Desert of Desolation IV
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 realises that the elementals she used to help the ascent to this place are not regenerating as should normally happen - basically, the party is going to have to ration their uses.
The corridor bends to the right and the group emerges into another clear 10' square section. Their experience of walking through the orange mists is strangely amplified by the fact that the corridor section containing the wispy stuff is smoothed using plaster at the join between walls and floor, and also walls and ceiling, creating the effect almost of walking through a cylinder. They now reckon that the mists are designed to disorientate anyone who passes through them, and probably intensify the effect if one were to breathe them. "We could be lost for ever in here if we're not careful!" says Marion.
It is also apparent that the sections containing the strange orange air are interspersed with clear zones; it is, though, uncertain what is keeping the orange inside its designated portions of what is turning into a labyrinth, except that the segments containing the mist are denoted by archways and the rounded architectural feature. "Whoever built this place had great command of magic," says Destiny. Bomilcar just shrugs.
They are now at a crossroads, with archways to their left, front and right. Sir Blanque reminds the others that they have not yet progressed very far; "The area to our right must logically bend towards the rear wall of the pyramid, so let's check that so we can keep our bearings. Marion is right; it would not do to lose track of where we are."
Another short section of mist leads the players to a door, which they fling open, fully expecting a room just like the one they entered from the sluice-way they clambered up into the centre rear of the pyramid. Sir Blanque's guess is correct; this is a 30' by 30' square room, which makes it identical in its dimensions to their entry point to this level. This one, however, is completely empty.
Marion whispers, "I really don't like the look of that ceiling; there seems to be a slightly wider than normal gap where it abuts the walls."
Bomilcar agrees; "I smell a trap."
Destiny: "It looks as though the entire ceiling is probably trapped."
Sir Blanque muses further, "We know from the false tomb at the entry level that whoever built this liked traps - a good way to keep out intruders."
"I'll bet this place has other defences than just traps," says Destiny.
The group leaves to retrace their steps back to the crossroads they found earlier. From their current perspective, they know that the passage to their left leads back to their entry chamber, directly behind them now is the trapped room. This means they can take either the mists in front, or the mists to their right. Sir Blanque suggests the latter: "This way we are more or less sticking to the rear of the pyramid relative to the side we originally entered. I really don't want to lose my sense of direction." The others agree, so this is where they go.
The Filkharian noble's guess is correct; the corridor in the mists turns to their right, leading to the back wall of the pyramid. Again, there is a section of mists and a door, and again the group enters. This room is another regular 30' square, which means that the rear of the pyramid has three of these in a row with a single corridor leading towards the middle of the building:
Resting in the room they have just entered is another bunch of adventurers. A group of nine men, who look like local mercenary types, is gathered in the centre of the room. They are all wearing armour made from stiffened white linen, and carry shields and scimitars. Quite a few of the men seem rather dazed - stoned, even - and the others are arguing about what to do next. There is no leader as such, but one of the clear-headed men is in the middle of making a point about needing to rest so that the others can recover from breathing in those damned mists. "Look, we have no idea where we are anymore," he is saying in Quar, the local language, "but we need everyone to get back to normal so we can try to find a way out."
At this point the locals are interrupted by the player characters, who are rather surprised to see real people in here. They hold their hands up with palms forward in the universal gesture of friendship. Destiny asks them how they got here: "We have seen traps, and are expecting other guardians - demons, even." The spokesman for the mercenary band answers, "We came here for treasure. There is a way into this strange place from one of the chapels near the entrance below; if you stand on the offering bowl held by a huge statue, you are transported here." So it looks as though there is at least one other way to get here - but it's only one-way...
Bomilcar suggests that they join forces while they figure a way out, and the men agree. Everyone waits a while for the rest of the troopers to recover from the mists. According to their new acquaintances, the orange stuff has had a narcotic effect on all of them, and they are now thoroughly lost. Their new leader says that, "Once you are disorientated, you have no way to tell the corridors apart - they all look the same. The effect is compounded by the plaster!" So whoever designed this knew exactly what they were doing. While the others recover, the party has a quick confab;
Destiny begins, "We don't have enough elementals to keep all of these men and ourselves save from the mists."
Marion suggests that, "We should keep those for ourselves, then. These men are thieves, so they probably aren't entirely trustworthy anyway."
Bomilcar is, as usual, the voice of pragmatism: "If we meet anything nasty, this will provide more targets, which means we will be safer sticking together. Even if these guys do succumb to the gases again, they''ll help shield us."
Sir Blanque makes a suggestion: "Three of us should lead the way, and one of should remain at the rear. We can put these guys in between; that way, we should be able to keep them moving when they are affected."
The players put this plan to the men, who agree quickly. They really want to get out of here. Sir Blanque has another idea: "Since we found three pretty much identical rooms against the rear wall of the pyramid - well, identical apart from their contents - I think this level is probably symmetrical. Therefore we should proceed in a straight line right through the middle until we either find an exit, or reach the front face of the building." Everyone agrees, so the augmented group retraces its way to the corridor that leads into the centre of the monument. Some of their new compatriots start feeling woozy almost immediately; Marion reckons that exposure to the orange gas makes one cumulatively more susceptible. Basically, this whole level is one gigantic trap of an especially subtle and insidious nature.
The groups passes through several sections, empty ones and areas of gas concentrations. At one point they come across another of those ubiquitous 30' rooms, although this one has a doorway in each wall. Here they encounter a group of three more of the local warriors, who are grateful to join them. The whole party continues, finding themselves in an area that is for the first time somewhat different from everything the have seen before. It is an octagonal room with four equally spaced exit archways to mist-filled sections, including the one they have come from. The player characters are fine, although Bomilcar required the use of an air elemental to stop him breathing in the now familiar mists; all of their new compatriots are showing the effects. The four walls without archways each have a lever set into them; the party avoids these because there is no telling what might transpire. In the middle of the room, a skeleton lies on the floor. "Hey, man," sways one of the soldier types, "This is where we arrived after that freaky teleport thing from the chapel. Man, that was fun."
The characters reckon they are now in the exact centre of this level of the pyramid, and determine to proceed straight ahead as already agreed. They pass through several more clear areas interspersed with gassed ones and arrive eventually at another 30' square room with doors in every wall - identical to the one where they found the three newest of the local troops. This one, though, contains a gigantic bull-headed man who is sitting in the midst of a huge pile of crud, big enough for him plus several others. The PCs have seen one of these before, but Destiny reckons this one is a demon of combat. She is right; it charges, raising a large two-handed axe.
At exactly this moment, the three newest arrivals start to attack the other soldiers, changing shape as they do so - demonic assassins of a kind familiar to the party from previous adventures. Fortunately, though, the players are still unaffected by the orange mists; equally fortunate is the fact that only one of the 'minotaurs' is present. The opposition is quickly despatched, with only two of the stoned soldiers having sustained wounds. They are still able to fight, just not at full effect, so the mists have degraded them as opposed to being completely debilitating. This just confirms the party's suspicion that the mists are designed to disorientate intruders to stop them escaping - presumably the traps and other guardians will take care of the rest.
The locals start to rummage around the bedding of the bull man; this worries Bomilcar, because there is far more than needed for one of the creatures - he thinks there could be another half a dozen or so. "And I'll bet they are immune to the mists," he adds. There does, though, seem to be a way out above this room - a 10' diameter shaft leads up to the next level, although it is covered by a wooden trapdoor. Destiny orders an earth elemental to break that door, and Marion uses her rope and grapple to climb up. Everyone follows one at a time, even the mercenaries, who are again beginning to recover from the mists. It's just as well that they do this relatively quickly, because another six of the bull men are heading back to their guard post, attracted by the noise of combat.
This is the map of the whole level. The players and their nine new accomplices have gone straight through the centre of the pyramid, from top to bottom as you look at it. They started at point 8; found the three other mercenaries (actually shapeshifters) in room 24; entered the octagonal room with the sekeleton marked 1; and then made their way to the room of the minotaurs at 25.
Umpire's comments
Thomas as Sir Blanque went about all of this in a very logical manner, and it turned out to be the right thing to do. There wasn't much they could do to anticipate the attack of the 'doppelgangers', and they got lucky with a random roll for how many minotaurs were present - just the one. According to the module, the nine men are actually bandits who are supposed to backstab the players for loot, but I made an Intelligence roll for them. They rolled well, so I rationalised this as them working out that these strange folks helping them are too dangerous. Anyway, they found quite a bit of loot in the bedding.
This place could become very dangerous indeed. Almost all of the rooms are identically shaped, and even those that have multiple exits are mirrored elsewhere in the complex, as you can see from the map. By taking the route they did, the players managed to avoid most of the unpleasantness, and got out before they started to be affected by the gas. I did have a set of battlemaps for this level, but I decided not to use them in case the party got stoned...
Incidentally, Marion thinks that the Runestaff is helping them pick up languages far more quickly than normal. She is correct.
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 realises that the elementals she used to help the ascent to this place are not regenerating as should normally happen - basically, the party is going to have to ration their uses.
The corridor bends to the right and the group emerges into another clear 10' square section. Their experience of walking through the orange mists is strangely amplified by the fact that the corridor section containing the wispy stuff is smoothed using plaster at the join between walls and floor, and also walls and ceiling, creating the effect almost of walking through a cylinder. They now reckon that the mists are designed to disorientate anyone who passes through them, and probably intensify the effect if one were to breathe them. "We could be lost for ever in here if we're not careful!" says Marion.
It is also apparent that the sections containing the strange orange air are interspersed with clear zones; it is, though, uncertain what is keeping the orange inside its designated portions of what is turning into a labyrinth, except that the segments containing the mist are denoted by archways and the rounded architectural feature. "Whoever built this place had great command of magic," says Destiny. Bomilcar just shrugs.
They are now at a crossroads, with archways to their left, front and right. Sir Blanque reminds the others that they have not yet progressed very far; "The area to our right must logically bend towards the rear wall of the pyramid, so let's check that so we can keep our bearings. Marion is right; it would not do to lose track of where we are."
Another short section of mist leads the players to a door, which they fling open, fully expecting a room just like the one they entered from the sluice-way they clambered up into the centre rear of the pyramid. Sir Blanque's guess is correct; this is a 30' by 30' square room, which makes it identical in its dimensions to their entry point to this level. This one, however, is completely empty.
Marion whispers, "I really don't like the look of that ceiling; there seems to be a slightly wider than normal gap where it abuts the walls."
Bomilcar agrees; "I smell a trap."
Destiny: "It looks as though the entire ceiling is probably trapped."
Sir Blanque muses further, "We know from the false tomb at the entry level that whoever built this liked traps - a good way to keep out intruders."
"I'll bet this place has other defences than just traps," says Destiny.
The group leaves to retrace their steps back to the crossroads they found earlier. From their current perspective, they know that the passage to their left leads back to their entry chamber, directly behind them now is the trapped room. This means they can take either the mists in front, or the mists to their right. Sir Blanque suggests the latter: "This way we are more or less sticking to the rear of the pyramid relative to the side we originally entered. I really don't want to lose my sense of direction." The others agree, so this is where they go.
The Filkharian noble's guess is correct; the corridor in the mists turns to their right, leading to the back wall of the pyramid. Again, there is a section of mists and a door, and again the group enters. This room is another regular 30' square, which means that the rear of the pyramid has three of these in a row with a single corridor leading towards the middle of the building:
The players entered room 28 from the sluiceway beneath. Room 27 is the one with the trapped ceiling; 26 is where they are now. Sir Blanque is correct: these three chambers are located at the centre rear of the pyramid. Point 8 leads further into the complex.
Resting in the room they have just entered is another bunch of adventurers. A group of nine men, who look like local mercenary types, is gathered in the centre of the room. They are all wearing armour made from stiffened white linen, and carry shields and scimitars. Quite a few of the men seem rather dazed - stoned, even - and the others are arguing about what to do next. There is no leader as such, but one of the clear-headed men is in the middle of making a point about needing to rest so that the others can recover from breathing in those damned mists. "Look, we have no idea where we are anymore," he is saying in Quar, the local language, "but we need everyone to get back to normal so we can try to find a way out."
At this point the locals are interrupted by the player characters, who are rather surprised to see real people in here. They hold their hands up with palms forward in the universal gesture of friendship. Destiny asks them how they got here: "We have seen traps, and are expecting other guardians - demons, even." The spokesman for the mercenary band answers, "We came here for treasure. There is a way into this strange place from one of the chapels near the entrance below; if you stand on the offering bowl held by a huge statue, you are transported here." So it looks as though there is at least one other way to get here - but it's only one-way...
Bomilcar suggests that they join forces while they figure a way out, and the men agree. Everyone waits a while for the rest of the troopers to recover from the mists. According to their new acquaintances, the orange stuff has had a narcotic effect on all of them, and they are now thoroughly lost. Their new leader says that, "Once you are disorientated, you have no way to tell the corridors apart - they all look the same. The effect is compounded by the plaster!" So whoever designed this knew exactly what they were doing. While the others recover, the party has a quick confab;
Destiny begins, "We don't have enough elementals to keep all of these men and ourselves save from the mists."
Marion suggests that, "We should keep those for ourselves, then. These men are thieves, so they probably aren't entirely trustworthy anyway."
Bomilcar is, as usual, the voice of pragmatism: "If we meet anything nasty, this will provide more targets, which means we will be safer sticking together. Even if these guys do succumb to the gases again, they''ll help shield us."
Sir Blanque makes a suggestion: "Three of us should lead the way, and one of should remain at the rear. We can put these guys in between; that way, we should be able to keep them moving when they are affected."
The players put this plan to the men, who agree quickly. They really want to get out of here. Sir Blanque has another idea: "Since we found three pretty much identical rooms against the rear wall of the pyramid - well, identical apart from their contents - I think this level is probably symmetrical. Therefore we should proceed in a straight line right through the middle until we either find an exit, or reach the front face of the building." Everyone agrees, so the augmented group retraces its way to the corridor that leads into the centre of the monument. Some of their new compatriots start feeling woozy almost immediately; Marion reckons that exposure to the orange gas makes one cumulatively more susceptible. Basically, this whole level is one gigantic trap of an especially subtle and insidious nature.
The groups passes through several sections, empty ones and areas of gas concentrations. At one point they come across another of those ubiquitous 30' rooms, although this one has a doorway in each wall. Here they encounter a group of three more of the local warriors, who are grateful to join them. The whole party continues, finding themselves in an area that is for the first time somewhat different from everything the have seen before. It is an octagonal room with four equally spaced exit archways to mist-filled sections, including the one they have come from. The player characters are fine, although Bomilcar required the use of an air elemental to stop him breathing in the now familiar mists; all of their new compatriots are showing the effects. The four walls without archways each have a lever set into them; the party avoids these because there is no telling what might transpire. In the middle of the room, a skeleton lies on the floor. "Hey, man," sways one of the soldier types, "This is where we arrived after that freaky teleport thing from the chapel. Man, that was fun."
The characters reckon they are now in the exact centre of this level of the pyramid, and determine to proceed straight ahead as already agreed. They pass through several more clear areas interspersed with gassed ones and arrive eventually at another 30' square room with doors in every wall - identical to the one where they found the three newest of the local troops. This one, though, contains a gigantic bull-headed man who is sitting in the midst of a huge pile of crud, big enough for him plus several others. The PCs have seen one of these before, but Destiny reckons this one is a demon of combat. She is right; it charges, raising a large two-handed axe.
At exactly this moment, the three newest arrivals start to attack the other soldiers, changing shape as they do so - demonic assassins of a kind familiar to the party from previous adventures. Fortunately, though, the players are still unaffected by the orange mists; equally fortunate is the fact that only one of the 'minotaurs' is present. The opposition is quickly despatched, with only two of the stoned soldiers having sustained wounds. They are still able to fight, just not at full effect, so the mists have degraded them as opposed to being completely debilitating. This just confirms the party's suspicion that the mists are designed to disorientate intruders to stop them escaping - presumably the traps and other guardians will take care of the rest.
The locals start to rummage around the bedding of the bull man; this worries Bomilcar, because there is far more than needed for one of the creatures - he thinks there could be another half a dozen or so. "And I'll bet they are immune to the mists," he adds. There does, though, seem to be a way out above this room - a 10' diameter shaft leads up to the next level, although it is covered by a wooden trapdoor. Destiny orders an earth elemental to break that door, and Marion uses her rope and grapple to climb up. Everyone follows one at a time, even the mercenaries, who are again beginning to recover from the mists. It's just as well that they do this relatively quickly, because another six of the bull men are heading back to their guard post, attracted by the noise of combat.
Umpire's comments
Thomas as Sir Blanque went about all of this in a very logical manner, and it turned out to be the right thing to do. There wasn't much they could do to anticipate the attack of the 'doppelgangers', and they got lucky with a random roll for how many minotaurs were present - just the one. According to the module, the nine men are actually bandits who are supposed to backstab the players for loot, but I made an Intelligence roll for them. They rolled well, so I rationalised this as them working out that these strange folks helping them are too dangerous. Anyway, they found quite a bit of loot in the bedding.
This place could become very dangerous indeed. Almost all of the rooms are identically shaped, and even those that have multiple exits are mirrored elsewhere in the complex, as you can see from the map. By taking the route they did, the players managed to avoid most of the unpleasantness, and got out before they started to be affected by the gas. I did have a set of battlemaps for this level, but I decided not to use them in case the party got stoned...
Incidentally, Marion thinks that the Runestaff is helping them pick up languages far more quickly than normal. She is correct.
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