Charles Plemons' Blog

Game summary for April 12, 2022, Classic Quest campaign, Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Arminious Ironkeep (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Garadal Davster (Halfling played by Parker Harmon), Grozzadeth Boulderback (Dwarf played by Kaliegh Belda), Katarina Magdanov (Human Magic-User played by Casey Scruggs), Koehan Rumisar (Elf played by Peyton Harmon), and Valor Eagleclaw (Human Fighter played by Preston Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team rushed the bowls to the Hutaakan priestesses to begin the ritual as Valor and Arminious began regaining their sight.  As the ritual began, ropes dropped down from a hole in the ceiling, and the Iron Ring slid down into the temple!  Golthar came flying down with them.  Arrows and sling stones flew.  Valor and Grozzadeth charged into the fray and killed two of the Iron Ring hobgoblins.  Koehan cast a mighty lightning bolt from his scroll, and it rebounded off the wall to hit Golthar twice!  The wizard survived, but barely.  Golthar cast hold person on four of the party, and they all failed their saving throws!  Gactus, one of the Iron Ring reavers, began backstabbing the helpless Valor.  Jolenta, the other reaver, tried to stand against Grozz but broke it off to go and heal the badly injured Golthar.

Grozzadeth charged the wounded wizard and cut him down!  Then, tentacles burst out of the pit and dragged one of the priestesses into the darkness.  The One oozed out of the pit and through the flames.  With the ritual broken, the Hutaakan high priestess countered the hold person spell and fell back into a defensive position.  The One dragged several of the team into its maw!  The acid inside killed Koehan, and the viciousness of the monster and the death of Golthar was too much for the reavers.  They began fleeing up the ropes back toward the ceiling. 

The party bashed and slashed away at The One.  Within, Grozzadeth fumbled about and found dead Koehan’s magical dagger!  With intense ferocity the dwarf slashed and cut and killed The One from within!  The team then shook the ropes and fired arrows to slay the fleeing reavers.  In the carnage, they discovered another magical key within the remains of The One!  They then used a raise dead scroll to restore Koehan.

The group found Golthar’s journal and learned he was seeking The One to get said key and unlock a fabulous treasure, the wealth of the entire Hutaakan civilization.  The team discussed all this with the high priestess who did not know where the treasure may be.  The group needed to rest and recover spells to use the key.  They made camp in the library along with the high priestess while one of the under priestesses was sent to gather assistance for recovering bodies from the pit.  During their rest, the group talked with the high priestess and after quite a discussion, they agreed to take the treasure and round up the Traldar and try and convince them to leave the valley with the party.  The Traldar amazed by the fierce battle prowess of the group and seeing an opportunity to escape the valley agreed. 

The party loaded up dozens of riding lizards with silver, electrum, and gold, and they departed the valley along with the remnant of the Traldar race.  They traveled back down to the gnoll valley and were soon greeted by the great dragon, Mythranthraxus!  The dragon was impressed by their successes.  It struck a deal with them  It granted them lands in another valley it controls to build settlements and found a new nation with the Traldar, one loyal to and allied with the dragon!  The team set off to establish their new lands and build their settlements laden with the gold needed to found a small country!

Game summary for March 29, 2022, Classic Quest campaign, Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Arminious Ironkeep (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Garadal Davster (Halfling played by Parker Harmon), Grozzadeth Boulderback (Dwarf played by Kaliegh Belda), Katarina Magdanov (Human Magic-User played by Casey Scruggs), Koehan Rumisar (Elf played by Peyton Harmon), and Valor Eagleclaw (Human Fighter played by Preston Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The group explored another chamber and found nothing of interest.  They then went into an antechamber and found it filled with zombies and skeletons!  Koehan got trapped in the room while the rest of the team tried to beat back the horde to rescue him.  Arminious found he was able to turn these undead and blew several into dust.  After setting up a funnel kill zone, the group got Koehan free and destroyed the rest of the undead.  In the room, they found a stairwell down and decided to explore it later. 

The group went across the temple and found the library wherein the triggered a blinding flash of light.  Unable to see, Valor and Arminious sat down and let the Hutakaan priestesses examine them.  They determined the blindness was likely temporary. 

The team pressed on, and Grozz helped them buttress some walls and excavate a collapsed portion of the temple to find another room.  Within, Koehan’s elven eyes spotted a secret door!  They opened it to reveal a hidden hallway and a crumpled corpse clutching the golden bowl!  A wraith rose up and attacked.  Fortunately, most of the team had magical weapons with which to hit the monster.  Unfortunately, Koehan was struck and energy drained!  However, the team rallied quickly and brought down the undead.  The team found a powerful suit of armor and several valuable pieces of magic.  Likewise, they recovered the bowl! 

Game summary for March 22, 2022, Classic Quest campaign, Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Arminious Ironkeep (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Garadal Davster (Halfling played by Parker Harmon), Katarina Magdanov (Human Magic-User played by Casey Scruggs), Koehan Rumisar (Elf played by Peyton Harmon), and Valor Eagleclaw (Human Fighter played by Preston Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team entered the temple to find a huge chasm in the center of the floor, pitch black.  Bright blue flames burned all around the opening, and a cage hung suspended over the hole.  Jackal-headed statues were all around the room, and a massive statue towered over the altar.  Looking around, they discovered the golden bowl needed for the ceremony was missing!  They decided to spread out and search the temple.  The knocked down a door and found a trio of special ghouls within!

The ghouls spilled out among the party and tore into them.  Stephan was paralyzed and killed, and so was the magically summoned bear.  They rediscovered they were unharmed by magical weapons.  Koehan cast magic missile from a scroll and hurt all three of the undead.  He then ran and retrieved a magical dagger from Katarina.  Arminious tossed his magical mace to Valor and went to search the room from which the ghouls emerged.  He found a magical sword and came and exchanged weapons with Valor.  With a greatsword in hand once again, the mighty warrior tore into the undead with aplomb.  Garadal used the last of his magical arrows before finding a quiver of more in the cache as well.  Koehan was injured and discovered his elven nature protected him from the paralysis.  Valor succumbed to the paralysis while the Hutaakan priestesses enacted a ritual to hurl some of the temple fire at the undead.    With magic weapons in hand, the group was able to cut down all three of the ghouls and search the cleared room.  They found some magical sling stones and gave them to Katarina. 

Game summary for March 8, 2022, Classic Quest campaign, Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Arminious Ironkeep (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Garadal Davster (Halfling played by Parker Harmon), Grozzadeth Boulderback (Dwarf played by Kaliegh Belda), Katarina Magdanov (Human Magic-User played by Casey Scruggs), Koehan Rumisar (Elf played by Peyton Harmon), and Valor Eagleclaw (Human Fighter played by Preston Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team began searching the Vault and finally found a secret compartment that contained the book!  They gave it to the High Priestess, and she was excited to find what she believed to be the answer.  The group set out immediately that night toward the temple of Pflarr. 

The group arrived at the temple, and Grozzadeth burst through the doors.  Inside a small horde of undead attacked!  Skeletons and zombies swarmed all around as the party fought valiantly.  Grozz was hit by numerous attacks but was able to withstand the onslaught.  Valor placed a ring upon his finger found within the Vault and was cursed with incredible weakness! 

Arrows flew, axes swung, and maces crushed.  The dead fell all around.  Bones piled up and rotted zombies collapsed.  Although many of the party were injured, none were seriously hurt, and the mob was defeated.  With the last undead put to rest, the temple entrance loomed ahead!

Game summary for March 1, 2022, Classic Quest campaign, Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Arminious Ironkeep (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Garadal Davster (Halfling played by Parker Harmon), Katarina Magdanov (Human Magic-User played by Casey Scruggs), Koehan Rumisar (Elf played by Peyton Harmon), Levi Ackerman (Human Thief played by Andrew Renfrow), and Valor Eagleclaw (Human Fighter played by Preston Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons with special guest Referee Evelyn Renfrow.

The group set watch and tried to get some sleep.  At dusk, the team was attacked by a pair of rhagodessa!  The spider-like monsters snagged hold of several members of the party.  Koehan cast web but caught Garadal in it instead!  The team landed lots of blows quickly, and Levi and Stephan were able to take them down.  After a short rest, they cut Garadal free.

The team then traveled on to the Vault of the Elders.  Levi searched the door for traps and found none.  Koehan cast knock from the key and then cast continual light from it.  He opened the door, and the team entered.  Levi searched a stone sarcophagus for traps and did not find any.  The group began to remove the lid, and the dust in the room began to swirl about and coalesce into a solid form!  A swaddled Hutaakan corpse rose up and lurched to “lift” to attack the team!  Arminious and Katarina were paralyzed by the creature’s attacks.  The party learned only magical weapons and spells could harm it, so they moved in with magical blades and took it down! 

Game summary for February 22, 2022, Classic Quest campaign, Dungeons & Dragons BECMI / RC Edition, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Arminious Ironkeep (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Garadal Davster (Halfling played by Parker Harmon), Katarina Magdanov (Human Magic-User played by Casey Scruggs), Koehan Rumisar (Elf played by Peyton Harmon), and Valor Eagleclaw (Human Fighter played by Preston Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team discussed options with the Hutaakans and amongst themselves.  The priestess allowed them to examine the key to the tomb of the elders, and Koehan was able to determine it is merely a fancy metal scroll with the spells knock and continual light.  They realized Katarina already has the means to enter the tomb without the key but they still likely need the priestess to perform a holy ritual to Pflarr, so there is little to gain by getting the Knowledge of the Elders without her.  They debated the Traldar’s theory of needing the water from the Singing Pool, but they decided to believe the Hutaakans’ claim that it would not work.  They also considered if they can access the elders’ vault without the key using their arcane magic, so too could Golthar.  After much debate and discussion, they decided it is in the best interest of everyone to work with the Hutaakans and retrieve the book. 

The group burned the bodies of the dead to prevent them from rising up again (all but the Traldar slain by the Hutaakan whom they instead buried).  The team set out across the valley and narrowly avoided a Traldar patrol.  They crossed the road leading to Ronkan, the city currently occupied by the Traldar and hid themselves in the tall grass to await evening.  They plan to approach the tomb under the cover of darkness so as to avoid the Traldar, even though there is increased risk of running into the undead.