Salthon Plain: Cracks

Friday January 5, 2024 at 9:00pm d&d, salthon plain, game session notes Comments (0) »
 Dungeons & Dragons logo artwork © Wizards of the Coast
Dungeons & Dragons logo artwork © Wizards of the Coast

- The group made their way west toward the fissure, deciding it was the better approach for the moment, making camp on their way up the ravine.  Upon reaching the enormous crack in the ice, they found that a strong, howling, and frigid wind coming from it.

- After making some preparations and pushing their way inside against the wind, they found themselves navigating a maze of cracks and tunnels in the ice, eventually coming upon a den of winter wolves and undead northern jackals.  One of the winter wolves - a very large one - seemed to understand the ancient language Jaydah tried speaking to it, but when she insisted they were trying to "help", it answered only "we are forsaken".

- After the wolf encounter, the group made their way into openings away from the wind, which was beginning to cause them problems.  They wandered around for some time in the ice, occasionally finding objects and structures frozen inside it.  Apart from a few small treasures and minor clues about the nature of the place, they found little here.  The group concluded that whatever was actively "going on" here was coming from the source of the cold wind.

- As they made camp and prepared to head back into the howling corridors, Jaydah received a short telepathic message from Fyndwhyr: a message from the witch Lesab saying they were not meant to enter the glacier...

Salthon Plain: Appearances

Saturday December 16, 2023 at 8:30pm d&d, salthon plain, game session notes Comments (0) »
 Dungeons & Dragons logo artwork © Wizards of the Coast
Dungeons & Dragons logo artwork © Wizards of the Coast

- The decided to make their way back south to the place where they'd seen evidence of a pixie gathering, hoping that the harmless fey would be able to take them to their queen.  The forest seemed to turn against them, however, and they soon found themselves lost in the black wood.

- They eventually stumbled upon a depression containing a small, faintly-glowing, snow-covered clearing like the one they'd seen earlier, but it appeared deserted.  As they investigated, they were greeted by a single small male voice that began asking who they were and what they were doing.  As they spoke, a strange silver mirror rose from the ground - and in its reflection, they saw the approach of a tall, majestic figure in green with eyes glowing like the sun.  The pixie they'd been talking to, desperately warned them to only look on the figure through the mirror - and not to turn around to face her.

- The fey queen announced her presence and demanded to know why the intruders had come.  She continued to badger them as they explained, and seemed only concerned with securing their promise to undo the "curse" on the land caused by the "forsaken" goddess.  Once Jaydah grudgingly acknowledged their agreement, the figure vanished, along with the mirror, and the aged Kugrash immediately collapsed.  The pixie flew over to Kugrash and touched his head - at that moment, the years began to dissolve off of him and his youth was restored.

- Jaydah, thoroughly annoyed, resumed conversation with the pixie.  The pixie seemed curious about what they would do to fulfil their promise to the fey queen, but Jaydah was in no mood to humour him.  A few misleading comments and some disparaging remarks about the queen of the fey caused the pixie to lose its composure.  Its form flickered and its gender and dress suddenly changed.  She began to sulk and glower at the group and their "spoiling everything".  It was Jaydah that then realized that she was, in fact, the fey queen herself.

- The group spoke further with the now more-compliant queen, but found that she knew comparatively little about the actual problem as its origin was from beyond her forest.  She did, however, tell them that she knew of two routes into the glacier - one by way of a great fissure at its base in the deep ravine to the west, and the other by way of a deep chasm atop the glacier much further east...

Salthon Plain: An Age Old Problem

Sunday December 10, 2023 at 9:19pm d&d, salthon plain, game session notes Comments (0) »
 Dungeons & Dragons logo artwork © Wizards of the Coast
Dungeons & Dragons logo artwork © Wizards of the Coast

- Kugrash quickly sprang forward, smiting the bone serpent with his sword, but the ensuing combat seemed to disturb the ghost.  Its features warped, and it let out an unearthly howl that aged him 40 years.  As some of the bones animated into skeletons and began pursuing the party, the group decided on a strategic retreat into the forest.

- Kugrash began to hallucinate, seeing flashes of scenes from some other place and time: a marvelous city freezing, and falling into ruin.  The group made their way deeper into the forest.  Mido had also been aged by the ghost's wail, but his seemed to have "worn off" - Kugrash, however, seemed permanently weakend.  After some combination, Mido and Carmella could only think of one entity who would be capable of restoring their companion: and that would be the fey queen they had been avoiding...

Salthon Plain: The Curse

Friday November 17, 2023 at 8:30pm d&d, salthon plain, game session notes Comments (0) »
 Dungeons & Dragons logo artwork © Wizards of the Coast
Dungeons & Dragons logo artwork © Wizards of the Coast

- As the group made their way northward toward the glacier that filled the pass between the two mountain ranges, they came upon a group of pixies curious as to the reason for their presence, and a frozen skeleton that "awoke" and demanded "where is it?".  They attempted to fight off the skeleton, but whatever force was animating it seemed to depart before it could be defeated.  Kugrash decided to smash the remains of the skeleton, just to be sure.  The pixies told them that the fae queen had said they were not allowed to be there, but they seemed hopeful that the "children" might end the "curse".

- The group finally located the ruin of the next tower - finding it was little more than a ring of foundation stones filled with bone.  In the center of it however, was a stone table on which were a number of scrolls and parchments, some large natural crystals, and a shrine to a goddess of magic or fate.  As they investigated, a ghost appeared near the table, seemingly in the midst of some prayer or ritual.  Jaydah attempted communication with him in the ancient langage she'd been studying, but this proved difficult.  She was able to discern that he was looking for some kind of "gift", and there was some urgency to the errand.

- As they were talking, the bones began to stir, and out of them rose a skeletal serpentine form.  It chided the ghost before turning to Jaydah and the others, telling them that they were meddling in affairs that were beyond them...

Deadlands: Trouble in the Street

Thursday October 19, 2023 at 8:30pm deadlands, game session notes Comments (0) »
 Deadlands logo and artwork © Pinnacle Entertainment Group
Deadlands logo and artwork © Pinnacle Entertainment Group

- The following day each of them spent some time in down doing different things.  Around noon, they all happened to be on the very crowded street in front of the Palace Saloon.  A drunk from inside stumbled into Montana and immediately started a fist fight, which quickly spread through the crowd.  As it unfolded, it becamse apparrent to the PCs that something was "wrong" with the people involved - and some of the bystanders.  The fight continued until Kevin and the town marshal showed up with a pump wagon and started dousing the participants - at which point the marshal declared that Montana was under arrest for the murder of the Grayfalls marshal three years earlier.

- There was a brief standoff after which Montana agreed to go relatively quietly.  The others attempted to find a way to help, but eventually ended up back at the Palace.  As Percy had something to drink and proceeded to have a run of bad luck at cards, Lily returned to talk...

Salthon Plain: Consequences

Friday October 13, 2023 at 9:00pm d&d, salthon plain, game session notes Comments (0) »
 Dungeons & Dragons logo artwork © Wizards of the Coast
Dungeons & Dragons logo artwork © Wizards of the Coast

- The creature - a manticore - had come to ambush them with a trio of Kenku assassins.  The fighting was fierce, but in the end there were no fatalities.  The group managed to drive the monster away, the kenku retreated, an though Mido and Anders had sustained some serious wounds, Carmella was able to bring them back from the brink.

- The following day their companions continued their survey of the ruin site, but the group spent most of their energy debating what to do next.  Should they return to Ereland with Fyndwhyr to get paid and evaluate the next move, or should they continue north to the glacier to see what they could learn now, since they were so close.  They ultimately decided on the latter, trusting Stahzer and the dwarf Millek to get the others back to the city safely.

- As they left the ruin site the following morning heading northward, they were met by a pair of fox-like fae creatures.  They were warned that the forest queen of the fae held the humanoids of the plains in contempt for wrongs of the past - and that the "curse" the land was rooted in the judgement a "vile goddess".  If they were to continue on their path, they must face that past, or be forever lost...

Deadlands: Immortal Struggle

Friday September 29, 2023 at 8:30pm deadlands, game session notes Comments (0) »
 Deadlands logo and artwork © Pinnacle Entertainment Group
Deadlands logo and artwork © Pinnacle Entertainment Group

- Kevin awoke the others and they made their way downstairs.  Sister Bower's voice beckoned him to come speak with her, but the shadows and smoke surrounding her were becoming malevolently alive.  Skeletal figures emerged from the thickening shadow and began attempting to drag her deeper into the void, while others lashed out at the investigators. 

- Kevin invoked his holy powers to try to keep the demons at bay long enough to ascertain the nature of the situation, but Percy, feeling she was the heart of the "problem", turned his gun on Sister Bowers' form, which burst into cold ash as the shadows evaporated.  The shrieking sound the reverberated throughout Flagstaff in the following stillness chilled all who heard it to the bone...

Salthon Plain: Paths to the Past

Friday September 22, 2023 at 8:30pm d&d, salthon plain, game session notes Comments (0) »
 Dungeons & Dragons logo artwork © Wizards of the Coast
Dungeons & Dragons logo artwork © Wizards of the Coast

- The group spent some time discussing their next move.  Fyndwhyr and his group were planning to head back after the following day's observations in order to reassess and decide how to act on this new information about the lost city's location being covered by an enormous glacier.  Some of them, however, believed it might be better to continue on from their current location to see what they could see, rather than going all the way back to Erelan - not to mention the urgency expressed by some mysterious parties, and some concerns as to whether the paranoid Lord Velior would allow Fyndwhyr further leave and resources given the recent issues with gnolls, kobolds, and the dragon.

- The group spent the rest of the afternoon making a cursory examination of the ruins, finding only one other building that was much more than foundation stones.  It seemed to be some sort of hall or temple, and contained in its primary chamber a toppled statue.

- As the day waned, the group traveled a little way away from the ruin to make camp.  During Carmella's watch, a shadow crept silently into camp - a monstrous winged cat with a grotesque humanoid face...

Deadlands: Arrival

Friday August 25, 2023 at 8:30pm deadlands, game session notes Comments (0) »
 Deadlands logo and artwork © Pinnacle Entertainment Group
Deadlands logo and artwork © Pinnacle Entertainment Group

- Lily almost immediately rounded on Percy, blaming him for her circumstances and punching him squarely in the face.  Turning to Kevin, she demanded to know why a man of the cloth would be associating with...   ...him.  It was at this point that Milton began to crack, convinced that Lily was possessed.  He drew his gun and shot, but the bullet ricochet and grazed George instead.  Kevin managed to knock the gun away and Milton fell back.  Though tension between the group remained, they slowly returned to their resting places as the wilderness quieted around them.

- The group continued on their way to Flagstaff, making the best time they could.  Unable to reach the town by nightfall, they were forced again to camp in the wilderness.  The night was interrupted only by loud thunderclaps directly overhead - but no rain fell.

- They made it to town by late morning the following day, and were confronted near the edge of town by a pair of men asking questions.  There had apparently been a number of disappearances of late, and they'd been hired by one bereaved family to investigate.

- The group spent some time looking around the town before taking accommodations at the Goldenfields Hotel - which seemed to be the most comfortable place available.  They were enjoying their first rest indoors in several days when Kevin was awakened by a knock and voice outside his door.  A voice he recognized as the nun who'd saved his life outside of Grayfalls.  Out in the hall, the voice seemed to be coming from downstairs - and was accompanied by the smell of smoke...

Salthon Plain: Buried in the Past

Friday August 11, 2023 at 8:30pm d&d, salthon plain, game session notes Comments (0) »
 Dungeons & Dragons logo artwork © Wizards of the Coast
Dungeons & Dragons logo artwork © Wizards of the Coast

- The group spoke briefly with the strange old woman - whom Carmella suspected as a fae hag - but though she offered to reward or assist them in their exploration, her manner didn't inspire trust and she departed when they seemed disinclined to bargain.

- Within the ruin itself, the group found mostly foundational stones and overgrown cobbled streets.  The two largest structures that were more intact were a large hall or temple-like building, and the lower floors of a small watchtower positioned near a ravine containing what looked like supports for a bridge or pier.

- As they neared the watchtower, they were attacked by a floating creature with 4 tentacle-like eyestalks.  After brief engagement, they managed to subdue the creature and trap it within a web spell.

- Inside the tower, they found a great number of bones in piles and a large metal chest.  The chest was locked and trapped, but Jaydah was able to get it open, finding a sizeable treasure of coins and items inside.

- The real discovery however, was what they found upstairs: a wall-mounted etched metal map showing the entire region as it apparently was in a prior age: the entire Plain was apparently and inland sea, and a large waterway flowed through what was now the dark forest they were exploring.  More notably, the map showed a large star along the coast to the north - at a place now covered by a massive glacier...

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