" The party decided to get inside.

The courtyard and Theruk Null
As the party rushed towards the gates of the Drezen citadel, they saw their troops, as if half real, suffering, some still, Julian saw Bartlet, himself oozing and bleeding, trying to keep his people together, the place felt desperate, with a great suffering, wit hslight spirits here and there anchoring themsleves to Sena.

As they pssed near the Maze of Souls (The structure that was used to house the templars ghosts in the siege) they were suddenly stopped by the albino torturer of Shax, and three others who seem more "real", they were trying to fix the broken magical maze, but quickly turned on the party: "You broke it, they are free! Only two prisoners now. The dwarf and human. I think I'll take you too!"

These were Theruk null, the vampire assassin, and his 3 Vampire spawn (The module has more , I decided this was enough). He tried to dominate them, but Sena just cast communal protection from evil the round before (Though again, due to lousy ranks and rolls, they didn't know what these were! He cast it for the +2 defelction )

Mad dog and Sena tries to attack Therul, but have a hard time bypassing his DR (and fast regeneration), Julian in the meantime uses storm step and diamon spray to mke quick work of the vampire spawn. As Theruk's attack drain 2 levels from Mad dog, and then from Sena they start to take it seriously. Sena reaalizes this is an undead, and tries to use channel energy, only to meet his channel resistance and the uhnallow bonus, to cause little damage. Mad dog's player seethes "Vampire" (He really hats them) and uses his remaining mythic powers to hit and bypass his reduction, so does Julian, so does Andera, and so does Sena, who finishes with a crit searing light to the face. The party manages to succeeds, but other than Andera, they are enitrely out of mythical points.

"So you have killed my torturer, and yet he took more out of you. The battle never ends, never ends... How long will you stand?". "Longer than you!" retorts Mad dog.

Julian and Sen use their wardstone fragments to return some mythical power (3 to Julian, 2 to Sena. They got this at the end of the first module). But as this is not enough, they call upon the power of the Sword of Valor

Sword of valor- Mercy in darkness

The banner gives them half their max hit point, half their their spells and "per day" abilities (Rage, ki power), but not mythical power. With the renewed spells Sena casts restoration on himself and Mad dog. And tries a Circle against evil, twice, since the first can't get past the abyssal infusion. The whispering madness take their toll of Mad dog, reducing his charisma by 2. (Oh and Andera finally succeeded in a save. he requested my to write "Andera finally made a will save!" so I do. )

Current XP: 74,600 per players. "You bastard!" yells Mad dog's player jokingly. (Mu ha ha! )

Spoiler: Theruk Null encounter and the courtyard

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This proved a tougher encoutner than I expected, mainly due to Theruk's DR. I didn't have him use a dagger, since.. well... that is dumb when he can do level drain with his fists.

I used the courtyard t oremind the party both of the troops, but also of the siege and the bigger world outside, and to give the feeling that SV IS Drezen, once more.

The hard choice
Another spirit came- Fey, mongrelfolk: (Images of little brothers). Smile, "I hope this was enough. They promised us. As equals. We gave our blood, now our souls. I hope this is enough. Leave free Gull, Mali, Petero, mother, father, live…"

They rushed towards the gates. But just as they reach the citadel, Staunton Vhane's ghost appears: I don't know- Either you wish to be heroes, or it was thrust upon you, whether you like it or not, it does not matter. Here is your heroe's reward. Every once in awhile some psycho will give you a choice. An impossible choice, in which you cannot succeed. Come for me, and your mentor John, in Soltengrabbe's tower dies, (Which is outside of Citadel Drezen, a few hundred feet away) a horrible death. Dally and spend precious time to save him, and more of your people will die… Which will it be, heroes? You play by the rules, demon kind is not bound by them... As I said- we do not play fair...and therefore it will eventually win… What shall be your choice?" And with that Staunton faded.

I could See Sena's player conflicted, but Julian spoke to him: "There are 3 possibilities here- we can go after John, we can go after Staunton, or we can split. (??) It is your choice Sena, but for what it's worth- I think we should go after Staunton."

Andera said "You lot should go after Staunton, I will try to free John. If he is just held simply, perhaps I can do this alone. (?!!?). I... I misjudged your sacrifice Sena. Mad dog agreed "To Staunton we need to go."

Sena still looked conflicted. "You cannot go alone Andera, though I thank you. In this place we go together." Julian spoke to him, laying her hand on his shoulder. "Think about it Sena, You know John, and I saw what he taught you. What would you think John would tell you to do? He will not forgive you if you let your people die just for him."

This sealed it, and with a heavy heart, Sena reached for the Drezen citadel doors, when another vision came upon them, one of John's visions: They were somewhere in the worldwound, about 10-20, few and beraglled, led by John, who now, though still young, had the face of a man who's been through the worst the worldwound would offer. 2 scouts came. "They are after us, gaining on us." John seemed to think, but only a little. "You two, come with me, we'll create a decoy, draw them off from the rest. The rest of you, get to Kenbres as fast as you can!" John then handed someone a baby, the baby that belonged to the demonic Marekai and his wife- "Take care of him. His name is Senatef."

"You Bastard!" Said Sena's player... He didn't see this coming, but apparently he liked this twist.

Inside him, Senatef heard the voice of a woman. "How does that make you feel? Use it! Harness it? It will guie you to your goal!" Sena used a divination "And where IS my goal? Where is Staunton Vhane?!". The answer was simple "Straight ahead, at the center, at the heart..."

Inside Drezen, the Shadow

Inside Drezen (F1) There is a strange room, but from it's shadows the shadow demon (Eustryox in the module) formed at the back, with a deep chasm between him and the players. "I am the warden of this prison. You will NOT have my prisoner!"

He who brings the night
(Not the best of music, but decent enough)

Andera vanished and jumped the chasm to the other side, and stood by the demon, but then 2 wraiths came through the walls to attack Mad dog and Sena, starting to drain their strength. Sena started by channeling, as the Shadow demon unleashed a shadow evocation dragon's breath, with Mad dog failing and suffering good damage.

Andera begins his routine of AoO the shadow demon, than full attacking him and then vanishing, while the demon tries his SLA abilities, while the rest fight the wraiths.The demon, not being able to pinpoint Andera, flies over the chasm and pounces on Sena, hitting him nicely "SO that was your teacher? I'll have you next!" Sena moves out of the stinking cloud (Shadow conjuration), and used his Forcefang ring to blast him "What did you do to John?!" Seeing this effective against the incorporeal demon, Julian follows suit.

The demon changes tactics, and uses magic Jar (into the door. I didn't remember the spell right, and also forgot he leaves the body behind, and that he needed a gem. Sorry. ). But a quickt detect magic showed the door as magical, and Julian used diamond spray to shred the door to pieces. They ganged up on the demon, but he quickly died due to... bleeding damage! (From Andera's attacks). Indeed one of the more embarrassing deaths we've had yet.

Spoiler: Shadow demon encounter

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The original (ANd to my opinion more interesting) shadow demon encounter was in Soltengrabbe's tower, with him possessing John, I'll just need to use it's elements for soemthing else. As the module requires two mythic trials, I had him teleport here without John and fight the party here.

Not exactly a great fight, but oh well... Had I done it again I think I would have awareded the mythical trial (though not ll of the XP) just for making the choice to help their troops instead. Seemed importnt enough for me. I don't quite know.

I used the following statistics for the shadow demon, suggested on another side, but made a bit weaker due to meeting him a level before. I kept the same XP since the party was more depleted (Mainly from Mythic power)

Spoiler: Shadow demon's stats

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EUSTOYRIAX CR 10/MR 4
XP 12,800
Male advanced mythic shadow demon (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 67, 294; Pathfinder RPG Mythic Adventures)
CE Medium outsider; (chaotic, demon, evil, extraplanar, incorporeal, mythic)
Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft., see in darkness; Perception +25
DEFENSE
AC 29, touch 25, flat-footed 22 (+7 deflection, +4 natural, +6 Dex, +2 dodge)
hp 135 (10d10+100)
Fort +7, Ref +11, Will +11
Defensive Abilities endure sunlight, incorporeal; DR 10/cold iron and epic or epic and good; Immune cold, electricity, mind-affecting effects, paralysis, poison; Resist acid 10, fire 10; SR 21
OFFENSE
Speed fly 40 ft. (perfect)
Melee 2 claws +14 touch (1d6+7/19-20 plus 1d6 cold plus grab), bite +14 touch (1d8+7 plus 1d6 cold)
Special Attacks mythic power (4/day, surge 1d8), possession mastery, pounce, rake (2 claws +14 touch, 1d6+7), shadow blend, sprint
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 13th; concentration +21)
At will—deeper darkness, fear (DC 22), greater teleport (self only) telekinesis (+16), summon (level 5, 1d4 shadows 75%)
3/day—magic jar (DC 24), shadow conjuration(Stinking cloud Fort 21 or nauseated for 1d4+1 rounds DC 20 Fort ), shadow evocation- Dragon breath (DC 22 12d6. Belief 20%)
1/day—summon (level 5, 1 shadow demon 90%)
STATISTICS
Str —, Dex 22, Con 21, Int 18, Wis 18, Cha 24
Base Atk +9; CMB +16 (+20 grapple); CMD 36
Feats Ability Focus (magic jar), Arcane Strike (+3), Blind-FightM, DodgeM, Improved Initiative
Skills Acrobatics +9 (+7 while jumping), Disguise +13 (+33) Bluff +19, Fly +27, Intimidate +18, Knowledge (arcana) +17, Knowledge (local) +17, Knowledge (planes) +17, Perception +25, Sense Motive +17, Stealth +19; Racial Modifiers +8 Perception
Languages Abyssal, Common; telepathy 100 ft.
SQ improved shadow form, shadowblood
SPECIAL ABILITIES
Endure Sunlight (Ex)
Eustoyriax does not possess the standard shadow demon weakness of sunlight powerlessness.
Improved Shadow Form (Ex)
Eustoyriax adds his charisma modifier to all natural attack damage rolls. His claws become partially corporeal when attacking, allowing him to grapple opponents without being considered grappled. This ability also gives him a natural armor bonus to AC equal to his mythic rank, and additional immunities beyond those possessed by standard shadow demons.
Possession Mastery (Su)
Eustoyriax can use magic jar three times per day. If the target successfully saves against it, Eustoyriax can spend one use of mythic power to force the target to reroll, taking a -2 penalty. He can only do this once per casting. When he affects a creature with this ability, he can use all of its abilities, including spellcasting. If the target is protected against possession, he can try to dispel the effect as if he had cast dispel magic (CL 13th) on the target.
Sprint (Ex)
Once per minute, Eustoyriax can increase its fly speed to 240 feet for 1 round.
Shadow Blend (Su)
light spells of 2nd level or lower do not negate this ability.

The party found in him a diamond (I originally planned this as both his magic jar and for raise dead if it will come to that). and two "shadow pale stones"- stones that changed their color according to the light. The party know nothing of these yet (I thought it as a nice loot, and possible power component for spells)

The party has finished a mythical trial (1st out of 2) and gained 9th level!
Mad dog takes "improved critical" With a huge grins on his face.
Sena takes Demon hunter.
I forgot what the others took, though Julian took a lot of spells (Through bloodline, human favored class bonus and more. Wizard? Who needs a wizard?)

The Sword of valor gave a sensation of helping more. Using it used almost all of it's powers, but enabled the party to feel as if rested for a day, so they got their full spells and "per days" powers back. They've used some spells and potions of lesser restoration to get theri strength back, and continued on.

The whispers of madness took their toll from Andera- -2 to charisma. Another spirit came- Shane, halfling, 22- "I am sorry mother, father" (Images of arguing with the father, angrily living home). "I did what I felt was right. We have to fight. I just wished… If I could talk to you again fa…"

End to righteousness
In the long hall (F2) I handed wach player a piece of paper:

Spoiler: Initial response

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To Sena:
The spirits around you, they suddenly shriek in horror, and more, many more come. Though the others don't know it yet, you do- all of the troops outside are dead. They are finally dead. And it is ALL your fault. You have failed them.
But the spirits, they want revenge! They grow around you, and call for vengeance! They create a spell with their combined power, One to paralyze you, and then kill you.
Roll Will DC 17, in silent.

You can roleplay your character's reaction, but without letting the others know what is exactly happening! As to the roll, just tell me if you succeeded or failed.
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To Andera
From the shadows to your back, you suddenly feel the power of Staunton Vhane coming towards you. A shade, that none of the others can see, and it is coming straight at you. It's presence is filled with power. Paralizing power… and it's coming to end you!
Roll Will DC 17, in silent.

You can roleplay your character's reaction, but without letting the others know what is exactly happening! As to the roll, just tell me if you succeeded or failed.
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To Julian:
This place, it is taking it's toll on you Julian, and though you have tried to hold it, your mind is slipping away, so silently that no one arounds you even seems to notice it. And Staunton Vhane is getting in. You feel his power, his emptiness, his despair, his grim acceptance, trying to push you away, wipe you out, make it as if you never existed.
Roll Will DC 17, in silent.

You can roleplay your character's reaction, but without letting the others know what is exactly happening! As to the roll, just tell me if you succeeded or failed.
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To Mad dog
You have felt it inside you, the demonic awakening, but now it is stronger. You feel this place, this prison, unlocking your inner demon without restraint! This time, if you don't stop it, it might replace you, take over, and then kill them all!
Roll Will DC 17, in silent.

You can roleplay your character's reaction, but without letting the others know what is exactly happening! As to the roll, just tell me if you succeeded or failed.

All except for Andera saved (He did mention he never makes them. ) But this time he used mythic surge to succeed. When the party's spell craft went high enough (finally!) they realized this was a Phantasmal killer spell, with slight variations. The players were alarmed (I lmost never use save or die spells. I keep them for other occasions).

They moved on. the whispers took their toll from Mad dog- -2 to charisma. The whispers were affecting much faster now...

The trap, and what would have happened if they failed? (NO bearing on the story, just if you're interested)

Spoiler

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In the module, the trap appears near the last challenge. I thought it was quite befitting mainly to the prison of SV. In the module, the "greatest fear", is four identical phantasms of Deskari. I knew the party will never buy that, so I went with more "personalized" fears. And indeed- they didn't catch up to it. Though I was bummed that keeping things secret from everyone meant they had little room to roleplay in.

Spoiler: Second response

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To Sena:
The spirits have paralyzed you, but this is just the start. You feel their souls, cold, hateful, demanding, entering your body, and with a violence that surprises you, they enter your body, intent or ravaging it, your mind, make you suffer and die!
Roll fortitude save DC 17.

You can roleplay your character's reaction, but without letting the others know what is exactly happening! As to the roll, just tell me if you succeeded or failed.
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To Andera:
Staunton Vhane has you paralyzed. He comes to you, and looks at you with cold dead eyes. He then reaches with his hands, who go into your heart, and into your head, and then you feel him "messing" around with stuff. "It is inevitable… only endless suffering, as you will know now…"
Roll fortitude save DC 17.

You can roleplay your character's reaction, but without letting the others know what is exactly happening! As to the roll, just tell me if you succeeded or failed.
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To Julian:
Staunton Vhane's has you paralyzed, inside your mind, expanding. There is considerable pain in the process, as you almost feel you head cracking, but the pain is across your personality, your being, trying to break you, shatter you…
Roll fortitude save DC 17.

You can roleplay your character's reaction, but without letting the others know what is exactly happening! As to the roll, just tell me if you succeeded or failed.
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To Mad dog:
You can feel the demon's form taking shape, in a fast, violent matter- muscles that are not your own, blood not of yours, the demonic spikes tearing through your body. But more than that- the demon mind, tearing through your own. Soon, there will be no more Mad dog, only mad demon.
Roll fortitude save DC 17.

You can roleplay your character's reaction, but without letting the others know what is exactly happening! As to the roll, just tell me if you succeeded or failed.

Had they failed this as well, they would not die. The module suggests to have them at bleeding, and then inflict the "psychosis" insanity on them (They turn eveil and plot to kill the party). I liked the idea of a mental break (Though being e medical student with an interest in psychiatry, and hypo-manic to boot, I find the PAIZO definitions simplistic, somewhat insulting, and on many accounts- just plain wrong. Google? Wikipedia?), but I didn't like the "psychosis" idea, since any of the characters could easily kill all the rest without much effort if they wanted to. So instead I went with personalized mental breaks as well. The mental breaks were different due to how roelplay heavy the player was, things we've talked about (like the results of possible strain on Julian, I may still use that) and their will saves.

Spoiler: Mental breaks

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Julian
Multiple personality: Staunton Vhane.
Save DC 17 (For curing purposes)
Effect –6 penalty on Will saving throws and Wisdom based skill checks; multiple personalities (see below)
Description
Julian's mind broke… She believes that Staunton has possessed her. That he seeks to teach them all the meaning of hopelessness, of there being noway out. At times she acts fully convinced that she is him, possessing her. But she believes that as Staunton has shown her a lesson in futility, so he shall show the others, while he takes more and more of her mind.
Every morning, and each time the Julian character is rendered unconscious, (But not right now in the adventure in Drezen. This comes AFTER you manage to deal with Staunton, not right now, though she does feel Staunton has implanted "something" in her mind) She must make a Will save against his insanity’s DC. (Including the penalty) Failure indicates that Staunton Vhane's personality takes over. How Staunton Vhane's personality comes to be is up to you, but on the general lines above.
Curing the Insanity can be fast or slow, depending on how the party plays it out.
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Andera
Phobia of the undead and the dead.
Save DC 14 Effect As long as in the proximity of undead or strong death themes (Cemetery and so on) The character is shaken (no save). If confronted with it (Takes a standard action) must save against the DC or become frightened for 1d6 rounds.
Andera has contacted a phobia of the undead and death themes. He feels they have bested him, and thus fears them greatly, and will try to avoid them if possible. This includes any strong death related theme.
Curing the Insanity can be fast or slow, depending on how the party plays it out.

Mad dog
Psychosis- losing sense of what is rel, and what is not.
Save DC 16
Effect –4 penalty on all Wisdom and Charisma-based skill checks; cannot take 10 or take 20; chance of becoming confused (see below)
The strain on Md dog has been too much. He knows not what is demon magic, their magic, his plane, another plane, what is real and what is not. He has intermediate psychotic episodes, seeing things, hearing things, or doubting what is right there.
When ever in a stressful situation (Such as combat) roll against the Insanity's DC. If you fail, you act confused for 1d6 rounds.
Curing the Insanity can be fast or slow, depending on how the party plays it out.

Sena
Paranoia
Save DC 19
Effect –4 penalty on Will saves and Charisma-based skill checks; cannot receive benefit from or attempt the Aid Another action; cannot willingly accept aid (including healing) from another creature unless he makes a Will save against his insanity’s DC.
Betrayal, Betrayal, Betrayal… First Nurah, Then Staunton, Now the very spirits you wished to aid (Sena believes they are laching to him, trying to suck away at his life, not knowing he is aiding them.
Who will betray you next?
Sena's mind has broken due to the recent events. He now believes that the entire world is out to get him. Julian, Andera, Mad Dog, even John! (I suggest to let yourself be persuaded to a degree until you leave Drezen… "The lesser of two evils" sort of…

Curing the Insanity can be fast or slow, depending on how the party plays it out.

Battle at the gate, getting close
The party reached the inner gate, at were met by 2 salamander and 2 babaus (Mad dog really like Slalamnders, cause he got some elemental resistance power from fire). Mad dog rushes to them, and get hit by spears and critted by aa tail, though he keeps on soaking damage, and the heat does little to him. Andera tries holy smite, but the abyssal infuses stops him. Julian casts haste, and Andera gets into flanking.

The battle turns interesting, as the doors in the north open up, and a dwarf, looking a bit like Staunton rushes in. "Help me! Can you help me? We can change him! Not too far gone! please if you could..." When SV ghost appears "YOU will NOT betray me brother!" and attacks him.

While Mad dog and Andera battle the Babaus and Salamanders (Mad dog is having a blast by the way) Sena and Julian come and try to coax information/ save Joran Vhane from his brother, while attacking the spirit. They do little to persuade him, as he pleads his brother to stop hurting him, and pleads them to help his brother. SV's spirit focuses it's entire efforts on Joran, but gets the dwarf to 2 CON before the combined efforts of the party destroy the spirit. "Have you not learned, I cannot die!" Julian retorted "Oh! Soon you will!"

Having saved Joran (Sena uses lesser restoration on him, though he highly distrust the dwarf), Julian speaks to the dwarf: "We can only try to make his spirit to go peacefully,He is too far gone. He suffered greatly, endured greatly, all we can do now is try to send him to his eternal rest. Look, Joran. I know nothing of the gods, but Sena here and maybe others will try to pray for him. I promise you we will do anything in opur power to ease his fate, to help him just... rest in peace. (I asked the player if he meant it truthfully, he did).

This managed to persuade the dwarf, who was partly in tears. "I never meant for this. I thought I could call him... Blast!" He then looked at the party. "Ok, we have little time- The next room is the rune's room- A great big rune of Deskari, that fuels the different powers of this place (The abyssal infusions, the whispers and so on) There are three runes powering it- the rune of flesh (To the east), Bone (To the north), and blood (To the west). I know these re kind of vaults that holds his remains, which that witch Areelu used to conjure this mess! Unsolve this, and you may weaken the rune.

Julian inquired. "And Staunton?" Joran half shook his shoulders. "His spirit is tied to the place. I'm not sure if to the runes, or not. I am just sure it's the only place where he can... depart."

Andera looked worried. "These vaults, runes, any way to open them?" Jorna half brightened "Oh, not sure, but I heard the witch do a small incanttion. Apparently some sort of spells, the stornger the better, can weaken a rune. It went like this:
Transform the flesh.
Mend the bone.
Call the blood.
The party didn't quite knew what to do with this.

Ok, the party was ready It was already 2 AM. "Shall we continue?" They decided to mach on!

Final spirit, Deskari's rune, Staunton Vhane
Last minute preparations: Julian cast haste on all, and Magic mirror on everyone (We ruled that "self" spells are "touch" spell). Anders used cat's grace and shield of faith potion, Sena casts righteous might and windwalk and Mad dog? He sharpened his sword.

Just before they entered, another spirit appeared, of Mentor John- Had to get in, they found it! They found the sword of valor! There is a chance, I knew it would work. Is that enough? It was a trap, it had to be, they needed inside information, if I can only get to them. Borosus? Marekai? I've saved your son… They have a chance, Had to be inside, to provide them information. Ah... I see...You all come for me now… I see… I'm sorry… I hope it's enough… I'm coming to you. Farewell Sena, my child…

And so John has passed away. Sena froze for a moment, and then, quite dereminantdly, opened the door.

Staunton Vhane's battle- Drakblade, 2SfH

The room was not as the opening court in Drezen. Rather, it was a huge room, occupided by a red Deskari rune, and at it's side and top the other three runes- Flesh, blood and bone. Yet in the center, at the Eye of Deskari, was Staunton Vhane. The spirit they have encountered before? A mere pale apparition. Staunton was not just spirit though, for he held a cold Iron Eathbreaker, with a malicious unholy energy, and his foll plate was made of dark living chains, which wriggled and snapped in the air.

The room, as they entered it

Spoiler: Deskari's rune

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A clear view



From the game, as they entered the room

The players are nice enough to give me speak for my villains when they meet them. "At last, it has come to this. Heroes you are, and a last stand it is. Whether you or I win at least, I will be free. Let us end this!"

They didn't want to say anything though, and mad dog simply charged! A chain snaps t him, trying to disrm him, but he shakes it off. He hits him and crits! followed by a sudden attack, they do nice starting damge. On the way he meets SV's gaze, which burn through him (Corrupting gaze ghost ability), getting his charisma to like 4 or 5. Unfortuntely, I forget about this for the rest of the battle...

"Impressive" Staunton retorts, and strikes back with his hammer, taken out mirror images. (As the battle continues, this move with the mirror images, plus the haste saved the party's asses it seems. Julian plays quite the "batman sorceress" at times).

The plan was for Mad dog to occupy SV, and for the rest to work the runes, but the plan quickly falls out. Julian advances to the rune on the west (Blood), while flying, and Sena between Mad dog and the one of flesh, unsure. The rune glows, and a directed dispel magic effects all, dropping out Andera's haste, Sena's righteous might, and Mad dog's shield of faith. But that's not all! Through chaotic forces, the room is suddenly filled with storm powerful winds. The wind smacks Julian to the rune, and a wratih comes through the wall, Andera falls due to the wind,m but the rest are unaffected. It seems the rune itself is safe to walk on though, free of winds.

The wraith misses Julian due to the images, but Julian is unsure how to progress as well. Sena uses mythic power to cast burning disarm on staunton, who lets go of his hammer "I don't need this, and start attacking Mad dog with his hands and sudden attacks. Some attacks hit, draining his constitution, some attack miss, taking down images. Staunton also Smite goods him, which raises his AC to 40. Formidable.

Seeing this, Sena abandons his plan, and moves towards SV and attacks him with a holy weapon (Holy lance ability). SV at first tries to heal himself with an anti paladins' corrupted touch, but later declares a smite evil on Sena as well (Julian's player whop played a paladin said it was possible). With his high AC he proves quite hard to hit, so Sena starts packing offensive spells on himself, the main one is "Smite abomination".

Julian tries to figure out the rune, but the wraiths disturbs her, and on a successful hit takes 6 str damage out of her! She uses invisibility, and there wraiths goes to flank with SV. Andera in the meantime gets through the winds to the rune, and runs on it (Using n action point towards the rune of flesh

Which is when the great rune flashes again, and this time all of it's edges sprout long bars to the ceiling, making the room several prison cells. "Welcoem to my prison!" says SV. Andera curses as he reaches the end of the rune but is blocked by bars. Mad dog and SV are in the same 10x10 central "room, while Sena is behind him, and attacks through the bars. Julian uses storm step to both hit the wraith and move through the bars (I rule this form of "teleportation" does not move through the planes and is therefor not subject to the unhallow effect).

I forget that each time the big rune flashes, the whispers of madness act again, and a dispel magic is added. Complicated battle.

Spoiler: The room at this point

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SV taks down Mad dog's last image, and tries to affect him with the curse touched, but Mad dog manages to barely save using mythic surge. Mad dog starts burning mythic power jsut to try and evade both SV and the wraith, nd his constituion goes down in moderate pace, and even 1-2 hits to his strength.

Sena finishes all of his castings, and get to about a +25 to hit. Still, with the bars SV has an AC of 44, but good dice, and some mythic surge have Sena hit nicely. Julian saves Mad dog's ass by granting him 7 more images. Andera? He checked the "lock" of the vault (DC 30), but abandons it to kill the wrtih with holy arrows. ("At least I did something!" He says jokingly. He has the worst luck )

I remembered the corrupting gaze, which gets Mad dog to 3 charisma when he hits him, critting delivering good damage. SV is on 21 hit points. I now (Finally!) think to use the bars, and SV moves beyond the party's reach, intending to heal, "I will at least prove a good fight!" but Sena focuses a searing light spell on him. "No you will not!" And sears Staunton Vhane out of existence, with a final "freeeeeee...." escaping.

I decide to not play out the minor runes and narrate stuff- the great rune keeps on using various powers, as they open the runes, each eliciting a different creature- blood puddings (blood), rot grub swarm (flesh... or what was left from the flesh), and a bone golem (bone. duh!) The party is happy they didn't try to tackle the runes! (Undoing the runes would have each broke one of the effects, and decreased SV Charisma by 1, or 2 for bones)

The spell was broken, Staunton was beat, and finally- the party has won Drezen! They also completed their second mythic trial for this tier, and gained the third mythic tier, placing them ad Level 9/ Tier 3.

Spoiler: The Deskari rune battle and SV

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To tell the truth, I've forgotten quite a few things here:
- SV's corrupting gaze.
- Using him more intellegently, like moving behind bars, healing himself and blasting them with his gae, telikinesis and armor of chains.
- The dispel magic of the rune in each change (I forgot just once, but still)
- The whispering madness of the rune each time it changed.

But oh well, such is the game. The party still felt it was quite challenging. I do feel like it could have been more interesting than mainly a slug fest between SV, Mad dog and Sena.

Julian's spells quite saved the day here, as the rest have noted. Mad dog would have long been a corpse by now if not for them.

If you're interested in the mechanics, here is SV, and the runes:

Spoiler: Staunton Vhane

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Staunton Vhane CR 13/ Mythic 4: 15/ 15 MP

CE ghost dwarf Anti paladin 10
Init +6; Senses Darkvision; Perception +11
DEFENSE
AC 29/31, touch 19/21, flat-footed 27/29 (+10 armor, +7/+9 deflection, +2 Dex)
hp 154 (174) Aura of despair- -2 to all saves, 10 feet.
Fort +14/+16, Ref +10/+12, Will +14/+16 (+4 channel resist)
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft fly.(+10 feet for charge)
Melee
Sudden strike (Mythic power): swift. Two attack rolls, use best, add +4 to attack
Smite good (4/ day): +7 to attack, + 10/20 to damage, +7 deflection.
Heaven's fall: Earth breaker +1 unholy (Boon: crush+ vicious) +15/ +10 for 2d6+ 2d6 unholy+ 2d6 vicious+ 1d4 ability damage. Heals 5
Ghost Corrupting touch (Standard): +12 touch for 11d6 damage Fort 22/ 24 halves damage
Touch of corruption (Standard attack, swift heal): 13/ day, +12 for 5d6, + curse, Fortitude 22/24 negate cruelty.
Draining touch: +13/ +8 for 1d4 ability damage, heals 5

Range and magic
Armor of chains: As an AoO or intended, +14/+12 grapple/ disarm can throw a chain up to 20 feet to start grapple, the target gains the entangled condition (Escape Artist DC 20 to slip free, break DC 28, hardness 10, 10 hit points, concentration DC 18 to cast spells while entangled).
Can also disarm, and take weapon. (Needs to disarm in return. Up to 2 chains active at a time.
Telekinesis: Violent thrust +17/+19 for 10d6 damage once in1d4 rounds. Or Bull rush/ Drag with +17/+19. (Success move 5 feet. Every 5 beyond- move 5 feet more)
Corrupting gaze: 30 ft, 2d10+ 1d4 charisma. Fort 22/24 for no charisma damage. Avert eyes- 50% no gaze, SV gains concealment 20%, if total cover, then total concealment.
Heal by corrupting touch. (see above)
Spells: DC 17/19+Spell level: Protection from good, Command x2, Eagle's splendor x2, Hold person, Dispel
Magic x2
Trust betrayed- 1/ day- Unholy blight effect. (5d8) 40 ft radius (Magic item ability)

More mythic & ghost
- M: Into the grave I take them. (grave trapping + channel touch attack through weapons)
- M: One with the haunt: Can use vehemence for huge items as well. Manifest at -4 HD, -6 Charisma and now items.
- M: Fleet warrior (Full attack before/ after move)
- G: Corrupting touch
- G: Corrupting gaze
- G: Draining touch
- G: Telekinesis (Flavor- pulling of chains, taking down the castle)
- G: Vehemence: Can animate up to huge items.

STATISTICS
Str - Dex 14, Con 0 Int 13, Wis 10 Cha 24 (+7)/ 28 with Eagle Splendor (+9)
Base Atk +1o; CMB +12 (+14 Grapple); CMD 22 (+dwarf)
Feats:
- 1st Step up
- 3rd Combat expertise
- 5th improved grapple
- 7th Weapon focus earth breaker
- 9th Improved critical (Eathbreaker)
- Mythic 1: extra mythic power
- Mythic 2: extra ghost power
Skills Intimidate +18, perception +18, fly +12, sense motive +6, know religion +7, spellcraft +6

Spoiler: The rune

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Rune made out of some Mythic power.
Vaults: Open lock DC 35. Spells can reduce DC by double their spell level, degrade by 1 spell level each turn. Using the spell also enables breaking the "lock" (Break DC 30). Knock gives a caster level +10 to check. Dispel magic vs. Caster level 20. Knowledge arcana 20 or spell craft 25 per lock. Killing SV lowers all DCs by 10
"Key" Spells: Flesh:Transmutation spells. Bone: Cure spells. Blood: Conjuration.
- Vault of flesh: Abyssal Infusion: The dungeon is strongly chaostic- and evil-aligned as a result, and lawful and good spells and spell-like abilities are impeded (Concentration DC 25+ spell level to cast)
- Vault of bones: Unhallowed: An unhallow effect (CL 20th- Magic circle vs. Good. Resistance +4) suffuses the dungeon. A dimensional anchor is tied to it that affects all creatures save for chaotic evil worshipers of Deskari.
- Vault of Blood: Whispers of Madness: Demonic spirits haunt the walls of the dungeon, and while their constant whispering never becomes loud enough to allow intelligible speech to be heard, the constant susurrus grates on the mind. At the start of Every rune change spent in the dungeon, non-chaotic-evil creatures must succeed at a 17 Will save to resist taking 2 points of cha damage as the whispering slowly drives them mad—a creature that takes an amount of Charisma damage equal to its Charisma score becomes afflicted by a random insanity. http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemasterin...ctions/madness

Deskari Rune:
Caster level 20. Changes every 2d3 rounds. WHen change trigger whispers+ dispel magic (targeted) at all. Roll 1d6 (DC 18 for all) :
1- Prison cells: All of the runes are bars DC 23 to pass.
2- Boiling mud pits. Only the rune is safe to walk. Otherwise boiling mud- difficult terrain, causes 4d6 damage per turn. Fort half
3- Blade barriers: The run creates blade barriers- 6d6 damage Ref avoid when appears or half to pass.
4- Complete darkness, not penetrated by Darkvision. Only the rune and 5 ft from it are lit.
5- Cracks of the damned: tentacles for a +14 modifier. (If pinned takes 1d6+4 damage) Reflex evade
6- Unholy storms: medium creatures fall, large one can't move.

Plus, every 1d6 turns A wraith (1-3) or Babau comes (4-6)

Each Player's XP: 89,850

End of "The Sword of Valor" module!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was about 4:15 AM, so we stopped here. The party had a real blast, it was a good session! We'll play out what happens next time, quite a lot to deal with!

The second module has ended finally! I ope you've enjoyed the ride! We have gotten a bit of a break that we can play in about 2.5 weeks from now, on the 23rd, where we shall begin the 3rd module- "Demon's Heresy!"

[Kol Korran]

Sorry, I pressed "Submit reply" before writing the end comment. I also fixed SV's battle music, all fixed now.

[Red Rubber Band]

Very cool write up.
I really like the extra effort you put into getting the players to RP and immersed in the storyline.

[Kol Korran]

Very cool write up.
I really like the extra effort you put into getting the players to RP and immersed in the storyline.

I just try to build up possibilities, and go with whatever the players tell me. I don't think we've done any particular roleplay other than Sena' calling.

The next session will start with a bit of a group talk, about what sort of roleplay we'd like in our game, what is too little, too much, how some characters feel they haven't yet "found their feet" (Julian and Andera), and how to try to work up more towards cooperative roleplay (Sena's call and such was all nice, but involved mostly himself. We want things that involve everybody).

This came up due to the talk about the start of the third module- upon finally getting Drezen, and the party's involvement in it. We suddenly realized that we got quite different expectations, which differ from past campaigns. We hope to make something of it.

[Kol Korran]

Ok, so it's two weeks before the next session. I have vague general ideas about how to play things, but no concrete crunch yet for the module. As I see it, this part of the campaign is more "sandbox" in nature (though it lacks quite a bit of what it takes for a "Real" sandbox). The focus will be exploration, not just the hex crawl, but also mysteries and such. I see the game revolving around the following major themes:

1) Drezen as a growing community, and it's problems. This may be a lot or a little, depending on how much the players wish to focus on it. So far, this is a bit hazy. I got a few ideas before, but not fully sure how to run this.

2) Dealing with the party's past and campaign traits. This has two major efforts:
- The place where the McClanes' expedition went to years ago with John, and discovering what went wrong there (Some hints from John's visions). This will advance/ resolve many issues with Mad dog, Julian, and even Sena and Andera to a degree. This is entirely homebrew, and I may cancel several locations to make this one work. Not fully sure yet. This will take up some thinking. Since this is about exploration, I'de like the party to be able to find clues as to the location.

- The other effort will be tracking down Arulashee. Here too they will need to try and find clues to this effect. Only as a last result will I give the "dream from Arulashee" I think. I think trying to track down the annis hag that herself is trying to hunt down Arulashee could be a fun deal.

3) The dragon. I would like it to be more than just a straight up combat, but some build up. I'm thinking that it may be attacking or in some other way opposing Drezen. Maybe it's threat is also what prevents armies from just marching out?

4) The Ivory Sanctum, and the party's two min opponents- Jerribeth (Who by now has become very central to the party's interests), and Xanthir Vang. I want them to retaliate, fight back, not just wait in place like so many good computer game villains. The module give some ideas, but I need to think of more. Jerribeth especially, with her shape changing and seductive (and wish granting) abilities, may be interesting, especially Julian's "Sleepless eye".

Xanthir Vang... I'm less certain of, except of maybe unleashing some sort of a magical offense of some sort on the party/ city / allies or such. Not sure...

5) The actual exploration of the worldwound terrain and it's features. I'm trying to generate more interesting random encounter. I'd appreciate any ideas, so I'm linking to this thread again, thank you.
--------------------------------
And all of this before even putting in what the party is planning- the party is discussing quite a bit about what to do in the coming session. Mad dog's player is quite excited about buying new gear, Julian's player has quite a few plans for Drezen, the city, her new home and so on, Sena's player has a few ideas about his new roleplay, and Andera's player has been quiet so far. Should be an interesting, if possibly bumpy start. Not fully like a campaign that is less constrained, but good enough for now, people are having fun.

Any thoughts, ideas or the like are of course welcomed. Till next time,
Kol.

[Yuul]

Hello again, I know its been months. I had honestly thought you had stopped updating, but as I found out a few days ago(been catching up in reading since), the site's subscription system stopped sending me emails!

Anyway time is finally rolling around to the point where I will be starting my own runthrough of this AP, so I was again browsing for things like this that could help me make it better for my players, while also solving problems before they even come up. Which is how I found out that you had in fact been updating, I just wasn't getting my notification emails.

I also have my own special circumstances for my game. Despite original planning, due to group availability mine will be a two player game. To balance things out I've given them some generous starting abilities and access to the old 3.5e gestalt mechanic, which may very well create problems of its own, but we'll see. Still, I'm looking forward to it!

[Kol Korran]

Hello again, I know its been months. I had honestly thought you had stopped updating, but as I found out a few days ago(been catching up in reading since), the site's subscription system stopped sending me emails!

Anyway time is finally rolling around to the point where I will be starting my own runthrough of this AP, so I was again browsing for things like this that could help me make it better for my players, while also solving problems before they even come up. Which is how I found out that you had in fact been updating, I just wasn't getting my notification emails.

Glad to have you back Yuul! And yeah, I know the problem. I had it while reading other logs. Usually they go so fast past the pages!

I also have my own special circumstances for my game. Despite original planning, due to group availability mine will be a two player game. To balance things out I've given them some generous starting abilities and access to the old 3.5e gestalt mechanic, which may very well create problems of its own, but we'll see. Still, I'm looking forward to it!

Hmmmm.... Just two players? I never before used the gestalt rules, so it's up to you. There is still the problem that if one person gets incapacitated (Say due to a failed save), that takes out half the team. (For example Millorn can take them both down with a single color spray and such). If possible, I'd suggest to let the NPCs contribute more. At the start Anevia's arrows can be more prominent, and you can easily get Horus to chip in the action. Later on, feel free to have some of the other NPCs just join the group (Arabeth for example would make a fine addition, if tweaked a bit).

On the other hand, if both characters have decent stealthy skills, then you might enact stealth missions easier (Such as in the siege of Drezen or so). In any case, I'd advise to start in what I do with all of my groups- While you still try to get the feel of the group and their capabilities and pwoer levels, play things a bit on the low side- if you're adjusting difficulty of an encounter and you're not sure if to amp it up or down, amo it a bit down. reinforcement can always arrive, and you can make your big battle later. And if you'd like to discuss stuff, feel free- I'd love to hear about your own experiences with the AP.

If you want to use any of the music files I used here, there is a (fairly) new addition on the content post (Second post of the log I think?) Under each module you have a soundtrack table in a spoiler, for ease of use. (Mine as well )

And again, glad to have you back!

[Kol Korran]

The legends of heroes

I've been thinking about this. Some people have called the party heroes, and they definitely done some heroic things- Saved Kenabres, received mythical powers, brought the mongrelfolk back, survived the Hall of Heroes, Faced Areelu Vorlesh and "damaged" her, Conquered Drezen, Saved the people from the lost temple, Found the Sword of Valor, and manged to defeat Staunton, and Areelu's infernal magic and curse (Again).

The party members don't feel comfortable with the concept of them being heroes (They even think living outside Drezen, not fully comfortable with it) I'd like to explore the effects of gaining a "hero's status" on them. They are supposed to by mythical heroes, people who come once in a lifetime, how do others see this?

I'd like to show influences of the PCs' legend spreading. I've thought about several things that I'd like to incorporate in their stay and repeat visits in Drezen:
1- New stories, new songs about their exploits. I'm thinking of having a small company (Or maybe a duo? Trio?) of performers (Bards?) who retell and re enact the party's exploits in Drezen, in a small theater, or even in the local inn. The stories will be somewhat exaggerated, with some details wrong, showing the PCs in a bit more... flamboyant and livid way then they were. I also think there might be some popular songs starting to circulate. Enough to maybe embarrass the players, or compliment them. If any of you readers would liek to give a crack at this feel free, I will try myself though my more artistic skills re... lacking.

2- Fans/ followers: I'm thinking of various people who seek inspiration from the PCs. This can come from kids who follow them around, maybe acting out games ("No! I am Mad Dog!", "I want to be Sena! Die demons!") or maybe cohort willing to work for them/ act as retainers/ wish to adventure with the party. Or maybe even a small personality cult, like what happened with G'kar on Babylon 5 at the last season? I think it could be funny! Also, maybe some suitors, or such? I think some in the party might like that.

3- Names. I'd like the very names of the party to carry new cultural meaning. First of all, I think that the public, through the new tales and songs might give the party new titles/ names. Currently I'm only thinking of "Andrew Light Bringer!" and "Mad Dog the Demon Slayer!" (The player is a fan of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", so this could be funny. I might even put a sound track to that effect). Need to think of names for the others, feel free to suggest.

Secondly, I'd like things to be named after the party, ave them feel it carries weight. A warrior could name his sword based on one of them, a place could be named upon them, a new born baby, for good luck?

The general feel that I'd like the party to feel is that their actions get noticed, big time, and that they are quickly becoming a part of Mendev's culture, in a way that is not fully controlled by them, something that at least to some degree, has a life of it's own. Through this I think we could explore a bit what it means, to be a hero, even if you don't feel like one (Though I feel the party does start to feel like one).

I'm amused by the possibility of the party traveling to the Abyss (Fourth module) And then someone recognizes them and acts like a fan, or hearing a song or tale about them. Could be funny.

What do you all think? I would love to hear ideas. Looking for stuff also for Andrew and Harry, besides the current characters. Most stuff at start will be about the happenings in Kenabres, but slowly their actions in the conquest of Drezen, and what comes afterwards might become more popular, and known.

Hoping this will go well!