Cattle Driving Necromancers-Bizarre Campaign Journal

[Blackhawk748]

Awww, how can you people hate spiders? I mean, they eat all sorts of nasty bugs. I'm on their side. I mean, how can you want to kill this:

Spoiler: Awwww!

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...On second thought, I really hope she's not eating the little spider...

Every time i see spiders that small i think of this...

[Laserlight]

Huzzah, a new update! And the spider dragon was just genius. Because "Evil Genius" is still "Genius".

[Norin]

Love it!
I keep coming back just to keep an eye on this thread.

[Kaveman26]

Frozen Webs and Dragon’s Breath:

Spoiler: undefined

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For a handful of rounds there is some scrambling and profanity as diminutive dragon-spiders hit and run against the PC’s and try to attrition enough stat damage to create easies meals for mom. There is something immensely satisfying when it comes to the visual of a 7 foot tall half orc with muscles enough for three men swinging a greataxe at a target the size of a quarter. They are reduced to having the witches cackle and try to suppress saving throws while the twins channel negative energy as a form of bug zapping. The hatchling are robust for their size and while some hit the ground all eight legs and two wings up…most simply run away and are cycled in for fresh ones.

While the skirmishes rage on…they form up the framework of a plan. Seraphim will use flaming sphere to create a tunnel out of the alcove and they are going to follow the tunnel towards the corridors leading away from the white’s domain. Their intent is to get the hell out of Dodge.

Seraphim sends the orb ahead of the group with Doc and his flaming greataxe in the lead. Dis Pater takes rearguard and they begin a hussled exit from their temporary refuge. No sooner do they attempt to exit than Icy Eight (their nickname for the dragon) lands at the end of her iced web and sends her breath weapon straight down the barrel of their exit path…the whole group is sent reeling and all except Seraphim end up entangled in the various frost webs. The hatchlings begin to swarm them and send icy needles en masse at the group.

Seraphim: I think it is safe to say that you in essence have us at your mercy. Such a position of strength opens the door for you to create an even better outcome than our deaths. We are worth more alive than dead.

The dragon reveals a wide and completely mocking grin…

Icy: Food sometimes is more satisfying when it wriggles mid chew…but dead is how I prefer my meals.

Seraphim: Yes…but if you eat us you will be full for a day…let us bring you food and you will be sated for a lifetime. All we require is the bones afterwards.

Icy: I am doing just fine for myself. Nothing has exceeded my grasp yet.

Azzie: Cept fer the dragons that already sodded off and are divvying up your treasures as we speak.

That gets her attention…

Icy: You propose to kill the wyrms that I myself could not, when I myself have already claimed you as a prize…twice now for the first to die.

Azzie: Damn right twice you manky git. And together we can do for them that you couldn’t do for yourself.

Icy: What gurantee do I have that you won’t cross me the second you have an advantage, or that you will not simply scamper off in cowardice depriving me of a fresh meal?

Seraphim: I would put this delicately but we don’t excel at delicate. You caught us in a bad spot. If we had all of our resources lined up and ready this would have gone far differently. We recently got betrayed ourselves and to be blunt we need you alive more than we could benefit from you being dead.
We are manipulative and deceitful but up front about it. We will eventually end this relationship, but we have a mutual interest and if there comes a time where that is no longer the case we will tell you in no uncertain terms and part ways…or kill each other in the process.

I propose the following. We will furnish meat both alive and dead….your preference. All non wearable valuables we will donate to you directly. Wearable items of value we will make use of on a loaned basis. We will formulate and execute a plan to retrieve the full value of the hoard beyond. All contents of the hoard will go into your possession.

In return we get use of the corpses in a manner we see fit. We are provided use of an alcove as a base and secured place of safety. We expect you to protect this area and us while we are in it and we will do the same for you. If at anytime you seek the dissolution of this agreement we request one hour’s notice and we will vacate the premises and part ways.

Icy: I want insurance. One of your party must remain as my hostage, meanwhile I expect the remaining group to bring back to me a good intentions tithe of food and treasure.

The put their heads together and decide that Azzie should stay with the dragon while they delve for some sacrifices to bring back. The group nearly votes unanimously on this…Azzie disagrees.

Azzie: No no no…Ive had my fill of this beastie. No bloody way Im staying. One of you can swap stories with the murdering beast.

There is a long ranging back and forth that culminates in Hades staying behind with the dragon.

From my end I am very curious to see what direction they take from here. And they do not disappoint me with their next step.

They in essence convince the dragon to lay in wait at the entrance of the dragon corridor…they are bringing back some meals and those meals might still be mobile. They also ask for him to lace the passage leading to the dragon corridor with frost webs…but leave a tunnel in the center. They also ask for the hatchlings to hide in the tunnel.

Which leads to the following priceless swerve.

Seraphim: We are heading back up to Moo-Dor

An overnight strategy session and reconfigure of their spell slots precedes the group’s swagger back to the gate leading to Moo-Dor. They operate under the idea that their previous stronghold is currently occupied with the were-dwarves who will now eagerly reengage the Undead Cowboys.

Doc and Dis Pater are buffed to the gills, and as they will the doors to open they are not disappointed to find the platoon of dwarves milling about the Moo-Dor complex. A series of flaming sphere, and negative energy spill from the lower level…Doc immediately triggers a psychic lion’s charge to full attack the closest dwarf at a run, Dis Pater does a similar charge to a nearby target and within one round all hell breaks loose. The Cowboys throw their best combination of spells and attacks into the surprise round and then turn tail and run.

As expected the dwarves form up and follow en masse. Seraphim and Pluto throw out delaying spells and they play leap frog with the fighters in a measured retreat. Azzie lays down bowfire while taunting from the distance.

Azzie: I ain’t seen a clustf**k like this lot since my days in Lilliput. These lads are short enuff and airy enuff to make me fink I accidentally shagged a mutt and now they is after child support. *

They lead the dwarves on a merry chase and Pied Piper them straight into the frost webbed tunnel as a murder corridor. Going through the tunnels forces the dwarves into a single file line and as they get strung out working their way through the hatchling rain shards of frost needles dealing dex damage in a hailfire from nearly invisible archers. They are employing much the same tactics used against the pcs…strafing and moving. They don’t really kill anything but they sure slow down and hamper the assault of dwarves. Fast Healing recovers the physical damage, but the stat damage is tolling up all over the place. The reduction in reflex saving throws pays dividends when they emerge into the showroom proper…as this lets Icy-Eights breath weapon take a wider swathe of targets airborne and deposit them into the webs.

The ones thrown into the webs are sniped until paralyzed, and those who make the saves are swarmed by Dis and Doc. Anything remotely resembling a leader or higher level/geared target is enervated by the clerics and slaughtered by the dragon. They take a heavy toll against the dwarf forces but don’t bag any prime targets, Like Russ, Gup, or Reggie.

As the dwarves begin a retreat they frantically communicate to the hatchlings still in the murder tunnel to focus everything on those working their way out…they manage to paralyze the rearguard and they act as a stopper preventing more from escaping. Some are able to brute force their way in a dogpile to break through…but this tangles more into the webbing and leaves their backs vulnerable to additional poison.

A hasty skeletonization occurs upon already desecrated ground (Hades kept busy while they left and desecrated a prep ground) they stand up almost 20 dwarves as 1 HD mooks…and then hurl themselves into a second assault against the fleeing and injured were dwarves. Suddenly Azzie’s eyes perk up…and he straight up jumps on top of his chair and busts out some mean air guitar…

Azzie: About bloody time. A proper audience. (from an iphone comes the song Crazy Train)….time to inspire some f***ng courage mates…

Seraphim: I didn’t think that affected undead…it’s mind affecting.

Azzie: Yer wrong there love…got mi own brand of music and it’s right up their alley.

Turns out Dirge Bard does affect undead with it’s affects and as an Aasimer favored class bonus can boost inspire courage as if a higher level. It get’s Azzie to the next higher tier and it then provides a +3 to hit +3 to damage boost for the mooks. Which is a nice little bonus to already buffed undead mooks.

He leads his newfound groupies back into the fray and hurl themselves back at the dwarfs. The mooks are used as strictly that…bodies to clog space and chisel away at health totals. Doc and Dis pick a target and slash it to ribbons while the twins pour negative energy into the mass…Azzie continues his song while sending arrows over Dis’s shoulder. They are relentlessly winnowing away and staying aggressive trying to keep the dwarf platoon off balance. They rout the leaderless were dwarves and take back control of Moo-Dor…The named generals of the dwarf platoon are MIA.

They mass up their undead as a defensive wall and then pile up the new corpses to animate. These fresh undead are treated as pack mules and they are loaded to their limit with the previously abandoned goods.

A convoy of dwarfs laden with trade goods and supplies along with some treasure returns to the white dragon’s lair where a tithe is proudly offered.

Such is the way in which their new alliance is forged…

*Going out of my way to include Azzie’s randomness…cause…well…it was hilarious to me.

[Harmelyo]

brilliant! I love it. Please keep it coming.

[NRSASD]

Your players' ingenuity never ceases to amaze me. I've actually sucked several of my non-gaming friends into the wonderful world of D&D by showing them this journal. Keep up the amazing work!

Spoiler: Quick question that might be a spoiler...?

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When the PCs wiped out the dwarven expedition to Moo-dor, did they get the entire band of dwarves that entered the dungeon, or just a sizeable chunk of it? Wasn't sure.

P.S. I love the spider pics so much!

[ImperatorV]

Tiny spiders are sweet precious cinnamon rolls.

I will be very interested to see how the agreement with ice-spider ends up. The UC have a history of brilliant nasty backstabs in situations like this, but if anyone can keep up with them an evil dragon would be it.

[Kaveman26]

Your players' ingenuity never ceases to amaze me. I've actually sucked several of my non-gaming friends into the wonderful world of D&D by showing them this journal. Keep up the amazing work!

Spoiler: Quick question that might be a spoiler...?

Show

When the PCs wiped out the dwarven expedition to Moo-dor, did they get the entire band of dwarves that entered the dungeon, or just a sizeable chunk of it? Wasn't sure.

P.S. I love the spider pics so much!

They got a good portion of the contingent but none of the named npc.

[Traab]

Tiny spiders are sweet precious cinnamon rolls.

I will be very interested to see how the agreement with ice-spider ends up. The UC have a history of brilliant nasty backstabs in situations like this, but if anyone can keep up with them an evil dragon would be it.

Im thinking the backstab will happen once they clear Icy Eights enemies away and turns them into powerful undead servants. They were caught completely wrecked already. Once they have their army back up and can come prepared, well, things will go very differently. Especially going into the fight knowing what the dracospider can do and what its weakness is.

Btw, I just want to say the ozzie character is freaking awesome. I was grimacing when i first heard him enter the story, but he is just great.

[Kaveman26]

Dragon’s…

Spoiler: undefined

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So I think it’s worth throwing out a bit of my machinations at this point. So far the central “story” of the dungeon is still largely unknown to the group. They are aware that the upper regions of the structure are meant more as a decoy or “front”. They have discovered and uncovered psionic abilities that enable further movement about the structure into the deeper and certainly museum themed areas. Having clashed against humanoids, strange mutations of known creatures and several well organized bands of opposition their paranoia is at a high level.

Their current alliance with Icy-Eights…a white dragon with eight legs and the ability to manufacture a frozen web is by all means temporary…I have seen enough of their M.O to know that as soon as they think the upper hand is within reach they will be arguing over who gets control of the undead dragon. They have exacted a measure of revenge against the were-dwarves…but gained no retribution against those who betrayed them.

I am anticipating a few different actions.

*They are looking for big sturdy creatures to reanimate…not 1HD humanoids or animals. Losing Vanilla and Melty and their minotaurs left them upset.

*An undead dragon is a huge enticement.

*Gup, Russ (leader of the dwarves) and Rusk (former leader of the gnolls) and Reggie are huge A priority targets given their current characterization and general disdain for all who show a measure of success against them.

Their plans are going to in some way involve trying to weaken Icy in a fight against the NPC’s then backstabbing her while everyone is weakened. I don’t picture them being controlled by the dragon for long. She is a clever enough entity that she would be well aware of this and fully ready for the forseeable course. To her end…she wants access to the hoards contained below…and access to assets that will enable her to overcome other dragons.

I figured that If I kept Russ and company maruding in the highest parts of the structure and away from easy location then I could have Icy goad the group into pressing deeper. As they progress deeper they will come towards a more secured area where the larger stronger dragons have carved out smaller domains where they vie for control or something to push them over the edge.

So…

The group now has a small expendable force of undead dwarves…and a semi placated dragon. They are prepping another’s nights planning followed by further raids to the higher levels.

Icy: My business…and therefore your business is below…not above.

Seraphim: Of course…we are loathe to leave a threat behind us though. We would hate for our enemies to ambush you without us to assist or provide aid.

Icy: My enemies are stronger. There is one though…a black wyrm called Onyx that was known to be me in the time before our capture. He is not entirely a friend…but he is willing to form an alliance. IF you are able to reach him then perhaps a consortium can be formed between the three of us. I will ensure that any intruders from above are properly greeted and dispatched.

Dis Pater: Why don’t you come with us then? Strength in numbers and such…

Icy: I am comfortable with this territory and know the layout and approaches. Below is unknown…and that is what I bargained to have you live for…to go to the places below so I don’t have to partake of the risk. If you feel like absolving our deal already I am willing to oblige…

Almost as if guided by an invisible hand the various hatchling seem to come ready.

Hades: *low grumble* we haven’t recovered spells yet…not a good time.

Seraphim: We are happy to maintain our bargain and are eager to set out in search of reinforcements.

Begrudgingly they reorganize their spell prep to accommodate energy resistances and spells designed to take out big single targets. They then march their skeletons to the forefront and proceed to go down the hallway descending like my three old tries to play hide and seek. By which I mean they pause every few feet and have the skeletons poke everything…shake everything and make all kinds of noise in the name of being “cautious”.

The corridor they travel down is far more spacious and roomy than the majority of areas they have encountered. Everything seems honeycombed as if the material compromising the walls and floor is a non metallic but still strong compound. Claw marks, scorch tracks and melted sections are all strong signs of draconic activity following the path they are on. As they come around the bend there is a large lizard creature chewing on something small…it has stubby wings and spines along it’s back and is easily ten feet long…bloated and green. Doc makes a heck of a knowledge check and freaks out both in character and out.

Doc: That is a stoneface! Don’t let it look at you. (out of character translation: basilisk)

The witch doctor pulls down his fetish mask to cover his eyes…blinding himself and he ducks behind a skeleton…

The party immediately bugs out…they send the whole skeletal envoy at the dracolisk with Azzie singing for inspiration. Everyone is hanging well back and steadily retreating as the lizard engages the skeletons…The Witches and Azzie all volley rays of enfeeblement at it to reduce attack bonuses and take the sting out of bite, and in fairly short order they replace half a dozen dusted skeletons with a now skeletal dracolisk (7HD…large creature).

They creep their way steadily further and encounter an additional dracolisk which is eating the charred remains of a wyvern…this Is cheered as a two for one as they are able to reanimate the wyvern too. The Dracolisks are shuffled as corpse companions for the Clerics, and Seraphim takes over the wyvern (unfortunately the wings were too badly damaged to be salvageable…an unfortunate coincidence that entirely coincides with the no flight rule).

Progress continues more confidently as they now have some heartier frontline bone shields. Their meandering passage finally breaks way into a colossal domed vault. Literally hundreds of sealed vault doors line the walls of a massive sphere like a metallic honeycomb. They immediately bear witness to a substantial aerial dogfight between a red and green dragon. Both dwarf the white in terms of scale and ferocity. The green is driven off and escapes to an antechamber where a cadre of half dragon creatures with longspears and shields await. From a distance they seem to be like trumped up four legged dragons sans wings. The Red lands atop the largest vault door…a protruding structure at the far end of the vault chamber. From several other antechambers dragons are spotted watching the action.

Orientation for the vault is as follows. To the immediate left of the vault entrance is a passage where a blue dragon is visible. Continuing to the left they spot a black dragon…then the protruding structure with the red…then a silver dragon…and finally a second red dragon. Each passage seems to be “guarded” by an assemblage of dragon-esque creatures. Mostly wyverns, half-dragons, and in some cases the stray manticore.

Points of Observation:
*Presumably they operate as if the black in the second corridor is Onyx, the potential ally from Icy.
*None of the Vaults is open. None appears even partially dismantled.
*There is an empty passageway leads below where the red is perched.
*The whole central portion of the vault seems to just be a trash heap of destroyed creatures and material.

Azzie: Well that looks like a standoff to me.

Seraphim: Certainly complicated. Not sure where to take it from here.

Hades: Apparently no one has managed to open anything. Seems like figuring that out would be a big deal.

Pluto:We could try to think one open…
Dis Pater: It worked on the door above…there should be one fairly close.

They inch their way closer to the nearest vault door…and all attempt to think one open. Nothing. They get a bit closer…nothing….litttle closer (less than ten feet)

*kachunk…clunk clunk clunk*

The vault door opens and everyone loses a PP. They stifle a small cheer as they realize that the sound was LOUD…and is echoing through the vault room. All eyes turn on them as the door spins it’s way open.

All: Oh crap…run away…!

[Lord of Shadows]

All: Oh crap…run away…!

Ahhhh... music to a DM's ears.
.

[ImperatorV]

Dragon standoff... You really come up with some fascinating concepts.

I wonder... Were there any psionic dragons in the display room? That could possibly have sneaked off into the depths of the dungeon?

[Kaveman26]

Dragon standoff... You really come up with some fascinating concepts.

I wonder... Were there any psionic dragons in the display room? That could possibly have sneaked off into the depths of the dungeon?

Probability is high.

[Bad Wolf]

They might be able to form a temporary alliance with the dragons to stay alive while they get the vaults open...and then all the dragons kill each other, and the party reanimates a few and kills Icy.

[Kaveman26]

Diet of Wyrms:

Spoiler: undefined

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Full fledged retreat entails the discovery that they can in fact utilize their Psionics to open the vault doors. At a dead sprint they come back to Icy and practically beg for some web screening to prevent any sudden intrusions by larger dragons.

Seraphim: We found the treasure vaults…actually not that far away…that’s the good news. Bad news we managed to open a door and draw the attention of everything currently fighting for control of the vault room.

Icy: Did you find Onyx?

Hades: Maybe…we didn’t have time to sit down and chat. There is a rather large and aggressive red dragon that seems to be the current alpha of the room. He wasn’t very welcoming. You may get to meet him soon.

Icy: How did you open the vault doors where they couldn’t?

*blink blink* (group huddle)

Dis: They don’t know about psionics yet.
Doc: Or they don’t know what to do with them.
Azzie: Wut you talking about?

Seraphim: Almost forgot that Azzie doesn’t have psy abilities. We can “think” open certain doorways with our minds.

Azzie:And people say I got a touch of the madness…you keep “finking” open doors luv…I’m getting away from the door.

The eventual conclusion is to play things coy. They will admit an ability to open the doors but not disclose how. They are hoping to manipulate the dragons into some sort of truce or concession for potential treasure.

Seraphim: We really want to try and strongarm massive flying specimens of winged death?
Azzie: Cud jus offer to let them out
Hades: Say what now?

Azzie: Open the big door and let the bleedin fings out. Make them someone else problem.

Pluto: We could try to trigger the main vault then offer to open the way out. They don’t know how to get there.

Dis Pater: I am a fan of this plan. How long til main gate opens?
Seraphim: Just under a week.

They reconvene with Icy and try to crawl a little deeper into bed with the dragon.

Seraphim: What is more important to you? Regaining part of your hoard? Or getting out of this place?

Icy: Freedom is a grand notion…but to leave empty handed with a centuries worth of acquisitions left behind does not sit well with me.

Dis Pater: There is a whole new world in which to acquire new riches. Your kind are few and infrequent. You would be amongst the strongest ever seen or imagined.

Seraphim: In fact we may have a way for you to gain both wealth and freedom. It involves clearing out the rest of those below first.

Icy: You have my attention…

Hades: We need an emissary…someone to volunteer and bring a message to the vault room.

Pluto: Yes, but that is virtually a suicide mission.

Dis Pater: We have the salt mephit hourglass.
Seraphim: I keep forgetting about that.

As soon as their ducks are in a row they summon forth a mephit…this one seems very dour and serious…calls himself Methos.

Methos: I really hope you lot aren’t just looking to use me as cannon fodder. Ramirez is still whining like a little girl about being torn to shreds by a giant squid.

Seraphim: Not tentacles…just sharp teeth and torrents of deadly breath. We need you to take a message to a giant room full of pissed off dragons. They probably won’t be excited about the message but it definitely gain their attention.

Methos: Think I would prefer a squid.

A short while later Methos returns…unscathed.

Methos: Ever hear the expression careful what you wish for?
Seraphim: Of course.

Methos: Living proof right here. You have ten minutes to all come back including the white dragon or they come as one combined group to take you by force.

Dis Pater: Sounds like a party.

The U.C along with Icy all assemble and come back to the vault central where the full range of dragons is gathered around the main central vault. They all seem to be playing nicely…for now.

The Red is by all casual observations the strongest and largest dragon in the room. He identifies himself as Veritas. The Silver is called Moonsheen. The Black is confirmed to be Onyx…The Blue renames anonymous, and the Green names himself Hoath.

Seraphim is the most socially gifted member and group leader she leads the majority of conversations.

Seraphim: To be open and fair we decided that certain information needs to be made available to you. First and foremost…you were all captured and imprisoned by our estimates somewhere in the vicinity of five thousand years ago…perhaps even longer. Your captors kept you in a form of stasis and displayed you like attractions in a museum. The magic that imprisoned you has begun to fail and you were recently freed. We come from the world above which will likely be drastically different from the one that you were taken from. To answer your most likely questions…Yes, we have the ability to open the vault doors. We also know the way out and can gain you freedom from this prison. We simply need to know what is more important to you. Killing each other over treasure, or escaping your prison to start a whole new life.

Veritas: In our time free we have focused solely on regaining that which was stolen from us…none of had turned to thoughts of escape. This changes things…

Moonsheen: This changes little. We had reached an agreement…anything uncovered or rediscovered was to be split along predetermined lines. Escape eliminates the need for treachery. We all take our fair share and then we leave.

Hoath: I am with Veritas. Our previous agreement should be null and void. We can’t take these humanoids at their word, but if the possibility of escape exists we must reevaluate our terms.

Blue: I stand with Moonsheen. We split whatever is found as agreed upon. After that our alliance is dissolved.

All eyes turn to Onyx as the remaining vote.

(Off screen I determine that whatever Icy would actually prefer Onyx will acquiese towards. I figure that if two dragons have history then they could non verbally tip each other off)

Onyx: Our agreement should stand…if we wish to engage in a new alliance once the doors are open then I will support that.

Veritas *sighs*: Fine. I grow weary of the same struggle day in and day out. Let us be done with the thing so that we may move on.

The U.C. all step in unison to the central vault and focus on it’s opening. No power points are expended and the door remains unopened.

Ruh oh Raggy.

Seraphim reacts first at the table. She clears her throat and speaks to the assembled dragonkin

Seraphim: It appears that a force currently present is blocking our attempts to open the door. Could everyone step back a few paces please.

There is a sudden and HOSTILE shift ramping up the tension in the room…but the dragons back up.

Seraphim clutches her cog crystal and they make a second attempt. Once again nothing happens…there is an audible almost click of locks disengaging…but like an engine that won’t turn over nothing happens.
Hades whispers as low as possible “We need more power points”

Dis Pater: I don’t see how that is possible unless we find the minotaurs or Micko…and they seem to have vanished into thin air.*

Pluto:Well we don’t know anything else that has a power reserve at the moment now do we? Not like they are going to let us level up while they wait around.

Seraphim: We do actually have one other contact with psionics…

All: Who?

Seraphim: Skalagrim’s anklosaur. It was the first to develop psionics and it survived his death. It was less than thrilled with us and wandered off. We could track it down.

Azzie: HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAH. U want to hope these buggers let us sod off afta sum trumped up lizard with mind powers. We are screwed.

Dis Pater:I don’t think we can rely on the anklosaur to cooperate let alone comprehend what we are after.

Seraphim: Does anyone have any better ideas?
Doc: Open the little doors. Should buy us some time.

They once again delegate Seraphim to deliver the updated news. She primly and demurely apologizes and offers to open several of the small chambers pending the removal of whatever is blocking the vault prime. This is NOT met with much approval.

Veritas: There are six of them…six of us…we all get to eat one each…keep whatever valuables come from your meal.

Azzie:You fuggin lot…I tell ya. Fuggin fick you are. I can be down one of yer gullets faster than a groupie can drop her gown fer a ministrel but then you are going to be stuck down here fer an eternity. Have at it mates. Cause I wud rather be a meal than listen to this drivel fer anutha minute.

Hoath: Perhaps we can exhibit a bit more patience. If they can’t open anything else than we eat them…I want the loud one.

The U.C. are able to successfully open several of the smaller vaults and they discover that different ones seem to consume different amounts of psionic energy. The higher off the ground the more that are required. Most chambers seem to have little more than one set of valuables.

They open five in total (the first one opened would have been the sixth but they never did discover what was inside it) and uncover:

1st: Scroll Rack with 20 scrolls
2nd:Suit of Armor with Sword and shield
3rd:Tray of Wands
4th: Five shortbows of various unknown enchantment
5th: A pair of rings in lacquered boxes

The realization that actual loot is present in this vault chambers has them veritably drooling.

Hades: We need to locate another psionic power supply and fast. We can probably buy a few days opening more of these so long as we keep uncovering loot, but their patience at being denied a big score is not going to last.



*This was actually a previous point of contention…Azzie had mentioned seeing Micko and the remaining minotaurs…but Icy had no knowledge or information on them. So they disappeared somewhere between the squid room and Icy’s dragon chamber. There is an explanation but not one they have managed to uncover yet. I will leave this mysterious for now.

[ImperatorV]

That was utterly fricken hilarious. UC try to pull shenanigans and WHOOPS we can't actually do what we said we could, sorry guys.

If it turns out the highly probable psionic dragon(s) already made off with the main vault hoard the group may well straight-up die.

It's also very interesting the way the dragons have factions. Icy Eights and Onyx are clearly together, while Moonsheen and the unnamed blue seem to have some rapport. Meanwhile Hoath supports Veritas, but given that they fought each other earlier it's probable he just wants to curry favor with the local superpower. I expect more complex politics to arise as the UC slowly start opening doors and desperately searching for a way to get the main vault open before they become food.

[Traab]

Man this is nuts. I cant wait to see how they handle this. I honestly have no clue what the party is capable of doing. Hmm. Options, options. They have a loose alliance with icey and by extension onyx. They could try for some high bluff checks and go for a quick assassination dogpile on big red and try to take control that way. Or take down one of the weaker dragons most against dealing with them and animate it for a larger scale assault perhaps? Are these chambers big enough to trap the dragons inside of? That could possibly work. Open one of the larger rooms, they go in to see what treasure is there to divvy up, then slam the door shut. Extra points for subtly holding back icey and onyx to earn some more favor with them. "Here you guys go, the treasure is yours, those 4 are trapped." Preferably do this after a full nights rest and total restocking of spells just in case the dragons decide to attack the party after this. By reducing the total number of dragons way down to two, they have a better hope of eventual backstabbery.

I just dont see the party playing things straight with the dragons. There almost has to be some method for them to backstab the dragons and make a profit.

[Inevitability]

Just a question, but is Onyx in any way related to necromancy?

Onyx the black dragon, Onyx the black, black Onyx... Might be a coincidence, but if it isn't...

[Fable Wright]

Just a question, but is Onyx in any way related to necromancy?

It is the material component for animate dead. So, presumably, yes.

[Inevitability]

It is the material component for animate dead. So, presumably, yes.

I was referring to the dragon. I know it's the material component for creating undead.

[Fizban]

I doubt there's any conspiratorial connection. There aren't many black gems and onyx has y's and x's so it sounds cool, which means it gets used a looot.

[Kaveman26]

Yeah onyx was just a convenient name for a black dragon. No conspiracy or anything. I often resort to puns (as do my friends) for names. We rarely venture into super creative naming.

Going to be a few days til next story centric post. Need to put a big chunk at once. If average is three to four pages in word, this next one will be closer to 20

[Lord of Shadows]

Going to be a few days til next story centric post. Need to put a big chunk at once. If average is three to four pages in word, this next one will be closer to 20

FWIW, I have been compiling this in MS Word and am currently at 86 pages using Verdana-10 Font. There are also two Appendices, "The War Rooms" and "Previous TPK's."

There is some great stuff here.
.

[Inevitability]

Yeah onyx was just a convenient name for a black dragon. No conspiracy or anything. I often resort to puns (as do my friends) for names. We rarely venture into super creative naming.

Going to be a few days til next story centric post. Need to put a big chunk at once. If average is three to four pages in word, this next one will be closer to 20

So there isn't a secret meaning to every single part of the campaign setting?

Good to hear there's a giant update coming, though.

[Norin]

Cant wait! This journal.... its too awesome.

[Kaveman26]

FWIW, I have been compiling this in MS Word and am currently at 86 pages using Verdana-10 Font. There are also two Appendices, "The War Rooms" and "Previous TPK's."

There is some great stuff here.
.

Based on best guess this will probably top out over 500 pages when all is said and done.

[Red Rubber Band]

Awwwww yissssss

[Jonagel]

OooOooo. Very excited!

Also, sorry to everyone who is going to check this thread and only see my post... =D

[Kaveman26]

Power Up Required:

Spoiler: undefined

Show

The Cowboys manage to hold off becoming snacks for their dragon compatriots, and are well aware of the urgency in which they need to up their PP game. So when they attempt to bid farewell to the serpentine powers that be…they are met with another rude surprise.

Veritas: Assuming your protestations that only a certain number of vaults are openable each day are true, why would you think for even a moment that we would allow you to leave this area?

Seraphim: Because we need to locate certain resources to bolster our minds and enable us to tackle the most intricate of locks.

Veritas: Two of you may leave as a token of our goodwill. The rest are to remain here. This is one area we will bear no barter.

Saddled with a no win situation the group consenus is to have a two person recon team head towards MooDor to gather more of the crystals…they hope to bolster their own psionic capacities or capture any other sentient creature that has managed to unlock their own potentials. But the restriction of only two to leave is tricky.

Seraphim: If Doc and I go, we have access to healing, some melee, animation and diplomacy…also a big axe.

Hades/Pluto: Together we can sends surge of negative energy and raise that which we kill.

Azzie: I can conjure up invisibility…give me the blonde and we can talk our way out of anyfing we can’t kill.

Dis Pater: Azzie going makes sense…he hasn’t been exposed to the crystals yet. He is the most likely to gain psionics from exposure.

Seraphim: No offense…but neither he nor I is exactly durable…and the majority of what we will encounter already wants us dead…I don’t think it makes sense for me to go. I’m thinking Doc and Azzie. They are both mobile, have some self healing, bit of stealth from invisibility. They have a better chance of getting in and out unnoticed. Especially if Doc is invisible. If Russ or the were-dwarves run into Azzie alone there is a chance he won’t have to fight his way out.

A lot of shoulder shrugging and sighing occurs and they bid the witch doctor and bard best wishes….
While the “Odd Couple” makes their way up…the clerics and Seraphim try to politely ask permission to scavenge corpses for potential raiseables. They get some furrowed eyebrows and wing shrugs and a thumbs up. Amongst the dead they raise a pair of wyverns and a 10HD former brass dragon. They do their desecration/animation hijinks complete with bone alter and then try to find a place to settle in, while being stared at by the angry winged agents of death.

Azzie and Doc make it the gateway and attempt to think it open. Small problem…Doc’s pool of Power Points is tapped out from opening vaults. Oops.

Doc: Uhm, I can’t get it open.

Azzie: Yer mind powers fritzing out mate? Maybe you could try finking some poetry. *chuckle*

The two are forced to basically camp outside the door for the night while Azzie talks to his guitar. The following day Azzie drops Invisibility on Doc and himself….then Doc wills the door open. As they wait for any backlash that may have follow from their previous excursion to Moo-Dor the chamber seems abandoned. No platoon’s of were dwarves come charging at them…no volley of arrows from siege ballista.

They make their way slowly into the crystalline sections where they attempt to salvage usable crystals in an attempt to jumpstart Azzie’s psionics. As they work through the chamber a thundering clamour rouses their attention. A dwarf in full wolf form whimpers as it comes sailing into the room crashing and impaling itself on the crystals. It’s spine is shattered…it’s head caved in…and it seems to be crackling with residual electric energy. Azzie immediately reapplies invisibility to himself and Doc and they do their absolute best to remain still. In short time…a trio of Frost Giants and a lone drow enter the room. The lead frost giant is exceedingly wide and short for it’s race…but thick with muscle not fat. In his hands is a warhammer that seems to be crackling with lightning. The other giants appearance tips Azzie and Doc into thinking one is a sorcerer and the other a monk. The drow is connected to the hammer giant by a thin gossamer rope that loops around his belt…best they can tell the drow is leashed.

Hammer Giant: Any signs of the rest of these puppies Dog?

Dog (the drow): No your excellency. I see no further signs of their passage…no tracks…no spore…not even scant hair. I “see” no trace of anything else coming through here.

The last “see” is emphasized ever so slightly as the drow looks directly at where Doc and Azzie are invisible.

Sorcerer Giant: Well we know some of them got away. Must have backtracked through a side passage the Dog overlooked.

Hammer Giant: Come on Dog…pick up their trail again and maybe I won’t whip you for losing it the first time.

The hammer giant yanks hard on the drow’s leash and practically whips him back around towards the passage they entered from. As he leads them out he very subtly seems to lose his footing and in a flourish of his cloak Azzie sees a scrap of parchment left behind on the ground. The pair of PC’s hold their breath in trepidation as the invisibility wears off and they rush to retrieve the scrap of paper and hightail it the heck out of there.

There is a palpable urgency to their stated actions as they work their way back to the rest of the group.

Azzie: I Hate bouncers that act like they deserve top billing.

Doc: Those were not bouncers…more like smashers. They don’t toss you out of the building…they send you through the building.

Azzie: The little lady seemed to have a fing for me. Guess even me own magic ain’t enuff to stamp out my charms.

Doc: That was a man…elf man.

Azzie: Meh…with elves it don’t make much of a difference.

They regroup with the rest of the party and compare notes while Seraphim preps some “psionic stew” from the harvested crystals. The presence of frost giants leads them to think that groups coming from the other entrance have found a way to join up with this section of the complex. The magical hammer possessed by the giant also intrigues them.

The note from the captive drow reads as such:

“Enslaved by scouting party…mass incursion force not far behind. Secret Passageways everywhere. Free me for access to enough treasure to glut dragon.”

The following few days fall into a pattern of Azzie and Doc scouting and trying to locate details on the potential frost giant invasion while coaxing Azzie’s untapped abilities. They continue to open vault doors as much as possible each day for the dragons who seem temporarily content to divvy up the spoils being uncovered.

As they reach Door Day there seems to be a plan in place. By happenstance the morning in which the primary doors are set to open Azzie finally awakens his power pool.

The party makes a big show of amassing at the vault door and they combine all their abilities along with the cog crystal to unlock the vault. It takes virtually all their combined points but finally the locks holding the central vault shut begin to throw themselves and the massive door swings open.
The dragons jostle for position and the U.C. make several concerted movements to retreat from the chamber together.

Veritas: What trickery is this? It is empty!
Moonsheen: Perhaps an illusion?
Hoath: No illusion…there is nothing within.

An unspoken and sudden non verbal transpires at the table and Seraphim nods to Hades who nods to Pluto:

Seraphim: So I guess that means Plan B.

Seraphim: I suppose now is an appropriate time to mention that in less than three hours time the doors that allow entry to this place will open. We have fought like hell to keep them closed and keep the invading army ready to attack at bay…but our defenses give out in three hours. At that time a whole cadre of invading adventurers, glory seekers and treasure hounds will descend into this place like a swarm. They have already sent in a force of frost giants from a different entrance. So you are faced with a choice right now. Either you eat us now and get swarmed by forces looking to take your stuff. Or you let us show you the way out and we catch them off guard. I challenge you to use whatever means at your disposal to find anything other than truth in my words.

Their a rising boil of fury dispered amongst the dragons…they are not happy. Their anger and rage over being imprisoned and deprived of their fortunes is making them seethe. Do they chance further attempts to locate their stolen hoards? Or take out their hostility in a joint effort to obtain freedom.

Veritas: Show us the way out. If you deceive us or attempt to trick us, your death will takes lifetimes.

Dis Pater: Of course…you may want to pack up any of your belongings, each of you has amassed a cache of items and relics. We would be happy to provide storage for you, as we see you are deprived of pockets.

The dragons all laugh at once, and each proceeds to swallow a king’s ransom in magic items.

Hoath: We trust our means of transportation.
Hades: Won’t your stomach acid simply destroy the items?
Onyx: Any item so easily damaged was not worth saving.
Seraphim: I think it’s time for you to pack up your belonging too Icy.
Veritas head swings around at the mention of the white leaving.
Veritas: She is not to leave alone.
Onyx: I will shadow her.
Veritas: Very well.

The two dragons along with Dis Pater and Seraphim retreat to her lair and fill her in on some further plans.

Onyx: Now that we are away I assume there is some deeper plan at work?

Seraphim: Not really. There truly is an army camped outside waiting to get in. There really is a frost giant incursion force. I do think it would behoove you two to know that one hour after the door opens it will then close. I highly recommend that you two make it back inside just before that hour strikes. If we can lock the others out that means what remains inside is all yours.

Icy: Why would you tell us this? Why not simply lock us out?

Seraphim: You are a potent allies. We WANT your help and are happy to give up treasure to gain you as resources. We struck an agreement out of survival and now we are ready to place a greater deal of trust to make it a partnership of mutual gain. Getting them out of the way helps that end. Two dragons is better than one…six is just too many.

Onyx: Veritas will return and his fury will be great. He is not one to be trifled with.

Dis Pater: We recognize that…and we will have a month to prepare for his return.

The dragons all reconvene and the U.C. take point as they lead their dragon entourage through the tunnels and passages leading out of the complex. Some of the corridors require considerable squeezing for the dragons to traverse…Veritas and Onxy use their acid and fire breath to melt larger passageways in the tightest spots.

The party is staged at the dungeon entrance with approximately fifteen minutes to spare…no other living creature is presently in sight. As the final moments tick away Onyx requests position at the front door.

Onyx: I have reservations about what awaits and wish to be first out.

None of the other dragon’s raises an objection.

As the door opens Onyx wastes exactly zero seconds and simply lays into whatever awaits with his breath weapon…as fate would have it a whole logjam of adventuring parties is waiting to get inside…and several of them have entire strings of horses.

All.
Hell.
Breaks.
Loose.

As the wave of acid washes over the stunned groups Onyx immediately gets into flight and takes off roaring in the joy of open air. Like a powder keg meets a match the remaining dragons take off in a rush of wings and death. Moonsheen the lone silver looks to be on the border of simply escaping but as she sees the carnage being wrought she intercepts Hoath and they engage in a mid aerial battle.
Veritas cuts huge swathes through any amassed clumps of combatants. The other dragons all watch the battle between Moonsheen and Hoath from their peripheral. But no aid is provided to either side. The U.C. act as a sweep team, pinning down the stragglers with their undead and then bayonetting the already wounded.

The initial burst sends the combined forces of humanity reeling and a good deal are panicking from the presence of dragons, but there is abundance of NPC adventuring teams that begin concerted efforts to fight back. Arrows and Spells arc into the sky targeting the dragons, and curative spells pop all over the place to try and triage those struck by breath weapons from on high. Cavaliers and Paladins regain their mounts and organize calvary charges against any targets sweeping low to the ground. Icy gets a lot of attention as she is unable to effectively fly and is within closer reach to most ground forces. The U.C. change their role from cleaning crew to dragon support as they rally around the white to provide aid and protection.

Seraphim utilizes a quirkier spell in Wandering Star Motes to jump from target to target disabling their actions. Those left dazed are swarmed by hatchlings and soon dispatched. Seraphim goes nuclear expending every offensive spell in her arsenal. She brings a mass of fire spells and a constant taunting cackle+misfortune.

A banner held aloft by a presumptive cavalier swings towards the dungeon entrance and a loud strong voice is heard screaming “ HEAD INSIDE FOR COVER”

Dis Pater: No chance hombre. That is our territory. ICY! We need you to block off the door.

The undead basilisks and manticores act as a plug to stop people from entering the dungeon, and the Cowboys are at this point getting pulled in multiple directions…they are trying to keep Icy alive and mobile, while also preventing entry into the dungeon. They are also constantly probing for any updates on the Moonsheen/Hoath scrum. For the most part the silver is getting the better of the green and his maneuvers and actions are becoming more and more about self preservation. No sooner do I announce that Hoath seems to be withdrawing from the action then a volley of intended actions all get thrown in quick succession.

Doc: Misfortune targeting saves against the Silver
Seraphim: Envervation against the Silver
Hades: Enervation against the Silver
Pluto: Enervation against the Silver
Azzie: Ray of Enfeeblement against the Silver

The Ray and one of the Enervations get fizzled by saves/resistance…but two make it through and the sudden loss sends her reeling. Onyx breaks off his sweeps against a platoon of dwarves and redirects to engage the silver…as does the unnamed blue….who basically tackle Moonsheen midair…severing her spine and tearing a deep rent in her throat…the shattered and broken dragon plummets to the ground dead, and a great deal of the resistance’s morale goes with her.

I am moderately surprised they don’t immediately reanimate her. Instead they direct their skeletal brass dragon and wyverns to drag her corpse into the dungeon.

This highly suspicious action draws the attention of the blue who seemed torn between following Hoath and simply bugging out. Instead Veritas breaks away into the clouds gathering height and speed. A few rounds later it seems like a second sun has come as they see the fleeing Hoath engulfed in dragon fire and then slammed into like a red missile by the diving red dragon. Veritas finishes off the wounded Hoath and then scans his way back towards the dungeon entrance where Onyx and Icy are now side by side in a skirmish against the larger and stronger Blue. Another wave of misfortune+enervation washes away the Blue’s defenses and a channel smite from Dis Pater crushes the grounded dragon’s skull. This dragon is also dragged into the dungeon entrance.

At this point with Moonsheen, Hoath, and the Blue dead…all that remains is Veritas, Onyx and Icy. The remaining adventuring parties along with anything still breathing from the camp all fall back to regroup themselves as a respite is created amidst the carnage.

Veritas lands a short distance from the U.C and remaining dragon duo. Everyone is catching their breath, topping off damage and rebuffing spells while they parley.

Veritas: There is a deeper game at work here and I suspect that you
envision me on the losing end.

Dis Pater: There is more than enough reward for all to win. We have nearly shattered the army assembled here…all that is left is crush the remaining pieces and then sift through the spoils.

Veritas: Why drag the fallen dragons inside then?
Seraphim: They are filler…prevent escape inside.
Veritas: You were already acting as a filler. What is your real reason?
Dis Pater: Does it actually matter?

Veritas: Yes…these were kin. They were my enemies because they represented a threat. Pragmatism meant they must be dealt with. But they are ultimately still dragons…and dragons are deserving of a respect you insects will never achieve. You have chosen to make a mockery of their grace in life as puppets in death. I tolerated your earlier violations out of convenience, but such restrictions or concerns are no more.

Seraphim: Well I suppose we can come to an agreement after we deal with the remaining army. Until that point we will vow to not animate your fallen brethren on this day.

Veritas: I am at the limit of my patience when it comes to these bargains.
Hades: Fair enough.

Veritas angrily takes flight and begins to circle the opposing force…using sweeping dives of his breath weapon to…

Pluto: He is intentionally missing…he is steering them towards us but not actually hitting them.
Azzie: Guess he wants us ta take a more involved hand.
Seraphim: Azzie…
Azzie: Yes luv?

Seraphim:I think it’s time to warm up the band. Everything but the brass in fighting formation at the dungeon entrance.

Azzie: Just call me Iron Man luv…cause I rock hard!

Azzie whips up the undead with inspire courage and sets them as a barricade at the dungeon mouth.
Hades: Do we split off and draw them into smaller groups?

Seraphim: Nope…we have the brass drag the two dead ones deeper in and make room. Need as many of them inside as possible. Icy…have your hatchling line up the halls and aim for anything not wearing armor. Let Veritas drive them straight at us. How much before the doors shut?

Dis Pater: I got about five minutes left before the doors shut.

Seraphim: Alright…let’s give them a warm welcome…Doc you and I need to target saves so we can get most of the poison through. If we can stabilize anything holding a holy symbol, spellbook, or not wearing armor to keep them from bleeding out let’s try. Hades and Pluto get in the mix with the skeletons and burn through your channels to shore them up. As we drop targets keep dragging them into the side rooms.

Thoughts:
*I get dragging the dragons in deeper…they want to desecrate and prep area before hitting the animate dead button.
*Stablizing the humanoid targets I sort of get. They can try to extort survivors or possibly even blood transcribe them.

The bulk of the remaining camp slams into the bone wall at full charge…some mounted archers and other ranged skirmishers are playing tag with the dragon and remain in the field.

Tactically speaking the Cowboys have crowd control down to a science. They consistently maneuver and isolate targets that get Misfortuned…Numbed…Axed by Doc and dragged away by the remaining dwarf skeletons. There is heavy resistance pressing them and the twins are getting their money’s worth from negative healing. The Inspire Courage is an all star as at least 1-3 attacks each round that would normally miss now connect and at least 1 enemy that would have stayed up getting dropped owing to the damage bump.

Control is the single best way to describe the brawl. Steady and paced they press their advantages and work together to come out ahead in a war of attrition. Veritas continues to harry and be harried by the mobile forces in open territory while they stem the tide and hold the line against the bulk of the remaining camp.

The sudden obliteration of a dwarf skeleton standing sentry at their rear makes that control evaporate. Heads turn and the noise ceases as a Warhammer large as a man still crackling with electricity is raised from the now dusted dwarf as the hammer giant grins from the hall’s end.

Azzie: Fug me I fink that is last call folks.
Dis Pater: We got about two minutes before the doors close. Do we go out with the dragon or stay in with the face smashing giants?
Seraphim: What you got left for spells Doc? I got 3 first, a pair of 2nd and one 3rd.

Doc: 3 1st and a 3rd.
Azzie: Got me 1 3rd level spell.

Dis Pater: We are reasonably well off health wise...but even on total defensive I doubt I can’t stand in longer than a round or two against those.

Positions:

*The door leading into the dungeon is clogged with humanoid combatants and some random mounts/animal companions.
*The central hallway is clogged with undead and the pair of dragons, Hades and Pluto are deep in the mix of things.
*Dis, Seraphim, Azzie and Doc are running control from the area just behind the scrum with some dwarf skeletons as grunt labor
*The brass dragon skeleton is towards the rear of the central hallway along with the corpses of the silver and blue.
*At least three frost giants are coming towards the brass dragon. The leashed drow is not immediately visible.
*Veritas is heard approaching the door…

Seraphim: If we can get Icy and Onyx to go toe to toe against the giants that is one thing…but there is no way to get them there. Hades and Pluto work your way free of the middle and everyone come meet me at this room. Shove as many of the undead down the hall with the brass as you can. Form up in the side room and get ready for a last stand.

Dis Pater: What about the thirty or so angry people trying to murder us?
Azzie: Tell em to get in line and buy a ticket…this is a sold out show and those big fuggers got VIP access.

Seraphim: Just try to disengage in one piece…I’ll try to buy you a bit of time.

Seraphim launches her last remaining 3rd level spell down the hallway and ignites the section with a fireball. That gets the frost giants main attention…as the sorcerer sends a magic missile volley in return that damn near takes the witch off her feet.

The brass gives ground to plant itself at the intersection of where the rooms all line up, and then holds. Dis Pater steps up to Seraphim’s side and takes a defensive posture, Hades and Pluto get pegged from AoP disengaging but get free and scurry to the side room. Doc drops his remaining 3rd level as a prayer to bolster everyone and then takes cover. Azzie drops his last 3rd level…a Haste on Dis Pater and he stays in the doorway.

The following round sees the giants moving up the hallway…the sorcerer lobs another missile volley at Seraphim and the hammer giant charges the brass.

Seraphim who held her action drops a flaming sphere in front of the frost giant and then falls back into the side room. Some of the less observant battle members don’t see the towering giants and are simply under the belief that they have broken the enemy resistance and they press themselves deeper in…a few of the less foolhardy beat feet and get the heck out of dodge.

Dis Pater shouts to Icy…

Dis Pater: If Veritas tries to get back in…use your breath weapon to push him back…Onyx if you can please get up here and help out our skeleton…we need to hold these giants off for just a bit longer.

Doc:Uh…the doors closing doesn’t make them vanish does it?
Dis Pater: No…but one less area to get ambushed or burnt to a cinder helps considerably.

The remaining adventurers not part of the necromantic entourage duck into a separate side room and try to hold their door shut. That frees up the remaining undead to lumber their way towards the brass and it also frees up Onyx to follow. As Onyx gets free Dis and Doc split to both sides of the hallway and invite him to acid breath their own skeletal dragon if it means getting the giants too…

Onyx gets himself into position and inhales…only to have the monk giant who was holding his own action spring out of seemingly thin air and deliver a devastating roundhouse stunning kick that practically leaves little birdies dancing over the dragon’s head.

Hammer Giant smashes the brass dragon with a full attack that shatters it completely. The flaming sphere continues to nip at their heels…but that is a drop in the bucket. The remaining undead keep shuffling forward , but with the brass down the biggest roadblock is now cleared. Once Onyx regains his senses self preservation takes over and he quickly gives ground. Icy is clearing the last stragglers and shouts out her own warning that Veritas has completely broken off his attack and is coming in hot.
The Sorcerer Giant drops some manner of buff spell on Hammer and the monk continues to back down the black dragon and plinks away with unarmed attacks. Seraphim gets a second flaming sphere started and increases the burn damage at the hammer giant. Once the wyverns, basilisks and manticores get past the door Hades and Pluto pop out and begin washing their horde with negative energy.

Hades: Uh brother…I appear to be out of channels.

Pluto: Yep…that was my last too.

Dis Pater and Doc see an opening and decide to attack the monk from the rear. Dis Drops his shield for a two handed swinging charge and Doc charges with flaming greataxe overhead. The monk sidesteps Dis but gets a back full of axe that staggers him.

With a great howling roar Veritas lands at the dungeon entrance and takes a full deep breath…The Frost Giants eyes go wide as plates and Hammer Giant bellows out an order for retreat. Icy who is about a third of the red’s size executes her readied action and knocks back Veritas who has his claws gripped about the door. The knockback sends him reeling but he manages to hang on with one arm.
The dungeon doors seem to go from open to closed in an instant and the sudden closing muffles any potential screams of pain as Veritas has his left arm severed right below the elbow.

The Hammer Giant and Sorcerer Giant were ready to turn tail but with the gate closing their retreat is halted and they resume their attack. Onyx and Icy are both able to focus their attention on the monk giant and he is quickly becoming overwhelmed by the combined onslaught of two dragons. The Hammer Giant and Sorcerer are game for getting to their comrade….but they now have a face full of undead bolstered by a new round of inspire courage, prayer,bless, and clerics now sadly reduced to converting spells to various inflict wounds. They also still have the last round or two of flaming spheres nipping at their heels. When the monk loses his feet and goes down the remaining pair of Giants curse and disengage retreating from the direction they came.

Seraphim: Onyx…Icy…don’t kill the giant we need to stabilize him in negatives.
Onyx: What?

Seraphim: I promise you that he is worth more alive than dead. Bind him tightly and stabilize him. As soon as he is stable sever both of his Achilles and the ligaments in his arms. I need him alive not mobile.

Azzie: There is a still a room full of blokes not more than twenty feet from us.
Seraphim: Oh…I nearly forgot about them.

She uses a cantrip to in essence clean her clothes and set her hair and suddenly the ruthless (and literally bloodthirsty) witch is once again the demure maiden with the honey sweet smile and doe eyes.
Seraphim: I am hoping you can hear us inside. It is now less dangerous as the giants have run away. They could return any minute…The red dragon that just sundered this whole territory is stuck outside and you are now stuck inside. So good news bad news there I am afraid. There are still two dragons here with us, and we have several of your comrades bound and currently safe. We are willing to work with you alive or simply convert you to undead. If we can just have a rational conversation under declaration of truce then I am sure we can come to an arrangement.

Unknown Voice: There is no circumstance where we can believe you or trust you.

Seraphim: Oh sweetie…I didn’t saything about trust. I said that while we could break down the door and have Onyx fill the small cramped room you currently sit in with acid we would be happier if you just obeyed us and did our bidding. Right now you are more useful alive than as shambling zombies. That might change in the near future. So what do you say…can we play nice?

Same Unknown Voice: You just told us that we are dead men walking…but it would be bothersome to actually kill us at this moment. So you basically want us to walk ourselves to the noose instead of being dragged.

Seraphim *slightly pouting*: Well it just sounds so much meaner when you say it that way. *Sigh* I guess we just have to turn your room into a slaughterhouse. Onyx…if you would please…melt the room and everyone in it. We will skin and cook alive anyone that makes it out with a pulse. I think we still have some garlic and onions amongst the supplies so I think a BBQ is in order. We can use the dwarves for jerky…they are tough to begin with…

Several Voices: Wait! Maybe we can come to some sort of truce.

Seraphim *with a giddy clap*: Oh fantastic…I am so looking forward to meeting you all. I think the first order of business is to reunite you with any fallen comrades or those we are currently holding for their own protection. Fair enough?

True to their word they basically take a full accounting of all the NPC’s inside the structure and reconfigure parties from those they took alive to those they just extorted into temporary alliance. Party members are reunited with their teams and for at least a few minutes there is relative civility. One of the NPC’s (we will call him Fritz) is identified as the “leader” of the NPC’s and is for all intents and purposes their face. Fritz is a stand up guy…solid warrior, couple levels of rogue, a fairly balanced guy and definitely was in the mix of just trying to score a quick item or two that he could sell then retire and live peacefully.

Fritz: So…uh…what you plan on doing with the giant? I can’t help but notice that he seems in pretty rough shape.

Dis Pater: Meh, I wouldn’t be concerned. He can’t walk or lift his arms.
Fritz: Oh I see that clear enough, more just curious why?
Doc pats the man on his shoulder and with a toothy grin chortles:
Doc: That is so he can’t run away or smash us in the face.
Fritz: Riiiight. But why didn’t you just kill him?

Seraphim: Because he can provide us intelligence about the rest of his associates and in a pinch we may able to barter a cease fire or hostage exchange.

As everyone musters up and has their wits about them a lot of sideways glances are made at the now anxious dragons.

Pluto: Onyx and Icy I think it’s time we get back to the vault room and make sure it is secure. We owe you a great deal of gratitude and loot for today’s assistance and we will deliver on both.
The entourage of undead…hobbled giant, dragons and NPC’s all march down through the dungeon and straight into Moo-Dor.

Seraphim: Welcome to your new home friends. We will provide provisions and water along with any basic equipment you may need. We are going to leave some dwarf skeletons as sentries for you too. There is still a sizeable phalanx of highly organized and lycanthropized dwarves in the area…hope you packed your silver. Also…we are pretty sure the frost giant trio was just an expeditionary force for a much larger invasion force…so eyes open.

Hades: Don’t forget the minotaurs…
Seraphim: I definitely didn’t forget about the minotaur clan…they used to live here and might not be too happy about you squatting in what used to be their home. Anyway…we will check back on you in a month.
Fritz: Uhm…where exactly are you going?

Seraphim: Far away from here that is for damn sure. We have some much more defensible locations already secured.
Fritz: Why can’t we come with you then?
Seraphim: Because we are the ruthless killers remember? Under no circumstance can be we trusted…pretty sure those were your words right?

Fritz: We have reconsidered events…especially in light of the other locals.
Seraphim *beaming with a coy smile*: Does this mean we can be friends?
Fritz: I think it means we would rather the enemy we know instead of the ones we don’t. What do you need from us?

Dis Pater: We need this place secured. There is a room filled with crystals we passed on the way in…it’s kind of the tollway into this area we need a permanent rotating force to cycle between here and there. For at least the next week or so we will rotate members of our group here…A cleric to bolster our undead and a support caster for help. If a strong force arrives Icy’s children will alert the rest of us. For your own protection we can’t let you near the vault or our esteemed friends lairs. We would have to kill you if you found those places.

Fritz: Got it. We can keep this area secure.
Azzie: I like you Fritz. When we hit the big time I will make sure you work the stage…I will share my sloppy seconds wif ya mate.
Fritz: He always like this?
Doc: Only when he is making sense.

The Cowboys leave their erstwhile new companions in Moo-Dor while they escort Icy and Onyx to the dragon lair with their captive giant. There they pretty much collapse from exhaustion and await for the new day.
They also hit level 8.

[Traab]

Wow. That was one heck of an event. I mean geez. I wish I had some idea of what they are REALLY going to do with that giant, but in the mean time, they have some massive undead minions to raise and control as well as possibly a large number of other random troops to use as fodder. So for now the cattle drive can continue. Also, i cant wait to find out if they will go after the drow and bite that plot hook, or go for the big empty vault and see if they can figure out where to go from there. Im sure the chance to snag a big fancy electric weapon, grab info on the frost giant incursion, and maybe even get a drow to actually help them (maybe, I dont think drow are really trustworthy) find some treasure of their own would be a tempting lure.