Chronicles of the Consortium

Sir Blanque - swordsman and handsome, dashing noble half mer-person Marion - stabby stabby dagger specialist; Nihrain who currently carries the Runestaff Destiny - Menastrai sorceress covertly raised on Melnibone Bomilcar - Weeping Waste nomad from a chieftain's family Campaign Narrative Having just come from a rather pleasant feast with the Sheikh who controls the White Palm Oasis, and also having found out various bits and pieces of useful information/possible subterfuge, the four characters decide the late evening is a good time to go for a wander around the oasis. They want to take advantage of their favour with the Sheikh to have a good look around the place; besides, they spotted quite a few interesting landmarks as they flew into the oasis in the first place. The players are encamped towards the top left of the map as you look at it, almost due north of area 2, which is the main camp of their desert tribe friends. They decide to move in a clockwise direction to check ...

Sir Blanque - swordsman and handsome, dashing noble half mer-person Marion - stabby stabby dagger specialist; Nihrain who currently carries the Runestaff Destiny - Menastrai sorceress covertly raised on Melnibone Bomilcar - Weeping Waste nomad from a chieftain's family Campaign Narrative The party has arrived in style at the famed Oasis of the White Palm. This is what they see as they fly towards it: They have a good view of the overall layout from their flying reed boats, so I highlighted points of possible interest: 1: The whole area is almost a mile across, with dense vegetation shading to scrub and scattered palm trees further away. 2: The main nomad camp. 3: The waters of the oasis itself. Eight guards with drawn scimitars stand guard here at all times. 4: A single white palm. 5: An old monumental statue of some kind, half buried in sand. 6: A burned area that used to be a camp. 7: A monolith, 25' high. Think Cleopatra's needle, only not so tall. 8: T...

Sir Blanque - swordsman and handsome, dashing noble half mer-person Marion - stabby stabby dagger specialist; Nihrain who currently carries the Runestaff Destiny - Menastrai sorceress covertly raised on Melnibone Bomilcar - Weeping Waste nomad from a chieftain's family Campaign Narrative The four characters are in the legendary land of Quar, in an area known as Kwan on the far side of a mountain chain to the northwest of the Eastern Kingdoms. They have just investigated an unfeasibly large pyramid, lifted the curse on it, restored the River Athis, and recovered the second of five Star Gems they are seeking. Not bad for a day's work! Schematic of the pyramid's interior, with the levels laid out in almost isometric fashion. My scribbles are partly visible. In ascending order, you can see the false plundered tomb level at the very bottom of the photo; then the maze with all the strange orange mists; the Halls of the Upper Priesthood; the deadly Gauntlet level; and final...

I was surfing lazily, as you do in the late evening, and came across this little gem: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~zcz/elric/tindex.html It doesn't look as though it has been updated in a very long time (the links are long out of date, for example), but there are some really nice touches...

Sir Blanque - swordsman and handsome, dashing noble half mer-person Marion - stabby stabby dagger specialist; Nihrain who currently carries the Runestaff Destiny - Menastrai sorceress covertly raised on Melnibone Bomilcar - Weeping Waste nomad from a chieftain's family Campaign Narrative The party has done well up to this point; they feel they are approaching the pinnacle of the pyramid. However, they also know from the holy warrior they met on the level below that there is a corrupted high priest up here somewhere, and he seems to be immune to weapons. On the left you can see the area where the characters now find themselves - the real tomb of the pharaoh is one level further up, and although they don't yet know this, they have guessed they're getting close. I still don't know why this level is called 'the Gauntlet'... The party has emerged onto a ledge at the top end of the map as you look at it, in room 1, after levitating up from a large chamber c...

Sir Blanque - swordsman and handsome, dashing noble half mer-person Marion - stabby stabby dagger specialist; Nihrain who currently carries the Runestaff Destiny - Menastrai sorceress covertly raised on Melnibone Bomilcar - Weeping Waste nomad from a chieftain's family Campaign Narrative The four heroes have just emerged onto another level inside a giant pyramid. They realise that the higher they go inside the thing, the smaller each level will become as it tapers towards the top - and, probably, the harder everything will be. Destiny quips, "It's like a reverse dungeon." Although they don't know it, the group is now in the level called the 'Halls of the Upper Priesthood'. This is where, in times long past, an order of priests dedicated to preserving the memory of Quarzhasaat lived and died. It is, of course, going to be rather dangerous: Map from the module.  This place is large, so from my point of view it's going to be interesting to see...

I have been using the spring break to update the campaign events diary as much as I can, but I have also taken the opportunity to make some other minor changes. I have put a photograph of our new character sheets onto a new page in its own right, along with some notes about its creation and function. If enough people like the way this looks, I can post a PDF or Word version elsewhere on the net. I have also added stats for Minotaurs to the monster menagerie page. And last, although maybe not least, I have added the following to my list of house rules: Berserk Rage Some (usually Chaotic) creatures or certain types of people have a propensity to go nuts in combat in a way that is excessive even for those stressful circumstances - think of the fabled Norse berserkers, for example. Someone or something in a berserk rage ignores all except major wounds or outright killing blows. Even if their hit point total is exceeded by a combination of several cumulative lesser wounds, they ignore th...

Sir Blanque - swordsman and handsome, dashing noble half mer-person Marion - stabby stabby dagger specialist; Nihrain who currently carries the Runestaff Destiny - Menastrai sorceress covertly raised on Melnibone Bomilcar - Weeping Waste nomad from a chieftain's family Campaign narrative The characters are now in a mid-level complex inside a giant pyramid. They have extra knowledge about what they need to do in the longer term, as well as what they are looking for in here, so they take the only door leading out of the room where they met a rather peculiar talking beast creature. This leads to a strange antechamber, a clear 10' square section of corridor that has an archway right in front of them. Beyond the archway are swirling orange mists that obscure the only way forward. The adventurers don't like the look of the mist, so decide to press ahead while holding their breath, just in case something happens. Air elementals are held ready also. At this point Destiny re...

Sir Blanque  - swordsman and handsome, dashing noble half mer-person Marion  - stabby stabby dagger specialist; Nihrain who currently carries the Runestaff Destiny  - Menastrai sorceress covertly raised on Melnibone Bomilcar  - Weeping Waste nomad from a chieftain's family The characters have just explored a plundered tomb at the entry level of a gigantic pyramid. They know from legends told them by the local tribesmen that there is supposed to be a large magical gem hidden in the tomb of the last Pharaoh of Quarzhasaat. According to the 'dervish' priest they befriended in the ante-temple to the pyramid before they entered, it is one of give gems required to summon the sphere of power of the architect mage known as Martek; he will then be able to destroy a terrible fire lord he originally imprisoned 1,000 years ago. It sounds more complicated than it is - apart from the fact it was the characters who released the fire lord, so they are feeling rather responsibl...