Undead and drained levels

I am 4 weeks behind in my session write-ups because it is summer and I took a vacation. I prefer to write this up shortly after we played so topics are fresh in my mind. So today I will just talk about Undead in the campaign.

But first, a recap that the player characters are exploring my adventure The Hydra's Heart that is original although the suggestion or plot hook came from ChatGPT.

In this session, the player characters encountered and fairly easily dispatched some wraiths. Undead that can drain levels have been very rare in this three-year campaign. I have never felt comfortable draining experience from player characters. The few times it happened the reaction of the player was hard to predict. Remember that I run an online game with people I never knew before they joined the game. One former player lost a level to a Velya with aplomb. Did not bother them in the slightest. Other players have made it known that they would not accept being drained a level feeling it unfair. Since the whole point of gaming is entertainment I am not going to use a mechanic that angers the players.

I have settled on making a level drain temporary. The drained level can be regained through bed rest. I can rationalize this by thinking that a character losing abilities does not make a lot of sense. I forget where I picked up this concept. It was on a blog post somewhere.

Session 133: Winter Elves

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)

The Company of the Black Dragon has been asked to retrieve an artifact called the Heart of Radiance from a Hydra for the elves of Willowbrook. Accompanied by an elven guide named Elysia Silverwind they killed the Hydra but did not find the artifact. Clues led them to the Temple of Whispers deep in the Kingswood. In the Temple, they encountered the missing Loremaster Kaelin who attacked Elysia and appears to have gone mad.

“She’s gone mad – attack her!” Lakima shouts.

Eathwund and Aldus run into the altar chamber and approach Kaelin who stands on a raised platform. Kaelin chants a spell and flagstones on the floor are tossed aside as skeletons of the long dead drag themselves up from where they were buried beneath the church floor. A line of six skeletons stands between the adventurers and Kaelin.

Lakima casts Feeblemind at Kaelin but he feels a weakened version of the spell bounce back at him – he successfully withstands the enchantment and realizes that Kaelin has also withstood the spell. Eathwund quickly smashes three of the skeletons menacing him to bits. Aldus manages to knock down one. Domago chants a quick prayer to St. Aleena and attempts to cast Hold person on Kaelin but it also fails and he feels it reflected back upon himself – he successfully resists his own spell.

“Spells are reflecting off of her!” Domago warns.

Alrix fires two arrows striking the mad elf in the shoulder and arm. She backs away and tries to take cover behind the altar. Eathwund now moves forward following her. Before he can get closer – Kaelin summons a Lightning Bolt that strikes Domago, Ian, and Lakima. All three are badly injured. Then a mound of rotting vegetation near Aldus erupts and a humanoid form of weeds moves and attacks Aldus.

“It’s a Shambling Mound!” Alrix yells.

Domago knocks down one of the two remaining skeletons but Aldus is attacked by the mound and slashed at by the last skeleton. Eathwund advances grimly on the mad elven woman. Stepping up to her he stabs her in the side. She screams in anger and prepares another spell, just then an arrow launched by Alrix strikes her directly in the throat and she collapses in a dead heap.

The shambling mound and the skeleton continue to attack Aldus. Aldus dispatches the forest creature and Eathwund crushes the last skeleton.

“Check her body for the Heart,” Lakima shouts to Eathwund.

Eathwund checks the dead elf’s body but only finds a silver ring on her finger. She has no other possessions other than simple clothing. Lakima approaches and casts Detect Magic. The only magic item on the dead elf is the ring so he yanks it off of her hand and puts it in the pouch of holding.

“Looks’ like a wedding ring,” he says.

Elysia who is just getting to her feet aided by Domago tells the group that Kaelin was never married. Aldus walks over to Elysia and asks her if she is okay. Elysia tells the knight that she was just knocked out by whatever spell Kaelin cast upon her. Aldus sincerely pledges to protect Elysia from further harm and is rewarded with a smile from the elven ranger.

Unable to find the Heart of Radiance on Kaelin, Lakima asks for suggestions. He searches the altar but finds nothing. Brovin suggests searching some of the other rooms of the temple. They search through a small sleeping quarter that Kaelin was clearly using but find only clothes. The next room has a set of steps that must lead down into the crypt.

Elysia shivers and looks about at the adventurers. She claims to hear the whispers of the dead coming up from the crypt. No one else appears to be able to hear anything.

“It’s why we call this the Temple of Whispers,” Elysia says. She tells the group that she will stand watch above ground in the Temple. She does not wish to follow them below. Aldus assures her that she will be safe here.

With Elysia left above the group descends into a dark crypt. Lakima and August light the way with Light spells. They find some ancient wooden casks in the chamber and a door leading into more passages. Lakima tells Brovin to take the lead.

“It’s dark and I cannot see a thing,” Brovin complains.

Lakima casts light on Brovin’s longsword. Brovin waves the glowing weapon about and then reluctantly leads the way. Looking down at the floor Eathwund spots bootprints going back and forth across the chamber floor. Brovin leads them down a corridor and into a natural tunnel. He moves as quietly as he can but clearly does not come close to the skill of the previous trap finder. Brovin holds up his hand and motions to Eathwund. Telling the fighter that there are frogmen in the tunnel ahead. Eathwund notices how cold the tunnel has become as he sees his breath in the glowing light.

“Frogmen, Let’s attack!” Aldus says and readies his sword and shield. Alerted by the light and noise the frogmen look blankly toward the adventurers.

“Now hold on just a moment,” Alrix says just as Lakima hurls a fireball into the group of frogmen. There is a loud explosion and smoke and debris boil from the cave up the tunnel. As the smoke clears, they see one frogman limping away from them and several blackened corpses lying on the ground. Aldus and Eathwund rush in pursuit and are blocked by two more frogmen who ambush them from a side tunnel. Aldus gets bitten once by one of the frog creatures but he and Eathwund are able to dispatch both.

“Are we sure they were not friendly?” Alrix scolds.

Lakima shrugs and points out that they are not friendly now. He tells Brovin and Eathwund to follow the bloodstained tracks on the floor and hurry after the escaping creature before it warns others. Eathwund follows the prints to a small cave that has a deep spring pool of water. They decide to move on. Following natural tunnels to an intersection, Brovin leads them back into a dungeon chamber. In this chamber, there is a strange statue of a female god with wild hair and outstretched arms.

“That is Merriva, goddess of the west wind,” Domago tells them.

There are several doors from the chamber and they wait while Brovin carefully checks them for traps. Suddenly, a gust of almost hurricane-force winds blasts through the chamber – seemingly coming from the statue. They all brace themselves and soon the wind dies down and disappears.

“Clearly meant to blow out the torches and lanterns of tomb robbers,” Lakima says, “be on your guard.”

Aldus applies his shoulder to a wood door and forces it open revealing a long, dark chamber and four wooden coffins lying on the floor. The entire area appears undisturbed for years.

“It’s undisturbed so we won’t find the artifact here,” Lakima says and directs Brovin to another door.

“Wait, what about treasure,” Aldus says, “that’s part of our quest!”

Lakima shrugs and waves for Aldus to do as he likes. Eathwund also enters the chamber. Aldus moves the coffin nearest to him and pries up the lid. Inside is a skeleton wrapped in rotting green robes. There is no treasure but a wraith-like form rises up out of the coffin and swings a misty dark hand at Aldus and misses. Three more wraiths rise up from nearby coffins and Eathwund and Aldus duck and weave to miss their attacks. Domago says a quick prayer to St. Aleena and then presents his holy symbol. Divine light spills out over the wraiths and they move back cowering from the priest. Undeterred, Aldus attacks with his sword and dispatches two of the wraiths. Eathwund also dispatches two while avoiding their deadly touch.

“Facing wraiths in melee is not wise,” Alrix says to the pair of fighters.

Aldus searches all of the coffins but finds only skeletons wrapped in rotted clothing. Brovin finishes checking the other wooden door but finds it is stuck shut. Eathwund comes over and shoves it open. It swings into a dark corridor that ends in a dead end. Shining the light from his sword about Brovin reveals a small wooden chest with a scattering of gold coins lying on the floor about it. Lakima joins them.

“That is obviously a trap,” Lakima says and then turns to Brovin, “Open it.”

Brovin argues a little but then moves to check the chest. Once he is sure it is safe, he gets to work on the lock. With a loud click, he opens the chest and is flung backward. Lying on the floor with his arms and legs held tightly by invisible bonds, his mouth open but not making any sound – his eyes full of terror. Only Eathwund is able to see that ethereal bindings cover the thief’s hands, ankles, and mouth. He tells Lakima who casts Dispel Magic.

“Aaahhhh!” Brovin lets out a loud scream once the magic trap is dispelled.

The contents of the chest are disappointing. Only 23 gold coins which Brovin dutifully scoops up. The group decides to check the stone statue of the god Merriva. They find that it can be twisted at the middle which opens a secret panel in its back. Inside Aldus finds a fine steel and silver mace decorated with images of lightning and storm clouds. He offers it to Domago but the priest declines indicating that he carries a mace that once belonged to his patron saint.

The group moves on and heads back the way they came and heads down the natural tunnel once again until they reach a large cavern. Chilly air blows up from the cavern. A simple wood ladder leads down from the ledge they stand on six feet above the cavern floor. Patches of ice can be seen below. Aldus climbs down and moves forward. He is joined by Alrix who immediately spots a troop of hidden blue-skinned Elves perched on a far ledge twelve feet above the cavern floor. A pair of arrows are fired by the elves, one strikes the ground near Alrix, and another nicks Aldus on the forearm. But no further arrows are fired and Alrix has time to climb back up on the ledge with the others to let them know about the elves he calls winter elves.

“Parlay?” Lakima calls out in elvish.

The leader of the Winter elves responds asking them to leave their caves as they are trespassing. They realize that it was not intentional so they will allow the adventurers to go in peace. Lakima questions the leader about the Heart of Radiance. He claims to know nothing about it. When asked about Kaelin above in the temple he claims that they do not go above to the surface. Aldus angrily shouts out that he wishes to challenge the elf who fired the arrow that struck him. Alrix suggests they remain calm, there is no need to start a fight they will regret. But Lakima relays Aldus’ challenge in elvish. The elves are not amused and demand that they leave immediately or face death.

Just then Alrix spots a pack of winter wolves running toward Aldus on the cavern floor.

“Winter wolves, look out!” Alrix shouts and casts a fireball high in the air in the cavern near the ledge. An enormous ball of fire explodes in the cavern, blasting the elves on the ledge and the winter wolves. Several of the wolves fall and the remaining wolf retreats. The elves pull the ladder to their ledge up. Eathwund invokes the enchantment on his armor and steps into the ethereal. He flies across the chamber and materializes amongst the winter elves lashing out at them with his sword. Lakima shouts to Aldus and throws him a potion of levitation. Aldus drinks the potions and ascends into the air. He then drifts across the cavern and lands lightly on the far ledge to attack the winter elves. A tough melee ensues. Both Eathwund and Aldus are outnumbered and attacked on all sides.

The elven leader casts an ice storm spell enveloping Lakima and Ian on the ledge and Domago and Alrix who have climbed down into the cavern. The deadly ice pummels them for several seconds inflicting cuts and wounds. Alrix casts a magic missile hitting the elven leader. Lakima attempts to disintegrate the elven leader but the spell fails. More winter wolves emerge and attack Domago and Ian. Alrix then casts a magic missile again striking the leader a second time. The elven leader raises a fog cloud obscuring the far ledge so that Lakima and Alrix cannot hurl spells at him.

“You will have to do better than that!” Alrix shouts and with a mighty blow of hair from his lungs casts control winds blowing the fog away so they can see the fight again. The elven leader unleashes another ice storm. This one knocks down Ian unconscious and kills the remaining winter wolves.

Alrix shouts at Aldus to get away from the ledge and Aldus grabs Eathwund and the pair float away from the ledge. The elves sheath their swords and ready bows. Then Alrix waves his arms above his head until he has built up a swirling maelstrom of winds. With a single wave, the hurricane-force winds strike the elves on the ledge flinging them like rag dolls against the wall. All of the elves lie prone and unmoving. He also blows the ladder off of the ledge and down onto the floor.

Aldus climbs up the ladder onto the ledge to investigate and finds all of the elves but one is dead. The remaining live one angrily says a curse at him in elvish. Lakima climbs up and searches the body leader. When he removes the leader’s simple necklace of black stones an illusion is broken and he finds he is holding the necklace with the Heart of Radiance.

“Found it!” Lakima says excitedly.

Aldus takes the swords from the dead elves. Lakima casts detect magic and finds that none of the swords are magical but they are of fine quality and have a unique appearance. Lakima does take the time to tie up the elf. He pens a warning in elvish on a blank parchment and pins it to the elf’s chest. Eathwund searches a side chamber and finds what is clearly a magical portal with cold mist pouring from it. Lakima checks the portal and decides it must lead to the winter half of the feywild.

Deciding they have what they came for the group heads back to the surface and finds Elysia unguard and unharmed. Aldus tells her of his brave exploits. Elysia leads them back to the elven village. They arrive in the early evening having had to make a detour around a pack of wild boars. In the village, the Loremaster Alric greets them warmly and takes the Heart of Radiance to be returned to safekeeping. The village leader asks them to stay for a banquet in their honor. Lanterns full of fireflies are strung between the trees and large tables are brought out. Soon the tables are full of elven fare – vegetables, fruits, and even venison. Aldus sits next to Elysia and attempts to court her. When he gets her alone near her cottage, he asks her to join the Company and move to Edgerton. She smiles and declines telling him that her place is in the village. Then she says goodnight.

The following day the elves pack the company meals for their trip and say goodbye. Aldus leaves a jeweled necklace in a small sack at Elysia’s door for the elven woman is no where to be found. The group boards their flying ship and sets sail for Edgerton. The group arrives before noon. Landing they make their way into the Manor and everyone heads off to their rooms. Domago does take the time to heal Lakima and August. But he is out of healing spells and suggests Aldus go to the Church of St. Cuthbert. Lakima finds that his wife Alayna is in a particularly foul mood. She complains of a bad nightmare the night before. Other staff in the manor also complain of trouble sleeping.

Lakima tells Aldus he will join him on walking over to the Church of St. Cuthbert. They find the church busy with worshippers. Abbot Marta does make time for them and heals the wounds of Aldus and his squire Ian. Aldus makes a large donation to the coffers of the church. Lakima asks Marta about the nightmares townsfolk are having. Marta confirms that it is widespread in the human population of the town. He did commune with St. Cuthbert earlier in the day and had a vision of a gigantic shadow beneath the town reaching upward with clawed hands to threaten them.

Lakima and Marta discuss the nightmares and the prophecy that Marta has seen.