Episode 13 - Escaping the Sandbox

In which our heroes engage in some multi-dimensional travel, burglary and rescuing.


Having listed to the alien's odd request and after a brief sampling of it's wares the band agreed. It wanted a psychic amplifier retrieved from a band of reavers. The reaver's base was located in the space between worlds and had wards and devices to warn them of the alien. However the band possessed 'unique mental signatures' which should allow them to pass undetected. They would only have to worry about a few prying eyes.

The alien then opened a transplanar gate to the space between worlds. Some of the band felt disorientated by the weird, alien landscape but due to either mental resilience or lack of imagination soon took it in their stride. The space between worlds appeared as a great velvet expanse. There did not appear to be any ground and here and there could be seen lights or specks. Their alien employer pointed one out and they traveled towards it.


Soon the object resolved itself to be an irregular boulder. It was hard to gauge it's dimensions as there was nothing with which to reference it against. A little later the alien called for a halt and informed them it was near the limit at which it would be detected. The band would have to go on alone from here.

As they got closer they could make out two entrances. One had the appearance of a pier and two large doors, which were closed. The other resembled a large cave entrance. While the band immediately filed that as 'deeply suspicious' they went to have a look anyway. The cave went further into the structure and they could make out flickering lights within as well as the sound of bickering in some guttural tongue. The band volunteered Scawl to go look.

Inside Scawl soon found a massive cavern. Pride of place went to a large heap of coins of many different types. Gold, silver, bronze, copper and several metals Scawl could not identify lay about in fused clumps. Standing about were several small lizard-men. Using his arts Scawl managed to distract the creatures and then ushered the rest of the band into the rest of the complex.

The band quickly found the commander's room. While it contained what they sought it also held a Hobgoblin Princess. She imperiously demanded her release and return. The band vacillated between rescue, ignoring or stabbing the Princess. The debate was interrupted by the guards bringing her a meal. The fight was brief but drew the attention of the other guards. More fighting ensued and the band eventually decided to rescue the Princess and return her to Babylon.

Returning to the alien creature they asked to travel to Babylon in their world instead of returning to where they left. The alien complied since one location in the material was pretty much like another. The band stepped through into a hot dusty street. Hobgoblins were everywhere, engaged in the business of buying, selling, gawking, entertaining. Also present in the city were some dwarves, ferocious bull-men, centaurs and snake people. All going about their business. No-one seemed to recognise the princess and when asked about her most remarked that wasn't that the cause of one of the old wars with the dwarves? It seemed she had been gone a long time.

Nonetheless the band managed to get a large reward for returning the princess. With some of the money they purchased a copy of the Laws of Babylon and then asked the alien for one more transit. To Constantinople. The alien agreed reluctantly and deposited them into what to the band's rustic eyes as a very similar city but with many more dwarves and far less hobgoblins.

Episode 12 - I do like a siege besides the seaside.

So the band visited the Ghoul King, Brettanus to see if he could be of any help in the coming conflict. The King and his ghastly court were intrigued by news of a new intelligent race and inquired as to how they tasted. The band politely replied that the did not know. Brettanus ordered Joruth to venture with the band to the surface and bring back some leg of human for the court to try. Donning some ancient armour and a mace that had seen better millenia, Joryth obeyed his liege.

The band then snuck across to the copse where the humans were hiding. Perrin and Cheet conspired through various woodland arts to approach the monsters undetected. Cheet then summoned a pack of wolves to attack the invaders from the other side. While they were distracted by the wolves the band attacked and, with Joryth's aid, they quickly defeated them. They then took back some leg of human to Brettanus and his court. The Ghoul King proclaimed these new creatures to be very tasty. The band beat a hasty retreat in case they also went on the menu and wondered what to do next.

They decided to plan their next move in a tavern. They quickly set on the idea of fortifying it on the basis that a last stand with a wet bar was the best of a bad situation. The remaining townsfolk soon gathered and offered their own opinions. Some wanted to flee, while others thought surrender could not be so bad. The Dwarves were not so bad, what with the roads, trade, food, law and order, etc. These Humans could not be too different. The band filled them in on various conversations they had had with charmed humans and their casual talk of murdering / brutally enslaving the incumbent races. They also pointed out that the human's creator was Bane, accounted as being a total bastard even by the standards of the local divinities. The remaining townsfolk then looked more worried, went back to being indecisive and panicking.

It was about this point Scawl decided the alchemist Sala might be of use. Travelling to her house and store he found the low elf leaving on a cart. Impressed with her presence of brain Scawl advised her to make for Mamucium. This was mainly so he could find her later. Sala gave Scawl a deadly poison and left.

The band then went about deciding how to best poison the approaching army and went to investigate. A day later saw them watching the humans on the march. The humans traveled in the manner of dwarves, making a fortified camp each night. Three elite humans were riders of savage winged beasts that had the manner of giant hexapedal eagles. Using magic, stealth and a dissembling guise they snuck in and poisoned a number of humans and one of the beasts. During the day they hid from the patrols of the flying things and also ran from some misshapen giants wreaking havoc on the lawless countryside.

The humans eventually brought things to a head by flying directly over the walls and telling the city the fate awaiting all poisoners, crucifixion for the first offence. Fortunately the band had made it back to Deva and engaged the humans, their mounts and despite the human leader bringing Bane's divine power to the battle, managed to prevail. This was in no small part due to Scawls creative use of his telekinetic powers to 'surprise' one of the beasts in a sensitive place, causing it to flee.

The band then wondered what to do about the remaining humans. Cheet suggested unleashing the ghouls upon them and so they went to ask a favour of Brettanus. The Ghoul King was welcome to the idea since their first taste of human had been so good, they could not resist the allure of more. That evening the entire ghoul court went on procession down to the human camp and slaughtered them all. They then proceeded back before morning leaving a torn and desolate camp. The band promptly organised the city to loot it. Strangely, the coins of the humans were sharp triangular objects made of iron. But the rest of their stuff was well made, if odd.

A few days later as the looting was coming to an end the band were informed they had a strange visitor asking for them at the inn. It was the strange being from the silver mine  near Navio. It had a little job for our intrepid band and could promise the location of some artifacts of Law amongst it's payment.

Episode 11 - Spring is here and so are we.

After a winter with little to do but get the local fence addicted and suborned the band turned it's attentions to the wider world about them. Or at least, those bits they were interested in. What held the band's greatest interest was a controlling interest in the pubs, taverns and alehouses of the land. Who was in charge was largely immaterial but to their minds a network of pubs meant trade, working agriculture and a series of defensible points. This would hopefully counter the rising chaocity and keep the Watchers down. The fact that pubs contain alcohol, lodgings and wenches may of also been a contributing factor.

Early spring saw the lizard-folk trading their excess, infertile eggs with the town. The band lost little time ensuring that they handled the actual transactions. This potentially avoided a riot when the lizards asked if they could have some halflings (or children, dwarven is hard on saurian mouths) to feed the child of Tiamat they were raising in the swamp. The band managed to get them to accept cow instead and hurried off to the lovely ladies of Beshaba to confirm their suspicions of what the phrase 'child of Tiamat' was referring to. Who better to ask about potential disasters and calamities than the Servants of the Mistress of Misfortune?

The servants of Black Bess happily informed them that yes, a child of Tiamat was most likely a dragon. The also informed them that Ana, the waif and stray they had found (kidnapped?)  had the makings of a feared Doommistress. They also mentioned that she was planning an expedition to the south to spy on the Humans and check to see if her parents were okay. The ladies were excited by the prospect of a dragon in the area advising that it indicated chaos was on the rise, which was a holy thing. Lastly they alluded to knowing a ritual that would summon such a beast and then running real fast. They advised a human would make a fine material component for such a ritual. The band thanked them for their counsel and gave the matter of summoning the dragon to their enemies serious thought.

The party also then decided to check up on Ashrak and his new apprentice Myrdanus. On reaching the swamp and noticing the large impressive ziggurat almost near completion. They were decidedly creeped out by whatever it was the dead necromancer was up to and decided to to pester him. Instead they returned to Mamucium to travel with Ana.

Discovering Ana and company had left already the band took the path south to Viroconium and Ana's home village. After a day's travel they came upon a small empty camp. Showing signs that it was in use Cheet transformed and scouted about for the people. His senses were overwhelmed by a oily, loathsome scent on the air. While the miasma masked other scents it clearly was coming from the east. Venturing that way the band discovered disturbing signs. Clawed footprints and trees ring-barked by tentacles were worrying and they pressed on. The next thing they found were two bodies. The creatures had only the most superficial resemblance to people. While they had arms, legs and a head they had a fishy, amphibian appearance with bulging eyes, webbed feet and odd, but functional spears as weapons. One appeared to of been victim to being brought down by multiple foes while the other had been stabbed in the back of the neck, killing it instantly. Scawl determined that the attacker was either eight feet tall or had dropped out of a nearby tree onto their victim. The band proceeded through the woods a little more cautiously, looking upwards a lot.

After another mile they reached a circular hole in the ground, about 30 ft across and almost identical to the one in Coccium. Seeing as how only three of the band were present they decided discretion was the better part of valour and beat a hasty retreat and continued to Ana's village. Over the next two days the band thought it odd that they did not catch up with her. Nor did they find her at the outskirts of the hamlet.

The band discovered the hamlet overrun with humans, all working industriously fortifying the place. There were about a hundred of the creatures, most engaged with cutting trees and making a palisade with watch towers while a few stood guard. While the band could not find Ana they did find a low elf named Jake. Jake seemed rather unconcerned about his new masters. Sure they yelled at you and pushed you around but so had the dwarves. They were gearing up to invade Deva. There were two odd things that even Jake had noticed. First there were no human women to be seen and the humans did not bother the local women. The band decided that such unnatural perversions should not be allowed to exist. The band told Jake that there was a secret entrance to Deva and gave him the location of the nearby Watcher hole.

The band then travelled to Deva, noticing wear the Human scouts were hiding out. The much reduced town was in a panic. About ten bravos were manning the walls and the rest were running about like headless chooks. Scawl pointed out that surrender was a bad idea since the humans were going to enslave the remaining populace. The band decided that a message should be sent to Caius and he could rally his troops for the city's defence. They also wondered if they should let the ghoul's of the under-city know that Deva above was about to undergo a change of ownership.

Aftermath

And so winter has come and the murderhobos are waiting it out in Mamucium for spring and more importantly, when all us players have time again for a weekly game. For those who have been wondering where all the action took place. Mamucium is where Manchester is now, Deva is Chester and most of the wilderness action took place in what is now the nearby Peaks District. Ashrak resided at the Dark Peak and the stone giant at White Peak respectively.

Using real world locations and a loose interpretation of historical events gives players in-built knowledge from the get go without having to peruse what are often not very exciting screeds of lore for the game. The lore is there, the players knew where the towns were, what the Wall was, what people sort of dressed like and part of one of the underlying problems. The dwarves are abandoning Brittania and leaving the area ripe for chaotic incursions. Orcs, elves, aboleths, mind flayers and finally, humans. In other words, an ideal adventuring environment.

It seems we will be resuming in February. The cast may be a little different and so I present today the playable species. Note that no species except Tieflings have darkvision.

Dwarves: Abbathor’s children, the dwarves have established an empire analogous to that of Rome. Dwarves are Romans. Of course, the dwarven empire is in decline and beset by strife. The mountain dwarves are the military caste with hill dwarves being the commoners.

Elves: Correlon’s children. Literally for high elves. Each High elf is a special creation of Correlon with Wood elves being their subsequent descendants. High Elves are thus rare and often seldom leave Hibernia. They are the aristocracy of the elven courts, the most powerful and ancient being the fey lords themselves.

Low Elves (Half elves): It was said that elf and dwarf are incompatible and such unions cannot produce offspring. However in some forgotten time this somehow happened and their descendants muddied the waters further by being compatible with both elf and dwarf. Low elves typically retain mainly elven features but can be quite varied as the dwarven traits come to the fore here and there. Low elves are the most common people of Britannia, formerly a subject race, the decline of dwarven influence may mean a time where they can forge their own destiny.

Halflings. Yondalla's children and the first of the smaller sentient races.. Halflings have been shunted aside, displaced or enslaved by the larger peoples. It is their skill with agriculture and growing food that makes them tolerated at all, if only as slaves and serfs. Halflings are thus good at hiding and one may often find a halfling community tucked away in some forgotten, hard to reach area.

Orcs. The wild children of Gruumsh. They exist mainly to bring pain to the Elves although they will make war on others as they also delight in battle. Orcish by-blows abound in lands afflicted by them and orc blood can resurface at any time. Half orcs are everywhere.

Gnomes: Natives of Hibernia. Some say they were originally halflings that have changed from dwelling in the fey realms. Gnomes are strange, weird, little monsters. Many have not seen a gnome and will mistake them for a strange halfling.

Dragonborn and Tieflings: Somewhere in your family tree was either a fiend or a dragon and you are the strange monstrous result. People will fear and hate you. Or maybe worship you, thinking favour with you equates to favour with dark and draconic powers. Only dragonborn and tieflings have darkvision of all the races.

Hobgoblin: The exotic and martial peoples of the east. Hobgoblin society is Persian in nature. While the Dwarven and Hobgoblin empires are at war there is also trade and adventurers venture into each other’s lands. A Hobgoblin in Britannia is uncommon but not as remarkable as a Dragonborn, Tiefling or even a gnome.

Hobgoblin Characters
Languages: A hobgoblin adventurer will know Hobgoblin, Dwarven and one other language.

A hobgoblin is from a very militant society. Hobgoblins tend to Lawfulness and disdain Chaos.

Attributes: +1 to Str, Dex and Con. One of these is +2.

Martial training. Choose three weapons. You may be proficient in these weapons.

Armour training: Improve your armour proficiency by one step. All hobgoblins are proficient in shields.

Martial advantage: If an ally is using the same weapon as you, you are both proficient in the weapon and you are fighting the same opponent then you may claim advantage to the arttack roll.

Suspicious of magic: All hobgoblins fear the power of Mystra. Any known mage has advantage to intimidate them. Likewise they are at disadvantage to intimidate back.

Lizardmen: In many of the swamps and fens of Brittania dwell tribes of lizardmen. Whether they are the degenerate offspring of dragonborn or some strange species of a forgotten god is unknown. Lizardmen are unfamiliar with the trappings of civilisation but do excel in surviving where others do not.

Lizardmen Characters

Lizardmen are wild, swamp dwellers and primitive by the standards of the other species. 
Attributes: +2 Str, +1 Wis.
Heavy scales. A lizardman's natural AC is 12. If wearing armour then use the AC of the armour worn.
Survivors. Lizardmen have the Survival proficiency.
Bite Attack: Lizardmen may bite when in melee either as the main attack or as a second weapon. A lizard bite counts as a finesse weapon and does 1d6 piercing damage.
Languages: Lizardmen adventurers will know Draconic and Dwarven.

Ghouls: Dwelling beneath Deva is a society of Ghouls. They are dangerous, feral creatures but lucid and capable of reason and they may not eat everyone they meet. It goes without saying that all right thinking sentient beings will slay a ghoul on sight. Even a single ghoul is a potential extinction event. 

Ghoul Characters

Attributes: -2 Wis. -1 to one other characteristic.
Undead: A ghoul cannot be slept, frightened or poisoned. Being already dead they are resistant to necrotic damage but vulnerable to radiant damage. A ghoul need not breathe. A ghoul is also resistant to healing magic and the divinity providing the healing spell may flat out refuse to heal the ghoul.
Ghoulish touch. A ghoul may strike with it's claws or bite. Claws/Bite do d6 damage and may paralyse the victim as per the monster manual.
Ghoulish feeding. A ghoul may eat carrion. A good feeding equivalent to a human forelimb is sufficient to allow a ghoul to expend it's hit dice for healing. This is the only way for aghoul to recover hp using Hit Dice.
Already dead. A ghoul does not die when reduced to 0 hp unless felled by radiant or fire damage. It will instead fall unconscious.
Create ghoul. A victim slain by a ghoul's natural weapons may rise as a ghoul the next night. If not blessed the character makes a final Wis saving throw DC 13. If failed they rise as a ghoul.
Feared by all. Ghouls are at disadvantage to any social checks except intimidation.


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Episode 10 - The Children of Bane

In which our band reveals how new adventurers are made.

Eventually the band relented to Myrdynus' desire to visit Ashrak the necromancer. However, on their way there they saw a comet falling to the earth. Since they figured it landed not far to the south they imediately changed plans and went to investigate.

Two days later near Viroconium they spied a band of strange warriors. They were heavily armed and armoured, were as tall as elves, yet built like orcs. They had strange flat faces, round ears and a coppery colour to their skin. They spoke among themselves in a strange booming tongue no-one had heard before. Upon their shields they bore the device of Bane, the self styled Lord of All and god of Tyranny. Not wishing to provoke such a dangerous the band hid and let them pass.

They soon came upon a small hamlet. Five more of the alien warriors were present. The band found a lone villager, a young low elven woman. Myrdynus charmed her with magics to make her more her agreeable so they could find out what was going on. Her name was Ana, she had been sent off by her family gathering herbs so that the alien men wouldn't bother her. She said they had appeared on the night of the great light in the sky and had announced they were the new lords and masters. Because they were well armed and the hamlet not the low elves had agreed. The creatures called themselves Hummins, or something like that. About a quarter century had appeared. Most had marched off but five had remained.

While she was still ensorcelled the band had Ana find some poisonous mushrooms to add to the hummin's food for the night. They then waited. After their meal one of the hummins fell sick and the rest gathered up the hamlet. At this point Perrin sounded a horn, other drawing the warriors off into an ambush where they were slaughtered. The band then dragged the bodies off into the nearby woods and then Scawl, using a desembling guise to appear as a hummin went to question the remaining sick warrior. The hummin revealed that they were indeed creations of Bane. Bane was now a creator god and the Humans his mighty creation to rule this world. The sick warrior wondered who would get his wives since he had clearly failed and also informed Scawl that the others were travelling north to meet a devotee of Bane. The band wondered about the wives bit briefly, since all the humans they had seen so far were male. They then decided that the others meeting Antonius would be a bad thing and set off after them. They took Ana with them, since she knew too much and paid her father ten gold for her.

Moving quickly the band caught up with the humans. At night after having Ana gather and prepare more poisonous herbs Myrdanus made Scawl invisible. Scawl then infiltrated the camp, poisoned the food and then as warriors began dropping cut ropes to tents, set things alight and causing chaos. The rest of the band attacked and over the course of that night and the next day slaughtered the invaders. Since Ana managed to acquit herself well in the resulting mayhem and wasn't a twitching puddle or dead at the end they decided she would be a useful addition to the band. Some were unconvinced but when she evidenced interest in exactly how much wealth they had acquired over the last month or so they realised she was indeed a kindred spirit.

The band then went on to Mamucium. There they found that Antonius had been busy building a temple to Bane and he and his followers were expecting some sort of sign real soon. The band said nothing to them and inquired after their pub, the Illmaten cultists and finally the Beshaban priestesses. The devotees of the Lady of Misfortune secretly thanked the band for bringing suffering so soon to Bane's children and agreed to take Ana under their wing. They soon discovered Ana had an aptitude worthy of becoming a Doomistress, a holy champion of their goddess. The band exchanged worried looks and wondered what sort of monster they had created.

Since winter was coming the band decided to settle in for the cold in Mamucium. They made contact again with Ashrak. The dead necromancer was very interested in their exploits and made many helpful suggestions to Myrdanus. He also requested that they bring him samples of the new creatures, these humans, so that he might study them...

Episode 9 - Chivalry and Sorcery

In which our heroes observe the children of Corellon and Annan.

A week later the band was on their way to Deva. Having established a pub at Mamucium, Navio and Aquae Arnemetiae they felt Deva was the next step. Besides they found Antonius scary and didn't want to be around while Caius and Galbotorix negotiated. While on the road to Deva they heard the report of a horn. Perrin immediately recognised it as an Elven war horn. Some elves were out a hunting. Not wishing to become the hunted the band sought cover and hid.

Soon an elven hunting party cam into view. First came the gnomish beaters, armed with spear and shield. Behind them came four more of the large owl beasts hooting and chirping. Then came three elves on horseback. They were dressed gaily, as if for a festival. That is if you discounted the wicked looking weapons they carried. Beside them prowled two strange creatures, great cats with black-purple fur and two tentacles from their backs. Most disturbing was the way these creatures shimmered and flickered as if not wholly of this world. They never appeared to be in the same place twice and when you blinked they would be somewhere else entirely. The party passed, one of the elves sounding the horn occasionally. Intrigued, the band followed.

Soon there was an answering horn. The elven party formed up and began moving towards it. As it was moving past a cliff face, part of the cliff detached itself and smote one of the gnomes dead with a massive club. A giant! It was then the five other giants charged out of the rocks and trees and attacked.

The first giant had the appearance of being animate white chalk. The others were deformed and hideous. Boils, warts and blemishes covered their bodies which were misshapen and not at all symmetrical. One had three arms while another two heads. The giants tore into the gnomes and owl beasts while the elves hung back and provided covering fire. The feline monsters darted here and there flickering and shimmering as they raked the giants with their claws and lashed out with their tentacles. Gnomes screamed and died as the monsters fought. The deformed giants bodies were soon covered in many small wounds and bled a number of foul colours.

With a flash and a crack one of the elves let loose a bolt of lightning which struck one of the giants, killing it. In reply the chalk giant picked up a boulder and threw it at the offending elf, felling him. The other elves picked up their companion and fled, their creatures breaking as well. The deformed giants howled in victory and chased after them. The chalk giant gave a tectonic shrug and strode off on business of it's own. The band, having watched all this decided now was the time to loot the bodies.

The dead giant was even fouler in death, releasing strange, noxious gases. Persevering, Myrdynus looted the giants bag, in which were six large runestones. He also emasculated the creature and took the parts as a trophy. Cheet and Sendin tried to calm and tame the wounded beasts but had little success. Scawl and Perrin tried tracking the giants to see where they had come from.

They discovered a fissure in the ground that looked as if it recently had been torn open by massive claws. Going inside they discovered that instead of a cave there was a large tunnel of dressed and worked stone. While foul and noxious the workmanship was excellent. They lit a torch and ventured inside. They soon found a side passage, but before they could get to it a voice cried out in passable Dwarven greeting them. It asked if they had anything to eat. Scawl asked if it liked fresh gnome and the voice said yes, it did. There was a pause as Scawl and Perrin went and procured some gnome and brought it back. They threw the bodies into the intersection and a long leathery tentacle snaked out, gathered them up and dragged them away. There was then a hideous sound of crunching and feasting. The thing then inquired if they had any elf. It had not eaten elf in a long time. It offered them a book of magic should they bring it one. Perrin fled, not wishing to become a meal while Scawl tried to negotiate down to owl beast. The thing stuck to its demands, elf or nothing. The negotiations also roused another creature who called out, it was a disgusting yet female voice which the first voice informed Scawl was 'She who breeds monsters'. Scawl ran.

Up in the open the band gathered up and wondered what to do. The first voice seemed to be friendly and so they decided to go down and talk with it again. They dragged along the body of an owl beast as an offering. The voice was disappointed that there was no elf but appeared mollified. It came out to gather the much larger meal. It was a massive monstrous form, much larger than a bear with three stumpy legs and  three large, horned tentacles. One of the tentacles sported eyes and the body was bisected by a massive, toothy maw. Most of the band were frightened but stood there ground, greed overcoming fear until 'She who breeds monsters' called out again informing everyone that if no-one brought her elf she would gobble them back up. At this, the band fled.

The band then set to tracking the giants although track is probably too strong a word for following the trail of destruction their passage left. Eventually they heard the giants coming back the other way. Each of the monsters was covered in arrows and bleeding but still active. Scawl approached them and informed them of She who breeds monsters demands. The giants set to arguing among themselves about what to do. Despite Scawl's promptings they found the elves painful and did not want to go back. Eventually they decided to set out on their own. They asked where they could find some halflings and Scawl told them. The giants then dug the halflings out of their holes and then devoured them. In return they told Scawl where the chalk giant lived. White Peak. The band quickly set off, not wanting to become the next meal.

The trip to White Peak took two days and another half a day to the summit to speak with the giant. It maintained a lonely vigil over the surrounding countryside and smushed intruders. It was worried about the Watchers and suggested that Wall, a giant that had cooperated with the dwarves to form the Wall keeping the Orcs at bay may know more. It also suggested conferring with the remaining giant priests. They lived far to the south at the White Mountains, the resting place of Annan.

Episode 8 - Mining for slaves.

In which our heroes deal with an alien slaver.

The band set about consolidating their gains. While they thought Caius should bear the burden of having kingship thrust upon him they figured what they really needed was a good place to sleep wherever they went in the new kingdom. Some want fame, some want riches, others want hot and cold running courtesans. What they band desired most was a chain of pubs.

There was some argument as what to do with Aquae Arnemetiae. Cheet wanted to tear down the baths, form an alliance between the dog-people, local fey and the giant multi-headed serpent towards druidism and the old ways. The others wanted some stones still standing upon another. They were really set on the public house which was fairly large for a small community since it used to serve the tourist trade. Cheet eventually relented agreeing that bringing in tourists and pilgrims would aid in supplanting the worship of Abbathor.

The next morning brought a small snag in the entire chain of pubs plan. The local dog-man who was an actual brewer had been abducted! A thing had crept into the village, come in through a window and abducted him. The band set off in pursuit, only slightly worried by the fact that while they could follow the drag marks of the brewer the abductor seemed to have no feet. Myrdynus informed everyone it was probably a flying, lightning powered brain / tentacle beast he had seen in a book. Undeterred they pressed on.

The trail led to a section of forest that was dying. Fungi, molds and other noisome things had taken over the once lush forest. Moving through the dank mass they reached an old mine complex. Inside they discovered a large mushroom, taller than a dwarf but just as round. As they approached a mass of hyphae opened and squirmed followed by a second mass close by. The thing had eyes!

The band responded prudently and with fire and cold magics to the monstrosity and it was soon ablaze. They ventured further in and discovered a vertical shaft. Sending Scawl down he discoved the shaft was soon blocked by a mass of flesh. Further progress was possible through some sort of sphincter to which Scawl thought 'No fucking way!' The band retreated from the mine and started looking for another way in.

Outside in the fungus forest Cheet attempted to find the local fey. A blackened almost dead dryad responded, painfully crawling out of a mass of growths. She informed them that the attack had started last season and was centered on the mine. Fortunately she did know of a another way in. A stream from a broached aquifer had made an opening. The band ventured inside, crawling and squirming through the narrow gaps in the rock. It eventually opened out to a large cavern filled with tailings and covered in fungi. There were four large animate fungi around a fire. Nearby were six humanoids which had been transformed by fungi and could be described as fungus men. As the band watched another creature emerged from another tunnel.

The newcomer was a horrific fusion of cephalapod and humanoid. It had a massive ovoid head and two bulging, unblinking eyes. It's purple skin was oily and four snakelike tentacles writhed and squirmed around a lipless, quivering mouth. It wore a semblance of clothes, mainly belts and pouches to hold it's bizarre and eldritch possessions. The creature made no sound, but the fungus men lined up behind it and began to follow the creature. It was at this point that the band attacked.

The battle was quick and brutal. The monster had a mental scream that would reduce any regular mortal to an insensate heap but they prevailed against that and the thing's surprisingly strong tentacles. Soon, it was captured and after a quick charm from Sendin surprisingly talkative, if mental telepathy is talking. It was not a Watcher, but knew of them and regarded them as distant cousins or honoured ancestors, possibly both. It was an inter-dimensional traveler and miner. What it was mining was the head of a dead god floating in the space between worlds. It had come to the world to aquire miners and had allied with the fungus creatures to transform the inhabitants into slaves more able to withstand the horrors of no-space in general and the dead head in particular. It made all sorts of promises and offers, but in reality was biding it's time. Once it had enough strength it vanished, moving from one level of reality to another.

The band then ransacked the creatures local base of operations, found the brewer and left, setting the entire thing to the flame. Once outside they also made arrangements to repair the damage done by the fungus and restore the forest.

Episode 7: Earth and Water

(Last session saw Heskin depart to search in the north for Torm's axe. He was replaced by Myrdynus, a low elven wizard with an unhealthy fascination for the darker arts.)

On reaching Navio, Senden scouted ahead keeping to the tree line for cover. As he approached the fort he noticed several creatures also observing the fort. They had the appearance of wolves but walked like men and carried spears and great war bows, bigger than he had ever seen.They conversed in the language of wolves but Sendin knew a charm to translate their barks, growls and yips. The creatures were intent on the fort as well though they quickly became distracted by the scent of halfling. Thinking they had discovered him Sendin returned to the war-band.

Conferring with the rest of the band they decided to see if there were more of the beast-men. Going as a group they discovered a large band of the creatures just lounging about. With them were three large misshapen dwarves. Ogres! Transformed by some foul sorcery they were little more than brutes, dangerous in battle but not the best conversationalists. The monsters had made no attempt at a camp but were merely resting while they stopped. Having learned of this new threat the band retreated and discussed strategy. Scawl recommended the well heeled orcish tactic of waiting for the others to attack first and then doing for them in the rear. It went a long way towards explaining how the orcs seldom made any progress in their chronic warfare against elf and dwarf.

The monsters made their move at dusk. The band were briefly surprised by a second group of monsters approaching the fort as well. They were even more surprised when a lone figure walked ahead of the second  band and caused the gates to explode in a ball of fire. At this point the monsters attacked, the Ogres rushing to batter down the gates and the beast-men following. Caius then attacked with his men, coming to the relief of the fort they had planned to attack. While his force was more disciplined the savagery and raw power of the monsters was easily a match. The band decided killing the enemy magic user and his guard the best course of action.

Moving round the battle under cover of Cheet's magics the band managed to get in position. The wizard was guarded by several beast-men and an ogre as he cackled and tormented foes with sorcerous fire. As the band closed the wizard uttered a dreadful curse that bewitched and confused Scawl and Myrdynus, Fortunately the spell must of caught the beast-men as well as they attacked each other as much as their enemies.  Still, it would of gone poorly for the band had Sendin not charmed the Ogre and the wizard. With them out of the picture it was an easy matter for Cheet and Perrin to kill the beast-men.

Upon interrogating the charmed wizard they learned he was a renegade druid who had sold his soul to Asmoday, a fiend of the Hells, in exchange for power to slay every last dwarf. The beast-men were his fellow countrymen, transformed by sorcery and the Ogres the wretched remains of their former lords and masters. The band were sufficiantly horrified by his crimes and killed him on the spot. They then took his things. Of particular note was a dagger made of some unearthly metal and what appeared to be a spellbook.

Meanwhile the battle proper was almost over. With the wizard dead any semblance of order in the monsters collapsed and they routed. While the fort had been overrun clearing it of monsters was merely a formality and the band brought managed to acquire the forts pay chest in the looting. Still, there was plenty of booty for everyone.

While the war-band secured the area and rallied the defenders the band wondered what to do next. The wizard had come from Aquae Arnemetiae, a village and baths built on sacred springs with many healing powers. It was the corruption of the pools that had led to the transformation of the villagers.
The band and Caius set off to relieve the village and hopefully remove the curse.

A day later saw them on the outskirts of the village. The remaining villagers were in varying states of transformation into beast-men. The villagers were also acting like beasts. From the pools and the baths came a pulsating greenish light. While the band wondered what to do about the hundred or so beast men in the village Cheet went and contacted a nature spirit. The spirit informed Cheet that an accursed stone had been placed in one of the underground springs. A serpent guarded it and it's multiple heads ensured that it was always wakeful. She gave Cheet a dagger that would grant gills to anyone cut by it.

So the band ventured into the cavern of the spring. Sendin and Myrdynus charmed and lulled the two watchful heads so Scawl could steal the stone. Once removed they destroyed it. While the waters reverted back to their blessed state the people remained changed as beast-men though their senses returned. While thankful they were still in shock over their changed natures.

Episode 6 - The Past and Future Kings

In which our our band meet people and consider who shall rule the island.

Having secured Deva from the undead menace the band organised that the governor hold a feast for the survivors. The governor agreed on the basis that not being lynched was a good thing but did twitch at the sight of people eating him out of house and home. Leaving the town in good spirits the band took off with some of the finest and headed to the armed camp outside.

They arrived and talked with the camps leader, Caius. The low elf renegade had assembled several warbands with the express purpose of liberating Deva from the undead menace and the added attraction of looting the temple of Abbathor. He was relieved to hear that the threat had been dealt with and was only mildly worried about explaining going home empty handed to the chiefs who had joined him. Caius was also a follower of Torm the Just (and a bit stupid) having learned of the god and being impressed by the need for fairness, justice and an obligation to protect the weak and not merely exploit them. The band thought this also good and plotted to increase Caius' reputation and standing. Their thinking was that orderly rule was a deterrence to the Watchers. If the land was under unified rule, just not that of the grasping dwarves then they could be kept at bay. Some gold was found to keep the other chiefs along and the band decided the first target would be the silver mines to the east and the fort that guarded them. To aid Caius, Heskin chose to stay with him as champion or possibly to take the role of ruler himself. The rest of the band was mildly horrified at the idea of the uncompromising attitude of their companion being thrust upon the land and suggested Caius as a better candidate.

Returning to Deva  they then planed to visit the undead court beneath Deva. They managed to gain an audience with King Brettanus an ancient ruler of that part of Brittania. Some strange transformation had occurred when he died, leaving him undead. Over the millennia he had fashioned a small underground kingdom and had acquired undead followers until his court numbered some four score individuals. While the furnishings had clearly seen better centuries it was recognisable as a king's court.The band offered news of the world of the living which was eagerly accepted. One thing the dead lacked was new stories and tales. They also traded various knowledge as the ghouls had bards, druids and wizards of their own and were happy to share their necromantic arts. Scawl went acquired some new clothes for the king and his concubines which further helped cement relations.

Also of great interest was that the ghouls could hear the Watcher's tunneling and that they did not disturb their underground realm. Seldin guessed this was because Brettanus had created a zone of order which was repulsive to the watchers. The band considered aiding Bretannus in extending his dark realm but Scawl, the conscience of them all said 'no, that would be bad' and they mostly agreed.

Since creating a dark kingdom was off the menu the band returned a few days later with a deeper appreciation of Necromancy and set off to aid Caius and his troops. A few days more travel saw them to the fort they planned to take...

Interlude 2 - These are the people in your neighbourhood.

First off a word from one of the players.

Fabio here and my character is Cheet the Hobgoblin druid.

D&D is like my 1st love. It was the system that hoked me into RPG. I remember scouring through shops back in Italy in search of the "Red Box" then the "Blue Box", until I collected all four. My brother still has those back at home.

I then spend 20 years of my life dedicated to my carrier in hospitality, and stopped playing.
Once I finally got a 9-5 job in education I started searching for RPG players and discover The Dragon Quest group in Auckland. I have been playing with them for the last 2 years.

I always wanted to get back and play D&D and when William suggested to run a game with the 5th edition I jumped at the chance.
Picking it up was like riding a bike. You just need to remember some of the basics and then you are away.
The character generation was quick and easy to pick up. I rolled dice for the stats, however for the druid I follow the quick creations ideas, as well as rolling for the background. I thought it may be more interesting/challenging and fun to play something that I left to chance.

Some of the mechanics of the game are pretty much the same, however I do not remember if the 1st edition had the rolling for initiative wick I like a lot. I also like the advantage/disadvantage mechanics, however the choosing of the spells for my druid can be a little daunting. Having spell card or a good spell apps on the phone definitely helps.

Over all I enjoyed the original system and I do enjoy this new system. I personally found that some of the rules may be a bit scattered in the book but definitely easy to pick up.

High Fives all around for me on this one.

And now all those divinities you've been reading about and have been bedeviling the PCs.

The major gods of the Brittania campaign. The entire pantheon is a revised and trimmed down version of the Faerun (Forgotten Realms) mob. Why reinvent the wheel if you don't have to? But they are trimmed down. Often settings can have too many divinities which typically overwhelms players. The other reason is that the purgation of the 'good' divinities makes for a darker universe.
With the exception of Torm, Ilmater and Yondalla the other powers are neutral at best and most are, well they are the bad boys and girls of the Faerun pantheon.

Creator Gods

All these gods have created and shaped a people, a species in their image.

Abbathor: The God of the dwarves. King of Heaven. Abbathor is a god of civilisation and all that implies. He is a god of industry, order, laws, cities and commerce. However he is also concerned with tyranny, conquest, ambition and slavery. All dwarven settlements and cities will have an opulent temple dedicated to this deity. Abbathor is a dictatorial ruler of the heavens and all other gods must bring him tribute. Prefered sacrifice, gold and precious gems given to a high priest.

Maglubiyet: The God of the Goblins. Chief enemy of Abbathor, Magubliet is creator of the High Goblins (hobgoblins). He is the god of steel, the secret of which was wrested from him by the Dwarven heroine Mayani. Nevertheless hobgoblin steel is the best in the world. Magubliet also embodies tactics, order and security. The mighty ones temples are rare in Britannia but the debased goblin race erect idols to him in caves. To best secure his favour sacrifice a shaved dwarf.

Corellon: The God of the Elves. Lord of Forests, the wild and the hunt. Corellon makes each High Elf personally. Each High Elf is a special unique creation and may be male, female, neuter or hermaphrodite as pleases this lord of the fey. His place of power is Hibernia and it is where he resides and has dominion over. Sacrifice: A mighty kill with the bow. He is also patron of the gnomes.

Gruumsh: The God of the Orcs. God of savagery, of battle, rage and spoils. Gruumsh is Corellon’s brother and created the Orcs to oppose and slaughter his brother’s children. It is said in the early ages that these two deities fought. That is where Gruumsh lost his eye and the remains of his sanity to his brother. Sacrifice, a high elf.

Yondalla: The Goddess of the Halflings. Goddess of agriculture, the hearth and protection. Yondalla is an older goddess and her people have been largely supplanted by the larger more vigorous races. She is the conquered and enslaved concubine of Abbathor. Her worship is tolerated and allowed in the lands of the dwarves. Dwarves never forget to remind halflings of this divine oppression. The first portion of the harvest is her preferred sacrifice.

Annan: The god of the giants, the first peoples. God of Order: Annan’s peoples are the giants, created along with the world to play out the conflict with his rival Tiamat. Although Tiamat was caged by Annan in the Abyss her master of assassins later poisoned Annan and he now lies buried beneath the earth as near to death as a primal force of creation may be. His stirrings are responsible for earthquakes and volcanoes. Without their god, the giant civilisation collapsed and they are but a degenerate shadow of their former selves.

Tiamat: Goddess of Chaos: Her peoples are the dragons. Created like the giants, to play out the cosmic conflict between order and chaos. Eventually, Annan and the giants were victorious, slaying most of the dragons and chaining Tiamat at the very bottom of what is now known as the Abyss. It is her screams and cries that gave form to the demons. Her blood, when it fell on the earth gave rise to many of the monsters and it is said that these first monsters are immortal.

Lesser Deities

These divinities often represent an aspect or set of aspects. An A, G or E indicates their allegiance to Abbathor, Magubliet or Corellon respectively. Such deities typically appear as a member of that species. The unaligned may choose as needed.

Auril (A): The Frostmaiden. Goddess of ice, snow and winter. She acts as Abbathor’s enforcer. The further north you go the more temples to her will you find. Burn things, valuable things to get through winter.

Azuth (A): God of wizardry and arcane knowledge. The toady god. He serves as Abbathor’s wizard, advisor and grand vizier. If you wish success in scholarly pursuits or desire lost knowledge then pray to Azuth.

Bane: The Lord of All. A very presumptuous title for a relatively young deity. It is said this god of war, conquest and tyranny has been hard at work on some secret project which nears completion. Worship of Bane is confined to warlords and petty kings. It is banned in the civilised lands of Dwarf, Low Elf and Hobgoblin.

Beshaba: Lady of Fortune: A fickle and capricious goddess, she is more the goddess of misfortune, calamity and also revenge. If you have been scorned seek her out. Beshaba graces/bedevils all three divine courts. She has been mistress to many to their subsequent misfortune. Her servants are those beautiful, wonderful and terrific beings, the succubi.

Bhaal (M): God of blood, death and murder. Revered by assassins and executioners Bhaal is the god to go to when you want someone dead. He is overlord of all assassins and their organisations. His shadow cultists are both reviled and sought out in equal measure.

Cyric (M): God of Lies. Advisor to Maglubiyet and god of cunning, trickery, intrigue and deception. This god says he has no temples or organised priesthood as he needs none. Every lie and deception is considered a prayer to him.

Gond (A). God of Craftsmen: The god of industry, smithing, mining and hard work. All who work with great skill should honour this diety. His temples are common and many workplaces will have a small statue or shrine so that the master craftsman may supervise the work. To earn his favour one should sacrifice something of great value that you have made yourself. Worship of Gond is popular among city folk.

Ilmater: The broken god. God of mercy, endurance and the ending of suffering. Also known as the foolish god, Ilmater is looked down upon by most other deities and his worship scorned by right thinking peoples. Ilmater cults are however tenacious and popular among those who suffer at the hands of the mighty. Ilmater works to bring about a better world where suffering is eased for all. This is a thankless and impossible task. His only ally is the equally scorned Torm.

Loviatar (A): Goddess of pain. misery and hope. Abbathor’s torturer. Loviatar is tasked with punishing those who strayed from the path. The unworthy are corrected in her halls of pain as are rebels, malcontents and other enemies. It goes without saying that Ilmater and Lovitar are most mortal enemies.

Malar (E) : God of the Wild Hunt. Corellon’s huntsman and leader of the Wild Hunt. The Wild Hunt is a great elven frenzy of riding out to hunt, pursue and run down all they may find. His province is also that of all predatory monsters. A small sacrifice to Malar and you may be granted success in capturing, taming or allying yourself with some terrible beast.

Mask: God of thieves. Like her brother Bhaal, Mask is the capo de capo of all thieves, brigands, pirates and robbers. Your gang, your crew, your guild may have a mortal leader but she is the over-boss and due her rightful ten percent.

Myrkyl: God of Death and the Undead. All worship Myrkyl in the end. Die and you find yourself in his cold halls. If not claimed then Myrkyl will take you and use you to build his Wall of the Faithless where your eternal screams will please him. Myrkyl is also Lord of Undeath. All Undead are said to be his servants and act to hasten your journey to his halls.

Mystra (M): Goddess of Magic. This goddess is magic, she is in the ebb and weave and flow of magic about the world. She cares little how it is used only that it is. She patronises Maglubiyet since Abbathor’s mortal followers would constrain, dominate and control her. She hates wizards especially. Any sorcerer seeking additional power would do well to sacrifice a wizard to her.

Savras (M) Should a Hobgoblin have need of knowledge, be it mundane or mystical he would do well to attend to The Mighty One’s chief seer. With the right sacrifice Savras can see and reveal all. He does well in Magubliet’s court and his mortal followers are respected and honoured in Hobgoblin society. The servant of Mystra.

Sune (A) Goddess of love and beauty. Goddess also of the moon Sune is revered by all who wish to be well regarded and loved for their magnificence. She cares little but for the adoration both mortals and divines shower upon her. She is also the patron of poets, inspiration and artists.

Talos (A): The storm god. A god of storms, battle and unbridled chaos. Talos has temples so that weather is kept fair and good. He is particuarly revered at ports and one should always sacrifice to Talos before setting sail. His gift to his mortal followers is thunderbolt iron, metal from the skies that may be fashioned into weapons even mightier than Magubliet’s.

Tempus: The berserker god. Talos’s crazier and wilder brother. He is on good terms with Gruumsh and many orcs pray to him before battle. Tempus has fought with all gods on all sides for he cares not who or why he fights only that there is fighting. Tempus and Talos often compete for Bershaba’s favours. No succubi will slay a follower of either god although they may well be enslaved.

Torm: The good god. The idiot’s god. Torm exemplifies righteous and just rule. He is thus scorned and his worship outlawed. An ally of Ilmater, both gods would desire the current regime in the divine and mortal realms changed for the better. If Torm has one failing, it is that he is besotted by Sune. And that goddess likes things as they are. Often she has foiled Torm’s plans with promises of earning her favour.

Umberlee; Goddess of the ocean and the depths. A strange and fey goddess. Rumoured to be an ascended dragon, Umberlee commands all of monsters of the deep. Venture into or across her realm at your peril, for she commands many strange things that lie beneath the waves.

This is not a nice, nor happy set of gods. They exhibit ‘every madness and vice’. This is intentional. All too often in fantasy it is hard to see why anyone would be bad. Good is too powerful. Being good is demonstrably rewarded and obviously the better choice. Here the powers of good are rare, outlawed or enslaved by the dominant evil powers. And those dark powers reward those who enforce the status quo. Being good may be a challenge, but no one said a hero’s life was easy.

Episode 5 - This is the (undead) apocalypse.

(In which our self serving murderhobos save the entire town)

Looking down from the water tower the band surveyed Deva. It was mostly deserted with small bands of shuffling shambling figures here and there. The quiet was punctuated by the occasional scream as the ghouls found a survivor and relieved them of that status. They noticed that most activity centered around the arena and main temple of Abbathor which still had it's main doors open. Scawl reminded them that their main priority was to recover Sala the alchemist and set off to reconnoiter her dwelling.

Inside the alchemist's house and store he found the place had been cleared and the occupant departed. It was clear she had not been forcibly dragged off like so many of the other citizens. As he was sneaking back the rest of the band saw four ghouls carrying off three paralysed dwarves to an uncertain fate. Heskin and Cheet promptly descended and charged while Senden and Perren provided covering fire.

There was a brief moment of total confusion as Cheet turned into a large tentacled horror. While ungainly it was fearsome as it quickly wrestled two of the ghouls into submission and then ate the head of one. Heskin dispatched the other two with help from the others. Senden wisely masked the sounds with his magic. While it kept other ghouls from hearing it made the battle just that more surreal. Scawl returned near the end but put the entire sight down to accidentally inhaling something at the alchemist's.

The band rescued the victims and another holdout in a nearby house and wondered what to do. They decided to check out the temple. The victims mentioned they had seen some strangers in black robes come for Sala and take her and her alchemical apparatus away. They identified them as followers of Myrkul, god of death and the undead. They had hid when they had come because  the cultists of the death god are not to be trifled with unless you have an army (or two).

The band crept along the wall to where they could look into the temple. Inside they could see a large pile of bodies. Senden saw one of the bodies twitch and realised the victims were alive and paralysed by the fearsome touch of the ghouls. They saw several ghouls and black robed figures moving within. While deciding on a course of action two of the cultists left and started for the arena across town. Seeing their chance the band followed and waylaid them, killing one and taking the other prisoner.

Senden used his magics to charm their captive, Caleyn. The magic made him very cooperative and he saw the band as potential recruits to the cult of Myrkul and his person plan to kill Vargas, the leader of the cult and to then take his place. They learned that Vargas was planning a mass sacrifice in three nights time and that the cultists of Ilmater would be crown piece of the pyramid of bodies. Caleyn and the other cultist had been sent to gather the cultists from their holding cells in the arena. While the Cult of Myrkul had not been responsible for the unleashing of the ghouls they had taken it as an unholy sign and were taking full advantage of the death and misery about them.

The band then hatched a cunning plan. They would disguise Scawl as a follower of Myrkul, retrieve the cultists of Ilmater and disguise the rest of themselves as them. They would then walk into the temple and ambush Vargas and his minions. It was a sound plan compounded only by the fact that no-one really knew anything about Ilmater and his followers. Would they be cooperative?

It turned out that the cultists followed a goodly deity of endurance and healing. The band absorbed this oddity with aplomb and asked if they could help. Their leader, a halfling named Korras said he could bring great pain upon those who had caused it. The band thought this a useful ability. They then enacted their plan and ambushed and slew the followers of Myrkul and released Sala and the other captives. They also looted the temple, tricked the still charmed Cleyn into gathering the ghouls into a large building and burning them all, and organised a reward from the governor.

During all this the band had spied a large dust cloud in the west. Sala prepared a potion that allowed one's spirit to venture forth from your body for a time and Senden drank it and went to investigate. The cloud was caused by a warband of about three centuries of warriors marching on the town. Investigating the leader proudly wore the same symbol as Heskin, that of Torm, the god of truth, justice and idiots. The warriors were planning a raid on Deva but since the spirit could only see, not hear Senden could not discern their purpose beyond a forcible withdrawal fro the temple of Abbathor.

Heading back he also investigated beneath the arena and discovered an underground complex and colony of ghouls, complete with chief and mistresses. A little wierded out, he returned and informed his comrades.

Episode 4 - Tomb Raider redux

(In which our heroes engage in a little tomb robbing.)

The band continued towards Deva. The next day saw a massive pall of smoke over the city. It seemed a large section was on fire. They therefore decided to skirt the city and proceed directly to the location of the barrow. Another day's trek up the peninsula saw them to their destination. The barrow was a large artificial hill overlooking the Hibernian sea. It was quite a pleasant, if chilly place so long as you ignored the propect of undead terrors within. The band camped for the night and tried to recall any details about wights besides 'undead' and 'nasty'.

Opening the tomb door revealed a steeply descending dressed stone tunnel. Upon the walls was a bas relief of the exploits of three heroic warriors and their less heroic minions battling be-tentacled horrors that were shown emerging from the earth. The warriors fought with sword and axe and spear, the spear wielder being the most heroic. The band recognised some of the horrors depicted having seen them at the village that was abducted.

A short way in there was a small antechamber to one side with six skeletons in patchwork armour and ancient weapons standing within small alcoves in a macabre parody of a parade rest. Examination revealed them to be simply dead and no danger. They proceeded down carefully to the first burial chamber.

The chamber was a largish opening with 12 simple graves. More disturbing were the four bodies of the squamous humanoids known to be followers of the Watchers. They appeared totally grey, as if the colour had been entirely leached from them. Heskin cut off their heads 'just in case' which released the contents, maggots and rotting stench within. The creatures had been armed with clubs and had also brought shovels and other digging tools. They had been in the process of digging up one of the graves when they had been attacked. After the rest of the band complained about the smell Heskin dragged the creatures bodies into the dug up grave.

That disturbed something. The temperature abruptly dropped and a blue glow could be seen down the tunnel leading further into the barrow. Soon they could hear a shuffling and a clink of armour. The sound briefly stopped then restarted and the band was confronted by a skeletal warrior. It still wore an ancient but intact suit of mail and carried a equally well maintained blade. It's eyes were the source of the light.

Heskin presented the holy symbol of Torm and drove the thing back. They briefly chased it but were checked by a large hole almost twenty feet across going a very long way down. It seemed that they were not the only tomb robbers. The undead was not stopped by the pit and they could hear sounds of movement of something climbing up. Scawl dropped a flaming torch down the pit. Soon all that could be seen was the torches glow. But they were rewarded by a yelp of surprise, a scream and a splat.

Heskin advised they should hurry as the monster would soon return. Seeing no safe way over they made for the exit. However it was blocked. Something had animated the skeletal guards and they advanced on the band with a thicket of spears. Trapped between the undead monster and it's minions they charged. Much fighting ensued. Heskin was felled by the creatures icy blade at which point Cheet transformed into a large bear. While it is probably best not to speak of his fighting skills as a humanoid his prowess as an animal was unmatched. With Scawl's help the undead monsters were soon piles of bones.

The band decided to wisely retreat after reviving Heskin. Outside they considered their options. They hit upon cutting down a large tall tree to bridge the gap. Thus prepared they ventured back into the tomb. Crossed the gap and made their way to the next burial chamber.

This chamber housed two sarcophagi with representations of those who were within. One was open while the other remained closed. Gathering some courage they pulled at the lid ready for an attack but nothing came of it. Either the magic had faded or the corpse's spirit had better things to do than to guard it's remains. There was some relieved looting and they would of left had Cheet not pointed out that the murals depicted three warriors, not two. They searched and found access to the final chamber. Inside were the treasures of these pre dwarven lords and the tomb's guardian. It assailed them with horrific creams and it's spear but the band quickly prevailed. They then set about looting the treasures within.

That night as they camped the band noticed a large bonfire outside Deva. In the morning it was revealed to be a ramshackle camp made by survivors of an outbreak of ghouls. The Arena of Deva had an attraction of two insect monsters set to devour some Ilmater cultists. The insects instead burrowed into the arenas floor and escaped. Beneath the arena was a nest of ghouls which the monster's burrows gave access to the surface. Seven days later the city was overrun by undead.

The band inquired at the still secure port of the fates of Syriax and Sala. Syriax had made it to the port with the use of the weapons he had crafted and was understandably reluctant to part with them. No one knew of what had happened to Sala the alchemist. The band also learned that the Governor's palace still held and by offering to rescue those within gained  their new weapons and the cooperation of the port. With some help they infiltrated Deva's water tower by way of the aqueduct and surveyed the desolation within...

Interlude 1

(In which the GM reflects on the game so far since he's on holiday.)

So far so good. Five is an an easy system. Well, it's easy compared to SPI's Dragonquest which is what we lunatics have played for the last few decades. For those unfamiliar with it, Dragonquest is Runequest's crazier, LOTR obsessed cousin. It's an old school charts and tables, resource management game with a definite Tolkien vibe but not the rights which went to Iron Crown Enterprises. So maybe Dragonquest is Rolemaster's slightly saner cousin who only read LOTR but not the Silmarillion. In any event, D&D 5 is a much simpler game by comparison.

The players dove into the character generation and unanimously chose 'let's roll dice', Stats were quickly assigned and juggled a bit as classes / races were chosen. Backgrounds caused some confusion coming after classes. Perhaps it should run stats, race, background, class. Bonds. ideals and flaws were for the most part rolled. Old school gamers have few problems with shaking the box and playing with whatever gets taken out.

Character generation from start to finish took one hour. Three of those players were completely new to Five. New game, new character sheet and ten minutes to find enough d6s for everyone. That's fast.
D&D was faster. As was Paranoia. 'Here are your character sheets', 'Hey, why are all our names Hydrodynamic Processor Part B?', 'Hmm, questioning the system, put a '2' at the end of your character's name'. But most games take longer, typically an entire session. The band got on with encountering a zombie, a lich, several lizardmen and then several more.

That's not a typo. First level characters met Ashrak the lich. An 18-20 level wizard specialising in necromancy. He's far to busy in his research to be bothered doing, well anything and if the band could see their way to recovering bits of lore he wants to examine he'll reward them. A lich is an excellent patron, they're totally amoral and if they're left alone with their books and tomes they make fairly good neighbours. Ashrak is going to be asking for all sorts of crazy things until he crosses some imagined line and then it will be on. But for the moment he's too much a massive source of lore, exposition and rewards for the band to even think of attacking.

Session one saw the first planned encounter, 'bandits'. Well actually they met the bandits in the first session as a source of potential employment but were far more intrigued by the necromancer. They also encountered some devotees of Bethshaba and yes, I'm probably spelling that different each time. Well they hid from them, but that's an encounter all the same. But the weekly theme was bandits.

It's also very easy to set up an encounter. I've seen a few criticisms of Five that monsters are mostly just bags of hp and damage. I see that as a good thing. People talk of 'stat blocks' but all you need for Five is the 'stat line'. Name, AC, to hit, damage dice and the rest of the line is for hp. All the other blather is in the Monster Manual. I'm loving that aspect. The players also enjoy it. Armour values and damage mitigation may be 'more realistic' or 'gritty' but the hit point system has a simple brutality all of it's own. Especially when HP in Five are equivalent to half that number in AD&D. The players enjoyed the brutal battle and it's even more brutal aftermath. Then they went back to their home town to meet the local warlord and his Darth Vader expy sidekick. Galbatorix is all about safeguarding civilisation, even if it is with an iron fist.

And it's gone on in that vein. The band meets hideous monsters and often tries talking since combat is so brutal. They've learned that monsters will connect easily and hit hard. But so can they. They've learned of the underlying cosmic crisis and some steps they can take to remedy that. They've met some interesting and colourful NPCs and time will tell if they ever fight either Ashrak, Caius or Galbatorix. Those immortal watchers sound nasty. Mabye they'll need these lesser evils...