D&D Dynasty: 3rd Path of King Alzar the Mighty - FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Abe Sargent]

A week later, Alzar announces plans to expand to fort of Evenarrow. Even though he built it with plenty of space inside for future expansion, he expanded too quickly. Since then he has built temples to Morena, Vanya and Pflarr, and Vix one to Nyx. Temples for Ssu-Ma and Infaust have just started. He has built a huge barracks for a vastly increased army. He needs more storage for his army’s support structure like food, drink, armor, weapons, boots, bedding and such. He built an alchemist’s shop and foundry, and a huge paper-making and book binding industry, one of the five largest in the Known World, taking wood milled north and nearby and turning it into pulpwood and such for paper and books. He also has the gravity fields and such he made as well.

So he is going to double his wall to the northeast over land and gobble up some land that way, and then rebuild his moat there. He is going to move his barracks, storage and military inside of the new structures, and then a giant library where the barracks was. Alzar’s goal is to build the biggest library in Pandius.

The first stage of this is to build the walls and defenses out, and the barracks and such at he same time, then transfer, destroy, and move. I am told by the Castle Guide that after Alzar helps, the price is around 185,000 GP and then multiplied to get to 320,000. He spends it from the cash he brought in in the last M2 adventure.

Alzar has announced two separate campaigns.

Anybody who brings in 1000 unique books for his library that he does not already own will get a 10,000 gp finders in addition to the full price of the books. He has Draconus prepare a list of all of the books they currently have and distribute them.

The second is a literacy campaign. Any family that achieves 100% literacy will have a taxfree year for the next 12 months in celebration. He’ll be sending his apprentices around to set up reading learning stations across Alzar’s domain.

[Abe Sargent]

Year 10, Month 5

In the first week of the month, Vix gives birth to a daughter, who is one-quarter immortal. Vix and Nyx’s blood runs strong in her as well. They name her Vixzar!






(LOL. Sorry ) They actually named her Intaria.

Vix will be ready for battle again by the end of the month

In the meantime, Alzar won’t be heading out adventuring this month. Instead he hosts a giant Birthday Tournament and hosts a jousting and magic dueling event, and gives a +1 sword and Ring of Protection +1 away as prizes, and domain confidence continues to rise.

He also works on copying over books, working on building the expansion, and more internal stuff. He also spends a few hours in Hamedh with the College of Wizardry, and they allow him to copy 100 books they don’t think are major threats to knowledge that Alzar wants to copy.

But the main thing Alzar does this month is he begins working on a new spell…



Alzar’s Bookfind, Divination

Level 5
Duration: 1 turn/level
Range: 1 mile
Components: VS
Save: NA

When the caster casts Alzar’s Bookfind, they feel a gentle tug in the direction of the largest unclaimed book collection with the range of a mile. If there are no such unclaimed books or collections, then the caster can move about, or fly around, until they feel one or the spell ends. As they near, the tug will change and pull harder. The value of a collection is deemed by the size, so an unclaimed collection 15 common trashy novels is going to win over a collection of 10 valuable rare tomes. If the collections are equal in number, the closest is the destination. If the caster finds and secures the collection before the duration runs out, then a tug will pull them to a new collection. The range is a full circle, and will notice books above or below the caster as well.


Alzar is creating this to finish his Book Quest. It will take 7 weeks of research, and then I’ll roll dice each week to see if it was completed that week.

It’ll finish after 9 weeks, week 2 of Month 8. Alzar cannot adventure until then

100 minor books from the College of Wizardry

[Abe Sargent]

While working on his spell, Alzar continues to put together the Nykthos Spear for Nix. He used clerical magic to survive and Astral Spells to the Yggdrasil and carves a length off for a spear shaft a few months ago. He researches how to carve it and practiced. He looks at rival immortals to find two to bless the knife and he uncovers Liena, Lawful Neutral and young immortal from Oceansend and Bemarris. Both are local immortals, one pro-Norwold and the other pro-Oceansend. So when Norwold annexed Oceansend, you can imagine how happy they were with each other.

Both would clearly be interested in making inroads with Alzar’s nation. One as a thorn to Norwold and the other an ally of it to bring them closer together. Alzar promises to build a shrine to each to their church, and they each bless his dagger.


Alzar is going to make:

Nykthos, Spear of Vix: +5 Spear, sized for Vix

And give it these abilities:


Teleporting – A hit character is teleported adjacent to the person who threw the spear
Returning – It will return to the hand of the person who tossed it.
-2 AC when used in combat
User is immune to level drain

Alzar has researched a path for making it:

Ivory Horn from an extra-planar elephant to be carved into the point by a knife made from flint gathered from the oldest mountain on Pandius.

Wool from a tiger from the future must be secured, and used to rub down the spear after it’s ready

Verite to make the end of the spear forged by an evil ghost, mined from another plane, and forged in the fires of a dragon’s belly. Then the metal must be cooled on the Elemental Plane of Ice and dried in the Positive Material Plane.

The shaft of the spear must be cut from Yggdrasil, and carved by a shearing knife blessed by two enemy immortals.


The shaft is now carved.


Year 10, Month 6,


This month Alzar is working on the tip. He Astral spells to the Wildlands and after a few hours found and slew a giant mammoth, and carves the tusks off and teleports back. Then Alzar is trying to find the oldest mountain on Pandius but he can’t find it yet.

He has gotten the wool ready too.

The metal is rough. The problem is that Alzar can’t summon an evil ghost right now (he’s not evil). But he found a lode of verite on the Mineral plane, he just needs to rest to jumpstart it.

[Abe Sargent]

Return to The Rod of Seven Parts

In week 3, Alzar is flying around his domain when a Pit Fiend teleports in front of him. Surprised, Alzar pulls up. He introduces himself as Ulthut and he is very surprised to have this conversation with a mortal.

Flying in the air, they talk about the Rod of Seven Parts. Apparently, about five or six decades ago, the 6th part of the Rod was found by a devil and turned over to its superiors in Hell. As soon as it arrived, a portal opened and more than 100 Spyder-Fiends pored out and attacked, trying to return the Rod’s part.

They fought them off, and then Ulthut and a few other pit fiends met and realized they needed to find a safe place for the Rod. If they kept it in Hell, bad things would happen. The Queen of Chaos was so focused on the Law/Chaos wars with the Rod that she had forgotten the Blood War between demons and devils millennia ago. If they kept the Rod in Hell, then she would essentially rejoin the war against them. So they created a pocket plan and Ulthut agreed to guard the 6th piece. He knew that the Queen and the other pieces wouldn’t scry it, or know where it was. It was safe from all scrying eyes. The goal was to remove this piece of the Rod from the conversation completely, so the Queen and her minions were unable to get it, as was anyone else.

But Alzar has, surprisingly, proven himself able to deal with the added attention of the Queen if chaos and took her down and stopped multiple waves of Spyder-Fiends. So Uthut can take Alzar to the pocket plane and then can assault the Citadel of Chaos, where Miska is to get the 7th and try to take him out.

(The adventure is meant for the characters to sneak into the plane, and take out everyone and grab the rod and leave. But it begins with, “Ulthut and his servants defend the segment from mortals that are too stupid or too weak to prevent it from falling into the Queen’s hands, but the pit fiend will surrender it to any lawful group who seems capable of evading the queen.” It’s hard to do so, however. Alzar does!)

So Alzar acquires the 6th segment of the Rod, teleports home, and that night uses the Glyph he prepares to connect them

[Abe Sargent]

With 6 segments:

Alzar takes everything literally. He must follow all instructions perfectly he gets from charms or commands. He can create a whirlwind once a Day and command it for seven hours, and he can ride the whirlwind.

As soon as Alzar finishes, the 6th piece of the Rod, it begins to pull him. He casts some priestly magic before they head out. Vix is in the room with him, and she grabs his hand, and they head to the farflung plane of Pandemonium....

[Abe Sargent]

Alzar had done research before. This is the Citadel of Chaos, a mostly open place that was the site of the fall of Miska and the Queen of Chaos, and the powers of law surrounded it in a Cocoon of Law. Alzar cannot cast more planar protection that protects him and Vix from the plane’s maddening effects and sharp winds, because priestly magic doesn’t work here inside the Cocoon, just in the plane.

After capturing the 7th piece, the Queen of Chaos brought it to Miska, and penetrated the Cocoon of Law. With the law-minded artifact in tow, they penetrated the Cocoon and created a tear that anyone else can follow. But only law people can leave, so no one else has managed to leave. Miska will have to have been half-alive, still wounded from the battle, but not dead either.

Inside is the 7th piece. Alzar summons a Nightmare for himself and a Mount griffin for Vix as she doesn’t have her chariot.

They penetrate the Cocoon of Law. Inside here, no conjuration/summoning magic will work, and you cannot teleport or leave from inside to outside, although you could move around the Citadel of Chaos


They fly over and investigate. There are a few towers here on the top of the citadel. One set apart from, the others, has no windows or entrances save through the guardhouse below. They land on a nearby tower, and then enter. In a walkway near the tower, are a group of 5 Spyder-Fiends.

Battle Begins

(If you’ll recall, there are multiple types of Spyder-Fiends, and they tend to be weaker demons in the 4 5 or 6 HD range.)

3 vs 1

They miss Alzar (Cloak) and hit Vix once for 8 damage. This is the chance for Vix to try out her newly enhanced skills in battle and she slays a Spyder-Fiend and Alzar badly wounds another/ Here in Pandemonium, their weapons and effects suffer from a -1 effect. But a +3 spear and +4 Selnyr are still nasty.


Vix – 141/149


5 vs 7

Alzar slays two, and Vix another. They are missed

4 vs 8

They slay the last Fiend and move on

[Abe Sargent]

Alzar and Vix and their mounts move down the battlements up here and they arrive at an inner level of stairs that goes inside the fort and down. They head into the building and leave their steeds outside


Alzar suspects that they should be able to get to the super tall tower to find the Rod. It’s over down this hallway, down some stairs, over a bridge, into the guardhouse, and then over to the tower.

They head over, and twice face small groups of Spyder-Fiends, once in the stairs, and then the other across the bridge.

First group

They defeat in four rounds and take 8 and 11 damage respectively. Second group? Three again, and 0 an 22. Vix quaffs a healing pot before they enter the tower

81/89
132/149


This tower is much more decorated than the other places they’ve seen and lush. As they enter, they see a well-furnishing room with a Succubus here on there ground floor. She tries to seduce Alzar, then offers to help. She is tired of Miska, who treats her cruelly and will aid Alzar and Vix with information. Up two floors and to the left is a secret door to Miska’s room, and in there is the final piece of the Rod. She’ll distract his guards and bring them down here to do some meaningless tasks that will take time and delay a response. Then Alzar and Vix can grab the 7th piece, secure it, and use it to kill Miska permanently.


They head up and follow the Succubus’ instructions, and slip into the bedroom.


The final piece is here





Alzar scouts the room, and the Rod and dais are untapped, and there is even a glyph here so Alzar could immediately attach it. That’s…odd

[Abe Sargent]

Is Alzar being manipulated?

Is he supposed to grab the 7th part and attach it? The Succubus “distracted” the guards….they’ve only encountered 15 Spyder-Fiends in the entire castle…the Rod is here I the room open, and untrapped and has a glyph ready to go…. It all feels off. Like Alzar is supposed to play this part.

But why?

What’s the value? It’s not a fake part, Alzar’s tug proves otherwise. That’s a real glyph too, not a fake. That will let him attach the parts without them flying apart.

As a reminder, the Rod of Seven Parts was used by law to kill Miska here, but Miska’s chaotic demon blood ignited chaos in the Rod, it broke and there have been chaotic parts ever since. Why would Miska need a fully assembled Rod here in his kingdom? Well the obvious answer is because he needs to. Maybe it’ll restore him to his full powers or maybe it will destroy the Law Cocoon and summon massive allies from the Abyss. Alzar does not feel like playing the part of a puppet.

Instead of taking the part and adding it now, he tells Vix to grab the 7th part. They will head back out. Alzar will take the glyph, 7th part, and then leave Pandemonium and research what is happened.

They grab the part and Alzar casts Mass Teleport (you can use it within the cocoon) to get to the steeds outside and fly immediately away. Their steeds have been slain. Alzar casts Mass Flight and 10 Spyder-Fiends appear at the battements and try to intercept them. Alzar order Vix and him to flee quickly, they evade combat and move to the tear. About 30 seconds away, suddenly a foe teleports in front of them. Miska, the Wolf-Spider

[Abe Sargent]

And then Alzar realizes what is going on, Miska cannot regain his power until the Rod is brought back together here. But, Miska cannot be slain unless they restore his power, because only the Rod can kill him now that he has invested his soul into the Rod. If they flee, nothing changes.

Miska is trying to enrage Alzar and make him angry. Alzar pretends it’s working, back’s up, grabs Vix’s Rod, and spends two rounds putting it back together.

The Rod is reformed.

Alzar looks up and Miska arrives and is trying to wrestle. Alzar flies back to the castle and drops down on top of a tower. Vix and Miska follow. Miska jumps and grabs at the Rod. As soon as he grabs the Rod, he is restored to his power and raging power erupts from Miska. The cocoon is falling, and he looks over at them with new power:


Miska, the Wolf Spider, Restored:

-7 AC, 50% Magic Resistance, 100 HP, THAC0 -3, DMG – 6 attacks for 2d6+2.

Normal demon abilities like casting Darkness or regenerating (I added the 50% MR)

[Abe Sargent]

Round one

4 vs 3

Miska is immune to Alzar’s Cloak, and goes after Alzar for 4 hits for 44 damage. Zang. Vix attacks and hits once for 13, Miska’s blood spurts a deadly toxic spurt and Vix just dodges out of the way. Alzar casts Time Stop. He Heals, casts Strip Resistance…and gets one more turn and drops Protection from Demons

Miska – 89/100

Alzar is healed, the Strips fails his MR and will try again each round until it cracks.

Round 2 -

6 vs 4

It cannot attack Alzar so Vix takes 6 attacks, and three hits for 38. Vix misses twice, hits once for 13 and the blood hits her, but she is immune to poison due to her immortal divine blood and Alzar misses and hits once for 20 and his axe carves it open to, more blood, but his items keep him safe from poison.





Miska – 68/100
Vix – 94/149
Alzar 89/89


Round 3 –

5 vs 4

Vix is hit FIVE times for 55. She hits back twice for 23. Alzar hits for 16 once. Again, no need for poison saves.

Strip Resist works, and the MR of Miska drops to 17

Miska – 31/100
Vix – 48/149
Alzar 89/89

Miska is vulnerable….

Round 4 -

Alzar uses the Ring of Quick Action. A couple of options. Time Stop from his stored spells, Heal Vix, cast anything else, resolve, next turn. Or, try to kill Miska this turn with the five attacks they have. If they can’t finish Miska in melee, Miska WILL teleport away, and we all know it. But, Alzar uses his Quick Action ring so that would leave a 50% of killing him next round unless Alzar’s Power Word Kill or Finger of Death or whatever he has left would potentially finish this guy off.

So what has a better set of odds? Attack now with everything or heal, try to cast some death stuff, and try to finish off Miska next turn if not?

Well, what’ the math for hitting this turn?

This is the every other round Vix has three attacks with her spear.

Vix needs a 5 to hit, she’s just been unlucky. Alzar needs 9s. Alzar has a stronger battle range

Vix will deal 1d6+3+4+4, so 1d6+10. She

I think the math is better to attack now. Miska will die in three hits out of five, and maybe two that do very well.

Vix’s first attack- 4
Vix’s second attack, 19 – Damages roll 4, +10 – 14 damage
Vix’s third attack – 18 – Damage roll 2 – 12 damage

Can Alzar hit once?

He connects on the first hit.


Miska falls. While down, Alzar gabs the Rod of Seven Parts and pieces him strong, and penetrates his heart.

[Abe Sargent]

Alzar gains a level (he can now use another 7th and 8th level spell)

With the chaotic element that imbued the Rod with more chaotic power and broke it gone, the pieces has fused together, and the Rod of Seven Parts is now The Rod of One Part. However, it’s also going to be a little powered down too, not as dominant a force as before.

Alzar doesn’t want to keep it. The power isn’t that much where he is and the restrictions are tough. He teleports to the Vale of Aaqa, where the Wind Dukes were on the Elemental Plane of Air, the original enemies of the Wolf-Spider and the Queen of Chaos. They also advised him early, and they made the Rod. He leaves it with them, and they give him one of their Wind Chariots as thanks. It’s a silver disc you can turn into a giant flying wind-driven chariot that protects from wind based attacks, and then turn it back, it can work four hours/day.


End of Rod of Seven Parts

[Abe Sargent]

WHEW!

When they return, the area ceases being a desert and has returned its old terrain.

Year 10, Month 7

With himself now fully evil, he summons a ghost, opens a worldwalk, and heads to the mineral plane and the ghost mines the verite with an implement Alzar has that can be used by an incorporeal body.

After verite ore is mined, Alzar has had his gold dragon allies in the Ljallenvals agree to eat the verite and smelt it. They regurgitate it, and Alzar opens a portal to Ice, then to Positive Material after it’s cooled down.

Complete

[Abe Sargent]

Alzar is going to make:

Nykthos, Spear of Vix: +5 Spear, sized for Vix

And give it these abilities:


Teleporting – A hit character is teleported adjacent to the person who threw the spear
Returning – It will return to the hand of the person who tossed it.
-2 AC when used in combat
User is immune to level drain

Alzar has researched a path for making it:

Ivory Horn from an extra-planar elephant to be carved into the point by a knife made from flint gathered from the oldest mountain on Pandius.

Wool from a tiger from the future must be secured, and used to rub down the spear after it’s ready. READY!

Verite to make the end of the spear forged by an evil ghost, mined from another plane, and forged in the fires of a dragon’s belly. Then the metal must be cooled on the Elemental Plane of Ice and dried in the Positive Material Plane. READY

The shaft of the spear must be cut from Yggdrasil, and carved by a shearing knife blessed by two enemy immortals. READY!



Alzar works on rebuilding his defeated military and expanding aboard. This month a comet is seen in the sky and confidence falls by 25. A small raid by humanoids out west is stopped. Vix is back to help pacify the area and takes out two lairs.

[Abe Sargent]

Year 10, Month 8

Alzar’s spell is completed. He’ll begin book searching next month.

While researching a book he was referencing, Alzar found a note about the oldest mountain, it’s petty far away, but he heads there and secures a flint. He’ll make the tip and then the spear should be finished next month.

Alzar is dealing with a number of latent issues with the world change back. When the area was arid and desertish, it didn’t get water from rain. When the switch happened, the area still wasn’t watered and now Alzar’s area is undergoing a major drought. He spends the month allowing resources to help, and uses these items: Table of Plenty; Decanter of Endless Water; Metal Platter (Beef, Lamb, Turkey, Pheasant) for four people once/day; Mug (Beer, Ale, Mead) six/day; Pitcher (Water, Tea, Wine), three/day.; 3 Decanters of Endless Food; to help. Him and fellow clerics are helping. Create Water is a simple 1st level spell. He and his folks are teleporting and bringing water to crops and villages and such to help bring water and either save the harvests possible, or to get water and food out there.

Every little bit helps.

Alzar also heads back to Thorasia for a tour. He is looking for books. He heads back to places he had been to before, like Saltmarsh, the Isle of Dread, the Cave of Horrors, and more. Most have been cleared out. But he does manage to find a few books here and there he either never took with him because his space was limited at the time, or prioritized other things.

167 Assorted books from Thorasia

Then he heads to Vala and his old domicile. His star pupil, no one did as well as she. She lets him in and shows the expanded library and there are around 1222 books he wants to add. He trades some new spells he either made, like his Bookfind, or found, like some of his shadow spells. She agrees to make copies of the books and will have her apprentices send them over when completed.


Finally he swings back to Hamedh and again tours areas he hit up before, like the Lion Castle or Neconolis ruins or the Sand Mire and Bone Hill. And again, he finds a handful of books he didn’t take around 12 or 15 years ago when he came through.

188 general books from Hamedh
500 books from Lion’s Castle

Next he heads back to the Astrologer and fortune telling folks there he helped out. They had a sprawling library. They will let him borrow 325 of their books on Astrology, Astronomy, the Stars, and Numerology, for copying, for a magical donation. Alzar gives the Tower of Heavens a +1 short sword.

Alzar had never cleaned out the general knowledge books from Lion’s Castle (I went back and checked…)


Nice haul this month.

[Abe Sargent]

Year 10, Month 9

Alzar finishes Nykthos, Spear of Nix

So Alzar this week spends some time reviewing library competition:

#1, Serraine
#2, Great Library of Glantri
#3, Alphatia’s
#4, Lighthouse in Hollow World
#5, Longrunner Clan Library, Elvish Clans in Alfheim, Mealidor
#6, Alzar’s Library in Evenarrow



Lighthouse of the Hollow World




Thousands of years ago, the Immortal Ka inspired learned people from the many cultures of the Hollow World to make a dangerous journey to the mountainous area where the Valley of the Lighthouse is found. There they could shed their cultural bias and dedicate their lives to the accumulation of knowledge.

Alzar continues his Book Quest

He spends 40,000 gp to double the size of book production here.

All of those libraries have been around for hundreds and hundreds of years, and represent the centers of learning on the Plane. Alzar is taking on this quest by himself alone. But he relishes it. As we know, Alzar is a bit of a bibliophile. He has always loved books and reading, even as a mercenary.


Draconus has agreed to be the head librarian for the new library. Alzar and Draconus sit down to discuss the new building and create plans. I am going to go ahead and plan it and reserve the funding now. It’ll be….425,000 gp for the whole project, aimed at a full 25 floors. Entry, then 24 floors on top, reinforced, room to breathe and grow, and more. Serraine is 15 but with wider floors, and Glantri is 20.

I go ahead and pull the cash off Alzar now

I want to get a full book count for Alzar right now. Some libraries or books found are given in GP values, not a volume count, like a collection of books on a given subject worth 1500 gp. I am going to assign a good value (25 gp/book) for these collections to figure out how many books Alzar actually has.

In a few cases, I think the collection has a few more or a few fewer books than it should, and then I assign a total number of books in an excel sheet. According to that, Alzar has, right now, 45,156 books. That’s a lot of books.

One of the issues is that Alzar’s library has been specific to himself and Fivefold Path to Power adherents. How many of Alzar’s books are on magic? At least half, and most of those are on artifice (like golems), undead, conjuring, or enchanting. How many books does he have on evocation or illusion? Because it’s a topic that’s meaningless to Alzar it’s not something he has invested time and effort into.

If there are 400 books per bookshelf that’s 6 feet tall with each shelf 1 foot high, then that’s just 112.89 bookshelves. But if my quick math is off because the average size of a book in the D&D world is much bigger than my Salvatore books, then suppose I can only get an average of 300 books a shelf instead. If that’s the case, we are 150.52 shelves, or about one floor of a library.

Alzar has a big way to go.

If the average book costs 25 gp per, then Alzar would be able to buy 4000 books with a 100,000 gp investment. Thus his collection would be worth roughly 1.125 mill. This is not going to be easy. Collecting enough books to get to a collection that’s truly epic is going to be hard. For competition’s sake, I am putting the Elven library at 250,000 volumes, the Lighthouse at 450,000, the Alphatia one at 675,000, and then the Glantri one at 850,000, and finally Serraine at 1.1 mill. So I want Alzar to get to 1.15 mill. That’s a ton of books. Right now, that would cost 28.750 million gp!

Even if he brought in 4000 books a month with magic, trades, and purchases, it would take him around 250 months, or 22 years at 4k/books per month to get there!

That’s a big task that Ssu’Ma has given him!

Is Alzar going about this wrong? Instead of copying and buying books, should he instead steal them?

This month is the first time one of the Shadow Mages arrives at his main castle to negotiate for the shade-making formula. Alzar agrees to share it for 500 books on The Demiplane of Shadow, Shadow Magic and Shadow Creatures

[Abe Sargent]

Year 10, Month 10

Alzar sets up a large bookcopy shop back in Thorasia. The good thing about Thorasia is that magic works and allows mages to cast more than one spell per day of the same spell. You can cast more than one Bookcopy, so Alzar isn’t limited to the 10 or so daily copies of Bookcopy him and his apprentices can cast of Bookcopy, but instead more like 20.

Alzar heads to Khaibar, former capital of the Sand Mire on Hamedh for his first use of the Bookfind spell. The decaying old area seems like the perfect place to have a few lost books, and the drier heat would allow them to survive longer. He is correct, and in one month, he’ll recover around 3344 books from Khaibar, which includes damaged copies he’ll restore with his Bookmend spell. But this is an investment of reducing value. Each month his Bookfinds will find few and few books, as the good stuff was gathered first.

He buys 1250 general knowledge books from Khaibar as well for 31,250

The library project here will clearly be the biggest and hardest of the group by far.

Vix heads out and brings back a previously unknown undead creature from the ruins that she found. Alzar spends a couple of days trying to figure out, and adds it to the knowledge of undead. This completes the 3rd of five tasks for Vix’s Path to Immortality. She just has two left.

Building stops on all projects for the year. Alzar has begun building a new army of 4000 for the northern part of his realm. It should take about three years to fully build.

[Abe Sargent]

Year 10, Month 11


On the 2nd night of this month, Alzar gets a vision one night while studying Nefti’s Spell Recall and then casting it later. It’s a few hours after midnight, when few are awake, and totally dark outside. It’s the time of the strongest connection with Nyx, Vix’s mother and Alzar’s mother in law. A direct communication from Nyx is arriving.


Alzar heads down to her temple and one of her high priests is here, he motions for Alzar to enter, and the Grand Duke does (they kept their title). Her Nyx herself is wrapped in a shadowy darkness that is formless but suggestive of a physical presence that belies normal existence. Alzar bows his head in respect. Words pour from her form.


She informs Alzar about the issues concerning the Entropic Path to Immortality. She reminds Alzar that it was decided that he had to do all five paths, but he didn’t have to do them sequentially. He took on one while still wrapping up one of Morena’s tasks.

Nyx really likes the idea of supporting Alzar. He helped her take over as the main immortal of The Milenian Empire in the Hollow World, he’s bringing back knowledge of the long-lost shade-making process, he has research and created countless undead, sees the power and beauty of them, and more. He’s a great match. Nyx doesn’t have a lot of allies in the Sphere of Entropy. She does have some outside of Entropy, but not in it. Her major rivals are Orcus and Thanatos, both of whom seek to use undead as cannon fodder. She is also directly opposed to the Neutral Good Ixion from the Sphere of Energy, the immortal of light and banishing darkness. But that’s it.

One of the main reasons Nyx helped to give birth to Vix was to bring in an ally, and she sees Alzar as another ally. There aren’t a lot of entropic entities out there that are easy to deal with. Having allies within her own sphere would be really helpful to spreading darkness and undeath.

[Abe Sargent]

Therefore, she is willing to be Alzar’s sponsor proactively. This will also cut off Thanatos, her rival, whom she knows was intending to Alzar’s sponsor as they share an alignment, and very few entropic immortals are lawful. It helps her get Alzar sponsored, moves him to immortality more quickly as he can work on both at once, and he agrees. Nyx is actually one of the few entropic immortals who creates rather than destroys. (In fact in the third Edition of the game that rewrites the immortals of Pandius as actual gods, she is officially Lawful Neutral, not NE any longer, and the only LN deity in Entropy in 3rd Edition, and you can see that here with her. She even has lawful good followers).

Nyx’s 3rd edition description:

Nyx, deity of darkness, death, and magic, is most often portrayed as a stunning woman with pale skin, beautiful and exotic features, long black hair, and black eyes wearing some piece of jewellery with a skull motif. Nyx is a creature of darkness and night, and her followers would like darkness to encompass all the world. Many of her highest level priests are in fact undead, but unlike most Entropic immortals Nyx is not particularly evil. She simply wants to change the multiverse to a condition where most other Immortals find abhorrent. She promises that understanding, personal power, security, order, and control over fate come with the study of magic. She admonishes her followers to respect those who came before, because they left their knowledge and died to make room for them. Her priesthood has a strict hierarchy. Clerics are known for their discipline and obedience to their superiors. They arbitrate disputes, give advice on magic, investigate magical curiosities, create magic items, and administer funerals and wear black robes at all times. Temples to Nyx are few and far between, but she counts many powerful wizards (especially necromancers) among her worshipers. Most of her temples are located in or near graveyards or catacombs, and they always contain crypts where powerful wizards are buried. They also contain extensive libraries of arcane lore and large collections of items that once belonged to great wizards from past eras.

(As you can see, her Third Edition take is not dissimilar to how I have been presenting her, and I am going to push that a little here below.) (Vanya was demoted in power and shifted to Lawful neutral from true neutral as well). (Pflarr and Ssu-Ma were removed, and I made Morena for this campaign as their weren’t enough dwarf immortals).

Alzar has started the Entropic Path

Unlike other Spheres, there are many Entropic Paths. As the end of things, Entropy has four counter-paths that seek to undo Thought, Time, Matter and Energy. Instead of the Epic Hero, you have the Destroyer. Instead of the Polymath you have the Manipulator. Instead of the Paragon, you have the Dungeon Master. Instead of the Dynast, you have the Tyrant. However, more than any other sphere, Entropy encourages the immortal to come up with pretty much anything that works…

[Abe Sargent]

Nyx’s Fifth Path to Entropy

1. Create a new race of undead, introduce them to the world, and have them grow and flourish for 2 years.
2. Find an artifact of Ixion, and destroy it.
3. Defile a temple of Ixion’s
4. Create a new school of shadow magic here on Pandius, and support it’s creation
5. Add darkness to Pandius in some major way (literally, not figuratively)
6. Create a magical item dedicated to the cause of Nyx

In a few ways, Nyx is tapping in Alzar as a wizard in a way not dissimilar to how Pflarr did as well. And yet, it will help her two main spheres of influence with darkness and undead grow.

[Abe Sargent]

Ixion is one of the most powerful Immortals out there. He is worshiped pretty much everywhere:

Ixion
(Ayazi/ Himayeti/ Aksyri, Dazbog, Horon, Idu, Orisis, Otzitiotl, Pyrak, Pyro, Solarios, Sun Prince, Tabak, Tubak the Lawgiver, Tyr, Warruntam, Xi-Yang)
Lord of Light and Energy
Level, Alignment, Sphere: 36th (Hierarch), NG, Energy
Symbol: a flaming wheel
Portfolio: light, sun, fire, power, heroism, war, knowledge, banishing darkness, fighting Entropy and Evil, preserve universal balance
Worshipped in: Alphatia, Bellissaria, Immortal's Arm (Eshu, Gombar), Cestia, Savage Coast (El Grande Carrascal, Dunwick, Gargoña, Narvaez, Nimmur, Wallara Tribelands, Torreón), Davania (Brasol, Emerond, Izonda, Meghala Kimata, Meghales Amosses, Vulcania), Great Waste, Pearl Islands, Isle of Dawn (Redstone, Shadow Coast), Hollow World (Azcans, Jennites, Milenians, Neathars, Nithians, Oltecs, Tanagoro, Traldars), Known World (Darokin, Ethengar, Glantri, Ierendi, Northern Reaches, Sind, Thyatis,), Skothar (Jen, Minaea, Nentsun, Tangor, Thonia, Zyxl), Yazak Steppes, Yavdlom
Appearance: a male whose race changes depending on those who observe him. No matter which race he belongs to, however, he has always a long mane of shining golden hair, flaming eyelids and his skin tone has a golden hue. He wears a golden silk robe and carries a flaming sword at his belt, and always moves around on a giant flying flaming wheel.
History: Ixion is one of the so called "ancient immortals", since his origins are lost in the mists of time and he states he does not remember (or he does not want to reveal) how he became immortal. Ixion has helped Ka and Ordana to create the Hollow World, in the attempt to save the endangered races of Mystara (and thus earning the scorn of Fugit from the Sphere of Time, who instead thinks nobody should play with destiny), and is much active as Hierarch of Energy in whichever plot involves the safeguard and the growth of the Sphere of Energy.
Personality: Ixion is the embodiment of the sun in all its glory, and he has been worshipped by mortals since the beginning of times as patron of light, life and the natural order of universe opposed to chaos and death. As Tubak the Lawgiver he is revered for his ability to rule using the wisdom of common sense rather than through iron laws. Ixion promotes knowledge as means to reach salvation: the wise men are those who leave the darkness of ignorance to gaze upon the light of knowledge (and this is another aspect of his role of "light-bearer"). He pursues the victory of the positive spheres (led by Energy) against the negative influence of Entropy. He does not like strict codes or laws, so the only rules he preaches to his faithfuls are not to oppose Entropy and its followers, to maintain peace with every means (also with war) and to always pay him due worship.
Ixion embodies perfectly the sphere of Energy: full passion and vigour, ironic, hot-tempered and always in motion, but also contemplative, thoughtful, wise and lenient. His most trusted allies are Valerias (his eternal soul-mate, despite all the quarrels that mark their relationships), Asterius (the most clever and merciless enemy of Entropy) and Ka (who shares Ixion's goal of protecting universal balance and the Hollow World). His most hated enemies on the other hand are the most powerful and ruthless among the Entropics, that is to say Thanatos, Hel and Atzanteotl.
Patron: Unknown (probably nobody)
Allies: Valerias (his mate), Ka, Asterius
Enemies: Atzanteotl, Thanatos, Hel
Classic D&D Stats:
Followers' Alignment: clerics and follow to us can be of any alignment
Favoured weapon: none (clerics can use all types of bows and crossbows, mace, warhammer, two-handed sword, scimitar, and the thrown weapons that belong to the cleric's culture)
Clerics' skills and powers: +1 bonus to all dices rolled to turn undead; +1 bonus hit and damage rolls against undead; clerics can freely cast the druidic spell Produce Fire twice a day.
Paladins' skills and powers: Lay on Hands, +2 bonus vs Death Ray.
D&D3E Stats:
Domains: Energy, Good, Fire, Sun, War, Knowledge
Preferred weapon: two-handed sword
Sources: HW, WotI, GAZ12, HWR1, HWR2, HWR3, SCS, CoM, DotE, GAZ4, IM1, IM3, Immortal set


So, it will not be hard for Alzar to defile a temple of Ixion as there are everywhere. What about his artifacts? Alzar does some research

I found a good one from the Forgotten realms I am bringing over here:


The Beacon of Light

Created by Ixion to help his followers in old Atlantis, it was used to guide their great ships in the void as they went from one star cluster or kingdom to another. After Alpha’s tyranny was too much, they fled here led by a vessal that lit up the night using the Beacon, and they arrived here and formed the Empire of Alphatia. Since then, The Beacon of Light has been used as everything from a navigational aid to a dungeon delving tool. It’s also been used to fight the night, and even allow a battle for a war to continue after night fell, with enough light to win by. However, the Beacon of Light has been lost for centuries. Alzar suspects that, like the Rod or Crook, it could be in another sub plane or dimension, but where?

[Abe Sargent]

Alzar casts Bookfind this month in Hamedh’s city of Arjuna, another place he spent some time in, as well as the nearby desert that included Neconalis. He only got 1888 books from it, and he purchased a few hundred book from local places as well to increase his number acquired to 2500 ish

In other news, Alzar has reviewed the libraries. The only one of the five libraries above his that are used poorly is the Elvish one. They won’t even let elves from outside f their clan see those books, let alone non-elves. It’s the opposite of hospitable or library-ish. All the other ones can be purchased, or aided, or are freely open, and thus fulfill the role of an actual, proper library. But not this one in Alfheim. Could Alzar penetrate the Library Tree and secure some books?

Alfheim:




Not today, but he will begin scrying and such to increase his knowledge of Alfheim, a forest surrounded by the nation of Darokin.



Alzar invests 80,000 gold to build a large Mage’s Tower in Evenarrow that can be used to be a future Shadow Mage home. Work won’t begin until next year though.

[Abe Sargent]

Year 10, Month 12


Alzar finds another 3322 books from Bookfind and purchases in Hamedh, this time in the Vale of the Forgotten Serpent, and those mountains and lairs, as well as purchasing books from local Rhabodomeres and other folks selling books.

This year, literacy in the Grand Duchy of the Mighty only increased to 41%.


Begin the Crypt of Lyzandred the Mad





This module should prove a little interesting as the module is intended to so some different things than a reader or player might expect on the first run through. I was initially expecting to run this as part of my grand Sand Mire campaign, but I ran out of time, and it wasn’t required. I like dropping hints of this module in previous places as well. But it fits Alzar and where he is now as well.

[Abe Sargent]

On the 9th day of the last month, Alzar is holding court in his throne room and listening to a judicial case that was appealed to him from a local magistrate. About half way through, Alzar fades from view, and reappears in a new location that clearly isn’t in Norwold. Alzar looks about himself, and he can’t even see a clear or cloudy sky, stars, or anything else, despite a sort of light-neutral cast that let’s people see, but without any obvious signs of being outdoors. And yet, Alzar clearly is in fact outdoors.



It doesn’t appear that he is on Pandius at all. Alzar reaches out and cannot enter his OtherSpace, although he does have a bag of holding that seems to work. He was about to go head out on his quest for more books after his cases and work, and this was the penultimate task scheduled for him to do today for his realm. Alzar tries to planeswalk back with his own ability but is unable to. He suspected that. Anyone who would grab him would know enough about to keep him from going anywhere without allowing it.

Alzar looks about himself more carefully. There is a large overhang to his left of a dark red stone Alzar doesn’t recognize and doesn’t look to be naturally formed. Alzar heads to it, down a russet colored path, with reddish colored plants. The scene is bizarrely colored, but the actual things are normal. As Alzar walks to and past the overhang of rock, he sees a giant and large crypt. On the crypt in front of him are runes written in Hamedhi’s Sand Mire Common that spell out the name “Lyzandred.”


Is this the final resting place of Lyzandred the Mad, who was killed centuries ago in the battles that engulfed the Sand Mire? The most powerful of the successor states to form after the fall of Amun-Re was Lyzandred’s. But Lyzandred only engulfed the Sand Mire in destruction and battle, and ultimately fell to the Dragon of Shades. And then Lyzandred disappeared from history, and his final resting place had never been found. The Sand Mire covers many sins, so it was thought that Lyzandred was one of them, but clearly, there was a subplane that Lyzandred was on.

[Abe Sargent]

The crypt is extremely large and oddly shaped and colored.

Alzar walks around, and about an hour later he has fully scouted the crypt from the outside. There is a large blue tinged brass door in the front that is closed, and the rest has no traps, no secret entrances. Alzar cannot get to many of his lesser items, like a Crystal ball, due to being cut off from his OtherSpace, as well adventuring gear like his Crypt Key (opens any lock at a grave or crypt) and Ear Ring. He doesn’t have a bandolier of potions or wands, or his useful adventure equipment. Instead, he will move forward with the stuff he does have, including Selnyr, which is always across his back in case of a surprise attack, Ring of Wizardry and Greater Sustenance, and more. (With his ring of wizardry, Alzar doubles his 1st and 2nd level spell load, which means he can cast around 16 Bookcopies a day without casting anything else. That does mean he’ll have access to a ton of level 1 and 2 spells today, but he won’t have the defenses of his Ring of Spell Turning, Free Action, or the sheer value of the Quick Action Ring.


After checking the area, Alzar unlocks the door with his thief skills, and heads into the crypt.

This plane’s rules on magic. You can cast multiples of the same spell, like Thorasia, so Alzar could cast 4 Vampiric Touches, as an example. Conj/Summoning spells do work. Div spells work twice as well as long as they are not divining the crypt, otherwise you cannot see into the crypt and such. The connection with clerics and gods is very strong, and divine casters are not effected in any way. It takes twice as long to cast any spell, so a spell with a casting time of 5 now has 10. A casting one of one full round is two, and such.

Alzar arrives, and there is a great map of the crypt on the wall as he enters. The first section is a group of 40 square rooms called “Life Challenges”. There are no doors that connect any of them on the map. The next section of 20 rooms is beyond those, and is labelled, “Death Challenges”. Then, finally, is a set of five rooms that have doors leading from one of the Death Challenges, and called, “Lyzandred’s Challenges”


There are even a few rules on the wall carved there hundreds of years ago. In each room is a great archway. You need to move through the first archway to go to the first Life Challenge. Once you have finished that room, there is a Ruby Archway which takes you to the next challenge, and an Emerald archway that will take you home. Going home is a one-way trip, and you will never get back.

This challenge is designed to challenge the bravest and strongest and smartest of souls. The Life Challenges are designed around major life experiences you have already had.

(I am changing the game up a bit, adding 10 more rooms. The actual module has 50 rooms but you have 100 room descriptions and you can mix and match and use what would make sense, until they have reached the final room, then on the 51st room, it’s the way out to the Crypt of Lyzandred. There s a very cool thing the dungeon does, as a sub-plane of Oerth, and many of the dungeon rooms are just subplanes of real places from Oerth. I love that idea! For example, here’s the Vault of the Drow! I love the idea of an adventure that could retrace the steps previously take by adventurers, but I felt that spark wasn’t fully fleshed out. However, I am modifying that for Alzar…)

I will be writing all 40 of these rooms, but using that central idea and doing a better job of it!

[Abe Sargent]

He arrives in the hallway of a underground facility. He recognizes the architecture as done by experts of stonecraft back on Thorasia called Svartálfar. One of the prisoners he rescued back in Thorasia was Wassilon, a Svartálfar. He recreated Alzar’s home in the beautiful traditional of his people. Back on the Isle of Dread, encountered a deserted outpost of Svartalfar that was later found to be hit hard by Gauntlet and Sentinel artifacts. This room is identical to that home, and there are 10 Svartálfar here. They give Alzar five separate math based riddles. If he fails any, then he’ll have to fight. Of course he does answer fine, and the Archway out lights up. Alzar heads to the next room…


So, as you can see, in every single case, there will be a room from Alzar’s past that has a riddle or a puzzle or a test If he fails, then he will have to fight the people in the room to move on. These are not challenging. They are things like the classic logic puzzle about crossing the lake with the wolf and the cow on the boat and such, as well as logical problems like, “Each day, a toadstool doubles in size, and on the 30th day it fully covers a small cave and prevents anyone from getting in. On what day was it half full of that mushroom?” Obliviously, the 29th day. Alzar has a 22 INT, and an 18 WIS so I am just auto-assuming that he can do them all and fully pass out of the Life Challenges without really pushing himself too hard.


The 2nd room is a giant throne room that Alzar immediately recognizes. This is the throne room of Norwold, and sitting waiting for Alzar are the King and Queen. After arrives, Ericall intones an 8 line puzzle, and Alzar answers the verbal puzzle, and then the archways light up, and again, he heads to the next challenge arrives.

The 3rd challenge is here. Alzar arrives in a central room of the Hill Giant’s Steading, where the Hill Giant Chief is listening and feasting. There are five Hill Giant retainers here. Alzar finds a physical puzzle and pushes pieces of the ground around to the right combination and then the puzzle is complete. The Hill Giant Chief points him to the right archway and he moves on.

What about challenge four? Alzar arrives at a final room of the Tomb of Horrors. Laying on a plinth at the end of a small hidden room is a skull with gems for eyes and teeth laying in a pile of bones and dust. This is Acererak, a Demi-Lich. The skull opens, and speaks a triad of mathematical riddles. Alzar answers each one, and then the archway behind the Demi-Lich opens, and out he goes.

[Abe Sargent]

The 5th room opens up before Alzar. He sees a large portal to another farflung place here, and a mutated and controlled Nigil a wizard is here, bringing creatures from the Far Realm to assist. Out comes a trio of Gibbering Mouthers from the final room of the Gates of Firestorm Peak. They each have a riddle that comes from all of the mouths that sounds pretty weird. Alzar answers the riddles correctly, and they are saddened and disappear back to the Far Realm. Alzar moves on.


Room 6? Alzar’s presence here in the final courtyard of Castle Caldwell comes across some hounds and humanoids. Luckily for Alzar, the hounds are pointing to a riddle in the earth, and he digs up various clues in the earth here in the courtyard of his very first adventure as a mage. He puts them in order and assembles a puzzle correctly, and then passes on.


Room 7 is here and with it, the next challenge. Alzar arrives at the Sabre River and speaks with the dark mage at the heart of his realm with the sword-no-longer Cutter at his side. The mage gives a long mathematical problem that Alzar answers quickly, and then the river opens up, and on the other side are the archways, and Alzar heads on.


The 8th challenge is here. Alzar is in the room with the Sage of the Heavens in Hamedh’s Tower of the Heavens acquiring the quest to secure the Books from the local creatures that had the Books of Prophecy, but instead, Shalfey gives Alzar a quest to find some books in this room. He walks around, finds the five books, and then puts them in the correct order on a book shelf and the doors open.


Challenge 9 arrives. Alzar is here on the Demonweb layer of the Abyss, under the control of Lolth. Here Alzar must weave together correctly five separate strands of fate on the Demonweb proper to free himself and pass Lolth’s challenge. There are a few demons in front in case he fails. He succeeds and weaves all five threads, and Lolth’s angry cry signifies his victory, and on the Web, two archways open and he moves on.


The 10th challenge is here. Alzar is in the underground Ruins of Neconis outside of the city of Arjuna I the local desert. There is no plantlife here, but there is a giant genie here who guardian of this level of the ruins. The genie gives Alzar his hardest riddle yet, but he easily passes, and the genie sighs, and then uses his wish power to open the archways.

[Abe Sargent]

Alzar’s arrival at the 11th room does not go unnoticed. Out from the side of this room comes a quartet of Dwarf Crusher Golems, from the former dwarf hold in his land, where the Axe of the Dwarfish Lords was located. Alzar finds written on the ground in front of the Golems a logical puzzle that points to which of the flagstones on the floor in front of him that he cannot step on without fight a golem. He solves it, dances across the room, and leaves

Alzar arrives at the dark Kopru room in the final place in the ruined temple on the Plateau in the Isle of Dread. A kopru lounges methodically here, looking up gently at Alzar as he arrives, with its withering gaze settling on the human mage. It’s clearly hungry. It tells Alzar the keys to a puzzle, and he answers correctly. It’s angry, and splashes away to a corner of the room, and Alzar heads out.


This is the 13th room and challenge room. Alzar arrives at the key chamber of the Pyramid of Amun-Re in the Sand Mire. Here in front of Alzar is where he got the Star of Mo’Pilar, a super Gem of Seeing that has arguably been one of his most used magical item. Alzar has to require the Star to get out of this room or fight Amun-Re. He sees, entombed in hieroglyphics, the problem of getting to the Star, and he follows it, secures the Star, puts it in a dais, and the wall slides back. He heads out.


The 14th room arrives. Alzar is in the central garden of the spaceship that was unearthed in Norwold after the earthquake hit in his Expedition. This central garden was the result of nasty plants that were genetically engineers and got out of control. Alzar arrives at the bridge heading over the central garden, and sees the giant Froghemoth in the water glinting at him. He solves a puzzle that enables him to cross the bridge safely, and heads away.


In the 15th challenge, Alzar arrives at the final room of The Veiled Society at the end of the Search of Adventure campaign where he fought against a secret society in the local capital of his kingdom. All of the various members are here, and each gives him one word of a six word riddle, and he solves and passes under the table to the next room and challenge though a ruby archway.

[Abe Sargent]

In the 16th challenge, Alzar is here at the mastabas in the Sand Mire, where the village of local people allowed him to rest. A mastaba is right next to him, and he has to enter it and avoid the various traps. Each one is written on the wall beside him in a different language, and they involve different metal tasks, that he completes. In the center of the mastaba are two archways, and he heads out.


Alzar arrives at the Shrine of the Kuo-Toa where he was entranced and force to become their friend and learned their language. They cry out on Koa-Toan and ten Kuo—Taos are here in the Underdark and and a logical riddle is given, that Alzar passes and heads out.


The 18th challenge arrives and with it, Alzar at the tavern in Orlane, the small town where he fought Against the Cult of the Reptile God. This is where one of his companions, Aleigha was spirited away in the night by Derek Densleigh and the locals and taken to the ruler of the Cult and prepared to join them. This time, Alzar has to stop them from taking away Aleigha. And to do so, he must pass three separate physical puzzles, and does. Aleigha is fine, and Alzar heads on.


The 19th challenge is next, and Alzar arrives at the end of the Nightmare Keep where he faced the countless horde of Lichlings that were created by Icelia, another demilich. Alzar will have to face the 10 Lichlings here, but he passes the tests they give him, and gives an answer that impresses the undead,


The 20th challenge is here. Alzar arrives at the underground Pyramid of the Forgotten One in the Sand Mire. In this room, Alzar faces a Greater Mummy, who will fight to the end unless the answer is given. A math puzzle is given by the Greater Mummy that takes around a minute to speak. Alzar answers, and the hard stone wall cracks open, and to archways emerge. Alzar is now halfway through the Life Challenges.

[Abe Sargent]

Alzar arrives at a Camp in the Secrets of the Slavers’ Stockhold, and can see the various slavers here. They are whipping a few slaves, and if Alzar does not stop the whipping, they will die, but he must deal with a physical challenge from the slavers. He figures out which of 10 bricks is the secret panel that opens to a button, that will free the shackles of the slaves, and then two archways rise from the ground and Alzar moves on.


This room is the home of the 22nd challenge. He has just transformed into a Devil Swine to face Alzar’s party here at the end of Drums on Fire Mountain, where this evil lycanthrope has used magic to set himself up as the king pirate and bandit in the Sea of Dread to step into the power vacuum made after Alzar dropped the slavers. The Devil Swine is giant, and his daughter, Maerie is behind him. Alzar must answer Maerie’s challenge, or face and slay the Devil Swine. He takes it on, and instead two archways open and Alzar heads through the ruby one.


The 23rd challenge arrives. Alzar steps into the Aarackocra aerie under assault from the evil demon ba’utun. Unless he solves their problems, the Aarakocra will be delayed and their aerie and village atop the great peaks will be destroyed! Alzar Is given a set of ten distinct but quick math riddles, and then answers them and moves on.


The 24th challenge gets here. Alzar steps forward. This is the pelota playing room of the Hidden Shrine at Tomoachan. Alzar must play palota against the greatest gamers in their generation, and execute a physical challenge doing so to defeat them He does, and at the end if the game, as his ball goes through a vertical hole on the wall, a door rises and two archways beyond turn red and green. Alzar steps into the red….

….and arrives at the 25th challenge. This is a subplane where Skarda’s Mirror dropped him and many others off and created a nasty dictatorial state that kept them under. But if Alzar can free them, they can even the score. Alzar has a physical challenge, then three more, and passes them. He opens up the fortress, and they escape! Two archways are behind them as they leave, and Alzar goes though the ruby one.

[Abe Sargent]

The 26th challenge opens. Alzar is in Evenarrow, looking out over an invasion of almost a thousand Spyder-Fiends. He has to step forward and engage, but he can’t handle that many demons, so he’ll have to trick them, and answer some mathematical challenges. He does, and the scores of demons dissipate back home, leaving two archways behind to prove they were one here Alzar heads through the Ruby one.


Alzar arrives at his old home in Thorasia, in the central chamber where is instructing his first apprentices. Vala, as always, is smarter and cleverer than the others, and picks up on the Fivefold Path to Power much more quickly than any other he ever taught. The apprentice each ask him riddle about one of the paths, and he must answer them on charming or conjuring. Once their riddles are answered, the apprentices head up and out of the room, opening two gateways on their way out.


Alzar arrives at the 28th room. This is the Star-Kingdom of Gammar in the Into the Maelstrom adventure he had with immortals where he won the appreciation of the immortal Vanya. Alzar steps into the Star Kingdom, and then sees a ruby gate here, beyond the phase ship docks, that will get him to the next challenge. First he must answer a riddle, given by the locals here, and does so. He skips past the Phase Ships and through the gate.


The 29th room is here. Alzar steps in and looks around. This is the chamber of the Master of the Desert Nomads, with his golems here. The cleric shouts to Alzar that his golems will attack unless Alzar can give him the answers he seeks. Five questions and answers later, Alzar has stymied the Master, and he cannot think of any more, so Alzar leaves.


The 30th room arrives. Alzar steps into the room where Zuggtmoy is about to attack in the Elemental Temple of Evil. Luckily, Alzar’s assembled artifact, the Orb of Golden Death is holding her back. She barks an order at Alzar and he has to answer the riddle contest, or else the power of the Orb will fade and he’ll have to face some of her minions. Alzar wins….

[Abe Sargent]

The 31st room is here. This time Alzar arrives at the home of the Rhabomancer he stayed at for a year in the Valley of the Serpent in Hamedh, and learned how to make a divining rod and many of the Magic spells of the local area. This is where his appreciation for divination magic’s power was honed. In a quest for power, Alzar’s ongoing realization that Knowledge is Power is increasing. Alzar is in a Divination contest with his mentor, and must answer five riddles about the magic. He does, and then moves through a Ruby Archway in the back of the building and into the next challenge…


The 32nd challenge is here. Alzar arrives at the beautiful flying city of Serraine, and the skygnome Questrix is here, welcoming him to the city, along with the pegataur Rolane. In order to secure entrance to the city, Alzar must pass a written quiz first, and does so. The entrance to the city opens, and Alzar steps through a Ruby Arch.


He arrives at the 33rd room. He is in the speeding passageway that goes under the mountain and connects the Bone Hill area with the Sand Mire underground, in All that Glitters. In order to send himself through, Alzar must assemble 100 different gems and do so correctly. 20 minutes later he does, and then the portal opens, Alzar turns into a gaseous form, is blown to the other side, reforms, and then heads through the Ruby Arch here…


The 34th room arrives Alzar steps through it and into the central room of the castle of Saffir, where the red-bearded Duke of Saffir waits. If Alzar doesn’t want him to turn into a red dragon and fight him, Alzar has to humor him and answer a few questions. He does, and the large toothy grin is satisfied. Archways open, and Alzar steps through the ruby one


And emerges into a dark room with no lights. He is a prisoner outside of the city after being captured in his first adventure. He must give the guard an answer to a math problem or else remain trapped in his cell for the rest of his life. Luckily for Alzar (and arguably for the guard as well) Alzar is easily able to answer the question, and his bonds melt off, and the door to his cell opens. He steps out, and is challenged thrice more by guards. Eventually, he moves through eh last door and opens up a room with two arches, and heads out.

[Abe Sargent]

The 36th challenge is here, and Alzar arrives at the throne room of the Queen of Chaos here in the Steaming Fen of her level of The Abyss. She smiles in gratitude for his arrival. Her ten tentacles slash out to grab the Rod of Seven Parts, and wrest it from his weak (in comparisons) human grip. However, as she does, Alzar suggests a riddle instead, and she loves the idea. Her and Alzar exchange ten riddles, and he wins, and she allows him to leave via the archways behind her and keep the Rod.


The 37th challenge arrives. Alzar arrives at the basement of the College of Wizardry as Japheth Arcane is describing their Primal Language of Magic they uncovered. Is Alzar smart enough to understand it? Japheth challenges him to three logic puzzles to test his intelligence, and Alzar passes all three. Behind the central learning chamber about the Primal Language are two arches, and Alzar leaves via the Ruby one…



The 38th challenge comes next. Alzar is at the chamber of Xaene, the lich who has poisoned an entire city as part of a God of Poison and Decay’s desire to build her name. Alzar is underground, and they are at a small library here. Xaene agrees to give Alzar the cure if he’ll defeat the lich in a little logical puzzle. Alzar agrees, and he handles the challenge. Alzar is given the spellbook with the spell the lich made, and send out of a ruby arch.


Alzar arrives at the home of the penultimate challenge in this first round. He is at the primal undergrowth that Alzar faced the Oerd challenge to go back in time and stop magic on the plane of Pandius. This is where Alzar is assembling the locals to fight back, and where his legend as the Lord of Wood and Fire begins. He just needs to find the secret route to the Oerd base to stop their spaceship. He must choose the right steps, and there is a code written on the ground that Alzar solves, and he opens the route and steps through and into a archway of ruby.


The final challenge is here and Alzar is at his own wedding to Vix. As her mother is the immortal Nyx, she won’t marry anyone, so Alzar must defeat her. He can choose any venue, like fighting or wrestling or athletics, but he chooses a mental exercise instead, and they have five logaic puzzles she gives that her future husband answers. Alzar defeats Vix, and the wedding goes on. After, the arches open up and Alzar steps through the ruby one, and onto the first Death Challenge……

[Abe Sargent]

A light rain wets Alzar’s hair. He is in the center of a ring of smallhills, and the skeleton of a huge reptile is on the ground next to Alzar, in a carpet of grass. The abandoned remains of a small garden grow wild to the left and two large compost piles to the right.

As Alzar arrives, the two compost piles rise, and Alzar’s facing two Shambling Mounds.

AC0, HP 58, THACO 9, 2d4x2

They need a 15 to clock Alzar, he needs a 3 for them with axe, and 8 with Barrier.

They win init and hit once for 6. Alzar hits three times for 16, 19 and 10.

On the next turn, they keep init. Alzar takes another 5. Then he lay the wounded Mound and injures the other. On the third turn Alzar defeats the Mound without taking additional pain

Alzar 81/90

Alzar heads on to the next challenge….




Alzar arrives at a bright sun shining in a clearing at a dense jungle. In the center of the clearing is a two-level ziggurat like structure that has ramps leading up to each level. Two small domed buildings flanks it, and a pen half-filled with deerlike animals is just visible behind a well. Three people in simple tunics with baskets of goods are walking up the stairs.

Alzar approaches, and the three people turn into Yuan-Ti abominations!




As they slither down at Alzar, another 5 emerge!

Initiative -

Alzar loses. In order to hit them, he needs 3, or 2 for each one with his axe, and the biggest abomination has 50 hp.But they have just one attack and need a 17 to hit.

Round one:

Alzar takes 5, and deals 40.

Round two:

Alzar is missed. He kills the wounded one


Round Three:

Alzar takes 8, he slays another


Round Four:

Alzar takes 15, He misses twice with Selnyr (rolled 1 twice) and only his shield cracks a yuan ti


Round Five:

Alzar slays a 3rd,and just is hit once for 3.


Round 6:

Another halfbreed falls (HP 35) and Alzar is missed

Round 7:

Alzar slays a 5th, and is missed

Round 8:

A 6th dies, and Alzar takes6


Alzar finishes the last two without being hit. He casts cure serious wounds for 25. He passes through a ruby gate made behind the animals.

Alzar- 71/90

[Abe Sargent]

Death Challenge #3

This 120 foot diameter circular chamber is divided into eight equal sections, with a domed ceiling of arches up to 50 feet high. Floating about 5 feet off the ground is a multifacted white gem the size of a head. Without warning, a burst of brilliant yellow light bursts from the gem and momentarily envelops one of the room’s sections.

This room is identical to the Soul Gem room of the Ghost Tower of Inverness that Alzar found in the Underdark back in Thorasia. Each round, the gem will fire in a random direction into one of the 8 sections, and it will duplicate one of the rays of a Prismatic Ray! Any critter in the beam is automatically hit and does not save. And the gem is protected by a box of force.

If you will recall, Alzar was able to defeat this room once before, and then secure the Soul Gem., which Vala has now. He watches it for a while, and then moves it, with the artifact Bright Barrier as a shield in case it comes down. He has to make three d8 rolls for the three angles of approach needed. On an 8, the beam fires in his direction. I toss a 3, 4, and 3. Luckily not an 8 twice! He secures the Soul Gem, casts Dispel on it, and then the power ebbs and the door opens…


The 4th Death Challenge awaits


This is an underground maze of stone. The walls are carved in reliefs of tortured faces and bodies fused together into a hideous mass. The air smells of fire. Alzar’s Star reveals a creature in the wall that is a carnivorous wall, that will need to be killed to advance.

There are 9 such walls here.

AC3, HP 64 down to 32. 1d10 + paralyze. Alzar’s Selnyr is out and the Bright Barrier as well and he steps forward. He casts the 4th level Free Action spell and heads in. random.org…. Alzar took 22 and slew them all.

He heads through a ruby gate…

49/90


His 5th Death Challenge arrives.

Alzar arrives at the entrance to an underwater passageway, and he just make out a glint of ruby on the far end, but he also sees a number of sahuagin in the water, at least 20. He tosses in a Skulltrap and clears out many, but the rest emerge and attack him! He drops another skull trap t finish them, and took 16 from the trap. He casts Cure serious wounds.


58/90

[Abe Sargent]

Challenge 6!

Alzar arrives at a giant chessboard of alternating stones at his feet, and large white and black figures on either side. He begins on the rook space, and must play chess. As he does, whenever one of his pieces or another, is taken, he must defeat the piece, which is a golem. The pawns are stone guardians (AC2, 24 hp, 2x 1d8 for punches, need an 18 to hit Alzar.), the Bishops and Knghts are lesser stone golems, the rooks are greater stone golems, and a king and queen are marble golems. (random.org) he has to kill 4 pawns, 2 bishops, 1 knight, and 1 king before winning but because they are solo matches, and only the king has 65 hp, they ae easy kills, and he loses just 19 hp.

39/90


Challenge 7


The air in this chamber is bitterly cold, and colder than Alzar has experienced. The walls and floor are covered by clusters of needle sharp ice the lights are dim, and a stone block around 12 feet by 4 feet by 10 is in the center of the room, the only feature thereof. The room is so black that the eyes hurt to look at it.

Each round Alzar is in this room he’ll take 1d4 cold damage. Alzar’s star is out and he spies a secret corridor under the block. He disarms a trap, moves it, head down, and into an underchamber where the arches are. He heads out after four rounds, and took 09

30/90


Challenge 8

This is a totally normal, featureless room, with a boom on the center on the floor and two stone archways on the other side. Alzar casts Heal now that he’s not on a cold clock. His star is out, and he sees that there are a number of micro holes in the floor on the far side, but no traps. He slowly moves around, and soon a caustic gas enters the room, totally filling it, and a few minutes later leaves, having shined the room. Then the broom animates and cleans the space up. Alzar was not damaged by the gas as he doesn’t need to breathe air in the room due to his Necklace of Adaption.

[Abe Sargent]

Challenge 9

Alzar stands in a long natural passage underground, with darkened earth all around. He sees a number of vague moving earthlike forms, but there are no traps or anything. He heads down, and as her does four earth elementals animate and move to attack.

AC2, Need a 9 to hit, 3d8 damage from a punch, 80, 78, or 75x2 hp

Random.org

One heal spell later, Alzar is at 66/90.

That was the roughest Death challenge thus far!


Challenge 10

This bowl-shaped valley is a very unnatural seeming place, surrounded by cliffs and a grassy area. Part of the grass has been blackened by a fire and a small pool with twisted plants is to the left. A strange green radiance shines from above.

After Alzar arrives, an extraplanar beats arrives and reveals itself and attacks! It looks like a 20 foot ovoid looping maze or growth of intestines.


The Thing That Should Not Exist – AC – 2, HP200, Thaco 2 (8 to hit Alzar), 3 attacks for 1d10 and once per day can set something on fire, Magic Resist 100 (I increased its stats to make it a match for Alzar and gave it full MR).


Round 1:

Alzar wins init and carves it once for 20. He takes no hits (cloak) back

66/90
180/200


Round 2:

The Thing wins and hits twice for 12, Alzar carves for 35.

54/90
145/200

Round 3:

The Thing keeps init and hits thrice for 16. Alzar hits back for 29.

38/90
116/200


Round 4:

Alzar regains initiative and carves for 29. He takes one hit for 8 back.

30/90
87/200

Round 5:

Alzar hits for 15, and is hit for 12.

18/90
72/200

Round 6:

Alzar takes 7 and cats his 3rd and final Heal


Round 7

Alzar slashes for 33 and takes 11.

79/90
39/200

It regain init and misses twice, hits once for 4. Alzar misses and then hits for 15 and misses with the Barrier

75/90
24/200

Round 8

Alzar regain init back and slays it

All Heal spells used

[Abe Sargent]

Challenge 11

A stiff breeze catches Alzar by surprise. He is up on a giant cloud in the sky and will need to ski across 10 other clouds to reach the archway in the distant cloud cover. He scouts out first, and as he does so, a Manticore flies around and tries to shoot him, but misses. Alzar drops it with Flesh to Stone. He skips over, and more and more Manticores fly over. He slays a few with Wail of the Banshee and Power Word, Kill and kills 15 after taking just 9 damage (cloaks helped a lot).

66/90

Challenge 12

Alzar is in an ordinary looking corridor carved from solid rock. Only one exception is carved in the wall, which is mortared with bricks. In the center of the new section is a bronze door with a tiny barred window, and o the other side of the door are two hanging iron sconces with torches burning. The door is barred on Alzar’s side.

He heads over after checking for traps and sees none. He heads to the door to see what is over on the other side, and the door is a greater mimic. (Random.org) Alzar takes 15 before taking it out

In the room are two archways out

51/90


Challenge 13

Alzar stands in a maze of white stone walls, and from above it is a harsh light that prevents anyone from seeing what is above the maze. Alzar can make out the silhouette of a giant ghost cat. Hit perks its back and moves and Alzar follows it around the maze, checking to make sure that there are no traps along the way. He finds and disarms two. Upon reaching the center of the maze, where the cat has some ghost kittens, it spins and attacks Alzar!

AC -6, HP85, Needs 6 to claw Alzar, 2d6x2, ages you if hit.

Alzar casts Protection from Undead which will last for 5 rounds and act as the scroll. The cat will be dead before then. Dead cat! Alzar also takes out the kittens. An archway appears and he steps through the ruby one.

[Abe Sargent]

Challenge 14

Alzar arrives in a room in the center of a tower, with portals to his right, left, forward and back, and a large teleporting device in the middle. Alzar recognizes this place as the teleporting room in the Lost Island of Castanimir. He found this place long ago, and there was this teleporter in the middle of the tower that would teleport in annoyingly bad stuff. In this case, it just teleported in 20 ogres!


Alzar casts Mass Domination, and 6 fight for him (cloak) then Mass Domination and more. In four rounds, he has 11 ogres left and the others are dead. He heads to the archway, but they won’t follow him.


Challenge 15


The temple Alzar has arrived at is bizarre, with carvings of frogs and other amphibians decorating the walls as well as the large altar. The pillars supporting the high ceiling glisten with a thick green leathery slime, and sixteen giant frogs are here. One skull trap later, they are mostly dead, and behind the altar is a mutant amphisbaena, a great two headed poisonous snake!

Round 1. It surprises Alzar. Free attack, misses due to cloak

Round 2. It bites Alzar twice for 6 damage, no need to save vs poison due to his items. Alzar hits for 28.


Round 3 – Alzar takes another 11, no saves, and then kills it.


He casts his last serious wounds, and steps through the ruby archway

59/90

[Abe Sargent]

Challenge 16

This hillside is covered with strangely colored stunted plants and dotted with many cave entrances, and overhead, the sun rushes by very quickly. There are a few statues here, suggestive of a creature that petrifies, and sure enough, from the caves emerge three fast basilisks. Alzar casts Protection from Petrifaction, and takes 22 from attacks.

After slaying them he casts cure moderate wounds twice. Inside one of the caves he finds the archways out.

57/90


Challenge 17


Alzar arrives at the end of a square bound corridor that is extremely wet and damp, with ooze dropping from thick build ups, and the archways at the end of the corridor, about 100 yards away. The entire corridor is covered by goo. Alzar suspects various oozes or jellies of sorts, typically, although there are exceptions, but typically they are vulnerable to fire.

Alzar casts Meld into Stone and walks into the stone and heads down the corridor, bypassing hundreds of oozes and jellies, and then arrives at the end and leaves.


Challenge 18

This room is fiery hot, with lava oozing in the corners over coals like fountains, and making the room hotter than almost anything, and Alzar would immediately take damage if he wasn’t immune to fire. Over those foundations sit four Greater Fire Elementals which move to fight him. If you’ll recall, Alzar’s Axe, is an axe of extinguish as one of its powers, and he is immune to normal fires of any level (as are his items) and he takes very little damage from magical fire.

Between the two, this is not going to be a long battle. Alzar takes…12 damage total, and then leaves via the ruby arch


45/90

[Abe Sargent]

Challenge 19

Alzar arrives in a place without any light, and his light source is not working. In seconds, he is attacked by something! He uses blind-fighting for this fight to keep himself in it, and….he takes 26 damage, and after slaying his foes the light reappears and he finishes and casts he remaining moderate wounds spells



50/90

He is almost out of healing magic. He steps through the final ruby arch to the last Death Challenge.



Challenge 20


Alzar arrives at a room not dissimilar to the one in the end of the Magist’s Tower in the Greyhawk Ruins, where he faced an elder demilich. But here, it’s just a normal wizard, who’s spell trigger fires give her three protective auras.

Alzar wins and casts Time Stop he casts Laudryn’s Cleaving, Power Word, Stun, and Finger of Death. The first works, the other two nope. She casts Time Stop back and points Power Word Stun, and more shields. Alzar is immune with his spell, and then the shields raise.

She drops another Cleaving and Alzar does the same.

Alzar’s axe stabs her for 29. She casts Flesh to Stone and….he tosses a 4 (needs a 3 so he made it). Next round she wins against and uses Stoneskin, and Alzar casts Miscast Magic on her. She casts Mirror Image and fails. He casts Dispel and drops the SS. She wins and casts another skin, this time working, and Alzar another DS. Alzar wins init back and stabs her for 44 and she dies.


Her body and the room fade

[Abe Sargent]

Alzar leads the final Death Challenge,

He arrives in a long corridor where a female cleric and mage are waiting, and a larger-than-normal-sized lich is waiting, hands crossed. He introduces himself as Lyzandred. He bids his cleric to heal Alzar.

Lyzandred offers Alzar a seat, which he takes. He compliments Alzar and tells him that Alzar is the fight one in 8 years to make the gauntlet and pass all 60 challenges without taking the emerald archway back home. He offers Alzar a prize for his success. Alzar tells him of his library quest, and asks specifically for a large number of illusion or evocation oriented texts. Lyzandred has 4500 evocation books he’ll let Alzar borrow to read and add to his library later. He also has about 1000 more illusion works on its theory, casting research, use and more, just like illusion magic.


Alzar asks about Lyzandred in the Sand Mire, and the lich gives Alzar the entire story. When he was a child, he saw a Rod of Command misused by a vile person who used it to create slaves and push decadence. His family was hurt by it, and he swore that as long as he was powerful, he wouldn’t let people have a level of magical items if they couldn’t handle it, and for years he quested for powerful magical items that were too powerful for bad guys.

This led to him joining the Sand Mire nation as a sort of agent that went out and did some tasks for his ruler, Amon-Re. His success raised his profile in the empire considerably, and soon he was one of the most powerful men. He also began to be obsessed with removing objects, any objects from people, even things like potions. He created this demi-plane to store away magical items.


Eventually his power grew to the point that after the empire fell, he was able to carve the greatest state from the corpse of the Sand Mire. His massive bank of magic items didn’t hurt. His obsession and madness grew. He fought other nations, and pushed his people into battle again and again for his delusions. Near the end of the campaign, as his force was losing badly to the Dragon summoned by the College of Wizardry near Khaibar, he was tucking a number of items here on his demiplane and a moment of lucidity struck him, and he saw how far he had fallen. He sent the items he would need to get into his plane out with his allies, thus locking himself out of going home, and he built up this area, and became a lich. Afterwards, he saw all that he had done, and realized he had erred, and now he dedicated his undeath to putting things back, as well as bringing over people and working to make things right.

And thus the adventure Alzar went through. The idea is to demonstrate who people truly are, and then bring out greed from those unable to deal with it, or selflessness for those who are, and send those who show good deeds away with the magical items stored here with his blessings, and those who are villainous are stripped of their items and send back. Anyone who dies here is held until raised, there is an enchantment on his plane that Lyzandred installed that keeps people from fully dying.

And now the Challenge is complete, and he’ll send Alzar back with a library. He saw that Nyx had contacted Alzar, and thought that investigating this fellow master of the undead would prove useful.

However, if he wants, Alzar can do a little quest for him, and when complete, Alzar will get the illusion library as well.

Alzar agrees, and Lyzandred tells him a story about Thorasia….

End of The Crypt of Lyzandred the Mad

[Abe Sargent]

Alzar hears from Lyzandred that his old apprentice on Thorasia had lost some weapons that Alzar had acquired around 20 years when adventuring on the Isle of Dread in a volcano. Three powerful weapons that Alzar really didn’t use much – Wave, Whelm, and Blackrazor.


Something happened to pull them back from Vala about two years ago. She never told him, but it’s not like they have daily pan-planar conferences or anything either. Alzar is to head to the volcano, reacquire the weapons, and then turn them over to Lyzandred.


Begin Return to White Plume Mountain



Alzar does a little research at the Isle of Dread for a couple of days. It looks like the layout of the surrounding area has been modified in a few major ways here and there from lava flows. It’s likely the inside has at well, in at least a few places

[Abe Sargent]

After spending two days preparing and scrying, Alzar teleports over at arrives the White Plume Mountain again.


Earlier, the White Plume Mountain had been the home of a older mage called Kareptis who had built this dungeon in the heart of a volcano along with svartalfar to secure these powerful weapons that had been created. Inside of power, cleverness was required to get them. But he left the scene a while ago, and Alzar and his party on the Isle of Dread came across the volcano while exploring. They entered, passed a number of puzzles, and then found the various weapons, and although there certainly was some amount of fighting, Alzar infiltrated and got the goods without too much combat, and if the dungeon layout is the same this time, he imagines the same is about to be true of his new adventure here.

It doesn’t look like the old entrance survived the passage of time, and Alzar heads to the edge of the volcano trying to find an entrance. After around 50 minutes, he makes one out. He temporarily makes out the face of Keraptis in the volcanic gas for a moment, and there at the base of that gas cloud is the belch of a way in.

[Abe Sargent]

Alzar heads up the stairs that lead through a small crevice, and then sees a small dvergr in a hole here watching guard. It shouts out to Alzar that it serves the real Keraptis, and Alzar inquires. Apparently, Keraptis recently returned and found three usurpers to his title, and was suitably annoyed. Anyone looking to ally with Keraptis and take out the others would be most welcome. Alzar agrees, and the guard pulls out a sticks and draws a rough figure of this area of the volcano on the ground, shows Alzar where some traps are, gives him a passcode, and shows him where to meet Keraptis. Alzar heads in.


Alzar passes a hallway of great oaken doors and then passes a about 10 more guards of various races, mostly humans, including some from the local natives here on the Isle of Dread. He passes the pit traps marked, and then finds a long passageway covered with spikes that has to be approached from the correct angle and the precise moment or be stuck by spikes.


Next Alzar reaches a long corridor recently carved into the rock before arriving at an empty natural chamber beyond with nothing but bats here. One of the good things about adventuring back on his home plane of Thorasia is that Alzar’s full power work, including controlling extra-planar creatures. So he is very comfortable here.

A sliding disease ridden pole must be slid down to the next level, and Alzar is covered by 20 or more guard with weapons down here. He does not contract the disease.

Next is a destroyed wooden bridge he crosses with the stench of smoked fish strong in the air. While Alzar is in a long, quiet corridor passing the bridge, he is scanned by a watcher and after confirming his identity, she opens a door and offers to confirm for him all of the crazy stuff that’s really been happening here. This is Kuhlefaran, a female human mage.

Alzar heads down a side passage with her and they go to another floor in some secret passages and arrive at the domain of Nix, a male efreeti. Nix introduces himself to Alzar, and he uses some Genie Lore to know the language to talk appropriately with the efreeti. He tells Alzar that the four main areas of the old dungeon were each taken over by an imposter who was able to summon the old weapon of Keraptis.

Four separate clones, using the Clone spell, were created by Keraptis to allow himself to continue after he died, but apparently, all four activated when they weren’t supposed to. All four have memories of themselves, and all four have the same connection to the four weapons of Keraptis. Each have arrived here, carved out a part of the original Keraptis’s dungeon, and decried the other three as usurpers. They used that connection to summon their weapon.

“Four weapons?” Alzar asks.

Yes, four weapons. Whelm, Wave, Blackrazor and Frostrazor. Alzar is the one who took three of them, but Frostrazor was also made and hidden here, and was the first to leave by someone who came before Alzar arrived the first time. There is a resistance here that Nix leads, including a small but powerful cadre of people. What Nix is trying to do is to go to an old and ancient crypt of Keraptis that was not found by Alzar on his first trip here, but into which can be placed the four blades, and then the real Keraptis will return to life and will know what to do. So the goal is to infiltrate and secure the four weapons and then return to Nix, who will get them to the crypt.

Alzar casts the binding spell, and Nix is bound with Genie Contract and must do what he offered.

[Abe Sargent]

Alzar heads back to the first area, and goes through about 6 more rooms and areas before arriving at the central audience chamber of “Keraptis”. The room is medium sized, with four ogre guards, and another 12 servants of various types, including a cleric.


The False Keraptis greets Alzar and tells Alzar that his magical trident was just stolen from him by kelpies in a secret door to the south. He wants to hire Alzar to retrieve the trident, and Alzar nods and says simply, “I will get and return Kerapti’s trident!”


Alzar heads out and to a secret door that leads to a small underground lake, with about 15 Kelpies down there. They are a water elemental creature, so Alzar immediately controls them, and they back off and show him Wave. It’s been a long time. Alzar grabs the halberd and returns, with the 15 kelpies leading the way. He orders them to fight, and in moments, the Kelpies have destroyed the clone of Keraptis, and the various guards, but were eventually dropped to 5.

Behind Keraptis Alzar finds three rooms, a lab, library, and personal room. In them, and on the bodies, Alzar finds:


466 Nightfear Library books
135 scrolls and maps of Thorasia

Decanter of Endless Water
Amulet of Inescapable Location
Robe of Stars
15 Arrows of Fire
+2 Ring of Protection
+2 Dagger
+2 Mace
Clerical Ring - +1 1st level spell when worn for 24 hours

16000 gp of lab equipment

Random Wizard Scrolls

Keraptis Clone Spellbook #1


Alzar casts Animate Dead and animates 12 skeletons and cuts off the head of the clone.

Alzar heads on, with the Kelpies as an accompaniment

[Abe Sargent]

Alzar finds an entrance to the next false Keraptis clone’s region. There is an open hallway. Alzar uses the Star of Mo’Pilar and his skeletons to walk in front, with Kelpies as a powerful central shock troops. Alzar conjures an Earth Elemental for the rear, and then is right in front of the elemental.

Alzar finds and it attacked by 10 ghouls, but they are not normal ghouls but much stronger. They cannot be turned or controlled. Alzar has to conjure another Earth Elemental, but manages to take them down, lost one kelpie, and most of his skeletons. On the corpses are:


10 Amulet of Repudiation – make the undead immune to turning, controlling, or destroying, give them 50% MR, and add 1 HD to them/month for a year, at which they will have 12 HD more and are capped. - AC, +2 THACO, and double damage in attacks.

(Alzar has secured Wave into his OtherSpace, so it can’t be seen).


After killing the ghouls, a number of guards of this area arrive after hearing combat. Alzar tosses the head of the clone to them and says that, “One usurper has fallen. Allow me to give praise to the real Keraptis.” They praise the news and escort him and his small army of undead, kelpies and elementals. (As they do, Alzar casts Mass Charm and charm them all). Five rooms melt away, and the orcs and ogres here move aside or join the parade.

While heading, a tunneling Purple Worm emerges and they have to kill it. The guards handle it, Alzar’s short bow did 30% damage to it, and controls just two kelpies afterwards.


They pass a large fungal garden, with a boiling lake directly after. They also arrive at a prison with nine cells, each with a locked cell, Alzar heads over, and the guards are ordered away for the “Ally of the true Keraptis”. He charms a few more, and then looks around. In here are a few lycanthropes. A female werewolf he releases named Snarla and she agrees to serve Alzar fully. A few others are freed, a wererat or two who will join his squad. Then he hears a familiar voice…


A werebear…

[Abe Sargent]

In the 8th cell, Alzar finds Aleigha, now much older. She joins his squad, and five other lycanthropes were still alive, and join his squad. A back closest is here, and their gear is secured, including her ruby Sword of Spartusia and some additional armor.

They head back out and further into the complex.


(I am not making that up, they find a prison of lycanthropes. How could I *not* bring Aleigha back? Especially after no one knew where she was for years and years, and she missed Alzar’s wedding?)


In the final hallway to the second Keraptis is a Flesh Golem marked “9” in its flesh. Not dissimilar to the one Alzar secured. Alzar is announced by the guards, and 9 backs up, opens the door, and moves back into to the main room.

Alzar meets the 2nd clone of Keraptis and offers him the head of the dead clone. This one smiles a wide, toothy grin, and agrees to hire Alzar to kill the others, and bring back the weapons they stole to him.

Alzar is meeting him in his study, with a vampire ally and two golems. Alzar reaches out and controls the vampire with his powers, and it is under his control.

Alzar orders the vampire to bite the neck of the clone from behind, and it does. As the surprise attack succeeds, the clone’s golems activate, and Alzar’s elementals each take on a golem. Alzar peppers the surprised clone and kills him, and he cuts off his head. The controlled vampire joins his unit, with the undead, kelpie, elemental (one killed) and lycanthropes left. The charmed guards stayed out of the battle. Alzar asks his friends to show him the secrets of this area, and they do,

He finds


4 secret tomes on cloning, total value 55000 gp
433 Spatterdock Library

+2 quarter staff
+1 two-handed sword

Cloak of Gaseous Form

Keraptis Clone Spellbook #2



65000 gp of gems


Whelm, the magic hammer in a locked chest

[Abe Sargent]

Alzar moves to the next area, with the charmed guards staying behind

They move into some lava tubes between the 3rd and 4th clones, that have been scoured but not secured in that war. They arrive and a quarter of Burning Golems mark the entrance to this area. Alzar steps forward with Selnyr, whose Axe of Extinguishing will make short work and tanks them. In three rounds he tanks them (they have just an AC6 again the Selnyr, and have 40 hp normally, but his extra damage is just nasty).

Alzar – 71/90

Some more lights and crystal and flames belch from various vents, and they are closing to nearer the center of the volcano.

A few rooms melt away, and they are at the chamber of the third clone. Here is a clone of Keraptis holding Blackrazor in his hand. Alzar offers to serve, and tosses the two heads of the dead “usurpers”. Alzar also shows Whelm, and places it on the ground as well.

The clone grins, and rises, with two Efreet here flanking him. Alzar cannot control them they are too powerful. He has created an indoctribation chamber that forces everyone here to serve him completely, and he escorts Alzar and his party there, with two Efreet and another four Burning Golems following. Alzar makes a silent command in the hallway, and suddenly his group attacks, and launches a number of attacks. Alzar deals with an efreet, his Earth the other Efreet, his Kelpie the and vampire the clone, and the others the lesser golems.

Alzar casts haste on his team. Their clone leads with Stoneskin, then Mirror Image, then wades in behind Blackrazor. Alzar swaps targets and casts Laudryn’s Cleaving and removes his protections and he dies two turns later.

Alzar lost a wererat and Kelpie.

Alzar – 60/90


Alzar finds


Blackrazor


444 Killjoy Library Books
Manual of Burning Golems

44500 gp jewelry


Bracers of Defense AC 6
Ring of Fire Protection
Amulet of Expertise (allows you proficiency in any weapon in your hand)

Keraptis Clone Spellbook #3


5 sticks of Incense of Mediation

Heart of Dragotha, a draco-lich in the area, that would like to return to normal dragon form. If Alzar eats it, he loses 20 years of life.

Alzar cuts off the clone’s head.

[Abe Sargent]

They move into the final area.

Alzar finds some unique items he’ll look at later that he thinks are really interesting:

Delaying Glass
Gauntlet of Life Theft
Skull of Prophecy
Vessel of Life Translocation

They find a small prison with 3 people loyal to the resistance and Nix, and Alzar frees them to return.


Alzar conjures a greater earth elemental and stores Blackrazor


In the first room, they find on the desk a Desk of Destinies, different than a Deck of Many Things, but in that genre.

Here are 12 Wights, that Alzar controls, and uses to flank and go in front of the unit.

More lava tubes await, and here are some guards, and Alzar tells them he wants to bring news of the deaths of the three false Keraptis usurpers and show the three cut heads. They cackle with flee and escort Alzar, who uses Mass Charm again.

Two, three, four rooms ebb by, with golems, Skin Puppets, and more in the way. More mold and moss is back here, and the warmth of the volcano has clearly encouraged massive growths. They pass and slay a mated pair of giant slugs easily.

They arrive at a great dining chamber and Alzar is greeted by the Keraptis here. He announces the deaths of the other three, and shows Whelm and places it in the table, and backs away. He returns their stolen property, and offers to serve the true Keraptis and bring back others.

Alzar prepares his forces against the 12 humanoid guards here. As the mage moves forward, Alzar grabs a lock of elven hair and casts Wail of the Banshee, and the charmed and guards here mostly die, but his other stuff (undead, werewolves, etc) are immune. They slay the rest and Alzar finished the mage with Power Word Kill. He cuts off the head and finds



Frostrazor

722 tomes of Sage Lore fungus

43500 gp of gems and jewelry

Keraptis Clone Spellbook #4

22000 gp of lab equipment

+2 Dagger
Robe of Stars

10 Darts of Homing
3 random iuon stones

Alzar animates the 12 corpses here as skeletons and returns to Nix

[Abe Sargent]

The efreeti sees Alzar returns, and welcomes him warmly, and then moves to open up a secret chamber, Alzar goes down, using his Star to scan and his skeletons as fodder He finds and deactivates three traps.

They arrive at a long fane, and move down a tunnel. A pair of obelisks are here, with a tomb below. Suddenly a great and powerful shade of vengeance moves to attack them, and Alzar cannot control or turn it, due to the power of completing its vengeance. Then it pulls up and address Alzar who is clear the leader, seeing the weapons out. It asks if they intend to raise the wizard, and he nods. He moves off and tells him he would see them succeed.

Alzar moves to the obelisks. There are four weapons in them already, and he pulls them out:

Hammer of Thunderbolts
Sun Blade
Molten Blade
Trident of Enveloping
As each of the weapons moves into the obelisk that was prepared for it, a crackling sound can be heard. Whelm is the final weapon added, and the other obelisk cracks and reveals a magic switch. They activate the switch, and the crypt down the stairs opens and a crying sound can be heard, here in the fane.

The head down and see a newborn baby in the crypt. The Shade of Vengeance recognizes its aura as Keraptis. It was sent here to kill the evil mage that destroyed the druids here and it’s vengeance will now be complete! It moves to attack. Nix and the others move to intercede. The vampire and elemental, and efreet are blocking it and it attacks. Alzar casts Time Stop, and then casts Destroy Undead, Destroy Undead, and….no more spells it ends. The first fails, the 2nd? Hits and it fails its save and is destroyed.

With the shade of vengeance gone, Keraptis the child is saved. Alzar offers to let Nix and the child come to his Grand Duchy, where they can be raised and he will help mentor and tutor him. They agree, and name the child “Kelvan”


After, they heads back out and Alzar takes the four blades from the Obelisk and that will close the crypt down here.

Alzar tells Aleiga of his new home, and offers her a chance to see it, and she agrees, but first she’d like Alzar’s help in freeing Maerie. She’s here on the island too and nearby, they were both captured, but Maerie escaped. A quick scry later finds her at the village of Tangaroa, and they head over for the night and turn over the outstanding undead to the zombie master, save for the vampire, whom Alzar will take back. Maerie agrees to join them back at the Grand Duchy, and they head back to the area….


End of Return to White Plume Mountain