Session 8 Recap & Experience Points Awards

The weary travelers paused to regain their strength only meters from the flickering portal, with most tuning out its mild hums and buzzes as the minutes turned to hours, until they finally rose and investigated.  It was a mild, cautious examination, one that involved flinging meat, a rope, and a fishing line through the dimensional crease.  All this gear was lost, with the group learning little. 

This result did not satisfy the ranger Ziggurat, who could quite bring himself to leave the thing alone.  And so he finally insisted on plunging his head inside—and on doing was instantly transported…somewhere.  The company lingered, waiting and hoping for their companion to reemerge through the portal.  But the Zoroastrian did not return, and as time crept forward the need to move on grew irresistible.  The cleric Gambol urged that the company enter the portal in search of the ranger.  But the dangers appeared to grave, the odds of a rescue too uncertain, and before the suggestion was soon abandoned.  The company would continue on in search of the truespan, with Zimbabwe no longer among them.

Only moments later was the truespan found.  A narrow passage to the east bent left to a thin stone isthmus across the inky purple water, and in the distance sat the small stone house the party had only glimpsed in its earlier explorations.  Midway across the company came upon another of the Evilgrove’s curiosities—a small figurine dropped, or perhaps discarded, here in the gravelly path.  It was a druid—one of the enigmatic cultists whose kind have attended to the wilds since long before the Darkfall. 

Noticing its uncommon detail, the company suspected the figurine could be of magical origin and carried it carefully to the foot of the small island.  There, the cleric Gambol uttered a brief prayer to invoke the blessing of his own nature-loving deity, the centaur god Cygnival—and was instantly rewarded.  In a brilliant flash of light, the figurine was no more—and in its place stood Yalla, an ancient druid of the western forests, who was cursed and frozen in statue form so many years ago.

In her newfound circumstances, joining the company seemed an obvious choice for the druid, who seemed to have lost none of her skills or talents over the long period of her ossification.  And so it was promptly decided, and the adventuring troupe took to scouting the small barren island.

The front of the small building remained much intact through the years, save for the iron door that stood, rusted shut, in the center of the wall.  But the company did not bother with this obstacle, choosing instead to scout around the structure, where they quickly observed its caved-in roof to the northeast and a simple means of ingress through the rubble.  Just then, however, a sudden wind swirled around them, kicking up the dust and debris and darkening the air just long enough for two animated forms to appear: golems, powerful guardians—one of wood and the other of brick—brought to life through mysterious and powerful magic forces. 

The golems were undoubtedly “the enchanteds” of which furtive hints and a need for magic weaponry had been mentioned back in Horl.  And true guardians they were; their onslaught was instant and ceaseless, with not the slightest trace of self-preservation apparent in their programming. 

Through the first several rounds of combat, the mage Greyndalf hurled spell after spell at the constructs, finding no success with the mind-altering enchantment sleep yet bringing forth a shatter to outstanding effect.  Meanwhile the dwarf Jowdain and the cleric Gambol traded (mostly wild) blows with the beings at close range, and the druid Yalla fortified her weapon with a shillelagh incantation before charging into battle herself. 

The rogue Schlemeel, meanwhile, picked his way through the rubble and soon found himself in a dust-covered parlor.  Hastily searching for anything that might aid his companions, the adventure gods smiled upon him, and the rogue quickly located another magic figurine.  This one bore the shape of a fearsome war hound, a muscular canine trained for combat.  Schlemeel wasted no time invoking the powers of the figure, calling forth the war hound which immediately charged the golems.  And yet the enchanted canine had no sooner joined the battle then the brick golem’s hammer found its mark, sending the animal flying into the deadly waters of the Evilgrove. 

Another of the golems’ mighty swings soon landed upon Gambol, and then another upon Jowdain, as the battle raged on.  As the veteran healed their damage, the brick golem suddenly called forth a mystic wall—a magical brick wall, ten feet high and running from the back of the small house to the edge of the island.  The wall split the adventuring company in two, with Gambol, Jowdain, and Yalla caught on one side with the golems and Greyndalf and Schlemeel barricaded off from the combat. 

In a desperate effort to rejoin the battle, Schlemeel first tried to clamber over the wall—running full speed toward it and leaping, with an assist from Greyndalf.  But the attempt was blundered, and the gnome nearly injured himself slamming futilely into the barrier. 

Just then, the shadowy figure of Ipplie Amie emerged from shadows behind the golems and smashed a glass vial of lamp oil over the back of the wooden knight.  He paid a bitter price for the effort, sustaining a series of vicious hits from the golems that nearly ended the tense partnership for good.  But he survived, and moments later struck the final blow on the brick golem that had been much weakened by Greyndalf’s magic missiles and a steady diet of Jowdain’s axe.

Schlemeel, hearing the shouts of his colleagues across the wall to ignite the oil-covered wood golem, then blindly hurled a flaming torch over the barrier—and right onto his target.  The wood golem suddenly erupted in flames, continuing its relentless attack yet sustaining massive damage from the fire.

It was then that the wood golem deployed its most impressive ability, folding its hands together and calling forth a massive rejuvenation, healing itself to full strength in a terrible sudden spring.   Yet the fires had not gone out.

In perhaps the most desperate maneuver of the hour, the druid Yalla then invoked her poison spray—a mild cantrip to which the study golem would seemingly stand impervious.  And indeed the golem was impervious…to the poison.  But the adventure gods had smiled again, and to the surprise of all the poison spray ignited on the golem, blasting the fiend for much of its renewed vitality. 

Finally the battle progressed to its endgame.  Schlemeel reached the top of the brick golem’s wall and commenced shooting arrows at the remaining enemy.  Greyndalf the wizard employed a floating disc at the edge of the wall as a stepping stone that enabled him to rejoin the battle as well.  Jowdain, Gambol, and Yalla persisted in their melee attacks.  And at long last, the second of the enchanteds returned to the dark, dead state from which it came.

Having survived the ordeal of the enchanteds, the company examined the defeated golems and soon found their magical heartstones.  The wood golem’s was a large seed encased in amber, and seemed likely to supply a vitality boost to those closest to nature (+1 CON bonus to wood elves, druids, rangers, clerics of nature deities, etc.).  The brick golem’s heartstone was a brilliant quartz crystal, with its enchantment favoring those of stone and soil (+1 STR bonus to dwarves, clerics of earth/stone gods, etc.).  These were fine treasures, but only borne by guardians.  What, the travellers wondered, could they be guarding?

Proceeding into the stone house, the company next appropriated a number of curiosities from the ancient room—most notably the 39 dusty tomes on an old bookshelf.  On cursory examination, the mage found several of the volumes useful—bearing everything from magic spells to old maps to vital statistics on creatures of the realms.  One particular book carried an accursed inscription, however, and the Greyndalf was unable to avert his eyes before absorbing its untoward effects.  As the mage loaded the books of apparent value onto another flying disc, he could only wonder what ill fortunes might await.

In the next room, an old bed chamber, the group found an old trunk that the dwarf Jowdain smashed open with his axe after a failed lock-picking attempt by Schlemeel.  Inside was a fine chiseled war club inscribed with orcish runes, which Greyndalf used a comprehend languages spell to decipher.  He learned that the club was called “The Wretched Hammer,” and once belonged to the great orc chieftain Wynandaga of the Zind Desolation. 

Having collected these treasures, the company moved into a strange corridor, intensely decorated with macabre works and a massive script letter “K.”  The rogue Ipplie Amie disclosed that the K likely stood for “Konykos,”the powerful ancient necromancer who was presumably responsible for creating the Evilgrove.  At the end of the short corridor was a circular hole in the floor, one which dropped at least fifty feet to unknown hazards below.

As the group pondered its next maneuvers, suddenly one of the volumes from Greyndalf’s levitating library slipped off the magic disc and fell open on the floor—its pages open to a remarkably well-drawn portrait of a woodsman.  Greyndalf read a line of magic runes across the bottom of the page, and in yet another sudden flash there appeared before them the human ranger Unagi—kin to the party’s erstwhile ally, Zinedine Zidane.  Though Ipplie Amie made no secret of his exasperation at the sudden inflation of the adventuring group just as the final treasure seemed at hand, there was no denying the value of another strong sword arm with the certain horrors of Konykos’ workshop looming below.

And Amie was insistent that the treasure did lie through the hole in the floor.  “It’s the third stanza of the lyric,” the rogue disclosed.  “The enchanteds you must battle, then descend the portal; to rise again a dwarf says ‘Kezidsahn.’”

There remained a question, however, as to the method of the descent.  The distance was too great for the party’s one remaining rope, and there was no wall or other vertical surface that might be scaled.  So the group settled upon magical means, with the party to climb down its rope as far as possible, then jump—with Greyndalf invoking his feather fall spell just at the last moment.  It was an ingenious solution—and one that proved ironically unnecessary, for the column of air beneath the hole proved already endowed with a feather fall type effect, and the company safely reached the lower level of Konykos’ workshop.

Still more of the severe macabre paintings and carvings filled the walls and floors and ceilings here, as the group took its bearings in a dim, yet mystically illuminated passage.  “We are entering Konykos’ inner sactum,” said Amie.  “We must be on our guard.”

Adventure Notes:

·      Wood Golem.   One of two magical constructs the party battled in this adventure was a 7-foot tall knight built of awakened wood.  Like most golems, presumably, the wood golem fought relentlessly, with no thought of retreat or surrender.  Its hardened exterior made the wood golem difficult to strike (AC 19), while its heavy club inflicted massive damage on a successful melee attack (about 5-20 damage).  The wood golem you faced had about 70 hit points—but demonstrated its “sudden spring” ability by which it can instantly heal all damage in a single combat round.  You noted that the wood golem was impervious to mind-altering spells and resistant to poison, but took damage from shatter, magic missile, and cause light wounds—as well as being particularly susceptible to fire-based attacks.

·      Brick Golem.  The other golem you faced was constructed of brick and carried a hammer that struck wit similar force as its wooden counterpart.  Like the wood golem, the brick golem’s armor was difficult to penetrate (AC 19) and the construct was tough and sturdy (over 70 hit points).  Like the wood golem, the brick enemy easily resisted the Greyndalf’s sleep spell but proved especially vulnerable to shatter.  The brick golem also demonstrated an impressive special ability during the battle—the ability to conjure a magic wall, which in the case was used to divide the party’s forces.

·      The Wretched Hammer.  This ornately-chiseled war club once belonged to the great orc chieftain Wynandaga of the Zind Desolation.  Further study has suggested the weapon carries an enchantment (+1) and a unique ability to inspire terror in a warrior’s enemies (on critical hit, enemy must save vs. WIS (DC 14) or flee in terror for d6+1 rounds).

·      Library of Konykos.  Greyndalf recovered a number of old books from Konykos’ workshop which will call for deeper examination upon the group’s return from the Evilgrove.  One volume in particular, however, entitled “The Covanji Saga” and written in the Balvin tongue, bore a cursed rune with which Greyndalf has been afflicted.  The nature of the curse has not yet revealed itself.

Experience Points & Inspiration 

DM’s experience award moderation note: In this campaign, experience points are awarded for overcoming obstacles, solving problems, and achieving goals.  Although experience points are typically awarded for defeating adversaries, note that an adversary need not necessarily be killed to earn those points if the adversary can be defeated in another way.  Experience points are earned collectively and then divided among the player-characters.  In addition to experience points, players can earn inspiration for creativity, superior tactics, and especially strong role-playing.

The party defeated one wood golem and one brick golem in this session, earning 4,200 XP for the effort.  These experience points are divided between Jowdain, Greyndalf, Gambol, Schlemeel, Yalla, and Ipplie Amie, for an even 700 XP per character. 

In addition, the party earned experience points for the following accomplishments:

·      Freeing Yalla from her imprisonment as a figurine, 20 XP;

·      Reaching the barren island, 100 XP;

·      Recovering the heartstones from the enchanteds, 60 XP;

·      Summoning Unagi (not that Unagi), 20 XP;

·      Reaching Konykos’ inner sanctum: 100 XP.

As the DM is too lazy to determine which characters participated in which of these events, the full total (300 XP) is divided evenly among the six current player characters, for 50 XP apiece.

Though the party did not travel far in this segment of their journey, the adventure gods were much pleased at the enthusiastic and daring exploits of the group.  Of many strong candidates for this week’s inspiration, however, two stand out.  Zamboni the ranger showed uncommon valor (or something) when he dove into the dimensional portal; his legacy manifests in the form of one inspiration point that his kinsman, Unagi, shall assume.  And Schlemeel’s Hail Mary torch throw was as timely as it was improbable.  

Final Session 7 totals:

·      Jowdain acquitted himself well in battle, garnering 750 XP.

·      Gambol pleased his deity and is rewarded with 750 XP.

·       Greyndalf remained a cunning and resourceful adversary, earning 750 XP.

·      Schlemeel still don’t give a f*k, but he picked up 750 XP and one point of inspiration anyway.

·      Zoso’s adventuring career was brief but momentous, and his legacy will long be remembered in the Central Range.

·      Yalla was one with nature, and nature was one with her.  Or something.  She gets 750 XP.

·      Unagi got off to a good start, gaining 50 XP and one point of inspiration.