The D&D Dynasty: The New Path of Alzar the Mighty

[Abe Sargent]

Fast sim

Two rounds later, the bugbears are in a nice fighting retreat and Alzar’s side have suffered very little when the whoosing sound of a Fireball is heard and smashes among the group. Everyone is hit save for Tolvar, who has gone invisible and snuck away. One of the bugbears is hit and dies. Everyone takes 18 or save for half.

Alzar notes the spellcaster coming in from behind a door to assist the bugbears. Joining him are a paur of bugbear shaman, and one casts Cause Light Wounds on Alzar for 8 damage.

Alzar is down to:

22/51

He casts Continual Light at the mage but he makes the save. Alzar mentally orders Gilded Ears to come in from her position outside the ruins and behind the mage to help. Alzar orders himself and Fahd to charge the spellcasters, as the others stay behind, wounded, to deal with the bugbear remnants.

Magic Missiles stab out from the mage and hit Alzar three times for 15 damage. He casts Vampiric Touch on a shaman who is guarding the mage and deals 14 and drains it. The shaman casts Cure Light Wounds on itself and heals 10. Fahd misses.

21/51
13/31 – Fahd

Alzar wins init because of his ring and casts one of his last spells. Using the Pearl of Power to recall the Continual Light he again tries to blind the mage. This time is works and he is blinded. A shaman drops Silence on Alzar and he makes the save and is okay. The other casts Cause Light Wounds on him for 8. Fahd hits the wounded shaman for 5 damage. The mage roars and orders a retreat.

The bugbears in the back are all defeated and now the party moves to support Alzar. He orders fire concentrated on the blinded mage, who is being led by the shaman. Alzar just knows Hold Undead, Detect Magic and Charm Person. Gilded Ears pops up from behind them and nips at the mage to slow them down. A stone from the sling of seeking hits him for 4 damage. But the mage is assisted by the shamen through a corridor. Alzar pursues and grabs a magic jelly bean. This corridor is broken and open to the sky but there is just one way for about twenty feet. He flings his grey one and it breaks into a grey ooze in front of them and forces them to stop and deal with it. That gives him and his group time to close.

In one turn they have killed the blinded mage. Alzar absorbs another Cause Light Wounds. But that;s it. The shamen have been killed.

13/51

200 XP for each person

[Abe Sargent]

Alzar orders a search of this floor while the items from their corpses are put in a central courtyard where a lot of the battle took place. The find two staircases going up, and some heading down. They find various items in rooms, and bring them out. Then a shout is heard and Alzar’s senses are triggered. He runs left and sees a skeleton bugbear has been animated. He controls it and it joins the group. Behind it is a old guard tower and six more human skeletons are moving out. They are also controlled.

Gained: 7 skeletons, one of a bugbear

Chests are brought out and picked by a certain thief - the items are added to the magic pile. Then they head up. The small rooms above are easily seen – there is little still there, so its’ quick. Up here is a workshop, bedroom, and study chambers for the mage they just killed. A few storages rooms there too, and everyone, even skeletons, spends the next bit bringing everything back down. After an hour, everything on the ground level or upper floor is in the courtyard. Alzar orders the skeletons to guard the way down, and casts Detect Magic.

Here are the things they found:

Telvar’s Spellbook
8 potions
2 blocks of Incense of Meditation
Priest Scroll – Spiritual Hammer, Prayer, Detect Lie, Tongues
Horn
Ring
Leather Armor



10 gems – 50 gp each
1150 gp

They gather the magic and gold and secure them, and then Alzar checks.

[Abe Sargent]

. He wants to move on, led by skeletons. The stairs down lead into a round room with nothing in it. A quick check shows a secret door which swings open to reveal a long dark corridor, which a Continual Light stone helps to illuminate. After a bit it ends with nothing there. A check reveals a secret door which is switched open.

This room looks like an old storage chamber for furniture. A few pieces are old and decayed and still here. There is a door to the right, and a hallway to the left. The door is locked and unable to be picked. Alzar tosses a vial of acid to Volcifar who opens the door. Led by a skeleton Alzar senses a dark presence move into the room as they open it. A wraith. Alzar immediately tries to control is but fails his 16 or higher check.



The wraith moves out cautiously and Alzar casts Hold Undead at it after making a quick Necrology check. He can only work the spell on an undead of 5 or fewer HD because he is just level 5, but that should just count the Wraith. The Wraith fails its save and is paralyzed for six rounds. Alzar grabs his proficient staff and starts hitting it. In a few turns, the formless Wraith dissipates and disappears.


160 XP for each person

[Abe Sargent]

Alzar has just killed the big bad of the area. The wraith was assembling an undead army, and comes up here at day to check on things.

The rest of the level has 6 skeletons, 4 zombies, 6 ghouls which Alzar controls. There is also something he has never encountered before. 6 Stirgeghouls. A ghoulish combination of the stirge. It’s a lot more deadly, because it paralyzes its victim (like a ghoul) when it hits, and then sticks on to drain their blood to satiate itself.

The basement level includes storage, a temple, and more, old abandoned cells, and two stairs down to another level.

They head down one, and keep Gilded Ears and the Stirgeghouls and skeletons there by the other stair.

This level is damp and clammy, and the walls glisten from moisture. There is a regular air current here, with stagnant and foul air that create drafts. There are strange noises – like whistling and such caused by the air, and things it knocks around.

[Abe Sargent]

There is a door in the hallway as they head down the one way, and Alzar has to push hard to force it open against the wind. As he does, a door slams shut in the distance. They arrive at a natural cavern that has been dug out in various places, with little in the way of ornamentation. A green slime on the floor is quickly killed by a bit of oil from an oil flask and a light.

A carved door is on the far side. Leaning against a wall is a staff with a carved dragon head. The paint has eaten away. Alzar knows dragons well enough to recognize the species as a blue dragon. They take it with them.


Staff Gained

The door opens and the other they opened slams shut. A another natural cavern is beyond it and off of it head three tunnels. Standing in the middle of the room is a 5 foot tall stone creature that moves slightly as a zombie enters the chamber. The zombie shambles and it smashes and destroys it. Alzar tries and fails to recognize the creature (it is a Stone Guardian) but it is clearly a construct of some sort.

He orders his people, wounded, to spread out and to use magic weapons on it. He orders a screen of undead to keep them safe and has them whirl in missiles. Only missile weapons such as the +1 crossbow and +2 sling are hitting it. A few magic weapons are thrown in as well, and in a short time, it dies, but Alzar lost 3 zombies.

100 XP each

[Abe Sargent]

There is a portcullis to the south that is down, and a statue in a room to the west and a small passage to the east that was covered by rockfalls. The statue room is largely empty, and the rockfalls are unable to be crossed. That leaves the portcullis. With several undead working together, they manage to life the portcullis and the thief slips through and throws the lever and it rises.


There are some double doors after a corridor bend and another door to the far left in an alcove. All are locked. A quick lockpick opens the double doors and into another friendly sight. This room features not one, or two, but three Spectators. One is about the size of a fist and is quite young. Alzar warmly greets them and they talk to him as well. They are guarding this book. They are in year 95 of their 101 year service and their child came to visit for a while. There are some items in the room they are not guarding, and Alzar takes them:

+1 tulwar
160 gp
Priest Scroll – Commune, Cure Critical Wounds

Alzar grabs those and takes a quick look at the book. It’s obviously magical, but he can’t determine what. So he leaves it here for now and says goodbye to the Spectators.

[Abe Sargent]

The next door is locked and trapped, so it was sprung, but the pick is too durable, so another vial of acid eats the lock. A very long corridor follows and it snakes for a bit. They take a door on the right and it leaves down to three consecutive chambers. This was the wraith’s lair. There are a variety of objects here they will come back to later:

+1 Shield, +3 Shield
+2 Battleaxe
Ring

Necklace of Black Pearls, 4000 gp
1500 gp

They return to the corridor and it ends at a door. It is picked and behind it is a small band of undead. Alzar controls the 7 skeletons and 6 zombies and has them search the rest of this section of the lair, where the undead haunt. Nothing else is here except for a locked door

[Abe Sargent]

There is a room behind a locked door and its odd. There is no rush of air like normal. There is a soft light that grows in intensity nd the faint scent of oranges. Alzar makes his save, but Fahd does not and moves to the door on the other side. Alzar orders everyone else to stay back. Fahd opens a door and back here is a study with a glowing screen between the two rooms. He steps through it. There is a bed, desk, a few accoutrements and a skeleton in the back.

Alzar has an undead step through the screen and nothing happens. He follows and things are good. It appears that Fahd has been charmed. One charm breaks another, so Alzar casts it and it works. They cancel each other and Fahd is back to normal. He felt like he was friends with a old, long gone mage. He opens a drawer in the desk and reveals three metal items – pitcher, platter, and mug. He orders the platter to make beef, the pitcher wine and the mug beer. He knows how the items work from being charmed. Alzar understand that, he was taught a language by being charmed in an unusual way.

The skeleton is the mage? It is. There is an odd look to it. It is chained to the wall. There is also a rack of 100 books back here too. The skeleton has its tongue and eyes and moves slightly. Alzar is unable to control it at all. It won’t talk, and Alzar can’t control or speak with it in any way. It makes no aggressive moves, and it’s chained. Alzar has the metal items taken and also grabs the bookcase of books, carried by various undead.

100 Books from Bone Hill Study

Metal Platter (Beef, Lamb, Turkey, Pheasant) for four people once/day; Mug (Beer, Ale, Mead) six/day; Pitcher (Water, Tea, Wine), three/day.

This section of the dungeon heads up the basement where Alzar’s undead await him. They stay the night and in the morning, various Detect spells are cast, as well as Identify and such.

[Abe Sargent]

Telvar’s Spellbook – Will be a while before this is up and ready to be read:

1st Level – Cloud Ladder, Charm Person, Detect Magic, Magic Missile, Protection from Good, Read Magic, Identify, Sleep, Shocking Grasp
2nd Level – Darkness, 15’ Radius; ESP, Flying Fist, Invisibility, Levitate, Detect Invisibility, Magic Mouth, Wizard Lock
3rd Level – Dispel Magic, Fire Ball, Fly, Protection from Normal Missiles, Feign Death, Monster Summoning I, Leomund;s Tiny Hut, Scintillating Sphere
4th – Rary;s Mnemonic Enhancer, Wizard Eye

While there are a few rare spells, they are either evocation which Alzar can’t use or not that useful (Cloud Ladder).



( I changed a few items around. This adventure, for example, gives out a Ring of Air Elemental Command, a Crystal Ball with Hypnosis, or a potent Mirror of Opposition. I also kept the party from getting the 10 magical items in the gnoll camp or on their people. The book the Spectators are guarding is a Libram of Gainful Conjuration. The skeleton-mage, if talked to, can be freed with a Remove Curse from his state, and his god will give the free-r a Limited Wish. That stuff is really sick good.)

[Abe Sargent]

So even without all of the stuff I pulled, this still amped up Alzar’s power considerably for a variety of reasons.



End of L1 The Secret of Bone Hill


Pashtun has leveled up, Alzar lets his new mage friend get some good spells from his books, he trades magic to a henchman and more, coming up next on NPCs R Us section of this report, with them in detail.

They spend a few days in Phraya gathering items, healing, and resting. As Alzar looks over his new books, something strikes him as odd…

[hoopsguy]

Whatever it is that book, it must be odd indeed ...

[sterlingice]

Sh... don't encourage him. Maybe I'll be able to catch up since I was back o page 3 and we're now on page 7

SI

[hoopsguy]

So very, very odd.

[Abe Sargent]

Some of the items and weapons we've used so far in this dynasty in Haemedh include:



Pesh-kabz - a dagger or knife with a bend and a sharp end. Designed to penetrate mail and other armor. (in real life it's from the Persia-Afghan area, and sometimes is called a Khyber Knife).




Gada - The Gada is a great two handed war club/mace with a rounded end that resembles both, and doles out a lot of damage when it smashes people. (in real life, the Gada is an Indian weapon).







Shamshir - One handed, heavily curved sword, with almost no tapering at all, until the very end. (in real life, it's a Persian weapon)





Khopesh - Sometimes called a sickle sword, this sword has a hook in it that is quite useful for hooking, breaking, and pulling shields. Only the part that is curved out is sharpened, almost like an axe. (In real life, this is an Egyptian/Canaanite weapon)

Sometimes the curve was light:




And it could be heavier, hookier -




Trombash - Next up we have the Trombash, a throwing stick that is very common in Hamedh. One end has a tiny curve to it, and is flattened. It usually has been carved and weighted in order to help hunt and fight. (In real life, it moved across Africa, but appears to be from Sudan - the name is sometimes used of these nasty throwing knives that evolved from the trombash outside of Sudan. )

An actual 200 year ole trombash:




Yataghan - Roughly the same size as a short sword, is a blade with a a gentle outward curve (inside of the inward curve of blades like a shamshir or scimitar) which helps it to chop. (In real life, this is a Turkish weapon).






Tulwar - Often called a Talwar, this longer one handed weapon does not have the severity of curve such as a shamshir or scimitar would have, in order to also be used as a piercing weapon too. It's heavily used on horseback. (In real life, this is a Mughal weapon).

[Abe Sargent]

Other weapons we might see include:


Khanda - double edged straight sword, and both edges are sharpened, but one is weighted for chopping and has a sharper, length long edge. It has a closed hilt (in real life, this is an old Indian sword)






Khanjar - This short, thick dagger is so heavily curved that it resembles a heavy J and it's scabbard usually looks like an L.. (In real life, from Oman)






Katar - This blade is has an H shaped grip which is held by the fist, and then used to punch. Because it is used simply by punching - a natural skill, it is easier to learn than many blades and weapons. (in real life, this is from India)





Parashu - This highly ornate battle axe has a weighted handle and ball by the wielder, which balances the end with a heavier blade in order to hew better in battle, and it carves better through plated armor. (Ya more Indian weapons)






Kartika - This ceremonial chopping knife is a crescent chopping weapon, often used in flaying, torture, or religious ceremonies. (In real life it's a Buddhist knife).






Haladie - This is a two sided (and sometimes three sided) long dagger or short short sword that can be used and twirled and allows the wielder to parry and strike from two angles. (in real life, some are from India, and others Sudan)


This is the Sudanese one with two sides:




The 3 sided one is likely Indian:

[Abe Sargent]

Wouldn't you like to know what actually happened to Alzar? It's couldn't have just been a random coincidence that brought him so low, right? How could he have had his experience reset, without his abilities and denuded of his items, but yet retain his memory and be otherwise healthy?

What happened to Alzar?


The next uber-campaign, set in the Sand Mire of Hamedh, will reveal much, but will bring further questions...

[Tellistto]

Nice tease!

[Abe Sargent]

Next is the Sand Mire Campaign in Full Fury. Here is my extremely loose outline of it, subject to changes and adaptations:


L1. The Secret of Bone Hill – Prequel, designed to move into the campaign.

UK6. All that Glitters… - An unusual dungeon turns into a way to enter and introduction to the Sand Mire

I3. Pharaoh – Just the beginning. The I3-I5 Supermodule series, Desert of Desolation, is the early framework of the campaign.

I9. Day of Al’Akbar – Introduction of City of Khaibar – Just early part of module

X3. Curse of Xanathon

College of Wizardry

X12. Skarda’s Mirror

The Gathering Darkness

Bastion of Faith

Temple, Tower, and Tomb

I3 Finish

I9 Finish

I4. Oasis of the White Palm

I5. Lost Tomb of Martek

Rod of Seven Parts Begins

Reunion

UK7. Dark Clouds Gather – An interlude in the nearby mountains.

X4. Master of the Desert Nomads - Which leads to…

X5. Temple of Death – The finale of the major plotline

Rod of Seven Parts Ends



Still looking for places to put X6. Quagmire, C4. To Find a King, C5. The Bane of Llwelleyn and I8 Ravager of Time. Rary the Traitor? I really want to run I8, but the others I can take or leave as needed. Again, this is just an early outline. I may also add to it things like Needle, X11 and X13, and others. I also just picked up Mystery of the Snow Pearl, one of the final solo modules, and maybe I could run that.

[Abe Sargent]

I expect this to be Hamedh's version of the Isle of Dread campaign we did back on Thorasia.

If you'll recall, that was one:

U1. The Secret of Saltmarsh
X1. The Isle of Dread begins
UK1. Beyond the Crystal Cave
A1. Slave Pits of the Undercity
X1. Continues
UK2. The Sentinel
UK3. The Gauntlet
X1. Redux
A2. Secret of the Slaver's Stockade
XSOLO. Lathan's Gold Begins
M2 SOlO. Maze of the Riddling Minotaur
XSOlO Continues
A3. Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lords
A4. In the Dungeons of the Slave Lords
XSOLO Continues
X8. Drums on Fire Mountain
C1. The Hidden Shrine of Tomoachan
I1. Dwellers in the Forbidden City
S2. White Plume Mountain
X7. The War Rafts of Kron


This one should prove equally extensive. I hope.

[Abe Sargent]

Alzar's Minions and NPCs:

Pashtun, level 4 fighter, Neutral

HP: 38
THAC0: 18
XP: 10415 (level 5 at 16000)
26 Years Old

Str: 14
Dex: 13
Con: 17
Int: 11
Wis: 10
Cha: 12

AC: 0

Proficiencies – Swords generally, specializes in Scimitar, can use Recurve Bow and Pike.

He wields +1 scimitar, bow, and arrows. He gets +2 to hit with Scimitar due to magic and specialization, so his THAC0 rises when he uses it to 16. He wears Bracers of Protection +1. With armor, he is at AC 1 (includes +1 shield, +2 chainmail)

He also knows riding, riding specialization, swimming, survival, fire-building, healing, tracking, and weather knowledge.

[Abe Sargent]

Locinda
Lawful Neutral, 3rd level Fighter
HP – 31
THAC0 – 17
STR: 17, DEX: 14, CON: 13, INT: 14, WIS: 9, CHA: 8
AC: 2
XP: 9580 (level 5 at 16000)
25 years old

Weapons – Khanda, Javelin, Pesh-kabz, Gada

Proficiencies – Riding, Charioteering, Hunting, Mountaineering, Running, Rope Use, Swimming, Weather Sense

Fights with +1 shield, +1 chainmail, +1 khanda (1d8, 1d10+1 vs giants) too

Alzar and Locinda agreed to a new deal. He gives her the occasional magic item to keep, and that will count as pay. He begins by giving her a +1 chainmail and +1 shield.

[Abe Sargent]

Volcifar
Lawful Evil, 3rd level Thief
HP – 19
THAC0 – 19
STR: 14, DEX: 17, CON: 13, INT: 16, WIS: 10, CHA:11
AC: 6
XP: 5870 (Level 5 at 10000)
29 years old

Weapons – Dagger, Sling, Yataghan

Proficiencies – Appraising, Disguise, Forgery, Locksmithing, Reading/Writing, Riding, Set Snares, Swimming, Tracking

Pick Pockets – 30
Open Locks – 50
Find/Remove Traps – 85
Move Silently – 35
Hide in Shadows – 35
Detect Noise – 15
Climb Walls – 65
Read Languages - 0

Fights with Dagger of Venom or +2 Sling of Seeking. Also wears Ring of Protection +1 and Ring of Spell Storing – Dispel Magic and Mask Alignment. This Ring, unlike others, cannot be charged with any spell other than Dispel Magic and Mask Alignment (reverse of Know Alignment).

Gold - 500

Alzar and Volcifar agree to similar deal to Locinda, but he gets more coinage and less magic items. Alzar gave him 500 gold for that adventure.

[Abe Sargent]

Tolvar
Neutral, 3rd level Conjurer
HP – 10
THAC0 – 20
STR: 13, DEX: 14, CON: 10, INT: 16, WIS: 14, CHA:10
AC: 6
XP: 9820 (level 4 at 10000)
20 years old

Proficiencies: Dagger; Alchemy, Brewing, Cooking, Reading/Writing, Riding, Swimming. Speaks four languages.

Fights with dagger, bracers of Defense AC:7 and Ring of Protection +1



Spellbook:

Level 1:

Burning Hands
Cantrip
Charm Person
Detect Magic
Find Familiar
Identify
Read Magic
Sleep

Level 2:

Continual Light
Detect Invisible
Invisibility
Melf’s Acid Arrow


Level 3:

Dispel Magic


Tolvar is coming with Alzar to continue to be tutored as well as for protection. He can leave at any time, but he has already gained a lot of spells from Alzar, and he always wanted to adventure, so this suits him just fine. As a conjurer, Tolvar specializes in conjuration/summoning magic . This means he can memorize one extra conjuration spell a day from each level, and his cannot learn or cast spells from evocation or greater divination schools. He usually memorizes Cantrip, Sleep, Burning Hands, Invisible and Melf’s Acid Arrow.

[Abe Sargent]

Gilded Ears, Jackal Familiar
AC: 5, HP: 16
THAC0: 20, Damage: 1d3, bite
18 inches tall, 26 long from tail to nose – 11 pounds

Alzar gains enhancing hearing and eyesight when within 1 mile of Gilded Ears. +1 to surprise roles for Alzar as well.

Save to take no damage when touching Alzar, fail to take half from spells. She gains 1 hp every time Alzar levels.



Fahd
Neutral, 4th level Fighter, Myrmidon Kit
HP – 31
THAC0 – 16
STR: 16, DEX: 13, CON: 15, INT: 12, WIS: 11, CHA: 9
AC: 3
XP : 12750
41 years old

Fights with Shield, +1 chainmail, +1 khanda (1d8, 1d10+1 vs giants)
Gold - 300

Fahd heads back for now, 300 gp richer for the week. But he’s here to hire again if Alzar needs him, but he’s not interested in permanent travelling – he’s too old, and he has a wife.


And of course, Alzar himself:

http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/...&postcount=262

[Abe Sargent]

Alzar is looking over the trash from the gnoll camp they took to review later and he sees something odd. It looks like a map, created recently, but seriously abused. It shows an area further to the south thick with woods and wet mires. Then very tall mountains right beside them. A manmade tunnel cuts through the mountain, and on the other side is a shrine with a lot of riches marked, and an area called the Sand Mire.

A thick wet forest, a tunnel, a Sand Mire and a shrine, with the potential for treasure? Why not?

Most of the men Alzar hired from Arjuna are returning on a trip scheduled for a week from now, so he will not be able to hire any help here to go with him and escort his wagons and people. But the party of five (Alzar, Pashtun, Locinda, Tolvar, Volcifar) is able to handle much of it themselves. In the seven wagons, they easily have room for everybody and their things. Alzar purchases some extra steeds, including a group of camels. He is taking with him his Ghoulstirges, Coffer Corpses, and a group of skeletons now with armor and weapons from the gnoll camp.

[Abe Sargent]

UK6. All That Glitters…




The next to last module of the solid UK series is this entry. A bit by the numbers as a typical treasure hunt sort of plot line, it is ideally suited for 5-8 characters levels 5-7 totaling around 40 levels. It is going to be the entrance or rabbit hole into the next campaign. Much like U1 Secret of Saltmarsh led to the Isle of Dread campaign. I enjoy taking one or more modules and changing modifying them and making them work together.

L1. Secret of Bone Hill was used to get Alzar to Phraya, where he got enough power to break away from the low level modules we were doing. These are the campaigns we have done –

In Search of Adventure – Athaly Campaign to kick things off

Moved to Fort Amber and other places, en route did T1, N1 and a few others, followed by X2 on arrival.

Isle of Dread Mega-Campaign. Which we just considered

That led to the Temple of Elemental Evil mega adventure

Against the Giants - Then Alzar returned to adventuring to face three separate Giant locations nearby, and clean them out when they became too big. G3 led to the…

Underdark Campaign. Beginning with D1 and D2, and then led to Alzar in the Underdark with modules like Ghost Tower of Inverness, Gates of Firestorm Peak, and Tomb of the Lizard King. Cumulated with D3 and then Q1 and slayed Lolth in The Abyss

Then a few modules afterward like Treasures of Greyhawk, Fate of Istus, and Tomb of Horrors.


Arjuni Campaign - The Hamedhi campaign jumpstarted with BSOLO Ghost of Lion’s Castle, and that led to the mini-Puppets, Eye of the Serpent, Forest Oracle, Blizzard Pass mini campaign to get Alzar to Arjuna. After that we had everything from B1’s In Search of the Unknown to Wizard Challenge 1 and 2, and Midnight on Dagger Alley, L2 Assassin’s Knot and even UK4 When a Star Falls.

Sand Mire Campaign – L1 The Bone Hill got Alzar out of Arjuna and UK6 is used to get him to the right place for the next campaign. Get ready to hold onto your butts!

[Abe Sargent]

The forested area is about eight days journey from Phraya. Then they will be in the area for about three days before they hit the manmade tunnel. The journey begins…


On the third day out of Phraya, they stay at an inn/tavern/general store on the road and rest up. That night someone in the inn gets really sick and dies, but it has nothing to do with Alzar and his group so they set out on Day 4. About two hours into the day, they take a side path and the going slows down somewhat as they leave the main thoroughfare and move to the forested woods nestled in the high mountains.


Later that day they hear a large skittering in front of them, and soon two giant spiders are seen moving. One is chasing the other in some sort of bizarre mating ritual.

[Abe Sargent]

The next day, day 5, sees heavy cloud cover, and they fear a downpour, but it just sprinkles on and off all day instead. They are slowed a bit more by mud. Evening arrives and that night, as Locinda is duty, a loud noise off to the west is heard. In a few moments, several shapes move out of the darkness and into the camp. She has alerted people and they begin to emerge as a group of large nocturnal lizards out hunting arrive. Alzar does not recognize them, but Locinda does and tells everyone to watch out for their spit, it’s acid.

Battle ensues. One is blinded by a Continual Light and that really ignites the night. There are five of them attacking. Another is hit by an Acid Arrow but takes no damage- it is immune to acid damage. The fighters are carving into the third quite nicely as a few bites are taken here and there. In a minute all five are dead and no one has taken more than 7 damage.

100 XP for each

The rest of the night passes quietly and they move out the next day. Day 6 is overcast but no longer wet and they begin to make up time. Slowed down by the mud, it will now take them an extra day to get there. Night 6 sees a large animal fly over camp with giant wings, but it flew away and did not return.

[Abe Sargent]

On Day 7, the nearby terrain is beginning to look more like a forest and less like bush and brush. The trees are gradually thickening and growing in scale.

Day 9 arrives and their relatively quiet journey hits an end at a large forested area, much like a rain forest, with thick growth, and damp air.

They move into the woods and arrive at a small village at Kett’s Rapids. The locals here speak their own tongue, but they have someone who can speak Arjuna in their people. They are quite friendly and give food, water and fire graciously. They tell of some hostile people living deeper in the woods called the Atemi. Their territory begins around Two Falls and moves up deep into the place where Alzar wants to go.

Alzar’s group stays the night at Kett’s Rapids. The day brings a misty pall over the woods and they move out. One question Alzar has regards movement of the wagons, and the locals tell him that a path along the river is easily strong and wide enough to get the wagons across. They don’t know about the tunnel, that is too deep in Atemi territory, but the river is good to get them there.


This place is hot and humid, with a dense wood teeming with wildlife of all kinds and trees growing to a height of 100 feet or more and forming a thick green canopy that resemble a jungle in places. The local area matches the map Alzar found precisely.

On both sides of the river lush vegetation stretches skywards forming an arch over the water and giving a green tinge to the sunlight In places the greenery is broken by brilliant splashes of color.

Hours pass and they reach a bend in the river where Witch Tooth Water is marked on his map. The two branches in the river each cascade down and create Twin Falls, the beginning of the Atemi territory. As Alzar looks around a flash of light catches his eye like sunlight glinting off metal. Gilded Ears inspects it and it is a jeweled dagger sticking in a tree.

The Dagger is over a crudely drawn map on the bark that resembles the map he has, and the word seems like in the same handwriting. A Magic Mouth speaks as they near it and tells some apprentice where a hidden passage in the rock is nearby. It’s too far away to take the wagons, so Alzar skips it an takes the dagger and they continue up the river

Jeweled Dagger – 1500 gp

[Abe Sargent]

As the day begins to unwind, their noise alerts a pair of tigers who come out of the brush to investigate. They see an opportunity for food with a camel, ox, or horse and move in. A Continual Light spell and some missiles force them to reconsider and they leave.

About a half hour later they call it a night and spend the night in the stars, here in Atemi territory, but a good first day. As night begins to rise and the next day begin, several small humans can be seen just sitting and waiting and watching. They do not greet the last person on watch – Tolvar, nor do they make any menacing moves. There are four, no, six of them, four in front and two to the right across the river.

Alzar comes out from his wagon and gets a heads up on the situation. He moves out to talk with them and they refuse to answer him, but they stand up and move to block their way, calmly stretched across the path. Alzar goes to Tolvar, and together they cast Sleep and drop all six, even the other two on the other side of the river. They tie them up and gag them and leave out.

The second day sees the river get bigger and the ground get wetter. A few places had some lighter rapids, but the river here is slower and deeper. A few crocodiles chomp idly as they continue, carefully, down the river.

After half the day has passed, the trees to the left begin to peter out and a small bog is here, growing in size. Gilded Ears alerts Alzar to an unusual sound, and there a crocodile being eaten by a large seven-headed hydra.




Alzar spends a quick second planning a way to attack the Hydra. It suddenly stiffens and smells his party and turns, and charges. It will close in one round. One head dies from some missile damage from the party while Alzar orders the party to form behind him. An Acid Arrow kills a second head and it is here.

Alzar wins init and swings with his staff. He is the only one in melee. He is attacked 5 times by the hydras head and hit twice for 13 damage. They slay a third head (extra damage does not roll over).


38/51

Alzar wins init automatically due to his Ring and casts Vampiric Touch on a head and kills it. The head dies, and Alzar heals 12 damage. The Hydra attacks three times and hits once for 8 damage. The party misses completely., but Tolvar has nipped in for a Burning Hands spell and kills the 5th head.

The Hydra begins to retreat Alzar smashes it for 4 damage and a sling stone hits the 6th head and it falls dead. They kill it as it flees.

160 XP for everyone

43/51 for Alzar

They check its lair but there is nothing here but bones. Alzar even casts Detect Magic to make sure and it fails. They continue on.

[Abe Sargent]

That night they rest and they have closed to the entrance to the supposed tunnel area. Alzar orders a double watch tonight, in case the Atemi return. Since the group is staying away from the main Atemi settlements they choose to leave them be.

A few hour pass. The valley they were travelling along has ended as a mass of hardened lava stone. A waterfall drops from a gully above about 450 feet or so. The black lava stone leads up and the map indicates that this natural ramp leads to the tunnels.

Less than an hour later they reach the top of the ramp. It looks like the entrance to the tunnel has been closed by rockfall a long time ago, but a natural cave, quite large, opens to the right. Warm air wafts out of the tunnel. As Alzar looks it seems like it is not natural after all, but roughly hewn on a large scale. Standing in the middle is a large black giant cradling a huge boulder and flanking by two large russet dogs. It is a fire giant and a pair of hell hounds.

As Alzar enters, the giant grins broadly and calls out, welcoming friends to his places. Alzar accepts and is greeted warmly. There is more than enough space for the wagons and people to come in as well. He introduces himself as Vanck and admits he has been away from his homeland for quite some time. He is desperate for news from home and asks how long it has been since Alzar was home. Thinking of Thorasia, he says years. The giant nods in sadness and then rises and offers food. Alzar thanks him but asks about the tunnel to the back. Ah yes, there is a door back here. The giant heads over and swings it open. Alzar thanks the giant and leaves, his hell hounds still growling quietly.

[Abe Sargent]

After a short passage the door opens to a long passage. To the left it is caved in, so they head down the right, under the mountains. The passageway is 50’ wide, more than big enough for all of their things, and they move down it. Roughly five minutes later, the passage hits a set of stairs that descend down. The Stairs are evenly cut and wide and shallow, so they are navigable but it takes three hours even with the aid of the undead to do it. At the bottom is a small corridor, and as they enter it, a vision hits them of how this area works

Built by the great mage, Kahoatep, this is a network of fast-passage built more than a thousand years ago called the Wind walker’s Passage. Apparently, the passage caved in above was just an entrance, not the actual passage, which is here. There are two long passageways that cut into the mountain, perfectly straight. You enter a rock-like ring that will turn you into a gaseous vapor form with your things. You are then blown down the passageway to the end where you enter another obsidian rock like thing and re-form. One passageway goes in each direction.

It appears that the entrance now caved in came in at the back entrance, and they have entered at the first of eight maintenance areas. The access stairs from above open a door and in here is living quarters and recreation area for maintenance staff. Time has taken its toll and it looks relatively disused. A few tiles from the ceiling have fallen and the area looks beat up. A door on the far end of the room is locked and opens easily enough.

This is an odd room. A soft white light pulsates ahead, bathing the room in a soft amber glow. This room is a 20’ diameter room with two corridors off to the right and left. In the center of the room is a glass rod that extends from floor to ceiling, and encased in it is an unnatural looking dull white gem glowing. The walls are pure white and show no signs of decay or time, and the white light from the gem is bright indeed.

Clearly this is a part of the magic that enables the passages. Perhaps it helps keep the wind pushing people or maybe it helps to keep things clean or repaired, hence the lack of time. (In reality, it has a Protection From Evil, 10’ radius on it and that keeps the summoned creatures in the right places cleaning their part of the Wind Walkers’ Passage.)

[Abe Sargent]

They head right and enter one of the large passages, This is the passage that heads away from the forest and towards the Sand Mire. A howling wind roars down the corridor and sweeps back hair, and flaps clothes. The tunnel is straight and stretches as far as the eye can see. Across from the entrance is another one on the far side. Alzar heads over and there is a small set of stairs that leads up to a door. The door is locked and easily picked.

This is a summoning and control room. There are summoning circles on the ground, still in order and unbroken. An impressive hexagonal room with walls of polished rock greet them. Something has been summoned, but Alzar quickly recognizes this is not a circle of entrapment, which would have something inside, but one of binding. Somewhere there is a creature bound to this room and this circle and thus bound to Hamedh. Without knowing what or how, Alzar has no desire to mess with it and free or upset or anger things. Instead, he will keep on searching and investigating.

They head back and take the other path from the spherical rod room. This is the southern passage that would normally head back toward the forest from the Sand Mire. This large rough tunnel some damage to the walls that the north one does not. Unlike it, there is not a brisk wind racing down the tunnel to let people move from one end to the other in a couple of hours. They head into the stairs and corridor leading off the main tunnel here too and again, there is a summoning room here. The circle has been broken and a corpse is on the circle. Someone tried to break it and was killed by whatever was bound here. A quick search turns up:

Silver Incense Burner – 600 gp
Magical Dagger
Magical Flail
Potion
2 tubes of Dust of Appearance
Pouch of Gems – 250 gp total value
Set of thieves tool, decayed rope, etc

[Abe Sargent]

It looks like the major two passageways are divided into sections. Each section is fed by a maintenance room, which is where they entered. Something damaged them down in the south tunnel at least. These sections are divided by huge grates that cross the tunnel, and keep anything from getting from one section to the other except in gaseous form. He decides to head back to the station right by this last maintenance area that is behind them.

As they move out, a few minutes pass and an odd sound can be made out. It’s like a cat crossed with a drake. But there is nothing to be seen and scouting reveals nothing. Then Alzar makes out a hellcat moving into view invisible. He alerts everyone and casts Continual Light to target, not its eyes, but just its body. It works and everyone can see the hellcat’s location about 80 feet away. The hellcat snarls and starts racing to them. A few skeletons are in front in the dungeon, and Alzar silently order them to close ranks while fighters and folks get ready.



Magical weapons are required to hit it, and it carves a skeleton dead with bites and claws and the other weapons miss. Alzar orders the other two to retreat and an Acid Arrow smashes it for 8 damage this turn and 8 next turn. Melee has been joined and the cat is hit twice for 11 damage.

The Hellcat snarls and hits Locinda for 7 damage. Then it takes another 10 from two more hits, even as Alzar misses. The Hellcat has taken 37 damage so far. Then Alzar wins init (Ring) connects with his staff for 5 damage and kills the kitty.

Everyone shares 225 XP.

The cat’s body becomes visible as it dies, and they double check it, but it is fully dead.

Locinda – 18/24

[Abe Sargent]

After twenty minutes, they reach the terminus, where people would embark and disembark on their journey. The path here from outside collapsed. To the left is a small corridor, at the size of a rod room’s corridor in the maintenance room. Off to the right in front is a corridor and another corridor can be seen to the far left. They hit the first corridor and it opens to another pulsating white room with a rod in the center and a glowing stone. There are some stairs to the left and the north corridor with its powerful winds are forward. They move to the stars, and up at the top can be seen a quivering Gelatinous Cube.

Missile weapons kill it before it can begin to move down the stars. There is nothing in this one of value (they often have magical items, or gems, or that sort of thing. This just has some shards of glass.)

The northern tunnel is bracing past them. They head up and into another summoning room, this time with a very different circle on the bottom. It is a circle of containment, and there is something here. There are winds coming from this room and out into the corridor below via a small grate. They are coming from the circle. Something in this room is providing the wind.

Also there is a scorched skeleton to the left and as they enter, a Magic Mouth goes off, and tells them to beware plunder for fear of dying like he did. He has been dead for some time. A quick search of the body turns up:


Wizard Scroll with 3 spells, sealed
Ring
Wand

Alzar chooses not to mess with the large and potent circle here. This is why the winds are still working in the north tunnel.

[Abe Sargent]

As they walk back down, they notice the tunnel behind the first one, and there is another rod room back here. So basically two rod room passages back to back. But the north passage heads to the terminus, and there is a hall of departure here. Alzar decides to head to the hall. There is a black gate and they head in. Overhead light bathes this room. Filling the center is a large black circle that acts as a gate to transform things that go into it either into misty form or from it. A bright blue flame burns on a cup beside the object.

To their right is a door, and the room narrows at the back and here is a corridor there. They walk into the back corridor and this is the original entrance, now collapsed, and another terminus room is to the right. Their noise attracts attention, and in a minute horde of demons, Nupperibo, led by a bearded devil come around but as Alzar moves to the front, the bearded devil looks at him and his eyes widen.

He shouts and calls off the Nupperibo.



They retreat and he calls out to Alzar in a lower-planes language. Alzar, with both Sage Knowledge and Netherworld Knowledge talks with him in a gruff accent and weak word choice.

“You have been marked. Why?” It asks.

“Marked by who?”

“A demon lord. One of them has marked you, but why? What did you do to deserve such special attention from the lords of the demons?”

“And I killed Zuggtmoy on my home plane, years ago. Then I killed Lolth on my plane as well, chased her to the Abyss, and slew her in her own sanctum. ”

“This could be Lolth’s mark, she works that way. You killed both?”

“I did.”

“You make many dangerous enemies. Allies of both would work against you.”

“I did not know I was marked. Can you tell me how or by who?”

“No. But the mark is clear to those who can see. Enemy of demons and slayer of lords is friend of devils. We will not kill you or these pawns with you. Perhaps you will kill more demons as our blood war continues.”

“Why are you here?”

“We are guarding a shadow demon. It has information we want, but was not willing to give it. We have many such prisons on this plane. It is easy to hide things here until they are convinced to give you what you want.”

Alzar gets information on the local area. There are about 100 lemures, 50 nupperibo, two bearded devils and two spined devils in the Wind Walker’s Passages on both ends. The shadow demon is right here, in a room to the left. The rod rooms have protection against evil spells in them that keep the demons and devils from passing through them.

(You are expected to fight all of the devils, but why?)

[Abe Sargent]

The only area left in the terminus that they did not see is the summoning room here on the south tunnel. They check it out. As expected, it was destroyed by an earthquake of some sort. Rocks fell from the walls and ceiling and broke the circle. Perhaps this is why the wind in the south tunnel is no longer there.

The bearded devil comes with them as they decide to take Kahoatep’s transportation system and everyone passes through the gate in the northern terminus. Everything, including wagons, undead, and animals turns into mist and is flung down the passage. Warm breeze whips them at a fantastic rate. Suddenly, a brightly colored grille comes into front, and separates them into little pieces, which reform on the other side and keep moving down the Passage. Pleasant sensations sweep through them as they speed down the passage with colors flashing in them and electrifying their senses. Then they arrive in the other terminus on the far side of the passage, and solidify. It felt like no time at all, but two hours passed as they zoomed down the passage.


The devil shouts as he arrives and more devils appear. He tells them of Alzar’s feats and they agree to leave him be after a short run down of the layout here in the far terminus.

The room is identical to the one they left, save that a collapse of the tunnel happened here too. It cut off the back of this chamber and the rear passage is gone. They head through the middle of the doorway to the left and it has a door to the left and they arrive in the other terminus room for the south passage. Here is where you would turn to mist and head back the way they came, but this tunnel is no longer working. One of the rod rooms here is broken, and the devils move through it easily now. They take the white gem from it


White gem, enchantment lost - 600 gp


To the north is a summoning room still working as expected. The southern summoning room is a gate to the hells. The devils come through it, after building it. They built the gate in the room over a broken summoning circle on there.

The only way to leave is the emergency exit. They push it open and half to rest the night. It takes one full day of digging to widen the shaft to allow the passage of their things, but they arrive on the other end of the Wind Walkers Passage.



They have arrived at the Sand Mire

[Abe Sargent]

Where the mountains meet the Sand Mire they are cut by deep canyons when join and branch in bewildering patterns. These canyons vary in width from a few feet to hundreds or even more. Their presence can make major mountaineering feats very difficult indeed. One would need to make numerous ascents and descents to travel just a few miles up the mountains.

The Sand Mire itself is composed of fine sand which makes movement very difficult if not used to the unyielding nature of the desert. Every desert is different, and Alzar has been in several. Here, the whipping wind across the valleys and peaks whips up sand and makes long range sight difficult at best. But the rocks pouring above give the ability to make out landmarks and maneuver without getting lost.

The Sad Mire’s unusual consistency comes from its origin. Almost 1000 years ago, the desert was a fertile, but harsh land, that featured a large civilization in several places. But a cataclysm struck, and the land fell dry and harsh, and winds were no longer broken by trees. Ever since the Sand Mire formed, it has been a stain in the land.

They are standing at the head of a valley which is enclosed on three sides by steep rocky walls which have been torn, fissured, and worn into fantastic shapes and angles. The valley turns south and west, and they begin to follow it as it curves. A few miles later, the valley opens up into the Sand Mire and there is a dotted peak from the rock in front of them, like fingers reaching through the ground.

[Abe Sargent]

Three miles pass, and Pashtun grabs Alzar and points out a small cloud to the right. Something is following them. Alzar calls a break and people stop to rest. Approaching across the sand is a line of grey clad riders, mounted on two-legged lizard-ish beasts. They halt about 50’ away but one continues up and Alzar moves down. An older woman, small, speaks after smiling and giving a friendly greeting. Alzar cannot speak the language, but Locinda steps down. She can.

The women is from a tribe of people called the Hek. She is welcoming Alzar and his group back to her village. Despite smelling badly, Alzar agrees to follow them, and the old woman shouts an order and takes the lead.

Hours and miles pass, and late afternoon, they arrive at a camp nestled in the natural embrace of a local ridge. There are many Hek tribes, Pashtun greets the Hek warmly and tells them (with his whisper voice) that his great grandfather was a Hek. They greet him, but also gently deride him as not-Hek. The camp has a variety of tents, at least thirty around, with many quite large. The tents are made of animal fur of various sorts. There is a small cave that leads to their water cistern and storage.


That night, the Hek have a large feast, with various desert plants cooked for dinner, along with eggs of a desert raptor. After dinner, they tell Alzar about their people, after a local rhabdomere casts Tongues to enable conversation. There are many Hek tribes across the desert, and they are just one of many. They have little water, and their water supply has diminished greatly over the last ten years, and they camp outside one of the last natural springs in this area of the Sand Mire.

Alzar asks about a nearby shrine. Yes, the shrine of the Hek. To the north is a shrine, the Shrine of Aumata-Perion which is set in the back of a mountain, behind a small village. It is the holy place for all of the Hek tribes. They go there to pray for rain and water. The shrine also has a water spring, and it is neutral and all Hek tribes may get water from there. Otherwise they have to fight or barter for water from other tribes. Water is currency with the Hek. The Shrine still has priests there and working.

Normally Alzar and his party would be welcomed in a guest tent, but since they have wagons, Alzar will stay there. He still has a watch, just in case, and they stay the night. The next day arrives and they agree to head to the Shrine of Aumata-Perion and it’s about half day away. They leave the wagons behind to make the trip more quickly, and Alzar leaves behind Gilded Ears and the undead as guards, just to make sure nothing happens.

[Abe Sargent]

A great spire lifts over the northern part of this section of the Sand Mire. It is locally called the Pinnacle of Power, as it is both very sharp and tall, as well as where the shrine is located. After ten hours, they have arrived at the gates of the shrine. Beside the stark towering pinnacle a crumbling stone wall seals the mouth of this narrow valley. Four rough steps lead up to the ancient gateway, and behind its battlements, dusty figures stand motionless, staring out across the wasteland. As Alzar’s group approaches, a gate swings slowly open, and swirling dust and sand dance through and then settle again as the door is open.


This wall is old and neglected through centuries of need of maintenance. The people on the battlements aren’t undead or anything, just dummies to give the impression that they are guarded. They look like recent additions.


They head up the stairs and into the small village. Once-fine buildings line the side of this desolate street. There are a few doors banging in the wind, and nothing but empty shells remain. Alzar’s group picks their way through them and follow the narrow valley to the nadir point, even passing a graveyard as they do. There are 30 graves here. Soon, zombies come out of the sandy graves and emerge to attack. Alzar controls them all. 30 zombies. They are all of Hek people. He has the zombies making a 6 member wide formation, five people deep, and move up the shrine portico and into the shrine proper, carved into the rock.

Two large wooden doors are here, locked. Volcifar manages to pick the lock and they open, but there is a Glyph of Warding here and it shoots and kills a zombie - 29 left. The noise alerts the defenders of the shrine and out slide 2 ghasts and 8 ghouls. Alzar controls them easily and adds them to his force.

They have arrived in an entrance hall, and the ghouls reveal two secret doors here. The ghouls and ghasts were given free run of a four room complex to the left so Alzar heads that way past the secret door. They arrive in the ghoul guardroom, and then head north into a pair of rooms, doored together. One is the kitchen, and the other a storage room with a door on the other side. But they take him off a secret door form the kitchen deep to an Opened Crypt, and there are two more ghouls back here Alzar controls.

[Abe Sargent]

There is a concealed door to the east. They warn Alzar and then open it and move in. This octagonal room is dominated by a stone statue of a large piranha-headed man, shrouded by serpentine forms. More snakes. They drop to the ground with a series of dull thuds and slither out. There are 8 snakes. Alzar orders the undead to head in there and destroy the snakes. As they do, the head priest, Kegen, storms out from behind the statue and babbles at the undead killing his snakes.

Alzar orders the ghouls to close in on him while zombies take the snakes. He turns and flees through a concealed door on the other size and runs into a sealed crypt. There are 8 ghouls and 2 ghasts in here too. Alzar controls the ghouls but fails on the ghasts. They flank Kegen and attack, but they are outnumbered. Kegen casts Hold Person on Alzar but it fails. It takes very little time for him and his ghasts to go under. To the back of this statue/snake room is a large snake pit and zombies kill them and a secret door forward reveals another set of crypts, one with 20 animal skeletons and another with a drelb, a lightning extraplanar creature. The undead have issues with it, but finish it eventually.

The last crypt here reveals four mummies, and they come out all at once. They are immune to normal attacks and the undead Alzar is now controlling will do nothing. Alzar orders his people to assemble and attack.

They concentrate on the first mummy as the undead clear out. A few hits (Ac3 on the mummy) drop it down 9 points, while they (THAC0 13) hit Alzar three times for 18 damage. Vampiric Touch won’t work on undead like mummies, so he stabs with his staff and misses. They hit twice for 12 damage, and his group hits just once for 6 damage.

21/51

Then Alzar misses, is hit twice for 8 damage, and then they hit and kill the wounded mummy.

13/51

Alzar runs away from the battle and the mummies concentrate on Pashtun and hit him twice for 10 damage (they deal 1d12 damage each hit). A mummy are cracked twice by Pashtun (specialization) for 11 and once by Volcifar for 4. All three hit Pashtun for 14 damage and he pulls out two. The others hit twice for 13 damage.


15/38 – Pashtun

Alzar’s group wins init and he hits with a thrown magic weapon for 4 damage and his group hacks and slays the wounded mummy. Both miss Locinda. Tolvar casts Burning Hands to expedite things for 11 damage on the 3rd mummy. They keep init and hit the damaged mummy. The mummy hits once for 3 damage on Locinda. Then the mummies win back init, hit once for 9, and then the injured mummy is slain. Locinda backs off and Volcifar takes 8 before the last mummy is killed.


8/16 – Volcifar
12/24 - Locinda


880 XP for each person

[Abe Sargent]

Alzar heads back with his controlled undead to explore the area. They enter a vestry, Kegen’s bedroom, and then the family room, where his wives and children are. They live in behind the undead and the family moves to engage. One wife suddenly blasts Alzar in the head for 8 damage from a Mind Blast. She is a Mentalist. Alzar reaches forward and casts Vampiric Touch on a child for 11 damage and gains it back. While others are attacking, the Mentalist animates a shadow to attack the undead. Alzar orders the Mentalist to be taken out now. An Acid Arrow smashes her for 6 damage. (and 6 next round). The undead are cleaning out the other family members. Missile weapons miss her and Alzar can’t get to her so he casts Continual Light at her eyes. It works, but she is fine, her psychic sight keeps her from being blinded.

16/51 Alzar


She uses her psychic power to dominate Pashtun, who stops fighting and just stands there. Alzar casts Sleep but no one is affected who is still alive. A sling stone smashes into her for 5 damage from a Sling of Seeking. Alzar uses his staff to spit out a Spark spell at her and she takes 14 damage. She falls dead. The others are killed easily. The complex has been cleared of all opposition.


200 XP for everyone

[Abe Sargent]

They begin to search the bodies, stores, vestry, bedroom, family room and such, and move everything through the worship room (with a turned off skeleton warrior here), and into the back room with the statue. Meanwhile, Alzar and Volcifar move to the crypts, with a few undead dorks to open things up. However, as Alzar orders a zombie to open up the crypt in the last room (where the drelb and mummies were), a curse on the crypt goes off. Whoever opens the crypt is affected. The zombie is opening it, and normally would be hit by magical protection, but this curse goes to the one commanding it and Alzar is now cursed.

Alzar is at +5 to be hit by weapons until the curse is lifted.

After taking the items from the crypts to the central room (quick when you have so many undead), they find these magical items:


Decanter of Endless Water
Stone
Scroll - Protection from Undead, Possession
+2 Plate Mail
Staff
Shamshir
Clerical Scroll – Create Food and Water, Cure Serious Wounds, Neutralize Poison
Trombash


And these non-magical ones:

Gold Circlet set with Fire Opal – 1500 gp ; Gold Bracelets – 150gp set ; Silver Holy Symbol - 50 gp; Silver Censer – 25 gp; 5x Silver Incense Burners – 25 gp each; Crystal Bowl – 25 gp ; Silver Thurible – 50 gp;; Carved Ivory Box – 100 gp ; Electrum Scroll Case -250 gp ; Gold Plated Skull – 50 gp ; Gold Ring with Star Ruby – 1500 gp ; Jeweled Ivory Box – 5000 gp; Carved Jade Scroll Case – 1000 gp ; Jeweled Platinum Amulet – 12000 gp ; Jade Statuette of Panther-Headed Man – 2500 gp ; Silver Brooch with Gems – 3000 gp ; Gem Encrusted Gold Chalice – 4000 gp ; Platinum Box – 5000 gp ;

10 Prayer and Religious Books from Shrine of Aumata-Perion ;

164 gems – total value – 19000 gp

1000 pp
4000 gp

14 Blocks of Blue Incense; 22 blocks of Red Incense.


(Blue incense was burning on the terminal that sent you and red on the one that received you in the Passage.)

[Abe Sargent]

As Alzar and company finish grabbing their items they rest here for the night and begin to move off the morning. He doesn’t know how the Hek will react to him having a bunch of undead, so he leaves them here for now.

After an hour through the sandy haze, the ground begins to slightly tremble. Then it increases and it is coming from everywhere. Soon hundreds of Hek on hundreds of their steeds arrive from all directions and stop. One steps forward and introduces himself as Tazo, leader of the council of the Hek. Alzar’s party has defiled the Shrine and the water there could end. The life of Alzar and his company is forfeit. They have come to kill him.

He tells them that they can have endess water, beyond their dreams or what they ever had before. Not believing him, Alzar pulls out the Decanter and triggers it. A flow of water begins to come from the decanter and the Hek are very impressed. Tazo demands the decanter and the commands to control it. Alzar asks what will happen. Him and his group will be allowed to leave, but they must leave the Sand Mire completely by the end of the next day the way they came.

Alzar points out that if they attack him and his group, he can just destroy the decanter and then they will be without water and in a bad situation without the object and with their temple defiled. Both of them have something on the other. They agree to take the decanter and the command words and re-establish good order with Alzar and his group. They can use the nearby Hek village as a base if they want and will still be welcome in the Sand Mire.


It is agreed and Alzar and company trade the decanter and return the village as the Hek army from several tribes begins to disperse.

A few years ago, a mage came through the Wind Passage and ganged up with a Hek tribe and assaulted the Shrine of Aumata-Perion. Ultimately they lost. The dummies on the wall, perhaps after the attack they were added. It appears that Alzar’s map was written by the mage and then collected and wrapped around something and sent when trading and eventually wound up near Phraya.

[Abe Sargent]

XP for everyone – 1565 +10% for anyone with a high base stat. Locinda and Volcifar level up. He put 10 each into find/remove traps, move silently, and hide in shadows.

These are the magic items they identified only at the end of the campaign.

+2 Dagger
+1 Flail
Potion of Invisibility, 6 doses
Wizard Scroll - Fly, Protection from Evil, 10’ Radius, Elonia’s Glamer.
Ring of Free Action
Wand of Wonder, 67 charges
Honing Stone
Staff of Healing, 24 charges, (1 charge for Cure Blindness, Disease, 2 for Cure Serious, Neutralize Poison)
+1 Shamshir
+2 Trombash of Returning


The staff can only be used by a priest or cleric. The Honing Stone has 6 charges, when you rub a weapon against it there is a random chance the weapon will increase or decrease by +1 in effectiveness. Each use uses a charge. The better the enchantment, the more likely the weapon is to lose a +1.



This module was fun, but we missed out on a lot. Alzar’s path to keep the wagons by the river skipped much of the Atemi interactions. The Passage skipped the devil encounters. The final shrine was sped up by controlling most of the undead. I modified the plot in a few places. Because he didn’t fight the shadow demon or devils he missed out on some sweet items (including a really nice magical Cloak).

Yet, the ideas are interesting and fresh, and UK modules tend to be about the place and getting to know the area, not about a big dungeon delve. I intend to run UK7 too and finish off the series.

End of UK6. All That Glitters…

[Abe Sargent]

Beginning of

I3. Pharaoh



Published in 1982, this module was written by the Hickmans in the late 70s, and self-published among smaller groups. It was later brought into a three module super campaign bound together as the Desert of Desolation. The Desert of Desolation uber-three campaign book was ranked the 6th best module in that 2004 Dungeon magazine article I keep referring to. Combining Pharaoh, Oasis of the White Palm and Lost Tomb of Martek into an even tighter story, the result is pretty solid.

We’ll be using it as the major framework for the Sand Mire campaign, with the X4-X5 storyline as additional background, and I8 Day of Al-Akbar providing the home base as well.

The result of the combination of these six modules, along with material from UK6 All that Glitters is going to be the basis for the ongoing campaign. We’ll be spicing things up with other modules and X4 and X5 are also very highly received modules that will flesh out the campaign world of Hamedh in lovely style!

We’ll be moving into Pharaoh, and then sort of backing out. You’ll see!

[Abe Sargent]

After a couple of days recuperating at the local Hek village, Alzar and his troop are continuing to convalesce, healing, detecting, casting various spells, and so forth.

That night, shortly after midnight, a powerful howl can be heard across the sand. Soon enough six others follow. Alzar’s familiar Gilded Ears, moves up to the edge of the light and spies a running pack of some animal moving towards their camp – on the edge of the Hek village.

After a few moments, Alzar’s group is up and facing the pack. There are 7 dog-ish, monkey-ish creatures coming at them, called Debbi. (From the Al-Qadim Monstrous Compendium)



They are trying a quick raid for food and then back into the night.

As Alzar begins to order a defense, the animals pause just a hundred paces away or so. Then they begin to….stamp their feet in rhythm?

A few seconds later, a pulse of fear rifles through the defenders. Volcifar and Tolvar begin to pull back, having failed their saves, but Pashtun and Locinda move forward. Alzar also made his. An eldritch chill can be felt in the air, a crackle and hum from the creatures, their ugly monkey-dog faces snarling with fear-energy.

An arrow from Pashtun’s recurve bow glances off a Debbi for a bit of damage (2), but does little else. The pack responds by four peeling off and chasing the retreating feared people and three more moving in against the three humans defending.

Battle begins.

Alzar’s side wins init, and Alzar wants to see how tough these are. He casts Vampiric Touch, hits one for 9 damage,, and it dies. He doesn’t heal, but now he knows. Pashtun and Locinda miss, as to the claws and fangs of their two foes.

They win init and move back while the other four get near Volcifar and Tolvar. Alzar tosses his spear and hits the wounded one for 4 damage. Meanwhile Pashtun’s bow hits again for 2 more and it falls.

With two of their number down, the other five choose to leave, and begin to flee back into the darkness. Alzar orders Gilded Ears to follow.

[Abe Sargent]

The Hek arrive a few minutes later, and begin to carve up the two dead Debbi. Not only can they be cooked and eaten, but their skins and fur can be turned into a talisman to cause fear.

Alzar’s party follows Gilded Ears out after securing light. The fear effect has ended.

About 25 minutes later, they arrive at a small outcropping of rock that reaches out around 200 to 300 paces. Gilded Ears is here on guard, and there is apparently a small cave here that the Debbi went into.

They begin to head into battle positions, and suddenly one Debbi pops out and begins to stamp again. The three that won their saves before are still immune to the effect, and the other two will roll – Volcifar fails again, but Tolvar is fine for an hour now.

Tolvar casts Magic Missile at it, and it falls, dead.

They move cautiously into the cave, and there are around 15 Debbi in a medium size chamber. Some are pups. The Debbi begin to flee down a small breach to the rear, and a few move in front to give them time to flee.

Alzar’s party engages a trio of sacrificial Debbi. In one round, the four of them killed the Debbi, but Alzar took 5 damage from a bite.

Alzar – 46/51

The three are dead, and the room is secured.

They get 65 XP times 6 dead Debbi, so 440 XP total, divided by five people. 84 XP each.

They search the room, and carve the four dead Debbi here as per the Hek tribe’s advice. Also in the chamber are the various remains of their food, mostly bones and such. A quick Detect Magic spell finds that one item that appeared to be a normal bone is actually a cylindrical bone scroll case.

[Abe Sargent]

Alzar has Volcifar look at it for a while to inspect it for traps, but it appears fine. He cracks it open.

The Bone Scroll Case contains two scrolls, and a handful of five odd cubes – all glowing magical.

The first scroll is a spell scroll. The second is a letter written in the local language. Alzar cannot translate it. The cubes and scroll are put away. There are a handful of coins here, a few coppers and bronzes and a solitary silver – they don’t even total one gold piece in value. Alzar leaves them here.

They head back after a few hours.

After grabbing a bit more sleep, the group wakens, and spends the next day curing the six hides they found. The villagers will keep the two slain at the edge of the village, and the other four Alzar secures with his wagons.

A local Hek leader can read the scroll he found, and does so, translating it for him.


Letter written to the Khaibar College of Wizardry

As expected, the task set before me has been mostly completed. The book I found from the ancient sage of Martek years ago has finally been decoded, and I have begun its decryption.

Although not fully complete, the work thus far has proved unfortunate. As we expected, the prophecy of Martek appears to be fully accurate, moreover, it appears to be completed soon. The land has been rent asunder by an event from Martek’s time, and the Sand Mire continues its de-evolution.

Martek’s Sphere of Power appears to be the only way to arrest the curse, and it will need to be secured and used to end the continuing destruction of our home, such as it is. We’ll need to equip a party from the College to investigate a few hidden tombs and ruins that I suspect could have the Sphere.

Meanwhile, I’ll be continuing to finish with the book. If you have further questions before my next missive, I’ll be in Bralizzar. I’ll send my next update once I’ve finished. Otherwise, just use the transport cubes to send me the items I need.


Aman Al-Raqib

(I had to write the letter myself. Come on now!)

[Abe Sargent]

After memorizing it, Alzar casts Read Magic on the spell scroll, and it comes back as a unique spell, without a name. Apparently it has to be cast, and then the five cubes will activate. They are basically teleport cubes. Cast the spell, and then place the five cubes on any object, and they will teleport, cube and object, to Aman Al-Raqib, who created the spell and scroll and cubes.

Alzar inquires as to Bralizzar’s location, and the village elder tells him a little about it. It is located in The Dustwall. Various regions of the Sand Mire have their own names, and it’s a village there, near some sharp mountains and peaks. Most of the Sand Mire is thusly caged in. Land entrances are on the other side of the Mire.

The Dustwall is three days journey away. Bralizzar is the largest of the Hek villages, and the furthest away. It’s larger than others because it’s a trading village for points deeper into the Sand Mire. The Dustwall is almost like an isthmus of sand connecting two large points of rock, and the only way into the rest of the territory is to go through the Dustwall generally and Bralizzar specifically. It’s not only the trade center from one region to another, but the defensive point as well.

Alzar decides to head for Bralizzar. He hires two locals to guide them, and a few of their lizard-bird steeds to give himself and Pashtun better steeds in the desert than their slower camels. They’ll use the two camels to help rotate goods and such. Since himself and Pashtun have advanced riding proficiencies, these two giant striders will not prove overly difficult to master.

Giant striders are large beasts that derive sustenance from warmth, such as jungles and deserts and are immune to fire. (The Hamedhi ones don’t breathe fireballs and aren’t evil little buggers)

Alzar and his party set off the next day.

All three days are quiet, and they arrive at the Dustwall in mid-afternoon.