FarQuarter - A fantasy campaign

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Nearly all of my RPG activity in the past twenty years has been related to this home-brew campaign.

The tone and style of this setting is Tolkienesque overall. The dominant features are, a huge evil orcish nation, Reltoksha, ruled by a council of Dark Knights, at odds with the southern kingdom of men, called Klaxon. The central region of the continent is dominated by the massive, ancient Nivristi forest. Additionally, there are about a dozen other kingdoms of men, dwarves, and of course, halflings.

Over the years I have incorporated several elements from various settings based on commercial material from the 1st and 2nd Edition D&D. Ravenloft, The Temple of Elemental Evil, and one of the drow adventures were ported into this setting. However, the setting really took a life of its own during a short but intense campaign in 89-90. At that time, events centered on a low-level party from a mid-sized merchant town of Farquarter on the wild interior plains of the northern continent.

So even though there is a big Middle Earth-like backdrop, the focus of the actual campaigns has been on characters from the north central region of the continent.

In 1992-93, started a spinoff campaign that was still centered around the town of Farquarter, which included more material from the Ravenloft setting. Oddly enough, the campaign setting is NOT heavy with gothic horror themes - just a few locales.

From 1997-2003, I developed a home-made rules set based on Trinity (d10 based) and started a new group. We played a series of about 25 original adventures. Toward the end of this series, we "outgrew" my home-made system (I didn't have the time to playtest and expand the system while creating all original material for the campaign), so I switched over to the Lord of the Rings RPG which turned out to be a mistake. Anyway that is where the current storyline left off.

Then I found True20! And now I am compelled to move forward with this story.

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So once I got familiar with True20 a couple years ago, I converted the Farquarter characters to this system and was pleased with the results. Now I'm hoping to advance the story further as a kind of solitaire side project. That's right, I'll make skill checks for the characters and conduct combat scenes as needed.

Before getting into the storyline, here are some brief people/place definitions:

Theinor - a crazed ol' mystic that was found in the dungeons of Stonehaven when they recaptured it from an occupying army.

Stonehaven - the palace of the Greyknights. It was recently overrun by a massive orcish army (Reltoksha) led by the black knight Gardethok. The Lords of Darkbane recaptured the stronghold and slayed Gardethok in a dramatic battle atop the highest tower.

Reltoksha - an evil empire ruled by a council of Black Knights. It is the brutal, barbaric, and militant land of the orcs.

Labrynthine - A vast underground city that was once the mighty realm of the Elliadur (Dark Elves). An elvish Moria, if you will... The Elliadur were scattered and it fell into chaos many hundreds of years ago. Theinor claims to have discovered many secrets of this place before he fell into the hands of Reltoksha.

These are the main characters at the moment:

Ardelphus – A 14th level warrior/ranger, with supernatural “soul stealing” power (touch attack). He wears a powerful strength gauntlet on his sword hand (making it extremely difficult to disarm him). His bastard sword grants free counterattack actions on an opponent’s critical miss.

Denethor – 13th level warrior - the prototypical beserker-style barbarian with an oversized battle axe and an infravision ring.

Thalos – 16th level Priest/wizard with psychic “truesight” abilities. He is probably the most dangerous of this bunch. An all-around powerful spellcaster.

Kelvar Rhovanion - 17th level Bard from the diplomatic quagmire of Markhavia. He chose to wander the world instead of taking his place in his family's noble house. As a friend of Lord Braxton of the Greyknights (Elgeon's father), he volunteered join the Lords of Darkbane after Elgeon's demise (killed by a dragon over a year prior).

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The characters on now in the middle of a quest to recover an artifact that is greatly feared by Reltoksha (the orc nation). Just a couple of months earlier, they had helped defeat a huge Reltokshan army that had invaded Stonehaven. They defeated the Black Knight, Gardethok, who commanded that invasion. If they were to wait long enough, Reltoksha would certainly return to Stonehaven with overwhelming force. But hope sometimes comes from surprising places. A crazy ol' man in the Stonehaven dungeon, named Theinor, said that he knew of secrets that could bring Reltoksha to its knees. They listened.

In short, they took Theinor's notes and advice and went after the artifact that he claimed is still deep in the forgotten dark caverns of Labrynthine. The plan was to recover it and take the fight into Reltoksha; to start tearing the Black Council apart one-by-one. With such chaos being sewn on their own turf, how could the orcs mount another huge invasion against Stonehaven?
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In the previous episode, Ardelphus, Denethor, Thalos, and Kelvar pressed deeper and deeper beneath the Twighlight Mountains. Following Theinor's notes, they found a forgotten passage that took them from the 5th Deep directly to the 1st Deep, the core of ancient City of the Elliadur (Dark Elves). In that forgotten passage, they battled a large group of undead and were slowed in recovery. Thalos seemed led by some psychic influence, perhaps the manifestation of more "seeker" powers. Many hours - maybe a couple days - later, they emerged from a secret tunnel leading-up through the interior of a monument. From that vantage point, they observed a goblin patrol roaming through a vast chamber. As they watched, the goblins were confronted and destroyed by two familiar warriors. Those warriors turned out to be Vyorna of Timberhearth and a crippled Elgeon Zirion.

They found a good hide-out in one of the manses of the 20th Hall and enjoyed a lengthy, but cautiously quiet reunion. They exchanged incredible stories of the past year; the fall and reclamation of Stonehaven; Elgeon's survival and suffering; the plan to recover the talisman from Labrythine. Meanwhile, Vyorna carried news of a revolution in Markhavia, which called Kelvar back to his homeland. So the original Riders of Darkbane were restored to continue their second quest.

I left them on the doorstep of the House of Mellaforius, the place where Theinor said they could find the Tomes of the Treasurer and hopefully, the location of the talisman.

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About Elgeon Zirion:
14th level warrior/knight. Son of Braxton Zirion, Lord of the Greyknights. Elgeon is permanently crippled in his left hip from a dragon attack. He has just returned from being missing/presumed dead for over a year.

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And now we can finally get into the current storyline:

A single beam of sunlight cut through the black stillness of the 20th hall from a small shaft in the ceiling some 250 feet above the floor. It struck the dusty grey flagstone only 90 feet to their left. Denethor was drawn to it. They all were, having not seen the light-of-day in over two weeks. But Thalos stayed their course and kept them focused on the task at hand. Rising ominously in front of them, a massive dark grey wall merged with the natural cavernous chamber. Directly before them, an grand set of iron-banded double doors contained the Mellaforius family crest, just as Theinor had described.
This mansion had been carved into the side of the cavern. The face of the structure stretched into darkness, upward and to their right. To the left, the carved wall ended with a small set of steps rising up to a door, beyond that it became rough hewn limestone.
Ardelphus pressed his ear against the heavy doors. There were faint muffled sounds inside. He nodded, "There is activity here."
"Good." said Denethor as he took a step forward with one thick hand reaching back over his should for the handle of his battle axe.
Ardelphus held him up, "Not so hasty." he whispered urgently. We might try one of the windows above.
Elgeon winced uncomfortably as he considered the climb to the shadow-shrouded windows. "I say the longer we tarry here at the main entrance, the better our chance of drawing undue attention. Let's try the door."
Ardelphus shrugged in agreement and leaned into the enormous door. Not only were the doors unlocked, this one was not fully latched, giving the impression that there had been recent traffic.
They stepped into surprisingly well kept foyer. The floor here was not coated in the dust of untold years as had been the norm in these forgotten halls. The main chamber ahead was about 90 feet across and 70 feet deep and was dimly lit with oversized candles on a balcony on the far wall that stretched between two symmetrical curved staircases. These stairs encircled a huge statue, now defaced; probably a tribute to an Elliaduran ancestor.
Within seconds, two large dark quadra-pedal silhouettes charged from the shadows beneath the stairs. Denethor was the first to see them using the vision power of his owl ring. The vague forms resembled wolves, but they faded in and out of the shadows as they me moved. “Demon dogs!” he yelled as he brought his axe to the ready and moved out to greet the first animal. Denethor’s first swing nearly cleaved the dog in two! Its listless body flew through the air and landed with a wet thud on the stone floor.
Ardelphus could not easily see the shadowy hound, but still managed to make contact with the blade gifted to him by Elgeon’s father. The dog howled with a supernatural fury that penetrated the mind! The sound was chilling, but none of these seasoned warriors were affected. Elgeon sidestepped to the creature’s flank and stabbed deep with his longsword. The dog seemed to fade into the shadows.
A robed humanoid figure appeared on the balcony, uttering arcane words and waving thick fur-covered arms. A freezing blast of energy erupted! Denethor ducked, but it struck Thalos in the chest and drove him back into the closed door! He was dazed briefly, but quickly shook off the effect.
Denethor and Ardelphus charged, each taking a separate staircase. Near the top of the stairs they slowed and cautiously stalked this inhuman sorcerer. Now only twenty feet away, they could see that he appeared to be hobgoblin shaman. His once colorful robes were dingy and frayed. In his rough language he began to invoke another spell. Both men were poised to spring, but Thalos struck first with the unseen force of contusion! The shaman doubled-over sharply and nearly fell over the railing before falling backward convulsively to the balcony floor!
On the ground floor below, Elgeon caught a brief glimpse of the shadow-bound dog and struck decisively in the fore shoulder. The animal yelped and snarled before fleeing into the darkness.

After a few minutes of interrogating the shaman, it became apparent that he was more than a little deranged – even for a hobgoblin priest. He would frequently speak gibberish in elvish and claimed to be of Elliadur blood, but he readily admitted that he was not the master of this house. Although he did not reveal who his master was.
Denethor investigated nearby rooms, one of which was a cloakroom, where they bound and gagged the shaman. Thalos took his robe for a possible disguise.

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The four of them proceeded down a wide hall observing intricate architecture that suggested this place was once suited for grand receptions, but now the finer details were obscured in shadow and dust. At the end of this hall, they stopped in front of a single sturdy door, which oddly enough, was barred on their side by design. A corroded iron plaque was mounted on the stone wall to the right of the door. The deteriorating elvish inscription was difficult to read, but Thalos managed to translate. He whispered, “The Home of Acererak Melafforious, Treasurer of Labrythine”.
Thalos paused, “But this is a different word for home, it implies…. finality.” He quickly referenced a scroll, and then lifted his eyes to the other three. “Not house... This is the Tomb of Melafforious.”
“So we have the wrong place?” ask Elgeon.
“No. This is the right place, but Theinor’s interpretation of the Elliaduran dialect was less than perfect.” Then Thalos added with a shrug, “but so is mine.”
Elgeon replied “Well then, let’s hope that Master Melafforious took his treasured secrets to the grave. What say you my friends?”
“We’ve seen plenty of crypts before. What does one more hurt?” answered Ardelphus.
As Denethor reached to unlatch the bar he said, “Guarded secrets or not, this whole city feels like a tomb. In we go!”

[Spoiler note: What follows is an adaptation of Module S1, Tomb of Horrors, written by Gary Gygax. It is a seriously deadly and diabolical adventure. I will use some descriptions direct from the module and note such text with (S1) Note: in more current posts, the module text is italicized.]

Beyond the barred door a squat, delta-shaped room flared out before them. Despite the width, the relatively low ceiling made this area feel strangely claustrophobic. At the edge of their light, three hallways appeared to exit the opposite side of the chamber. They chose to investigate the hallway to the right.
Ardelphus entered first with his sword, The Defender of Neharnesse, at the ready. He noticed how incredibly still the air seemed and he commented on the absence of reverb. It seemed like the walls were thirsty for noise and soaked it up in an instant.

(S1) The roughly worked, plain stone corridor was full of cobwebs. A set of double oaken doors were just visible at the end of the passageway. The roof 20 feet overhead was obscured by hanging strands.

He probed skillfully with the tip of his blade, sweeping away the cobwebs as he went; first the floor, then the walls, and even the ceiling. When he came to the ceiling he froze. Fine particles of dust cascaded down in the beam of his lantern light. He echoed Denethor’s words, “Guarded secrets indeed… This entire stone above is rigged to drop. It could crush the four of us at once.”
“Back out of there, we can try another hall.” urged Thalos.
“This is a well-designed trap, but I think I can find the trigger. Just gimme a moment.” Ardelphus answered. He did find the trigger and managed to temporarily disengage it by jamming the cog mechanism with a dagger. As a precaution, he and Denethor rigged a rope loop to open the door from about 20 feet away. They pulled the door open to reveal a brick wall. It was a false entrance.
With a nervous chuckle, Elgeon said, “That is an evil machination. If Melafforious would go to such trouble to guard a false entrance, what then would he do to protect…” His voice trailed off, “to protect the real secrets”.
Next they tried the middle hall. (S1) Brilliant colors were everywhere; pigments painted on stone were undimmed by the passage of decades. The floor was a colorful mosaic, featuring a distinct, winding path of red tiles forming a 2-foot-wide, meandering trail south down the corridor. A few chips and gaps revealed that cement or plaster covers the underlying stonework of the corridor, and it mostly provided a smooth surface for the many illustrated scenes. The images depict fields with cattle grazing, a copse with several wolves in the background, slaves—human, orc, elven, and strange human-animal mixtures—going about various tasks. Certain frescoes were more focused and showed rooms of some building—a library filled with many books and scrolls, a torture chamber, and a wizard’s work room. Chairs, windows, boxes, bales, doors, chests, birds, bats, spiders, and all manner of things appeared on the walls.
As they proceeded cautiously behind Ardelphus, Thalos spoke up, “Does this not look like letters to you?” He was staring at the busy tile work of the floor. “Yes, indeed it is… And in old common speak as well!”
Thalos began to read from slowly from the tiles,

(S1) ACERERAK CONGRATULATES YOU ON YOUR POWERS OF OBSERVATION. SO MAKE OF THIS WHATEVER YOU WISH, FOR YOU WILL BE MINE IN THE END!
Go back to the tormentor or through the arch,
and the second great hall you’ll discover.
If you find the false you find the true
and the columned hall you will try,
You’ve left and left and found my Tomb
and now your soul will die.

“Gibberish!” grunted Denethor. “My axe cares not of riddles.”
Thalos replied, “No doubt, but there may be important clues in such words.”
He turned to the rest of the group to see Elgeon examining a small metal box embedded in the wall. It was covered with bronze studs and was hinged on the bottom edge. “I think you open it by pushing in these studs” Elgeon said in low voice. After taking a long hard look at it, Thalos noticed small detail. There was a tiny hole in the center-most stud. It was trapped. They decided to push the button with a weapon and watched as a needle emerged from the pin hole and was broken off, just before the door dropped open.
At first glance, it appeared to be an empty space, but after a few seconds they could see a lever inside. They searched thoroughly for traps, before deciding to try the lever. Denethor reached in and took a hold. He looked back to Thalos for confirmation.
“Hold up!” shouted Ardelphus “Look at these ridges in the floor. There is a trap door directly underneath the box.” He waved for Thalos and Denethor to step aside. As they moved carefully onto the adjacent section of tiles, the floor suddenly dropped away!

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Fortunately, it was a short fall for Thalos and Denethor, but their yells of pain were chilling as they crashed to the bottom of the pit. Elgeon and Ardelphus looked down to find a pit that was only 3 or 4 yards deep. The problem was the spiked floor.
Denethor was cursing violently as they pulled him up, he was punctured four times. Thalos avoided the worst but was still bled by two of the spikes. Both men soon were nauseous.
“Poison, of course” Thalos said “I can feel it spreading. I had better stop this before I pass-out.” They pulled back toward the entrance as the priest prayed for healing.

(Rest break)

Again they searched carefully around the newly exposed pit. Ardelphus was still convinced that there was another trap door adjacent to the pit that swallowed Thalos and Denethor. As Elgeon tapped on the frescos he noticed a change in pitch on the plaster in front of the opened pit. (S1) This portion of the fresco illustrated an iron door that evidently confines some sort of a horrid creature (its clawed and scaled hands grasp the bars of its small window). “Behind this painting, it sounds hollow” Elgeon said.
After some deliberation, they decided to break through. Denethor was eager to lay into something, anything, with his heavy axe. With a deceptively easy swing, a large chunk of plaster was chipped away reveal wood underneath. In short order they had access to a secret door. Apparently the pit was enough of a deterrent; they found no other unpleasant tricks as they proceeded through the newfound doorway. It led down a short hall to a second door.
They listened for any sign of activity, then finding it unlocked, they entered a chamber. The most obvious feature in the room was a large statue of a grotesque, winged humanoid with a horned head and stony hide, it had four arms each tipped with wicked claws. Around the creature’s neck is a collar studded with huge, gleaming gems. Being the first to enter, Ardelphus approached cautiously to take a closer look.
Quietly he uttered to himself “I hate statues.” (an inside joke in this campaign as Ardelphus was once cursed for defacing a statue). In a split second, he noticed a shift in the eyes of this “statue” and with no hesitation, he slashed it across the chest. Suddenly four powerful arms flailed before him as the creature came sprung to life!

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The four-armed demon staggered back with the force of Ardelphus’s initial blow. Thick black fluid began to ooze from a horizontal stripe across the monster’s chest. What is this thing? he thought. It appeared to be a gargoyle, but was much larger than others they had encountered. And it has four-arms…
“Ardelphus move!” shouted Thalos.
As he sidestepped out of harm’s way, he could feel a flash of heat from a blast of eldritch fire. It charred the wall high and to the left as the gargoyle spun away, but the creature was still stunned, allowing Ardelphus and Denethor to strike repeatedly! But this monstrous gargoyle would not go down so quickly; it pivoted and unleashed a savage claw that launched Ardelphus awkwardly through the air. His limp body slid across the stone floor and came to rest nearly 20 feet away! [Game note: Ardelphus rolled a double critical failure on his damage save]
A sickening feeling swelled within Thalos and Elgeon. Was this as bad as it looked? Thalos moved quickly to check the condition of their friend. He was alive, but would soon bleed to death. The priest took immediate action to stabilize him and prayed to be a channel of God’s healing power.
Denethor absorbed a blow from those powerful claws and was briefly stunned, dropping to a knee. Meanwhile, Elgeon charged the demon-like creature, striking low and hard with his longsword. He continued to press his attack as the creature slid away along the wall, but he could not get his blade to bite through the stony hide.
Then the pace of the battle slowed as Denethor joined Elgeon again and together they faced-off with this mutant gargoyle. Elgeon lunged forward with an accurate stab to the chest - the blade bit deep. The stumbling gargoyle swiped at him, missing wildly. As it spun around, the monster was wide-open for Denethor’s killing blow.

A few moments later, Elgeon and Denethor looked on as Thalos finished his prayer over Ardelphus. “I think he’ll live” said Thalos, then looking up, “but he’s in very bad shape”. Thalos’ eyes conveyed the seriousness of the situation. They could see that one of the claws had torn deep into their friend’s neck. It would take some time to make him strong again.

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It seemed like forever in the dark evil stillness that they waited, watched, and guarded the doors. At one point, they did hear some bumping around in the main hall from whence they came – in the vicinity of the pit and frescoes. There were also two other unlocked doors in the southeast corner of the room. Elgeon and Denethor checked beyond those doors only to find small 10-foot square rooms, one of which had another door. All considered, this place seemed well isolated from traffic.
Meanwhile, Thalos seemed pale with concern as he hovered over the seriously wounded Ardelphus. He went through cycles of rest, prayer and treatment and though they had seen it before, the incredible rate of divine healing was nothing short of miraculous.

When they were fully rested and recovered, they decided to press on. Denethor led the way through a series of small rooms, each with a door opposite of the one they entered. The senseless configuration eventually doubled-back and ended at a false door. A thorough search found no traps or secret passages, so they turned back and tried the other door leading out of the room.
Denethor and Elgeon entered to find only a 10’ by 10’ room with no exits. Denethor searched the walls to no avail, while Elgeon studied some arcane markings on the wall to his left. Suddenly there was a flash of light and brief hiss as a small bolt of arcane energy shot into Elgeon’s ribs! He did not seem badly injured by the attack, but muttered and grumbled as he shook off the pain. Ardelphus saw where the bolt had originated and prying into the wall with a dagger, he attempted to ruin or disrupt the magical trap.
It seemed to work, or at least buy some time. Elgeon winced, refocused, and joined in Denethor’s search. Near the floor, Elgeon found a concealed hand hold. He pulled and with surprising ease, the stone wall lifted away, revealing another, nearly identical room.
This time Ardelphus and Elgeon entered cautiously. Elgeon kept his shield at high guard as he searched the wall. This time he found a pivoting secret door. As it swung open, another magical bolt fired, but this time it met with a spark and a jolt on Elgeon’s shield. Thalos and Denethor stayed behind, while Ardelphus and Elgeon picked their way through a series of rooms and magic arrow traps. Ardelphus was able to dodge a bolt in the next room. Then in the next two rooms, Elgeon used his shield to smother the trap. He twitched each time the trap would fire.
They met with some frustration as one of the secret doors was extremely tough to find, but eventually, they made it through. The exiting door in the next room was more ornate, adorned with seven large metal studs. The two of them failed to find the magic arrow trap in time, but being on their toes, Ardelphus was able to duck when it activated. Elgeon gave Ardelphus his shield, “Smother that thing.” he said, then paused, “But beware that the sting of those magic bolts is… uncomfortable, even through the shield.”
Ardelphus tilted his head slightly, “You mean it hurts like hell, right?”
Elgeon grinned with an abbreviated nod, “Yeah, but its nothing like being struck down by an over-sized gargoyle”.
“Ha! Or nearly devoured by a dragon!” added the Ranger (referring to Elgeon's near-death experience over a year earlier).

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Back in the gargoyle room, Thalos had gone into a meditative state as he extended his metaphysical awareness and established mental contact with Elgeon. By this point, Elgeon had determined that this segmented hall must parallel the inner hall that he and Denethor had pushed through earlier. Elgeon transmitted his thoughts, Go through the four doors of the inner hall and knock on the left wall. We should be able to hear you.
Elgeon informed Ardelphus of the plan and finished his assessment of the studded door before them. “Since it took six secret chambers in order to reach this one door, then you know it HAS to be trapped!” Indeed, they found that the metal studs were actually buttons that could be pushed-in. About that time, they heard a dull knock of metal on stone. It sounded like the wall was over a foot thick. Elgeon focused his thoughts, That’s it. You’re there Thalos. Have Denethor try to break through.
In the inner hall, Thalos had Denethor step aside as he cast a type of sundering spell on the wall. Then he explained to his warrior-friend, “This weakens the stone. You should break through more easily now.”
Denethor’s reply was a kind of half-grunt, half-growl that seemed to indicate that he was less than thrilled with Thalos’ magical assistance in this case.
The top of Denethor’s steel-handled battle axe was like mace. The shaft extending through the middle of the double-bladed axe was topped with an irregular multi-faceted bulb. Thalos recalled that it had originally been a six-sided spike. The spike had long since broken off and now only a rough, pitted fist of metal remained. Denethor was proficient in using this as a battering ram. He turned his back to the wall and reversed his grip on the axe handle. He gave Thalos a nod, then with a single stroke, almost as if rowing a boat, he drove the axe head into the stone and it shattered like pottery!

Reunited, the four of them contemplated the studded trapped door. By then, Ardelphus had determined that it was designed to open inwardly, crushing the victim. Thalos spoke up, “I can trigger the trap from here.” he said flatly. The other three looked at each other, then looking back to Thalos, shrugged approval.
Thalos focused as a faint shimmering image formed in the dark air in front of him. He reached out as if to push this ghostly object away. Bang! A sharp sound came from the door as one of the metal studs was hammered in. Then another and another… When the telekinetic weapon struck the last one, the heavy door flung inward with shocking force and slammed the wall.
“Ouch” said Elgeon mockingly. “Let’s move on.”
They stepped out into a (S1 quote) long wide hall inlaid with tiles, and the walls and ceiling are painted with figures of animals and strange signs and glyphs. Humans and humanlike creatures hold painted spheres, each a different color from the next. (end quote).
There were two normal-looking doors, ten feet apart on the opposite wall, but having just emerged from a tedious section of doors and trapped walls, they agreed to proceed down the hall for now. In that direction they could see a soft glow from a triangle of light sources. The two lights nearest the floor flickered, but not like a flame. They stepped slowly and cautiously, just waiting for the next wicked device to unfold.
Midway down this hall, Thalos paused. “There’s something unnatural about that sphere” he said.
“There’s something unnatural about this whole damned place!” Denethor countered.
Thalos ignored him as he approached the wall in a crouch. He was investigating a solid black sphere that was depicted as being held down at the feet of a hydra. Perhaps Thalos’ truesight abilities allowed him to see through the veil as a type of illusion, but to the rest of the group, the sphere appeared to be painted on the wall, no different than the other spheres in this hall. Thalos cast a spell of some sort, but the sphere did not change. Afterward, the priest seemed a bit fatigued. He admitted, “The arcana of this place is very strong” as Ardelphus helped him to his feet. Without a word, Ardelphus showed him a coin, resting on top of his thumb in a half fist, then with his eyes, directed Thalos’ attention back to the sphere. Thalos looked at him quizzically “What? You want to flip to see who goes in first?”
“No, I just want to see what’ll happen when I toss this coin into it.”
The priest answered with his mouth half opened, “Aaah… OK. Why not.”
Ardelphus flicked the coin through the air and it disappeared into the black surface of the wall, followed by the faint sound of the coin landing and rolling briefly.
Elgeon smirked, “Now the question is whether its worth a silverounce for you to blindly stick your head in there to retrieve it?”
In short, Thalos used truesight scrying to get a psychic vision beyond the illusory veil. He described a tunnel and could see the coin there on the floor. They entered the tight crawlspace that angled downward and took at least four turns. Crawling a considerable distance in such cramped conditions became increasingly uncomfortable as scabbards frequently scraped the walls. But when the tunnel came to a dead end, they all grumbled and expected the next malevolent device to spring any second.

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Tense moments passed as the four of them sat in the dark, cramped conditions of that long crawling tunnel. Although they could breathe the stale air well-enough, emotionally and mentally they felt as if they were suffocating.
Elgeon urgently searched and prodded the dead end wall with a dagger. The prospect of backing out of this tunnel on one’s hands and knees provided plenty of motivation for anyone, but much more so for a man with a lame leg. About a minute later, he found a handhold above and to his right. Giving it a moderate pull caused a hollow “chunk” sound within the stone, then the wall dropped away with a slow grinding hiss.
They climbed out of the round tunnel from a hole in the wall about 7 feet above the floor. Being the first to exit, it was an awkward maneuver for Elgeon. He found himself in relative large chamber, at least 70 x 70 feet. It looked like someone’s twisted vision of a temple. As the others joined him, they could see the following:

Chapel accoutrements fill this chamber, including great wooden pews on either side of a central mosaic path that leads toward an altar on the far side of the room, which is separated from the pews by a wooden railing. Scenes of everyday life are painted on the walls, but all the people are portrayed with rotting flesh, skeletal hands, and worm-ridden orifices. Yet depicted amidst these disturbing portraits are various symbols of readily recognized benevolent deities.

The team spread out and cautiously approached far end of the chamber. Thalos paused to take a long look at the painted walls. If the strange scenes meant anything to him, he kept it to himself.

Behind the wooden railing is an opalescent blue altar, which is set before a tiered dais that supports a well-carved and padded wooden chair. Two large brass candelabra, each holding five white candles, stand on either side of the dais. Two large white pottery urns, each stoppered with brass, sit in each corner. A human skeleton wearing badly rusted and torn black chainmail lies dead in the southwestern portion of the room, one outstretched arm seeming to point into a mist-filled arch on the southern end of the west chapel wall.

The altar was unique, glowing with an inner blue light. Thalos approached it from the side, reasoning out loud as to its significance or connection to the murals.
“This altar is fascinating. I’m not sure what kind of material this is… a sort of glass or crystal.” Then looking over at the walls again, “The depiction of undead in the presence of deities is puzzling too, perhaps the priest that designed this place felt that the undead have a place among immortals. See how they are intermingled, as if equals.” He tried to shake off the notion, “Sick thought…”
Ardelphus remained tense, like a viper about to strike, “This seems like a big, important room, but yet it is unguarded by anything we can see. Don’t touch anything!”
Denethor had already seen enough, “There’s two ways outta here; the hole in the wall or that mist-shrouded archway. I’m not much interested in either of them.” He looked down at the corpse the floor, “This poor bastard says take the archway.”
“His black armor is not painted, its charred.” Elgeon added as he leaned over next to Denethor.
Thalos stepped away from the blue altar and approached the archway. He stopped about 10 feet short of the strangely contained, light orange, luminescent mist. Bringing one hand to his forehead, he reached out with the other. A few moments later he dropped out of his concentration. Looking even more perplexed, he turned to face the others, “That is not an exit either.” he announced. “Visibility was poor, but it seemed to be a small room with no exits.”
“Great” Ardelphus sighed, “Let’s start searching these walls. There’s bound to be another concealed door.”
They took their time and searched carefully. Surprisingly, no traps were triggered. In the corner of the chamber to the left of the altar Ardelphus found something of interest. There was a small slot cut into the stone. Next to it, they found two vertical seams in the wall about two feet apart. But the stone was tight, it would not budge, nor did it sound thin or hollow. The tiny opening must be the trick. Just above the slot Thalos noticed a symbol in the shape of an “O”.
Ardelphus inserted a dagger blade in the slot. “It doesn’t feel like a lock or a latch. It just angles downward.” He started searching his pocket with one hand and produced a silverounce. Showing the coin to his friends he said, “It served our passage once before…” and he dropped the coin into the slot.
Nothing happened. Ardelphus’ silly grin deflated.
After a prolonged silence, Elgeon spoke up “Maybe you didn’t pay enough, like the old toll bridge on River Klaxon.” then he turned to Thalos, “Does that symbol mean anything in dark elvish?”
“Not that I’m aware of, but much of the symbology here has been glyphs.”
They rested there for at least an hour while weighing their options. All of them took guesses at to what the O symbol must mean. Not surprisingly, Thalos came up with the best guess. “A ring, of course!” he blurted out. “Why didn’t I think of that the first time?”

[gwb83]

Elgeon reached deep into a well-worn leather bag and produced a shiny golden ring with yellow and reddish sapphires. The ring had been appraised in Gannaway at about 20 goldounces in value. “This one is of fine make.” he said, holding it up to catch the light. Thalos squinted and agreed. In complete silence, they dropped the ring into the slot on the wall.
Nothing happened.
They could hear the ring tumble softly across stone and quickly come to rest. It was gone, into the darkness and out of reach.
“Well, now the question is whether it is worth 20 goldounces for you to find a way to retrieve it!” proclaimed Ardelphus smugly as he turned his gaze slowly to Elgeon.
They were far too wealthy to squabble long over a rather ordinary piece of jewelry, but this was a point of pride and all four of them were growing frustrated with this predicament. Elgeon defended his actions wearing a false grin, while Ardelphus enjoyed the upper hand prodding his old highborn friend. Meanwhile Thalos puzzled, paced, and muttered, before finally telling the two of them to kindly shut up.
While they continued to mull over other possibilities, Denethor grew bored with it all and slowly strode around the room. After some time, he became fixed on the soft blue glow of the crystalline altar and slowly approached it. Elgeon took notice and dropped out the debate with Thalos and Ardelphus.
Elgeon stepped cautiously closer to the alter and leveled with the barbarian, “Denethor, I uh… I don’t think you or I are qualified to mess with that.”
Clearly distracted, the axe man gave a dismissive grunt and reached out with a loose fist to knock on the crystal.
CRACK! A stunning flash and sharp report filled the chamber! As Thalos and Ardelphus blinked away the white veils that clouded their vision, they soon came to realize that both Denethor and Elgeon lied motionless near the altar. They had both suffered a terrible blast of lightning as strong as anything that Thalos could summon, but they were still alive.

[Recovery break]

Once Elgeon and Denethor were back on their feet, they agreed to search the temple chamber for key or a clue of some sort that might be connected with the wall slot. Among the temple pews, they found both traps and treasure. The seats of the pews were hinged and when lifted, revealed a shallow compartment in which was a scattered assortment of small gems, jewelry, and old coins. Before opening the front row, Ardelphus found and disabled a small lever, which would have undoubtedly triggered another trap. However, the nature of this trap was not evident. Ironically, the front row contained no treasure.
Thalos closely examined the gems and jewelry, finding that one of the two newfound rings had an aura of arcanum about it. He had seen a ring similar to this one before. It appeared to be imbued with healing properties. The priest decided that this ring should be fed to the wall and so he dropped it in the tiny opening. A heavy chunk sound preceded thick rumbling as a section of the wall began to drop away.
Thalos grinned and shrugged, “I guess any ol’ magic ring will do!”
They quickly stepped through a tight, delta-shaped threshold.

[gwb83]

[At the end of my last entry, the Lords of Darkbane had finally found the secret passage leading out of the evil chapel. They stepped through a small flared threshold into a normal-sized hallway.]

The new passage was nondescript with 10-foot high ceilings and the same dark dustiness that blanketed most of the halls of this evil place. After a two right-hand turns they came to an ordinary door. It was not locked, but seemed to be jammed. Denethor threw his shoulder into it and a split second later he dropped out of sight and landed with a crash! Luckily, the pit was not lined with spikes or other nasty surprises. Denethor was sore and more than a little cranky as he climbed out, but was otherwise uninjured.
They negotiated two more door and pitfall traps before coming to a long straight hallway which ended with an ornate heavily-reinforced door. Finding it locked, both Thalos (who has some rogue skills from his lawless youth) and Ardelphus tried in vain to pick the complex steel-plated lock. Despite having heard some distance noise from beyond the door, they decided to break it down. The destruction of this door proved to be an arduous and noisy task. Upon pushing through the splintered frame, they could see a light fading in the dark distance. There was also the faint sound of clamoring as if a group of warriors was moving away from them.
“This is not right.” observed Thalos, “Why did they not defend the door, or wait ‘til now to run off? I sense a deception.”
Looking down, Elgeon said, “And look at this floor… It is smooth as polished bone. Perhaps marble or alabaster.”
Thalos winced mildly and tilted his head, “Yeah, we shan’t be drawn into this.”
So they backed out and began to search the long featureless hallway.

Hours passed before they finally found a secret door cleverly placed on a wall adjacent to the last of the three pits they had crossed earlier. The pit directly beneath the secret door made it difficult to gain the leverage to open it. After some consideration, Thalos summoned a Hammer of Will to force the door open from a distance. A wisp of mist spilled from the new passage, reaching out like a ghostly tendril. This hallway contained traces of mist clinging to the floor. They descended a short set of stairs and came to a right turn. He the mist thickened into cloud that filled the hall. Another set of stairs led down into the oblivion.
A sense of uneasiness fell upon them as they pressed into the fog. It was wholly unnatural and Thalos was noticeably hesitant. The priest refused to go further once visibility was choked to only a couple strides. He called the party to halt and then he retreated back to the stairs. Folding his hands, he went into an intense prayer. This was clearly not the normal casting or channeling they had typically seen from Thalos. Before long a wind began to swirl through the hall. The fog was lifted up, then pushed across the ceiling and out of the hall, while the other three watched in stunned silence. Then they all chuckled quietly and nodded approval at the priest.
“I’ve never seen you pull that trick before!” said Ardelphus
Thalos answered flatly, “I never have.”
“Then how…” Elgeon’s question trailed off.
As Thalos approached, he pulled his medallion out from underneath his shirt and held it up as if to remind Elgeon. “Priiieeest.” he said in a mocking tone. Then he intently strode past the three warriors and led the way down the hall to a door only a few strides ahead on the left. The door seemed ordinary and they found it to be unlocked. They opened the door to reveal a musty stairwell choked with thick webs.
“These are not normal cobwebs. You know what to expect.” Denethor suggested.
Looking up, Ardelphus added, “And the mist is already beginning to gather on the floor again.”
Elgeon stepped forward and began to sweep the webs aside with his longsword. “Nobody has been here for a very long time. Perhaps that bodes well for us.”

Room description (from module S1):

A lone mace lies at the foot of the stairs, which is
the entrance to a decayed crypt furnished with
rotting divans, broken chairs, and other refuse. All
has gone to rot, save for a golden couch on which
resides a humanoid clothed in funerary wrappings
with a crown upon its head. A jade coffer lies at the
foot of the couch.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Elgeon quietly said, “This is a burial chamber. Thalos, maybe you can commune with this person’s spirit for some answers.”
As Thalos joined him, he asked, “What about that mace there? Hand that to me, I want to have a look.”
Elgeon picked up the weapon and the corpse suddenly rose from its long rest.

[gwb83]

Thalos quickly realized that the undead creature that now stood against them, assessing them with its emotionless malevolent red gaze, was perhaps the worst of its kind; a lich. In that gruesome lifeless body now dwelt the essence of a wizard of terrible power. Meanwhile, the cold mace in his hands grew unnaturally warm. He could see thin veins of light spreading upward from the handle. The weapon conveyed a sense of anger and purpose to destroy this new foe.
A loud frustrated growl came from Denethor. He shook his head violently as if fighting off a nightmare. It was using magic to touch his mind. No sooner did Ardelphus and Elgeon lean forward to charge than a fireball erupted from the lich! Thalos ducked under the lethal glowing sphere and the three warriors each dove away. In a flash of searing heat, all was obscured.
As their eyes adjusted, it seemed only Denethor had taken significant damage from the blast. Thalos, Ardelphus, Elgeon collected their wits and charged. Ardelphus and Elgeon landed the first blows, but the lich absorbed the punishment. Moments later, Thalos connected with the mace, driving the lich to its bony knees. Ardelphus followed with a strike that was meant to finish this creature. The lich reeled to the side and then suddenly was gone. Thinking that it may have used a spell to make itself invisible, Elgeon and Ardelphus stabbed at the air to no avail.
A crackling sound came from the entrance of the room in the instant before Thalos was struck in the chest by an intense beam of cold energy! Thalos fell backwards and the mace clattered into the shadowy corner of the room. The three warriors ran recklessly into the hall and slashed frantically at the lich. The lich stood up to their assault and lashed out with its cold withered claw-like hands.
Meanwhile Thalos sat up, stunned and shivering. He prayed for healing and warmth in his veins. Gaining enough strength to regain his feet, he reached over to retrieve the mace.
In the hall, the warriors had the creature trapped against the wall. They lunged forward to end this fight, but their steel met only stone. Again the lich teleported away!
As Thalos’ hand closed around the mace handle, he noticed a brief shimmer of light in the darkness. He turned to see the lich again standing right next to him, but it was facing the other direction. On sheer instinct and adrenaline the priest wheeled around and crushed the back of the lich’s skull.

Hearing noise from the chamber, the three fighters clamored back down the stairwell. At the base of the stairs, they stopped in disbelief as the lich’s dented crown rolled to a stop at their feet. The undead laid face down as Thalos stood over him.

[gwb83]

If you are familiar with the Tomb of Horrors module, then you know this is not the end. However, due to the split of my old gaming group late last year, this campaign is done. I just wish True20 had been around as the vehicle for the entire run instead of the last partial adventure.

Anyway, I'm in the mood for some Agents of Oblivion type action right now, so I hope to start something new soon.