Ohwell. I can safely ignore this LP now. 
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Completed Let's Play Forgotten Realms: Unlimited Adventures- Module B4 The Lost City
- Thread starter Deuce Traveler
- Start date
Ohwell. I can safely ignore this LP now.
Maybe. Do we:
1.) Redo this battle and LP it as we would a normal game where we might reload if something quite bad happens.
2.) Keep going, even if it means this party may never meet Zargon and the LP ends in one of the soon to be fought tougher battles. If so, I need Azira or someone else to make a new melee character.
Monstrous Bat
Cipher
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2011
- Messages
- 638
1. I would've reloaded right away there, being the savescummer I am.
Monty
Arcane
In general I would be in favour of taking the consequences of a battle going wrong, and recruiting a new melee character who could slowly start catching up to the others.
But if there's no realistic chance of finishing the module with a weakened party then I'd reluctantly side with the savescummers. I wasn't one of the original party though so I'm just commenting from the sidelines, I'm sure Azira would want Magnus back.
But if there's no realistic chance of finishing the module with a weakened party then I'd reluctantly side with the savescummers. I wasn't one of the original party though so I'm just commenting from the sidelines, I'm sure Azira would want Magnus back.
Well, I'm horrid when it comes to games that allow saves. It's a wonder I bother with Dungeon Crawl, being a roguelike, but that's more or less the only game I truly enjoy that does not allow loading a save. Well, that and FTL.
So yes, I'd have loaded, but I'm not the one doing the LP, and I'm perfectly fine with Magnus biting the bullet here, unless it makes completing the task impossible.
So yes, I'd have loaded, but I'm not the one doing the LP, and I'm perfectly fine with Magnus biting the bullet here, unless it makes completing the task impossible.
The consensus seems to say that I should continue with Magnus the Irascible and refight the giant scorpion battle. As no one has put up a replacement melee character, and some time has passed since my last post, I decide to do just that. I follow the same strategy, but this time the scorpion runs headlong into Midge. She misses, but Myass hits the creature with a sling, and the two magic-users follow up with magic missiles. Magnus does 17 points of damage by himself and slays the creature before the first round is over, so the combat turns out much differently. It is amazing how a few bad initiative and attack rolls can drastically change the outcome of combat in D&D.
We are in a rather large chamber with at least half a dozen doors. I choose the closest one that I had not entered from. The door opens to reveal a pair of weretigers. Immediately, they split up and move to flank you as they speak. “Man-things,” they pur. “Man-things forgot their masks… man-things wand out pretties… Man-things have their own pretties… we want the man-things’ pretties as they want ours…” The weretigers leap at you, claws extending and mouths open to bare fangs! In mid-leap, they begin to change, and the creatures that come down on you are much heavier, but no less fierce.
Combat starts again versus yet another enemy that requires magical weapons to harm. You can see why I was insistent on getting the magical bastard sword for Magus. And it’s not even the weretigers that I noticed when I quickly flipped through the module. There is a nasty baddie in these caverns before Zargon that I truly fear. Anyway, I send Midge north to keep one weretiger busy, while Magnus the Irascible and Jaesun the Gay engage the one in the south. All my melee fighters miss and Magnus takes a scratch from the southern enemy, so I decide to let loose with some magic missiles the next round. Midge takes some damage on the second round, and I expend all of my remaining magic missiles trying to unsuccessfully kill her opponent before she can be hurt further. One of my melee fighters, Magnus, finally hits a weretiger and severely hurts it. He gains initiative on the third round and outright slays the creature. Jaesun tries to assist Midge, but the distance is too far and she takes another 10 hit points of damage, leaving her with only 13 left. Myass is ineffective in this fight, so I have him move towards her with healing magic at hand. Desperate to end this fight, I move Qastur into the fray with his silver dagger. He actually hits, leaving the weretiger with only one hit point left, but no one around that can attack him with a weapon that will actually hurt before his next turn. Luckily he misses his strike against Midge, who finishes him off on her next turn. I get some gem stones and gold for my trouble.
Two dead, naked men lie near their cast-aside clothing on the floor of this chamber. I leave through a far door and continue my exploration.
Ghouls leap from the ceiling, claws outstretched. What the hell?! Putting the word random back into random encounter.
The ghouls quickly screw up my day by paralyzing Magnus before knocking him out of the fight. Not taking chances, I have Jaesun use up his turn to bandage him. Ghouls can be hit from normal weapons, which means Midge can switch to her more damaging mace and team slingers can sling away. Midge is hurt, but makes her saving throw versus paralysis. Myass goes last, and he clears the field of ghouls by using his turn ability. It would have been better if he had gone first and saved Magnus the trouble.
I have Jaesun and Myass use up all their healing abilities to get Magnus and Midge close to 20 hit points before continuing on. I run into some empty rooms where nothing seems to happen. That is until we disturb a nest of poisonous snakes. You nearly step on rock pythons! Infuriated, the lazing reptiles coil up and prepare to strike; there is no backing away from their wrath…
Each of these creatures has an AC of 6 and 23 hit points, so they are somewhat easy to hit, but very difficult to kill. Qastur uses one of his stinking clouds against three of the critters, and I have Myass bless Magnus the Irascible. We get lucky as one snake misses Jaesun the Gay. Abigail kills off a snake disabled by Qastur’s spell, while Jaesun slays a second that was severely injured by his companions. One snake slips through the defenses and bites Qastur twice, but the snake might not be poisonous as he does not have to attempt a saving throw.
The snake bites Qastur twice more in two rounds as Magnus and the slinging team whittle it down until it is dead. I should have had Myass come into support with his mace, but luckily Qastur doesn’t go down. Breathing a sigh of relief, the team then moves towards the last three battling along the front line. Magnus kills one. Another snake manages to somehow surrender. The last is finished off by Midge. I’ve had enough. We return to the Brotherhood to restore health and spells. What can I say? I’m a coward. I explore some rooms that I’ve already cleared, but then run into a pair of golems.
A pair of wooden men, carved to be somewhat taller than the average Halfling, march forward in slow, jerky steps. Their purpose is clear: To keep you away from the ladder rising from the center of the floor!
A ladder down? Well this is most welcome. All we have to do is get by tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum, the wooden golem pair, both of which only have an AC of 7 and 11 hit points. Myass hits one with a sling stone for four points of damage. Looks like they aren’t damage resistant or requiring magic to hit. Magnus takes one down, while team slingers works the other. Somehow Midge and Jaesun kept missing the entire battle.
When compared to the previous battles on this level, this one was disappointingly easy, especially considering what was being guarded. We head down to the next level where some wall art greets our arrival. The beginnings of a painting on the cave walls show scenes of natural death. From their places lazing beside a heap of copper coins to the south, a pair of dark-furred hounds rise and growl at you. Smoke shoots from their nostrils. They wait, as if expecting something. Sadly, you know not what.
We are fighting two hellhounds. Tough creatures that breath fire. I spread out Team Slingers, while Magnus also moves around in order to try and prevent having more than one character caught in a cone of effect. The fire breath hits for only a few hit points of damage, but automatically and without a to hit roll, meaning my front line is getting depleted steadily each round. It takes four rounds before Jeasun the Gay takes one hellhound out. The second hellhound goes down faster, but the battle took its toll as Midge is down to half her hit points.
I get this message after the fight: Climb the ladder up, climb the ladder down, stay on Tier 7. It looks like we are on Tier 7 of the dungeon. We can explore this level, but I’m curious how far we can go down. On Tier 8 I read this: The walls, floor, and ceiling in this room have all been painted in the color of sunlight. There is no way down from here, so either I am at the last tier, or I have to find another ladder down. Myass uses a couple of cure light wounds spells on Midge and we decide to continue exploring tier 8, skipping out on tier 7 for now. It’s not long until I run into trouble.
An old bronze vase lying on the floor of this room lets out a cloud of smoke that coalesces into the form of a blue-skinned man with a stern gaze. “Know O’ mortals, that though standeth in the presence of the mighty Khissahn of the Gray Shades of Alerath. Tremble for fear of my wrath and hope for the mercy of my benevolent stewardship.” Thickly muscled arms folded over his chest, the djinni glowers down at you. Behind him you notice steps spiraling down to the next tier of the dungeon.
Yes! We found more stairs down! The bad thing is what is guarding it. Djinnis are no pushovers. I try to talk some sense into him. The djinni’s eyes widen in surprise as you speak to him. “Mortals with backbone! A rare breed thou art! Know this, then, mortal seedlings, that only those who agree to perform a great task for me may pass beyond my station. And no easy task this will be.” Interested, I agree to the task. Besides, I’m not sure this party could take him. The djinni laughs, a deep, resonant sound. The walls of the chamber seem to shake with the sound of it. ”The task I set before you is to slay the imposter god, Zargon. For long hath his minions kept me here to guard the doorway to the deepest tiers of his putrid lair. And thou art the first doughty souls with courage enough to agree to carry out my task. Go below, brave souls, and prove thy mettle in the quest against thy greatest foe to date.”
Wow… worst guard ever.
I take the stairs down. The floor of this chamber is strewn with bones. Looking about, you see that the walls are sketched with the unfinished images of a woman in white washing the spirits of the dead in a pool of fire. You start to pick your way through the bones, when some of them begin to move, rising to tower over you! It appears to be the skeleton of some sort of giant, but with four, sword-wielding arms! Remember when I said we needed the magic sword the banshee was guarding? This is why. This is the battle I feared, and these are the stats I saw while flipping through the adventure module: '1 bone golem (AC2; HD 8**; hp 36; MV 40'; #AT 4; D 1-8 each; Save F4; ML 12; AL N). This four-armed skeleton wields four swords at the same time. It will attack up to two enemies each round. Bone golems are immune to sleep, charm, and hold spells, plus fire, cold, and electrical attacks. They can only be hit by magic or magical weapons.'
Qastur goes first, shooting the creature for 7 hit points of damage. Abigail follows with an 8 hit point blast of her own. Midge and Myass are next, but Midge misses and Myass has no effective weapons. The creature is a golem, not undead, so it cannot be turned. The rest of the front line also whiffs, and though the magic-users have nearly halved its hit points it returns the favor with two sword strikes against Magnus, doing 15 hit points of damage. Regrettfully, I have Qastur use another magic missile spell, though I hold Abigail back from doing the same. The creature now has 13 hit points left. If I can get the melee fighters to pull their heads out of their butts, they may defeat the creature without using further spells. The fighters do finally hit, but only do a handful of collective points of damage. The creature’s bone structure turns back their blades easily. Grumbling, I have Qastur use up his last magic missile. That battle wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but mostly because of the low starting hit points of the bone golem and the fact that magic missiles actually worked. If we had fought it with just melee characters, or if it had twenty or thirty more hit points, we might have had our rears handed to us. Magic missile saved the day.
Magnus is in bad shape, so I use up the last of our healing to bring him back to 25 hit points. I decide we can handle one more room before turning back and Holy Fuck!
I’m ambushed by a chimera. Before I get to move it nearly kills Jaesun and Midge, and takes out Abigail and Myass, who now lie dying. Jaesun and Qastur move and bandage on their turns, then Jaesun the Gay gets another move and slashes the chimera for 10 hit points. Midge gets on the action and does 6 more hit points, then… the chimera breathes fire again and she dies. Jaesun follows her the next round, and Qastur, who came up to help, is taken out by a combined six hits. Magnus and the chimera both have exactly five hit points left, but he misses and the chimera hits...
Red sands bleach your bones and bury your legend.
Looks like I’m reloading.
We are in a rather large chamber with at least half a dozen doors. I choose the closest one that I had not entered from. The door opens to reveal a pair of weretigers. Immediately, they split up and move to flank you as they speak. “Man-things,” they pur. “Man-things forgot their masks… man-things wand out pretties… Man-things have their own pretties… we want the man-things’ pretties as they want ours…” The weretigers leap at you, claws extending and mouths open to bare fangs! In mid-leap, they begin to change, and the creatures that come down on you are much heavier, but no less fierce.
Combat starts again versus yet another enemy that requires magical weapons to harm. You can see why I was insistent on getting the magical bastard sword for Magus. And it’s not even the weretigers that I noticed when I quickly flipped through the module. There is a nasty baddie in these caverns before Zargon that I truly fear. Anyway, I send Midge north to keep one weretiger busy, while Magnus the Irascible and Jaesun the Gay engage the one in the south. All my melee fighters miss and Magnus takes a scratch from the southern enemy, so I decide to let loose with some magic missiles the next round. Midge takes some damage on the second round, and I expend all of my remaining magic missiles trying to unsuccessfully kill her opponent before she can be hurt further. One of my melee fighters, Magnus, finally hits a weretiger and severely hurts it. He gains initiative on the third round and outright slays the creature. Jaesun tries to assist Midge, but the distance is too far and she takes another 10 hit points of damage, leaving her with only 13 left. Myass is ineffective in this fight, so I have him move towards her with healing magic at hand. Desperate to end this fight, I move Qastur into the fray with his silver dagger. He actually hits, leaving the weretiger with only one hit point left, but no one around that can attack him with a weapon that will actually hurt before his next turn. Luckily he misses his strike against Midge, who finishes him off on her next turn. I get some gem stones and gold for my trouble.
Two dead, naked men lie near their cast-aside clothing on the floor of this chamber. I leave through a far door and continue my exploration.
Ghouls leap from the ceiling, claws outstretched. What the hell?! Putting the word random back into random encounter.
The ghouls quickly screw up my day by paralyzing Magnus before knocking him out of the fight. Not taking chances, I have Jaesun use up his turn to bandage him. Ghouls can be hit from normal weapons, which means Midge can switch to her more damaging mace and team slingers can sling away. Midge is hurt, but makes her saving throw versus paralysis. Myass goes last, and he clears the field of ghouls by using his turn ability. It would have been better if he had gone first and saved Magnus the trouble.
I have Jaesun and Myass use up all their healing abilities to get Magnus and Midge close to 20 hit points before continuing on. I run into some empty rooms where nothing seems to happen. That is until we disturb a nest of poisonous snakes. You nearly step on rock pythons! Infuriated, the lazing reptiles coil up and prepare to strike; there is no backing away from their wrath…
Each of these creatures has an AC of 6 and 23 hit points, so they are somewhat easy to hit, but very difficult to kill. Qastur uses one of his stinking clouds against three of the critters, and I have Myass bless Magnus the Irascible. We get lucky as one snake misses Jaesun the Gay. Abigail kills off a snake disabled by Qastur’s spell, while Jaesun slays a second that was severely injured by his companions. One snake slips through the defenses and bites Qastur twice, but the snake might not be poisonous as he does not have to attempt a saving throw.
The snake bites Qastur twice more in two rounds as Magnus and the slinging team whittle it down until it is dead. I should have had Myass come into support with his mace, but luckily Qastur doesn’t go down. Breathing a sigh of relief, the team then moves towards the last three battling along the front line. Magnus kills one. Another snake manages to somehow surrender. The last is finished off by Midge. I’ve had enough. We return to the Brotherhood to restore health and spells. What can I say? I’m a coward. I explore some rooms that I’ve already cleared, but then run into a pair of golems.
A pair of wooden men, carved to be somewhat taller than the average Halfling, march forward in slow, jerky steps. Their purpose is clear: To keep you away from the ladder rising from the center of the floor!
A ladder down? Well this is most welcome. All we have to do is get by tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum, the wooden golem pair, both of which only have an AC of 7 and 11 hit points. Myass hits one with a sling stone for four points of damage. Looks like they aren’t damage resistant or requiring magic to hit. Magnus takes one down, while team slingers works the other. Somehow Midge and Jaesun kept missing the entire battle.
When compared to the previous battles on this level, this one was disappointingly easy, especially considering what was being guarded. We head down to the next level where some wall art greets our arrival. The beginnings of a painting on the cave walls show scenes of natural death. From their places lazing beside a heap of copper coins to the south, a pair of dark-furred hounds rise and growl at you. Smoke shoots from their nostrils. They wait, as if expecting something. Sadly, you know not what.
We are fighting two hellhounds. Tough creatures that breath fire. I spread out Team Slingers, while Magnus also moves around in order to try and prevent having more than one character caught in a cone of effect. The fire breath hits for only a few hit points of damage, but automatically and without a to hit roll, meaning my front line is getting depleted steadily each round. It takes four rounds before Jeasun the Gay takes one hellhound out. The second hellhound goes down faster, but the battle took its toll as Midge is down to half her hit points.
I get this message after the fight: Climb the ladder up, climb the ladder down, stay on Tier 7. It looks like we are on Tier 7 of the dungeon. We can explore this level, but I’m curious how far we can go down. On Tier 8 I read this: The walls, floor, and ceiling in this room have all been painted in the color of sunlight. There is no way down from here, so either I am at the last tier, or I have to find another ladder down. Myass uses a couple of cure light wounds spells on Midge and we decide to continue exploring tier 8, skipping out on tier 7 for now. It’s not long until I run into trouble.
An old bronze vase lying on the floor of this room lets out a cloud of smoke that coalesces into the form of a blue-skinned man with a stern gaze. “Know O’ mortals, that though standeth in the presence of the mighty Khissahn of the Gray Shades of Alerath. Tremble for fear of my wrath and hope for the mercy of my benevolent stewardship.” Thickly muscled arms folded over his chest, the djinni glowers down at you. Behind him you notice steps spiraling down to the next tier of the dungeon.
Yes! We found more stairs down! The bad thing is what is guarding it. Djinnis are no pushovers. I try to talk some sense into him. The djinni’s eyes widen in surprise as you speak to him. “Mortals with backbone! A rare breed thou art! Know this, then, mortal seedlings, that only those who agree to perform a great task for me may pass beyond my station. And no easy task this will be.” Interested, I agree to the task. Besides, I’m not sure this party could take him. The djinni laughs, a deep, resonant sound. The walls of the chamber seem to shake with the sound of it. ”The task I set before you is to slay the imposter god, Zargon. For long hath his minions kept me here to guard the doorway to the deepest tiers of his putrid lair. And thou art the first doughty souls with courage enough to agree to carry out my task. Go below, brave souls, and prove thy mettle in the quest against thy greatest foe to date.”
Wow… worst guard ever.
I take the stairs down. The floor of this chamber is strewn with bones. Looking about, you see that the walls are sketched with the unfinished images of a woman in white washing the spirits of the dead in a pool of fire. You start to pick your way through the bones, when some of them begin to move, rising to tower over you! It appears to be the skeleton of some sort of giant, but with four, sword-wielding arms! Remember when I said we needed the magic sword the banshee was guarding? This is why. This is the battle I feared, and these are the stats I saw while flipping through the adventure module: '1 bone golem (AC2; HD 8**; hp 36; MV 40'; #AT 4; D 1-8 each; Save F4; ML 12; AL N). This four-armed skeleton wields four swords at the same time. It will attack up to two enemies each round. Bone golems are immune to sleep, charm, and hold spells, plus fire, cold, and electrical attacks. They can only be hit by magic or magical weapons.'
Qastur goes first, shooting the creature for 7 hit points of damage. Abigail follows with an 8 hit point blast of her own. Midge and Myass are next, but Midge misses and Myass has no effective weapons. The creature is a golem, not undead, so it cannot be turned. The rest of the front line also whiffs, and though the magic-users have nearly halved its hit points it returns the favor with two sword strikes against Magnus, doing 15 hit points of damage. Regrettfully, I have Qastur use another magic missile spell, though I hold Abigail back from doing the same. The creature now has 13 hit points left. If I can get the melee fighters to pull their heads out of their butts, they may defeat the creature without using further spells. The fighters do finally hit, but only do a handful of collective points of damage. The creature’s bone structure turns back their blades easily. Grumbling, I have Qastur use up his last magic missile. That battle wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but mostly because of the low starting hit points of the bone golem and the fact that magic missiles actually worked. If we had fought it with just melee characters, or if it had twenty or thirty more hit points, we might have had our rears handed to us. Magic missile saved the day.
Magnus is in bad shape, so I use up the last of our healing to bring him back to 25 hit points. I decide we can handle one more room before turning back and Holy Fuck!
I’m ambushed by a chimera. Before I get to move it nearly kills Jaesun and Midge, and takes out Abigail and Myass, who now lie dying. Jaesun and Qastur move and bandage on their turns, then Jaesun the Gay gets another move and slashes the chimera for 10 hit points. Midge gets on the action and does 6 more hit points, then… the chimera breathes fire again and she dies. Jaesun follows her the next round, and Qastur, who came up to help, is taken out by a combined six hits. Magnus and the chimera both have exactly five hit points left, but he misses and the chimera hits...
Red sands bleach your bones and bury your legend.
Looks like I’m reloading.
Monty
Arcane
Ha, good stuff. Maybe have more of a look at level 7 and 8 on the next attempt, perhaps there's something useful there.
I take Monty’s advice to look around, though I stay on Tier 9 to do so. I’m hoping to build up some experience before trying again at the chimera. Some more hit points might do us good. I search some nearby rooms.
This apparently empty chamber has sketching on the wall showing Gorm, the man depicted clutching a lightning bolt, in the robes of a judge.
The walls of this room are sketched with images of Usamigaras, the winged child, dressed in the robes of a judge.
Oooh… maybe the god of the Warrior Maidens will be next… You barely notice the wall paintings or heaps of treasure in this room, as your eyes are immediately drawn to the utterly terrifying creature lairing here. The dragon’s head rears up on its thick, flowing neck. Scales glittering in the light of your torch, it stares down at you with a wicked smile on its face. “I see dinner is served early tonight,” it coos. “But you look a lean, grisly lot. I dare say I shall not enjoy feasting upon you as much as some of the better plumped sacrifices.” It occurs to you to inform the wyrm that you are not mere sacrifices brought by the Cynidiceans, but it is too evident that she is toying with you. You shake your head, fighting to clear it from dragonfear. At least the dragon is willing to talk while you battle for your wits. “I see you have plenty of magic… and I scent the sweet aroma of gold within your pouches. Have you brought the wealth of the pyramid to me? Perhaps I shall have to defend it from Zargon itself… But I get ahead of myself. There is dining to be done.” She dives upon you, electricity crackling between her yellow fangs!
A blue dragon with an AC of 2 and 62 hit points stands against us. We are going to die… Magnus, Midge and Abigail’s magic all help to bring the dragon down to 45 hit points, but boy this is not looking good. The dragon takes Midge down with lightning breath, which causes Myass to have to bandage her, but after we lose her it becomes a one-sided slaughter. We were able to bring the dragon down to 28 hit points before everyone was killed. Still, we had a better chance then against the chimera since the party spread out and stayed away from walls, minimizing the impact of the dragon breath. I’m taking Monty’s advice, reloading, and heading to a higher level where we might be able to get a character level-up before trying again versus chimera and blue dragon.
After having my magic-users cast Strength on Jaseun and Magnus, I try to get back up on the 8th level, after being taunted for running by a certain genie, but I take a wrong turn and face off against a mummy instead. A single mummy lumbers towards you. We have to be careful here. Being diseased would be quite bad, since we don’t have the spells to cure it yet. The mummy has an AC of 3, over 50 hit points, and can’t be turned by Myass and his low cleric level, and I believe only magic might hurt it. Magnus and Midge both give solid hits, and Midge somehow backstabs an undead creature. Things get bad, however, when Magnus the Irascible is hit and becomes Magnus the Diseased… fuck. At least he retaliates. Abigail leashes our last magic missile, and Midge backstabs again. The creature misses its next attack, and Jaesun the Gay puts it out of its misery.
Out of healing and magic missiles, I begin to head back, only to get lost again.
My navigation sucks. A cloudy, wraith-like form darts and swoops about this chamber, wailing in terrible agony. Its hands and eyes are the only truly visible, human-like attributes remaining to it, and both turn sharply upon you as you enter. I move Magnus out of the way since he has low AC and hit points in comparison the spectre, but that only makes the spirit want him some more. Lucky for us it misses and Magnus teaches it a sharp lesson, while setting Midge up to hit it from behind. Myass fails to turn the spirit, and being without magic missiles, Team Slingers is useless as their weapons do not hurt the creature. The specter misses on its second round, and Magnus the Diseased and Jaesun the Gay do a combined 23 points of damage to the undead. I smile as the creature misses again on the third round. Luck is with us! Jaesun the Gay brings it down to 9 hit points, the creature misses him on the fourth round, and after Midge stabs it, the specter flees in panic. Magnus gets the first attack of opportunity at its back and destroys it. We get a ton of experience points for the victory.
The walls of this room are sketched with the paintings of a ferry-boat approaching a group of Cynidicean spirits waiting on the bank of an underground river. Well that’s great, but I don’t care. We are leaving. Or I think I am… wrong room again.
A manticore dwelss in this room. When it sees you, its humanoid face contorts into a terrible, bestial snarl. Its tail quivers, bristling with sharp quills. The manticore doesn’t have a lot of hit points, around 30hp with an AC of 4, but it is far off and fires quills while we close. Its more dangerous at close range, however. Jaesun the Gay hits the creature, but it retaliates on Magnus the Diseased, bringing the dwarf to single digit hit points. Midge and Magnus keep missing, but Jaesun and Team Slingers bring it down to 4 hit points before Magnus finally makes contact. I get as much XP for it as I did the specter, though I think the specter was tougher even if it didn’t hit.
The manticore lies dead. Beyond it lies its bedding: a mixture of bones, cloth and straw, and the accumulated treasures of its wretched existence. I go to take the treasure, which results in 3533 xp per character, 4000gp which we can’t carry, and some gems which we can! And with that it looks like our magic-users are ready for a level-up… fireballs coming soon, baby!
This room seems damper than most in the dungeon. It is also somewhat larger than the others. Your first steps into the room are answered by a strange hissing sound. As you look about, the hissing is amplified by the sound of another mouth. Then another joins the chorus, all hissing most angrily. Then you see it, charging out of the darkness to the south. Before you ask, I’m not trying to get the party killed. I just didn’t bother to map the last few levels since I got excited and wanted to make a direct run for Zargon. My poor planning resulted in this buffoonery.
I sent Midge up first, since she had some hit points to absorb and high armor class. It is a smart move as the 8-headed hydra hits her for only 7 points of damage, while the rest of the cast moves to attack. Magnus strikes for 17 hit points of damage, while Midge, Jaesun, and some of the slingers also all get lucky. It’s nice fighting a creature with bad armor class and can be hit by normal weapons, even if it does have 60 hit points and a nasty set of attacks. Magnus goes down in the third round, but does not require bandaging. Because of their high AC, Midge and Jaesun are able to hold their own until the hydra is brought down. All but Magnus get experience points, but at least everyone survived.
A dead hydra lies sprawled across the floor of this room. Looking to the walls, you see the sketched images of a party of spirits walking across a narrow bridge over an abyss. To reiterate, all these descriptions from tier 6 and lower come from the mind of Ray Dyer.
I suddenly remember that Jaesun can cure disease and I have him put his hands on Magnus once again making the dwarf the Irascible. I decide not to explore the hydra’s lair since Magnus is still unconscious and wouldn’t enjoy the experience points from gold found. Instead I explore more corridors and finally find the way back up.
Midge becomes a level 5 thief, and the magic-users also hit level 5.
Because of the chimera, I’m tempted to get lightning bolt. Because of Zargon, I’m tempted to get haste. But I’ve found that nothing beats a good fireball as it can also be used more effectively when fighting more than one monster in irregular combat formations. I also switch all 1st level spells to magic-missile, as I don’t see sleep being much help anymore.
Taking Monty’s exact advice, I decide to explore a little more before heading back down to tier 9, starting with rooms from tier 6. This appears to have been some sort of slave barracks, as iron manacles have been bolted into the walls at irregular intervals. Some still clutch at the arms of skeletons. You startle two cloaked, hooded figures who stand in the midst of the room. At first you take them to be Priests of Zargon and ready your weapons. But when they turn and pull back their hoods, you realize that you are in a much more horrific fight!
Medusas! And they start at long range. Shit! Please God, let my fireball-casting mages go before them. Midge sticks one with an arrow from her composite longbow. And Qastur goes next, taking out the injured one and reducing the second to 1 hit point. Taking no chances, I have Abigail kill her off with a magic missile. Better a reduction of spells than a petrified character. The sprites didn’t show in the screen capture for some reason, but the long travel of both the fireball and magic missile were pretty sweet.
I also get some experience from finding some gems on the corpse of one medusa. And I find a ring of some kind after exploring the room. Some slave managed to keep a ring upon his finger even after he was wasting away. I have some things needing identification, but I’ll explore until I use another fireball… speaking of which…
A mass of black goo drops from the ceiling. As it strikes, you see that its form is covered in tiny, fang-filled mouths. We find ourselves against a black pudding, which strikes Magnus. The game tells me that it is dissolving his armor. Great… if we can’t kill this thing we’ll have to retreat. I have Midge shoot it with arrows, but her weapons have no effect. Neither does Jaesun’s magic sword and Myass’ unmagical sling. Qastur is able to hurt it with a magic missile, so I move Jaesun out of the way and fireball the thing with Abigail’s spell, which ends up doing less damage than a magic missile would have. Magnus’ armor is dissolved by the creature when I pull him away to keep him from being attacked, and team mage starts lobbing magic missiles.
I move Midge in to guard in front of the black pudding, but Abigail kills it before it can move again. The scorched remains of the black pudding are all that decorates this chamber. Only a few encounters and we already have to retreat for resupply. I decide to check out one more room before returning…
Zombies shamble forth from the shadows at the edge of your light. Though slow moving, these foes are tireless. Pinpoints of light flicker in their otherwise lifeless eyes as they raise boney fists. Boy, I bet Magnus wished he wasn’t in the front line like that. I’m not really worried, though, since I have Myass, who is dangerous to undead. The cleric only turns three of them, however, though Magnus and Jaesun take out another. The battle quickly becomes lopsided as these are the kind of enemies that might have been a threat two a 1st or 2nd level party, but not this one. We are victorious of course.
I return to the Brotherhood to identify the ring and some random items we found. None of it is magical. The best armor I can find Magnus is some chain mail, which only brings him to an AC of 5. This is unacceptable, though, so I have Magnus trade it for Myass’ Field Plate, bringing his AC to a 2. Still not great for a front-line fighter, but much better than an AC of 5. Since Magnus’ armor class was 0 with the full plate, I now wonder whether it was magical. Easy come, easy go, amirite?
I’m pretty sure we’ve cleared out tier 6, and tier 7 I like to skip because I can. Upon exploring tier 8 I run into some rather large opponents. A pair of hill giants have hunkered down around a mountain of silver and gold coins. They look very uncomfortable in the relatively cramped quarters, and when they look up their mood does not lighten. These hill giants must have had their stats increased, because those hit points are unreal. An AC of 3 and 72 hit points each. Wow… good thing there are only two of them.
One of them wounds Magnus, but he returns the favor with more damage back. I have Qastur and Abigail cut loose with fireball spells to soften the giants up, then have them follow up with magic missiles. Abigail kills one with a magic missile, and Magnus the other with his axe. The front line is hurting bad, but victory is ours along with lots of gold and experience points. You stand in the room of two dead hill giants. The creatures’ bodies lie on the floor, and the walls of the room are sketched with the beginnings of a painting of a gloomy underground river.
I hate the idea of heading out already, so I heal up Magnus with a cure light wounds spell and explore some more. A many-legged lizard dwells in this room. Several loose piles of coins, mostly gold and platinum, lay scattered about the floor. As you watch, the creature paws at the ground and rushes forward. We are fighting a basilisk, which can turn out party members to stone with his eyes. If I can injure it with a ranged weapon, it is likely that the mages can magic missile it to death before it can engage. And that’s exactly what happens. Magnus shoots it with his arquebus for 14 points of damage and Qastur and Abigail kill it off with their own spells.
Sketched on the walls of this room is the image of a group of spirits crossing an underground river on a ferry-boat. Exploring the room further, I find something to make me smile. Heaps of thousands of gold and platinum coins lie here. There are several other piles of gold coins, too. Altogether, the party makes over 4,000 experience points each from found treasure. I remember the room with the killed hydra and go back there for some more I didn’t pillage. Lying here, piled in the corner, is a veritable hoard of copper and gold coins. Among the coins lie several pieces of glittering jewelry. Another 2000+ experience points for each character because of the treasure, and with that I return to the Brotherhood to level up.
Jaesun the Gay is now a level 5 paladin, Magnus the Irascible is a level 6 fighter, Midge becomes a level 5 fighter/thief, Abigail becomes a level 6 magic-user and learns Lightning Bolt, while Qastur also becomes level 6 but learns Haste. Myass is now a level 6 cleric. I have the mages memorize a total of 8 magic missiles, a lightning bolt, and three fireballs. Hey Servants of Zargon, how you like us now?
This apparently empty chamber has sketching on the wall showing Gorm, the man depicted clutching a lightning bolt, in the robes of a judge.
The walls of this room are sketched with images of Usamigaras, the winged child, dressed in the robes of a judge.
Oooh… maybe the god of the Warrior Maidens will be next… You barely notice the wall paintings or heaps of treasure in this room, as your eyes are immediately drawn to the utterly terrifying creature lairing here. The dragon’s head rears up on its thick, flowing neck. Scales glittering in the light of your torch, it stares down at you with a wicked smile on its face. “I see dinner is served early tonight,” it coos. “But you look a lean, grisly lot. I dare say I shall not enjoy feasting upon you as much as some of the better plumped sacrifices.” It occurs to you to inform the wyrm that you are not mere sacrifices brought by the Cynidiceans, but it is too evident that she is toying with you. You shake your head, fighting to clear it from dragonfear. At least the dragon is willing to talk while you battle for your wits. “I see you have plenty of magic… and I scent the sweet aroma of gold within your pouches. Have you brought the wealth of the pyramid to me? Perhaps I shall have to defend it from Zargon itself… But I get ahead of myself. There is dining to be done.” She dives upon you, electricity crackling between her yellow fangs!
A blue dragon with an AC of 2 and 62 hit points stands against us. We are going to die… Magnus, Midge and Abigail’s magic all help to bring the dragon down to 45 hit points, but boy this is not looking good. The dragon takes Midge down with lightning breath, which causes Myass to have to bandage her, but after we lose her it becomes a one-sided slaughter. We were able to bring the dragon down to 28 hit points before everyone was killed. Still, we had a better chance then against the chimera since the party spread out and stayed away from walls, minimizing the impact of the dragon breath. I’m taking Monty’s advice, reloading, and heading to a higher level where we might be able to get a character level-up before trying again versus chimera and blue dragon.
After having my magic-users cast Strength on Jaseun and Magnus, I try to get back up on the 8th level, after being taunted for running by a certain genie, but I take a wrong turn and face off against a mummy instead. A single mummy lumbers towards you. We have to be careful here. Being diseased would be quite bad, since we don’t have the spells to cure it yet. The mummy has an AC of 3, over 50 hit points, and can’t be turned by Myass and his low cleric level, and I believe only magic might hurt it. Magnus and Midge both give solid hits, and Midge somehow backstabs an undead creature. Things get bad, however, when Magnus the Irascible is hit and becomes Magnus the Diseased… fuck. At least he retaliates. Abigail leashes our last magic missile, and Midge backstabs again. The creature misses its next attack, and Jaesun the Gay puts it out of its misery.
Out of healing and magic missiles, I begin to head back, only to get lost again.
My navigation sucks. A cloudy, wraith-like form darts and swoops about this chamber, wailing in terrible agony. Its hands and eyes are the only truly visible, human-like attributes remaining to it, and both turn sharply upon you as you enter. I move Magnus out of the way since he has low AC and hit points in comparison the spectre, but that only makes the spirit want him some more. Lucky for us it misses and Magnus teaches it a sharp lesson, while setting Midge up to hit it from behind. Myass fails to turn the spirit, and being without magic missiles, Team Slingers is useless as their weapons do not hurt the creature. The specter misses on its second round, and Magnus the Diseased and Jaesun the Gay do a combined 23 points of damage to the undead. I smile as the creature misses again on the third round. Luck is with us! Jaesun the Gay brings it down to 9 hit points, the creature misses him on the fourth round, and after Midge stabs it, the specter flees in panic. Magnus gets the first attack of opportunity at its back and destroys it. We get a ton of experience points for the victory.
The walls of this room are sketched with the paintings of a ferry-boat approaching a group of Cynidicean spirits waiting on the bank of an underground river. Well that’s great, but I don’t care. We are leaving. Or I think I am… wrong room again.
A manticore dwelss in this room. When it sees you, its humanoid face contorts into a terrible, bestial snarl. Its tail quivers, bristling with sharp quills. The manticore doesn’t have a lot of hit points, around 30hp with an AC of 4, but it is far off and fires quills while we close. Its more dangerous at close range, however. Jaesun the Gay hits the creature, but it retaliates on Magnus the Diseased, bringing the dwarf to single digit hit points. Midge and Magnus keep missing, but Jaesun and Team Slingers bring it down to 4 hit points before Magnus finally makes contact. I get as much XP for it as I did the specter, though I think the specter was tougher even if it didn’t hit.
The manticore lies dead. Beyond it lies its bedding: a mixture of bones, cloth and straw, and the accumulated treasures of its wretched existence. I go to take the treasure, which results in 3533 xp per character, 4000gp which we can’t carry, and some gems which we can! And with that it looks like our magic-users are ready for a level-up… fireballs coming soon, baby!
This room seems damper than most in the dungeon. It is also somewhat larger than the others. Your first steps into the room are answered by a strange hissing sound. As you look about, the hissing is amplified by the sound of another mouth. Then another joins the chorus, all hissing most angrily. Then you see it, charging out of the darkness to the south. Before you ask, I’m not trying to get the party killed. I just didn’t bother to map the last few levels since I got excited and wanted to make a direct run for Zargon. My poor planning resulted in this buffoonery.
I sent Midge up first, since she had some hit points to absorb and high armor class. It is a smart move as the 8-headed hydra hits her for only 7 points of damage, while the rest of the cast moves to attack. Magnus strikes for 17 hit points of damage, while Midge, Jaesun, and some of the slingers also all get lucky. It’s nice fighting a creature with bad armor class and can be hit by normal weapons, even if it does have 60 hit points and a nasty set of attacks. Magnus goes down in the third round, but does not require bandaging. Because of their high AC, Midge and Jaesun are able to hold their own until the hydra is brought down. All but Magnus get experience points, but at least everyone survived.
A dead hydra lies sprawled across the floor of this room. Looking to the walls, you see the sketched images of a party of spirits walking across a narrow bridge over an abyss. To reiterate, all these descriptions from tier 6 and lower come from the mind of Ray Dyer.
I suddenly remember that Jaesun can cure disease and I have him put his hands on Magnus once again making the dwarf the Irascible.
I decide not to explore the hydra’s lair since Magnus is still unconscious and wouldn’t enjoy the experience points from gold found. Instead I explore more corridors and finally find the way back up. Midge becomes a level 5 thief, and the magic-users also hit level 5.
Because of the chimera, I’m tempted to get lightning bolt. Because of Zargon, I’m tempted to get haste. But I’ve found that nothing beats a good fireball as it can also be used more effectively when fighting more than one monster in irregular combat formations. I also switch all 1st level spells to magic-missile, as I don’t see sleep being much help anymore.
Taking Monty’s exact advice, I decide to explore a little more before heading back down to tier 9, starting with rooms from tier 6. This appears to have been some sort of slave barracks, as iron manacles have been bolted into the walls at irregular intervals. Some still clutch at the arms of skeletons. You startle two cloaked, hooded figures who stand in the midst of the room. At first you take them to be Priests of Zargon and ready your weapons. But when they turn and pull back their hoods, you realize that you are in a much more horrific fight!
Medusas! And they start at long range. Shit! Please God, let my fireball-casting mages go before them. Midge sticks one with an arrow from her composite longbow. And Qastur goes next, taking out the injured one and reducing the second to 1 hit point. Taking no chances, I have Abigail kill her off with a magic missile. Better a reduction of spells than a petrified character. The sprites didn’t show in the screen capture for some reason, but the long travel of both the fireball and magic missile were pretty sweet.
I also get some experience from finding some gems on the corpse of one medusa. And I find a ring of some kind after exploring the room. Some slave managed to keep a ring upon his finger even after he was wasting away. I have some things needing identification, but I’ll explore until I use another fireball… speaking of which…
A mass of black goo drops from the ceiling. As it strikes, you see that its form is covered in tiny, fang-filled mouths. We find ourselves against a black pudding, which strikes Magnus. The game tells me that it is dissolving his armor. Great… if we can’t kill this thing we’ll have to retreat. I have Midge shoot it with arrows, but her weapons have no effect. Neither does Jaesun’s magic sword and Myass’ unmagical sling. Qastur is able to hurt it with a magic missile, so I move Jaesun out of the way and fireball the thing with Abigail’s spell, which ends up doing less damage than a magic missile would have. Magnus’ armor is dissolved by the creature when I pull him away to keep him from being attacked, and team mage starts lobbing magic missiles.
I move Midge in to guard in front of the black pudding, but Abigail kills it before it can move again. The scorched remains of the black pudding are all that decorates this chamber. Only a few encounters and we already have to retreat for resupply. I decide to check out one more room before returning…
Zombies shamble forth from the shadows at the edge of your light. Though slow moving, these foes are tireless. Pinpoints of light flicker in their otherwise lifeless eyes as they raise boney fists. Boy, I bet Magnus wished he wasn’t in the front line like that. I’m not really worried, though, since I have Myass, who is dangerous to undead. The cleric only turns three of them, however, though Magnus and Jaesun take out another. The battle quickly becomes lopsided as these are the kind of enemies that might have been a threat two a 1st or 2nd level party, but not this one. We are victorious of course.
I return to the Brotherhood to identify the ring and some random items we found. None of it is magical. The best armor I can find Magnus is some chain mail, which only brings him to an AC of 5. This is unacceptable, though, so I have Magnus trade it for Myass’ Field Plate, bringing his AC to a 2. Still not great for a front-line fighter, but much better than an AC of 5. Since Magnus’ armor class was 0 with the full plate, I now wonder whether it was magical. Easy come, easy go, amirite?
I’m pretty sure we’ve cleared out tier 6, and tier 7 I like to skip because I can. Upon exploring tier 8 I run into some rather large opponents. A pair of hill giants have hunkered down around a mountain of silver and gold coins. They look very uncomfortable in the relatively cramped quarters, and when they look up their mood does not lighten. These hill giants must have had their stats increased, because those hit points are unreal. An AC of 3 and 72 hit points each. Wow… good thing there are only two of them.
One of them wounds Magnus, but he returns the favor with more damage back. I have Qastur and Abigail cut loose with fireball spells to soften the giants up, then have them follow up with magic missiles. Abigail kills one with a magic missile, and Magnus the other with his axe. The front line is hurting bad, but victory is ours along with lots of gold and experience points. You stand in the room of two dead hill giants. The creatures’ bodies lie on the floor, and the walls of the room are sketched with the beginnings of a painting of a gloomy underground river.
I hate the idea of heading out already, so I heal up Magnus with a cure light wounds spell and explore some more. A many-legged lizard dwells in this room. Several loose piles of coins, mostly gold and platinum, lay scattered about the floor. As you watch, the creature paws at the ground and rushes forward. We are fighting a basilisk, which can turn out party members to stone with his eyes. If I can injure it with a ranged weapon, it is likely that the mages can magic missile it to death before it can engage. And that’s exactly what happens. Magnus shoots it with his arquebus for 14 points of damage and Qastur and Abigail kill it off with their own spells.
Sketched on the walls of this room is the image of a group of spirits crossing an underground river on a ferry-boat. Exploring the room further, I find something to make me smile. Heaps of thousands of gold and platinum coins lie here. There are several other piles of gold coins, too. Altogether, the party makes over 4,000 experience points each from found treasure. I remember the room with the killed hydra and go back there for some more I didn’t pillage. Lying here, piled in the corner, is a veritable hoard of copper and gold coins. Among the coins lie several pieces of glittering jewelry. Another 2000+ experience points for each character because of the treasure, and with that I return to the Brotherhood to level up.
Jaesun the Gay is now a level 5 paladin, Magnus the Irascible is a level 6 fighter, Midge becomes a level 5 fighter/thief, Abigail becomes a level 6 magic-user and learns Lightning Bolt, while Qastur also becomes level 6 but learns Haste. Myass is now a level 6 cleric. I have the mages memorize a total of 8 magic missiles, a lightning bolt, and three fireballs. Hey Servants of Zargon, how you like us now?
Monty
Arcane
Enjoyable update. Though the first part seemed a bit like a kamikaze run, sometimes those desperate situations are the most fun. Was expecting another TPK actually.
edit: Also had to laugh at you 'following Monty's plan' of going back to level 7 by er, exploring on level 9. A career in politics awaits you young man.
edit: Also had to laugh at you 'following Monty's plan' of going back to level 7 by er, exploring on level 9. A career in politics awaits you young man.
Monstrous Bat
Cipher
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2011
- Messages
- 638
Holy shit you've been having some ridiculous luck with specters in this adventure.
Getting some serious encounters in the second half
And what is this foolishness of skipping ahead to Zargon? Explore meticulously and loot everything, for that is the way taught by the ancestors :D
And what is this foolishness of skipping ahead to Zargon? Explore meticulously and loot everything, for that is the way taught by the ancestors :D
tuluse
Arcane
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2008
- Messages
- 11,400
Deuce, you may be interested to know that you can take a screen with dosbox itself, I think it's F5. It might work out better than windows screenshots (if that's what you're using).
I didn't know AD&D had arquebuses. It's kind of funny to think about, but also awesome.
I didn't know AD&D had arquebuses. It's kind of funny to think about, but also awesome.
@Monty , the first part was me continuing to get lost and I decided just to run with it. Once we cleared out enough of the level I finally ran into the stairs up. The kamikaze run was the update before the last one since I tried to go right for Zargon instead of trying to clear areas out.
@Monstrous Bat , I have gotten incredibly lucky when it comes to avoiding getting hit by level-draining undead. Then again we only met a level-draining wraith once that we wiped out right away. I was luckier to avoid getting hit by the specter for five straight rounds, but it was Midge that the specter was focused upon and Midge has a -3 AC, so the specter had around a 15% chance of hitting her per round. The other undead we ran into couldn’t level drain. Overall, pretty lucky.
@CappenVarra, The party is high enough level to take on the final encounters, but we really don’t have access to certain logistics. For instance, if we get someone level drained or killed I can’t restore levels or raise the fallen. Treasure has mostly been in the form of gold and slim on useful equipment, so the longer we explore the greater the chance we have of something very, very bad happening. Take Magnus losing his armor to a black pudding for instance.
@tuluse , Thanks! I’ll give that a try! The 2nd edition AD&D player’s manual had an arquebus, which did a lot of damage but took time to reload properly.
Ok, moving on, I’ll tell you the plan. I’m targeting the chimera and blue dragon one at a time, resting after each of the encounters. Once I do that, I’ll check behind their lairs to see if Zargon is near. I don’t plan to explore because I don’t want to lose a character or item at this point. I’m a little gun shy seeing how dangerous the encounters are becoming and since we are seeing level drainers again.
The chimera takes down Abigail and Myass, but they are alright and do not need bandaging. Midge and Jaesun both forward, but miss, though Qastur is able to cast magic missile to knock it down from 40 hit points to 27. Magnus goes last, and I’m hoping he can critically wound the creature, but instead he misses, then goes down to the chimera’s breath. This soon becomes the Qastur show, as Midge misses again, Jaesun and Midge only knick the creature, then Qastur hits the creature with a second magic missile for another 10 hit points of damage.
Midge goes down to three chimera bites, and Jaesun nearly also kicks the bucket and is brought down to two hit points. Luckily for Jaesun, Qastur launches another magic missile and brings the chimera down. The two survivors get more than 13,000 xp each. The walls of this chamber are sketched with images of Madarua, the woman seen atop the pyramid, dressed in the robes of a judge. We do not investigate further. It’s time to go. Jaesun heals up Myass, who heals up Magnus, Midge and Abigail. Each non-Qastur member of the party has 10 hit points or less. Time to go back up. I take a wrong turn again, and end up in the room where I killed the hill giants. But this time I accidentally bump into some treasure I missed, along with experience points for all. When I get back up to the Brotherhood I am able to get Midge leveled up to a 6th level thief, Jaesun to a 6th level paladin and Qastur to a 7th level mage with Ice Storm as his new spell.
I head down to Tier 9 and start looking for that blue dragon. First, I go to the room that housed the chimera, but it only has one exit, which runs back to the entrance to the tier. That didn’t help. I then take another nearby door, and find myself back to the rooms that lead to the blue dragon. As before, the creature has an AC of 2 and 62 hit points. We can win this fight if we keep our melee characters away from walls which cause the dragon’s lightning attack to rebound, and if we can get about two rounds of magic missiles from both magic-users along with a couple hits from the three melee fighters.
Midge falls short of the dragon and has to rely upon her composite longbow. Thankfully she hits. Jaesun the Gay also falls short, but has no distance weapon. The dragon does the unexpected, breathing lightning at Myass instead of the closing melee fighters. Since Myass is close to useless in this fight and wasn’t brought down, I’m completely fine with this. Qastur goes next, inflicting 14 hit points via magic missile and Abigail does the same for 13 more. Magnus is able to close, but disappoints with a whiff from his magical bastard sword. Myass also misses with a sling. That closes round 1 and we brought the dragon down to 30 hit points already. Hopefully he attacks someone other than Myass during round 2.
Qastur opens round 2 with a magic missile that does 13 hit points to the dragon. Myass goes next, and I have him heal himself with a cure light wounds, just in case. It takes him from 9 hit points to 15 hit points, but every bit helps. Midge closes with the dragon and makes us proud, doing another six hit points to the creature. This brings him to 11 hit points, which is just barely enough for Abigail to bring it down before it can respond. The battle went easier than did the one against the chimera. Again, dragon fights are a bit more of a let-down in Gold Box games compared to those in the Infinity Engine. You are set loose in the treasure hoard of the Great Blue Dragon! Thousands of silver coins, more than ten thousand pieces of gold, and jewelry to fund a nation! We can’t carry all those coins, but when all is said and done the party members gain a whopping 12,000 experience points each. If this was pen and paper, we’d hire some laborers and purchasing a mule and wagon in order to get this stuff back to a bank vault or a self-purchased fortress. Or we’d have bags of holding.
I explore further. The walls of this chamber are drawn with images of good spirits being judged. After a spirit has been judged, it glows with a golden light.
I don’t remember that from my Judge Dredd readings.
I can’t find a way to Zargon in this room, so again I move on after using two more healing spells on Myass. Clad in gaudy jewelry and counting stacks of gold, a vampiress bares her fangs and leaps to her feet as you enter the chamber. Though her silk dress would befit a gala ball, she leaps forward as if clad in armor! Oh fuck me! This is why I don’t want to go exploring the area… we might run into level draining undead.
The vampire tries to charm Jaesun the Gay, and to the surprise of only her, the man is not smitten with the wares she selling. She leaps forward and hits Jaesun twice, but I don’t see any messages about level drain, so she most likely didn’t bite him yet. Still, we have to take her down fast before she has a chance to do so. Magnus the Irascible hits her for a handful of damage, while Team Magic Missile brings her down further. I think about waiting to see if we can bring her down the next round for the experience points, but it’s not worth the risk. Myass attempts to turn her… and fails.
Magnus is charmed by the vampire and now we’ve got a really bad situation as he attacks Jaesun. Qastur ends her with another magic missile, but now we still have to contend with a pissed off dwarf. Luckily, we now have Dispel Magic available. Myass saves the day with the spell, so we don’t have to beat the dwarf down into unconsciousness. I’m also wondering if Ray Dyer decided to remove level drain from the module. That vampire hit Jaesun two or three times during the fight, yet he retained his level. He should be level 3 now. I do not believe paladins are immune to level drain, so maybe she hit with non-level draining attacks and missed with others. The body of the slain vampiress slowly molders into the floor of the chamber. Around her, on the walls, you see the sketching of a winged boat of golden lights approaching a group of glowing spirits. We find some more gold, which means more experience points. Abigail is ready for level 7, and I decide it is time to head back since we are getting low on magic. After a short rest we get Abigail leveled up with an Ice Storm spell added to her spellbook and head back out.
As you can see, magic is becoming pretty dominant at these levels.
@Monstrous Bat , I have gotten incredibly lucky when it comes to avoiding getting hit by level-draining undead. Then again we only met a level-draining wraith once that we wiped out right away. I was luckier to avoid getting hit by the specter for five straight rounds, but it was Midge that the specter was focused upon and Midge has a -3 AC, so the specter had around a 15% chance of hitting her per round. The other undead we ran into couldn’t level drain. Overall, pretty lucky.
@CappenVarra, The party is high enough level to take on the final encounters, but we really don’t have access to certain logistics. For instance, if we get someone level drained or killed I can’t restore levels or raise the fallen. Treasure has mostly been in the form of gold and slim on useful equipment, so the longer we explore the greater the chance we have of something very, very bad happening. Take Magnus losing his armor to a black pudding for instance.
@tuluse , Thanks! I’ll give that a try! The 2nd edition AD&D player’s manual had an arquebus, which did a lot of damage but took time to reload properly.
Ok, moving on, I’ll tell you the plan. I’m targeting the chimera and blue dragon one at a time, resting after each of the encounters. Once I do that, I’ll check behind their lairs to see if Zargon is near. I don’t plan to explore because I don’t want to lose a character or item at this point. I’m a little gun shy seeing how dangerous the encounters are becoming and since we are seeing level drainers again.
The chimera takes down Abigail and Myass, but they are alright and do not need bandaging. Midge and Jaesun both forward, but miss, though Qastur is able to cast magic missile to knock it down from 40 hit points to 27. Magnus goes last, and I’m hoping he can critically wound the creature, but instead he misses, then goes down to the chimera’s breath. This soon becomes the Qastur show, as Midge misses again, Jaesun and Midge only knick the creature, then Qastur hits the creature with a second magic missile for another 10 hit points of damage.
Midge goes down to three chimera bites, and Jaesun nearly also kicks the bucket and is brought down to two hit points. Luckily for Jaesun, Qastur launches another magic missile and brings the chimera down. The two survivors get more than 13,000 xp each. The walls of this chamber are sketched with images of Madarua, the woman seen atop the pyramid, dressed in the robes of a judge. We do not investigate further. It’s time to go. Jaesun heals up Myass, who heals up Magnus, Midge and Abigail. Each non-Qastur member of the party has 10 hit points or less. Time to go back up. I take a wrong turn again, and end up in the room where I killed the hill giants. But this time I accidentally bump into some treasure I missed, along with experience points for all. When I get back up to the Brotherhood I am able to get Midge leveled up to a 6th level thief, Jaesun to a 6th level paladin and Qastur to a 7th level mage with Ice Storm as his new spell.
I head down to Tier 9 and start looking for that blue dragon. First, I go to the room that housed the chimera, but it only has one exit, which runs back to the entrance to the tier. That didn’t help. I then take another nearby door, and find myself back to the rooms that lead to the blue dragon. As before, the creature has an AC of 2 and 62 hit points. We can win this fight if we keep our melee characters away from walls which cause the dragon’s lightning attack to rebound, and if we can get about two rounds of magic missiles from both magic-users along with a couple hits from the three melee fighters.
Midge falls short of the dragon and has to rely upon her composite longbow. Thankfully she hits. Jaesun the Gay also falls short, but has no distance weapon. The dragon does the unexpected, breathing lightning at Myass instead of the closing melee fighters. Since Myass is close to useless in this fight and wasn’t brought down, I’m completely fine with this. Qastur goes next, inflicting 14 hit points via magic missile and Abigail does the same for 13 more. Magnus is able to close, but disappoints with a whiff from his magical bastard sword. Myass also misses with a sling. That closes round 1 and we brought the dragon down to 30 hit points already. Hopefully he attacks someone other than Myass during round 2.
Qastur opens round 2 with a magic missile that does 13 hit points to the dragon. Myass goes next, and I have him heal himself with a cure light wounds, just in case. It takes him from 9 hit points to 15 hit points, but every bit helps. Midge closes with the dragon and makes us proud, doing another six hit points to the creature. This brings him to 11 hit points, which is just barely enough for Abigail to bring it down before it can respond. The battle went easier than did the one against the chimera. Again, dragon fights are a bit more of a let-down in Gold Box games compared to those in the Infinity Engine. You are set loose in the treasure hoard of the Great Blue Dragon! Thousands of silver coins, more than ten thousand pieces of gold, and jewelry to fund a nation! We can’t carry all those coins, but when all is said and done the party members gain a whopping 12,000 experience points each. If this was pen and paper, we’d hire some laborers and purchasing a mule and wagon in order to get this stuff back to a bank vault or a self-purchased fortress. Or we’d have bags of holding.
I explore further. The walls of this chamber are drawn with images of good spirits being judged. After a spirit has been judged, it glows with a golden light.
I don’t remember that from my Judge Dredd readings.
I can’t find a way to Zargon in this room, so again I move on after using two more healing spells on Myass. Clad in gaudy jewelry and counting stacks of gold, a vampiress bares her fangs and leaps to her feet as you enter the chamber. Though her silk dress would befit a gala ball, she leaps forward as if clad in armor! Oh fuck me! This is why I don’t want to go exploring the area… we might run into level draining undead.
The vampire tries to charm Jaesun the Gay, and to the surprise of only her, the man is not smitten with the wares she selling. She leaps forward and hits Jaesun twice, but I don’t see any messages about level drain, so she most likely didn’t bite him yet. Still, we have to take her down fast before she has a chance to do so. Magnus the Irascible hits her for a handful of damage, while Team Magic Missile brings her down further. I think about waiting to see if we can bring her down the next round for the experience points, but it’s not worth the risk. Myass attempts to turn her… and fails.
Magnus is charmed by the vampire and now we’ve got a really bad situation as he attacks Jaesun. Qastur ends her with another magic missile, but now we still have to contend with a pissed off dwarf. Luckily, we now have Dispel Magic available. Myass saves the day with the spell, so we don’t have to beat the dwarf down into unconsciousness. I’m also wondering if Ray Dyer decided to remove level drain from the module. That vampire hit Jaesun two or three times during the fight, yet he retained his level. He should be level 3 now. I do not believe paladins are immune to level drain, so maybe she hit with non-level draining attacks and missed with others. The body of the slain vampiress slowly molders into the floor of the chamber. Around her, on the walls, you see the sketching of a winged boat of golden lights approaching a group of glowing spirits. We find some more gold, which means more experience points. Abigail is ready for level 7, and I decide it is time to head back since we are getting low on magic. After a short rest we get Abigail leveled up with an Ice Storm spell added to her spellbook and head back out.
As you can see, magic is becoming pretty dominant at these levels.
I return to where I killed the vampire and check the next door.
This chamber appears to be empty, though you cannot see what is around the corner to the left. Sketched on the walls here you see the image of glowing spirits boarding a winged boat made of golden light. A bit ominous. Still, I move forward… Suddenly, a rectangular portion of the floor disconnects from the room around you, dropping you into a murky slide! Foul, viscous ooze drops in clumps onto the slide from the underside of the chamber’s floor. You lose your footing from the sharp, lurching drop, and then you are careening down the sharp slope. Sliding into a large, slime-covered chamber, you find that the floor is littered with bones. Dripping with slime, you stand. Suddenly, you hear a rustling noise from the north wall. There, a huge humanoid figure rises from the slime, standing fifteen feet tall. Its head is that of a giant lizard. A black, two-foot long horn curves upward above its single red eye, and sharp teeth fill its mouth. Instead of arms, the creature has six tentacles, three on each side of its body. These end in razor-sharp talons. Instead of legs, the creature slithers toward you on six more powerful tentacles. Slime runs from its grotesque body as it does from your own.
Here it is! The battle against Zargon, a creature with 80 hit points and an AC of 0. If I had known this was coming I would have buffed up the party with strength spells and memorized and used a haste. But what’s done is done and we have a battle to fight against an ugly, slime-green background. Hopefully my melee fighters can hold the creature back long enough for the magic-users to bring it down.
Midge misses, but she blocks for Qastur, who fires a magic missile into Zargon’s face so that our side can claim first blood.
The creature retaliates, slapping Midge around with his six flailing, slime-covered tentacles, eliminating more than half her hit points in a single round. The pic I was going to use for this is not safe for work.
Where does this tentacle beast come from?
Japan?
Or is it some sort of demon, pulled to the Lost City to punish the Cynidiceans for their decadent ways?
Or is it an alien being, fallen from the stars and trapped upon this world; a malevolent intelligence feeding on what it considers to be lesser beings?
How much do we know of our own world? Maybe there are others like it deep inside the earth or under the dark sea; a forgotten, horrible race in its own state of decline but still flickering with enough life to turn our waking hours into nightmares.
Does it understand why we are here? Our hatred and determination?
It howls and flails.
Knows pain. Retaliates.
Bleeds.
Falls.
And I hope that in its final moments, Zargon’s sole eye stares upon us and knows what it is to fear.
We did it! We defeated Zargon! A lot easier than I expected, but I don’t mind. Time to go back to the Brotherhood, get some props, then return to our homeland.
Partially submerged in the murk, among bones of countless humans and humanoids, you find the treasures accumulated by Zargon over the years. It is not easy climbing up the ramp from Zargon’s lair, but many difficult things were made possible to escape the filthy green slime. Upon returning to the Brotherhood of Grom you are asked to wait. And then three people walk into the room: a wizard garbed in rainbow-hued robes, a warrior in iron chainmail over a blue tunic and a woman clad in bronze chainmail over a green tunic. You easily recognize the leader of your order, but the gray hair and stern eyes peering from behind the masks of the other two can only imply one thing. “The leaders of the Three True Orders of Old Cynidicea stand before you. Know this and be humbled, adventurers. Know this and know that you may speak not of it, for we have gathered in the name of our people, and against them. Should any learn of this meeting and understand what they know, all hope of restoring the Lost City to its former glory will be lost. But your victory over Zargon has given us a hope we never dared dream before. There is an island at the heart of the underground lake”, says the Master of the Magi. “It is known as the island of death. Upon it is a rock formation that existed before the First Cynidicean ever came here. It is the burial place of great kings and it is the site of the oracle. You must arrest a boat from the Priests of Zargon, and take the boat to the isle. There, confront the oracle and learn what is needed to break the curse over the people of our great land. When you do this, the time will be near that we can provide for you to return to your homes.” The leaders of the three orders watch you carefully as you leave.
That pack of ungrateful asshats!
And why are the Priests of Zargon still around if I killed their god? I did kill their god, right? What the hell is going on?! I demand the Brotherhood knock this crap off and send a group to confirm that thing is dead! Oh, they did? What happened?
Oh...
This chamber appears to be empty, though you cannot see what is around the corner to the left. Sketched on the walls here you see the image of glowing spirits boarding a winged boat made of golden light. A bit ominous. Still, I move forward… Suddenly, a rectangular portion of the floor disconnects from the room around you, dropping you into a murky slide! Foul, viscous ooze drops in clumps onto the slide from the underside of the chamber’s floor. You lose your footing from the sharp, lurching drop, and then you are careening down the sharp slope. Sliding into a large, slime-covered chamber, you find that the floor is littered with bones. Dripping with slime, you stand. Suddenly, you hear a rustling noise from the north wall. There, a huge humanoid figure rises from the slime, standing fifteen feet tall. Its head is that of a giant lizard. A black, two-foot long horn curves upward above its single red eye, and sharp teeth fill its mouth. Instead of arms, the creature has six tentacles, three on each side of its body. These end in razor-sharp talons. Instead of legs, the creature slithers toward you on six more powerful tentacles. Slime runs from its grotesque body as it does from your own.
Here it is! The battle against Zargon, a creature with 80 hit points and an AC of 0. If I had known this was coming I would have buffed up the party with strength spells and memorized and used a haste. But what’s done is done and we have a battle to fight against an ugly, slime-green background. Hopefully my melee fighters can hold the creature back long enough for the magic-users to bring it down.
Midge misses, but she blocks for Qastur, who fires a magic missile into Zargon’s face so that our side can claim first blood.
The creature retaliates, slapping Midge around with his six flailing, slime-covered tentacles, eliminating more than half her hit points in a single round. The pic I was going to use for this is not safe for work.
Where does this tentacle beast come from?
Japan?
Or is it some sort of demon, pulled to the Lost City to punish the Cynidiceans for their decadent ways?
Or is it an alien being, fallen from the stars and trapped upon this world; a malevolent intelligence feeding on what it considers to be lesser beings?
How much do we know of our own world? Maybe there are others like it deep inside the earth or under the dark sea; a forgotten, horrible race in its own state of decline but still flickering with enough life to turn our waking hours into nightmares.
Does it understand why we are here? Our hatred and determination?
It howls and flails.
Knows pain. Retaliates.
Bleeds.
Falls.
And I hope that in its final moments, Zargon’s sole eye stares upon us and knows what it is to fear.
We did it! We defeated Zargon! A lot easier than I expected, but I don’t mind. Time to go back to the Brotherhood, get some props, then return to our homeland.
Partially submerged in the murk, among bones of countless humans and humanoids, you find the treasures accumulated by Zargon over the years. It is not easy climbing up the ramp from Zargon’s lair, but many difficult things were made possible to escape the filthy green slime. Upon returning to the Brotherhood of Grom you are asked to wait. And then three people walk into the room: a wizard garbed in rainbow-hued robes, a warrior in iron chainmail over a blue tunic and a woman clad in bronze chainmail over a green tunic. You easily recognize the leader of your order, but the gray hair and stern eyes peering from behind the masks of the other two can only imply one thing. “The leaders of the Three True Orders of Old Cynidicea stand before you. Know this and be humbled, adventurers. Know this and know that you may speak not of it, for we have gathered in the name of our people, and against them. Should any learn of this meeting and understand what they know, all hope of restoring the Lost City to its former glory will be lost. But your victory over Zargon has given us a hope we never dared dream before. There is an island at the heart of the underground lake”, says the Master of the Magi. “It is known as the island of death. Upon it is a rock formation that existed before the First Cynidicean ever came here. It is the burial place of great kings and it is the site of the oracle. You must arrest a boat from the Priests of Zargon, and take the boat to the isle. There, confront the oracle and learn what is needed to break the curse over the people of our great land. When you do this, the time will be near that we can provide for you to return to your homes.” The leaders of the three orders watch you carefully as you leave.
That pack of ungrateful asshats!
And why are the Priests of Zargon still around if I killed their god? I did kill their god, right? What the hell is going on?! I demand the Brotherhood knock this crap off and send a group to confirm that thing is dead! Oh, they did? What happened?
Oh...
Ah, quality update. Good to see dispel magic worked there. Being beaten bloody by Jaesun gets old after a while. 
Monstrous Bat
Cipher
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2011
- Messages
- 638
I find it funny that so far, Magic Missile has actually claimed more lives than Fireball has. Fireball was really great in the Goldbox games for wiping out huge hordes of monsters quickly, but in this module, it seems that most encounters consist of a few, or even just one powerful monster, which makes Fireball borderline useless.
Dorateen
Arcane
That's an interesting point. Even though encounters at the end were against more singular oppents, did you consider using area of effect spells like Ice Storm or Fireball, for their damage output?
@Monstrous Bat
and Dorateen , Magic Missile is better to fire off at single enemies for a level 5 magic-user then a Fireball when the enemy has fire resistance or good saves against spells. A 5th level mage gets three magic missiles which do 1d4+1 points of damage each, averaging out to 10.5 points of damage per casting, but does not allow for saves vs spells. A fifth level fireball does 5d6 points of damage, or 17.5 points of damage. But if the high level monster makes its save vs spells, the damage is halved for around 9 points of damage. If the creature is fire-based, then the damage is halved again for around 5 points of damage. On the first encounter with the chimera, fireball did less than 10 points of damage to the creature while magic missiles were doing more. A 9th level mage will shoot five magic missiles, averaging 17.5 points of non-elemental, damage that doesn't allow for saves, but his 9d6 fireball will average 31.5 points of damage and 16 points of damage with a save, 8 points of damage with a save and fire resistance.
As for Ice Storm, it actually sucks. I think it may deny saving throws, too, but it is effective in a smaller radius than fireball and typically does less damage. It is helpful in tighter areas with close walls, though, when the enemy is engaged with your front line in melee and a fireball or lightning bolt might get your own folks killed.
This module is rivaling professionally made RPGs in terms of length. I have a larger update than normal, and still don't have any idea how close I am to the end. We fight Zargon again, but he brings massive support this time. You want fireballs? You're gonna get fireballs. Onto my update.
******
This fan module continues to be larger than I expected. I separated my last post into two parts because I thought I was at the final battle and wanted to use more screen shots for the big finale. My old computer bogs down when I start going over a dozen pictures in one post. We have found the Lost City under the pyramid, united the Three Factions of the Old Gods, and killed Zargon, but still we find ourselves questing. Now we are trying to find the oracle who will tell us the fate of the Lost City and what we must do to make sure the future goes our way. Oh, and we have to conduct a raid against the remaining Priests of Zargon in order to get a boat to get to said oracle. And why are there still Priests of Zargon if Zargon is dead? Turns out Zargon is not dead as it has the ability to regenerate. Here is what the manual says about him:
Zargon (AC 0; HD 12*; hp 80; MV 30'; #AT 7; D6 x l-8/3d8; Save F12; ML 12; AL C). It will try to attack and slay any party members it can catch, striking with its claws and biting. The party can climb back up the slide with difficulty (if Zargon lets them).
Zargon can regenerate its body as long as its great horn is not destroyed. Regeneration from the bare horn may take a number of years, but otherwise Zargon is likely to be at full strength whenever the party encounters it.
This is the reason Zargon took out the Cynidiceans’ civilization. They sent groups of warriors to kill the thing, only to have it come back when they succeeded.
I camp at the Brotherhood headquarters once more and identify some of the items, a few of which are magical. Myass gets a suit of chain mail armor +2, Jaesun gets a Shield +2, taking his AC down to -3, and Midge gets a Spear +2 she can use with a shield. She passes the silver dagger back to Abigail and her Quality Mace to Myass, who sells off his old flail. Magnus and Abigail each gain a level.
On the way down, I notice the genie has left. “An old, battered bronze vase lies to one side. Its contents are forever gone.”
Next I come across the room that had the floor drop out from under me and deposited me inside Zargon’s lair. I probably should leave well enough alone, but I must know… No sign of Zargon. Is he truly dead and his body dissolve? Not likely.
I go through a nearby door. This room is heavily scented by incense blocks smoking in large iron braziers positioned at regular intervals. You turn to face a man who is reclining upon a worn divan, probably one taken from the higher tiers of the pyramid. He nods to you as you enter. “Greetings, travelers. Welcome to the Shrine of Zargon. Have a seat, relax. The great one will see you shortly.” You start to sit down, then shake your head. Standing, you find the man’s features are beginning to distort, growing more porcine and red. He snorts and smiles, then sneers as he realizes his charm failed.”
We are fighting a devil swine. I have Qastur wipe the sneer off his face with a magic missile to start the round. Abigail does likewise, but the creature hits hard, slamming Jaesun for 18 hit points of damage in one hit. Another magic missile and a stab from Midge ends the fight, however. She also finds his treasure in a chest and picks the lock and we get 400 gp.
You know what I don’t find, though? An underground lake. I have now cleared just about every tier except Tier 7, which seems dry. I decide to go back to the Lost City where the Brotherhood headquarters is located and where I last saw the Priests of Zargon. The cultist lair is still empty of life, but nearby I find the lake. You have to blink and rub your eyes to believe what you see before you. An underground lake. It appears deep and full of fresh, clear water. Looking more closely, you see several Cynidiceans actually fishing at the edge of the water! There are fishing boats on the lake! “So they do exist on more than simply toadstools,” Jaesun the Gay says.
Fishing boats leave the docks here, under the careful watch of Priests of Zargon and their humanoid guards. Do you attack the priests at the docks? Hell yes!
Holy crap, they have a small army! But we have fireball! Two to be exact. We wipe out the majority of the enemy in round one, Jaesun and Midge create a shield wall and guard. Myass blesses himself and the melee fighters. Magnus uses his arquebus and kills the lead goblin for good measure. The survivors surrender quickly. Piece of cake. Or so I thought.
Iron statues and acolytes of Zargon rush from the streets to attack you! Caught up in the moment, many Cynidiceans begin to maul one another!
I’m wedged between two sides, but it seems as if the citizens nearest me are allies. I use them to block the enemy south of my heroes, and have the heroes look to the enemy in the northwest. One of the acolytes moves to cast a spell, but is stopped by a sling stone fired by Myass. Out of fireballs, Abigail takes out four enemy spellcasters with an Ice Storm and injures badly an Iron Statue. We’ve knocked out a few clusters of enemies, so Qastur takes out a lone enemy cleric with a magic missile instead.
With the majority of their forces broken up into smaller pockets, I hold my spellcasters from using magic and have them break out the slings while my melee characters join the scrum. It takes two more rounds to clear the field. More priests and statues are coming, so you hurry down the dock. Behind you, the howling of man-wolves and the attempted flight of man-chickens ring clearly in the air. You leap into the nearest fishing boat and row as quickly as possible away from the docks. Soon, you are away and breaking free of the docks. The sheer size of the underground lake is awe-inspiring. After some thirty minutes of rowing, you come ashore on a small, barren island. The island of death.
The island has a few winding passages that lead to dead ends. One of these is actually a secret passage. Four pillars of rock stand In this clearing. At the heart of the square they form rises a shimmering column of water. “The Oracle,” Myass whispers. Water stands in a pillar, not contained by any manner of basin. Simply by standing this near it, you can feel that it is brimming with magical energy. A voice speaks from your mind. It seems to come not from the water, but from the pillars of rock anchoring it. “Thou hast come for the solution to the riddle of Cynidicea. Thou shouldst know, then, that thou art at the beginning of thy quest, and not the end. There are three things you must do before seeing thy precious green home again. Thou must findeth the White Flower of Restoration. Thou must findeth the true king of the land. Thou must truly destroy Zargon. The White Flower may be found in the lower catacombs, locked away far below the Cynidicea thou knoweth. Thou knoweth the true king, but he knoweth not his position and shall not until the White Flower is brought to him. Should death be brought to him before his time, all Cynidicea shall suffer. Lookest thou into my waters to see thy true king of Cynidicea. Thou must hasten to his side and protect him from his many enemies. Look, too, upon thy true enemy. He liveth, and he rageth with due wrath. So long as his black horn toucheth his head, the foul Zargon shall seek thy destruction. To slay Zargon, take though his horn to the Eye of Zargon, far west of the Park of Orpheus. Into its Abyssal flames must though throweth the Horn of Zargon, and he shall at last be destroyed.” For a bewildering moment you are dizzied by the experience of staring into the mystical waters of the pool. When you come to your senses, you are standing a fair ten feet distant from the Oracle.
Why a White Flower? We are underground. Wouldn’t a magic White Mushroom or White Fungi Patch be more consistent with the setting?
Having spoken to the Oracle, you return to your fishing boat and row towards shore. In an effort to avoid the Priests of Zargon, you row south, towards the park on the southwest side of the city. On my way back to the Brotherhood headquarters from the park an earthquake hits. Chunks of rocks fall from the ceiling of the cavern, dropping hundreds of feet and spearing unsuspecting Cynidiceans. You are thrown to the ground by the shockwave that rolls through the garden. Some Cynidiceans scream in terror and run amok, waving their hands. Others are barely stirred from their reverie. A Warrior Maiden of Madarua rushes up to you, her eyes wide beneath her mask. It is Zargon! He stirs! He lives! Brandishing her spear, she runs towards the city. The earthquake rocked much of the city. Many buildings lie in ruins, with wounded and dying Cynidiceans at the mercy of the Priests of Zargon.
We don’t have the White Flower yet, and I haven’t explored parts of the park. I head in the opposite direction of the city. I’m sure the others can hold out. Right?
I find an odd building on a plateau overlooking the city. The stench of rot is nearly overpowering in this warehouse. Broken crates scatter months-old mushrooms and unpreserved meat across the floor.
Nothing in there of worth. I go into another building.
Doors on your left and right fly open as you step into this area between two warehouses. Ghouls pour out, howling ravenously. We are attacked by nine ghouls, five to our right and four to the left. Qastur takes out four right away with an Ice Storm, while Myass turns three more. We take out the last two, but not before one paralyzes Jaesun and the other knocks him unconscious. A cure light wounds spell and step later. Broken crates and boxes have been emptied onto the floor of this chamber. The ghouls responsible were not often hungry for mushrooms, it seems, for the foul-smelling, rotten things cover the floor. A rotten pouch with three bits of lapis-lazuli lies among a collection of bones and unfinished meals. The smell is awful.
Ok, if I keep this up I’m going to have no hit points and magic left to take on Zargon. I’m skipping out on finding the White Flower for now, healing Jaesun back up, and trying to save the remaining Cynidiceans. Myass casts Prayer. The two magic-users cast Strength on Jaesun the Gay, Magnus the Irascible, Midge and Myass. Time to fight. Goblins rush past you, spears lowered, but they do not seem to notice you. Looking ahead of them, you see that they are rushing to the side of a tall Priest of Zargon. All around you, humanoids skewer unsuspecting and defenseless Cynidiceans. Small clusters of magi or warriors struggle to hold their ground, but it is a losing struggle. Tendrils of smoke rise into the sky over the Lost City; you believe they stem from the Complexes of the Three Orders.
Members of the Brotherhood of Gorm charge you, weapons raised! A moment before the battle begins, you realize they are coming to your aid, for Priests of Zargon are emerging from the crowd on your opposite side!
The Priests of Zargon that are attacking me must be their higher command, because two of them let loose with Hold Person spells, but luckily Midge, Jaesun and Myass make their saves both times. Myass tries to retaliate with another Hold Person spell of his own, but a third priest holds him instead. Luckily for me, we have Myass surrounded and covered and the priests have shot their strongest spells, making it a melee free for all. The Brotherhood earn their reputation during this battle, taking out a priest or two. Even Abigail does a decent job by stabbing a priest who engages her twice with her silver dagger.
That threat neutralized, I see where else we can help.
You see him amid the clamor surrounding the tunnel to the pyramid. The Cynidicean the Oracle proclaimed the True King of the Lost City. He wings about, oblivious to his plight as humanoids dance around him. But the true threat is much greater than humanoids. A tall priest wearing the garb of Zargon stands amid the forces of chaos and shouts orders to his minions. And over it all looms Zargon itself, tentacles waving. Its single eye narrows as it spots you standing near below.
I hate this phrase, but it seems appropriate for the situation: Shit just got real.
The fighting is pretty intense and desperate, but the large distance between our two groups is an advantage. I have Qastur and Abigail exhaust their Fireball and Ice Storm spells at the rushing groups of enemies, dwindling their numbers so that the front line fighters can better handle them. A smartly placed Stinking Cloud from Abigail delays the humanoid enemy, forcing them to go around and helping to protect the casters. Myass uses up his remaining Hold Person spells on priests before they can cast their spells, with a magic missile or two to eliminate those that make their saves. Magnus fires a couple rounds from his arquebus at enemy spellcasters, before engaging in melee to help the better armored Jaesun and Midge who blocked most of the incoming fighters.
Once the front lines were stabilized, Abigail and Magnus used their remaining magic missiles and a fireball to weaken Zargon himself, who dumbly waited too long in the back until it was obvious his followers were failing. Zargon almost took down Midge with tentacle slaps (he likes her), who went into single hit points fighting him, but the combined might of Midge, Magnus and Jaesun overwhelmed the creature. I think I am down to a lightning bolt spell and one dispel magic out of all my spellcasters. Now this was a worthy fight!
Humanoids run away, screaming in terror as their deity falls. Quickly, you sever the horn from Zargon’s head, holding the heavy black thing in two hands. “Jaesun the Gay!” You look westward to see the master of the Order of Usamigaras beckoning to you. You look about and find that the man in the bird mask is unharmed and fluttering about nearby. I follow the man westward to the mushroom fields. You run after him, using the chaos of Zargon’s defeat to avoid any more complications. You drag along the bird man with you. You stop just inside a warehouse. A Brother of Gorm meets you and escorts you deeper into the warehouse. A dozen warriors and wizards stay behind in this room to guard the entrance. You meet with the leaders of the Three Orders, and tell them what you learned from the Oracle. The Master of the Order of Usamigaras says, “If you seek the White Flower, you must enter the lower catacombs beneath the City. I noticed while extricating the Maiden Queen that the seal to the lower catacombs is broken. The great stone slab west of the Madarua Shrine was put in place in order to stop the escape of horrors from the lower catacombs. It is known, though, that the White Flower grew there.” The three leaders turn ashen when they see the Horn of Zargon in your hands. The Master of the Brotherhood of Gorm is the first to recover. “To Destroy the Horn in the Eye of Zargon, you will need magic to survive the heat of the volcano.” The Maiden Queen says, “The salves of the stones can protect against heat. The ancient warrior maidens slicked themselves with it before doing battle with the Wizards of Usamigaras. It gave them immunity to the worst of their heat spells. But the salves were located within the lower catacombs. The farthest eastern reaches of the catacombs run smoothly with the green fluids. Fill a canteen for each of you.” I am able to level up the magic-users to level 8, heal, and rememorize spells.
I leave, and head out into the streets. Time to get my bearings and head for the lower catacombs.
A Priest of Zargon shouts Qastur’s name! You turn to find a wave of goblins screaming towards you! Oh really? Eat double-barreled fireballs.
He brought a Hold Person spell to a Fireball fight. The battle soon ends after Abigail and Qastur do their work as the survivors all surrender. Hopefully those cultists have learned their lesson at this point and won’t seek to get any further in our way. Now to see if we can find these catacombs. For those of you that were wondering, none of this was in the original module. The pen and paper module stopped in the slime-filled room where we had slain Zargon the first time.
and Dorateen , Magic Missile is better to fire off at single enemies for a level 5 magic-user then a Fireball when the enemy has fire resistance or good saves against spells. A 5th level mage gets three magic missiles which do 1d4+1 points of damage each, averaging out to 10.5 points of damage per casting, but does not allow for saves vs spells. A fifth level fireball does 5d6 points of damage, or 17.5 points of damage. But if the high level monster makes its save vs spells, the damage is halved for around 9 points of damage. If the creature is fire-based, then the damage is halved again for around 5 points of damage. On the first encounter with the chimera, fireball did less than 10 points of damage to the creature while magic missiles were doing more. A 9th level mage will shoot five magic missiles, averaging 17.5 points of non-elemental, damage that doesn't allow for saves, but his 9d6 fireball will average 31.5 points of damage and 16 points of damage with a save, 8 points of damage with a save and fire resistance.
As for Ice Storm, it actually sucks. I think it may deny saving throws, too, but it is effective in a smaller radius than fireball and typically does less damage. It is helpful in tighter areas with close walls, though, when the enemy is engaged with your front line in melee and a fireball or lightning bolt might get your own folks killed.
This module is rivaling professionally made RPGs in terms of length. I have a larger update than normal, and still don't have any idea how close I am to the end. We fight Zargon again, but he brings massive support this time. You want fireballs? You're gonna get fireballs. Onto my update.
******
This fan module continues to be larger than I expected. I separated my last post into two parts because I thought I was at the final battle and wanted to use more screen shots for the big finale. My old computer bogs down when I start going over a dozen pictures in one post. We have found the Lost City under the pyramid, united the Three Factions of the Old Gods, and killed Zargon, but still we find ourselves questing. Now we are trying to find the oracle who will tell us the fate of the Lost City and what we must do to make sure the future goes our way. Oh, and we have to conduct a raid against the remaining Priests of Zargon in order to get a boat to get to said oracle. And why are there still Priests of Zargon if Zargon is dead? Turns out Zargon is not dead as it has the ability to regenerate. Here is what the manual says about him:
Zargon (AC 0; HD 12*; hp 80; MV 30'; #AT 7; D6 x l-8/3d8; Save F12; ML 12; AL C). It will try to attack and slay any party members it can catch, striking with its claws and biting. The party can climb back up the slide with difficulty (if Zargon lets them).
Zargon can regenerate its body as long as its great horn is not destroyed. Regeneration from the bare horn may take a number of years, but otherwise Zargon is likely to be at full strength whenever the party encounters it.
This is the reason Zargon took out the Cynidiceans’ civilization. They sent groups of warriors to kill the thing, only to have it come back when they succeeded.
I camp at the Brotherhood headquarters once more and identify some of the items, a few of which are magical. Myass gets a suit of chain mail armor +2, Jaesun gets a Shield +2, taking his AC down to -3, and Midge gets a Spear +2 she can use with a shield. She passes the silver dagger back to Abigail and her Quality Mace to Myass, who sells off his old flail. Magnus and Abigail each gain a level.
On the way down, I notice the genie has left. “An old, battered bronze vase lies to one side. Its contents are forever gone.”
Next I come across the room that had the floor drop out from under me and deposited me inside Zargon’s lair. I probably should leave well enough alone, but I must know… No sign of Zargon. Is he truly dead and his body dissolve? Not likely.
I go through a nearby door. This room is heavily scented by incense blocks smoking in large iron braziers positioned at regular intervals. You turn to face a man who is reclining upon a worn divan, probably one taken from the higher tiers of the pyramid. He nods to you as you enter. “Greetings, travelers. Welcome to the Shrine of Zargon. Have a seat, relax. The great one will see you shortly.” You start to sit down, then shake your head. Standing, you find the man’s features are beginning to distort, growing more porcine and red. He snorts and smiles, then sneers as he realizes his charm failed.”
We are fighting a devil swine. I have Qastur wipe the sneer off his face with a magic missile to start the round. Abigail does likewise, but the creature hits hard, slamming Jaesun for 18 hit points of damage in one hit. Another magic missile and a stab from Midge ends the fight, however. She also finds his treasure in a chest and picks the lock and we get 400 gp.
You know what I don’t find, though? An underground lake. I have now cleared just about every tier except Tier 7, which seems dry. I decide to go back to the Lost City where the Brotherhood headquarters is located and where I last saw the Priests of Zargon. The cultist lair is still empty of life, but nearby I find the lake. You have to blink and rub your eyes to believe what you see before you. An underground lake. It appears deep and full of fresh, clear water. Looking more closely, you see several Cynidiceans actually fishing at the edge of the water! There are fishing boats on the lake! “So they do exist on more than simply toadstools,” Jaesun the Gay says.
Fishing boats leave the docks here, under the careful watch of Priests of Zargon and their humanoid guards. Do you attack the priests at the docks? Hell yes!
Holy crap, they have a small army! But we have fireball! Two to be exact. We wipe out the majority of the enemy in round one, Jaesun and Midge create a shield wall and guard. Myass blesses himself and the melee fighters. Magnus uses his arquebus and kills the lead goblin for good measure. The survivors surrender quickly. Piece of cake. Or so I thought.
Iron statues and acolytes of Zargon rush from the streets to attack you! Caught up in the moment, many Cynidiceans begin to maul one another!
I’m wedged between two sides, but it seems as if the citizens nearest me are allies. I use them to block the enemy south of my heroes, and have the heroes look to the enemy in the northwest. One of the acolytes moves to cast a spell, but is stopped by a sling stone fired by Myass. Out of fireballs, Abigail takes out four enemy spellcasters with an Ice Storm and injures badly an Iron Statue. We’ve knocked out a few clusters of enemies, so Qastur takes out a lone enemy cleric with a magic missile instead.
With the majority of their forces broken up into smaller pockets, I hold my spellcasters from using magic and have them break out the slings while my melee characters join the scrum. It takes two more rounds to clear the field. More priests and statues are coming, so you hurry down the dock. Behind you, the howling of man-wolves and the attempted flight of man-chickens ring clearly in the air. You leap into the nearest fishing boat and row as quickly as possible away from the docks. Soon, you are away and breaking free of the docks. The sheer size of the underground lake is awe-inspiring. After some thirty minutes of rowing, you come ashore on a small, barren island. The island of death.
The island has a few winding passages that lead to dead ends. One of these is actually a secret passage. Four pillars of rock stand In this clearing. At the heart of the square they form rises a shimmering column of water. “The Oracle,” Myass whispers. Water stands in a pillar, not contained by any manner of basin. Simply by standing this near it, you can feel that it is brimming with magical energy. A voice speaks from your mind. It seems to come not from the water, but from the pillars of rock anchoring it. “Thou hast come for the solution to the riddle of Cynidicea. Thou shouldst know, then, that thou art at the beginning of thy quest, and not the end. There are three things you must do before seeing thy precious green home again. Thou must findeth the White Flower of Restoration. Thou must findeth the true king of the land. Thou must truly destroy Zargon. The White Flower may be found in the lower catacombs, locked away far below the Cynidicea thou knoweth. Thou knoweth the true king, but he knoweth not his position and shall not until the White Flower is brought to him. Should death be brought to him before his time, all Cynidicea shall suffer. Lookest thou into my waters to see thy true king of Cynidicea. Thou must hasten to his side and protect him from his many enemies. Look, too, upon thy true enemy. He liveth, and he rageth with due wrath. So long as his black horn toucheth his head, the foul Zargon shall seek thy destruction. To slay Zargon, take though his horn to the Eye of Zargon, far west of the Park of Orpheus. Into its Abyssal flames must though throweth the Horn of Zargon, and he shall at last be destroyed.” For a bewildering moment you are dizzied by the experience of staring into the mystical waters of the pool. When you come to your senses, you are standing a fair ten feet distant from the Oracle.
Why a White Flower? We are underground. Wouldn’t a magic White Mushroom or White Fungi Patch be more consistent with the setting?
Having spoken to the Oracle, you return to your fishing boat and row towards shore. In an effort to avoid the Priests of Zargon, you row south, towards the park on the southwest side of the city. On my way back to the Brotherhood headquarters from the park an earthquake hits. Chunks of rocks fall from the ceiling of the cavern, dropping hundreds of feet and spearing unsuspecting Cynidiceans. You are thrown to the ground by the shockwave that rolls through the garden. Some Cynidiceans scream in terror and run amok, waving their hands. Others are barely stirred from their reverie. A Warrior Maiden of Madarua rushes up to you, her eyes wide beneath her mask. It is Zargon! He stirs! He lives! Brandishing her spear, she runs towards the city. The earthquake rocked much of the city. Many buildings lie in ruins, with wounded and dying Cynidiceans at the mercy of the Priests of Zargon.
We don’t have the White Flower yet, and I haven’t explored parts of the park. I head in the opposite direction of the city. I’m sure the others can hold out. Right?
I find an odd building on a plateau overlooking the city. The stench of rot is nearly overpowering in this warehouse. Broken crates scatter months-old mushrooms and unpreserved meat across the floor.
Nothing in there of worth. I go into another building.
Doors on your left and right fly open as you step into this area between two warehouses. Ghouls pour out, howling ravenously. We are attacked by nine ghouls, five to our right and four to the left. Qastur takes out four right away with an Ice Storm, while Myass turns three more. We take out the last two, but not before one paralyzes Jaesun and the other knocks him unconscious. A cure light wounds spell and step later. Broken crates and boxes have been emptied onto the floor of this chamber. The ghouls responsible were not often hungry for mushrooms, it seems, for the foul-smelling, rotten things cover the floor. A rotten pouch with three bits of lapis-lazuli lies among a collection of bones and unfinished meals. The smell is awful.
Ok, if I keep this up I’m going to have no hit points and magic left to take on Zargon. I’m skipping out on finding the White Flower for now, healing Jaesun back up, and trying to save the remaining Cynidiceans. Myass casts Prayer. The two magic-users cast Strength on Jaesun the Gay, Magnus the Irascible, Midge and Myass. Time to fight. Goblins rush past you, spears lowered, but they do not seem to notice you. Looking ahead of them, you see that they are rushing to the side of a tall Priest of Zargon. All around you, humanoids skewer unsuspecting and defenseless Cynidiceans. Small clusters of magi or warriors struggle to hold their ground, but it is a losing struggle. Tendrils of smoke rise into the sky over the Lost City; you believe they stem from the Complexes of the Three Orders.
Members of the Brotherhood of Gorm charge you, weapons raised! A moment before the battle begins, you realize they are coming to your aid, for Priests of Zargon are emerging from the crowd on your opposite side!
The Priests of Zargon that are attacking me must be their higher command, because two of them let loose with Hold Person spells, but luckily Midge, Jaesun and Myass make their saves both times. Myass tries to retaliate with another Hold Person spell of his own, but a third priest holds him instead. Luckily for me, we have Myass surrounded and covered and the priests have shot their strongest spells, making it a melee free for all. The Brotherhood earn their reputation during this battle, taking out a priest or two. Even Abigail does a decent job by stabbing a priest who engages her twice with her silver dagger.
That threat neutralized, I see where else we can help.
You see him amid the clamor surrounding the tunnel to the pyramid. The Cynidicean the Oracle proclaimed the True King of the Lost City. He wings about, oblivious to his plight as humanoids dance around him. But the true threat is much greater than humanoids. A tall priest wearing the garb of Zargon stands amid the forces of chaos and shouts orders to his minions. And over it all looms Zargon itself, tentacles waving. Its single eye narrows as it spots you standing near below.
I hate this phrase, but it seems appropriate for the situation: Shit just got real.
The fighting is pretty intense and desperate, but the large distance between our two groups is an advantage. I have Qastur and Abigail exhaust their Fireball and Ice Storm spells at the rushing groups of enemies, dwindling their numbers so that the front line fighters can better handle them. A smartly placed Stinking Cloud from Abigail delays the humanoid enemy, forcing them to go around and helping to protect the casters. Myass uses up his remaining Hold Person spells on priests before they can cast their spells, with a magic missile or two to eliminate those that make their saves. Magnus fires a couple rounds from his arquebus at enemy spellcasters, before engaging in melee to help the better armored Jaesun and Midge who blocked most of the incoming fighters.
Once the front lines were stabilized, Abigail and Magnus used their remaining magic missiles and a fireball to weaken Zargon himself, who dumbly waited too long in the back until it was obvious his followers were failing. Zargon almost took down Midge with tentacle slaps (he likes her), who went into single hit points fighting him, but the combined might of Midge, Magnus and Jaesun overwhelmed the creature. I think I am down to a lightning bolt spell and one dispel magic out of all my spellcasters. Now this was a worthy fight!
Humanoids run away, screaming in terror as their deity falls. Quickly, you sever the horn from Zargon’s head, holding the heavy black thing in two hands. “Jaesun the Gay!” You look westward to see the master of the Order of Usamigaras beckoning to you. You look about and find that the man in the bird mask is unharmed and fluttering about nearby. I follow the man westward to the mushroom fields. You run after him, using the chaos of Zargon’s defeat to avoid any more complications. You drag along the bird man with you. You stop just inside a warehouse. A Brother of Gorm meets you and escorts you deeper into the warehouse. A dozen warriors and wizards stay behind in this room to guard the entrance. You meet with the leaders of the Three Orders, and tell them what you learned from the Oracle. The Master of the Order of Usamigaras says, “If you seek the White Flower, you must enter the lower catacombs beneath the City. I noticed while extricating the Maiden Queen that the seal to the lower catacombs is broken. The great stone slab west of the Madarua Shrine was put in place in order to stop the escape of horrors from the lower catacombs. It is known, though, that the White Flower grew there.” The three leaders turn ashen when they see the Horn of Zargon in your hands. The Master of the Brotherhood of Gorm is the first to recover. “To Destroy the Horn in the Eye of Zargon, you will need magic to survive the heat of the volcano.” The Maiden Queen says, “The salves of the stones can protect against heat. The ancient warrior maidens slicked themselves with it before doing battle with the Wizards of Usamigaras. It gave them immunity to the worst of their heat spells. But the salves were located within the lower catacombs. The farthest eastern reaches of the catacombs run smoothly with the green fluids. Fill a canteen for each of you.” I am able to level up the magic-users to level 8, heal, and rememorize spells.
I leave, and head out into the streets. Time to get my bearings and head for the lower catacombs.
A Priest of Zargon shouts Qastur’s name! You turn to find a wave of goblins screaming towards you! Oh really? Eat double-barreled fireballs.
He brought a Hold Person spell to a Fireball fight. The battle soon ends after Abigail and Qastur do their work as the survivors all surrender. Hopefully those cultists have learned their lesson at this point and won’t seek to get any further in our way. Now to see if we can find these catacombs. For those of you that were wondering, none of this was in the original module. The pen and paper module stopped in the slime-filled room where we had slain Zargon the first time.
Now this is getting properly epic 
Monstrous Bat
Cipher
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2011
- Messages
- 638
Man, this module sure is long. Level 8 already? And we were barely level 3 when we began.
Monty
Arcane
Quality. Lower catacombs should be interesting.
Dorateen
Arcane
It's always great recognition whenever the gold box games would single out a member of the party, usually based on class or some other character attribute. I'm sure Qastur must have been surprised to be called out by the priest of Zargon, but responded appropriately.
I think there was a 3rd or 3.5 edition splat book on Elder Evils, which had a chapter about Zargon. This module makes me want to go dig that up and see how it compares.
I think there was a 3rd or 3.5 edition splat book on Elder Evils, which had a chapter about Zargon. This module makes me want to go dig that up and see how it compares.
@Monty , the lower catacombs cost us.
@Dorateen , stats for Zargon from Elder Evils:
Zargon the Returner CR 16
hp 342 (18 HD); regeneration 50; DR 15/epic
LE Huge outsider (evil, lawful)
Init +2; Senses blindsight 500 ft., darkvision 60 ft., true seeing; Listen +30, Spot +30
Languages telepathy 1,000 ft., tongues
AC 32, touch 10, fl at-footed 30
Immune acid, anathematic secrecy (malefic property), disease,
poison; elder evil immunities
Resist cold 20, fi re 20; SR 28
Fort +28, Ref +19, Will +26
Speed 40 ft. (8 squares), swim 60 ft.
Melee 12 tentacles +36 each (2d6+20/19–20) and gore +34 (3d6+10) and bite +34 (2d6+10 plus 3d6 acid plus slime)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. (30 ft. with tentacles)
Base Atk +18; Grp +46
Atk Options Cleave, Great Cleave, Power Attack, aligned strike (evil, lawful), constrict 2d6+20, epic strike, improved grab, slime
Special Actions divine enervation (malefi c property), spew slime, summon ooze
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 18th):
At will—freedom of movement, magic circle against good, rusting grasp (+36 melee touch), transmute rock to mud (DC 26)
3/day—lightning bolt (DC 24), miasma of entropySC (DC 25), slime waveSC (DC 28C 1/day—acid cloud, mind fog (DC 26)
Abilities Str 50, Dex 15, Con 32, Int 21, Wis 28, Cha 33
SQ horn, nondetection, sign (eerie weather)
Feats Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Critical (tentacle), Improved Natural Attack (gore), Improved Natural Attack (tentacle), Multiattack, Power Attack
Skills Climb +41, Concentration +32, Decipher Script +26,Diplomacy +13, Hide +15, Intimidate +32, Knowledge (arcana) +26, Knowledge (religion) +26, Listen +30, Search +26, Sense Motive +30, Spellcraft +28, Spot +30, Survival +9 (+11 following tracks), Swim +49
True Seeing (Su) As the true seeing spell; continuous; caster level 20th.
Tongues (Su) As the tongues spell; continuous; caster level 20th.
Regeneration (Ex) Cold and fi re deal normal damage to Zargon. If Zargon loses a limb or body part it grows back in 1 minute. The creature can reattach the severed member instantly by holding it to the stump.
Constrict (Ex) Zargon deals 2d6+20 points of damage with a successful grapple check, in addition to damage from its tentacle attack.
Improved Grab (Ex) To use this ability, Zargon must hit an opponent of up to Huge size with a tentacle attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking attacks of opportunity. It receives a +2 bonus on the grapple check for each tentacle that hits. If it wins the grapple check and maintains the hold in the next round, it automatically bites the foe at that time.
Slime (Ex) Creatures damaged by Zargon’s bite attack must succeed on a DC 30 Fortitude save or become polluted with slime. Each day, the victim must succeed on another save or take 1d6 points of Constitution, Intelligence, and Charisma damage. Victims reduced to Constitution 0 collapse into a puddle of foul slime, dead. Those reduced to Intelligence 0 or Charisma 0 become whelps of Zargon. They retain none of their previous abilities. A remove disease or heal spell removes the effect.
Divine Enervation (Su) All divine spellcasters lose the ability to regain spells so long as they remain within 100 miles of Zargon. This interdiction does not interfere with spellcasting.
Spew Slime (Ex) Once every 5 rounds, Zargon spews a 60-foot cone of brown slime as a swift action. All living creatures within the area take 10d6 points of acid damage (Refl ex DC 30 half). Creatures damaged must succeed on DC 30 Fortitude saves or become polluted (see above).
Summon Ooze (Sp) Automatically summon 1d4+1 corruptures (see page 158); 3/day; caster level 18th. This ability is the equivalent of an 8th-level spell.
Horn (Ex) Zargon’s horn grants him regeneration 50 and a +6 resistance bonus on saving throws. Removing the horn requires a touch attack followed by a DC 39 Strength check, and doing so makes Zargon lose its benefi ts.
The horn “regrows” Zargon after 1d4 days. The horn is destroyed if it is dropped into the Eye of Zargon, far below in the lost city, within one day of Zargon’s death.
Anathematic Secrecy (Su) Zargon is immune to all divine divination spell effects.
Nondetection (Su) As the nondetection spell; continuous; caster level 20th.
Skills Zargon has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. He can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. He can use the run action while swimming, provided he swims in a straight line.
This module is indeed large, and I’ve kept some parts out of the thread, such as a number of random encounters against followers of Zargon as I explored the Lost City. I probably had around five such encounters, but most went the way of the battle from the last post. A generic message like ‘Priests of Zargon spot you and attack’ appears, then combat starts with Warrior Maidens, Brotherhood Warriors or Magi coming to help. Magnus, Midge, and Jaesun form a wall, and eventually I get a magic-user to cast Ice Storm or Fireball, which eliminate the majority of the force. Then we play clean up with the remnants and go on our way, losing only a few allies along the way.
Wounded and dying Cynidiceans lie about the floor of this ruined hovel. You realize with some bitterness that you cannot help them now.
The mushroom crops have been damaged, and farmers and Brothers of Grom try to keep disturbed giant insects away as they sort through the remnants.
The Warrior Maiden who warned you about Zargon’s attack wanders the streets here, her face bloody. She speaks as if in shock, “Zargon… the City…. Must stop…”
After wandering for awhile, I take the hint from earlier and head towards the Warrior Maidens camp. It also has been ruined, as had the Brotherhood headquarters and that of the Magi. Only monsters still linger in this shrine.
We are facing off against more than a dozen goblinoid creatures and an ogre. It is shield wall and fireball time. Jaesun, Midge and Magnus block a small eastern opening where they can funnel the goblinoids, and Abigail lets loose with her fireball, wiping out the center of the clumsy enemy formation. After that, we kill off the last three goblins and hobgoblins before the ogre closes in. He misses Jaesun, and is killed by Myass’ sling stone after Midge and Magnus stab him multiple times.
The floor is littered with corpses, both monstrous and human. You note with some small satisfaction that the Magi of Usamigaras were also here, and they apparently tried to fend off the monsters with their lives.
All three factions are supporting one another now, with the Magi moving to save as many Warrior Maidens as possible during the attack. I can’t find the way down into the catacombs, however, and leave. I explore some more destroyed buildings in the nearby area, eventually seeing this message. Broken open by the earthquake, the large slab of stone apparently covers a tunnel leading deeper into the earth. You climb down the tunnel.
You step off the ladder and survey the catacombs around you. So far beneath the desert, the air is cool. All is still here, but you are far from foolish enough to let that lull you into complacency. Giant rats swarm out to protect this cave as you step into it.
Hmph! Giant rats… whatever.
Holy shit!
And here’s a problem. We might be fighting a lot of smaller creatures, but these encounters are eating through are area attack spells. Rats also disease, so we can’t take them lightly, especially with their numbers.
I do use a fireball to clear this room, but between this and some previous random encounters I’m finding myself needing to head back to restore spells already. I decide I can handle one more encounter and press on. While exploring I find some treasure. A pouch of gems lies under the disassembled ribcage of a skeleton.There’s nothing else in here, so I check the next corridor.
A wave of heat washes over you as you exit the chamber. Suddenly, you are sure you are being watched. Nothing attacks me, so I take another step.
A strange glow suddenly illuminates the cavern. You feel no doubt that unseen eyes watch you from every direction. A spirit materializes before you. A voice issues forth from both the spirit’s mouth and the stones of the corridor. You hear it in your ears and in your mind at once. “The time has come to determine the worthiness of those who would redeem the Lost City of Cynidicea. Your worth, heroes, will determine the success of your mission, and the continuance of your lives. I shall ask you three questions. Your answers shall determine whether Cynidicea lives or dies, and you along with it. Lights flare in the spirit’s eyes and the caves around you rumble. The ceiling groans, and rocks clatter to the floor.
The first question. You are wandering in what you know as the Beastlands, where orcs and humanoids run rampant and free in large tribes. You are a day outside of Guidio’s fort when you find a ruined caravan. A single being remains alive. A wounded lady with no opportunity to defend herself from the horrors of the east. You can either leave this poor woman to die, or take her with you for safety. The fort lies ahead. Of course, she will not be able to pay you for her services. All her material possessions were burned away during the raid, and she will consume a day’s rations during the trip.”
I am asked if I want to take the lady with me or leave her behind. It is times like this I ask myself WWRD? What Would Rance Do?
I take the woman with us.
”Correct, but it could be said that the first question was too easy, too trite. The second question. You are in the Northlands, and a mission for Xanathon, the High Priest of Rhoona. Your charge is to bring faith back to the people of the Northlands by returning a sacred artifact to Urnst. En route, you learn that a legion of demons has set out to lay waste to the entire Duchy of Rhoona, which lays behind you. Now Urnst is at civil war due to a religious squabble. Every day, hundreds of men confused in their faith die without purpose, taken by the holy war. These men lose their souls to eternal perdition. Thousands will likely die from the invasion of Rhoona, men secure in their faith. If they die, they die with the knowledge that they fought well in the name of their god. How do you intervene?”
This is a harder one, but I go back to WWRD. Rance would rather hundreds of women die in Urnst instead of the thousands in Rhoona. Of course, he’d find a way to save both, but that’s not an option for this question.
"You have chosen poorly! You shall die as well as the City!” Rocks fall as the cavern collapses, burying you and the Lost City for all time. Merchant caravans passing through the area eventually come to know it as Malnudycea, the Sunken City.
Damn religious fanatics…
I reload, and go back down to the depths. Maybe I should find where to dispose of the horn first.
Skeletons rise from the bones strewn about the floor of this room. One stands out among them, taller and possessing four arms.
Or we can fight that thing. We are against a bone golem and undead horde. I play defensively, trying to get Turn Undead to work in our favor. Jaesun the Gay and Myass both try to Turn, but fail. I knew it wouldn’t work against the bone golem, but I expected better results against the skeletons and zombies. The front line takes some damage from incoming skeletons, but they only do half damage in return because of their edged weapons. Team Slingers have a better time of it as their sling stones are blunt and do full damage, but we aren’t taking the enemy down fast enough. Still, I hold back on fireball until round 3, as I get the undead as packed together as possible and so I can hit the bone golem, too. Abigail lets it loose and we find out the hard way that the bone golem is immune to fireball attacks. It does clear the area of most of the undead, however, and luckily the bone golem misses Jaesun, then shows itself not to be immune to three magic missile blasts in a row.
I don’t get much in the way of experience or treasure, but I do see a tunnel I can take on the opposite side of the room. I go down a little way.
A spectral form rises from the bones littering the alcove to the west. It shows no sign of letting you pass, and then it swoops forward.
We are against a specter. Myass fails to turn it, so I launch a magic missile into its face. The creature attacks, but the front line is unable to stop the specter and it drains Midge of a level before Abigail can hit it with another magic missile. Magnus finishes it off with two attacks, but the damage is done. Midge is now a level 5 Fighter/Thief.
I’m hoping we cleared out some of the worst of these monsters, but then I find out how wrong we are. A thick patch of green slime drops from the walls! A green slime attacks Magnus and Midge, dissolving both their armors, before Abigail kills it with a magic missile. So far our little trip into the depths has been nothing short of a disaster. But we find the slime we were looking for which will enable us to survive the fiery area to drop off the horn.
Green slime covers this wall. It is very cool to the touch. You hold out your canteen and let the slime run into it. Each of your companions fills a canteen with the slime. I give Myass’ Chain Mail +2 to Midge, then move on.
A large patch of black pudding oozes up through cracks in the floor of this chamber. Fuck. Here goes some more armor. I find out the hard way that Ice Storm works against Black Puddings as Abigail and Qastur use up all their Magic Missiles and Ice Storms to bring the creature down.
Finally, I decide I’ve explored enough and return to the place of questioning. With the first question, I answer that I would take the girl with me. For the second question I answer that I would let Thousand Die in Rhoona, which is idiotic. Why would I condemn thousands to die who might otherwise promote their religion. The invaders will force their new religion on the conquered land, weakening the faith I was to propagate. Few worship religions from fallen civilizations. Bah! Whatever.
Correct! Better that thousands go to heaven than hundreds go to torment. You have chosen wisely thus far, but what now? You have compassion for people, but insight tempers that with knowledge of heaven’s grand scheme.
The third and final question. There are ten children in the desert. They are orphans, without hope for the future. In the process of recreating society, they will be overlooked by those with the power to help. Children are, after all, very inconspicuous. Yet, it is possible that the children are the leaders of tomorrow. It is equally likely that they are the drunkards and damnation of tomorrow. You know. Codexers. In your journeys through the pyramid you have come across quite a number of valuable jewelry. To you, these are merely the capstones of a successful adventure, once you find your way home. For each child, a single piece of jewelry means the future. They could pay their way in any household, and make nobles of the people who care for them with one piece of jewelry. You could be saving the nation, or dooming it, all by this once choice.”
Wow, remember not to invite this guy to a get together. Ok, what would Rance do? By giving money to orphans, they will become as rich as nobility or at least live well according to the questioner. That means those ten orphans might grow up to be rich women thankful to Rance for their status and wanting to show appropriate gratitude. And they might have rich female friends!
Give the jewelry!
”Correct! The children would survive to choose, and the gift of life, especially one guaranteed to be full of food and amenities, is the most precious gift possible to bestow upon another creature. When you have chosen the ten pieces of jewelry you will give, approach me at the exit opposite the chamber.
I pay the man, and get access to the chamber behind him in return. White flowers grow in the cave wall here. Would you like to pick one?
Excellent. Now all that is left is to drop the ring, errr… horn… into Mt. Doom… I mean some fiery lava place.
I can’t find where to throw the horn, so I decide to return to base. Smoke is thick in the air, and the screams of dying Cynidiceans echo through the streets as humanoids continue the slaughter. Looks like the cultists have decided if they can’t run the show, they’ll murder everyone. Spoil sports. I also find out that the earlier collapse has blocked the way into the pyramid, so we are stuck here. I get back to base.
The leaders of the Three Orders look at you with hope burning in their eyes. You have also procured salves proof against the heat of the volcano. There is nothing left to do but travel west from Orpheus Park and brave the perils of the West Plateau. Be warned that this will not be a simple matter. Goblins, hobgoblins, trolls and worse dwell in the catacombs of the West Plateau. All will come to the aid of Zargon’s essence within the horn. All will strive to stop you. But you must persevere, or all is lost. With the destruction of Zargon and the brewing of the potion that will cure Cynidicea, the healing process will begin. You will soon return to your green home!
Yea, yea, yea. I bet you sons of bitches will have something else for me to do after getting rid of the horn. Like put together that potion or something. At least they gave Magnus and Midge chain mail armor and trained Jaesun to level 7 for free.
@Dorateen , stats for Zargon from Elder Evils:
Zargon the Returner CR 16
hp 342 (18 HD); regeneration 50; DR 15/epic
LE Huge outsider (evil, lawful)
Init +2; Senses blindsight 500 ft., darkvision 60 ft., true seeing; Listen +30, Spot +30
Languages telepathy 1,000 ft., tongues
AC 32, touch 10, fl at-footed 30
Immune acid, anathematic secrecy (malefic property), disease,
poison; elder evil immunities
Resist cold 20, fi re 20; SR 28
Fort +28, Ref +19, Will +26
Speed 40 ft. (8 squares), swim 60 ft.
Melee 12 tentacles +36 each (2d6+20/19–20) and gore +34 (3d6+10) and bite +34 (2d6+10 plus 3d6 acid plus slime)
Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. (30 ft. with tentacles)
Base Atk +18; Grp +46
Atk Options Cleave, Great Cleave, Power Attack, aligned strike (evil, lawful), constrict 2d6+20, epic strike, improved grab, slime
Special Actions divine enervation (malefi c property), spew slime, summon ooze
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 18th):
At will—freedom of movement, magic circle against good, rusting grasp (+36 melee touch), transmute rock to mud (DC 26)
3/day—lightning bolt (DC 24), miasma of entropySC (DC 25), slime waveSC (DC 28C 1/day—acid cloud, mind fog (DC 26)
Abilities Str 50, Dex 15, Con 32, Int 21, Wis 28, Cha 33
SQ horn, nondetection, sign (eerie weather)
Feats Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Critical (tentacle), Improved Natural Attack (gore), Improved Natural Attack (tentacle), Multiattack, Power Attack
Skills Climb +41, Concentration +32, Decipher Script +26,Diplomacy +13, Hide +15, Intimidate +32, Knowledge (arcana) +26, Knowledge (religion) +26, Listen +30, Search +26, Sense Motive +30, Spellcraft +28, Spot +30, Survival +9 (+11 following tracks), Swim +49
True Seeing (Su) As the true seeing spell; continuous; caster level 20th.
Tongues (Su) As the tongues spell; continuous; caster level 20th.
Regeneration (Ex) Cold and fi re deal normal damage to Zargon. If Zargon loses a limb or body part it grows back in 1 minute. The creature can reattach the severed member instantly by holding it to the stump.
Constrict (Ex) Zargon deals 2d6+20 points of damage with a successful grapple check, in addition to damage from its tentacle attack.
Improved Grab (Ex) To use this ability, Zargon must hit an opponent of up to Huge size with a tentacle attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking attacks of opportunity. It receives a +2 bonus on the grapple check for each tentacle that hits. If it wins the grapple check and maintains the hold in the next round, it automatically bites the foe at that time.
Slime (Ex) Creatures damaged by Zargon’s bite attack must succeed on a DC 30 Fortitude save or become polluted with slime. Each day, the victim must succeed on another save or take 1d6 points of Constitution, Intelligence, and Charisma damage. Victims reduced to Constitution 0 collapse into a puddle of foul slime, dead. Those reduced to Intelligence 0 or Charisma 0 become whelps of Zargon. They retain none of their previous abilities. A remove disease or heal spell removes the effect.
Divine Enervation (Su) All divine spellcasters lose the ability to regain spells so long as they remain within 100 miles of Zargon. This interdiction does not interfere with spellcasting.
Spew Slime (Ex) Once every 5 rounds, Zargon spews a 60-foot cone of brown slime as a swift action. All living creatures within the area take 10d6 points of acid damage (Refl ex DC 30 half). Creatures damaged must succeed on DC 30 Fortitude saves or become polluted (see above).
Summon Ooze (Sp) Automatically summon 1d4+1 corruptures (see page 158); 3/day; caster level 18th. This ability is the equivalent of an 8th-level spell.
Horn (Ex) Zargon’s horn grants him regeneration 50 and a +6 resistance bonus on saving throws. Removing the horn requires a touch attack followed by a DC 39 Strength check, and doing so makes Zargon lose its benefi ts.
The horn “regrows” Zargon after 1d4 days. The horn is destroyed if it is dropped into the Eye of Zargon, far below in the lost city, within one day of Zargon’s death.
Anathematic Secrecy (Su) Zargon is immune to all divine divination spell effects.
Nondetection (Su) As the nondetection spell; continuous; caster level 20th.
Skills Zargon has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. He can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. He can use the run action while swimming, provided he swims in a straight line.
This module is indeed large, and I’ve kept some parts out of the thread, such as a number of random encounters against followers of Zargon as I explored the Lost City. I probably had around five such encounters, but most went the way of the battle from the last post. A generic message like ‘Priests of Zargon spot you and attack’ appears, then combat starts with Warrior Maidens, Brotherhood Warriors or Magi coming to help. Magnus, Midge, and Jaesun form a wall, and eventually I get a magic-user to cast Ice Storm or Fireball, which eliminate the majority of the force. Then we play clean up with the remnants and go on our way, losing only a few allies along the way.
The Lost City is pretty smashed up, though. Half the old buildings now show as crumbled walls.Wounded and dying Cynidiceans lie about the floor of this ruined hovel. You realize with some bitterness that you cannot help them now.
The mushroom crops have been damaged, and farmers and Brothers of Grom try to keep disturbed giant insects away as they sort through the remnants.
The Warrior Maiden who warned you about Zargon’s attack wanders the streets here, her face bloody. She speaks as if in shock, “Zargon… the City…. Must stop…”
After wandering for awhile, I take the hint from earlier and head towards the Warrior Maidens camp. It also has been ruined, as had the Brotherhood headquarters and that of the Magi. Only monsters still linger in this shrine.
We are facing off against more than a dozen goblinoid creatures and an ogre. It is shield wall and fireball time. Jaesun, Midge and Magnus block a small eastern opening where they can funnel the goblinoids, and Abigail lets loose with her fireball, wiping out the center of the clumsy enemy formation. After that, we kill off the last three goblins and hobgoblins before the ogre closes in. He misses Jaesun, and is killed by Myass’ sling stone after Midge and Magnus stab him multiple times.
The floor is littered with corpses, both monstrous and human. You note with some small satisfaction that the Magi of Usamigaras were also here, and they apparently tried to fend off the monsters with their lives.
All three factions are supporting one another now, with the Magi moving to save as many Warrior Maidens as possible during the attack. I can’t find the way down into the catacombs, however, and leave. I explore some more destroyed buildings in the nearby area, eventually seeing this message. Broken open by the earthquake, the large slab of stone apparently covers a tunnel leading deeper into the earth. You climb down the tunnel.
You step off the ladder and survey the catacombs around you. So far beneath the desert, the air is cool. All is still here, but you are far from foolish enough to let that lull you into complacency. Giant rats swarm out to protect this cave as you step into it.
Hmph! Giant rats… whatever.
Holy shit!
And here’s a problem. We might be fighting a lot of smaller creatures, but these encounters are eating through are area attack spells. Rats also disease, so we can’t take them lightly, especially with their numbers.
I do use a fireball to clear this room, but between this and some previous random encounters I’m finding myself needing to head back to restore spells already. I decide I can handle one more encounter and press on. While exploring I find some treasure. A pouch of gems lies under the disassembled ribcage of a skeleton.There’s nothing else in here, so I check the next corridor.
A wave of heat washes over you as you exit the chamber. Suddenly, you are sure you are being watched. Nothing attacks me, so I take another step.
A strange glow suddenly illuminates the cavern. You feel no doubt that unseen eyes watch you from every direction. A spirit materializes before you. A voice issues forth from both the spirit’s mouth and the stones of the corridor. You hear it in your ears and in your mind at once. “The time has come to determine the worthiness of those who would redeem the Lost City of Cynidicea. Your worth, heroes, will determine the success of your mission, and the continuance of your lives. I shall ask you three questions. Your answers shall determine whether Cynidicea lives or dies, and you along with it. Lights flare in the spirit’s eyes and the caves around you rumble. The ceiling groans, and rocks clatter to the floor.
The first question. You are wandering in what you know as the Beastlands, where orcs and humanoids run rampant and free in large tribes. You are a day outside of Guidio’s fort when you find a ruined caravan. A single being remains alive. A wounded lady with no opportunity to defend herself from the horrors of the east. You can either leave this poor woman to die, or take her with you for safety. The fort lies ahead. Of course, she will not be able to pay you for her services. All her material possessions were burned away during the raid, and she will consume a day’s rations during the trip.”
I am asked if I want to take the lady with me or leave her behind. It is times like this I ask myself WWRD? What Would Rance Do?
I take the woman with us.
”Correct, but it could be said that the first question was too easy, too trite. The second question. You are in the Northlands, and a mission for Xanathon, the High Priest of Rhoona. Your charge is to bring faith back to the people of the Northlands by returning a sacred artifact to Urnst. En route, you learn that a legion of demons has set out to lay waste to the entire Duchy of Rhoona, which lays behind you. Now Urnst is at civil war due to a religious squabble. Every day, hundreds of men confused in their faith die without purpose, taken by the holy war. These men lose their souls to eternal perdition. Thousands will likely die from the invasion of Rhoona, men secure in their faith. If they die, they die with the knowledge that they fought well in the name of their god. How do you intervene?”
This is a harder one, but I go back to WWRD. Rance would rather hundreds of women die in Urnst instead of the thousands in Rhoona. Of course, he’d find a way to save both, but that’s not an option for this question.
"You have chosen poorly! You shall die as well as the City!” Rocks fall as the cavern collapses, burying you and the Lost City for all time. Merchant caravans passing through the area eventually come to know it as Malnudycea, the Sunken City.
Damn religious fanatics…
I reload, and go back down to the depths. Maybe I should find where to dispose of the horn first.
Skeletons rise from the bones strewn about the floor of this room. One stands out among them, taller and possessing four arms.
Or we can fight that thing. We are against a bone golem and undead horde. I play defensively, trying to get Turn Undead to work in our favor. Jaesun the Gay and Myass both try to Turn, but fail. I knew it wouldn’t work against the bone golem, but I expected better results against the skeletons and zombies. The front line takes some damage from incoming skeletons, but they only do half damage in return because of their edged weapons. Team Slingers have a better time of it as their sling stones are blunt and do full damage, but we aren’t taking the enemy down fast enough. Still, I hold back on fireball until round 3, as I get the undead as packed together as possible and so I can hit the bone golem, too. Abigail lets it loose and we find out the hard way that the bone golem is immune to fireball attacks. It does clear the area of most of the undead, however, and luckily the bone golem misses Jaesun, then shows itself not to be immune to three magic missile blasts in a row.
I don’t get much in the way of experience or treasure, but I do see a tunnel I can take on the opposite side of the room. I go down a little way.
A spectral form rises from the bones littering the alcove to the west. It shows no sign of letting you pass, and then it swoops forward.
We are against a specter. Myass fails to turn it, so I launch a magic missile into its face. The creature attacks, but the front line is unable to stop the specter and it drains Midge of a level before Abigail can hit it with another magic missile. Magnus finishes it off with two attacks, but the damage is done. Midge is now a level 5 Fighter/Thief.
I’m hoping we cleared out some of the worst of these monsters, but then I find out how wrong we are. A thick patch of green slime drops from the walls! A green slime attacks Magnus and Midge, dissolving both their armors, before Abigail kills it with a magic missile. So far our little trip into the depths has been nothing short of a disaster. But we find the slime we were looking for which will enable us to survive the fiery area to drop off the horn.
Green slime covers this wall. It is very cool to the touch. You hold out your canteen and let the slime run into it. Each of your companions fills a canteen with the slime. I give Myass’ Chain Mail +2 to Midge, then move on.
A large patch of black pudding oozes up through cracks in the floor of this chamber. Fuck. Here goes some more armor. I find out the hard way that Ice Storm works against Black Puddings as Abigail and Qastur use up all their Magic Missiles and Ice Storms to bring the creature down.
Finally, I decide I’ve explored enough and return to the place of questioning. With the first question, I answer that I would take the girl with me. For the second question I answer that I would let Thousand Die in Rhoona, which is idiotic. Why would I condemn thousands to die who might otherwise promote their religion. The invaders will force their new religion on the conquered land, weakening the faith I was to propagate. Few worship religions from fallen civilizations. Bah! Whatever.
Correct! Better that thousands go to heaven than hundreds go to torment. You have chosen wisely thus far, but what now? You have compassion for people, but insight tempers that with knowledge of heaven’s grand scheme.
The third and final question. There are ten children in the desert. They are orphans, without hope for the future. In the process of recreating society, they will be overlooked by those with the power to help. Children are, after all, very inconspicuous. Yet, it is possible that the children are the leaders of tomorrow. It is equally likely that they are the drunkards and damnation of tomorrow. You know. Codexers. In your journeys through the pyramid you have come across quite a number of valuable jewelry. To you, these are merely the capstones of a successful adventure, once you find your way home. For each child, a single piece of jewelry means the future. They could pay their way in any household, and make nobles of the people who care for them with one piece of jewelry. You could be saving the nation, or dooming it, all by this once choice.”
Wow, remember not to invite this guy to a get together. Ok, what would Rance do? By giving money to orphans, they will become as rich as nobility or at least live well according to the questioner. That means those ten orphans might grow up to be rich women thankful to Rance for their status and wanting to show appropriate gratitude. And they might have rich female friends!
Give the jewelry!
”Correct! The children would survive to choose, and the gift of life, especially one guaranteed to be full of food and amenities, is the most precious gift possible to bestow upon another creature. When you have chosen the ten pieces of jewelry you will give, approach me at the exit opposite the chamber.
I pay the man, and get access to the chamber behind him in return. White flowers grow in the cave wall here. Would you like to pick one?
Excellent. Now all that is left is to drop the ring, errr… horn… into Mt. Doom… I mean some fiery lava place.
I can’t find where to throw the horn, so I decide to return to base. Smoke is thick in the air, and the screams of dying Cynidiceans echo through the streets as humanoids continue the slaughter. Looks like the cultists have decided if they can’t run the show, they’ll murder everyone. Spoil sports. I also find out that the earlier collapse has blocked the way into the pyramid, so we are stuck here. I get back to base.
The leaders of the Three Orders look at you with hope burning in their eyes. You have also procured salves proof against the heat of the volcano. There is nothing left to do but travel west from Orpheus Park and brave the perils of the West Plateau. Be warned that this will not be a simple matter. Goblins, hobgoblins, trolls and worse dwell in the catacombs of the West Plateau. All will come to the aid of Zargon’s essence within the horn. All will strive to stop you. But you must persevere, or all is lost. With the destruction of Zargon and the brewing of the potion that will cure Cynidicea, the healing process will begin. You will soon return to your green home!
Yea, yea, yea. I bet you sons of bitches will have something else for me to do after getting rid of the horn. Like put together that potion or something. At least they gave Magnus and Midge chain mail armor and trained Jaesun to level 7 for free.
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