Session 20 Recap & Experience Points Awards

A shrill, livid how and a rush of chill wind had called the party to its feet.  Something was coming, up from below.  With arresting speed did it arrive—a pack of frenzied rage shadows, nine members strong, clawing viciously at the air in the dim blue chamber. 

 The shadows’ call might have instilled panic in some.  But for the experienced adventuring party, the announcement provided the opportunity for hasty preparations and the benefit was not squandered.  For as the first of the shadows appeared, the mage Greyndalf unleashed a fireballblast that reduced their number to three. The company’s warriors then stepped in, the hacking and chopping at the shadows with all manner of weaponry. They found that only enchanted blades could strike the bodiless foes, however—with even a perfectly-placed jab of (the human ranger) Ungai’s short sword passing harmlessly through.  

 

Similarly futile were the frost-based spells of the sorcerer Onog, whose ill-suited arsenal rendered him rapidly a spectator to the suddenly perilous combat.  For the first of the shadows lashed its vacuous essence into the warrior Jowdain, severely weakening the proud dwarven axeman.  Sensing the danger, Greyndalf blasted the remaining shadows with a burning handsspell that left only a single shadow standing.  But the mage would pay a dear price, for in a crazed flurry that final shadow struck three wicked blows that left the wizard unconscious and on the brink of mortality. Only then was the rogue Schlemeel able to finally resolve the clash with a swift thrust of his own magical blade.  

Badly in need of rest and recovery, the company’s strongest warriors dragged a pair of heavy gravenite chests across the chamber’s only entrance and stacked them to form a makeshift barricade.  Whether for this reason or otherwise, the peace held long enough for the group’s healers and spellcasters to prepare themselves and their colleagues for still more adversity.   

Moving the gravenite chests aside, the company returned to the flat central corridor from which they’d reached their present location.  Upon a slight advance that corridor was seen to divide in half, with an ascending ramp breaking off to the right and a descending ramp to the left. Greyndalf there opted to detect magic, a choice that paid prompt dividends.  From the far wall, between the dividing ramps, came an immediate glow.

On closer inspection the glow was seen to emanate from a large mirror cemented to the stonework. Looking into that mirror, Greyndalf instantly spotted another pack of fast-approaching rage shadows, charging en masse from the rear.  Alarmed, he swiveled to confront them—only to find the palm of his comrade, the cleric Gambol, falling hard into his shoulder.  “Illusions!” the cleric declared.  “There are no shadows here!”

For sure, the cleric was correct—for his disbelief was so complete and so resolute that the illusionary rage shadows momentarily dissipated before all in the company had even taken notice.  The mirror had produced them, undoubtedly—an offense that prompted several members of the company to suggest the mirror be smashed.  But cautious voices prevailed, and the party moved up the rightward ramp with the mirror intact behind them.

At the top of the climb, the party found another dimly-lit room, occupied only by a solitary armored figure bearing a knight’s fine sword and shield, with a dark amulet around its neck. As the company approached, a sudden green radiance blazed from inside its metal helmet and the figure adopted a stern battle stance.  

The gnome Schlemeel called out to the figure in an underdark language, but received a terse, menacing reply only in old elvish: “All who enter the Doom Ramps of the Betrayed shall never return!”  The words were beyond the gnome’s comprehension—but not that of Greyndalf, who tried in vain to carry on the conversation.  Silently the figure approached, ignoring the elf’s entreaties. And then, the company noticed the familiar demented shapes of maze ghouls, creeping up the ramps behind them. 

Left with no option but to fight, Greyndalf called a gust of wind to hold the armored figure somewhat at bay.  Onog called a volley of frigid snow that smashed into the figure, but to no avail.  Jowdain pulled the rod of rustingfrom his pack and tapped tried to disintegrate the figure’s armor—but the rod made no effect. Then the ranger Unagi teamed with the gnome Schlemeel to dip arrows in water from the enchanted pool at the Shrine of Sil-Hurk and shoot them at the figure.  But the arrows not only failed to wound the enemy—they actually healed it. 

The cleric Gambol had better luck.  Producing his holy symbol of Cygnival and invoking the god’s name, Gambol drove away all four of the approaching maze ghouls—leaving them aimless and befuddled at the bottom of the leftmost ramp.  But still the armored figure remained—a fearsome enemy even if unaccompanied.

His arrows having proved ineffective, Unagi then charged the figure and—in a display of remarkable coordination—grasped the amulet about its neck.  Ripping through the chain, the amulet came free, and Unagi stood before the figure holding the black salt crystal before its erstwhile owner. Surely the ranger had hoped the removal of its amulet might disable or at least weaken the foe.  But alas, Unagi’s intuition proved incorrect—and soon became a victim of the armored figure’s ethereal shock.  While his comrades battled on against the mysterious enemy, Unagi found himself trapped in the ethereal plane—a blurred and distorted alter-realm where a goblin-like Ether Sprite held him captive.  

Even without the ranger’s assistance, however, the battle soon swung to the company’s advantage. Greyndalf used a shatterspell to devastating effect and the dwarf Jowdain landed a series of punishing axe blows, at last bringing the armored figure down just a Unagi finally defeated the ether sprite to free himself of the ethereal prison.  Only then did the party members perceive the undead nature of the armored figure, the Tunnel Wight, as its flesh rapidly melted into a wicked steamy wisp.  In the aftermath, the gnome Schlemeel mopped-up the disconcerted maze ghouls with a blast of magical fire.  

A prompt inspection of the Tunnel Wight’s chamber produced a small lockbox, inscribed with (presumably) the being’s living name: Joriah.  It held a wealth of coins and gems, and the company also recovered its fine chainmail armor, enchanted war shield, and black crystal amulet.  

With yet another difficult fight behind them, the company pondered a full retreat from the Doom Ramps, perhaps to return another day.  But the decision was made instead to explore a single additional ramp, and the company chose one that divided in half near its end, with each half terminating at a different side of the same hidden door opening.  The door was bisected by a thin partition that itself bore the now-familiar symbol of the Betrayeds (i.e., the robed figure before a mountain, with beams shooting from the peak).  This puzzle was quickly deciphered, as the company resolved to have members stand on either side of the partition and simultaneously touch the symbol. On performing this maneuver, partition and hidden door divided and receded into the nearby walls, leaving the path clear.

That path led into a small, triangular chamber decorated with old murals on one side, a faded map, and the etched names of “The Betrayeds.”  At the far tip of the triangle the company found a modest pedestal with a small, cylindrical platform on top.  After sketching the map into their travel diary, Unagi retrieved the party’s block of green salt crystal from its pack.  With little fanfare, the party members joined hands and Unagi placed the green salt crystal on the pedestal.  In an instant, the party members were gripped with agonizing pain and saw nothing but black and white and black and white flashes—until the moment ended and the company stood in a small, crescent-shaped room amid translucent, crystalline walls.  

Cautiously, the company ventured out of the small alcove and into a narrow path through the gravenite cavern.  They soon came to a teardrop-shaped dome, where they found a broad, crystal figure that greeted them in a metallic voice, booming old elvish from a mouth of liquid glass.  “Tuneff,” the salt golem called itself—creation of the wizard Gibrondol, servant of the Betrayeds.  

The party had arrived in the Salt Caverns of Graven, Tuneff promptly explained—a place the Betrayeds had sent enslaved war captives to work.  But the cavern had been lost to the ages, and Tuneff doubted his creator any longer existed.  The salt golem sought only “the permanent rest,” a condition that appeared to require the insertion of a special key—evidently in the possession of some poorly-described “spiritcatcher”—into the a black inlaid keyhole in the golem’s back.  “Find the Spiritcatcher,” Tuneff urged the company.  “Free my soul.  An uncommon blessing you shall have.”

Adventure Notes:

•      Rage Shadow.  The company faced a quick but tense battle with rage shadows in this session—wispy thin phantoms of incredible speed (45 movement rate) that tend to cluster in large packs.  While each individual shadow was not especially stout (AC 15, ~ 20 hit points), their significant numbers and impressive offensive capabilities made the use of powerful offensive evocations essential.  The rage shadow’s basic attack is a slash with its icy claws (2d6+3 necrotic damage), but a limited number of times per day the shadow can “rage”—making a flurry of three slashes that each inflict d8+2 damage.  The shadow is immune to non-magical weapons and unaffected by mind-altering spells and cold-based attacks. 

• ·      Tunnel Wight.  The company may never encounter another tunnel wight, and they indeed hope not to.  But the one they encountered in this session wore enchanted armor and carried a magical shield as well, making it a very difficult target (AC 19) that, like many other undead the party has faced, shrugged off mind-altering enchantments, frost spells, and non-magical weapon strikes.  The tunnel wight skillfully wielded a negative energy sword that dealt both slashing damage (5-15 damage) and additional necrotic damage on a contact. The tunnel wight can also use the sword to banish a foe to the ethereal plane, where—at least in the ranger Unagi’s experience—the target confronts a wicked ether sprite  (AC 11, ~ 10 hit points with weak physical attacks) and must defeat the sprite in hand-to-hand combat to return to the prime material world.  

• ·      The Betrayeds.  The salt golem Tuneff related the story of Jith Wan, a false prophet or deity of some kind who established a large following in times of antiquity. According to Tuneff, Wan eventually revealed his lack of divinity to the following, which produced a schism between those who continued to believe Wan a prophet, those who remained loyal to Wan despite his mortal nature, and “The Betrayeds”—a group that broke away from the Wan society and established a new culture devoted to avenging Wan’s deception.

Experience Points & Inspiration  

The company defeated nine rage shadows, four maze ghouls, and the tunnel wight in this session, earning 16,100 XP to be divided among the six player characters.  This equals a 2,683.33 XP apiece, which we can round up to 2,685 XP. In addition, Unagi was briefly banished to the ethereal plane and fought an ether sprite, earning an additional 60 XP for vanquishing that foe.

The company is also awarded experience for the following accomplishments:

•  Using the salt crystal trunks as an effective barricade to deter wandering encounters, 50 XP;
• Timely use of a detect magic spell (and Gambol’s natural 20 on a passive perception check) to disbelieve the false rage shadows seen in the mirror of illusions, 150 XP;
• Learning the party’s location, the Doom Ramps of the Betrayed, through an attempted conversation with the tunnel wight, 30 XP;
• Solving the Zork secret door puzzle to reach the teleportation room, 200 XP;
• Using the green salt crystal to teleport to the Salt Caverns of Graven, 250 XP;
• Successful interaction with the salt golem Tuneff, 325 XP.

These awards total 1,005 experience points, for 167.5 per share.  We’ll round that up to 168 XP apiece.

The adventure gods were on the edge of their clouds through yet another action-packed episode, and found no shortage of candidates for possible inspiration awards.  Unagi’s daring attempt to disable the tunnel wight by ripping the amulet from its neck.  Jowdain’s similarly disappointing try at disintegrating the tunnel wight’s armor with the rod of rusting.  Greyndalf’s nearly-sacrificial incineration of eight marauding rage shadows with his arsenal of fire.  But above all, the cleric Gambol came through at two critical points in this session: seeing through the mirage of the second rage shadow attack (without which the company may have wasted spells and other resources on illusionary foes), and turning all four of the maze ghouls that came to the aid of the tunnel wight.  

Final Session 20 totals:

•  Jowdain acquitted himself well in battle, garnering 2,853 XP;
•  Gambol pleased his deity and is rewarded with 2,853 XP and a point of inspiration.
• Greyndalf remained a cunning and resourceful (and mostly naked) adversary, earning 2,853 XP.
• Schlemeel still don’t give a f*k, but he picked up 2,853 XP.
• Onog played it cold as ice, and acquired 2,853 XP.
• Unagi looked fresh as ever and gained 2,913 XP.