AI Assistance

With this latest session, we start into the 77th adventure of this Swords & Wizardry campaign. I just wanted to say a short word about how I find and prepare. At first, the campaign was about playing some classic dungeon. The first dungeon was In Search of the Unknown, and the second was the Ruined Abbey (Dungeon of the Fire Opal) from the 1st Edition DMG. In these cases, I re-wrote the adventures for the Swords & Wizardry rules and to account for my player's characters. Later I went through re-writes of a lot of Swords & Wizardry adventures published by Creations Edge Games. Recently, I have used the plot and bare bones of a number of Advanced Adventures from Expeditious Retreat Press. All were rewritten to fit our play style. A few adventures covered specific events in the campaign.

As the player characters get into higher levels (9-12) this has been a lot harder. I did run some adventures designed for high level and I modified some mid-level adventures to be high-level. Now I am running out of adventures that I think will work. For one thing, high-level adventures often have plots that involve "saving the world". I do not want to save the world to become blase for the players.

The latest adventure (and the next 2 I have written) were suggested by AI (ChatGPT). I do not mean that the AI wrote them. What I did is use a series of prompts like, "Suggest a plot for an adventure for my dungeons and dragons group involving a hydra". Then I refined the prompt until I had the basics of a plot in a few paragraphs. All that remains is to draw the maps and fill and write up the adventure. This is how "The Hydra's Heart" came into being.

Session 132: The Hydra’s Heart

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Alrix (couatl sorcerer), Aldus (human cavalier), Domago (human cleric NPC), Brovin (human thief NPC), Ian of Darkhollow (human cavalier Alt-PC), Apprentice August (human magic-user Alt-PC)

The members of the Company of the Black Dragon are resting and recovering in the town of Edgerton their current home.

Lakima goes into the town’s artisan street looking for a skilled glassblower. He finds such an artisan in Marcel Kubik. Lakima explains that he needs ground and polished lenses of a certain size in a platinum setting. Marcel quotes a price of 1,200 gold which Lakima happily accepts. That night while sleeping in the manor Aldus, Eathwund, and Lakima have bad dreams. Eathwund awakens in the middle of the night from a dream in which he kept falling into a pit, Aldus dreams that a stone golem snaps his sword in two leaving him defenseless to its huge stone fists, and Lakima dreams he is in a room full of fine sand deep underground when he falls into a sandpit and is dragged under.

When the sun rises Lakima finds his wife Alayna in the water closet scrubbing her hands repeatedly. She complains of a bad dream in which she spilled acid on her hands. Lakima asks other companions over breakfast about their sleep and each tells him of troubling dreams. Only Alrix had an untroubled night. Even the staff at the manor tell their employers of troubling dreams.

Suspecting that the dreams might portent some evil threatening their home Lakima checks with some neighbors finding they also had bad dreams. He suggests going to the Dwarven or Elven embassies to check with them. Lakima, Eathwund, Alrix, Domago, and Brovin head over to the Elven Embassy. The elves tell them that they had just sent a messenger to the manor asking for a meeting. They immediately take them in to speak to Wynather, the elvish ambassador. Before Wynather can explain why he wanted to see them, Lakima asks if the elves were troubled by nightmares. Wynather is puzzled and professes to know nothing about troubled dreams.

Eventually, Wynather asks them if they would recover a magical artifact taken from a high elven village by a hydra. The village is in Haven (Kingswood) and is populated mainly by elves from the feywild who have come back to the area now that Princess Argenta has returned. The object stolen is called the Heart of Radiance. When questioned, Wynather explains some of the objects reported powers. These include warding from negative energy. Alrix wonders aloud if this artifact could have something to do with the nightmares people have reported.

Lakima tells Wynather that they will get back to him with an answer in a few days. He suggests checking with locals at a nearby village some miles from Edgerton. Aldus and Ian join them as they ride out to Easthollow. This is a small farming village. Arriving in the village they make their way toward what appears to be a tavern. The tavern keeper Clafin tells them no one has had bad dreams here.

“No bad dreams here – except for Bif” he says.

He points out the village drunk. But he admits Bif always has bad dreams. The company stops for some drinks and then rides back to Edgerton. Lakima and Alrix head over to see Wynather again and tell him they will try to recover the Heart of Radiance. Wynather re-introduces them to Sienna a wood elf ranger they had met a few times before. She will lead them to Willowbrook, the elven village that is difficult to find for non-elves.

The next day Sienna arrives with her horse ready to ride.

“We will be flying not riding,” Lakima tells Sienna, and then points out the flying ship hovering over the manor. Sienna’s horse is taken to a nearby stable. The entire company boards the flying ship and set out for the Kingswood. Sienna clearly enjoying the trip takes a position on the bow leaning out over the railings to direct them. At one point they see a golden eagle following them but when Alrix calls out to it in a few different languages it dives down out of sight. Soon they arrive in Willowbrook.

Sienna introduces the company to Alric, the village loremaster, and to Daemarin the town elder. They tell the company about the hydra attack two weeks earlier. The evidence is clear to see. One section of the wall of the village hall where the artifact was kept is torn open. There are large tracks leading into the woods and trees and undergrowth have been pushed aside or flattened. As her task is complete, Sienna says her goodbyes and leaves the village.

Lakima suggests Brovin (the party's new trap finder) lead the way following the tracks left by the hydra. Looking at the obvious trail Brovin states that anyone could follow this trail. They follow the trail for a mile until it reaches a swift-flowing wide stream. There is no indication of what direction the hydra went.

“Maybe it was a wizard that polymorphed or teleported away,” Alrix suggests.

Lakima says that Alrix’s suggestion might be the case but more likely it just headed into the stream to hide its tracks. Alrix suggests that all of this behavior does not sound like that of a hydra.

“Hydra are simple-minded beasts,” Alrix says.

Lakima uses the arrow of direction and asks for the location of the hydra they are tracking.

“We should have asked for the Heart of Radiance,” Alrix says.

The arrow points downstream so they follow the stream. After half a mile they see a clear, recent trail smashed through the underbrush on the other side of the stream. They cross the stream and pick up the new trail. After a few miles, they see a large circular cave mouth. The cave entrance has been recently widened and stones excavated from the cave are piled outside the opening.

Lakima waves at Brovin and tells him to lead the way. Brovin complains about the darkness so Lakima casts light on Brovin’s sword. He also casts light on the top of his staff. August has the continual flame staff that already casts light.

Brovin leads them down the wide tunnel checking the floor carefully. They pass three narrow side tunnels but decide to stick to the main tunnel. The tracks of the hydra clearly head down this central tunnel. As they near a bend in the tunnel Brovin signals for silence and hand signals a large cave ahead. The lights from the spells reveal the entrance to a cave full of animal bones and debris. Alrix whispers a warning that he can see an enormous hydra with many heads (he cannot tell how many) resting with some eyes open and some closed. It is far bigger than any hydra he has seen before.

“What do we do?” Alrix asks.

Lakima shrugs, and says “fireball?”

Alrix summons a ball of fire and directs it into the chamber to strike atop the surprised creature. There is an enormous blast of flame followed by a large cloud of smoke. They can see movement in the smoke and when it clears they see the hydra’s body thrashing about. They see a number of heads, perhaps all of them, have been burned off of the hydra. As they watch heads begin to grow out of the blackened stumps. This is all that Eathwund and Aldus need. They both rush forward to hack away at still-forming heads. Ian the squire joins them. Lakima throws some darts but they have little effect. Eathwund is bitten by a newly formed head, as is Lakima, and August. But the fighters manage to chop off the remaining heads and the creature finally ceases moving.

Domago casts healing on Lakima and August. Alrix tosses aside a bent shield he is standing near and discovers a cloth bag full of gems, and coins. Alrix suggests tipping the hydra over to look under it. The dead hydra is lying on a heap of animal bones. Brovin suggests looking in its stomach for the Heart of Radiance. He cuts open the hydra but finds only the remains of a deer in its stomach. After much effort, Eathwund and Aldus manage to move the enormous corpse of the hydra so that everyone can look underneath it but there is nothing to find.

“It's not here”, Lakima says. “Let me try the Arrow.”

Using the Arrow of Direction Lakima asks for the location of the Heart of Radiance. The arrow does not move. This has happened before when the thing they wanted to find either did not exist or was warded from detection. Lakima suggests checking another tunnel. Brovin leads that way down a narrow tunnel that circles back onto the main tunnel near the entrance. They try another tunnel that leads to a small cave where they find the remnants of a recent camp. Under an overturned empty crate, Eathwund stumbles upon a torn piece of parchment with part of a note written on it. He cannot make sense of the cursive script. Lakima examines it and sees it is written in Elvish. He reads it out to everyone:

“…retrieve the Heart of Radiance for me and then

we can be together my love. My heart cannot

rest until we are together again. I whisper

Kaelin the fair on the wind.”

Lakima asks if anyone knows a Kaelin. The name sounds elvish so they decide to return to Willowbrook to ask. As the sun begins to set, they arrive back in Willowbrook. Alric says that Kaelin was the former loremaster before him. She used to spend a lot of time in the forest for weeks at a time. Eventually, she wandered off and never returned. That was two years ago. He tells them that she used to spend a lot of time at the Temple of Whispers a few miles from the village. He suggests looking for clues there.

Since the night is approaching, the elves offer the company the hospitality of the village. They have a guest cottage well outside the center of the village. Inside is a small kitchen and plenty of beds for the company. Eathwund tells the crew of the flying ship that they are staying in a cottage for the night. The crew elects to stay on the ship.

The next day Alric introduces the company to a mature elven woman named Elysia Silverwind – the best ranger in the village. Elysia tells them that she can lead them quickly and safely to the temple. She tells them that it is a human-built temple that must have been raised during the years when the elves left Kingswood.

Elysia leads them quickly through the maze of animal trails in the woods. At one point they circle around an area when Elysia warns of an owlbear. After almost two hours they see the ruins of the temple rising above the trees. The temple is overgrown with vines and only the walls remain. The roofs have long since collapsed. Brovin carefully leads the way entering the temple. In the nave, they find a large statue of a woman with long, wild hair. Domago moves up to look at it more closely.

“I believe this is Merriva,” he says, “A goddess of the wind”.

As he is looking over the statue, a dead tree that appears to have grown up out of the stone floor suddenly shifts and lashes out at Domago. He is startled but gets his shield up in time to block the strike. Domago cries out in surprise. The other adventurers see what happened and run to help Domago. Eathwund and Aldus attack with their swords. Alrix uses the Sword of Dancing to chop off branches of the tree. The animated tree lashes out with multiple branches.

“It’s a Ygg!” Elysia shouts.

The adventurers hack away at the tree until Ian and Aldus coordinate their attacks and smash through the central trunk. The tree topples over in a heap on the stone floor.

“What did you call it, a Ygg?” Alrix asks Elysia. Elysia explains that a Ygg is a magical tree from the feywild. Usually encountered in the area controlled by Winter.

“I suspected that,” Lakima says.

Meanwhile, Brovin has been listening at a nearby wood door. He motions for silence and then whispers that he can hear a woman sobbing on the other side. Aldus shoves the door open and they look into a chapel. The roof is still intact over the altar. Kneeling before the altar is a white-haired elven woman.

“Kaelin!” Elysia exclaims and runs forward to the woman. The woman starts when the name is shouted and then stands up and turns towards them. Her eyes are red from crying. She reaches out and then chants a few words and there is a burst of light which strikes Elysia knocking her out cold.

“All is not lost,” she says, “Perhaps your death will win me his favor.” She looks over the company arrayed before her with a look of madness in her eyes.

Death of Fenris

 A beloved NPC thief who has been the party's trap finder for the past 46 adventures or 90 or so sessions died (permanently this time) in this session. Fenris (the filch) was meant to be a member of an opposing adventuring party but through circumstances ended up joining the player's party. Fenris tripped many traps over the years but the players had, in the past, been able to revive him. They also gave him every trap-avoiding magical item that they came across. In session 128 Fenris fell into a pit and was killed but his body was stuffed in a Bag of Holding until the party could find time to use Raise Dead upon him. Fenris had other plans (failed his raise dead roll) and his spirit did not return to his body.

In this session, the leader of the team once more showed incredible common sense and insisted the party leave the dungeon once the goal was accomplished. Leaving me with half a dungeon written up that never got explored. Once they returned home I had to wrap things up early because I had not expected this evening to end so quickly.

Session 131: Rescue

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Alrix (couatl sorcerer), Aldus (human cavalier), Domago (human cleric NPC), Ian of Darkhollow (human cavalier NPC), Apprentice August (human magic-user NPC)

In their search for the missing explorers from Valnwall, the trail has led to the ruins of Muhatia on a desolate plane. The adventurers approach a 100-foot square black monolith rising out of the sand. Near its base, they spot a pair of tattered tents.

The company approaches the black monolith and stands in its shadow. A giant red glowing rune lights the side of the black stone looming over them. They move about the two abandoned tents and find crates of spoiled rations and an empty barrel. It is clear that the camp was set up by the missing explorers. A few traces of footprints are still visible in the sand leading about the camp and up to the stone wall. Lakima uses the wand of secret door detection and finds the outline of a massive 10-foot square doorway on the side of the monolith. A trigger is also visible. He triggers the door and a stone block moves to one side grinding sand out of the way. A dark passage leads down steps inside the monolith. After a brief discussion with Lakima, Alrix instructs the woolly mammoth to follow them into the monolith.

Ian the squire lights a lantern and Aldus and Eathwund lead the way down into the stone vault. Domago pauses to cast detect traps. As they near the bottom of the debris-covered steps Domago shouts out a warning of a pit trap at the bottom. Aldus and Eathwund step around the area Domago warns is a trap. They find themselves in a chamber of grey stone. There is a metal door in the wall before them flanked by two tall stone statues. One is of some forgotten lord or king and the other depicts the familiar camel-headed human god they have seen before. The statues have shining gold adornments on their heads and each holds gold items in their stony grasps. The king holds a golden rod while the statue of the god holds a golden ankh. Eathwund examines the door and finds that there are no locks, handles, or hinges. The rest of the group makes their way into the chamber avoiding the trapped floor. Alrix uses hand signals and pushes the mammoth until it is convinced to step around the trapped floor. Lakima instructs August, who is still wearing the Cursed Helm of Free Action, to use a knock spell on the door. The spell works and the door slides to one side revealing a narrow hallway leading to another metal door. Domago checks using his magically enhanced perception and declares the hallway safe.

The door at the end of the hall also proves to be locked. August uses another knock spell to open it. The door slides open revealing an octagonal chamber with no other exits. The chamber is empty. Aldus steps inside the chamber and Ian shines the lantern inside. The walls are covered with painted murals that are only slightly faded. Footprints are visible in the dust and sand on the floor. The adventurers all move through the doorway into the chamber. Domago is intrigued by the murals and examines them. The murals chronicle a war between two peoples. One is depicted as wise and noble and one is shown as primitive and brutish. Clearly, the architects of the structure have depicted themselves in the best light. The murals show the enemy people praying and receiving aid from an avatar of a god who is shown as a giant human with the head of a hippopotamus. The builders of this structure are shown trapping the avatar in a metal coffin that leads to their victory.

Lakima uses the wand of secret door detection and finds that each of the walls has a secret door – seven in all. There is no sign of a trigger to open the doors. Lakima steps up to one of the walls that the footprints lead to and he places his hand on the stone. Immediately a glowing portal opens in the wall showing a stone passage. An elderly woman dressed in robes stands in the passage not 15 feet away. She looks up startled and starts to back away.

“Windmaster!” she yells.

Lakima tries to calm the woman telling her that they are here to rescue her. A few seconds later Windmaster Bryan Sturlaker comes running around a corner and enters the hall at the far end.

“Lakima?” he says, “Quick, Meika jump through the portal!”

The woman (Meika) and Bryan quickly run forward and leap through the opening into the chamber. They stand panting. Bryan looks about puzzled as he spots the mammoth towering in the chamber. He greets Eathwund and Aldus. Once he has caught his breath, he tells them he has been trapped in the hallway for 3 days. He asks about the other explorers from Valnwall but is told they have not been found.

Lakima explains to Bryan that Ezmeralden and Nissa asked them to find him. Now that they have found them, he wishes to leave this realm as quickly as possible. It takes some convincing from Bryan to get Lakima to agree to look for the other explorers. Bryan explains that the corridor he was in led to a chamber where he had to destroy clay constructs. There was a door in the chamber but he could not get it open. The structure they are in is warded against dimensional magic. A knock spell also did not work on the door. When they went back to try another secret door, they found that the passage had closed behind them. He suspects that each of the seven doors leads to another challenge that must be overcome but he has not divined the purpose of the structure.

Now that they have decided to continue the search, they pick another door. Lakima opens it and they see another stone passage. This one has a stair leading down. To avoid getting trapped on the other side of the portal, Meika is left behind in the chamber to open the door if it closes. The mammoth is left behind with instructions to protect her. Domago casts Detect traps again.

With Domago in the lead warning of any dangers, they move down the stone steps and enter a hall that enters from the left. They see a metal door that is partially ajar with a dim flickering light shining through the gap.

“Baris?” Bryan calls out.

The door soon swings completely open and they meet six of the missing explorers from Valnwall. They appear hungry and thirsty and three of their number are injured. Domago moves forward and begins to tend to the injured. Bryan walks over to Baris and grabs him by the shoulders for a hug.

Baris explains that the explorers made their way to this structure which he calls “the god prison”. They explored three of the secret doors and two of their number were killed and two injured. He points to a pit in the center of the chamber. A pillar in the middle of the pit has a crown upon it. Four pillars extend from floor to ceiling. Baris tells them that the pit is blocked by an invisible barrier. Once they found they could not get past it they headed back to the octagonal chamber but found the door had closed behind them. This had not happened in the other two chambers they checked previously. The doors stayed open for several days. They found they were trapped and Baris was unable to pass the door because the structure is warded to prevent spells like dimension door or passwall from working.

“Do you know what this is, Windmaster!” Baris tells Bryan excitedly.

Bryan indicates he has not discerned the purpose of the structure. Baris tells them that from the writings he has deciphered the mages of Muhatia imprisoned the god Menepta here or at least its avatar. They then used the god's power to destroy their enemies. Baris tells Bryan that the knowledge and power in the structure must be immeasurable. He is eager to explore it more now that Bryan has brought more mercenaries.

“Hold on!”, Lakima exclaims, “we are not hired mercenaries.”

Lakima explains the interest of the Company of the Black Dragon in being here. They have only come on a rescue mission and they feel that they have accomplished their mission.

“You are welcome to stay, but we,” Lakima points to the company, “are leaving.”

Baris and Bryan try arguing with Lakima about the merits of exploring, promising magic knowledge and treasure but their arguments are not persuasive enough. Eventually, even Bryan agrees that they should head back to the portal to Valnwall. The group heads back to the chamber where Meika waits. Some of the explorers are startled by the presence of the mammoth in the chamber but Alrix sets them at ease. The entire group makes their way back outside into the desert. Baris and his company pack up the tents and they set out following the stone markers of the ancient road.

They pass the palace of the undead a few hours later. Baris tells them that his team decided to avoid it as they had heard it was populated by many of the undead. Lakima tells them of some of the company's adventures in the ruins. Later that evening they set up their camp with the mercenaries providing a watch. Despite this, the adventurers decide to set their own watch. Overnight a sandstorm buffets the camp for several hours before subsiding. They find that the winds have transformed the desert landmarks but the road markers are still visible. It takes another day for them to reach the village of Zentrium.

In Zentrium they are greeted warmly and again Jabari offers them the hospitality of his home. Over a meager dinner, Lakima tells his hosts about the Tomb of Zoser. Jabari tells him that Zoser was a legendary king who united their tribes. Lakima suggests that the destruction of Zoser’s mummy might bring water back to the land. His hosts are skeptical.

The next day the group reaches the bridge in the desert. Lakima explains that they left a crystal ball with Ezmeralden. As he is explaining this the bridgeway hums to life revealing a portal back to their world. They cross and arrive back in the Kings’ wood.

Lakima is eager to get back to Edgerton so they say their goodbyes. Bryan thanks each member of the company and promises to repay them someday. Lakima suggests that he find a good keeper for Nissa. 

The rotting corpse of Fenris is removed from the bag of holding and placed on a grass-covered hill. Domago attempts to raise Fenris from the dead. After a few hours of praying Domago gives up and admits defeat.

“I could not reach him,” he says dejectedly.

A grave is dug and Fenris is buried on the hillside near the bridge. A simple wood marker over the grave. The adventurers lift their flying ship and fly back to Edgerton.

In Edgerton, the group settles in at the Manor. Alayna learns of Fenris’ death. Lakima pays for flyers to be sent out advertising a new trap finder for the Company of the Black Dragon. Potential recruits to inquire at the Sign of the Purple Bugbear tavern. He and Eathwund go to a locksmith and purchase his most secure lock. The locksmith proudly shows them a lock worth 150 gold which he proclaims cannot be opened without the key. Lakima purchases it. They bring the lock to the tavern and ask applicants to pick the lock to show their skills. Over a dozen “locksmiths” try without success. Old Pete, the owner of the Bronze Key tavern, is able to open it. He requests the 500-gold prize that was offered. Lakima pays him but also asks if Pete would like to join the Company of the Black Dragon. Pete, who is a portly man in his fifties declines the offer. But he does recommend a “specialist” called Brovin Laughingman. He tells them that he will inform the Laughingman of the offer of employment. Later that day Lakima uses magic to identify the items they found in Zoser’s tomb. The scimitar that Zoser is found to be a foul device that steals souls. It is given to Domago so he can arrange for its safekeeping in the church vaults.

Aldus finds that he cannot approach any horses. Any horse he comes near to try to move away from him. Some horses kick out at him or try to bite him. He realizes he is suffering from a curse from the tomb of Zoser. Once he tells the others, Lakima casts remove curse on him and the issue is solved.

The next day a hooded man appears in the manor house main hall having bypassed the locks on the front door.

“Are you Brovin Laughingman?” Lakima asks him.

The man answers in a flat voice that he is Brovin. He does not answer to Laughingman. He is a man of few words and a taciturn manner. Lakima offers him Fenris’ former room and all of the gear Fenris had on him when he died to join the company. Brovin takes a little convincing but he agrees.