Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Synopsis 7 - The Sword Coast - Ulcaster's School of Magic - Dungeon Crawl

To Dagger Falls

Active Characters - Shoonchee, Rorrick, Voxen
Inactive Characters Present - Peck Godfrey, Galdroon, Sa'ar, Alvar (Chisai)
Inactive Characters Not Present - Ulrich, Warrick, Brock (Umberto), Brianna
NPCs Present - Elayne (Alusair just departed to Cormyr)

The party begins underneath the Barracks at The Last Outpost... where Sa'ar and Shoonchee convince Voxen that the Zhentarim, despite their evil ways, are also responsible for the livelyhood of many non-evil people. If The Last Outpost did not exist, then the Bedines of the Anauroch Desert (which was once a lush jungle but has been receding over centuries) might not have food to feed their children. Rorrick explained the fight would be brought to the immediate issue, Xanthad the Beholder and his planar slave trade. Voxen then agreed and Shoonchee teleported the party away.

A gentle grove nearby (3 miles) Dagger Falls was the target of the teleport. The party traveled east on the River Tesh then northward around the Walled City of Dagger Falls to The Red Rock Tavern.



Kessla, HElf CG Brd 6, was inside making a stew for her patrons when she saw familiar faces, and others not so familiar enter the Tavern. She greeted the party warmly and introduced herself to the new members. The rest of the tavern was joyous to see the Heroes of Dagger Falls, the party that not only defeated Colderan the Mage whose dream-fever was killing townsfolk, they also saved dozens from the Red Dragon who attacked during a flight of Dragons (1356 DR), and finally freed the town from the control of the Zhentarim and returned it to it's rightful owner, Randal Morn. In the corner, practicers of the 'Ways of Umberto Eskobar' ceremoniously read the 'Escobar's Rules of Law'. Voxen, disturbed with the happenings of late, went to the bar and began to drink. 

Shoonchee went off to see about Brock, but reported back that Brock had not been in his house for some time. 

After some conversation, Shoonchee had Roo-ee head to the Dagger Falls Keep (formerly Constable Tren's tower)  to get Brianna, who had been in town studying about the Planes. Initially, Roo-ee went to sneak past the Watchful Guard at the keep but was seen entering. Then the chase was on! Guards rushed and raced after the swift Fox as she jumped over the lazy guard dog, who never moved, and ran up towards Tren's old office that had the towns library in it. Roo-ee jumped through the door and Brianna was startled as Roo-ee wrapped his tail around her head and stared at the door. The guards rushed in, and Brianna explained that everything was fine. Sabine, Brianna's familiar, was jealous of the cuddling but was relieved when Roo-ee jumped off and lead Brianna away. 

As the party was heading to a back room to discuss the plan, Brock came in from outside and joined the group. 

After they assembled in the meeting room, Voxen inebriated, Peck went to to gather thoughts on the situation. Xanthad the beholder was ferrying slaves to the 6th Layer of the Abyss.  Xanthad was the name of the person who Bart L. James saw written in Garrick Godfrey's books. The name, when he asked about it to Peck's father, he was immediately fired. Then where does Master Morbius (Its Morbius, time had morphed it to Morpheus but henceforth it is Morbius) fit in? Why was he ferrying the party members west along the Anauroch desert? Is Garric Godfrey complicit? What about Peck's Guild he belonged to before he was captured... would they know anything? Would they think he a deserter? 

As they discussed the situation, it was clear what needed to happen. They needed to go to Baldur's Gate and search out Xanthad, and stop him from his vile plans, whatever they were. Peck warned that Baldur's Gate is unlike any place the party has ever been, Rorrick confirming this. He warned the party may see things that would infuriate them, and warned that Shoon-chee could be captured and sold as a 'novelty'.  This infuriated and confused a drunken Voxen... Peck explained that strange creatures and animals were sold in Baldur's Gate in the black market. A very dangerous place to cause trouble or be a knight in shining armor. 

The party slept and the next morning made their way to the keep tower, where they met with Randal Morn who could only provide some Precious Gems for trade. Schoon-chee and Brianna discussed any Magic Circles that existed near Baldur's Gate, and Brianna recalled one she read about in a place called, Ulcaster's School of Magic. 

Shoon-chee once again teleported the party, this time to a small dark room with dim light shining through cracks in the ceiling. The Magic Circle beneath their feet, the party saw the room in great disrepair, the doors falling off the hinges. The casters began immediately casting Mend repeatedly and repairing things in the room. Just before the door was repaired, one of the party members saw something through the crack in the door. A small group of party members consisting of Brock, Brianna and Voxen went out to scout the area and check for danger. The other party members stayed back and began cleaning the room, preparing it as a safe-haven. 

Across the hall, the party was attacked by a Mimic, and during the fight it was ambushed by a Ghost. Upon search the party found a hidden room and upon entering it,  discovered a study. They entered the room and went down a flight of stairs.The party was then ambushed by Cloakers hiding on the ceiling. After the defeat of the Cloakers, the party discovered 3 spellbooks, 7 potions, and 3 scrolls.

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Spellbook 1
5th Icy Prison, Mind Fog, Nightmare, Symbol of Pain, Telekinesis, Transmute Rock to Mud
4th Animate Dead, Fire Trap, Firefall, Hallucinatory Terrain, Phantom Chariot, Rainbow Pattern, Shadow Conjuration, Symbol of Laughter, Terrible Remorse, Wandering Star Motes
3rd Anchored Step, Disable Construct, Keen Edge, Magic Circle Against Evil, Sands of Time, Summon Monster III
2nd Accelerate Poison, Delay Pain, Silent Table, Web

1st Delusional Pride, Reduce Person, Shield, Stone Fist

Spellbook 2
5th Cloudkill, Permanency, Wall of Stone
4th Charm Monster, Phantom Chariot, Phantom Steed (Communal), Share Senses, Wandering Star Motes
3rd Pellet Blast, Share Language (Communal), Silver Darts, Stinking Cloud
2nd Blur, Buoyancy, Dust of Twilight, Entangle, Fiery Shuriken, Knock, Mount (Communal), Reloading Hands
1st Adhesive Spittle, Alarm, Corrosive Touch, Discern Next of Kin, Grease, Ki Arrow, Mount, Stumble Gap, Summon Minor Monster

0th Telekinetic Projectile, Acid Splash, Arcane Mark, Bleed, Dancing Lights, Daze, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Disrupt Undead, Flare, Ghost Sound, Light, Mage Hand, Mending, Message, Open/Close, Prestidigitation, Ray of Frost, Read Magic, Resistance, Touch of Fatigue, Spark, Haunted Fey Aspect

Spellbook 3
5th Hungry Pit, Teleport, Wall of Sound, Whip of Centipedes
4th Dimension Door, Enervation, Phantom Steed (Communal), Rainbow Pattern, Ride the Waves, Secure Shelter, Solid Fog, Summon Monster IV
3rd Loathsome Veil, Phantom Driver, Seek Thoughts, Sleet Storm
2nd Create Pit, Cushioning Bands
1st Corrosive Touch, Floating Disk, Grease, Mirror Strike, Protection from Evil, Stone Fist, Summon Minor Monster

0th Acid Splash, Arcane Mark, Bleed, Dancing Lights, Daze, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Disrupt Undead, Flare, Ghost Sound, Light, Mage Hand, Mending, Message, Open/Close, Prestidigitation, Ray of Frost, Read Magic, Resistance, Touch of Fatigue, Spark, Haunted Fey Aspect

Oil of Flame Arrow (cr, 750 gp)
A cloudy serum, contained in a crystal flask.

Oil of Light (cr, 25 gp)
This smoky liquid causes motes of white light to appear when used.

Potion of Displacement (cr, 750 gp)
This smoky yellow elixir causes shadows to appear darker when used.

Elixir of Swimming (250 gp)
A smoky scarlet serum, contained in a glass bottle sealed with wax.

Elixir of Swimming (250 gp)
This watery black oil causes flames to flicker wildly when used.

Oil of Arcane Mark (cr, 25 gp)
This smoky draught smells musty.

Oil of Magic Weapon (cr, 50 gp)

This swirling red admixture causes the air to become still and cold when used.

Scroll of Cure Serious Wounds (cr, 375 gp)
Scroll of Divine Power (cr, 700 gp)

Scroll of Flame Strike (cr, 700 gp)
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Using the law of Symmetry - Brock immediately walked across the hall and bashed down the other secret door. Inside the room descended down as the other room, but this room had a seriously cracked ceiling and it had become full of water. Voxen, immediately worried, casted Ball Lightning into the water.

Side note: What happened next was awesome, but not according to the rules. I initially believed the Ochre Jellies inside were immune to electricity damage and duplicated every time they were hit, and that was it. The whole rule, "Slashing weapons, piercing weapons, and electricity attacks deal no damage to an ochre jelly. Instead the creature splits into two identical jellies, each with half of the original creature’s current hit point total, rounded down. A jelly with 10 hit points or less cannot be further split and dies if reduced to 0 hit points." In my case the 2 Gelatinous Cubes were destroyed utterly, while the 5 Ochre Jellies split into two for seven rounds. 

So, per my version:

First round 10 Jellies.
Second Round 20 Jellies
Third Round 40 Jellies.
Fouth Round 80 Jellies.
Fifth Round 160 Jellies.
Sixth Round 320 Jellies.
Final Round 640 Jellies. 

Well that escalated quick. Realizing the party had doomed itself (again, not in keeping with the traditional rules) I came up with a few quick ends. Seal the door, Escape, or my last thought, destroy the already crumbling ceiling. I had Galdroon come up with the idea, because he is smart. He came to the groups aid, sending the massive crushing damage down onto the 640 Jellies, destroying all but 6! These were probably special Jellies that the Mages experimented on over the years, and will not be seen again. 

And that is where the party left off.



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