Lair of the Vampire
The PCs began this session in Cofston, with Blake having just left after an urgent call by his order. D'arcy had been visited several times recently by the vampire Julius, who wanted him to embrace vampirism and become his henchman. Why did Julius not just "take" D'arcy? That's yet to be revealed!
A message from Riven of the Grove, the local druid, came to Lukas. It seemed that a representative of the "Circle", a mysterious druidic order from the Grandwood, wished to help destroy the vampire, because of the affront against the natural order of things the undead were. The party gratefully accepted the aid of the representative: a female half-elven druid named Chissara.
Descending into the dungeon once more, they found the Vampire Spawn that they had routed the last time had returned to guard the way into the lower crypt. A fireball spell later and the spawn routed once more, seeping into gaps between the stonework and the doorways.
The stairs led to a arcane locked door, which Lukas bypassed with a knock spell. Beyond lay a grand chamber, once a crypt, but now the coffins were empty and broken. A pair of double doors led onward at the far side of the chamber, but Lukas and D'arcy soon spotted the secret doors leading to the west and the east. Consultation was made, and the west door was chosen.
That proved to be a mistake. A high level Melf's acid arrow spell had been set as a trap on the far side of the (empty) chamber beyond. D'arcy took the full brunt of the spell, and again and again as he searched for a way to disarm it. Karena, the cleric of Joramy who was Cassie's cohort, healed him with her wand of cure light wounds as much as possible, but D'arcy only just survived the assault - the residual damage was impressive indeed! However, eventually the trap was disarmed and the chamber found to be nothing more than a trick.
The party then tried the secret door to the east: this led to a chamber full of ghouls. No matter, a single fireball spell from Cassie soon put paid to them. Unfortunately, the fireball also wasted the treasure in the room. Giving the room only a cursory perusal, the party continued to the north double doors of the main crypt.
They were arcane locked, but multiple dispel magics from Cassie broke the magic. Beyond was a well-lit chamber, with multiple portraits hanging on the walls. The northern-most was animated, and indeed proved to be intelligent - a manifestation of the wizard who had built this place for his family (one of the noble houses of the Great Kingdom). He proved interesting to converse with, to say the least, but eventually revealed that the way lay behind him - sliding the portrait to one side revealed a teleportation cubicle.
Unfortunately, all was not as it seemed, and D'arcy, climbing in, found himself teleported to the ghoul chamber... which also hid the Vampire Spawn behind secret doors! They were engaged, whilst Lukas, Cassie, Karena and Chissara were left behind. D'arcy suffered energy draining attacks before the others could reinforce the poor duelist. More combat ensued, and the party were eventually successful, but damaged too much for further exploration. They returned to the city to gain spells of restoration and rest.
The next day they returned to the crypt, and discovered a secret door in the portrait chamber that the animated wizard had not revealed - indeed, it seemed that he couldn't know about it at all! That led to a set of tunnels and caverns in which were the missing wolves from the Tarwood, although some had been turned into the undead: Gravehounds and Skeletal Wolves!
The undead were slain, and Chissara, turning into the form of a Dire Wolf, was able to persuade the living wolves that they were allies. The party repaired to the surface with the wolves and Chissara ensured they would be all right.
A final expedition that day beckoned, and they found a large cavern with a pair of double doors (marked, as all the doors in this crypt were, with the sign of the Raven), and a rubble-strewn passageway north. For some reason they explored north first, and encountered a Flesh Golem guarding the passageway. Chissara, in her wild shaped form was too much for the golem.
Then, the day getting late, they returned to Cofston.
Characters Present:
A message from Riven of the Grove, the local druid, came to Lukas. It seemed that a representative of the "Circle", a mysterious druidic order from the Grandwood, wished to help destroy the vampire, because of the affront against the natural order of things the undead were. The party gratefully accepted the aid of the representative: a female half-elven druid named Chissara.
Descending into the dungeon once more, they found the Vampire Spawn that they had routed the last time had returned to guard the way into the lower crypt. A fireball spell later and the spawn routed once more, seeping into gaps between the stonework and the doorways.
The stairs led to a arcane locked door, which Lukas bypassed with a knock spell. Beyond lay a grand chamber, once a crypt, but now the coffins were empty and broken. A pair of double doors led onward at the far side of the chamber, but Lukas and D'arcy soon spotted the secret doors leading to the west and the east. Consultation was made, and the west door was chosen.
That proved to be a mistake. A high level Melf's acid arrow spell had been set as a trap on the far side of the (empty) chamber beyond. D'arcy took the full brunt of the spell, and again and again as he searched for a way to disarm it. Karena, the cleric of Joramy who was Cassie's cohort, healed him with her wand of cure light wounds as much as possible, but D'arcy only just survived the assault - the residual damage was impressive indeed! However, eventually the trap was disarmed and the chamber found to be nothing more than a trick.
The party then tried the secret door to the east: this led to a chamber full of ghouls. No matter, a single fireball spell from Cassie soon put paid to them. Unfortunately, the fireball also wasted the treasure in the room. Giving the room only a cursory perusal, the party continued to the north double doors of the main crypt.
They were arcane locked, but multiple dispel magics from Cassie broke the magic. Beyond was a well-lit chamber, with multiple portraits hanging on the walls. The northern-most was animated, and indeed proved to be intelligent - a manifestation of the wizard who had built this place for his family (one of the noble houses of the Great Kingdom). He proved interesting to converse with, to say the least, but eventually revealed that the way lay behind him - sliding the portrait to one side revealed a teleportation cubicle.
Unfortunately, all was not as it seemed, and D'arcy, climbing in, found himself teleported to the ghoul chamber... which also hid the Vampire Spawn behind secret doors! They were engaged, whilst Lukas, Cassie, Karena and Chissara were left behind. D'arcy suffered energy draining attacks before the others could reinforce the poor duelist. More combat ensued, and the party were eventually successful, but damaged too much for further exploration. They returned to the city to gain spells of restoration and rest.
The next day they returned to the crypt, and discovered a secret door in the portrait chamber that the animated wizard had not revealed - indeed, it seemed that he couldn't know about it at all! That led to a set of tunnels and caverns in which were the missing wolves from the Tarwood, although some had been turned into the undead: Gravehounds and Skeletal Wolves!
The undead were slain, and Chissara, turning into the form of a Dire Wolf, was able to persuade the living wolves that they were allies. The party repaired to the surface with the wolves and Chissara ensured they would be all right.
A final expedition that day beckoned, and they found a large cavern with a pair of double doors (marked, as all the doors in this crypt were, with the sign of the Raven), and a rubble-strewn passageway north. For some reason they explored north first, and encountered a Flesh Golem guarding the passageway. Chissara, in her wild shaped form was too much for the golem.
Then, the day getting late, they returned to Cofston.
Characters Present:
- Cassandra d'Felis - Daniel - female human Sorcerer 6?/Mind Bender 3?
- Lukas the Hunter - Greg - male human Ranger 2/Wizard 5/Eldritch Knight 2
- D'arcy Grimshaw - Ben - male human Rogue/Fighter/Duelist
- Chissara - David - female half-elf Wild Reaper* 8 (*from Dragon Magazine)
- Karena - NPC cohort - female human Cleric of Joramy 3/Fighter 3