Charles Plemons' Blog

Game summary for July 1, 2008; present characters included Eolas Windmaster (moon elf duskblade), Lyrin Sinbal (simian incantatrix/ring sage/warmage), Mael Gabrian (human cleric), Morak Beardfist (shield dwarf fighter/rage cleric), Ranulph Wathbater (human berserker/fighter/hellreaver/paladin of freedom/rogue), Saedd West (human fighter/pious templar/wormhunter), Syvarius Strongbow (moon elf archer-ranger/peerless archer), and Taravin Truesilver (human divine crusader/gray guard/paladin of honor/pious templar).

The Mercenaries attempted to use Saedd’s instant fortress to rest within the complex. It worked for a while until they were attacked by a horned devil that slipped inside. The fiend killed Morak in his sleep, terrified Syvarius, and injured Mael and scared him so badly he could only roll down the stairs and babble, “It killed Mael! It killed Mael!”, much to the confusion of his allies. When he recovered his wits, he then told them the devil had killed Morak.

The team rushed up to that floor and viciously embattled the devil. It fought valiantly, but it was unable to withstand the onslaught. It was soon beaten unconscious, though regenerating. The team quickly dragged it into a prismatic sphere, which killed it. The team then locked themselves back in the fortress and continued their rest.

When the Mercenaries emerged, they immediately proceeded to the mirror wall and used wind walk to go through the crack. Once through, Morak dismissed the spell. Within, they found a treasure trove of items and a pair of devils, another horned and a pit fiend! Battle was joined immediately, with the devils dropping fireballs and swinging massive chains. Although extraordinarily dangerous, the Mercenaries were able to swarm the devils and beat them unconscious quickly. The horned devil was blasted into oblivion with a destruction, and the pit fiend was trapped within a magic circle against evil.

After ransacking the room, they found an item Lyrin recognized from lore, the dreaded Baalphegor’s Grace. He realized this was what controlled the Blessed Angels in the city of Mintarn. He also remembered it was extremely dangerous to use. They made a deal with the pit fiend to exchange its freedom from the circle for the answer to three questions. Both parties agreed not to attack each other as well. True to its word, the devil answered their questions. The first, who does it work for, it indicated it was bound by Lashonna. Second, what is the source of the negative energy, it replied the Unlife Vortex. And finally, in answer on how to use Baalphegor’s Grace, it told them to drink it. The devil then teleported to parts unknown.

Armed with new knowledge, the party now seeks the Unlife Vortex in their quest to destroy Kyuss.

Game summary for June 24, 2008; present characters included Lyrin Sinbal (simian incantatrix/ring sage/warmage), Mael Gabrian (human cleric), Morak Beardfist (shield dwarf fighter/rage cleric), Ranulph Wathbater (human berserker/fighter/hellreaver/paladin of freedom/rogue), and Taravin Truesilver (human divine crusader/gray guard/paladin of honor/pious templar).

The Mercenaries decided to proceed through the doors directly opposite the ones they entered. Behind them, they found a short hallway and another set of doors. Behind these was a very large room with a vaulted dome ceiling and two platforms with pits in the middle. Way across the room, up on the other platform, stood another pair of doors. A strange rasping sound seemed to come from the pits.

The team cautiously moved forward, and Taravin looked down into the pit to see thousands of teeming Kyuss worms. The group fanned out and went down the stairs of the platform into the main portion of the room. A rumble shook the area, and the worms from both pits exploded upward like a geyser! Quickly, the worms combined to form two massive overworms!

The team fought against the creatures viciously, eventually killing one of them. Once they did, thousands of more worms sprayed out and formed another overworm. Lyrin covered the openings of the pits with blade barrier while the rest of the group battered away with blade, hammer, and spell. Soon, Ranulph was snatched up into the maw of one of the worms. Mael hit him with a reach freedom of movement, which dropped him out of the worm’s mouth, through the blade barrier, and into the pit. He quickly scrambled up the side and forces himself back through the spinning blades in a shower of blood.

The team fell back across the room and regrouped on the second platform. They killed the overworms and went through the next set of doors. On the other side, they discovered some kind of magical silver wall. Lyrin determined it was very reflective, and Mael discovered it does not go all the way to the floor.

Now the Mercenaries stand before the mirror wall and debate what to do next. Some want to assume a mist form and go under the wall. Others with to try and camp. Does some horrible monster wait on the other side? Will camping allow all the forces of Kyuss to come to bear on the party?

Game summary for June 17, 2008; present characters included Morak Beardfist (shield dwarf fighter/rage cleric), Ranulph Wathbater (human berserker/fighter/hellreaver/paladin of freedom/rogue), Saedd West (human fighter/pious templar/wormhunter), and Taravin Truesilver (human divine crusader/gray guard/paladin of honor/pious templar).

After nursing their wounds, the Mercenaries discussed ways to dispose of the nasty demon in the sewers. They decided to give Taravin a talisman of reluctant wishes and use a wish to banish the demon. With this plan in place, they made haste back to the sewers. Within the dank, stinking hole, the party found winding corridors but no demon. After traveling aimlessly for a while, they finally found the telltale cloud surrounding the monster. It attacked viciously, killing Ranulph (again) almost instantly. Saedd charged forward to engage but was crippled by the noxious cloud. Morak restored his senses, but Saedd soon succumbed yet again. The demon stripped several protections away from Taravin, but the stalwart paladin still strode into the mist and used his wish. The effect worked, driving the broodfiend away from the Prime plane.

The team then circled around Morak while he performed a raise dead on slain Ranulph. Then, the team descended deep into the sewers where they were ambushed by half a dozen crimson deaths. The creatures quickly began feeding on Taravin and Ranulph but were unable to affect Morak and Saedd. Using freedom of movement, Morak protected Taravin, and the team killed or drove off the creatures.

Saedd ascended a ladder and found himself in a strange room. The team joined him shortly, and they went through the doors into a hallway. Proceeding cautiously, they emerged in a shrine to Kyuss containing a statue of the Wormgod and two additional exits. Using detect magic, they found some faint necromancy beneath the statue. Saedd tipped it over. The breaking statue crashed to the ground, and Taravin and Saedd jumped up and down on the marble dais it was on. Finally, Saedd whipped out an adamantine axe and hacked the top out of the marble, which triggered a spring that opened an unlocked hatch on the side of the dais. Within lay several gems, some incense, some hair, and a hand of glory.

Now, the Mercenaries face a choice of two doorways. Where do they lead? Are they in the vicinity of the source of the negative energy?

Game summary for June 10, 2008; present characters included Mael Gabrian (human cleric), Morak Beardfist (shield dwarf fighter/rage cleric), Ranulph Wathbater (human berserker/fighter/hellreaver/paladin of freedom/rogue), and Taravin Truesilver (human divine crusader/gray guard/paladin of honor/pious templar).

After safely escorting fourteen citizens of Mintarn into the safety of Tempus’ temple, the Mercenaries set back out onto the streets to find more people to save. Shortly, they encounter half a dozen Kyuss high-knights and numerous spawn of Kyuss killing people. The team launched into an attack and discovered the high-knights were much more dangerous than they appeared. Their unholy executioner’s maces slashed an unholy swath through the team. Mael and Morak unleashed volumes of healing energy while Ranulph and Taravin went toe-to-toe with the undead menaces. Eventually, several were cut down, and Mael destroyed two by channeling the divine might of Torm. In the end, fourteen more people were rescued and taken to the Tempus temple.

The team decided to seek out the source of the negative energy fueling the ziggurat, so they found themselves down in the Mintarn sewers. Not far within, they encountered a patch of greenish-brown fog. Within lurked a massive demonic creature with a gaping hole and writhing worms where a head should be. Its arms were snapping, fanged worms, and massive wings spread out from its back. It’s bulk filled most of the tunnels.

The creature spewed poisonous acid across the Mercenaries and attacked Ranulph and Taravin as they approached it through the fog. Taravin watched Ranulph’s blood spray across the stone wall beside him as the monstrosity tore Ranulph open and killed him. Taravin snatched up Ranulph and fled while the priests tried to hamper the monster’s approach. It moved without effort through their defenses, but they were able to stay ahead of it long enough for Taravin to whisk them safely away with the greater skeleton key.

Is the creature in the sewers there by chance, or is it guarding something? Are there more than one? What other horrors lurk in the dank, fetid darkness of Mintarn’s cess pits?

Game summary for June 3, 2008; present characters included Mael Gabrian (human cleric), Morak Beardfist (shield dwarf fighter/rage cleric), Ranulph Wathbater (human berserker/fighter/hellreaver/paladin of freedom/rogue), Saedd West (human fighter/pious templar/wormhunter), and Taravin Truesilver (human divine crusader/gray guard/paladin of honor/pious templar).

The Mercenaries returned to Longsaddle to acquire magical gear and unload the magical equipment stolen from Dragotha’s lair. During this time, Morak Beardfist used discern location and commune to find out more about their adversaries. Shortly thereafter, they met with Malchor Harpell who told them the Age of Worms had begun. The prison of Kyuss has been placed upon the pinnacle of a new ziggurat in Mintarn, and the cult is trying to free the Wormgod. They are so blatant, it is obvious they have no fear of failure. Malchor believes the cult is weakening Kyuss’ prison through the power of people converting to worship the Wormgod and an unknown energy source channeling negative energy into the monolith. He feels the prison is sufficiently weakened that Kyuss’ emergence is now inevitable; however, if the Mercenaries can strike out at his worshipers and also destroy the energy source, they may be able to weaken him significantly. If weakened enough, they might can kill him as he emerges! Deicide is obviously a monumental task, but he has offered several ways of helping them. Malchor discovered the location of a sphere of annihilation for them to use in the fight with Kyuss. Also, he and his allies, Celeste, Cymria, and Agath will enact a ritual to effectively put a “cage” around the island of Mintarn and keep the Wormgod and his minions within, giving the team a shot at assassinating the evil god of worms. He also provided them with a trio of wish scrolls.

The Mercenaries wasted no time transporting to Mintarn. There, they discovered the city in ruins, with buildings in flames and the streets buckling due to massive, 100-ft.-long overworms burrowing about. Spawn of Kyuss stalk the streets, and the citizens, trapped on the island and unable to hide in the ruined buildings run about finding death at the hands of Kyuss’ minions. Towering nearly a thousand feet over the city soars the newly rebuild Spire of Long Shadows, topped with Kyuss’ prison monolith. Within, the flowing worm-form of Kyuss can be seen trying to bust free. His howls of rage, madness, and excitement all but shake the city. Dark clouds hang overhead while lightning flashes throughout. Clouds of smoke choke the streets, and the orange glow of a burning city reflects from the cloud cover.

Not long after arriving, the team attempted to rescue a group of citizens from marauding spawn. Soon thereafter, a pair of colossal overworms burst up from the ground and attacked. The creatures proved incredibly hardy and dealt terrible wounds to the team, but they were eventually brought down. The Mercenaries escorted the people to the temple of Kelemvor and found it still standing. They also discovered the temple of Tempus still stands, guarded by the warpriests within.

Can the Mercenaries save people to keep them from becoming worshipers of Kyuss in their despair or followers due to conversion into spawn? Can enough be saved to fight off the rising power of Kyuss? What about the unknown source of negative energy? Where is it? What is it? Are the Mercenaries up to the task to saving the world from the rampaging beast of destruction known as the Wormgod?

Game summary for May 27, 2008; present characters included Lyrin Sinbal (simian incantatrix/ring sage/warmage), Mael Gabrian (human cleric), Morak Beardfist (shield dwarf fighter/rage cleric), Ranulph Wathbater (human berserker/fighter/hellreaver/paladin of freedom/rogue), and Saedd West (human fighter/pious templar/wormhunter).

As the last of the nightcrawlers fell to Morak’s flame strike, the cavern shook with the force of a yelling creature shouting, “Come on!” With a flash, Balakarde appeared and imbued Lyrin with several transferable powers to aid in the fight to come. Worms poured forth from the ceiling but bounced off of the party’s vermin wards. The clerics, warmage, and wormhunter hung back casting buffing spells upon themselves. Meanwhile, Ranulph was hit by some kind of moisture draining magic and then slipped up around the bend and into a large cavern. Within, he found a large worm-infested stone ziggurat with something torn away from the top. The green liquid they had passed through earlier seemed to originate here, bubbling up from the wound atop the ziggurat. Standing astride the foul stream towered the rotted, skeletal form of Dragotha himself. Power and wickedness poured forth from the greatest of undead dragons. To either side of him were stone ledges, a nude, worm-infested Aridarye stood shimmering with magical wards about her.

Ranulph yelled to his companions about what he saw and quickly tried to fly back down the tubular cavern. Dragotha, however, had other plans. He simply suggested Ranulph come lay face down on the ziggurat, which Ranulph found to be a superbly splendid idea. Morak Beardfist, dwarven priest of Moradin, ran forward and resurged Ranulph, which allowed him to realize how absurdly stupid the idea Dragotha mentioned really was. Wasting no time, Saedd brought the fight to Dragotha, charging across the open ground, up the stairs of the pyramid, and swinging with a mighty blow. His blade landed true—and bounced off of Dragotha’s steel-like bones without so much as a scratch. Mael and Lyrin moved closer and continued warding themselves and allies with magic. Lyrin also transferred his Balakarde-granted fire immunity to Ranulph who then charged through the air to attack Dragotha. His blow hit true as well, and cut into the dracolich; however, a moment later Ranulph hover in the air, paralyzed by the mesmerizing eyes of Dragotha.

Aridarye launched into spellcasting and knocked Saedd prone with a magic missile spray. With a hate-filled roar, Dragotha attacked Saedd with teeth and claws, shredding the man and spilling his lifeblood and entrails across the ziggurat. The Mercenaries looked on in shock at how quickly Saedd was dispatched. With a snarl of defiance, Mael stepped forward and destroyed Aridarye by channeling the holy might and fury of Torm. Her animated corpse burst and dissolved into dust under the righteous divine power of the god of paladins. While this transpired, Lyrin got into the fight by blasting Dragotha with a disintegrate. Much to his chagrin, the spell was turned and rocketed right back at him. He was saved, however, by the spell resistance provided by Mael’s wards. Lyrin adjusted his tactics and blasted the dracolich with a sculpted sunburst, which burned the dragon and made him even more angry. Lyrin then turned and took cover around a corner. Morak did his best to aid his spellcasting allies by firing barrage after barrage of lower spell resistance, but he just couldn’t seem to get the spell to take hold. Perhaps Dragotha’s will was that unshakeable, or he was warded against just such an attack, having minions who observed the use of the spell in fight after fight over the last week.

Dragotha grabbed hold of Ranulph and pushed him down onto the worm-covered ziggurat. Then, the deadly dracolich sprang from his perch and hurtled down the tunnel after Mael, Morak, and Lyrin. Mael was bitten by the massive jaws, and the unholy power of the dracolich form paralyzed Mael. Thinking quickly, Lyrin separated the group from the dragon with a prismatic wall. Morak fell back around a corner, and they quickly discussed ways to restore Mael to mobility. In an instant, Dragotha was upon them. One moment the cavern was empty, and the next Dragotha was simply there. Lyrin encased himself in a prismatic sphere that also inadvertently protected Morak from Dragotha. With no other target, Dragotha slew the paralyzed cleric of Torm. He then whispered a spell and teleported away.

Lyrin, having heard and identified the spell, ran out of his sphere and filled the area vacated by Dragotha with another prismatic wall. Morak cast a wind walk spell, and he and Lyrin decided the time for valor had disappeared quite some time ago. Meanwhile, Dragotha had returned to the ziggurat to bask in the (to him) rejuvenating negative energy and gather up what he expected to be a new minion in Ranulph. He was surprised to find Ranulph was warded from vermin and, although still paralyzed, had not become a favored spawn of Kyuss. Enraged in ways only a 1,500-year-old undead red dragon can get, he tore Ranulph apart.

Morak and Lyrin continued their strategic running for their lives. With murder in his cold dead heart, Dragotha teleported back into the cavern only to find himself within a prismatic wall. Many of the effects posed no threat or concern to the mighty dragon; however, the shifting panels of light pierced his defenses and sent him hurtling off into a random plane. Through sheer chance and dumb luck, Lyrin’s spell catapulted Dragotha to the one place he was sure to die—the Positive Energy Plane. With no way to escape, the negative-energy charged undead dragon was blasted apart within the radiant power of the Plane. Because the Mercenaries had already destroyed his phylactery, Dragotha’s soul could not return and reform. The great undead dragon was destroyed!

When the beast succumbed, finally, into death, Balakarde appeared and told Lyrin and Morak the dragon was no more. Emboldened, the pair returned, resurrected the slain, and collected the wealth of one of the most deadly dragons in history. They staggered about to carry the millions of coins and goods, but using extradimensional space and teleportation magic, they robbed the place blind.

Although high on excitement from their victory and wealthy beyond measure, dark foreboding looms. Lashonna had, indeed, stolen Kyuss away. Where did she take him? What is she doing? Can the traitorous woman free Kyuss from his prison and usher in the Age of Worms?