Sunday, August 12, 2007

It's getting very very crowded in here

These caves just keep going and going, opening up and then closing off. At least half the tunnels are flooded so full freedom of movement is only available to amphibious creaturees, which we (with the exception of mutable Erson) are most definitely not.

The dragonspawn despot may yet have his way, as our attempts to locate him directly and free the dwarves have come to nothing. He used his secure position to restate his demands: bring him the head of the Kuo-Toa "whip" or he will give a dwarf to the elves. If his threat isn't idle, then there must be another exit into the Elven lands. We have yet to find a way out, and I'm regretting the choice to teleport down here without a sure way back.

Going deeper, we were shocked by our first encounter with the Abyssals -- they were just as fearsome as Barrin had described them, and we've seen only their weaker representatives. I claimed the head of one of the vulturine fiends, proof of their solidity and nearness for yet-unbelieving topsiders. The dwarves abandoned these depths hundreds and hundreds of years ago, leaving behind Gargoyles and traps but little of direct value. Apparently this area used to be an Adamantine mine.

With all other options (save a frontal assault on the Abyssals) closed off, we proceeded back to the area where the others encountered the Kuo-Toa earlier. Wasting no time, we pre-viewed and dimension doored in, then burst unannounced upon a religious ceremony. Before any of the pathetic but hardy frogmen could react, Erson (in Cave Troll) form pounced upon the hapless whip and ripped him limb from limb. A length battle ensued; fortunately the Kuo-Toa expended their rage against Erson to little effect, leave the rest of us largely unscathed (Erson's amazingly tough in that form). With the whip dead, the battle was reduced to a lengthy and grim application of fireball and steel and claw, to put down the remainder of the dozen evil amphibians. Two fled into the pool (there's always a pool) at the end, and now a disturbance in the water presages something large that we perhaps don't want or need to fight.

If we assume that the poison dusks belong to the same community as the blackspawn, then there are at least four different factions vying for control of these caves (us and the returned dwarves, the blackspawn and his servants, the Kuo-Toa, and the Abyssals). I don't know if the Ooze Drake and other solitary threats are associated with one of the above, or if they're wild-cards. In any case, it's quite crowded, and I have my doubts that we'll ever be able to secure these depths permanently if the dwarves of ages past couldn't do it. Perhaps we'll always be watching the back door into the mountain, wondering what will emerge next, going down to fight and explore when necessary.

Today Borrow again lied casually about checking a door for traps, and Malakar paid the price in caustic burns. I really don't know what his game is; perhaps he just doesn't take this seriously, or perhaps he really wishes us ill. I will do what I must to prepare against any more consequential betrayals.

Who should we kill first?

Obegard received some sort of mystical message from our foe effectively leaving us no option but to clean out the other denizens if we wished to save the lives of the remaining dwarves (assuming there really are any).

We still had a choice—fulfil the deal, or use the time to hunt down the dragonspawn and rescue his captives. Since we already knew where the other denizens were we decided it wouldn’t hurt to spend some time trying to concentrate our efforts on the enemy against whom we really wanted revenge.

We rested for several hours to permit everyone to recover their energy and then we headed off, leaving Ili and Dearthen to stay with the dwarves we’d already rescued. We didn’t find much of use, though we discovered another worked area which turned out to be a dwarven adamantine mine. There were a couple of gargoyles there but I was unable to get them to leave their post, even though the area was long abandoned. It also appeared that abyssals have made their way up to this area, which will at least start to make them a more immediate concern of the upworlders.

It became clear we wouldn’t find the dragonspawn so we backtracked to the other area occupied by the Kuatoa (or whatever it was that Erson called them).

With a bit of preparation we were able to blow past their defences and before long we were in battle with their leader, apparently called the Whip. The fight was tough but we managed to finish the Whip off quickly and I think that gave us the advantage. A couple of the Kuatoa dived into the pool of water at the back of the chapel (yes, more water!) and as we were cleaning up and preparing a huge creature began to break the surface of the pool.

The smart thing would be to run for it, but we don’t have much of a history in doing the smart thing.

A strange new shape

I do not know what kind of power I have discovered, but it can no longer be doubted I am far different than my fellow Lycanthropes. Malakar's fighting style is quite impressive, and his hybrid form is quite powerful, but neither compare to my... unique... abilities.

My most recent discovery: with just a bit more effort than shifting to an annis hag, I can actually shift into a cave troll, the strange beasts I saw attack the goliaths. I do not know if this form is always better--for one, I seem less able to grab onto larger enemies. But... such raw strength.

I must remember, though, that the most powerful option is not necessarily the best option. I cannot help but wonder if we would have had more success against the caster had I chosen an octopus form sooner--I may well have been able to grab the bastard sooner.

Ah, well. All in all, a good fight, and my companions seem pleased to have saved the two of the dwarves.

I wonder. I wonder who our real enemies are, and who are our allies. I seem to have found my way to the center of it all.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Forceful Negotiations

Obegard and Erson soon saw fit to join us. With them bolstering our strength, we continued on to the next unexplored parts of the cavern complex. We first met with a strange beast -- an ooze drake Obegard said. It would have been quite dangerous in melee combat, but Obegard managed to curse it with unluck, and it found itself stumbling into the worst positions. After dispatching the beast, Erson turned into an Octopus and dived into the water from which the Ooze Drake emerged, and returned a short while later with a dripping chest. He said that the saw other passages in the water, and even a cavern that looked like it was above the water level.

However, we elected to follow the cave we were in, and come back to explore that area more throughly later. After a while, we came across another set of manufactured tunnels of Dwarven design. We entered one of the doors and were met by a number small lizardfolk. Erson told us that they were called "Poisondusks". Despite their small stature, they were surprising disciplined in their bow use. However, they still weren't much of a match for the six of us, armed to the teeth and very angry. We carved our way through them and entered next into some sort of a chapel.

To our surprise, we were greeted by the same dragonkin that we had met back when we vanquished the black dragon. He was the one who attacked Son of Clouds during the fight, and managed to run off after we had killed the dragon. He was flanked by two Blackspawn Raiders (or so Erson told me), who held two of the Dwarves hostage. The big dragonspawn started off much like many other villians we had encountered: laughing and requiring some sort of "service" in exchange for the hostages. I wasn't too keen on negotiating, though I would have entertained the idea had the lizardfolk agreed to certain terms, like agreeing to open communications with the Dragon Keep, instead of this whole kidnapping business. However, this must have set Obegard off, and he made the choice easy for us by beginning to cast a spell to paralyze the dragonspawn in his tracks. However, the dragonspawn, being strong of will, and some sort of spellcaster himself, was able to resist the effects. The battle commenced, but when it was quickly apparent that he'd lose if he continued to fight, he and his guards retreated by jumping into a deep pool in the corner of the room. They were swift swimmers, and Erson was not able to follow them even when taking an aquatic form. Fortunately, however, we were able to save two of the dwarves, though one of them had lost a hand in the struggle. Our hope now is that we'd be able to track them down before they have a chance to execute the dwarves.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Kaballite Staff

Nonlegacy Game Statistics: Masterwork/+1 quarterstaff; Cost 2600 gp.
Omen: As a swift (mental) action you cause the crystal or gem of the staff shed bright illumination in a 5-foot radius and shadowy illumination for 5 feet beyond that. Both the illuminations increase up to 20 feet when the lesser legacy is unlocked and up to 60 feet when the greater legacy is unlocked.

History

The Lands of the Kabal are located north of Toris Kelt's mountain range. These lands are a desert waste and were the first to have fallen to Bascaron's deadly gaze. It was hundreds of years before anyone sought out to inhabit these lands, and to this day it has no true cities or villages. Lands of the Kabal now draw wizards from all over, each erecting a tower for his or her own purposes. A loose consensus of wizards governs these lands. There is no true formal code of law. The only laws that can be agreed upon are "no wizard shall enter a tower without permission" and "no wizard shall directly or indirectly interfere with the research of an other wizard".

Legacy Rituals

Three rituals are required to unlock all the abilities of the Kaballite Staff.

Attunement: You must replace the staff's crystal with a with another crystal or gem with a value of least 2,500 gp. An arcane mark must be placed upon the crystal or gem to complete this ritual. Cost 4,000 gp. Feat Granted: Least Legacy (Kaballite Staff).
Arcane Might: You must single handily defeat another arcane caster in a duel. Cost 13,500 gp. Feat Granted: Lesser Legacy (Kaballite Staff).

Kaballite Staff Wielder Requirements
Ability to cast 2nd-level arcane spells
Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks


Wielder
Level

Save
Penalty
Caster
Level
Penalty

Spell Slot
Loss


Abilities
5th


magic missile 3/day
6th-1
1st
Luck bonus +1
7th
-1
battering ram 3/day
8th

2nd
-
9th


Levitate 3/day
10th

3rd
Masterwork/+1 magebane quarterstaff
11th


chain missiles 3/day
12th

4th
-
13th
-2

Heightened lightning bolt 2/day
14th

5th
-
15th-2


Heightened fireball 2/day
16th

6th
Luck bonus +2
17th


globe of invulnerability 1/day
18th

7th
cone of cold 1/day
19th


hold monster 1/day
20th

8th
wall of force 1/day

Magic Missle (Sp): At 5th level, you can use magic missile as the spell three times per day.
Luck Bonus: At 6th level, you gain a +1 luck bonus saves and to Armor Class. At 16th level. this bonus improves to +2.
Battering Ram (Sp): At 7th level, you can use battering ram as the spell three times per day.
Levitate (Sp): At 9th level, you can use levitate as the spell three times per day.
Lightning Bolt (Sp): At 13th level, you can use lightning bolt as the spell (heightened to 5th level) two times per day.
Fireball (Sp): At 15th level, you can use fireball as the spell (heightened to 5th level) two times per day.
Globe of Invulnerability (Sp): At 17th level, you can use globe of invulnerability as the spell once per day.
Cone of Cold (Sp): At 18th level, you can use cone of cold as the spell once per day.
Hold Monster (Sp): At 19th level, you can use hold monster as the spell once per day.
Wall of Force (Sp): At 20th level, you can use wall of force as the spell once per day, but only to create a 10-foot-diameter hemisphere around yourself.

Monday, August 6, 2007

Can the human mind cope with magic?

I’m starting to wonder if Obegard is completely sane. He comes in handy quite frequently, but at other times he can be a tad unpredictable.

Take today as an example. He zapped in past the cave-in with Erson to help, and when we got hit by that slimy dragon thing from the water he gave it the evil-eye something wicked. Then he contributed nicely when we had to battle through a bunch of scalies that were occupying another section that dwarves had worked in the caves.

Then we finally found some of the last dwarven explorers. Only problem was that the dragon guy from the Temple of Kor behind Dragon Keep was there. And he had a couple of big scaly buddies who were each holding a dwarf with a knife to the throat.

Mr Dragon told us he’d trade the dwarves if we’d clear out the rest of the caves. From our point of view it didn’t sound like a bad option—the spell-casters looked like they’d pretty much blown off all their magic, and it would give us time to come up with a plan for tackling these guys.

Unfortunately it appeared that somebody else was in residence in Obegard’s head because without warning he let loose with some spell and caused things to get very unpleasant very fast.

Mr Dragon offered a few times to let us reconsider, but it was like the others were seized by bloodlust and they just wouldn’t stop. So one of the dwarves lost a hand before he was freed, and all our opponents escaped through a water tunnel in the corner of the room where they’d been standing. Mr Dragon claimed they had the other dwarven explorers in another room. We have no way of following (Erson tried, but even with his ability to change forms they left him languishing in their wake) so it looks like the other dwarves are goners.

Perhaps all the stress has driven Obegard insane. I wonder how I’d check that—maybe I should ask him the same questions at different times and see whether the answers are consistent.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Dragonspawn of the Depths

Erson interrupted my research to tell me that Malakar and the others were trapped by a cave-in, after they went to search for the missing dwarves. I dimensioned doored us in, but it took us a long time to catch up: apparently we missed out on some interesting archaeology and a fight or two.

Right after we rejoined the party, and before I had a chance to ask about what had happened, we were attacked by an Ooze drake which leaped into the air from a deep lake. Durthen was substantially burned by its acidic sheath, but it didn't last for long after I dampened its fortunes with unluck. It's good to see Durthen shiny and whole again, I missed his good cheer while he was mourning his damaged equipment.

Erson demonstrated his infinite versatility yet again by diving into the Drake's pool and recovering a chest of silver coins. He reported that a grotto lay through another tunnel, but we didn't feel like exploring it yet: we're not well equipped for aquatic adventures en masse.

Malakar urged us onward, down another few miles into the earth through a winding tunnel. He and Borrow pointed out where the rock faces abruptly became smooth and well-worked, indicating dwarven craftsmanship. We exited into a truncated square antechamber with three doors. Tracks of some kind of reptilian biped led to and from the left door, which we promptly opened.

Stepping into the corridor, we were pelted with arrows by small but muscular lizard-like creatures (later, Erson identified them as Poison Dusks, and Malakar commented on their advanced archery discipline). They were surprisingly tough adversaries, and we almost let one of them get away. It appears that they were guarding some kind of community down here, with organized patrols and traps to discourage intruders.

Right after that we came upon a large temple space, with pews and altars. To our shock, we were derisively greeted by the reptilian black humanoid who we last saw dragging Son of Clouds beneath the waves on our first visit to Dragon Keep (during the fight with the shadowy black dragon). Though I couldn't place his species, he was accompanied by two formidable Blackspawn Raiders, each with a blade held to a Dwarf hostage's throat.

He sardonically greeted us, threatened the dwarves perfunctorily, and suggested some kind of a deal (our service in securing his domain against monsters, in return for the release of the dwarves). He was so obviously evil I didn't really need Ili to point it out this time. He mentioned that the dragon we killed was his "sire".

I finally decided that enough was enough: it's time to stop letting villains and scum call the shots. We've now thrice regretted our merciful treatment of Borka at our first meeting, and between Sorscha and Cassandra we are rife with powerful string-pullers. Negotiating with evil terrorists, who openly attacked us at our last meeting, is a step I have no interest in taking.

I believed that I could hold the monster, but he turned out to be a strong-willed spellcaster, and my enchantments were to no avail. Fortunately I was able to aid the others with transposition, and we saved the two dwarves (minus a hand), but the spawn and the leader escaped down a deep and twisting well. Erson could have pursued them along, but would likely have been ambushed. Unfortunately they still have the other four dwarves; they may be lost now. The price of bold action may be bold failure: still, I don't regret my choice. Had things gone but a bit differently, we might have ended this villain's power swiftly and decisively.

I believe we should explore and secure our environs now: hasty pursuit of the enemy, with no foreknowledge and no aquatic spells prepared, would be foolish. The best thing we can do for our dwarven friends is to prepare for our next encounter with their captor. If they are dead already, then our vengeance will just be that much simpler.