Jewels of the Carnifex: Uncommon Dungeons Playtest Report

I ran Jewels of the Carnifex (a DCCRPG from Goodman Games) for a couple of friends last month, before all the chaos.  The module was completed in two sessions.  Each player used two characters, playing my Uncommon Dungeons traditional style ruleset.  This post will include a variation on the play report I sent the dudes, then thoughts on the module and on my constantly evolving rules.

Play Report 

The motley crew of cleric, barbarian, monk, and wizard were fresh off the boat in Redgate, newly rebuilt outpost of the Middle Empire, in search of gold and glory in the newly thawed out lands of the Heartstone Valley.  They were soon hired by a mysterious patron, Zanzibar the Magnificat, who desired to find lost books of the elder empires from before the the Great Glacier swallowed the north.  He knew of a hidden temple of an ancient god hidden beneath the old town, a place of ancient lurking magic, where he hoped the tome known in the ancient writings as the Grimoire Nex might be found.  To facilitate entry, the magician ensorcelled the surface guardians into unnatural slumber so that his hirelings might descend the crumbling spiral stair.
The stairwell itself was the first obstacle.  Only judicious and decisive use of a levitation spell kept the masonry from collapsing.  Within, shadowy manifestations of pure evil reached out to sap their, strength, but the explorers did not tarry long.  The cleric raised his holy symbol high, holding back the darkness.  Further, 3 doors were discovered and explored.  Demon toads, ghosts and a crazed hermit were dealt with in divers manner, but eventually the inner temple was discovered, as were the mutated, ageless guardians, who seemed to regard themselves as servants of Light and Law, but were quite obviously corrupted by Chaos.

In the aftermath of the battle with the misguided and mutated guardians of the under temple all was quiet and still but for the drip drop of water, the squelch of fungal growth underfoot. The cloying warmth and hothouse stench of the place remained.
Azazail the Scion of Light disintegrated (or ascended to heaven) under the blows of Dirk the Witcher. The bodies of the “Pious” melted away as time has caught up with them. All that remained was the huge black bladed claymore called “Executioner’s Wand”.  The barbarian hefted in appreciatively.

Over the vestal vault still loomed the massive rat-like idol of roots and bright green moss.
Natural looking flowstone stairs lead down into grotto below.  Some careful thievery and brutal smashing later, the jewels were destroyed, the demonic presence beneath the Red Keep consigned to another millennia of captivity.  After much thorough search, many treasures were found, including the grimdark Grimoire Nex, apparently a codex of demonology.

The under temple of the Old Chaos gods caused a great debate amongst the delvers who rid it of its corrupted defenders, posing more questions than it answered. If a scion of Law can be corrupted without knowing it, retaining their power, then how do they know if they truly do the work of the Lords of Light?
With heavy hearts and great misgivings, the five returned to the Blind Knight Inn, laden with treasures magic and mundane. The elfish cleric agonized over the conflicts of righteousness and doctrine, the wizard worried they were setting dark powers loose upon the land.
The party did not trust their patron, Zanzibar the Magnificat and perhaps he did not trust them, for he was in their private chamber when they awoke from slumber. Dirk the Demonhunter cast his steely gaze upon the inscrutable wizard. He was neither a creature of Chaos, nor a servant of Law. What were his motives? He would not say, only that the recession of the ice fields from the Heartstone Valley uncovered many lost and best forgotten secrets. It would be best if "the wise" would acquire such things. He paid for his book, the Grimoire Nex, still triple locked within its cumdach. On his way out he told of a tower he hoped to procure as his new base of operations as well as a "drifting island in the sky" where he hoped to find yet more scholarly works for his library.
In the weeks that followed, some of the party spent their gold irresponsibly while others spent their time researching and tithing.
The thief earned a mighty hangover.
Both wizard cleric and witcher crossed paths with the Paladins of the Crimson Cross, the religious order and knightly host who serve as the hand and fist of Duke Wolverhampton the Wanderer. The Middle Empire reclaimed these lands a generation ago, but in recent years the Duke and his paladins have sought to tighten their grip on the marches beyond the keep and the riverlands, with uneven success.

Next stop, the Drifting Dungeon of Highfell.

Module Rumination

I always enjoy the art, the maps and short & sweet nature of Dungeon Crawl Classics rpg modules.  They tend to be memorable and finished in a session or two.  I have wanted to run Jewels of the Carnifex for a few years mostly because I love the green Mullen cover.
It went well.  The handout map was useful.  The players were intrigued.  They spent some time back tracking and discussing before they finally discovered the Grimoire.  Only the backstory was fairly confusing both to myself and the players.  Of course that wasn't helped by my attempts to shoehorn the thing into my new campaign world.
Overall, I'd highly recommend this adventure, but it's really worth outlining (maybe a set of bullet points) what the final villain says and does.  Any time you are trying to run a battle and drop backstory it gets a little confusing for my DM brain.

Rules Ruminations

We played my evolving personal ruleset, Uncommon Dungeons.  I've been using this for a couple of years now and I am more and more comfortable with it.  It move quickly, each character type stands out and players are limited by resources (HP, ability scores, rations, torches, time etc) to a degree that we are finding fun and engaging as I have built in ways to "push" each of these limits.  Basically, the game has been calibrated to my taste and I'm having a great time.  Getting closer to making a semi-settled printing.

Good Times in Town

There are still a couple things to fiddle with:  Spending money between sessions! Carousing and the like. This is where a lot of great roleplaying can happen as well, and when I am most enthusiastic about collaborative world building. An optional roll to gain some more experience points, and a Haven Doom Die roll. This time it was Peace and Contentment, but other times the setting may change due to shortages, disasters, or discoveries.
I'm still fiddling with the numbers. I want to encourage Carousing but I don't want it to to be absolutely necessary to keep up xp. Angelo made a good point that one could easily save up and do it all at once. I've no problem with that. 1xp per 3gp ratio is a little silly in terms of math, but maybe that's ok. 1/2? The others 1/4?

Combat

The one piece that still hasn't stuck for me is combat phases. I have written and am trying to use B/X style combat phases.  The problem is that I keep forgetting to use it, so used to just saying "What do you do?"  When we have used it, I find it very satisfying.

1. Initiative: Throw Battle Die (d6)
2. Movement & Archery: Each side moves or shoots with readied arrow & spear
3. Melee: Each side resolves Hand to hand attacks in initiative order
4. Spells & Volleys: Each side resolves Spells (if no movement) & 2nd Archery (if no melee)

I like that there are opportunities to move and run separate from fighting. It also allows for high rate of fire for arrows axes, slings and spears. I think spells taking effect at the end of all that is an important limiter,  especially since my dangerous sorcery rules allow wizards and clerics to push far past their allotted spell points.  Magic is powerful, but it is not instant.

Rules of Magic

One big development is that I recently converted most the spell lists (haven't gotten to high Order cleric spells yet) to Uncommon rules, which helps settle things.  The conversion mostly consisted of setting damage dice and Saving Throw ability as well as one or two sentence descriptions. Duration is probably the most significant change.  Since I am using the "Hazard Dice" to track durations, all spells in Uncommon Dungeons are Rounds, Turns, Days, Weeks/Months, or Permanent.  These correspond to the Battle, Doom, Wilderness and Haven dice.  The spell ends when "Expiration" is rolled on the appropriate dice table.

Duration 

Rounds may expire during Combat  

Turns may expire during Exploration 

Wilderness Turns consist one day 

Haven Turns indicates weeks & months

Monsters

There is no need to convert monsters from DCC or any old D&D style rules. I mostly use Swords & Wizardry or AD&D stats if something isn't in a given module.

Heartstone Campaign considerations

For some of my players, it seems that the biggest question is about alignment and cosmology. I'll try to write up a bit about the Eternal Struggle between Law and Chaos.  I am mostly inspired by Warhammer and Moorcock's eternal champion books. My thought is that there is a state Church of Orthodox Law, but within that faith are numerous cults of various saints such as Ygg the Righteous, Cuthbert the Stalwart, Sigmar the Hammer of Empire and the Queen of Swords. On the other side are the Ruinous Powers, Chaos Gods who seek to pervert and destroy civilizations, represented by Khorne Slaughter God, Nurgle the Pestilent, Orcus Lord of the Dead, Slaanesh the Decadent, Set the Dark Serpent etc. Law and Chaos are in a state of eternal cosmic war. Caught in between are most living creatures and various supernatural entities that are worshipped: such as the Green Man, the Cold Prince, Crom on His Mountain, Ttoth Keeper of Secrets, Mother Mitra of Peace and Contentment, but these are not recognized religions, though many folk of the north pay them homage. As in all war, it is those with the least interest in the outcome who suffer the most. Great are the atrocities of the hordes of Chaos, and disturbing are the purges of the Witch Hunters of the Queen of Swords.
All in all, there's been some great gaming going on through these troubled times.  I'll try to write more about my burgeoning Highfell campaign as well as the TypeV D&D game I'm running for my students and friends kids.

Winter's Daughter Play Report and Review

"Delve into the fairy-haunted forest of Dolmenwood"

"The tomb of an ancient hero, lost in the tangled depths of the woods. A ring of standing stones, guarded by the sinister Drune cult. A fairy princess who watches with ageless patience from beyond the veil of the mortal. A forgotten treasure that holds the key to her heart."

"A romantic fairytale dungeon adventure for characters of 1st to 3rd level"

Spoilers, of course.

A few weeks back my group played the Winter's Daughter adventure module by Gavin Norman. It's the best thing I've played in awhile for that dark fairy forest vibe. The back story is evocative (and nicely broken into bite sized chunks that I was able to toss out as characters were introducing themselves), the dungeon is a simple tomb but contains a story that reveals itself. 

 However, the first encounter has nothing to do with the story and was almost my favorite part. I don't want to spoil it but the heroes are presented with a scenario that seems genre typical at first glance, but turns out to be anything but. My players were non-plussed and I felt like it was a brilliant introduction to the Drune and the forest setting at large. The first session ended with the heroes drifting like snowflakes out of a hole in the sky...

In the second session, the heroes found themselves in a frozen world, at the edge of a frozen lake, surrounded by dense forest, staring at a white marble tower in the middle of the lake.  At the front door were the doormen, a goblin on the shoulders of a hungry troll.  The goblin Griddlegrim said that they were not on the guest list but that they could join the party if they ate a magic mushroom.  The heroes obliged and were variously affected by the stuff: shrunk to 6 inches, purple skin, etc.

In the tower they met the Winter Princess waiting for her groom to arrive.  They made deal with her, returned to the tomb, and figured out safe passage into the the crypt.  Thus, the ancient lovers were reunited and the heroes emerged victorious, laden with fairy jewels.  A good time was had by all.

A highly recommend the module.  It is high on investigation, idiosyncratic detail and mystery, low on hack and slash (though there was a brutal battle on the lake with the troll, ending only when the troll fell through the ice).   This makes for an engaging adventure and also one that plays a bit more quickly.  With only a handful of actual fights, the action moves faster.  This could easily be a 6 hr one-shot (we did it in two 3ish hour sessions).  

A final note on the layout: Very easy to use at the table.  Info is in bullet points.  Descriptive words for each location at the top.  Bullet points for NPC/monster "reactions" (sometimes "Wants" or "Knows") make it very easy for the DM to give the roleplay a sense of direction.  I want all modules to be like this, which is why I've been running Hole in the Oak!  

  

The Perplexed Questionnaire

OSR Guide For The Perplexed Questionnaire 
I realize I've been interacting with and playing OSR style D&D for a long time but have rarely contributed directly to that community.  Here goes.

1. One article or blog entry that exemplifies the best of the Old School Renaissance for me: I'm going to go with "What I mean when I say dungeon crawl". There are so many, but this one represents a great mix of geekery and intellectualism that I really enjoy about the OSR. Too bad the image links are all broken now.
2. My favorite piece of OSR wisdom/advice/snark: Roll the dice in the open. Let the dice fall where they may (as long as its on the table. Floor rolls are always considered cocked). It saves you from yourself.
3. Best OSR module/supplement: The most used module has been Barrowmaze. A solid 2+ year campaign.
4. My favorite house rule (by someone else): Hazard System from Necropraxis. This has changed the way I run my game, especially dungeons, and now feels core to type of game I prefer to run, though I have renamed it the "Doom Die". Essentially, random encounters, time passing, depletion of resources, and dungeon dressing are folded into a simple d6 die roll. It works great for side initiative rolls as well.
5. How I found out about the OSR: It's hard to remember exactly, so I looked back at the first few blogposts I made in 2010. I had watched the great edition wars rage across the forums, was kinda bummed when Dungeon magazine disappeared, observed the Pathfinder schism, was disheartened when Necromancer games decided they couldn't follow along, but I was a Type IV convert. I had grown tired of the fiddly, amorphous nature of 3rd, so I went all in. I was still playing and DMing 4th edition D&D (I even ran a 1-13 level campaign of it using the War of the Burning Sky modules by ENworld), but I was burnt out on how slow the combat went, and how players became so focused on their character sheets. And the type IV art direction was painfully uninspiring.
   I remember following a lot of ENworld forum chatter about streamlining/speeding up the game. Somewhere in there I found the AD&D3 pdf, a faithful reconstruction of the old AD&D players handbook down to the font, layout and art, but with streamlined 3e-ish rules. I never actually played it, but I think this was the first OSR game I ever picked up. Then I started reading Dndwithpornstars and followed that to lots of other blogs.
   The final flowering for me was Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG. I had always dug the style of the DCC modules during the 3e era, and even ran one or two of their 4e mods, so when they announced this new game I dove deep into the beta rules, started running it and making up houserules on my own. I was happy enough, when 5th edition D&D was announced I wasn't that interested. In time I got tired of DCC spell charts, and my current group formed around playing the latest edition, but at this point I don't think I'll retake the reins of DMing typeV when the opportunity arises. I'll offer to run a simpler game instead.
6. My favorite OSR online resource/toy: I use the Last Gasp generators a lot. I have a whole list of them in my bookmarks.
7. Best place to talk to other OSR gamers: Google Plus is/was great. Reddit /osr and /rpg is ok I guess.
8. Other places I might be found hanging out talking games: Where ever it all ends up.
9. My awesome, pithy OSR take nobody appreciates enough: The DCCrpg dice chain was a great innovation that hasn't been expanded upon much. Variable attack bonus and mighty deeds for fighters is epic.
10. My favorite non-OSR RPG: Back when, I loved to play Cyberpunk2020. A couple years back I had a great mini-campaign of FFG Star Wars.
11. Why I like OSR stuff: It's an autonomous zone. It is intellectual and artistic creativity purely for it's own sake. And I've always been obsessed with D&D and at this point I like playing some version that I can basically do off the top of my head.
12. Two other cool OSR things you should know about that I haven’t named yet: I really like the new Knave rules, and I'm gonna start using them with my students. I really dig the B/X Essentials line and Dolmenwood from Necrotic Gnome. I don't play the game straight, but I love the organization and style of the B/X E. Really dig the weirdness of the dark fairy forest Dolmenwood setting.
13. If I could read but one other RPG blog but my own it would be: The classics: D&DwithPornStars completing the Monster Manual redraw/hack, a revived Grognardia, a regular Jeff's GameBlog, revived Middenmurk... oh just one?
14. A game thing I made that I like quite a lot is: The heartbreaker homerules I've been running the last couple years. I even printed up some zine-style booklets. It's a kludge of all my fave OSR houserules. DCC + S&W + LOTFP etc. I've got two versions at this point, Uncommon (dungeons), and Uncommon Basic (which is maybe too basic, but is the one I've been tinkering with most recently).
15. I'm currently running/playing: DMing a weekly game of my own Uncommon Dungeons (first in Barrowmaze, now in Dolmenwood); playing in a Type V D&D "Tomb of Annihilation" campaign.
16. I don't care whether you use ascending or descending AC because: My only real connection to descending AC is the pop-punk song my friends recorded years ago that features the line, "My heart was protected by a low armor class". Otherwise, ascending AC is easier. I also don't like Saving Throw charts.
17. The OSRest picture I could post on short notice: 

Sessions 44 & 45: The Chaos Crypts of St Clewd & the Mysteries of Harrowmoor Keep

The Heroes of Barrowmaze got out of those crypts quick.  They returned to the prayer room to find the summoned wall of iron gone and the great para-dimensional worm nowhere to be seen.  But something had stirred the denizens of Clewd's crypt; not the seemingly living and conscientious Wardens of Clewd, but a shambling horde of zombified monks, seemingly starved for flesh.  The warriors thought of their responsibilities above ground and retreated from the fray, hustling back into the tunnel whence they came and to the surface.  None followed.
The rescued children were brought back to the town of Prigwort with much fanfare, despite their best efforts.  The youngest child, Bilbry, was warmly welcomed by his relieved family.  Many toasts were given and songs were sung in the Wrinkled Medlar Inn.


The following day was blustery with rain, but the troupe left early with a horse and cart borrowed by the Heggid brothers (Mathias & Martin) from their old man.  Young Violet Harrowmoor rode in the cart with her dark companion, the boy Jacque, a surly boy who never smiled.  They arrived at he gatehouse in late afternoon, amidst a steady down poor.
The gatekeeper was named Steerpike, a surly type, but quick to raise the portcullis once he recognized the young heiress, who was brought refreshment and warm by the fire in the great hall.  Greetings from the relieved mother, Lady Harrowmoor, were strange and stilted, but that may have been the normal manner.  It was hard to tell.  The Lady was surrounded by cats, who followed her everywhere.  They cats seemed happy to see the little girl Violet.
Lady Harrowmoor rewarded the group with a large jeweled pendant, a lavish heirloom, and bade them stay the night as honored guests.  She wished to speak to them in her study on the morrow.
Upon request, Dangerous Dan was introduced to the castle apothecary, Dr. Prunesqualor, who informed the ailing warrior that the blight from which he suffered could only be cured with a tincture created with the juice of a inverted redcap, found growing in the ceilings of caves in the Valley of Wise beasts north of the Groaning Loch.  The doctor pointed across the tree tops from his tower window. "But beware.  The Court of the Naglord is not far beyond the Valley, and his beasts are vengeful of any slight."
Each of the rescuers of Violet were presented with their own room for the night, complete with fireplace and writing desk.  Dan looked out from his opened window across the courtyard.  The clouds had broken up and an early rising full moon shed its first silvery rays over the walls.  Turning, the warrior beheld a movement in the painting above his bed.  There was a large painting of a naked woman chained in a red room.  In her illustrative state she was yet gesturing, beseeching aid.  
After some deliberation, Dan discovered he could pass through and into the plane of the artwork, and he did so, making the acquaintance of the singular woman called False Chantrelle.  She begged to be set free, saying the she had been double crossed in the galleries beyond and only wanted to leave this strange treasure house behind.
Dan freed the woman, peeked into the patterned blue light of the room beyond, spying a blue skinned woman, and promptly turned and jumped back through the painting after Chantrelle, whom he then convinced to stay the night.
Lady Harrowmoor was bemused by her newly arrived houseguest, asserting that her uncle had loved the painting but that she had hardly paid it any mind.  The Lady was more interested in discussing the possible family tree of young Jacque, demonstrating his uncanny likeness to the last Lord of Ayarai, Jourdain, who disappeared along with his castle fifty years before.  She was certain that young master Jacque was actually the heir to his manse, a nearby place now known as the Hall of Sleep.
The group gathered supplies for a journey to the Valley of Wise Beasts.

Whew! Dolmenwood is very inspiring but a hassle to run.  There's a weird amount of detail and difficult to reference.  The hexes are tough to quickly grok.  I'm looking forward to getting the group back into a dungeon, but I think they are going to poke around in the forest first.

Knaves in the Moathouse

"What's a gambeson?"

Tonight I ran my wife and a buddy through the Moathouse using the new Knave rules, written by Ben Milton of Questing Beast.  They both were eaten by the giant lizard.  She got to dramatically rip her char sheet in two.
Fun session.
They both got into rolling up their traits before even stats and the inventory game was crucial.  As they found loot they kept dropping gear and debating if it would be useful later.
I also provided three random spells.  Increase Gravity was used very cleverly to collapse the damaged roof of the main hall on top of bandits.

The other houserules I used were a death and dismemberment table and a hazard die roll for initiative and encounters.  Worked great.
This was the first time the lil lady has had a character die in 5 years of gaming.  She fully enjoyed it.  I liked how fast and loose it was, especially compared to the slog of battles in our type V game (6th level in Tomb of Annihilation).
I'd like to use these Knave rules when I finally introduce rpgs to my after school club of 6th graders and I think I'll incorporate elements into my Uncommon rules.  I've been toying with a semi-level-less spell system...

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...