Quantity over quality

I had a recent Swords & Wizardry session that really demonstrated the importance of quantity over quality in high-level play. I was running a heavily modified version of The Hulking Abomination, a Level 6 D&D 5e adventure by Elven Tower and Victor Escalante. As a 6th level D&D 5th edition adventure I had to make some changes to get it to work for 12th level Swords & Wizardry. I just adjusted the statistics of the two main adversaries. I made the single Umber Hulk a 14 HD abomination and I increased the number of wolf spiders and made them 8th level. I also created much larger maps to allow for the increase in the number of monsters. The umber hulk was no match for my party of high-level players. But the wolf spiders decimated the characters. Two of the characters failed saves on lethal poison and had to be teleported to a nearby church. The players had to retreat and come back a few days later when they had recovered. The Wolf Spider ambush was a lot of fun to run as a GM and the players also had a lot of fun.

Session 153: The Hulking Abomination

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Grasshopper (human monk), Domago (human cleric NPC), Brovin (human thief NPC), Aelshara (half-elven fighter/magic-user NPC).

The members of the Company of the Black Dragon return to their home in Edgerton aboard their flying ship the Cloudstealer.

In Edgerton, Lakima introduces Aelshara to his wife and servants. He also tells Alayna about their journey into the Underworld but he downplays the dangers. Aelshara takes a guest room in the Manor and asks if she can stay awhile to get used to this new time she has landed. Lakima offers her access to the Library of the Mages Guild which Aelshara takes advantage of.

Eathwund suggests to Eris that she might work as a chambermaid at his Inn the Sign of the Purple Bugbear. Eris appears completely lost now that she is back among the living but she accepts the offer. Eris is rude to guests who dare to speak with her but in Mirdton this sort of behaviour is not uncommon. Eathwund drops in every day to keep an eye on the Tavern and on Eris.

The journey to the Underworld seems to have unlocked new ideas in Lakima’s mind and he realizes he now can manipulate the magical energies required to cast spells of the 7th Circle. He sets about immediately studying how to recreate a spell of this complexity that he has encountered in his research. Lakima spends days in his quarters in the Mages Guild.

After a week back in Edgerton, Ian brings an announcement to Aldus about the Black Eagle tourney in Uthersberg. They decide to head to the tourney to compete. Aldus and Ian say goodbye to their friends and ride off to Uthersberg (the player who was running Aldus and his squire was away for a few sessions).

Grasshopper spends the days of downtime wandering about the large town. He gives a lot of his share of the treasure to poor children and the homeless. Soon he gains a reputation in the town for charity. He does set aside some gold for a magic item he wants to purchase.

A week later, a Royal Messenger arrives at the Manor. Alayna greets the messenger but he informs her he can only give the message to Lakima the Grey. Lakima has to be sent for but the messenger indicates that he will wait. When Lakima arrives, he opens the sealed letter from Duke Robert requesting an exclusive deal to supply flying ships to the Ducal fleet. Lakima writes a brief reply accepting the offer.

A few days later, a message arrives from the duke asking for a meeting at his hunting lodge in four days. Lakima asks Eathwund, Domago, and Grasshopper if they would like to join him. The three adventurers fly on the Cloudstealer to the Duke’s hunting lodge outside Dolmvay. Here they meet with Duke Robert and his retinue and discuss the construction of flying ships. After some negotiation, a deal is struck for Lakima to provide helms for four ships for 75,000 gold and the title of Mage of the Realm. With an agreement reached, they get back aboard the Cloudstealer and return to Edgerton.

Back in Edgerton, Lakima remembers that there are powerful spells he could not decipher in the spellbook he took from one of the twelve mages of the White Worm. Checking the spellbook he finds spells of the 7th Circle. He spends a few days studying the spells and manages to learn two of them and write them in his spellbook.

A letter asking for help arrives from Whetwhistle. Their friend and business partner Whexley Windham says that there was a collapse in the mine trapping two miners. When they dug a rescue tunnel for them, they did not find the two men but they did see strange, monstrous-sized tracks. Whexley asks if they could come and clear the mine. The miners are refusing to work.

Lakima, Eathwund, Grasshopper, Domago, Brovin, and Aelshara set out on horseback for Whetwhistle which is only six hours away. They head directly to the Goose Inn and speak with Whexley. He tells them nothing new has occurred. They have not abandoned the mine but they are not entering the lower levels.

“Well, it is not producing much of a profit for us so why don’t we seal it shut?” Lakima tells Whexley.

Whexley sputtered at this suggestion which would be the end of the hamlet. He insists that the mine has been producing a lot of copper and he is just waiting on a payment from the Mining Guild before sending the profits to the Company in Edgerton.

The adventurers accompanied by Whexley head up into the hills to the nearby mine. The journey only takes an hour. At the mining camp, they speak with Astrid Brightfist the mining foreman. She tells them the cave-in occurred at “Cave B” on the lower level where the new workings are located. Astrid leads them into the upper workings and shows them the lift that takes miners down (and ore up) from the lower workings.

“I will work the lift,” Astrid tells them, “Yell if you need to be brought back up.”

Astrid tells them if they are gone more than six hours, she will come looking for them.

The adventurers descend into a dark chamber lit dimly by the glow of a forge. Lakima uses the Staff of Power to cast light on Aelshara, Eathwund, and Domago. Grasshopper quietly slips into the darkness and tells the others to give him a lead he will scout ahead. Brovin silently follows him.

Grasshopper follows the tunnel and mine tracks to an open area. A hand-painted sign says “Cave A”. Two tracks enter a low tunnel (5 feet high) where there is a sign saying “Danger Low Ceiling.” He calls out for the other adventurers to catch up.

“Which way?” Grasshopper asks.

Lakima points south.

One track follows a tunnel to the southeast and the other follows a tunnel south. They can see immediately that the tunnel to the southeast has collapsed. While the others wait Grasshopper moves down the tunnel to check if it is impassible. He sees it is clearly impassible and he also sees movement.

“Look out!” Grasshopper yells as a flock of stirges erupts from the tunnel and flies amongst all of the adventurers trying to latch on and suck their blood. Grasshopper, Eathwund, and Lakima are attacked by many stirges while the others only have to contend with a pair each. Domago, Grasshopper, and Lakima each have a stirge grab onto them and start sucking blood. But they can throw them off or kill them. The stirges continue to fly about the group, getting killed when an adventurer can strike one. Domago and Lakima are again struck but eventually, all of the stirges are killed or driven off.

Stirges

“Let’s try the other tunnel,” a blood-soaked Lakima says.

The tunnel goes another 20 feet before they come to a cave-in. A 3-foot-high tunnel extends around the cave-in.

“This looks like the rescue tunnel,” Grasshopper says.

Grasshopper gets down on his hands and knees and crawls into the rescue tunnel. It is shored up only in a few spots and dug recently. The rest of the adventurers follow him. The rescue tunnel enters another cave where they can stand up.

“Cave B,” Grasshopper says pointing at a hand-painted sign on the wall.

This area shows signs of having been worked recently. Pick axes lie where they were dropped. A mine tunnel with tracks heads southeast. Grasshopper checks the cave floor for tracks and there are plenty, all human boot prints.

They continue to the east and enter another cave marked “Cave C”. A circular tunnel that appears to have been dug by a creature enters from the north. A pool of iridescent liquid lies before the tunnel. The group checks the pool but it seems harmless. Grasshopper leaps over the pool and scouts the area ahead. He finds a burrowed tunnel descending deep into the earth and another tunnel connecting to the mine. He comes back and tells everyone. They walk through the shallow puddle on the floor and head down the burrow deeper into the earth.

The burrow comes out in a small burrowed cave. Piles of rock debris lie about the chamber. Everything seems to have been dug from solid rock by a burrowing creature.

“Wait here and I will scout the surrounding area,” Grasshopper says.

While the other adventurers wait Grasshopper scouts the area. Tunnels enter from all directions and wind about in a maze. Some tunnels are impassible with large rocks blocking passage. Grasshopper does see a metal object on the floor of a cave shining in the light from his torch. He picks it up and finds it is a battered mining helmet. Grasshopper returns to the group and shows them the helmet.

“I don’t think we are going to find the miners alive,” Lakima says.

Grasshopper takes the lead and follows the most accessible tunnel entering a crossroads of tunnels he is startled when a pile of rubble erupts and an enormous brown, hairy spider covered in debris leaps out at him. The spider is larger than him and 3 feet tall. Grasshopper can barely yell a warning before spiders erupt from side passages and attack all of the adventurers from all directions.

Deadly spiders

Brovin who was in the back runs away down a side tunnel and hides. The other adventurers fight the giant spiders as best they can. Several of them are sliced by giant pincers dripping in ichor. Eathwund is cut from behind on his back and succumbs to darkness collapsing. Domago is cut off and slashed repeatedly before falling. Brovin, seeing what is happening tries to go to Domago’s aid and desperately kills a spider that is trying to drag Domago away. Grasshopper uses his fists on the spiders killing two and then killing one with a single punch to the thorax. Lakima casts magic missiles at the spiders as does Aelshara. Finally, the last of the spiders are driven off but Domago and Eathwund are dying. Thinking quickly, Lakima teleports both of them away.

“Where did you send them?” Grasshopper asks.

“To a friend in Edgerton,” he says.

Lakima suggests they retreat. They have lost two of their number and they can hear the clicking sounds of more spiders or worse echoing through the tunnels. The adventurers stagger to the tunnel leading up and out. On the way, Grasshopper hears a low moan and they find one of the missing miners.

Yelling for Astrid to lower the lift the group exits the lower mines.

“Where are the others?” Astrid asks.

Lakima tells Astrid how badly things have gone. They make their way to the surface to talk to the miners. One of the miners is overjoyed that his twin brother has been found alive. He is only unconscious and exhausted. They listen in horror as the adventurers describe the fight they had with the giant spiders.

“But these spiders could not have been what left the three-toed tracks and burrowed through the stone,” Whexley says.

When the unconscious miner is revived, he tells of being attacked by an insectoid creature standing on two legs. The creature had four sets of eyes and its gaze was hypnotic.

“We should close the mine and block the entrance,” Lakima says.

“But, without the mine, Whetwhistle will be abandoned,” Whexley pleads, “We need the mine!”

After some arguing Grasshopper convinces the others to sleep on it at the Goose Tavern. Lakima is reluctant to re-enter the mine, especially without Eathwund on hand.

Meanwhile, Eathwund awakens in a strange bed in a pleasant room. He sees the smiling face of Abbot Marta looking down at him.

“It was a near thing, my friend,” Marta says, “A few more moments and you would have been dead. It was lucky for you that it happened to me near when you appeared.”

“Tell me what sort of trouble you and Lakima have been getting yourself into.”

Eathwund briefly describes what happened. He sits up feeling remarkedly fit and healthy. Looking over he sees Domago resting in a nearby bed apparently still asleep. Seeing his gaze, Marta assures him that Domago will be fine.

When Domago awakes an hour later, he finds Eathwund already packed and ready to go wolfing down some beef stew.

“I arranged for horses,” Eathwund tells Domago, “I assume Lakima must have survived and magicked us out of those tunnels. But we had better rush back to Whetwhistle and see what happened.”

After a good night’s rest, Lakima, Grasshopper, Brovin, and Aelshara have breakfast at the Goose Inn. Lakima is still inclined to abandon the mine. As they eat, they hear horses ride up outside. The door to the Inn opens and Eathwund and Domago stride in. Domago immediately goes to Lakima and gives him a strong embrace.

“I owe you my life,” Domago says.

Eathwund merely nods at the group.

“Eathwund and Domago are back. I say we head back into the mine. This time we will be ready.” Grasshopper says.

“Do you two want to re-enter the mine?” Lakima asks Domago and Eathwund. Domago tells them yes and Eathwund shrugs.

“Okay,” Lakima says, “But be ready to get out of there if we encounter another nest of spiders.”

The adventurers and Whexley return to the Copper mine. The miners have kept watch on the entrance but no one has had the bravery to enter. Astrid volunteers to man the winch again to send them down into the lower mines.

Once on the lower level, the group makes their way into the burrow. They travel with fewer lights this time. Searching through the maze of tunnels, they see a cave in the distance where the rocks emit a strange blue glow but they cannot find a clear path to the cave. All of the tunnels near it are blocked by boulders. They can only peek through small openings.

“Maybe we can shift some of the rocks,” Lakima looks at Eathwund.

“This way,” Grasshopper waves, “I think I see a path.”

Following Grasshopper the group circles through the tunnels and arrives at the entrance to the strange cave. Grasshopper enters ahead of the others. The rocks are a dark grey but blue magical energy that seems to flow through the rocks like tiny sparks of lightning. In lights the rubble-filled cave in an eerie blue glow. Looking down at the floor, Grasshopper sees massive footprints of a three-toed creature and he sees a gnawed human femur bone.

“Look at this guys,” Grasshopper says. From the corner of his eye, he sees the rubble shift and an enormous insectoid creature stands up on two legs and moves toward him grasping with three-clawed hands. The creature has a pair of insectoid eyes on its head and a second pair of more humanoid eyes.

All of the adventurers hear and see the creature stand up. Lakima beholds the strange eyes on the creature and shouts a warning.

“Don’t look into its eyes!”

Eathwund and Grasshopper attack from close in while averting their gazes. They still manage to strike the hard carapace of the creature several times. Aelshara looks at the creature and casts a magic missile striking it. She finds the eyes mesmerizing but manages to look away. Domago tries to cast a spell but is struck with confusion when he regards the creatures’ eyes. Lakima summons his protector which slashes at the creature with its mystical sword.

Suddenly, the confused Domago takes a swing at Aelshara with his mace barely missing her head. She screams in anger at him.

“He is under a confusion charm,” Lakima yells. Aelshara tries to move away from Domago. Lakima speaks a single magical word to Domago and the priest is stunned and falls to the ground.

“That will take care of him for now,” Lakima says.

“Spiders!” Brovin yells from the back of the group. Looking behind them, Lakima sees a pair of giant spiders crawling toward Brovin. He casts a Wall of iron and blocks several of the tunnels leading to them.

Meanwhile, Eathwund and Grasshopper have been avoiding the claws of the abomination and have landed many hits. The creature begins to stagger then it burrows into the walls of the chamber and vanishes.

“Where did it go?” Lakima asks.

Everyone looks about. They can hear the creature digging its way through rock all around them. Stone begins to shake in one of the blocked passages and then it clears and they see the creature, some of its wounds regenerated, and four giant spiders behind it.

“Lightning bolt,” Lakima yells and casts a bolt of lightning straight down the tunnel and into the abomination and the spiders. All of the creatures are struck and only one of the spiders manages to drag itself away. Grasshopper chases after it but it squeezes itself through a narrow hole in a blocked tunnel.

Once the rest of the group arrives Lakima casts passwall clearing a section of the tunnel. But it is not enough the tunnel is still blocked.

“We have done enough,” Lakima says, “Let’s get out of here.”

Before leaving Lakima and Grasshopper take samples of the strange, magical rock. The adventurers make their way back to the surface. They meet up with Astrid and tell her the worst of the creatures are dead.

Up in the mining camp, Lakima apprises Whexley of the situation. He tells him that the borrowing creature is dead but that there still appears to be a nest of spiders in the lower levels. Maybe they should only work the upper levels. Whexley is downcast. He tells them that the best veins of copper are in the lower levels. Lakima also tells him that they saw signs of a vein of gold in the lower mines.

“Any idea what this strange rock might be,” Grasshopper says to Astrid and shows her a small stone. Even in the bright sunlight the grey stone still shows dim flickers of blue magic.

“I am not sure,” Astrid says turning it over in her hands, “It couldn’t be.”

“Aetherium!” she breathes with astonishment.

Astrid is reluctant to say more but eventually admits that it could be aetherium. A rare stone found only deep underground in the Callahiem Mountains. It is mined by the dwarves and sold to the gnomes to make magic items.

“Now we have to keep the mine open,” Whexley says hopefully.

“We will think about it,” Lakima says.

“We can head back down after another day of rest,” Grasshopper says.