BEYOND THE STYX [OD&D + CHAINMAIL, AGE OF CONAN] Play Report 8: Alone in the Obelisk

 [DM Commentary: Unfortunately, this may or may not be the last report of this particular campaign, as nearly everybody that had played has indefinitely had to leave for various personal reasons. I may, should the stars align, be able to eke out another one or two sessions of this campaign in order to pierce through the sub ten session firmament that has seemingly enveloped my entire DMing Career.]

Gimli sets out on an expedition without Blackmouse to the new location found by the Crypt Seeker Gang-- An obelisk in the jungle to the south of Stygia, at one point a base of operation for a long dead sorcerer.

On the journey to the site, the party is halted by a band of Darfari raiders numbering 150. Gimli and his crew could not evade them as they began to encircle his men in the desert. Fortunately, the raiders leader was not outright hostile, but willing to let them go on one condition; accompany a splinter group to the obelisk to retrieve the Staff of Petruk a magical staff said to date back to the Thurian Age, topped with a crystal skull. The rest of the journey was uneventful.

After a day and some change, the party (now ten Darfari men

stronger), arrive to the scene. 

 An ominous black monolith four stories tall, covered from top to bottom in hieroglyphs. Two entrances are seen, the double doors on the front, and a ravine on the western side that leads into tunnel just below the structure. Gimli opts for the latter and proceeds to do some recon. He discovers a stone door seemingly sealed shut even with the strength of 23 men attempting to prize it open. He then comes across an oubliette that appears to go down about a couple hundred feet into the ground-- and a horrible screaming emanates from within. Gimli decides to drop flasks of oil and a torch down into the pit. The light reveals the silhouette of a large humanoid figure made of stone that seems entirely unbothered by the flames. he then proceeds south, gets jumped by some giant toads, losing a few men in the process, and then coming across a room with a spell circle surrounded by five wrought silver candlesticks with candles lit atop them. An amorphous mass writhes within and seems to follow Gimli as he paces the room.

Too many candles, but you get the idea

For whatever reason, Gimli deduces this to be merely illusion and disturbs the circle, causing the monster to seep forth from the circle which contained it (and perhaps more foolishly didn't even take a single candlestick to make it worth the trouble).

Thus proceeds a ridiculous Scooby-Doo chase sequence even as this monster is struggling to even keep pace with the slowest member. Along the way, finding a trap door, a spiral staircase, and a statue of Apep the chaos serpent (fortunately he found a taxiderm lion  Eventually, Gimli and his men decide to find a door to bust down and they get stopped midway by some giant rats. We had to stop the session then because  it was like 1:30 AM and I was about to pass out. Possibly the most anti-climatic cliffhanger ever.

 

BEYOND THE STYX [OD&D + CHAINMAIL, AGE OF CONAN] Play Report 7: A Song of Fungi & Free For Alls

 [DM Commentary: The first session of the new year in the bag. Unfortunately Shak-Amen's player had to decline and Sumac was nowhere to be seen, but a new player character enters the fold: Blackmouse the Veteran! As well, The Troop Type combat system makes its second appearance this campaign, which certainly came in handy, as you will soon see.]

9th day of the Month of the Griffin, Year of the Cobra

Gimli and Blackmouse return to the Tomb of Khnem, deciding to Explore the rest of the first floor. They find a group of grave robbers in a chamber, deliberating about what to do with a chest. Their initial reaction was one of suspicious but not outright hostility-- a standstill until the bandits realize there is one of their own amongst the ranks of the PCs party-- Hap-Mu! 

While some are still uneasy (especially given the mention of the Khnem's mummy wandering the halls and fearing the PCs might be in league with the Cult of Ibis seeking to punish thieves like them), five of the nine bandits team up temporarily with the party, while the other four head to the entrance to "guard the door".

The Party and the Grave Robbers head deeper into the first floor, wandering towards the northeast where they come across a nasty surprise... A pair of shriekers.

Are you ready to have some fun, guys?

 

Nothing they've not dealt with before, right? Beat up the giant pair of mushrooms and get the hell out of dodge. That's perhaps what they thought. But, as fate would have it, they were in for a hell of time.


First the noise caught the attention of some cave dwelling types (re-flavored troglodytes) Those were beaten back with relative ease, the first two of a group of five were slain by the lieutenant and the sergeants, the other three attempt to run. Pikemen, grave robbers and the PCs are set to deal with the shriekers, with the heavy footmen guarding the entrance to the chamber. This is where the critical issue begins to arise-- Nobody can seem to hit the damn shriekers. Partly a combination of the nature of troop type combat (where unless you are significantly outclassing your target in terms of weaponry, you effectively have a 1-in-6 chance of scoring a hit and you ideally have a numerical advantage to increase your odds by getting more rolls), and partly the cold indifference of the Random Number Gods.


If nothing could be done about the shriekers, then they simply will shriek again. Second to enter the frey was the giant spiders, who primarily fought the troglodyte-types, and would soon be sandwiched by the third party to arrive onto the scene-- ratmen (using the wererat statblock, but once again, slightly reflavored in a way to better fit Howard's setting.) The offensive on the eastern exit ceased for the PCs party, who refocused their efforts on dealing with the shriekers, letting the monsters fight amongst themselves. Then came the fourth group from the south-- a group of heavy footmen aligned with the Cult of Ibis.

Damn it. 

The fact that the PCs were at the time working with the grave robbers, combined with a poor reaction meant it was on site. A slugging match between two groups of 10 soldiers. The party pinned in a 30' x 30' chamber. The threat of a creature that can only be dealt with by silvered or magical weapons slowly closing in on them.

Something had to give. 

Fortunately, despite the war of attrition with fatigued fighters slowly taking losses was to wrap up in the nick of time. The Ibisite soldiers morale finally broke! Giving our heroes enough time to greedily scoop up the loot (a chest containing 1000 silver, as well as a set of +1 bronze plate armor propped up in the corner) to ensure that they at least don't leave the place entirely empty-handed.

Blackmouse came up just short being eligible to level up, and now the party has a contact with these grave robber types. However, they are now caught between a rock and a hard place-- The serpent-men (and by extension) the cult of Set are likely to see the PCs as enemies, and now they are also not on good terms with what is likely to be the only faction who have a chance of standing up to Set's minions. A new chapter for this campaign seems to be unfolding before our eyes...

BEYOND THE STYX [OD&D + CHAINMAIL, AGE OF CONAN] Play Report 6: Culling the Herd with Bulk and Skull

[DM Commentary: Hello everyone. Sorry it took so long to get around to writing this update, the Christmas season is a very busy time of year as I'm sure you're aware. Another step towards my goal of at least ten sessions in this campaign, and a comfy, if perilous session to end off 2024.While unfortunately Shak-Amen's Player was once again absent, he should return in the first game of the new year. Without further ado, here's the play report.]

Continuing where our heroes left off last time, the bittersweet and languid aftermath of their first direct confrontation with the serpent-men. Ihteram the Borderer has been slain. Shak-Amen has mysteriously vanished once again. But two more allies are gained-- a Vanir man (rather creatively) named Gimli, who found himself stumbling into the room with no recollection of how he got there, and Hap-Mu, a cowardly Stygian grave robber who locked himself in a nearby room after some unknown creature attacked him and his companion. He is initially resistant to the party's negotiations, likely still fearful of strangers that could be trying to fool him into coming out into an ambush, but eventually he gives in, succumbing to his hunger. Hap-Mu reveals he has ties to the criminal underworld in Luxur.

The party loops back around from where they came from based on the suggestion of Hap-Mu, who wants to look for his companion, although he fears him to already be dead. Finding themselves without Shak-Amen's strategic acumen, Sumac and Gimli's players, as you will find, are once again to be sucked into another comedy of errors. During the game I liken this to the antics of the characters Bulk and Skull from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.

I'll let you decide who is who

First, they happen upon another nest of a giant subterranean lizard, which reeked of rotting vegetation. They are victorious, though not without casualties. The first two of five heavy footmen that died this session were victims to the lizard (To add insult to injury, there wasn't any treasure in the lizard's nest to make up for it!) After that, they find a room with a pedestal on the opposite end with a semi precious stone atop it. Two stone faces jutting from the wall on either side grimace at one another. Our heroes intuit this is some kind of gas trap, and investigate the faces finding a lead pipe inside the mouths of each. Sumac cuts a warm blanket he had been carrying with him and stuff the ends of the pipes in the faces, and Gimli swipes the gem. As suspected, gas was released, but the flow was sufficiently staunched as to not bring harm.

Next, they decide to head southeast. Along the way they accidentally set off a pitfall trap in their carelessness, which nearly kills the newly promoted lieutenant. They find a chamber which has a large stone box, surrounded by a perfectly circular, strangely slick looking mass of round stone. Prodding it with a spear, the group discovers (to their horror) that the stone is not in fact stone, but gray ooze, as the tip of the spear sloughs off with wisps of black smoke and bubbles as it dissolves. They flee as the ooze is roused from its slumber.

As they run back, they find another chamber which holds a large tapestry depicting priests of Ibis receiving divine knowledge and a large set of tubular chimes on a rolling stand. Sumac decides to play it, thinking it would activate a secret door or otherwise have a similar effect. After striking one with the matching mallet (and being relieved that he wasn't immediately afflicted with a curse or killed) begins to play the rest. As he plays the bells in ascending order, and then descending order, nothing else happens. Well, other than attracting the attention of six giant fire beetles. They kill the beetles but lose another heavy footman, as Gimli accidentally clocks one in the head when trying to launch a sling stone. They head down the southern exit of the chamber and greeted with a dead end. Fortunately the dead end actually has a secret door which leads to a room that has a chest containing 2000 silver coins. 

It is decided to get back to the surface, but as they are about to leave, they are met with a sight both comical and spooky: a group of skeletons being harassed by bats (must be thirsty if they are trying to get something out of these dusty fools). Another battle ensues, which results in, you guessed it: two more heavy foot dying. They head back to the city with their meager winnings (mainly screwed by the sack of 2000 gold coins actually turning out to be copper disguised via illusion, but at least they got a Potion of Water Breathing and some various smaller treasures, like the hematite gem and the silver.) Gimli got to enough to level up, even after the exp split.

Perhaps next time they will have better luck (and maybe have some better planning). As well, with the coming of the new year, a new chapter in this campaign may open up for them-- Sumac's player has discussed wanting to purchase property in Luxur, which may mean the beginning of the citycrawl portion of this campaign may be upon us.

POV: Last thing a heavy footman sees.

BEYOND THE STYX [OD&D + CHAINMAIL, AGE OF CONAN] Play Report 5: Back to the Second Floor

 [DM Commentary: We've made it to five sessions!🎉🎉🎉while this may not sound like a lot, it's already set to exceed the usual modern campaign "average" and the halfway point to beating my personal best (a pathetic 9 sessions, just shy of becoming a real campaign and a real DM. This one was solid-- More use of Age of Conan's Alternate Combat System, and solid discussion afterwards weighing the advantages of it vs. Chainmail (the main takeaway being that Chainmail has more strategic depth, of course, something typically lacking in games run with OD&D's Alternate Combat, at least early on. There is an undeniable appeal to the AoC's Alternate Combat rules however, for when the collective energy of the game is starting to flag, and for those little encounters where it's not really worth it to get all procedural-- unless you're fighting an absurdly downright comically large number of rats in a tactically rich location more befitting of a dragon, it's just not worth it to troop-type that shit.) 

like this but way less cool

But enough about the nitty gritty, you're here to read about unlikely allies plumbing the depths of a dusty temple, winning hard fought gold with flashing steel and Stygian sorcery!]

As sumac and Ihterahm plot their next move into the temple before dawn, a bright flash and a puff smoke appears before them, revealing Shak-Amen the sorcerer. His heavy footmen, listlessly guarding the the front are eager to see his return.



A plan is drawn up. Probe the second floor once again, investigate to see if there is further serpent-man activity, and of course, get more treasure. They drop down once more into the corridor beneath the loose stone, dropping down into the corridor from which they were stalked from the shadows previously. After the small army is lowered one by one into the space below (miraculously not drawing suspicion from the denizens of the place), they move northwest, discovering a a five way cross-section of different corridors, as well as a chamber to the north. Heading into the chamber revealed a door to the north, and a stairwell that led back up to the surface.

Going into the chamber revealed a nasty sight-- Several giant rats feasting upon the corpse of a foolhardy bandit who sought to purloin the place alone. These rats did what cornered animals are known to do in such a circumstance (that is to say, fight like hell!) Which, while it ultimately went as you would've expected, the rats did the unthinkable. In what is possibly one of the shittier strokes of misfortune for an NPC, he was bested by the rodents. The heavy footmen under him were shaken but remained steadfast as they remembered the generosity of their fat-pocketed sorcerer patron.

The corpses of two men and seven rats filled in the chamber. The sack held by the original (holding a lump some of 2000 gold coins) and a bottle containing a runny liquid the color of swamp water was greedily snatched from his rigor mortise beset hands. Sensing magic, Shak-Amen sampled the liquid, surprised to find a pungent aroma and the taste of garum upon his tongue. Then, after the sorcerer reorganized  his regiment of troops to account for the loss of his lieutenant, the party decides to head south, finding a peculiar door which could not be opened from their side. Sumac, decides it would be remiss not to make use of his trusty pry bar, manages to craftily thwart the stubborn door. Upon doing this, he discovers two things:

1.The door was, in fact, designed to be a one-way door.

2. Another undead creature was facing him and the rest of the party down in the corridor (a wight specifically).

They figure it would fall much like the one they encountered on the first floor. However, I remembered that they can only be harmed by silver or magic weapons, making it much more appropriately terrifying. Alexander Ma- I mean Ihterahm the Borderer gets an involuntary level liposuction procedure, and after one too many rounds of futile jabbing against the creature, they decide to book it. 

This is basically how it went down.

They then decide to forge ahead to the northeast in a corridor that runs parallel to the one they entered through, discovering a closed door that opens to the south. strangely it is slightly ajar, and they notice a trail of blood and purple powder covered footprints on the floor leading back to the way they came-- likewise, a large clump of the stuff in the jamb too.

Sumac jostles the door slightly and shines a light through the crack. An eruption of the the purple stuff comes flying through the gap, along with an ear splitting screech... Shriekers.

The party leaders and a few heavy foot funnel in, doing the best they can to kill the remaining two (whoever was here prior fortunately managed to kill one) before attracting too much attention. Three rounds and a temporary case of tinnitus later, they exit through a door to the east, discovering a grizzly sight: an unlit cresset, a pool of blood (now dry and coagulated), and a razor blade.  No doubt the site of a murder, or perhaps a grizzly sacrifice. Any thought about the details of this scene (including a joking inquiry on whether or not the straight razor is cursed or not) are interrupted as three degenerated serpent-men come to face them. Shak-Amen attempts to use his sorcerous ventriloquism to intimidate them. This plan proceeds to go over like a lead balloon, as the scaly monsters heckle him for not being as powerful as their master who lives below in his lair, untouched by lowly and foolish humans who dared to build a temple dedicated to the priest of a lawful god above them.

Shak-Amen then does the thing any human would do in this situation-- call them slurs and send in his men to fight for him. The enemies are once again outnumbered, though they did get one parting shot-- Taking out the Himelean Ihterander Bordercris, and making him the third character for this player to be killed in this campaign.

R .I. P

Still high on the adrenaline of combat and bloodshed, Shak-Amen briefly considers declaring war on serpent-mankind before realizing he would be immediately K.O.S'ed by Thoth-Amon for making such a public declaration with three decapitated serpent-man heads.


The party now remains in the dungeon, frozen in time waiting to be brought to greatness or doom... and the time is almost at hand once again.