Session #47-48: Doom of the Dire Boar & Return to Harrowmoor

TL:DR: Dire Boar defeated, Ent encountered, healed of disease, communed with a strange lake creature beneath the crumbling Harrowmoor Castle.  And Lady Chantrelle seems to have taken young Jacque to the Hall of Sleep.

The earth shaking might of the Mother of All Boar was no match for the accumulated power of the Barrowmaze veterans.  As She approached bristles scraping the high ceiling of the cavern, the cleric Clonin retrieved an illuminated scroll from his haversack and intoned the syllables of power inscribed upon it.  Instantly, the paper turned to ash, then swirled around the massive beast which seemed to shrink as it charged squealing ever more high pitched as it's stature was reduced to that of it children.  A rough battle ensued between the party and the three pony sized pigs.  Clonin knocked his head against the cavern wall and lost consciousness before the last perilous porcine protagonist was butchered.
After gathering treasure and surviving a further attack from a returning singular of boars, the group began their journey back to Harrowmoor, clutching the cure for Erik's debilitating disease, the Cave Lily.  Travel was cross country and confusing in the dark tangle of the Dolmenwood.  They got lost and spent a cold night in conversation with a friendly tree called Rootbound who told them of the Elven Princes who once ruled the wood but are now more rare, and of the sinister Cold Prince, who was banished.  The old tree was particularly unhappy with the recent ruttings of goatmen amongst his roots. 
It took three days to find once again the high cliffs of the Groaning Loch, and it cost a gold coin or so to convince the loan fisherman they spied to ferry them to the castle.
Returning to the somber confines of Harrowmoor, the company first visited Dr. Prunesqualor, who obligingly brewed a medicinal poultice while intimating dark suggestions that the Lady Harrowmoor had been corrupted by dark forces and was no longer an adequate protector of her daughter Violet.  "Perhaps she needs to be removed from office," he murmured. 
The evening meal with the family of the manor began uneventfully, notable for the absence of the young lad Jacque and the mysterious Lady Chantrelle.  Presently, Resper and the learned men began to tell their tales, which fascinated the otherwise bored and tedious Lady of the manor.  Tales and wine flowed and suddenly it was the witching hour, with Violet long since sent to bed.  The strange lady bid they follow her lead, and, escorted by her clowder of cats, descended by a stair behind a bookcase in the study down down to a lake side cove for below the ramparts.
"Here is the source of my family's wisdom," she purred.
The moonlight caressed the waters of the cove and Erik felt compelled to sing a strange song that came to his mind unbidden, with words he did not understand.  The lake water began to shine with a luminescent light and nebulous shape rose to the surface, more light and presence than true physicality, yet the minds of the visitors to Harrowmoor were overwhelmed, wallowing in total sensory overload. 
They came to as the false dawn emerged and stumbled up the stair heavy of foot but enlightened by visions of cosmic import, a feeling that the brooding, skeletal claws of evil in the Barrowmaze was gathering strength again, opposed not by the Church (insular as it is) but by the wild chaos that was the Nag Lord.  Their conflict will bring ruin to those caught in between.
A night in seance with the "Forroth" was a taxing affair.  Though they planned to hurry after Jacque and Lady Chantrelle, who they assumed had absconded to the Hall of Sleep, but found that Sleep came heavy to themselves, sleeping a straight 48 hours once their heads hit the pillow.

Session #41: Into the Dolmenwood, through the Wenchgate

Atanuwe, the Naglord

Updated: The whole tale told, 8/26/18.

Leaving the Barrowmounds behind, it's evil weakened but still lurking, the Company decided to visit the enchanted Dolmenwood, hoping to find a holy place in which to consecrate a new church.

Preparations for the journey were not auspicious:  The Company deposited the cursed relics of Dekeon in the Church vaults at Ironwood Motte, but refused to tithe the Church, which disappointed the Father.

In a final audience, the Company demurred when given the opportunity to pay monetary tribute to the Duke, who was enraged and banished them from Ironwood Motte, despite their heroic exploits saving his son the year before.
It seemed that tales of the wealth dragged out of the Barrowmaze had reached the ears of the great and powerful, and they expected their due, but the Company held tight to their hard earned gains and took themselves to the Road.

On the first day of their journey, the Company met Harne, the Wild Man of the Wood, on the Horse Eye Road.  Harne told many tales of fungus, fairyies and mysterious stones.  He warned of the Nag Lord a many hoofed petty god, and other weirdness.  Harne also claimed to know the way to the ruined Abbey of St Clewd, so he joined the the Company in their travels.
Passing, farms, fields, and distant plumes of smoke without interest, the Company entered the Wenchgate by way of innocuous pleasantries.  Faces in the twisted wooden arbor spoke strange messages and prophecies.  Further, the Company met a talking tabby cat with wings.  It asked for help freeing Treemother from spiders but the travelers bade it fend for itself and marched on.
Near the end of the first day in Dolmenwood, the Company arrived at the Refuge of St. Keye, a simple monastery dedicated to brewing simple beers, a welcoming place.

Clonin the Bearer of the Font, spoke long into the night with the head monk of the refuge, Brother Alfred, and learned much.

The forest of Dolmenwood lies in the little-frequented northern reaches of the kingdom of Haven, under the rule of the Duchy of Ironwood. Though men, with their fortresses and cathedrals, now claim dominion over this stretch of tangled woods, fungus-encrusted glades, and fetid marsh, other powers held sway here in ancient times and — some would say — remain the true masters of the realm.

Within the forest, the magical and otherworldly are always close at hand — rings of standing stones loom in glades hallowed by pagan cults of yesteryear; the energy of ley lines pulses beneath the earth, tapped by those in possession of the requisite secrets; portals to the perilous realm of Fairy allow transit between worlds, for those charmed or fated by the lords of Elfland.  Even the herbs, plants, and fungi of Dolmenwood have developed in odd directions, absorbing the magic which infuses the place. Some say that the waters are enchanted. Some say the stones and the earth itself. Perhaps both are right.

Dolmenwood and the Crypts of St Clewd are found in the Wormskin zine.

Barrowmaze #39-40: Assault on the Pit of Chaos, Eye Tyrant Unleashed

TL;DR  The Bearers of the Font of Law closed the Pit of Chaos, then returned for the treasure of the Yellow King.

As the light of the Font of Law faded day by day, Clonin and his fellows determined to conquer their fear and head straight for the Pit of Chaos, the location of which they had discovered after the Yellow King had sent them to a far corner of the Barrowmaze.

Girding themselves for battle, the heroes of light entered through the mound of the forgotten throne and headed north, determined to avoid distraction.  However, in the pool room near the resting place of poor Sir Guy, the treasure seekers were tempted by the tilted tiles on the floor, topped by a gemstone.  They were soon surrounded by the groaning spirits of evil priests.  They coalesced and tried to choke the life out of Aliontus, Erik and the others but brave battling and magics swords broke the spirits.

The grand hall approaching the Pit of Chaos was littered with the corpses of strange and terrible creatures.  Things of tentacle and fur lay slumped against the walls.  A terrible green light from the massive double doors illuminated the abominations of nature.

A lone hero snuck in to take a peak.  He saw a massive chamber, vaulted ceiling held aloft by pillars made of the torment of captured souls.  Against the far wall a gigantic statue of Nergal, fat, complacent, naked loomed over the depression in the center of the room.  A pit from which seeped green luminescent wisps and crawled with strange creatures.  It was a crowded place.  A horde of shuffling, clattering undead milled about.  Looming over all floated an unreal creature of myth and nightmare, an eyeball some 6ft diameter, with a mouth and more eyestalks.  The thing cackled and muttered as it roamed, surely slavering at the thought of tomb robbers for a meal.

After urgent discussion, whispered planning and the casting of spells of blessings and protection, the heroes charged in.  Half broke left, half right.  The eyeball monsters spoke, its insane ravings that of a dimension and time lost maniacal intelligence, speaking of lands of undreamt of and centuries shackled to the defense of this chaotic pit.  It's eyes glowed with menace.  All magic in its field of vision ceased to function.

Clonin charged in, terrified and vulnerable despite the protections of his god.  Weaving between pillars he found his path to the Pit blocked by half living zombies.  The Font of Law was dim in his hand as it passed before the eyesight of the all seeing guardian.  How to fight such terrors in such numbers?  Perhaps he did not need to.

Clonin threw the Font.

The glowing ball arced up over the heads of the undead army, below the terrible visage of Ibyx-Idyll, and dropped into the pit!   A flash of green light washed over everything and turned white.  A deafening explosion rocked the place.  When their vision cleared, the heroes found the monsters fled, an Eye of Terror now lurking these darksome halls, but the Pit was dark, the statue of Nergal toppled and fallen in, the terrible silence of these tombs returned.  Gathering what treasure they could find, the group returned to Helix to carouse!

Addendum: Some weeks later the Company returned, defeated the Yellow King and stole his treasure but not his boat.  They are rich with coin.  The Barrowmaze is quieter, yet evil still lurks within.  Meanwhile, the aggressive logging and assertion of power by Duke Ironwood seems to have angered the denizens of the mysterious Dolmenwood.  Reports of loggers and woodsmen attacked by goatment and worse have increased in number.  Spurred by rumour of a Church let go to ruin piques the interest of ambitious clerics.  Perhaps a claim can be staked within the wood, or the mystery of the pink comet revealed...

Barrowmaze #38: At the Mercy of the Yellow King, and Escape

TL;DR  The viking ship king teleported the party to another part of the dungeon from which they escaped.  What will they do next?  Finally assault the Pit of Chaos?  Attempt to plunder the ship of the Yellow King?  Explore some random barrows?

...

The yellow king spoke of his origin;  "Once I lived in the Devoured Land,  a distant, unfathomed place. They say the cleft peaks are the uneaten half left torn when the first Cannibal God bit the world. Things there are as things were in the day before all days, when all that is now knew a common tongue and a young, smoother moon hung pearl-like in a black bed gestating the unborn stars. The ice is clearer, the wind sharper, every sound echoes, and all time unravels with a clear and open order.  The shadow falls across the rock, and the rock despises that. The oldest witch is here, the proudest stag, the most vicious wolf, the fattest hog and most lustful goat, the most avid crow, the most resentful of rats.  There are trees that grew in first rain, and horses that have never known a rider, stones cut by the hand of the first women and recut by thousands after, there are fortresses buried since the first battle. It’s said time started and will end in this place."*

"Why are you here?" asked the trembling intruders.

"I was exiled by the Black Amazons of the Frozen North.  I was sent forth on my ship long before the founding of the kingdoms of men.  Now I rest here with the plunder of my lifetime.  But of late I rest no more, awakened by the persistent pulse of Chaos."

"What should we do?" asked the grizzled tomb robbers.

"I will send you forth."  

With that the small group was instantly transported to a place of stone, in fact a dungeon chamber with a treasure chest flanked by gargoyles.  The warriors approached the chest and were suddenly covered in green slime expelled from the static statues.  A suit of platemail and a magical hauberk of chain were destroyed before the slime could be burned away.  Moments later another walking dead approached but was summarily dispatched.  The chest itself was wizardly locked, but the torchbearer was happy to carry the heavy load.  

Low on spells, vigor and courage, the group searched for an exit to the foul place.  Finally they discovered a goatman cowering in a side chamber.  He spoke of blackmail against his Lord Malbleat in the Western Dolmenwood.  He also intimated the close proximity of the Pit of Chaos.  In exchange for a dram of wine and a bit of food the goatman, Billy, offered friendship and lead the group to an exit from the Maze, stopping along the way to swiftly Web a floating ball of eyeballs to the wall.  

Relieved and weary, the Company of the Raven collapsed in their beds, happy to have survived another foray, but concerned the light of the Fount of Law continues to dim.
*Words courtesy of Frostbitten and Mutilated by Zak S.

Barrowmaze #37: Death Ship of the Yellow King

As we began this session I was reminded that we had decided to play out the adventures of the lost party members.  I think the best way to describe this one is from the DM's perspective.
Grack the half-orc warrior had fallen into a magical pit along with a Blood Pudding.  They were teleported to another location in the dungeon.  Investigating, Erik the Red dangled a torch from a rope into the pit.  He and the rope all faded away. 

Discounting minor time discrepancies, Grack fought a round against the Pudding, stumbling into a corridor, his stone hammer ineffective against the pursuing blob.  Then Erik dropped out of the ceiling.  He attacked the thing with a magic sword while Grack ran away.  Erik followed and the bolted through a door and slammed it behind them.  They were in a large pillared chamber that had been previously explored, though not necessarily by these characters, and certainly the previous game year, so they did not recognize the place.  But they did choose the southwest door (although I wasn't giving them coordinates).  This decision more or less put them on a direct route to the original entrance in Room 1! 

The pair scraped around, looking and doors and resisting the urge to peek into side doors (except for one incident with a spring loaded crossbow) until they came to an intersection full of graffiti and markings.  Slowly it dawned on them.  They were near the entrance.  Scuttling west, the two warriors considered backtracking with their map and trying to find their friends.  Instead they climbed the rope and fell in with a party of tomb robbers heading home for the day from a day poking about the Barrow Mounds.

Just like this but without the windows.

Meanwhile, back in the dungeon... The remaining Company were facing a tomb full of Ravenous Dead.  Clonin the Cleric of Light held the zombies at bay with his holiness and the group retreated, using a Web spell to hold the door shut.  Further explorations revealed a massive tomb at the end of the hall.  After a desperate battle on two fronts against the Ravenous and a trio of Ghouls who slew a dwarven torchbearer, the group was able to investigate the grand tomb.

Within the vaulted many pillared chamber rested nothing less than a viking longship of blackened timber and tattered sail, it's deck piled high with mounds of glittering gold and silver.  As the Company clambered aboard the treasure ship they saw the Captain, a still silent form slouched in a lordly chair on the sternward deck of the vessel.

Barrowmaze #36: Of Pits, Perils and Blood Pudding

TL;DR Still thrashing around in the Haunted Tombs of Barrowmaze, searching for the Pit of Chaos and missing friends.

Our 36th session saw the adventuring pick up at the edge of a mysterious pit revealed when the reformed orcish band Grak fell through a trap door while battling a bloody slime creature and disappeared.  A dropped torch winked out before falling far.  A torch lowered on a rope faded out of present existence, along with the rope and the warrior Erik as well!  Now to two brave warriors were  missing.  Careful inspection of the perimeter of the pit revealed runes of transposition and dimensional doors.
The pair had fallen through some sort of teleport trap!
"Perhaps they are yet alive and nearby," speculated the zealot Aliontus. "But where?"
So the surviving band explored, first through hidden doors to the east, down elder halls until they came to a room of statues and chicken guano.
Spooked, the retreated, exploring west now, avoiding 10 holes in the floor, gathering gold from burial alcoves until discovered by Coffer Corpses, hungry dead who defied the lightning bolt of the Wizard Resper to nearly choke the life out of cleric and wizard.
Shaken, but desperate to find their friends and close the Pit of Chaos, the tomb raiders were stymied by a northern door, then chased south by a (returned?) Blood Pudding.  A Hold Portal spell covered the retreat.  Treasures were found, bronzed skulls and a golden bust of Nergal the Death God.  And a secret door concealing stairs down to the west.
Descending the stair, Danger Dan was very careful, measuring each step and studying the stonework of the floor.  And so he did not fall into the pit at the foot of the stairs and instead poured boiling oil on the Ravenous Dead below until the corridor was thick with smoke and the evil hunger quenched.
Beyond, octagonal crypts were explored, a sea-faring tomb depicting long boats rowed by horn helmed warriors, the frescos were of an ancient barbaric style.
Another crypt opened beneath the grinning deaths head visage of Nergal.  A richly preserved cloak tempted Dan within, but 7 Ravenous Corpses rose from their deathless slumber, eager to consume the living!

Barrowmaze #33-35: Doom of a Death Knight, to Rescue a Barmaid, and the Search for the Pit of Chaos

Nearly lost in the mists of time, a bleary-eyed hobbit recounts the Raven Company's recent weeks of adventure.

#33:  Doom of a Death Knight
A second foray into the flooded tunnel beneath the mysterious black pool behind the bronze door of Nergal in the northern edge of the Barrowmounds saw the wet and bedraggled group exploring the crypts and burial alcoves of the Deserted Dormitory.
The light of the Fount of Law seemed to be dimmed somewhat, but focused more than ever, it's light turning always to the north and east, so they explored that direction, ransacking the bones and treasures as they went.
They were haunted by the echo of booted footsteps.  Whispers of the dead told of the Death Knight Dhekeon the Betrayer searched the halls to return the Fount of Law to it's hidden place.  After some hide and seek the company engaged the Death Knight and his skeletal minions in battle.  In desperation they fled through the chamber of the Water Weird, hoping to turn the two upon each other.  It worked!  Combined with an inspiring potion of heroism, Dhekeon the Betrayer was defeated!

#34: Rescue the Barmaid!
Back in the village of Helix, there was much activity.  Word had gone far and wide that the dead were walking beyond the mounds, leaving treasures unguarded within.  The Duke's son and marshall at arms were organizing the construction of a wooden palisade around the village.  Loggers struggled to pull felled trees from the fringes of the Dolmenwood.
The barmaid Merde had in recent weeks confessed to her involvement in the Cult of Orcus, due to the secret machinations of the false priest Gamdar.  Gamdar had some sort of hold over her soul and compelled her to travel to a glade within the Dolmenwood each month to participate in a ritual of bloodletting.  The Company resolved to accompany her on her journey.  There they laid in ambush, assaulting the Acolyte of Orcus and his goatheaded minions, rescuing the barmaid and taking Gamdar prisoner.
Gamdar told tales of the Acolytes of Orcus searching the Barrowmaze for the lost spark of Nergal, challenging the competing interests of the Necromancers of Set, who he suspected of having their own secret entrance into the maze.
Further, it was rumored that a great and powerful evil lurked in the eastern reaches of the maze, far beyond what had so far been explored.  An evil said to guard the Tablets of Chaos, the hidden word of Nergal Himself.


#35: Search for the Pit of Chaos
Returning to the dungeon, driven by the fading light of the Fount of Law, the Company chose to enter via the mound of the Forgotten King.  Below they encountered a Necromancer of Set with his retinue, who spoke of the power of his superiors but warily backed away from conflict. 
Surging north, the Company edged around a few previously discovered pits, battled blood thirsty spiders and carnivorous flies, and discovered a secret door into a long hall going north.  Torchlight revealed a red blob quivering and smelling of a butcher shop.  Grack ran forward to attack and fell into a bottomless pit... or is it?

Barrowmaze #32: In Search of the Pit of Chaos

Deep in the warrens of the Barrowmaze the pure light of the Fount of Law flickered in the hands of Clonin the Just.  He looked closely and beheld the voice of Sir Guy de O’Veargne: "The righeous might of Ygg fades as the betrayer himself has roused himself and now stalks these halls again.  Sir Dekeon sleeps no more!  Quickly!  The Fount must do its duty soon!  While there is still time!"  The light of the white orb focused somewhat in a northerly direction.  

The Company of the Raven paid last respects to their fallen dwarf companion and began exploring a northerly hall.  Tapping at the floor revealed another hidden trap door, now easily avoided.  In a chamber of burial alcoves a secret passage was discovered, leading to a soot covered room guarded by the living dead who literally burned with hatred for the living.  In the desperate battle that followed another dwarven henchman met his end, as nearly did the elf cleric Helga.  

Further investigation lead to the discovery of a damp chamber, featuring at ancient subterranean pool.  Evidence of desperate battle was strewn about, twisted bodies law dead and unmoving, with no visible marks of violence.  Sneaking forward to loot the bodies attracted the attention of the guardian of the pool, a weird serpent formed out of the living water of the pool, writing and swaying, jealously keeping for itself any revenues provided by foolhardy heroes. 

Through careful machinations and judicious bravery a magic sword, shield and armor were retrieved and the group bolted beyond, leaving the weird of water empty handed.  

Barrowmaze #30-31: Down Nergal's Throat

DM Commentary
The party has the "Fount of Law", they are mostly 5th level and they know of the Pit of Chaos.  But they search blindly, ransacking a room of burial crypts here or there.  And this is only the mid game of the dungeon.  What next?  If they succeed in a goal do I offer them another dungeon?  Perhaps the Abbey of St Clewd or the Croaking Fane?  Do they then enounter a mad harpy escapee raving of the deathly serpent within the eastern tunnels while waving an enchanted gauntlet?  We will see.  Lucky for me my two players (playing three characters each in my home brew Uncommon ruleset seem happy enough to grind through a couple rooms every week.  Suits me fine!

Barrowmaze Saga
Two recent explorations of the undersprawl: the discovery of a new entrance, a bronze door depicting the horned visage of Nurgal lead to a dark pool.  A spell of Water Breathing and a deep dive later saw the party soaking wet and descending a stair beyond the pool to the dungeons below.  The exploration was careful, fastidious.  Crypts were uncovered.  Gold gathered.  Then a passage was traversed quickly and two stalwarts fell into a spike filled pit.  Grack the Half Orc took a spike through the knee.  The group retreated only to return two weeks later during a heatwave.

The small town of Helix was busting with activity.  The duke's men under Sir Dangar has roused the populace to fell nearby trees from the Black Dolmenwood in order to construct a palisade, while the duke's son Korthos remained resolutely drunk despite his mandate to strength the town defense.  Rumour trickled in to taverns telling of a zombie massacre in Bogtown to the south.

Helix was a bummer and dame Merde was not doing much better so the group rounded up their two dwarves and Helga the Elven Cleric and returned to the Underworld.   Many burial tubes ransacked, two secret doors discovered, the hunger of stress and burnt torches, finally pushing one step beyond, then, breaking into a long sealed chamber, a pair of putrid grub infested living corpses are discovered, two Sons of Gaxx, full of hatred for the living, lunge forward their very presence inspiring such revulsion and fear that both clerics and the wizard flee piteously while the warriors are left behind to hack at the writhing mess, chopping and burning both the wights and them selves until the undead and writhing grubs both are snuffed.

The horror!

Barrowmaze #29: To Raise the Hue and Cry

Dark things stirred within the Barrowmaze, no longer content to lurk, the dead were restless, venturing forth.  All the lands were in danger.  The Pits of Chaos are real.  The discovery of the Font of Law proves it so.  Of these truths Clonin the Red had never been more confident.  He gathered his companions, and accompanied by the foolhardy Dukeling Korthos Ironwood and his squire Bradley, set off to the seat of power, Ironwood Motte, to raise the hue and cry.  Bring an army into these barrows, roust the evil out!
But evil was rousted already! Fell creatures lay in ambuscade along the muddy cart track.  Crossing a flooded stream, the group was accosted by a fearsome swineataur, half man half hog sewn together from disparate parts.  It pawed the ground and threatened violence, but the wizard Resper caught it with a spell of Charm and the thing swept him in its arms, to carry him away.  Just then a fusillade of arrows rained down on the travelers.  Skeletal crossbowmen lay in wait.  Hulking, colossal undead lumbered forward, moaning their sorrowful existence, hurling cow skulls full of nightmares.  The company bravely stepped forward to battle, even Korthos, but it was the fanaticism of Aliontus who turned the abominations away.  They forded the swollen creek and were swept away.  Likewise, the company fled to the safety of the Motte, leaving a furious necromancer shaking his fist. 
"Swiney" turned out to be a simple creature, covered in scars and the Brand of Orcus.  It claimed the Acolytes of Orcus resided in the barrows, and had an agent called "Gamdar".  Gamdar, well known to the company as the assistant of Friar Puck at the Shrine of St. Ygg in Helix.  Resper sent the swineataur to Helix with a message.*
At town, Friar Fergus was concerned.  So was the Duke.  Both were deeply horrified by the thought of a Pit of Chaos lurking in their own demesnes, but were heartened by the sight of the Font, proof that Chaos could be ordered into Law.  The Duke sent the party back to Helix with an escort of his finest guard, commandeered by Sir Dangar and his Iron Men.  They would guard the town and oversee the construction of a palisade while Clonin and his men delved into the maze in search of the deepest darkest pits of CHAOS.


*Greetings Friar Puck!

Alas, I have been gone but a day, but much is changed.
May Ygg's grace shine on you and all of the flock.
Do His work, and the days will pass easy
Allow me to introduce a new
Recruit to the fold
I met him on the road to Ironwood Mott
Swiney is his name
Allow him to use his
Nose around trees in the woods
Only there we can
Reap the
Crop given by the Gods
Unto us
Surely I mean the
Pure and tasty truffle.
Round and delicious
I know of no finer food,
Even the
Shrimp of the sea
Tasty as it may be
Will be not
A match for the
True king of foods, of
Course, a
Handsome profit could be made
Handily enough to spread the word
I intend to write soon
My good friend.
Be well
Ygg be with us now and in the
Ever after.

Aliontus
x

Barrowmaze #28: Feed the Ghastly Gourmand and Escape with Your Life

The company escaped from the Barrowmaze via a dark deed and desperate gifts to various nefarious creatures.  Mighty were the rewards.

A quick and furious battle ended with the Company of Aliontus chasing a ghoul through a kingly vault and into the lair of the Mistress of the Maze, Grizelda the Ghastly Gourmand and her gaggle of ghouls, a kitchen of sorts, stuffed with beakers, books, and man eaters.  A large black cauldron bubbled over a fire, smelling pungent.  Dan the Fighter vomited violently and the undead cannibals laughed and pointed.

More than a dozen nefarious foes faced the fatigued foursome, so they negotiated with her, back tracking to bring a pair of recently killed adventurers to be boiled in the witch's pot.  With that, they crept through the cannibal crowd and hurried on to more familiar tunnels, stopping only to push in a hastily bricked up door.  Within was a musty library staffed by two sinister deathless librarians and their anti-paladin protectors.  Aliontus quickly offered a sheaf of Nergalian Writs and the heroes fled quickly.

Returning to the surface lands, shaken and stirred, they celebrated the riches they had gained.  Great piles of gold were spent on wine women and song.  Clovin the Cleric was feted for his discovery of the Font of Law.  Surely it would be used to solve the problem of the Barrowmaze and its restless dead.  Eric the Fighter made a poor business investment and earned the ire of the Youn Duke Korthos Ironguard.   Aliontus drank to much and awake naked in the center of town, having spent the night preaching to cats and rats.

Barrowmaze #27: Driven Deeper into the Chaos Sepulcher

TL DR  Tired, tense, driven by hunger.  Unable to escape the dungeon, with running low on food and torches, the explorers found a secret door into an ancient elemental crypt and hurried down forgotten halls, desperate for an exit.

DM Notes: In Too Deep and the Public Doom Die
Tuesday's session was a pretty great one.  The tension was thick.  Resources dwindled.  Lost and short on spells, the their exit route cut off, they delved ever deeper into the dungeon, hyper aware of the mounting danger.  I have no idea what will happen next.

We have been playing this Barrowmaze campaign for about a year now.  It's usually me as DM and two players with two or three characters and a few henchmen.  We play using roll20 video chat (the fog of war feature makes dungeon exploring very easy).  After quite a few early deaths the guys have gotten their characters up to 4th level.  I was starting to think they were getting a little big for their britches.  Not any more.

With the exception of the Skull Mountain excursion, most of the campaign has taken place in and above the Barrowmaze, and most sessions have involved walking from town, exploring a bit, sometimes just a mound or two and returning for some carousing.   The last few sessions have been different.  Each time we ended in the dungeon.  Characters had no rest.  At first it was because they really wanted to explore deeper to find the fabled Fount of Law.  The second time it was because I rolled a random encounter as they tried to leave and we did not have time to play it out.

I've run games before where characters got in over their heads and bit off more than they could chew in the past.  Usually I would feel a bit guilty and responsible.  I would conveniently forget about some things like torches and food, exhaustion etc.  This time was different.  With the Doom Die being rolled by the players after nearly every action, the ticking of time became very clear.  Through a series rolls of 2 and 4 (hunger/exhaustion and torches) resources became taxed.  It was a lot of stress eating apparently.  By the end of the session they were down to their last couple of rations.  They had even chosen to take the 1hp a couple times.

The Doom Die was really great here.  It gave me a sense of when to have the pursuing necromancer appear, and the rolls of 4 and 6 made me think hard about what clues or boons I could offer the desperate party.  I think one clue unfortunately compelled them away from a safer choice, but oh well.

We used the Battle Die as well.  This was again interesting.  It made it clear when spells ended, when it was time to introduce a complication, or when to offer an extra action to a player.

This was a session were a combination of the familiarity with the context of the Barrowmaze and the procedures in place made for a really cool experience.  I can't wait for the next game, though it could easily end in a TPK.

The Saga
The session started with the four grave robbers at the door of a large room through which they needed to pass to get to their exit stair.  They were weary but triumphant with their newly acquired orb.  They heard chanting in the "Dark Speech" and the groans of many voices.  Peering under the door they could see orange light and smell brimstone.

They decided to find another way around, but searching unexplored passages yielded no secret passages.  Worried now, they tried to backtrack, exploring side passages they had passed on the way to the Fount of Law.  These passages were a maze of narrow, natural tunnels.  After a few dead ends they discovered a crumbled wall of masonry.  In the chamber beyond their dim light fell upon a livestock sized insectoid creature, it's tentacled head buried in the corpse of a goat-headed beastman, which itself reclined upon a pile of jewels and coins.  Striking from ambush, the group quickly slew the thing and gathered the treasure, a kings hoard!  They also found a concealed stone door.  An escape.

The door opened to the space behind a massive stone statue depicted a four armed demon holding skulls of various provenance: a bird, a reptile, a fish and a badger.  The room was huge, with a vaulted roof.  Doors to the north and south were locked and elaborately designed, so they were ignored and the party fled east.

Immediately the floor fell out from beneath the fighter.  Luck was on his side.  A Dexterity Saving roll of 1 saw him leap to safety as the trap door spun beneath him.  There was a bricked up door at the end of the corridor beyond.

As the group began to work on it with sledge and crowbar, light appeared in the demon chamber behind.  It was a Necromancer of Set with his retinue of skeletal minions and the zombified corpses of the band of goat-headed beastmen with whom the party had recently parlayed.  There ensued a strange stand off.  The players were somewhat protected by the pit, into which two skeletons immediately fell.  The trap door was doused in oil and set afire.  The cleric used the final charge of his Wand of Wonder to create a globe of darkness for a time.  The Necromancer called out, demanding the Font for the glory of Set, but with his Stinking Cloud ineffective and unable to send his clumsy minions across the trapped pit, eventually resorting to skeleton rock throwing.

 Meanwhile, three tomb robbers attacked the bricked up wall relentlessly, finally breaking through a small hole and tumbling through.  A long, silent passage stretched into the darkness.  Hurrying, the group passed doors and side passages, finally exploring north, turning back with a bad feeling from a northern door and exploring a few alcoves, discovering yet more wealth (cleverly avoiding a collapsing floor to do so).  They had discovered more ancient coinage and gemstones than ever before but were no nearer to any known exit.

Again footfalls could be heard in the darkness beyond the light...

Barrowmaze #26: Goo for the Goatmen and the Discovery of the Font of Law

Saga:
Deep in the catacombs of the Barrowmaze...

The cave pool was a viscous pearlescent.  After much hemming and hawing, the apostate cleric filled up a bottle with the stuff, thinking to try it out on an underling.  Turning back and exploring east, the group found a harpy corpse, dungeon graffiti, and suffered an ambush from a lurking crustacean, a Cave Fisher (had to scramble to figure out what this was.  Not in the LL books or the BMC book.  Found it in Tome of Horrors a little late to do the fishing shtick).

After cracking the carapace, they tried eating the meat.  Made them sick.  One of the fighters explored the ceiling above, climbing above to find a victim of the cave lobster, a dead elf with a mysterious scroll and some very nice suit of leather armor.  While attempting to quickly don the new duds, growling and bleating was heard in the darkness.  Soon a small herd of beastial goatmen crept into the edge of the light, growling in the Dark Tongue.  Aliontus replied in kind, praising Orcus: "Blood for the Blood God!"  "Skulls for the Skull Throne!" The beasts replied in kind, holding up the severed head of a trio of Necromancers of Set.  After some tense negotiations, the two groups of explorers agreed to go opposite directions, though not before they were given a tithe of a few gold coins and bottle of the pearlescent goo.

A tomb was discovered.  A different style than before, hastily excavated.  A sarcophagus and three warrior statues looming.  The cleric surged forward to assess the stone box and the barrow guardians stepped forward to confront him.  In the ensuing battle, the tomb robbers used their sledgehammers to smash the stone guardians of Ygg, though not before one of their number received a mighty blow that he only survived due to the grace of some higher power.

After the battle the tomb robbers opened the stone box to discover the holy orb called the Font of Law!

Notes: 
I continued to use the Doom dice, based on the Hazard System developed at the Necropraxis blog.  They have a glowing magic sword which negated the attrition of torches part, but exhaustion, dungeon dressing and discoveries played a part.

The Combat Doom table was used in place of initiative.  I suddenly remembered and introduced it mid-stream, but it was great.  There was less tension in terms of who goes first each round (I had been using side initiative), but it was useful for expiration of spells, exhaustion and even a lucky break!  I gave an extra action to the party on a roll of 6.  The 4 roll was interesting.  I had to think about how to change the environment.  I decided to change monster tactics each time.  These rolls were good prompts for me to think outside the box during combat.

Finally, the new "Fallen in Battle" table got a roll out.  This is a 2d6 death and dismemberment table. I had been using a d100 table from the DNDWPS site, but this new one is based mostly on the Trollsmyth blog.  The roll was very positive, 12 (+1 due to a Bless spell) which gave the character a surge of adrenaline that allowed him to stay fighting and even take another hit.  This certainly makes it harder to die, which is ok I think.

Tables Used

Dungeon Doom Die

1	Encounter	Roll on Encounter Table and Distance d6: melee 1, short 2-3, medium 4-5, long 6 & Surprise (2 in 6)
2	Exhaustion	Weary. Rest & eat food or Exhausted (-1hp all rolls); roll again
3	Expiration	Spells & potions expire
4	Torch & Lantern	A fickle torch or candle gutters & burns out; ½ flask of oil has burned
5	Discovery	Signs and portents.  A clue, secret or premonition of nearby danger
6	Luck	Dungeon dressing, curious event or useful provenance

Combat Doom Die

1. Setback Opponents act first, reinforcements or additional encounter
2. Fatigue: All suffer minor harm (1 HP) if engaged in melee
3. Expiration :Spells, light, burning, etc)
4. Locality Shift battlefield (or other local change)
5. Clue regarding dungeon or next encounter
6. Advantage: Extra action or other boon

Fallen in Battle

2d6
2	Horrific Demise!  You are decapitated, torn to pieces, disemboweled, or crushed.  Allies make Wisdom Saving Throws or stunned for 1 round
3	Fatality (gutted, stabbed through lung, broken back, etc.) Unconscious. Die in 1d6 rounds
4	Severed limb: die in 3d6 rounds unless tourniquet, cauterized, potion or 3rd Order Heal is used.  Does not restore lost hp -1d6 DEX/STR, limb restored by Make Whole spell
5	Broken bone  -1d6 DEX or STR, 2d4+9 weeks to heal, unless healed by 3rd order prayer
6	Lights out.  In a coma.  Constitution Save each day or die.  Alleviated by 2nd Order prayer
7, 8	Knocked out for 1d6 turns. With helm, stunned for 1 round
9	Bell ringer.  Stunned for 1 round, unless wearing helm
10	Knocked down, but not out.  Must use an action to stand
11	Someone is watching over you, and doesn't want you to die yet for some inscrutable cosmic reason.  Roll a die.  Even it is a benign or benevolent being, Odd it is a creature of Chaos...  You have 1 Hit Point... but you aren't alone anymore.
12	Surge of adrenaline returns 1d4 hp per level.  At the end of the combat, the adrenaline drains away, hit points are reduced to zero, and the PC faints for 2d6 turns

20 Questions for the Barrowmaze Saga

Eh.

What is the deal with my cleric's religion?
There is the Church of Law, with many saints. Some call it the Church of the One True God but all shrines are dedicated to a saint. St. Ygg is popular as is St. Cuthbert. Also St. Ahleena. St Clewd is mostly forgotten. Old gods such as Crom, Arcantra and Silvanus are paid respects, but they have no church. The Death gods Orcus and his sister Set are worshipped in secret or far from Lawful society. There are other less known Chaos Cults as well, such as Khorne and Slaanesh.

Where can we go to buy standard equipment?
Barrelgut the Blacksmith, Turgen the Trader

Where can we go to get platemail custom fitted for this monster I just befriended?
Dwarves of the the Moonpeak Mines

Who is the mightiest wizard in the land?

Perhaps the Drune in Dolmenwood, or Ygraine the Sorceress.

Who is the greatest warrior in the land?
Sir Wolverhampton the Wanderer, Red Knight of Blackburn

Who is the richest person in the land?
It is said the Dwarf King is the richest, but it is actually Duke Kell Ironwood

Where can we go to get some magical healing?
Shrine of Ygg in Helix. Church of Law in Ironwood Motte

Where can we go to get cures for the following conditions: poison, disease, curse, level drain, lycanthropy, polymorph, alignment change, death, undeath?
Church of Law in Ironwood Motte

Is there a magic guild my MU belongs to or that I can join in order to get more spells?
No.  Mazzah the Magnificant has a few to sell. 

Where can I find an alchemist, sage or other expert NPC?
Twisted Tower of Mazzah the Magnificent

Where can I hire mercenaries?
League of Ordinary Gentlemen Hiring Hall in Helix

Is there any place on the map where swords are illegal, magic is outlawed or any other notable hassles from Johnny Law?
Within the walls of Ironwood Motte.

Which way to the nearest tavern?
Center of town

What monsters are terrorizing the countryside sufficiently that if I kill them I will become famous?
Ravenous Zombies and Steel Skeletons, Crypt Things and Sons of Gaxx, Barrow Wights and Gehennian Goats

Are there any wars brewing I could go fight?
Up north in the Forbidden Lands, and army of Chaos grows. Also, there's some crazy stuff in the Underworld.

How about gladiatorial arenas complete with hard-won glory and fabulous cash prizes?
Perhaps in the Dolmenwood? Or East in the Slumbering Ursine Dunes?

Are there any secret societies with sinister agendas I could join and/or fight?
Chaos Cults, the Drune, Black Hand Thieves Guild

What is there to eat around here?
Mutton

Any legendary lost treasures I could be looking for?
The Font of Law

Where is the nearest dragon or other monster with Type H treasure?
In the BarrowMaze or in Skull Mountain

Barrowmaze #25: Vault of Gelatin and Ghouls

Once more into the maze.  This week, six doughty venturers braved the barrow horrors.  Getting an early start, two dwarves, two clerics, and two warriors made a swift march to the Mound of the Secret Stair, a discovery from the previous season exploring.  This entrance is known, and they were following muddy tracks down.

Not sure where to explore, the dwarves insisted on following the tracks, until they came to a large chamber with a rune carved  black obelisk.  Lurking at the eastern doorway were 6 ghouls.  The hungry dead were swiftly beaten back, and some of them fled before the light of Ygg.  Chasing east, the company was bemused to see a tomb robber suspended in the air.  It was suspended in a Gelatinous Cube!  The dwarf nearly lost all.

Sometime later, the group were rifling through old bones, pulling up various treasures, when a passage was found in the wall, a secret network of natural tunnels.  Besting a group of sapphire skeletons the group pressed on into the warrens, discovering and slaying a set of runaway ghouls.   They paused as they discovered a dead end chamber filled with musty smelling water, deep in the maze.

They've run down a torch, eaten a ration and used up a handful of their spells.

Notes:
Tonight's battles felt a little easy.  It's got to be a little quick I guess because the monsters do a significant amount of money.  I worry a bit about this continuing as they level up.  Fighters do a lot of damage with the added Deed Dice at 3rd level.  I might have to give monsters full HP per Hit Die, or maybe just switching up to scarier monsters.