Mercenaries

In session 103, my players again reinforced just how mercenary they are. It does make it difficult to design the standard, "fight the evil threat" when the adventurers are in it for the job. I don't mean in this case needed to pay the adventurers to get them involved - I mean the players accomplishing only what is required of them in their patron's contract and leaving everything else.

In this case, making a deal with an evil naga so long as they were able to get the bauble they had been sent to find. The adventure is based on "Wyrmsmere" written by Christopher Perkins for AD&D in Dragon Annual #1 (1996).

Session 103: Bargaining with evil

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Alrix (couatl sorcerer), Domago (human cleric), Flora (elven thief), Fenris the Filch (human thief NPC).

The members of the Company of the Black Dragon are in deep caves beneath an island in Wymrsmir Lake. They have come to reclaim a crystal claw from an evil Naga. The efreeti Khisa has flown up into an upper cave and tossed down a rope. But now it is under attack by frog creatures.

Lakima tells Fenris to climb up the rope and report back. The thief quickly climbs the rope and shouts that they are under attack by frogmen. Eathwund grabs the rope and climbs up as quickly as he can – burdened by heavy armor and equipment. Once Eathwund reaches the cave above he sees two frog-headed humanoids entering the cave to attack Fenris. The other side of the cave is obscured by a wall of fire Khisa is maintaining but he can see two more frog creatures behind it. Eathwund draws Wormbane and steps in front of Fenris to block the advance of the two creatures into the cave. He stabs one with his sword but the creature has a tough hide and it shrugs off the hit.

Lakima is the next person to climb up into the cave. He assesses the situation and then throws a volley of darts at the frogs attacking Eathwund. Two of which strike deeply. Alrix climbs up the rope behind Lakima and commands his sword of dancing to aid Eathwund.

Fenris backs away toward the apparent safety of the wall of fire. Then two boulders are hurled through the fire and strike Fenris. One smashes into his head. Fenris collapses to the floor unconscious. Lakima sees Fenris fall and shouts for Domago to climb up immediately. But Flora is already climbing up and arrives first. She begins firing arrows through the wall of fire at the frogs attempting to drive them back. More rocks are flung through the wall of fire and two hit Alrix from behind. Lakima shouts at Alrix to get ready for a close fight. He is going to tell the efreeti to drop the wall of fire.

Domago finally arrives and rushes to Fenris’ side. He uses healing magic to bring Fenris back from death’s door and helps the thief to his feet. At that moment a hurled rock strikes Domago in the back. Alrix runs over and picks up the spent sword of dancing. Flora fires an arrow hitting one of the frogs through the wall of fire. The arrow lodges in the creature’s neck and it collapses dead. Meanwhile, Eathwund is still fighting off two frog creatures but he manages to kill one. The one behind it moves up and slashes Eathwund in the side – opening a large, bleeding wound.

Lakima calls to the efreeti to lower the flames. The flames drop and Domago, Alrix, and Lakima surge forward to attack the remaining frog creature on this side of the cave. Lakima uses his staff of striking on the frogs, Alrix uses the sword of dancing and his battleaxe, while Domago uses the Mace of St. Aleena. Flora turns to help Eathwund and fires an arrow over his shoulder through the right eye of the frog creature. The arrow penetrates its skull and it collapses. On the other side of the cave, Lakima kills the last frog creature when he hits it with a blast from his staff of striking.

The battle over the group rests and assesses the damage. Domago and Eathwund are badly injured. Fenris has almost recovered from being struck in the head. Domago uses his last healing spells on Eathwund and himself. After the brief rest, they begin moving further into the caves. They find side passages that lead out to sea caves on the side of the island. In one cave they find the emaciated corpse of a dwarf. In another cave, they find that the cave floor is strewn with piles of bones of all shapes and sizes – human, fish, serpent, and animals. Fenris tries to step carefully through the cave but the bones snap and break beneath his feet. Khisa observes all of the bones and asks to be allowed to go back in the efreeti bottle – Lakima tells him to go.

As they near the far end of the cave of bones a passage extends around a corner. They hear a hissing, female voice bid them approach and explain themselves. Fenris quickly backs away. Lakima peers around the corner and beholds, a Naga with iridescent scales coiled in a loop in a cave. The walls of the cave are decorated with hundreds and hundreds of gems of all sizes and colors. The Naga bids him step forward.

Lakima bravely steps into full view of the Naga. The Naga is at least 20 feet long. Its head is on a long snake-like body. The head edges closer to Lakima and demands that the intruders leave or be eaten.

“Give us the crystal claw and we will be on our way!”. Lakima tells it.

The Naga tries threatening the party but Lakima dismisses the threats and tells the Naga that they have dealt with its kind before.

“Ah, yes, I can see that. One of you has killed one of my sisters!”, the Naga hisses.

The Naga asks for the Naga-killer to step forward. Only Lakima is visible to it. He begins to lose patience with the Naga and threatens it again. The Naga says it will agree to the terms as long as it can keep its playthings. Lakima realizes it means the men under its charm who reside in the nearby keep.

“I care nothing for them. Just give us what we have come for”, Lakima says. He hears Domago gasp from somewhere behind him and Domago starts to argue.

The Naga brings its head even closer to Lakima and looks him directly in the eyes and then it burps and gasps and heaves up a slimy, crystal claw from its gullet, spitting it out on the cave floor before it. Lakima looks down at it and realizes he would have to expose his neck to the Naga if he were to reach down and grab the price.

“Back off!”, Lakima shouts. Then he asks Eathwund to grab the claw. Realizing that it might be covered in poison he tells Eathwund to use gloves. Eathwund not having looks at Fenris and waves a hand at Fenris suggesting he grab the prize. Fenris immediately strips off his leather gloves and tosses them to Eathwund.

“Be my guest”, he whispers.

Eathwund puts on the gloves and carefully enters the cave and snatches up the crystal claw under the watchful eyes of Lakima and the Naga. Then he backs away out of the cave.

“Let’s get out of here!” Lakima says.

Everyone retreats to the cave of bones. Domago immediately argues that the Naga is evil and that they should return and kill it. Lakima argues that they only came for the crystal claw. That is all that they are being paid to retrieve. Domago makes it clear that he is unhappy with this decision pointing to the human bones amongst the piles of bones in the cave. But when the group heads back to the entrance cave he reluctantly joins them.

The party descends back into the tunnel beneath the lake and returns to the Keep. Onyx and Drake are waiting for them. Drake asks them if they killed the Naga and is surprised when they tell him they did not. He tells them with the Naga still alive his friends remain under its power. Lakima tells him not to worry about that. Onyx, Lucky, and Pellerax are gathered in the entry room and Lakima dispels the charm placed on them. Then he dispels the feeblemind placed on Pellerax. Now that Pellerax is thinking clearly, he apologizes for what they have done. Horrified that they stole the crystal claw from Clearwin. He tells the party that there is no shame in their running away from the Naga. Lakima corrects him and tells him of the deal he made. Pellerax is angered by this. He argues that together they can bring down the Naga. Lakima tells him that the Company of the Black Dragon has accomplished its mission and is leaving. Pellerax tries convincing them to stay without success. Lakima tells him he is sure his group can handle the Naga. Pellerax tells them that their group has already lost two of its members to the Naga.

As the party prepares to leave, Domago informs them that he is not going with them. He will stay and help Pellerax’s party fight the Naga. Lakima tries convincing Domago that there is no purpose in staying but Domago is adamant. They say their goodbyes and depart.

The party less one member, ride south following the river. Darkness falls as the river joins the much larger Dolm River so they make camp. All is quiet that evening, especially on Eathwund and Fenris’ watch. Even the sound of animals suddenly ceases. On alert, Eathwund scans the nearby bushes intently. He spots a dark shadow moving quickly up the river. Looking up he sees an enormous dragon flying northwest hundreds of feet overhead. He stays on alert until he can no longer see it. A few minutes later the normal sounds of the night return. The next morning Eathwund tells everyone what he saw that night.

The party makes it to The Restless Knight Inn by evening the next night. They stay for the night in rooms and then set out for Edgerton arriving around noon. They ride directly to Clearwin’s Oddities and tell Clearwin that they recovered the crystal claw. It is turned over and Clearwin hands Lakima a pair of spell scrolls holding unknown ice magic spells. The transaction is complete and they return to the Manor House. Lakima brings out a bag of gold containing the agreed payment and tells his companions to split it as they see fit. Reminding them to keep a share for Domago. Alayna tells Lakima that they have received invitations to a Yule Festival ball in Dolmvay. She was concerned that he would not have returned in time.

A week later Domago returns. He tells the company that Pellerax managed to defeat the Naga using a wand of polymorphing. The group found a lot of treasure in the caves and they presented Domago with 2,400 gold from the trove. He has donated most of it to the Church of St. Aleena. He has come to the Manor to ask if the Company would help out the Church with a problem. When he arrived at the church a few days ago, the abbess asked him to investigate an under cellar they located. When he entered, he felt the presence of an evil force and a voice in his head welcomed him as its first meal. He felt it wisest to leave and return with help. He cannot pay the company but he asks that they aid the church as his friends.

The company agrees. Lakima happy that this adventure is right in Edgerton and should be a quick one to conclude. The entire company gears up and heads over to the church.

They find some floor tiles have been pulled back in the cellar of the church to reveal a far older passage below. Domago tells them they knew that the church was built on top of an older structure but did not know that it was still intact. They descend into the older cellars and find the chambers and passages are well lit by magical ever-burning torches attached to wall brackets. The torches give off light and heat but do not appear to use any fuel. They find a side passage blocked by a pair of metal doors. Fenris examines the doors and feels they are safe – but when he opens them a blast of fire whooshes up the corridor injuring Fenris and Flora who are caught in the blast. The doors open into a ruined chamber. On a wooden table, they find a simple book with a black leather cover. Lakima opens the book and finds blank pages. A few moments later writing appears on the page in common. The book appears to communicate with him and answer questions. It claims it is the guardian of the book and that it holds back a great evil that would be released if it was damaged.

As Lakima “converses” with the book, a dark shape takes form in the chamber. Domago senses it and whirls around.

“Wraith, look out!”, Domago shouts.

Fenris and Eathwund quickly grab the doors and slam them shut.

“Will the doors hold it?” Lakima asks. Domago tells him that a wraith can pass through walls. The doors are unlikely to hold it in. Lakima tells Eathwund to swing one door open which he does and Lakima fires a volley of magic missiles at it. The missiles seem to be absorbed into the wraith – but it slowly diminishes until it is gone. Domago tells everyone that he thinks it is gone. Lakima then takes the black book and thrusts it into the flames of one of the torches on the wall. In a moment the book is consumed and ashes fall to the floor.

The company continues exploring. Coming to an empty library. Two pairs of locked iron doors leave the library. Fenris and Flora both fail to open one pair of doors. Meanwhile, Domago has been listening at the other pair of doors and tells them he can hear faint voices. It sounds like someone is giving a sermon?

Fenris manages to open the locked double doors and they see a short hall leading to another pair of double doors. Now everyone can hear the voice speaking in the old common tongue. Fenris and Flora check the hallway and Fenris is the one to spot a trap in the wall that would trigger poison darts. He manages to disarm it. They move up to the door and the voice gets louder. Flora unlocks the door and then moves back. Lakima tells everyone to get ready and asks Eathwund to swing the doors open.

Eathwund pushes the doors open and they see a large stone-walled chamber with stone pillars holding up the stone ceiling. Ever burning torches light what looks like a shrine. An undead priest stands behind an altar speaking a sermon to six human corpses seated in pews before the altar. The undead creatures ignore the presence of the party.

Not waiting for the undead to react, Lakima casts fireball. A moment later Alrix does the same. The first fireball explodes near the priest turning it to ash and immolating the front row of undead in the pews. The second fireball lands amongst the pews and incinerates the remaining undead. All think they hear voices calling out in thanks as the undead are destroyed. The fires die down and they see a fire-blackened chamber, most of the pews are destroyed and still smoldering. The stone altar is undamaged. A book bound in a pale-covered binding rests on the altar impossibly undamaged. As they take in the scene, a dark cloud emerges from the book. It billows up into the chamber and soon forms a vaguely demonic shape, with long arms ending in talons and glowing red eyes in its head. The shape is mostly back smoke and it lacks a lower body.

“Thank you for freeing me, foolish mortals. Your souls will make a nice meal!”

Eathwund moves through the smoldering pews toward the demon. He slashes through its smoky form. The blade seems to make no contact but the demon does scream in rage and Eathwund uses the ability of Wormbane to negate magic resistance. He shouts to Lakima that he has succeeded. Lakima then tries using the power of his pendant of demon summoning to allow him to charm the demon but the spell fails.

The demon laughs and points a long-clawed finger at Lakima as it tells him he will make a fine slave in the abyss. The demon tells them they may plead for mercy from Sezzak.

Domago runs up to join Eathwund and swings his mace at the demon, again the weapon passes through the demon’s form without resistance but the demon does react. Alrix’s sword of dancing is released and it flies right through the demon’s form. The demon responds to the attacks and slashes at Eathwund with both claws. Both claws strike Eathwund and pass right through his armor opening wounds in his side and chest. Eathwund yells in shock from the pain. Alrix fires a volley of magic missiles at the demon that seems to strike it.

Lakima casts a haste spell on Eathwund. Eathwund moves into a blur of motion hitting the demon repeatedly with his sword while those around him seem to move in slow motion. The attacks seem to convince the demon to leave as it shrinks down to a ball of darkness and vanishes. Everyone carefully looks about the chamber for the demon but Domago tells everyone that he can no longer sense any evil in the chamber.

Lakima makes his way through the debris to the altar and picks up the book that is lying on it. He finds that the bookbinding appears to be made of human skin. The book has metal latches to keep it shut but the latches are broken. Using his detect magic cantrip he can tell that the book is magical. He wisely decides not to open it. The book is slipped into the bag of holding.

The party explores a little more through some side chambers but they do not find the demon lurking in the shadows. Domago comes across an evil shrine and flees from it after feeling a sense of overwhelming dread. Lakima feels the same but manages to approach the shrine. He finds a gold cylinder atop the shrine covered in strange sigils. He determines that it is a cursed object that has an aura of fear about it. He manages to slip it into his bag of holding saying that it will be useful for protecting forbidden books in the Mages Guild library. The party then leaves the under cellars and reports back to the abbess and other priests. The priests offer to heal the worst injured members of the party. Domago thanks everyone for their help to his church.

Wishes

As I mentioned I converted the adventure Aesirhamar (written by Roger E. Moore for Dragon magazine 47) to Swords & Wizardry and my players just finished successfully completing the adventure. The original published text made the reward a wish (or possibly 2 wishes) for each character. Given that I am tired of dumping gold on the group I decided to keep this in the rewrite (though I kept it to 1 wish).

I looked online for resources for dealing with wishes and did not find much. What I ended up communicating to my players was the rules for wishes from Dragon Magazine 49 (excerpt below).

The General Principles of Wishes

I: Wishes are 9th-level magic spells and are limited in power accordingly; Limited Wishes are 7th-level spells that are even more limited.

II: Wishes cannot change what has already happened, but they can be used to alter or negate the result of some prior happening. 

III: Wishes cannot directly affect that which will happen, except in the sense that everything that will happen is a direct result of what is and has been happening.

IV: Wishes are bound by the laws under which they themselves are brought about and used.

V: Wishes have no authority and no power over the abstract, the insubstantial, or the non-concrete.

VI: Wishes will always act in the simplest manner possible while abiding by the wording of the Wish itself.

VII: Wishes are general-purpose spells, and as such may be used voluntarily in a number of ways, with varying chances for success.

VIII: Wishes will rarely achieve more than one end, and never more than two.

IX: Wishes will fulfill, to the limits of their power, not only the desired end but the means by which that end is brought about.

X: Wishes are impartial, objective, and consistent.

As you can read, the rules still leave a lot up to the Gamemaster to adjudicate. In this case, the wishes were being granted by a god who was giving them as a reward. The god in question told the characters he would grant the wishes if they were within his power to grant. But I figured he would not be inclined to deliberately bend the wish to mess with the characters. It was a reward after all.

Of my 5 players, 3 used their wishes immediately and I do not feel any of what they requested was outside the bounds of the rules. I also had predetermined what the 2 NPCs would wish for.

Session 102: Wishes and fishes

Lakima (human, 10th level magic-user), Eathwund (human, 9th level fighter), Alrix (couatl zero-level monster sorcerer), Domago (human, 9th level cleric), Flora (elven, 9th level thief), Fenris (human, 9th level thief NPC), Lantosh (human, 7th level fighter NPC).

It only takes a few hours for the confusion spell on the dwarf to wear off, but it takes two days of hard travel through the desolation to reach the river. The two giants are waiting by their ferry. The giants do not say anything, but the mountain giant reaches out with an enormous hand to demand payment and Lakima pays him. The horses and the wooly mammoth are led onto the barge. The enormous barge barely moves when the mammoth steps onboard. They cross the river and find the land on the other side is a meadow under clear skies. They no longer feel the endless cold and thirst of the Jotunheim desolation.

Another two days of travel find the party approaching the enormous walls that surround Asgard. As they near the gate, a giant figure strides toward them. It appears to be the god Ragin. Ragin greets them and tells them that he has viewed their trek across the meadows and knows they have captured one dwarf and he assumes they have the weapon. He gestures to the sled that the mammoth is dragging. Ragin congratulates them and offers to transport them to his Hall. But first, he asks about the other dwarf Brokkir. Lakima drags Brokkir’s remains out of the bag of holding. Ragin nods and asks them to hand over the hammer and the dwarf.

Lakima is suspicious and asks why Ragin is meeting them here. Ragin tells him that he sought to shorten their journey. Lakima is still suspicious and asks Ragin what they discussed when last they met. Ragin correctly tells Lakima that they spoke about his father. Concerns assuaged, Lakima has Lantosh pull aside the tarp they have placed over the weapon. Ragin easily lifts the 500 lb, 8-foot long war hammer in one hand.

“Aesirhamer”, he exclaims. Ragin looks at the dwarf and says, “What mischieve you have gotten up to Dwalin.”

Ragin places golden manacles on the dwarf Dwalin and removes the other bonds and gags. Dwalin immediately tries to cast a spell but he finds he cannot speak.

Ragin opens a portal, through which they can see his hall. “Shall we go?”

Lakima asks, “what about our reward?”

Ragin agrees to give them their reward now. He gestures at them and each feels a prickling feeling on the underside of their right wrist. On each hero's wrist, a small, black tattoo of a wolf’s head appears.

“Your reward is this gift, touch my symbol and request any boon and if it is within my power I shall grant it”, Ragin says. Ragin has granted each adventurer a wish.

Lantosh immediately touches the symbol on his wrist and says, “I wish to be the captain of the Copperhead!” Ragin nods and tells Lantosh that his wish has been granted. He explains that there is no need to use the wish now. They can use it at any time or never use it. It is up to them. Ragin then opens the portal and they are all transported to Himinbjorg (Ragin’s Hall). Ragin gestures toward the Hall and tells them that a feast has been laid out in their honor. He will speak to them again soon but first, he needs to go to Valhalla with the dwarf and the hammer to seek the advice of the other gods.

Lakima asks about the bet he made with a Valkyrie. Ragin assures him that the Valkyrie Hilda will be his server at the feast and if he still wishes to risk the consequences of the bet he may.

Ragin leaves and the heroes enter the hall where they find many Einharjar awaiting. Some eating and some serving. Serving Lakima is the Valkyrie Hilda. Lakima asks her about his reward for winning their bet. The Valkyrie smiles at him and tells him that if that is the reward he wishes she will abide by the terms. Lakima thinks about it for a moment. Alrix advises caution. But then Lakima tells her that he wants to receive her kiss. The Valkyrie kisses Lakima on the cheek. He feels a brief sensation of being flushed but soon recovers none the worse for wear that he can tell.

The feast continues with everyone drinking and eating their fill. Fenris stands up and states, “I wish to be immune to poison!” A moment later a silver chain appears around his neck. He seems a little let down as if he was expecting something more dramatic. Later that night Eathwund states, “I wish I could withstand more injuries without falling!” Those near him notice that he seems sturdier than he did before. Lakima stands and declares, “I wish to be smarter!” As far as anyone can tell nothing happens. Those that have taken their reward look at Flora and Domago but the pair shake their heads. They need to think this through longer.

The next morning they awake, without hangovers. Ragin returns and tells them they can return on the Bifrost bridge to their homes or they can remain in Asgard if they wish. They all elect to return. Ragin takes a moment to speak alone with Eathwund. He tells Eathwund that the creature he is destined to meet in combat, the White Worm, grows in strength with every passing day as it consumes more and more magic users. Eathwund bows and thanks Ragin for this information. He immediately tells Lakima what he has learned.

They lead their horses up onto the Bifrost bridge and travel along it until they come back down in a meadow. The air is cold and crisp and there is light snow on the ground. Looking to the north they see the Valen Peaks and the towers of Edgerton closer to them. At this moment they realize that Lantosh has not journeyed across from Gladsheim with them.

“We have lost Lantosh back to the sea,” Lakima says.

The adventurers ride into Edgerton and find a few changes since they left. A few new shops and the main square shows signs that the Harvest festival has come and gone again. They arrive at their Manor and knock on the door. A surprised man-servant Huntley received them.

“My word! You have all returned,” he says, “the lady of the house will be most anxious to see you. She is recently returned from Dolmvay.”

The adventurers settle down at the manor. They learn that they have been gone for a little over a month. Alayna is initially cross with Lakima but then is more excited to tell him about the ball she attended in Dolmvay where she met the Duke’s son Simon.

They learn that Clearwin was looking for them a few weeks ago because he wanted to hire them. Lakima sends a message to Clearwin that they have returned. They also find messages from Wexley Windham in Whetwhistle who updates them on the copper mine. The miners have dug deeper and reached some far older workings

The next day, Clearwin sends a message asking them to meet him at his shop. Eathwund heads over to his Tavern. The rest go to Clearwin’s shop where they learn that Clearwin was robbed 2 weeks ago by a trio of adventurers. They stole a magical item called the crystal claw. Two of these adventurers are men he has bought from and sold to many times in the past without incident. The third was a halfling he did not recognize. Lakima asks what happened and Clearwin explains that while he showed the warrior Drake a two-handed sword, the mage Pellerax distracted him, and the halfling reached behind his counter and stole the case holding the crystal claw, and dashed off. Drake and Pellerax also left during the commotion he raised. After the incident, he realized that the three were likely working together. Since the Company of the Black Dragon was not around, he hired a quartet of adventurers new to the area. He paid them 500 gold in advance and never heard from them again. He posted a reward with the local gangs but it appears that the thieves have left town. Clearwin begs Lakima to help him and get the crystal claw back. Lakima asks about the pay and Clearwin moans that he has already paid one group of adventurers. When Lakima responds that they expect to be paid, Clearwin suggests that he pay him with two unique spells he recently purchased. He assures Lakima that these are long-lost spells that no other mages in the area would know.

Lakima asks his companions if they would accept payment from him and in return, Lakima would receive the spells. Everyone present agrees. Lakima tells Clearwin, not to worry they will soon get his stolen goods back.

Meanwhile, at the Sign of the Purple Bugbear, Eathwund finds that his tavern/Inn is doing a fine business. However, his manager Yana tells him that without Eathwund around to sign the payments he has had to use a portion of the profits to buy supplies.

“But there are profits?” Eathwund responds. Yana assures him that things are going well. Eathwund tells Yana that he will make arrangements that will allow Yana to sign on his behalf up to a certain amount.

The next day, Lakima suggests everyone prepare for the next quest. Alayna asks if he is leaving again so soon. Lakima assures Alayna that this is a quick, local job for a friendly merchant. There is nothing to it. Taking the Arrow of Direction out, Lakima asks for the location of the crystal claw. The arrow points northeast. He tries this several times before it is clear that the crystal claw must be outside the town walls. The group heads back into town and goes to the stables to mount up on horses. They travel northeast along the wilderness road in the direction of Larm. After a few hours, they arrive at the familiar sight of the Restless Knight Inn. The owner, Lotti Fielding, warmly greets them. Lakima describes the three adventurers they are chasing and Lotti tells them they passed through 2 days ago and headed north to their keep on Wyrmsmir Lake. She also tells them that Pellarax and Drake acted as if they hardly knew her, despite having stayed over many times in the past. She also warns them that the legendary green dragon, Toxin, is awake from his latest 20-year slumber and has been seen in the area.

Lotti asks them to stay for supper but they tell her that they need to move quickly. Lakima tells her that he promised his wife he would be back soon. She does insist on packing meals for them. It takes a day and a half of travel to follow the Wyrmsmir stream back to its source. They spot the tracks of three travelers on foot ahead of them. The lake is a small one nestled in a valley. Mist clings to the surface of the lake. They see a small keep built right on the shores of the lake. A small stream of smoke rises from a chimney meaning that someone is home.

The group rides right up to the main door and ties off their horses to a nearby tree. Flora and Fenris check the door and find it is unlocked but barred from inside. Fenris disables this with a prybar but there is a loud bang as the bar falls to the floor inside. They open the door and step inside. The interior of the keep is cluttered with broken furniture. They check out a library and find signs of recent inhabitation. They also hear the front door close behind them. The sounds of other doors opening and closing can be heard nearby. When they open the door to the kitchen they are confronted by a dwarf clad in armor who immediately attacks Flora with a War Hammer. She is struck slightly as she tries to dodge out of the way. Lakima casts charm person on the dwarf and as he sees it taking effect he tells the dwarf to stop fighting his friends. The dwarf looks about confused but does lower his mace.

As that is happening, a warrior suddenly appears behind Alrix and strikes him in the back with a spiked mace. Alrix yells in anger and casts magic missile targeting the warrior who has just appeared. Eathwund points Wormbane at the man and tries to use its confusion ability but the man seems to resist (for now). Fenris stabs at the man and misses. The man strikes Alrix again with the bloody mace. Lakima casts dispel magic on the human and he also stops and shakes his head.

“We were charmed by that cursed Naga!” the man says.

“Charmed, what are ye daft, no we are all friends.” the dwarf says.

The man introduces himself as Drake Sakellaros and tells them that he and his companions led by the wizard Pellerax came to the keep looking for treasure and followed a tunnel out to an island in the lake where they met the naga. The naga charmed all of them. He warns them that Pellerax is upstairs and is a powerful wizard. Lakima suggests that they can sneak up on him but Drake shakes his head.

“We saw you approaching the keep, we put our defense plan into motion. Pellerax cast invisibility on me so I could trap you in the keep and attack once you started fighting Onyx”, he points and the befuddled dwarf, “Pellerax will be waiting upstairs with his lighting bolt spell at the ready.”

Lakima tells Fenris to sneak upstairs and check. Alrix casts invisibility on Fenris. Fenris sneaks upstairs but he makes enough noise that the wizard hears him and casts lightning bolt. The blast narrowly misses Fenris who comes running back down the stairs.

“He’s used his lighting bolt,” Lakima says, “now is the time to confront him!”

Lakima heads upstairs and spots the wizard in a decaying bed chamber. He casts feeblemind on the wizard and the man slackly falls back onto a bed. Drake rushes upstairs to see what has happened and Lakima assures him that he can remove the spell once he has rested and studied his spells again.

Speaking with Drake and Onyx (the dwarf still under 2 charm spells), they learn that the stairs descend to a cellar where they can find a tunnel to the naga lair. They descend the stairs and see a flickering light throw a partially open door. Entering the cellar they find a small room with a large hole in the floor. A rope attached to an iron spike descends into the darkness. As they discuss what to do Domago exclaims in alarm and reaches up to the hair on his head. He finds that his hair has suddenly become a patch of green leaves. Stunned, he pulls one leaf after another off of his head only for more to replace them.

“Wild magic!”, Alrix exclaims. Lakima suggests they descend immediately. Fenris grabs the rope and starts to descend but the rope snaps and he drops down the hole arriving at the bottom with a thump. Fenris calls up that he is alive. Eathwund takes out some rope and ties it off on the iron spike, noticing while he does this that the other rope was cut. Eathwund is the next to descend followed by Lakima. Domago exclaims in anger again, and Alrix and Flora see that his skin has turned blue!

“What is going on!”, Domago says and hurriedly descends the rope. As Domago descends from sight, the chamber is plunged into supernatural darkness. Both Alrix and Flora who can usually see in the dark find they cannot see anything. Alrix falls to his knees and crawls towards what he thinks is the center of the room. He feels the edge of the pit. At that moment his hand brushes against a shoulder and he feels a dagger slash at his wrist. There is the sound of footsteps nearby. Alrix uses his charm person ability and suddenly the darkness is gone. Standing beside him is a halfling with a surprised look on his face. The halfling tells Alrix that his name is Lucky. He sheepishly apologizes as he wipes Alrix’s blood off of his dagger. Alrix tells Lucky to head upstairs to his friends. Flora heads down the rope. As Alrix grabs the rope, Lucky pauses at the door to the cellar and tells him to look out for the traps.

The adventurers set out below down a long tunnel that heads out under the lake. Fenris triggers a spike trap and is badly injured. Domago uses healing magic on Fenris and Alrix. They continue on finding some flooded areas but never more than 3 feet deep. They arrive at another area where the tunnel is flooded. Carved into the stone wall is the message, “Beware the Fish”. Fenris asks Eathwund for his quarterstaff to test the water. He finds it is 3 feet deep. He splashes it around but does not see any fish. Lakima pulls a scroll out of the bag of holding and casts Lower Water. The water level in the tunnel drops in half. They splash through the tunnel and arrive in a flooded cave with three exits. The exits rise out of the cave and are dry. In one tunnel they spot a corpse. The skeletal remains of a man in armor. Eathwund uses his sword’s ability to detect magic and finds none. In the cave beyond, they see a large mass of brownish-yellow mud. They head to another tunnel and arrive in a cave with dim light streaming in from above. Lakima pulls out the efreeti bottle and summons Khisa.

Khisa appears and tells Lakima that he has enjoyed the respite from the constant summoning. Lakima tells Khisa that the company has been in Asgard.

“Ahh, that explains the mark of a Valkyrie on your cheek”, Khisa says. Everyone is surprised that Khisa can detect something that is not visible to them.

Lakima tells Khisa to fly up into the cave above and drop down a rope. The efreeti flies up out of sight and a moment later they see a flash and flickering light. Lakima calls up to see if everything is all right and Khisa tells them that he had to use his wall of fire to keep some giant frog-men at bay. Lakima tells Khisa to wait.

They decide to check the third tunnel and find a small chest. Flora manages to pick the lock on the chest and open it. Inside they find only a fragile glass vial full of gas. They realize that the vial would have broken and released the gas if they had broken open the chest. They return to the cave where the efreet waits and tell him to throw down a rope.

Aesirhamar

In session 101 the players in my Swords & Wizardry campaign tracked down the Hragnar the mountain giant in Jotunheim and slew him to claim the potent aesirhamar weapon. This was to be the epic clash to close out this cycle of adventures. Was it as epic as I had hoped? Not really. The party mages pummeled their opponent with area effect spells and I completely forgot (how?) that the aesirhamar should have absorbed those spells. After this encounter, I have taken to writing reminders to myself on the GM Layer of the Roll20 map screen. Things like the monster's hit points, armor class, and little reminders like "don't forget the hammer can absorb spells". We shall see if this helps.

Session 101: Aesirhamar

Lakima (human level 10 magic-user), Eathwund (human level 9 fighter), Alrix (couatl level zero sorcerer, Domago (human level 9 cleric), Flora (elven level 9 thief), Fenris (human level 9 thief NPC), Lantosh (human level 7 fighter NPC).

The party is searching the valleys of the Smoketop mountain range in Jotunheim for a mysterious dwarf to discover if he has sold a god-killing weapon to the giants. As night falls they knocked on the door of a large log cabin. The door was opened by a Hill Giant.

The Hill Giant woman at the door to the cabin proves to be unfriendly as she immediately makes a grab for Lakima. Lakima responds by casting an ice storm spell inside the log cabin. Shards of ice pelt the Hill giant. They also hear screams of anger from other rooms in the cabin. Eathwund has his two-handed sword Wormbane at the ready and also attacks. Followed by Alrix sending his Sword of Dancing into battle. Flora fires an arrow over her friend's head missing the hill giant and hitting a wall in the cabin. Domago tells everyone to get ready and he blows the Silver Horn of Valhalla. A dozen berserkers appear, far more than he can usually call forth. The berserkers push past the hill giant woman and into the cabin. A fight between the companions and three hill giants found in the cabin is over quickly with all three giants being killed. Their corpses are dragged into a supply room at the back of the cabin. A search of the cabin turns up a handful of gold coins and a lot of supplies. Lakima busies himself in the kitchen frying up bacon and baking bread. The hot stew that the giants were cooking is ignored. The group sleeps that night in the cabin and is not disturbed.

The next day they set out looking for the dwarf or the mountain giant Hragnar who is rumored to have a new war hammer. While walking along the trail they spot two mountain giants coming their way. The mountain giants carry simple clubs (one looks like an uprooted tree). With few options available to hide Lakima uses a pouch of dust of disappearance to hide the group. The mountain giants stop as they come upon the group's tracks. They sniff the air and comment that they can smell humans, elves, and dwarves. Not seeing anyone around, the mountain giants decide to keep walking and are soon out of sight. The party follows a trail up a mountainside and sees a large ice cave. Fenris is sent ahead to scout, he is still invisible and approaches the cave quietly. Looking inside he sees a white dragon and a pair of frost giants. Fenris returns to the group and reports. The companions discuss whether to enter the cave but decide to try going further north.

At a crossroads of trails, the group decides to circle a mountain looking for Hragnar’s cave which is reputed to be on the slopes of the mountain. Near noon they spot a trail winding up the mountainside to a cave. Thinking this might be the right cave the group leaves the main path and follows this new trail. The trail leads to a large cave on the side of the mountain. Piles of rocks, perfect for a giant to throw, are stacked outside the cave entrance. They can just see the body of a dead dwarf lying on the rock pile. Fenris and Flora scout ahead. They come back and report that there are trolls in the cave on watch. The group creeps closer.

The trolls spot them and two trolls come to the entrance of the cave. Lakima uses his wand of fireballs to hit them but it does not kill them. Then Alrix also tosses a fireball at the trolls killing them. As the group approaches the cave they come across a broken glass from what must have been a fancy glass container. The body of the dwarf is unrecognizable, having been caught in the blast radius of two fireball spells. All that remains is a few rags and bones. Inside the cave, they see the remains of a third troll they had not seen earlier but who must have been caught in the fireball blasts. Entering the cave they encounter six more trolls in a chamber full of garbage, mold, mushrooms, and mud. Lakima uses the wand of fireballs again and Alrix again also casts a magic missile. The trolls try hiding deep in the chamber to no avail after the first explosion of fire. The three survivors desperately try to escape by moving Eathwund and some of the remaining berserkers to one side. It does not work and they are all killed. One troll tries to ask for parlay before it is killed but no mercy is shown.

The party explores the rest of the caves and finds a crude kitchen and bed chamber for a single giant. They do not find any sign of Hragnar or the hammer. They decide to occupy the caves until the owner returns. Early that evening while on watch, Flora notices that one cave passage has a wall of stacked stones hiding an alcove. Before she can search the wall, two trolls approach the cave from outside. One of the trolls calls out to the cave. Lakima and Alrix emerge and confront the trolls. Domago puts on his helm of comprehending languages and translates. The trolls are only able to tell them that Hragnar has been gone for 2 or possibly 3 days. They came to the cave at the invitation of the trolls that serve Hragnar. They do not know anything else. Alrix expresses concern that the trolls might tell other giants that they are squatting in a giant’s cave but Lakima tells him that they will be gone long before the trolls return.

Now that the trolls are gone, Flora explores the suspicious wall of rocks. After removing some rocks she finds a hidden alcove behind. In the small space is a locked wooden chest. A few copper coins lie on the floor. Flora checks the chest and unlocks it. Inside are a few thousand copper coins and a simple spellbook that she gives to Lakima.

Not long after sunrise the next day, the giant Hargnar Left-Hand returned to his cave. Flora and Alrix are on watch when they spot a 20-foot-tall giant making his way up the long zig-zagging trail toward the cave. The alarm is sounded and most of the heroes take up positions just inside the cave mouth (Fenris having decided to hide further in the caves). As the mountain giant looms into view they can see that he is clad in simple furs but carries a shiny, silver war hammer in his right hand that is 8 feet long. The heroes slink back into the darkness of the cave hoping to surprise him, but the mountain giant sniffs the air.

“I can smell you, trespassers! Humans and elves! I will eat all of you!”

Hargnar runs toward the cave readying his hammer. As soon as he spots the heroes he hurls the enormous hammer which flies into the cave, knocks Lantosh prone, and then flies back out to return to his hand. Lakima and Alrix both cast fireball spells that explode around the giant but do not appear to do much damage. Domago blows the Silver Horn of Valhalla and a dozen berserkers appear and swarm around the giant. Flora fires a pair of arrows, one striking the giant in the shoulder. The giant casts a spell of its own, eight magic missiles flash out of the hammer and strike the berserkers that are besieging him. But none of them fall. Alrix and Lakima both cast magic missiles sending more bolts of magic into the giant. All of this time the berserkers are hacking away at the giant without regard for their safety. The giant swings his hammer in an arc killing a half-dozen of the berserkers but the rest continue to attack, landing multiple blows on the bloodied giant. Eathwund and Domago hold back as the giant goes down amidst a horde of berserkers.

Once the battle is over, the party cautiously advances and checks on the giant. He is dead and the hammer, which is made of shiny, silver metal, lies on the ground. The hammer proves difficult to move. Fenris estimates that it weighs 500 lbs. It proves to be too big for the bag of holding. Alrix uses his figurine of wondrous power to summon a wooly mammoth and the hammer is hauled up onto a table they have made into a crude sled. A harness is attached to the table and the mammoth. It is clumsy but it does seem to work. The group immediately sets out west for the desolation at the foot of the mountains. Taking a new route to the plains they make it without encountering any trouble. The rest before entering the desolation, one last night in the Jotunheim. Above them, in the mountain pass, they see some strange bursts of flames.

The next day the party sets out across the cold, dry desolation. They encounter nothing on the plains. No life at all. That night, while on watch, Eathwund and Domago are startled by a dwarf that appears out of nowhere and approaches the camp. He appears unarmed and advances with his hands open.

“Do you have any water,” he asks.

Eathwund wakes the other members of the group while Domago approaches the dwarf and hands him a waterskin. The dwarf greedily gulps down the entire waterskin and then asks for more. By this time the rest of the company has risen and approached the dwarf.

“Hang on,” Lakima says as he prevents Domago from handing over another waterskin. “Who are you, and what are you doing out here?”

The dwarf claims to be a simple traveler lost in the desolation. Lakima scoffs at his claim and accuses him of being the weaponsmith who produced a god-killing weapon for the giants. The dwarf tells him this is all wrong. Lakima tells the dwarf that that will be taking him to explain himself to the gods. At that point, the dwarf tries to get away, he casts power word stun at Lakima who manages to resist the spell. Eathwund thumps the dwarf over the head with the flat of his sword while Domago tries to wrestle him to the ground. The dwarf manages to break free and back away. The dwarf offers them 10,000 gold in gems to get him secretly to Asgard. Lakima refuses the offer and then casts confusion on the dwarf before the dwarf can get off another spell. The confused dwarf is tied up, gagged, and slung on the back of the mammoth.

As the sun rises the group sets out once more for the River Iving and Asgard.

101 Sessions

A few weeks ago we got to Session 100 of my Swords & Wizardry campaign. I am sure I have mentioned this numerous times before, but this is an online game using Roll20. Given the nature of Roll20 there has been a lot of turnover of players in the campaign (a total of 22 I believe), but two players have been in the campaign since the start. This was actually the 101st session because I did have a session zero. I am not certain if this is the longest campaign I have ever run. My first campaign lasted for more than 10 years but there were definitely fewer adventures in it. This one has lasted 2 years and has gone through 65 separate adventures.

I had the players travel to Asgard for the sessions around the centennial mark. An adventure pulled from an old Dragon Magazine called Aesirhamar was written by Roger E. Moore.

Session 100: From Gladsheim to Jotunheim

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Alrix (couatl sorcerer), Domago (human cleric), Flora (elven thief), Lantosh (human fighter NPC), Fenris the Filch (human thief NPC).

The Company of the Black Dragon, all seven of them have arrived in Gladsheim and spend the night at Himinbjorg the hall of the god Ragin. The next morning Ragin is not around but one of his servants gives the heroes a map of Gladsheim and points out the route to the ferry across the Iving River. Lakima takes note of how close the route is to Valhalla.

It takes a day to reach the immense walls surrounding Asgard. The stone walls are 80 feet tall and 40 feet thick. Their only encounter while traveling to Asgard is with a passing merchant who sells Lakima a Pouch of Holding.

The company passes through the gate in the walls around Asgard without incident. They continue on for a day and then come to a crossroads. Lakima points north towards some distant mountains and they set out. It takes the party a few more days to reach the walled settlement of Valasrialf. On the way, there Domago comes upon a friendly stallion that seems to want to join the company. He saddles the stallion and discovers that it is named Arion.

In Valasrialf, Lakima asks a local hirdman about the directions to Valhalla. The man tries to dissuade his questions telling him that only those that have fallen in battle and have been summoned to Valhalla can reach the halls of Valhalla. The area around Valhalla is surrounded for miles by the fields of battle where the einherjar battle every day. Not to be dissuaded Lakima is sent to ask the local lord.

They find the local lord, a one-eyed man dressed in huntsmen’s clothes and carrying a longbow. He listens to Lakima and tells him that he will take him safely to Valhalla if a member of the Company can best him in an archery contest. Lakima argues that no members of the group are proficient with a longbow. The man eventually agrees to a contest of darts in the great hall. Lakima is better after the first toss, but the man then scores the highest possible points in his final two tosses and wins the contest. Lakima attempts to challenge the man to another contest but it is to no avail. The man does tell them that they are welcome in his hall tonight.

Over a meal, Lakima tells the other members of the party that he wishes to travel to Valhalla and meet his father. His plan is to cross the fields of battle at night when the einherjar are not fighting. Domago, Eathwund, and Alrix tell Lakima that they will join him. Lakima uses the horse in a bottle for his mount.

They set out right after the meal in the darkness. The fields of battle are barren of any trees or grass and are strewn with broken blades, armor, and spears. But there are no bones or corpses. Their progress toward the purple glow emanating from the Halls of Valhalla to the north is blocked by the campfires of an army. At first, the einherjar pickets around the army refuse to let the company pass. But Lakima manages to convince them by telling them of his father. The einherjar tells Lakima that his father, Malkin the mighty, is one of the generals of the opposing army for tomorrow’s battle. They also warn him that the longer a soul remains on the fields of battle, the less it remembers its past life and Malkin has been here for 30 years.

The party rides across the no man’s land toward the other army. As they approach trumpets sound as they are spotted. The einherjar they encounter accuse them of being scouts or spies. It takes a fair amount of convincing to get them to bring Malkin to meet with the group. Malkin arrives, not looking as Lakima remembered him. Instead, he is a young, powerfully built warrior over six feet tall. Malkin strides toward Lakima with a huge great sword strapped on his back. Lakima introduces himself, but Malkin seems to not remember him. But after Lakima describes Malkin’s final battle – he does remember his son and greets him warmly. Father and son take a moment to catch up before saying goodbye.

The party rides back to Valasrialf and manages to reach the safety of the edge of the fields of battle before sunrise. They spend a day in the walled settlement resting. Setting out again they retrace their path to the crossroads. Domago asks Lakima if it might be possible for his father to be summoned by the Horn of Valhalla. Lakima muses that it might be possible but likely the gods chose who is summoned. He also notes that magic functions differently here in Gladsheim and it might not work at all.

The company journeys across Asgard for several days. They have a few strange encounters, seeing a company of drow elves sneaking through the forest at night, and a rogue giant. They also decide to pass on entering a circus tent set up on the side of the trail. After they turn down the chance to enter, the tent disappears. They have an encounter with a strange beggar who asks to share their meal. They agree and the beggar tells them he was beaten in the last village for theft. Despite this Lakima gives the beggar a bag of gold. The beggar thanks and blesses them for their kindness.

After several days they arrive in the walled settlement of Vidi. They are invited to stay in the main hall of the settlement. The party questions locals about the route to the Jotunheim. Several of the hirdmen warn them about the desolation of Jotunheim and the lack of any source of food or water. Taking precautions, the group asks for several barrels of water and they load up their saddlebags with food and water. Lakima asks Domago to pray for create food and create water spells every day of the trip across Jotunheim.

The next day the walls of Asgard become visible on the horizon and then the trail turns to follow the wall north. It takes another day for them to reach the gates leading out of Asgard. From there they follow a tributary of the Iving River to the main river. Here they find a trail of many giant footprints following the river. After a day of travel, they see the enormous ferry pulled up on the shore.

The ferry turns out to be an enormous (90-foot square) barge of tree trunks. Two giants run the ferry service. A frost giant and another, even bigger giant of a type they do not recognize (possibly not native to their realm). The frost giant requests the fare to cross (50 gold per person). Lakima tries to engage the giant in conversation but he is dismissive and taciturn. Lakima offers an additional 50 gold for information about the dwarf they seek to no avail. Domago tries tricking the giant into talking by questioning its knowledge but it does not work. But once Lakima gives the giant 500 gold it admits they ferried a Dwarven Weaponsmith (magic-user) across the river 4 days ago. The dwarf was on foot and set out into the desolation in the direction of a mountain he calls Reykstopp. When they reach the far shore of the river the frost giant silently points at a volcano in the enormous mountain range of Jotunheim. It looks to be less than a day’s journey away.

The distance to the mountains turns out to be a mirage and the party finds that it takes them 3 days to cross the desolation to the mountains. In the desolation, they encounter no life at all whether plant or animal. They do see the bones of fantastic creatures who have died in the wastes. Fortunately, they have prepared well and the extra water they brought gets them and their horses across the desolation alive.

The party arrives at the mountains that seem to spring up out of the flat desolation. The mountains are enormous, much taller than the Valen Peaks back home. They have come across the desolation at the foot of a smoking volcano marked as Smoketop on their map. They decide to head south following tracks left by giants looking for a pass through the mountains. Later in the day, they find a pass up into the mountains. It is clearly well traveled by giants. The pass is a narrow valley between two peaks with high sides. From here they have to dismount and lead their horses up the steep path. Part way up the path they are attacked by three cloud giants. An enormous boulder is thrown by a cloud giant which smashes into Alrix. Alrix leaps to his feet and tries to control his horse, while Lakima casts a lightning bolt at all three of the giants. Alrix casts a fireball hitting all three giants as well. The lightning and fire attacks hit the giants but only seem to anger them. Domago blows the Silver horn of Valhalla and summons 15 of the einherjar to fight for them. The summoned warriors swarm over the giants landing dozens of blows. But the giants crush an einherjar with each swing of their huge clubs. In the confusion, Fenris suggests they run for it. The company leads their horses quickly up the pass and avoids the cloud giants. They see the stone hall of the giants with more giants outside of it but decide to keep running.

Once they reach the top of the pass they come to a small valley between mountain peaks. They hide off the trail in a thicket of small bushes. That evening they see a two-headed ettin leading some dire wolves. The wolves smell them and stain at their leashes to attack but the ettin moves on after making eye contact. Lakima casts a magic mouth spell to give them a warning should more giants appear. That night the warning goes off alerting them. A fire giant approaches their camp but once he sees they are no threat to him he moves on without attacking.

The next day they travel further into the mountains. Moving along trails left by the giants they make their way toward a trail up the side of Smoketop. Eathwund spots the tracks of two dwarves at one point – headed north. Atop Smoketop they come to a forge run by a pair of fire giants. Lakima tells the giants that they are harboring a dwarven smith. But the giants deny this and in fact, tell the party that they hate dwarves and would attack them on sight. Somehow, the adventurers manage to get through the encounter without starting a fight. One fire giant named Teostar does tell them that a mountain giant named Hargnar Left-Hand has been seen lately carrying a new war hammer. The fire giants claim to be the only worthy smiths in the Smoketop region and they did not make the war hammer. Taking the information about Hargnar as a clue the heroes ask for the location of the mountain giant’s home. The fire giants tell them that it is on the slopes of a mountain further north.

The company sets out again heading north encountering no trouble. As it is about to get dark, they spot a large but crude wooden cabin near the trail and they decide to ask for a place to stay. Knocking on the door they are greeted by a female hill giant. Once the hill giant spots them she turns and calls into the cabin, “Othos, dinner has walked right up to our door!”

High-Level Adventure

This past week in my Swords & Wizardry campaign I confronted some of the issues with mid- to high-level OSR adventures. I had a short encounter I pulled from an old WOTC published encounter from 3rd Edition adapted to S&W. It did not seem like it would overmatch the player's characters but it very nearly did. I actually thought it was only a medium difficult encounter that they would handle easily. It was originally meant as a short encounter to pad out a session. But the number of monsters confronting them all at once removed the biggest advantage the group has - namely numbers.

This short encounter took almost the entire session and in the end, the party had to run away with most of their objectives complete. Then I decided now was the time to spring an adventure on them that I have been thinking of ever since linking it to their Siver Horn of Valhalla. I did not have it ready yet but I had the opening map so that was enough to get them started. The adventure is "Aesirhamar" written by Roger E. Moore from Dragon magazine 47 (1984). The published adventure is more of an outline of how to handle a trip to the realm of the Norse gods. I decided to change the gods up to fit the Amherth setting I am using. I have since padded the adventure out with some unique encounters and created a bunch of location maps in Dungeondraft.

Session 99: Life and Death in the Temple of the Naga

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Alrix (couatl sorcerer), Domago (human fighter), Flora (elven thief), Fenris the Filch (human thief NPC), Lantosh (human fighter NPC).

Alrix has been charmed by a creature hiding in an ancient temple near the hamlet of Deerford. The creature questions Alrix and reveals that it is a Naga. Alrix tells his new friend why he came to Deerford (to see the couatl reputed to be here) and he reveals that he is a couatl himself. The naga finds this highly amusing and sends for its ally Lerrius the gnome - the head warden of Deerford. Lerrius and the naga discuss how to best use Alrix. The naga tells Alrix to rest on the altar for the night. Four gargoyles emerge from the alcoves of the temple to guard Alrix while he rests.

Meanwhile, in Edgerton Lantosh takes note that Alrix is missing. Domago tells them that Alrix went to Deerford to investigate reports of a couatl being sighted. Fenris suggests that he is likely fine. Lakima is not too sure and suggests they check up on him if he does not return by morning.

The next day there is still no sign of Alrix so they decide to saddle some horses and ride to Deerford. It is a mere 2 hours ride northwest of Edgerton. At the tiny hamlet, they pay a toll to enter and meet with a village priest. The priest remembers Alrix and suggests that he might have headed to the nearby ruins of a temple. The priest assures them that the couatl has indeed returned and resides at the temple. The party set out on horseback for the temple.

The trail to the temple winds through a thick forest and the adventurers encounter 2 dire bears blocking the trail. The bears look fierce and dangerous to approach. Fenris tries scaring them away by making noise but that just focuses their attention on the group. Lakima suggests maybe using a fireball spell but Domago argues that they are just creatures of the forest and should not be killed. He tells everyone he has an idea and he prays to St. Aleena to summon a swarm of bees that fly right at the two bears stinging them and clouding their eyes. The bear's roar in pain and roll about trying to get away from the bees.

Fenris suggests they take the opportunity to ride past the bears. He leads his horse around them but he is struck by an arrow fired from out of the surrounding forest. Lakima casts a fireball spell into the trees which burst into flames. A yelping wolf emerges from the brush and tries to bite Eathwund. Eathwund kicks it to one side and then runs the wolf through with his sword killing it instantly. They hear a howl of anguish from the woods. The party decides not to stay and they ride their horses around the growling bears. They continue on the road for a half hour until they enter a meadow in a clearing in the woods. A moss-covered stone temple ruin lies in the center of the meadow. They are just in time to spot a gnome run inside the temple and then notice two wardens guarding the entrance doors.

The adventurers approach the doors and they are asked to halt. One of the wardens asks for their names and purpose. Lakima tells them that they are the Company of the Black Dragon and they wish to look for their missing friend. The warden assures them that there is no one in the temple except the divine couatl. Lakima asks if they can enter and the warden turns and announces them. Then he bids them to enter. Inside they find an enormous temple chamber the walls crumbling and falling. Sunlight streams into the hall through holes in the roof. Resting on a bed of flowers atop a central altar is their companion Alrix in his couatl form. Alrix is surprised to see them and asks if they have come to see his friend. Lakima is about to answer when a much bigger serpent emerges from the darkness at the far end of the church. The blue-scaled serpent sweeps everyone with its gaze. All of the adventurers feel a compulsion that this creature is their friend but all of them shake off the enchantment and realize that the creature was trying to charm them. An angered Lakima casts a magic missile, and strikes the serpent. 

Alrix yells, “Wait, we are all friends here, what are you doing!”

Domago casts dispel evil on Alrix. Alrix immediately, and angrily realizes he was charmed by this foul, false couatl. In fact, he realizes that it is an evil Naga. He launches himself at the Naga and bites it injecting poison. The bite hurts the Naga but it proves immune to his poison. The Naga tries to bite Alrix right back but misses. They hear noise coming from all of the alcoves about the temple and eight stone-skinned gargoyles emerge to defend their master the Naga. 

As the gargoyles emerge, Lantosh, Fenris, Eathwund, and Flora find themselves all facing a gargoyle. Swords and hammers are drawn and the fight is on. Meanwhile, Alrix casts a fireball injuring several of the gargoyles and the Naga. Domago blows the silver horn of Valhalla and summons four berserkers who immediately attack the Naga. There is a roaring growl from the far end of the church and a purple scaled eight-legged draconic creature emerges. Lakima summons an ice storm that pelts the Naga, some of the gargoyles, and this new creature. It also catches the berserkers in the storm dispelling 3 of them.

The fight is going poorly for Fenris against a gargoyle and he starts desperately retreating. Seeing the danger to Fenris, Domago reaches him and casts a healing spell. Fenris is able to keep fighting. Across the chamber, Eathwund, Lantosh, and Flora are each also fighting separate gargoyles. Even Eathwund struggles to land a damaging blow on the stone creatures. 

The briefly forgotten draconic creature breathes a lightning bolt out that strikes Fenris and Domago. Fenris falls to the floor blackened and unconscious. Nearby, Alrix wraps himself around the Naga constricting it. But he is swarmed by three gargoyles who claw, bite and gore him with attacks. Domago stands near Alrix, who looks to be in trouble, and he also spots Fenris collapsed on the floor and dying. He is briefly unsure, and not far away Lakima yells at him to go to save Fenris. Domago, though has already made his decision, if Alrix falls things are going to get really bad. He rushes over to Alrix and casts healing magic on him.

The draconic creature breathes lightning again this time striking Domago and Eathwund. Both are badly injured. Domago is struggling to hang on. Nearby, Alrix bites the Naga one more time killing it. He tosses the serpent aside in triumph but begins to retreat to get clear of the gargoyles swarming to his side. Lakima casts lightning bolt striking the draconic creature and blasting apart some of the gargoyles. The creature seems unaffected but the gargoyles are destroyed. The last remaining berserker is incredible still in the fight and he single-handily faces down the draconic creature. Lakima charms a gargoyle that had moved to attack him. But when he commands it to attack its fellow gargoyles the charm is broken. Then it attacks Flora but she manages to destroy it. Eathwund kills a gargoyle as well. Lakima begins calling the survivors back in a defensive circle about him. Alrix casts a magic missile destroying the gargoyle fighting Lantosh allowing the fighter to move back with the rest of the group. But Lantosh then falls under the claws of a gargoyle. The last berserker also falls and the draconic creature climbs up the altar and moves to attack.

Lakima casts a wall of iron bringing a wall down between the adventurers and the draconic creature. He casts web to hold some of the gargoyles to allow his comrades to retreat. There are still 3 gargoyles on the adventurer’s side of the wall. On the other side, they can hear the roars of the creature. Finally, the last of the gargoyles is destroyed. Lakima uses a potion of extra healing to revive Lantosh, but Fenris has bled out and is dead. Eathwund picks up Fenris's body and carries the dead thief to the entrance. Lakima suggests continuing the fight against the creature but everyone else wants to retreat.

It is now, in this respite from the fight, that everyone takes note that the ghostly form of a warrior of Valhalla passes through the wall of iron and approaches the group. Lakima asks why the berserker has not returned to Valhalla. The warrior answers that he has been sent by the gods to deliver a message to them. The gods require their audience in Valhalla. A rainbow bridge will be sent for them if they agree. After some discussion, the group agrees and a rainbow bridge appears on the otherwise clear day in the meadow outside the temple. The ghostly warrior steps on the rainbow and begins to climb up into the sky, turning to look back if they are following.

The adventurers climb onto the rainbow and follow ascending gradually up into the air until they seem to enter mist or clouds. Eathwund still carrying the limp body of Fenris. The rainbow begins to descend and they find themselves in a field full of deer, tall grass, flowering trees, and a great wooden hall. Standing before the hall is a 12-foot-tall giant of a man clad in armor. His face is obscured by his helm but what is visible projects a bright light. Their warrior guard near appears alive again and he kneels before what is clearly a god. The warrior then heads into the wooden hall.

Lakima is the first to step forward to question the god. The god tells them that he is Ragin (who they realize is also known as Rangeth – the patron of the Church of Law in Dolmvay). Ragin tells them that he has a task for them that he and other gods would like them to accept. Lakima asks why the gods do not just use their warriors or Valkyries. Ragin replies that there is a good reason and all will be explained. He tells them that they look tired and hungry. He invites them into his hall for a feast which he says will revive their spirits. Lakima points to Fenris and asks for a boon to return their friend to them. Ragin reaches out a touches Fenris instantly reviving him from death.

All of the adventurers enter the hall and find an enormous table, heavily laden with a magnificent feast. Familiar-looking warriors (berserkers the Silver Horn of Valhalla has summoned in the past) sit on some of the benches about the table already eating and drinking. Food and spirits are served by warrior men and women. Lakima has questions but Ragin bids them eat first. As the worn adventurers bite into the food and drink the ale they feel instantly refreshed and they look on in astonishment as their wounds and sore muscles heal right before them.

Once everyone is revitalized, Ragin tells them of the task. It is his job to guard the Bifrost bridge into Gladsheim. He keeps out those that are not allowed in Asgard but he cannot stop those who have the right to travel here. One day the dwarf Brokkir arrived in Gladsheim on the Bifrost bridge. Ragin questioned him on his business and discerned that the dwarf was being evasive. He also noted an invisible dwarf whom he did not recognize, following Brokkir. Suspicious of Brokkir’s intentions, Ragin summoned a Valkyrie and sent her to Brokkir’s forge in Midgard. The dwarf Brokkir is a weapon crafter of the greatest mastery and the Valkyrie found evidence that he had produced a weapon capable of killing a god. Ragin now went to the other gods, worried that Brokkir was headed to Jotunheim to sell the weapon to their enemies the giants. The other gods used their divination abilities but found they could not locate either of the dwarves. The dwarves must be using magic to remain hidden. Modan who could use his throne Hlidskialf to find anyone is away on one of his long trips to the prime material plane. Finally, Lodor the greatest warrior of the gods is away fighting giants somewhere in Jotunheim. Ragin cannot send the warriors of Valhalla or the Valkyries because that would start a war with the giants. The solution is to send a talented team of mortals to locate Brokkir. If he has indeed built a weapon for the giants then it needs to be brought to Asgard and Brokkir needs to be brought to justice. Ragin also would like to speak with the invisible dwarf and learn its intentions.

Ragin bids the adventurers to finish the feast and make use of the sleeping chambers on either side of the hall. Then he rises and leaves the hall to take up his post again at the Bifrost bridge.

Harmless misadventure

The players in my Swords & Wizardry campaign finished up my adapted Creature of Rhyl adventure a few weeks ago. I found the adventure to be uneven. It certainly did hit all of the highlights of an old-school game from the 1980s (not hard to do since it was published in 1981). The dungeon layout was designed to be difficult to map, which just comes across as annoying when you are playing online. Come to think of it, it was annoying back in the '80s as well when I ran my players through similar designs. At some point in the mapping back then, my players' hand-drawn maps would not match up correctly ("How can we be back in this room - it does not connect?"), and they would ask me to correct it for them. The adventure was also strange in that there were very few encounters. An evil wizard has used a pet White Dragon to kidnap a prince (in my game an Earl), and the players need to rescue the prisoner. But when they arrive the dungeon is almost deserted showing signs of a hasty departure. By the end of the adventure, they find that the prisoner starved to death a few weeks ago, and the White Dragon (or dragons in my case) has eaten the wizard.

The adventure ended in the first hour or two of our game so the players head to travel home. I had planned out a few optional encounters for the journey. Things they could investigate or ignore. It is important to give them the choice. But the players found a way to return quickly by a magic portal so I had to ad lib a little. I turned one of the travel encounters into local news and one of the players decided to investigate. But he did it alone, which was a mistake on his part.

Session 98: Search for the Earl of Lockeland

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Alrix (couatl sorcerer), Domago (human fighter), Flora (elven thief), Fenris the Filch (human thief NPC), Lantosh (human fighter NPC).

After another day of resting in the now foul-smelling dragon cave, Domago casts Speak with Dead again on the corpse of the wizard Astylis. The shade of the dread wizard rises again. The party has prepared this time, and they have thought of the questions to ask in advance. The shade tells them that the Earl of Lockeland was alive at least up to the point the shade perished. He tells them where to find the jail cells on the second level of the complex.

The party gets prepared to continue. Lakima tells the charmed White Dragon to go off and hunt. Armed with directions the party ascends the lift back up to the first level. They move the statue in the direction they think will open the correct passage. They open the door from the room and find a gelatinous cube blocking the entire passage. Lakima orders his efreeti servant to raise a Wall of Fire between them and the cube. Lakima then fires magic missiles at the cube. Eathwund shoots some arrows at it. Lakima turns to Alrix and asks him to use a magic missile as well. Alrix argues that it is a waste of magic but eventually relents and the cube is melted away to nothing. The wall of fire is dismissed and they find a new passage with a pit trap in it and a dead end. They try again turning the statue in a second direction and they find they have opened the wrong section of the level. On the third try, they get it correct and head to the exit. Near the exit, they find a side passage right where the shade told them to look. This leads to a stair headed down where they encounter a troop of goblins. The goblins are quickly dispatched, Eathwund killing the last one just as it attempts to surrender.

The lower level turns out to be a maze of passages. After a few turns, they run into three trolls. A Wall of Fire keeps the trolls at bay while Lakima casts lightning bolt. Two of the trolls are downed and burned into ash with flame and acid. The third troll runs away. Lantosh and Eathwund set out in pursuit of the troll and come across its mangled corpse a short distance away. Apparently killed by some other denizen of the maze.

Around the next corner, they are suddenly attacked out of the darkness by an enormous, intelligent bear-like creature standing on its hind legs (a Rothran). Darkness seems to cling to the creature. Lantosh, Eathwund, and Domago strike the creature with their magical weapons but they find that the creature seems to absorb the damage. Lakima realizes that the creature is immune to magic and he shouts this information out to everyone. Lakima then hurls 3 darts at the creature striking it near the eye. It howls in anger, pushes Eathwund to one side, and swipes at Lakima hitting him with both massive claws. Lakima is pushed back to the wall and his blood stains his blue robes. Lakima scrambles to get behind Eathwund’s shield and Eathwund expertly deflects more of the creature's attacks with his shield. Using non-magical weapons, they press the attack on the creature. Sling-stones fired by Lantosh and Domago, and Eathwund clubs the creature with his quarterstaff. The creature falls after being hit in the side of the head with a stone hurled by Domago. It collapses dead. Eathwund searches a satchel the creature was carrying and finds a magic hand ax, a scroll tube, and a pair of potions.

A short distance later they find a rough-hewn chamber filled with dark mist. They see a vaguely human shape in the center of the mist. Lakima tells the efreet to raise a Wall of Fire between the party and the mist. It seems to keep the mist at bay. Domago attempts to banish the mist with his holy symbol and prayer to St. Aleena. It does not work but Domago tells everyone that he can sense that the creature is undead. Suddenly, the creature turns ethereal and passes right through the Wall of Fire, and rematerializes in the middle of the party. It concentrates attacks on Eathwund with long misty, clawed hands. Eathwund keeps it at bay pushing the claws aside with his shield. The rest of the group helps Eathwund by striking the creature with magic weapons until it is banished.

The party continues in a northwest direction. Traversing long, boring corridors that seem to have no purpose. Flora and Fenris take the lead attempting to quietly sneak up on anything they might encounter. The corridors begin turning back in on themselves in a spiral, leading to a dead end. More winding passages lead to a more rough-hewn section. The marching order of the group has gotten spread out at this point as they have not encountered anything in an hour. They stumble on a Minotaur at a point where Domago is in the lead. The Minotaur attacks Domago while Eathwund and Lantosh rush up to help. The bull-like beast tries hitting Domago with its ax or goring him with its horns but Domago manages to avoid all of the attacks. The three warriors kill the minotaur with well-placed sword thrusts and strikes from Domago’s Maul.

The minotaur cave turns out to be a dead end so the group finds they have to backtrack through winding tunnels and corridors, over pits filled with rushing water, and through chambers. They get back to where they started. Three directions are open to them. Lakima chooses a direction but quickly decides they are again heading into the minotaur maze. They head back and chose another direction.

After another half hour of walking, they see an iron door set into the side of the passage. Flora and Fenris check the door and find it safe. Swinging it open they see a dark and foul prison chamber. There is only one occupant of the prison and he is not talking. An emaciated corpse sits against one wall with manacles about its wrists attached to the wall behind it. The corpse is dressed in what was once the fine clothing of a noble. Lakima moves in and notes the heraldry of the Earl of Lockeland on its breast. On the floor, an outstretched hand lies near where a ring has been used to scratch a message into the floor. The symbol of a human figure with a raised arm holding a sword. Beneath the arm is an arrow pointing downward.

“He left instructions on how to use the elevator,” Lakima says.

They collect the Earl’s signet ring and contemplate whether they need to bring the corpse to their contact to get paid. Lakima looks at the efreet who is already carrying an enormous mirror wrapped in a rug. It is apparent that the efreet servant cannot carry the mirror and the corpse.

“Can we stuff him in the Bag (of Holding)”, Eathwund asks.

They soon discover that the Earl’s corpse does indeed fit in the bag.

The party retraces their steps to the exit from the complex. It takes two days to trek overland from the complex in the foothills to the village of Leandra’s Row. The party has a few encounters on the way. At one point a pair of giant eagles follow them far above but they eventually lose interest. Returning to the village they head for the Red Smile Tavern. They do not immediately see Sir Angus their patron but some shouting by the barkeep brings the old noble down from his rooms. Sir Angus questions whether they succeeded.

“We have some good news, and some bad news to tell you,” Lakima says. Sir Angus learns that they recovered the items taken from the Royal Treasury and the Earl’s signet ring. But the Earl is dead. In fact, they have his corpse in their Bag of Holding. Sir Angus asks that they bring the corpse to the Abbey of St. Leandra where the sisters can arrange to place it in a proper coffin. The Earl’s corpse will be sent to Dolmvay. Sir Angus drafts a writ and signs it testifying to the fact that the Company of the Black Dragon has fulfilled the contract.

Lakima asks the party if they want to return to Edgerton the hard way or the easy way. All but a few immediately say they prefer the easy way. Lakima tells everyone to pack up and follow him to the bridge just outside the village. Once there Lakima drinks a potion of levitation and floats sixty feet straight up in the air. He then casts teleport and arrives at the Bridgeway, 125 miles to the east. Greeting the custodian of the bridge (Ezmeralden) he requests that the Bridgeway be opened to the bridge in Leandra’s Row.

Back in Leandra’s Row, the rest of the party sees a portal open at the far end of the bridge. They walk across and arrive at the Bridgeway. Then Lakima asks Ezmeralden to open a portal to High Town bridge in Edgerton. This he does, and the party waves goodbye to the custodian and walks across the bridge to arrive in Edgerton. The Vorloi Estate is a short distance away so the party decides to go directly to meet with Baron Vorloi. They are ushered into a Ballroom and the Baron hears their story about the Earl of Lockeland and the Creature of Rhyl. He accepts and checks the writ signed by Sir Angus. The Baron has a servant bring in a wooden coffer loaded with 8,000 gold coins. The agreed-upon amount for finding the Earl of Lockeland. The Baron then invites the company to stay for dinner. Over dinner, Lakima asks the Baron for a favor. An invitation for himself and his wife to a ball in Dolmvay hosted by Duke Robert. Baron Vorloi happily acquiesces, suggesting that Duke Robert would likely want to meet them. 

The Company returns to their Manor House in Edgerton. They learn that nothing particularly interesting has occurred while they have been away. The next day Lakima identifies all of the magic items found in the past few weeks of adventuring. Lakima goes to the Library of Antiquity to research the mirror they found. He learns that the mirror is actually a portal to another dimension where a Mirror Fiend awaits to trap unsuspecting victims. A few days later, Lakima heads over to the Mages Guild with his Efreeti servant carrying the Mirror. He has the mirror placed in his work area – still covered. Lakima also sits in on a beginner-level class to observe the students and teachers. He offers a potion to one of the students to drink. The student hesitantly accepts and drinks what turns out to be a potion of copper spewing. The sickened student throws up streams of copper coins while the other students laugh. Lakima cautions the students against laughing telling them that all magic can have unforeseen consequences.

Meanwhile, Alrix picks up some local broadsheets and learns that a fabled “feathered Serpent” has been reported to have returned to the hamlet of Deerford (the hook). He decides to head over to the Library of Antiquity and check the historical section. After paying the fee to browse the section he finds a book that describes the story of the couatl named Tlanextic who saved a small village from the effects of a deadly plague 40 years ago. The grateful villagers commissioned a beautifully carved statue of the couatl in gratitude. The couatl left but vowed to return if the villagers were ever threatened. The local broadsheets suggest that if Tlanextic has returned, the village or perhaps even the region must be in real peril.

Eathwund spends time at the Sign of the Purple Bugbear. One evening after having a few too many ales, he has difficulty sleeping and then experiences a life-like dream in which he confronted the Great Worm alone slashing it open with his sword Wormbane. But the black blood spilling from the wound he makes does not stop and he finds himself drowning in it. He awakens just as he drowns in his dream.

After several days, Alrix decides to visit the nearby village of Deerford to see if another of his race is indeed in the village. He is about to ask Domago to come with him but instead, he decides to change form and fly to Deerford which is only a few hours away to the northwest. Arriving near the tiny hamlet, he changes back to that his humanoid form and heads toward the hamlet. At the ford leading into the village, he is stopped by a local warden who requests a toll of 3 silver coins to enter the village. He heads toward the small chapel where the idol of Tlanextic is supposed to reside. A young priest tending a garden outside the chapel tells him that the idol was sent to a nearby old temple where Tlanextic now resides. He suggests heading there and gives Alrix directions.

It takes Alrix a few hours to reach the old temple. The temple is indeed ancient and little more than a ruin. Two wardens stand at the open doors and greet him. One asks for his name and his purpose in visiting. Alrix tells them his name and that he would like to meet Talnextic. One of the men loudly announces his name from the doorway and bids Alrix to enter. Alrix enters the ruin and finds that the roof is somewhat intact. Beams of sunlight poke through holes in the roof illuminating the interior. The air is filled with the smell of flowers and a hint of rot. Piles of cut flowers lay about a central altar. Atop the altar, basking in a ray of sunlight is a magnificent, feathered serpent, coiled atop the flowers. Alrix moves up to get a closer look as the feathered serpent raises its head and looks at him. Alrix just has time to realize that this is not a couatl, in fact, it has no wings, and what is that smell of rot in the air, when the creature uses its charm gaze on Alrix.

Alrix immediately realizes that this creature means him no harm even if it is not a couatl. In fact, he trusts this creature implicitly.

Back in Edgerton at supper, Lantosh asks, “Has anyone seen Alrix today?”