This post continues the series of brief play reports I have been posting on Discord. This does not cover every single session (sometimes, recon and setup is what happens), but it covers our ongoing games.
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| Infiltrating the Arct |
22/03/2025 FOMALHAUT
News from ULTRAREALITY!
After reconnaissance, the company embarked on its raid against the Doorless
Arct at sundown. Approaching the towering complex from the unguarded east, Murat
the Etunian scaled its walls and snuck across the rooftops, finding it
inhabited by groups of lizard-apes, while other sections were empty but exposed
from guards below. On the highest portion to the SE, he peered down a skylight
into galleries below, with wandering witchlights and strange pulsing light
blobs. On the lowest floor, perched on an enormous pile of treasure, perched The
Resplendent Sky Lord, a vulture demon, one of the New Gods! Quietly, he
lowered ropes for others to climb, but this alerted the lizard-apes, leading to
a battle in the rooftop gardens, and the discovery of a crossbow of speed.
They now moved quickly downstairs into the building, Murat taking point in
stealth. To the north, another great gallery opened, from which came many
noises. Murat snuck forward, looking down at an orgy of several cannibals in a
despoiled interior garden. Just as he reported back, something came down
the stairs from the roofs: a terrible snake-bodied woman with several arms – The
Lady of Swords, who had heard the combat and decided to investigate! It
immediately gated in another vulture demon, but was very fortunately
dispatched with a very, very lucky laser shot and an acid bomb (1/2
damage, but juuust enough).
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| The Battle for the Arct |
The demons
slain, the orgiastic primitives had heard the fighting, and rushed up to the
middle level in great numbers, while their women ran for reinforcements. The
company advanced, taking positions on the balconies, and engaging first in
ranged combat, then furious melee with Chief Yog-Yok, his powerful
headmen, and a horde of cannibals. A fireball hurled from the gallery
wiped out the reinforcements on the lower floor, but now more foes were
arriving from another direction, and the Sky Lord also swept in from
behind. A third direction, however, was blocked by the cloud of the acid bomb,
and the foes from that direction were thwarted. Yog-Yok was slain in combat
along with his men, and just as a group of bloodthirsty pirates came in along with
three demonurgists, a lightning bolt from Bocephus sealed their fate.
Someone unseen cast a powerful spell, creating a forest of razor-sharp crystal
spikes, but could only envelop the front ranks of the party. The vulture demon
was finally sent back to its Underworld, and the mysterious spellcaster was
heard teleporting away. The intruders had won a decisive strike: their foes
dead or scattered, and them the masters of this area of the Arct without
casualties! Yet their resources were also low, and the third of the New Gods, The
Indomitable Pillar, was still there somewhere, as were other dangers of the
massive dimension-shifted palace...
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| The Prisoner of the Tower |
24/03/2025 THISIUM
News from the doomed city of Thisium! After inquiring in town about a mysterious leprosarium connected to a map to the treasures of Giacinthe Albiate, a coastal noblewoman, a group of adventurers sailed out on board the Comely Lass. They sailed through the Isles of the Barking Moon, until they found their target, a mountainous island. On its southern side stood a keep and a watchtower, but they sailed to its eastern coast to find a secret trail, which climbed up to the oak forests of the plateaus. A cave along the trail was inhabited by Giganto, a giant, and his pet bear, Ursus. Giganto, who called himself the groundskeeper, was very unfriendly, so they retreated a bit to hatch a scheme. Pharcellus of Three walked back to the cave under an autoalteration spell, turned into an old leper, while also putting on a plague doctor mask they bought back in Thisium. He warned Giganto that the “poachers” were still in the woods, and the indignant giant immediately departed to seek them out. His cave only held common items, so they followed the trail to the mountains, where they found a hidden vale with a windowless tower in a nice garden. The entrance trap defeated, they entered, finding it inhabited by one Eriberto Barella, an old nobleman imprisoned by the rapacious Giacinthe after she had tired of him and took a new lover. They plundered the tower's treasures, and headed back to their ship on a different mountain route, avoiding Giganto.
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| The Aptly Named Isle of Horrors Lives Up to its Reputation |
The next day, they made for the large isle to their east, dominated by an active volcano and barren, rubble-strewn mountain slopes. There was a ruined little town here, but they circumnavigated the isle, finding a pleasant bay of corals and giant sharks, then another one with a ring of woods, and a long-sunken merchant ship overgrown with vegetation. Getting a bad feeling, they retreated and sailed on, to the NW bay. Cracked old stairs led up to a plateau, flanked with broken old columns, and this seemed interesting. They climbed, arriving at the foot of the volcano at a weird monument, a split altar, statues of conch-shell-headed, trident-wearing slender beings on pillars, and enormous stone amphorae – all very ancient and in bad shape. The amphoras held a large amount of molten gold, but just as they were about to loot it, they were ambushed by 4 giant horned chameleons. Demodocus the bowman, Parvulus the Halfling Thief, Otho the lantern-bearer and Dúngal the heavy footman were alternatively gored to death by the powerful beasts, or ripped to shreds in short order. Barely able to hit the beasts, the survivors ran, Anaxagoras Balonius and Ikaros the light footman (who went down in a heroic last stand) covering the others' escape. Shaken, they returned to the ship, and departing The Isle of Horrorssailed back to Thisium. Here, Fortunata the heavy footwoman retired from the company. However, Eriberto Barella decided to join up to seek adventures, and Placidus the valet (1 Hp) was promoted to a secondary PC as well. They found Thisium garlanded in flowers with cheering crowds in port, about to hold a wondrous festival that night. At this time, the city had 34 days left...
(Pharcellus also
decided to purchase real estate in Thisium, effectively turning himself into a
citizen, and immediately falling under the gods’ curse! A novel way of removing
yourself from the campaign.)
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| The Battle in the Village |
27/03/2025 KASSADIA
News from the fallen empire of Kassadia! The Lion Pack prepared for the main force of the Malformed moving against their positions. They set up a chokepoint along a steep mountain trail with a barrier, boulders and hidden archers from above. The 40 barbarians arrived along with their leader, Publio Catapano the Beast, but did not walk into the trap: they retreated and blew a horn signal. The company decided this would be a good time to assault the now defenceless village, so they marched quickly – but soon saw what the horn brought. A chimera rose from the crater in the middle of the valley, and headed in their direction. They set up their defences in the cave mouth they had discovered, and slew the beast with concentrated firepower. They continued their march on the ominous village, its decrepit, weird stone houses older than the Empire. There were men on the walls, but only a skeletal force. Arden Oakbark sent his stone goat against the village walls, demolishing them along one section and sending the defenders fleeing.
The village was
theirs. They found two cages with a few captives, including Prince Izarthond
from the 12 Kingdoms, and Kord Bluecap, a M-U who had lost both his
spells and his cap. They plundered the chief's house, as well as a warehouse
with expensive cloth and a large quantity of looted alcohol that looked highly
flammable. By this time, Publio Catapano and his men were on their heels, and
they set up defensive positions around the gate. In the all-out assault, the
attacking force was driven back or slain with swords and magic, as well as 4000
gp worth of expensive distillate used as improvised molotovs. Here, the heroic Perceval
met his end in the furious melee, and the freed shitfarmers were killed off by
an attack from behind. Once it was over, they left the village, deciding to
spare its remaining inhabitants, and hold a heroic burial for Perceval on a
pyre. The next day, they returned to finish what they came for. In a cold
mountain valley above the village, below the morain, rose the ancient shrine of
Titus Malformatus. The defenders were waiting for them - the evil priest Spotless
Sabatini and his underlings, as well as more of the barbarians. This was an
easier victory, and the brazen idol of the shrine was pulled down and
destroyed, the gemstones embedded in its body in the imitation of sores and
pustules pried out. Their grim deed done, the Lion Pack left the Valley of the
Malformed towards the lower hills, and the walls of Viaskar – a teeming city of
sins and the rotten seat of the cult of Malformatus!
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| The Forest of Verrilli |
31/03/2025
THISIUM
News from the doomed city of Thisium! A group of five adventurers rode out of the city to seek one of the dooms in the Forest of Verrilli, related to the stolen calf and the Fairy King. Heeding the warning of a group of patrolling legionaries about orcs in the woods, they took some time skirting the edge, but eventually rode inside. In the afternoon hours, they found a clearing with a sundial, where the time stood still at exactly noon, but could make no sense of it. Riding on, the Fighting-Man Racha Cuca and his henchman Madruga were charmed by a group of dryads, but they were saved by a charm spell, as well as a cavalry charge. The last surviving dryad gave up her treasure for her life, and also told them she had seen the Fairy King and his retinue drive a white calf into the deeper forest, southwards. They rode back to the sundial clearing, but decided to camp a bit away, fearing its magic.
The next day, they found a mercury-coloured lake surrounded by 12 old statues of maidens watching the waters with empty eye sockets, and also spotted two large fish moving in the waters. Trying out something, they put two gemstones in the empty eyes of one statue, and a faint light beam pointed at the centre of the lake. Two more gems made for an intersection, but they found no way to exploit this knowledge. Riding on, they rode to the SE edge of the forest, and explored a glade that was autumnal in summertime, and inhabited by large moths. Distracting them with fire, they explored an empty gazebo, but did not find anything of note. Back in the forest, they came to a place with a circle of six thrones overgrown with vines. One induced a vision of a lake deep underground, while another, forming a human figure, was a doppelganger that almost strangled Captain Spezzaferro, but was finally dispatched. One more throne gave power in hand-to-hand combat, while another enthralled Giacomo the Fighting-Man to seek the love of a beautiful young lady in Thisium he had seen in a vision.
The forest path led to a roadside tavern, The Yellow Dragon Resthouse. Buying a round of resinous beer for all the travellers there, they made the acquaintance of Sir Drago, a knight errant who agreed to join them on a common venture, and Laktran the innkeeper, a sly and devious man who knew the way into the Faerie Garden. With some probing, he agreed to show them the magical way in, but only in exchange for a magic ring labelled “Quid Pro Quo” from the abandoned tower of the Genovella family, now known as the Tower of Stirges for very obvious reasons.
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| A Novel Use of Flaming Sheep |
Buying some sheep off of a bunch of shepherds, they rode out in the
afternoon with Sir Drago at their side. The tower (a proper donjon) was a
little way off the main path, the nearby trees laden with clumps of several
stirges, maybe 40-80 of them. The sheep were doused in lamp oil and wounded
before being driven forward, drawing in the buzzing beasts. However, the
company was an attractive target also, and a large number of stirges came for
them! Nencio Barbo sacrificed his horse to draw some of them away, but
melee ensued, in which Tito the crossbowman was exsanguinated, and a
stirge-killing match between Giacomo and Sir Drago ended with a score of 2:5.
Slaying the first wave of stirges, the oil-doused sheep with the masses of
stirges on them were lit up with flaming arrows, while an errant flask of flaming
oil ended up starting a forest fire. The stirges were badly decimated, but it
was too late to enter the tower: thus, the company returned to the Yellow
Dragon to celebrate their victory, and prepare for the proper tower assault. At
this time, the city had 34 day left...
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| Fear and Loathing in Viaskar |
04/04/2025
KASSADIA
News from the fallen empire of Kassadia! After devastating the shrine of Titus Malformatus, the Lion Pack headed towards red-walled Viaskar, seat of the cult of Titus Malformatus – not a place to brag about their recent deeds. Consulting with Kord Bluecap, the rescued M-U, they found lodgings at a friendly dwarf-run tavern. The next day, they visited the market nest to the pyramid of Pantaxus Superbus to sell off treasures and stock up on “equipment” (“How come we end up at the drug dealers first in every city we visit”, mused Publius Varro). While exiting a silversmith, they bumped into a band of miscreants led by Livius, a loud braggart. They soon met him again in a narrow alleyway, where he tried to rob them with his men, but Publius Varro killed him with a single well-aimed shot, sending the rest fleeing.
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| Meeting Lisa Bondimier |
A surprised outcry in a familiar voice came from a nearby palace – it was none other than Leonio, a page boy in the service of Cornelia deMarco, whom they had met at the temple of Gladuor a while back. Leonio quickly called them in, helping to hide the body until it could be disposed, confirming his suspicion that these men were the lycanthropes who had been planning to abduct his mistress. They agreed to watch over Cornelia in the coming days, then set their sights on a nearby warehouse, also owned by the cult of Gladuor. The clerics of the God of Aqueducts had asked them to investigate a series of recent burglaries, and they surveyed the site, which had been hit two times recently, much to the chagrin of Peleo Mendicino, the dwarven foreman. Plans were developed to investigate if insurance fraud was involved, or to entrap the thieves with lucrative fake cargo. After this, they hired a boatman to tour Viaskar's canals and see the sights, and also visited Lisa Bondimier, a wealthy and aristocratic magic-user who agreed to teach Martus the Opiate a spell for saving her friend, Kord Bluecap, from the worshippers of Titus Malformatus.
Stay tuned for the next episode of what is hereby dubbed Fear and Loathing in Viaskar!
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| The Tower of Stirges |
07/04/2025 THISIUM
News from the doomed city of Thisium! Reinforced with new recruits, the company returned to the Tower of Stirges. Beyond the heavy gates, an entrance section hid various deadly traps, which were eventually negotiated, and a way into the tower found through the bottom of a pit. The way led into a room of beautiful marble statues, as well as Brutto and Buono, two surly gargoyles demanding gemstones for passage. It almost came to blows, but the beasts were trapped in a web spell, upon which Brutto was slain, and Buono pressed into revealing their hidden treasure. In a room above, a magic mouth on a fountain spewing muddy water told its tale of woe. The other way from the statue room lead upwards, to another fountain, overflowing with water and surrounded by very impudent stone heads. A hidden valve allowed them to drain the overflow and fix the course of water.
They continued on, entering a library of disintegrating books, and Mortillaro, the ancient and senile librarian obsessively talking to and waxing the furniture while the books were falling apart. Mortillaro also proved forgetful and chaotic, protecting himself with a shield spell, and also sending two surprisingly rubbery chairs into combat. He was eventually calmed down, forgetting the ongoing battle, and occupied while they got the hiding place of his spellbooks and treasure out of him. However, careless words were spoken, and in the ensuing battle, the librarian was slain, to crumble into dust, while his chairs reverted to doppelgangers once slain.
Further up, a
nook held old textiles and baskets. Madoc the Fighting-Man checked them
out, upsetting a nest of spitting cobras, whose poison killed the valiant hero
despite his magical armour, which was claimed by Captain Spezzaferro. A
quantity of golden string was also looted. The way up led to a corridor (with a
shaft up to a stirge-filled belfry, left for later), and the throne room, from
which Nencio Barbo climbed up through a chimney to investigate the
rooftops, disturbing but not getting attacked by a quartet of sunning geckoes.
Back down, they explored a bath, with a gelatinous cube in a tub carrying a
precious amulet. With this much, they climbed down towards the exit. Checking
out the sad fountain, it had been fixed, its once muddy water now clear and
tasty. A few pieces of jewellery had been disgorged from the pipes, and with
these, they left the tower to consider their plans for the afternoon. At this
time, the city had 33 days left...
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| Boat Chase in Viaskar |
11/04/2025
KASSADIA
News from the fallen empire of Kassadia! Reinforced by two characters arriving in the city, the Lion Pack set out to secure the small deMarco palace to prevent the lycanthrope abduction of Lady Cornelia. They watched the rooftops and lit up the street with torches. On their night watch, they saw hooded men in yellow robes place candles in niches and on ledges around the place, and overheard discussion of some sacrifice, but nothing more happened: the men departed, and an investigation showed they had done the same elsewhere nearby, although with fewer candles. The next day, they visited the market and did some sightseeing near the ruined gardens in the NW part of town, as well as a field of ruins behind the baths. An old sculptor living in a hut spoke of elegant men digging in the ruins repeatedly, but investigating the sites where they had done so yielded little information except strange markings.
With that done,
they set out to unmask the thieves plundering the warehouse of Gladuor with a
bait: Aristeo Guarini was placed in a large chest, and transported by
Cornelia's page boy, Leonio, to the warehouse with a very high one-day
deposit. In the evening, night watch was set up on the rooftops overlooking the
street. Trouble came indeed: four hooded men emerged from the alleyways, and
set about opening up the front door with lockpicks, but made a lot of noise in
the process. The guards inside rushed out to apprehend them with Aristeo behind
them, and the company joined the brawl, while Publius Varro traded
missiles with another thief on the rooftops, sending her fleeing. The thieves
were subdued and one was killed, but the precious items in the warehouse were
gone! They spotted a rowed skiff disappearing in the dark canal, and while a
shot hit him, he got away. But Publius and Larth Ulthes Velznach were on
their feet: they were already rounding the corner, and while Publius fell into
the canal trying to jump the fleeing thief, Larth pursued him on another
vessel, and captured him – none else but Peleo Mendicino, the dwarven
warehouse foreman! Peleo begged Larth not to send him to Gladuor's quarries,
and betrayed the location of a treasure he had heard of in the Underworld.
Larth, however, swore no oath to free him, and didn't release the thief, who
cursed bitterly about the treacherous and dishonest conduct of his captors. The
next day, Peleo and the thieves were given over to Gladuor's priests at their
small local shrine, while the Lion Pack was given a handsome reward for their
assistance in stopping the row of burglaries plaguing the cult's interests.
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| Slaying the Mummy |
14/04/2025 THISIUM
News from the doomed city of Thisium! Continuing the explorations of the Tower of Stirges with two new recruits, the company climbed up to the level of the throne room. Beyond a door with a magic mouth, they descended towards a suite, when they were beset by the mummy of Morena Genovella, paralysing half of them with mortal terror. In the fight, the dwarf Narvi distinguished himself by fending her off while his companions dragged the others to safety, whereupon Morena could be burned by fire. Sir Drago, a bit chastised by his own cowardice, knighted Narvi as Ser Narvi in honour of his valour. The suite held a few potions, and from here, Nencio Barbo climbed up to a tower room, where lay the chained skeleton of Gioberto Genovella with a magic ring labelled “Quid Pro Quo”, and some gems sewn on his clothing. With these, they returned to the Yellow Dragon Resthouse.
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| The Mysterious Garden |
Laktran the
innkeeper was now ready to reveal the secret way into the Faerie Garden. A
cenotaph was commissioned for Madoc, and the next day, they set out with the
gems to the lake with the sightless statues around it. The 11 gems they had was
insufficient for the 12 maidens, so they turned back to explore more of the
Forest of Verrilli. In an overgrown, hexagonal rose garden with six statues,
they fought a stone statue with six gemstone eyes (immobilised with a pot of
glue and smashed up), and received advice from others, including a hint about
helping strangers, as well as something about the Sword of Roses. In the middle
of the garden grew the most precious roses on top of a pedestal lined with
carved mouths, and mossy skeletons lying under abundant ivy. Nencio the thief
climbed up, removing the roses very carefully: not only a value of 8000 gp, but
a single, perfect rose that could bring the dead back to life – the rose of
resurrection! Thus satisfied, they returned to the Yellow Dragon to rest up
and consider their next adventure. At this time, the city had 32 days left...
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| Prospero's Garden |
24/04/2025 THISIUM
News from the doomed city of Thisium! Returning from the high seas, the other half of the company found the city bedecked in flowers and banners, ready for a nighttime festival. But instead of joining the fun, they headed for the graveyard to descend into the Undercity. They passed through known terrain, and continued exploration beyond the Lower Crypts. Down a set of stairs, they discovered the entrance to the crypts of the mighty Tamburello family with several side-tombs. However, the crypt was guarded by four suits of armour, one of which animated when hit with missiles – they decided to slam the door and get away.
Deeper down on spiral stairs, the way led to a strange place: a moonlit underground garden owned by the Magic-User Prospero. Slaying two giant lizards, they checked out the stone circle in the centre. Aufidia Corvina stepped inside, falling through a trapdoor spider trap into a deep spiked pit, getting incapacitated. Her companions rappelled down quickly to save her from the spider, killing it. While Aufidia fixed herself up – almost dying in the process – the others looted the spider lair, finding dead spiders, six dead dwarves, and the dwarves' treasure – a good haul! A secret door was also found in the cavern, but it was wizard-locked, and essentially impregnable to them.
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| Pierluigi Piscitello |
Thus, they went
back up the stairs and checked out a long eastward passage. The way led to a
hall of columns serving as a campsite for the brigand leader Pierluigi
Piscitello and his men. They demanded a toll in the name of Mornalt
Tamburello, but got a sack of stirges instead, sending them cursing and fleeing
while some were killed. The hall also hid an old, abandoned shrine, and a
secret door to upwards spiral stairs: checking this long-forgotten way, they
found it led to the cellars of the wine merchant Flandevole. Waiting for
him to leave, they emerged, robbing his cabinet of rare and expensive vintages,
and then retreating through the Underworld to the surface, where the
festivities were over, and news of a murder spread through Thisium. At this
time, the city had 34 days left...
