Gygax & Greyhawk Session #24 - Back to the Dungeon

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranzel of the Wood (Human Ranger 4)
Solcha (Elf Fighter 4 / Magic User 3)
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 4/ Thief 3) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 4 / Fighter 3)

Date/Time

Reaping 13 morning to Reaping 17 late afternoon 

Before leaving Oxton, the party visits the sage Pharnabazus as they'd left the mysterious horn with him to identify. Unfortunately, they learn that it is an essentially worthless and useless horn of bubbles, product of the trickster Jester Mage, Xthilius . They also ask about the grey toad seal from the evil priests scroll. Pharnabazus easily identifies it as the mark of Wastri, the Hopping Prophet. He is a minor demigod who favors humankind and amphibian life, and has a great hatred for demi-humans. What it signifies he cannot say as the cult of Wastri has not been previously know in the lands of the Tenha.

Arriving in Orlane, the party does a detect evil recon of the village to confirm that no trace of the cult remains. They learn that while the first few weeks after the party had slain the naga were awkward and uncomfortable on the town, formerly charmed cult members and the rest of the townsfolk have mended broken bridges and started to move on. Several of the former cult have disappeared and not returned, including the sinister Derek and the constables former companions. 

Proceeding  the next day back the naga's dungeon, the party begins a systematic search for bypassed treasure. They deal with a troll who has been gathering the half-rotted remains of the slain cult members. Further encounters with green slime and poisonous snakes likewise interrupt their searching. A druidic conversation with the crocodiles reveal little useful information, though the party does learn of a boat they can use to more easily cross the muddy waters of the chamber. They find no treasure until they enter the lair of a pair of harpies. Skeef, Goro and Ranzel are all charmed at various points (and Ranzel is also immobilized in some deep mud, lured their by the bird-ladies song), but in the end the party slays both. Looting the harpy lair recovers a small collection of jewelry, both mundane and magical.  

Figuring they have found all there is of interest on the top level, the party now proceeds back to the muddier depths ... 

GAINS

Various jewelry [250gp, 100gp, 100gp, 90gp, 75gp, 50gp, 50gp]

Necklace of Adaptation 

KILLS/VICTORIES

1 Troll

1 Green Slime

1 Poisonous Snake

2 Harpies 

LOSSES

None 

Gygax & Greyhawk Session #23 - Death and Nagas

 DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranzel of the Wood (Human Ranger 3)
Solcha (Elf Fighter 3 / Magic User 2)
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 3/ Thief 2) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 3 / Fighter 2)

Date/Time

Wealsun 25 evening to Reaping 13 morning

Explictica Defilus is slow to turn and face the threat behind her, not expecting anyone to approach from the secret door but her high priest. Taking advantage of the surprise, Solcha and Ranzel start charging at the naga, while Skeef and Goro hold back and begin casting spells. Just as the charge connects and the spells go off, the naga responds with a spell of here own. Skeef finds himself stuck in a sticky web, and Goro is trapped on the wrong side of it, away from his companions. The purple glow of faerie fire leaps from the snake like form as Solcha and Ranzel hack at her, and Goro burns the web (and Skeef) to clear a path. The naga turns her gaze on Ranzel, charming the ranger, who then attempts to keep both sets of his friends separate and generally getting in everyone's way. The naga swiftly bites Solcha, poisoning the elf , who falls dead. Goro charges in to lay about with his blade, and Skeef rushes forward to cast neutralize poison on his fallen comrade. And then the naga release a fireball, and both Skeef (and his critters) and Solcha fall to the blast. But getting caught in the flames also releases Ranzel from his charm. He raises his sword, and the ranger finishes the serpent-thing with a mighty chop. 

Skeef's wounds are bound, and he regains consciousness in a short time. There is nothing that can be done immediately for Solcha, so her remains are respectfully wrapped to be carried out of the dungeon and hopefully to a cleric for raising. The remainder of the party gathers the loot, rescues the captives, and scoops up the leftover silver pieces from the first treasure hoard. And then make their way back to Orlane, arriving just as dusk begins to fall. They make their way directly to Ramne's grove, but notice along the way there are actually people on the streets of Orlane and life seems to be just a little more normal. Ramne confirms their observation, noting that whatever the party has done, it appears the curse on the town is lifted. They confirm this with visits to the Slumbering Serpent Inn and the reeve Zakarias (who has his own charm lifted by the death of Solcha, and is none to happy with his previous enscollment) 

The party does not linger in Orlane, but escorts the formerly captive merchant and his wife back to Oxton. There they pool their gold to raise Solcha, and decide to sell to bag of holding to a reveling Richfest dandy. This allows them to train and pay off debts, and prepare for a return to the dungeons of the naga to see what treasures and evils they may have overlooked ... 

GAINS

110pp

890gp

5862sp

Jeweled bracelet [400gp]

Ruby [800gp]

Bag of Holding

Boots of Elvenkind

Horn of ??

Ring of Protection +1

Ring of Free Action

Potion of Gaseous Form

Potion of Invisibility

Potionof Clairvoyance

2 Potion of Healing

Philter of Love  

KILLS/VICTORIES

Explictica Defilus aka the Naga

LOSSES

Solcha (Twice)

Skeef (Once) 

Racoon and Rat 

Gygax & Greyhawk Session #22 - Of Undead and Secret Doors

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranzel of the Wood (Human Ranger 3)
Solcha (Elf Fighter 3 / Magic User 2)
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 3/ Thief 2) and his giant weasel Riki
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 3 / Fighter 2)

Balthus (Human Fighter 2) and his War Dog 

Date/Time

Wealsun 25 late afternoon to Wealsun 25 evening

The party pushes along the edge of one last mud-filled chamber and finally emerges onto dry-ish land. The passage initially leads to a large chamber filled with deep water and no sign of a way to cross it. Turning back, they take another branch of the corridor which leads to a door, swollen tightly shut. This is forced open and leads to the first 'built' chamber encountered on this lower level. A single massive pillar holds up the ceiling in the center. As they move past this pillar, two undead creatures emerge from behind it and attack. Both wrap their hands and Goro's neck and start to choke the cleric to death. And while both are quickly chopped down, they gruesomely rise again and scare off half the party, leaving the remnant to turn to magic and silvered weapons to finish them off. 

Forcing open another door, the party encounter zombies waiting, which Goro turns. However, the undead come back as the party is exploring another exit and are taken down by sword and mace. The new exit leads into a series of cells. One is occupied by a teenage boy and girl, the other by an older couple. All explained they'd been captured by the cult and brought before Eplicitica Defilus, but resisted the naga's charm gaze. So they were locked up here. The teenagers are from Orlane, children of the town carpenter, a cult member. The other two are merchants unlucky enough to stay in the wrong inn when they passed through town. When questioned, they can tell little about the dungeon overall as they were blindfolded when lead through, but are able to describe the naga's lair. It is accessible only by boat, through a great water filled chamber lit by a strange green glow. The naga herself sat on a pile of treasure on a dry shelf at the end of the cavern.  

All of the prisoners' beg to be released, but the party convinces them to remain in the cells until they finish with the naga, it being safer for them here for now. They sullenly agree, and the party hands over a few spare weapons just in case someone comes for the prisoners. 

Heading further down the hall, the party passes through another chamber before reaching a door. Throwing it open, they find themselves looking into a wood paneled chapel. At the far end next to a dais and alter stands a man in grey-green robes, who mock's their arrival and prepares to cast a spell. This is cut off by a magic missile from Solcha, and the figure then neutralized by a hold spell from Skeef. However, the man's assistants rushes across the room and grabs at Goro, draining away some of the cleric's life force and vitality. The giant weasel latches onto the attacker; but unfortunatley is also drained of life as a result. Once more, the magic and silver comes out and the undead attacker is slain. 

Entering and searching the room, they find a stone statue of the naga on the wooden alter. Looting the body of the cleric, they find he wears chainmail and carries a snake-headed hammer. He also has a scroll hidden under the robes, a letter from some called Abbot Grosso. The letter outlines much of what the party knows about the cult activities, and also suggests the naga's cult is but a small part of some greater evil. The scroll has a seal attached, in sickly green-grey wax, of a hopping frog. No one recognizes the symbol. 

Searching around the alter, Solcha finds the statue's head can turn, which opens a secret door in the north wall. This leads into a short passage, where the party finds another secret door. Opening this, they are greeted by a strange green glow silhouetting a great serpent shape in the chamber beyond ... 

GAINS

none

KILLS/VICTORIES

2 coffer corpse

4 zombies

Gareth Primo, High Priest of the Cult 

1 wight 

LOSSES

Riki the Wonder Weasel