This election day, remember...Vote Gygax and Arneson!

Everything in my campaigns turns into a dick joke.

The Dungeoneering Dad preps for his C&C session.

I don't know what it is, but every campaign I GM involves a metric ton of Freudian slips. These, of course, spill over into nonstop snickering by my players and, hell, myself.  The dialogue at my game table sounds like it came out of a Kevin Smith movie. I am fine as hell with that and die laughing just about every game session. (I love me some Randal. "I'm a firm believer in a ruling class. Especially since I rule." Sounds like a good DM motto to me.)


In my previous Rappan Athuk campaign, every map I drew on my white board had at least one phallic appendage.

Here are but two examples from last Friday's session of my Castles & Crusades Wilderlands hex crawl:

• What it was: A huge obelisk with a pulsing, red tip.  Why it was that way: I was describing how something labeled the "Dawn Obelisk" on James Mishler's awesome Southern Reaches map glowed red when the dawn sun hit it. What my players got out of it: A big, red-tipped cock standing erect in the desert.

• What it was:  A inn named the "Shrieking Queen."  Why it was that way:  I used Zak's great Vornheim book to generate much of the town of Sacred Rock and randomly rolled up that name. At the time, I thought it was a great name for a bawdy, rough and tumble inn.  What my players got out of it: It was faaaaaaaaaaaaaabulous!

This has potential to be a regular post topic here, so stayed tuned until next time.

The players react to my description of the Dawn Obelisk.

Wow. It sure is dusty in here.  I'm still around.  Still alive.  Just been busier than a one-legged man in an arse-kicking contest.

So, quick update: After a summer sabbatical, I'm returning to the DM Screen... only this time I'm running Castles & Crusades.  Running a group of 8 or so players under D&D 3.5 is just too damn slow.

My group might convert their PCs and continue with Rappan Athuk or we might just start completely anew.  I'm letting my players vote on that. Right now, it's looking like a complete reboot.

More when time allows.

Jocelyn Dawnseeker - Ranger/Horizon Walker

Continuing along with Honoring Dead PCs, (after an overly long delay) here is Grim Jim's Ranger/Horizon Walker, Jocelyn Dawnseeker. (For those who don't play D&D 3.5, a Horizon Walker is sort of an ultra-ranger-like prestige class. It allowed Jocelyn to specialize in various terrains and environments (such as "underground").

Unlike most (if not all) of the other PCs in the Rappan Athuk campaign, Jim's character actually had a background:

Jocelyn is searching for a childhood friend Templeton (who is dead in Rappan Athuk).

Templeton was Jim's first PC in the campaign. I don't mind that the other players didn't bother with backgrounds. We play a beer & pretzels game and the death rate is rather high (sort of sucks to make up an elaborate background only to have your PC snuffed out the next session).  Still, it was a nice touch for Jim to do this.

Here are some of Joclyen's career highlights.

• Being a critical hit machine. Seriously, he could produce them on demand. I never thought about it at the time, but being an archer lends itself to this.  Simply put, when you're rolling more d20s each round (i.e., one for each arrow), you simply have more chances to roll a crit. Jim made good use of the ol' Critical Hit Deck.
• Lighting up a troll with one flame arrow for a whopping 49 points of damage.
• A failed Survival check (ala Wilderness Lore) lead to one of the funniest, ongoing in-game jokes of the campaign. At one point, while exploring the wilderness around Rappan Athuk, the party encountered a stronghold of bugbears. Because the PCs start at 6th level in this campaign, I figured the ranger would have a chance to know what these creatures were.  More often than not, I would have just hand-waved it and said the ranger knows what they are, but I guess I was feeling sassy that evening.  Jim critical failed the Survival check, and so he, and thus the rest of the party, became convinced the bugbears were actually "gnolls."  Now, what do you think happened when the party first encountered gnolls?  I couldn't resist and called for another Survival check.  Yep, the ranger was damned sure these new, hyena-headed creatures were "bugbears."
• My personal favorite was when the party encountered a maiden in the bowels of Rappan Athuk. Naturally, she was a succubus.  Like everyone else who's played D&D more than a couple of times, Jim suspected as much and when the maiden came towards him, he started to roll for his volley of arrows.  
• Me: "Uhm, Jim, you're firing on the lady?" 
• Jim (matter-of-fact tone): "Yes." 
• Me (laughing): "Jim, you have to at least try to role play this."
• Naturally, she tried to kiss him next round, and then he brought the pain (although she did escape).

Race: Half-elf
Gender: Male
Class/Level: ranger/horizon walker/10th/1st

Initiative:  +4
Speed: 30 ft
HD: 11, HP: 72
BAB:+11/+6/+1
AC: 20 (22 with shield), Touch AC 14, Flat-footed 16 (18 with shield)

Attack: long sword +14/+9 (1d8+3), dagger +14/+9 (1d4+2), composite longbow +16/+11/+6, with point blank shot +16/+11/+6, with magic +1 arrows & point blank shot +17/+12/+7 (1d8 or 1d10 with broadhead arrows)

Attributes:
Strength 14
Dexterity 18
Intelligence 11
Constitution 12
Wisdom 14
Charisma 11

Saving Throws:  Fort +10, Reflex +11, Will +7

Alignment: Neutral Good

Skills: Climb +8(+10) [-2 AC Penalty], Concentration +2, Diplomancy +5, Jump +5-2AC penalty, Handle Animals +2, Hide +6, Listen +9, Knowledge (geography) +8, (nature) +7, (dungeoneering) +2, Move Silently +9, Ride +6, Search +8, Spot +10, Swim +8 -2 ac penalty, Use Rope +10, Survival +12(+2)(+2).

Languages: Common, Elvish, Giantish, & Abyssal.

Feats: Weapon Focus (longbow), Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Manyshot, Iron Will.

Class Abilities:
Ranger: Track, Wild Empathy, Endurance, Distracting Shot, Woodland Stride, Swift Tracker, Evasion.
His favored enemies are: Giants (1st), Constructs (2nd), and Undead (3rd).

Horizon Walker: Dark Vision 60';  +1 to hit & damage against creatures with Underground as their terrain location.

Equipment:
Elven Chain +1, Light wooden shield +1, Keen Adamantine Long sword +1, composite longbow +1 w/ +2 Str Bonus, Quiver (magic, 300 arrow capacity) with 75 regular arrow, 45 broadhead arrows, 14 silver arrows, 2 fountain head arrows, 1 sleep arrow, 10 cold iron arrows, 3 subdual arrows, dagger, 2 sunroads, Rations 10days, waterskin, 50' silk rope, flint & steel, 2 vials holy water, 1 everburning torch, 1 piece of chalk, potion remove fear, Ring of Sustenance, potion neutralize poison, potion water breathing, Helm Comp Language, Amulet Vermin Summoning (Centipede).

Bard's Gate Wilderness Area (The Lyre Valley) Player's Map

My players are exploring the wilderness area north of Bard's Gate, known as the Lyre Valley.  There isn't a player's map available, so I worked up one via Hexographer.  It's not the greatest map, but I thought I'd share.  Here is a download link: Lyre Valley Map

UPDATE: Leadjunkie at the Necromancer Games forums reminded me that Clark Peterson's original DM map was available.  I updated this to match it (it was much easier to read than the one in the book itself).  I also added in some town names.

Plum Blossom - Rogue/Monk

artwork by the player, Dave "the Knave" White

Plum Blossum was Dave the Knave's second character (his first being a warlock that died fairly early on).  Plum started off as a cat burglar with questionable fighting prowess, but by the end she was kicking ass with the best of them. 

Plum, however, was known more for her seemingly endless supply of DM annoyances. And thus, let's begin her career highlights:

• Repeatedly used mundane magic items to thwart supposedly uber tough villains.  Cashe in point: she all but nullified a high priest of Orcus during a temple battle with a freakin' tanglefoot bag.
• Used a Quaal's feather token to drop an anchor on an evil centaur's back (while riding said centaur).
• Freakin' tumbled unscathed through a blade barrier cast by a rather high level goblin wizard.
• Impersonated the Great El Goblino.
• Became an alcoholism enabler to the party's resident faerie dragon.
• Was at ground zero for a Necklace of Fireballs malfunction (she was resurrected, but lost just about all her gear in the fire. It was glorious.)
• Pinned a black skeleton to the ground with an immovable rod.
• After years of heckling by the DM and fellow party members for use of shurikens (keep in mind his PC had a strength penalty), scored a triple critical with a shruriken, burying it in a bugbear barbarian's kidney (we use the Critical Hit Deck).

Race: Human
Gender: Female
Class/Level: Rogue/Monk/6/5

Initiative: +3
Speed: 40 ft.
HD: 11, hp: 55
BAB: +7/2
AC: 21, touch 18, 22/19 vs. dodge target, 23/20 vs. traps, 25/22 vs. AOOs provoked by movement, 26/23 vs. dodge target AOOs provoked by movement

Attack: unarmed strike +10/5 1d10-1 (20/x2), or flurry of blows +9/9/4 1d10-1 (20/x2) or masterwork shortsword +11/6 1d6-1 (19/x2)

Attributes:
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 17
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 16
Charisma: 8

Saving Throws: Fort +7, Ref +12/14 vs. traps, Will +10/12 vs. enchantments

Alignment: Lawful Neutral (Evil)

Skills: Balance +18, Climb +10 (+12 with climbing kit), Disable Device +16 (+18 with masterwork tools); Disguse -1 (+9 with cloak of chameleon power), Escape Artist +16, Hide +14 (+24 with cloak of chameleon power), Jump +18, Listen +15, Move Silently +16, Open Lock +16 (+18 with masterwork tools), Search +16, Sleight-of-Hand +4, Spot +10, Survival +3 (+5 to follow tracks), Tumble +18, Use Magic Device +1, Use Rope +3 (+5 to bind person)

Class Abilities: Evasion, Flurry of Blows, Ki Strike (magic), Purity of Body, Slow Fall (20 ft.), Sneak Attack (+3d6), Still Mind, Trapfinding, Trapsense (+2), Unarmored Speed Bonus (+10 ft.), Uncanny Dodge (never flat-footed)

Feats: Ascetic Rogue, Combat Reflexes*, Dodge, Improved Unarmed Strike*, Mobility, Spring Attack, Stunning Fist*, Weapon Finesse

Equipment:
bracers of armor +3, brawler gauntlets, cloak of chameleon power, Heward's handy haversack, immovable rod, masterwork short sword (cold iron), masterwork short sword (silver), periapt of wisdom +2, ring of protection +1, robe of eyes, rust monster gauntlet

In Haversack: flask of acid (x2), flask of alchemist's fire, flask of ghostoil, flask of gravebane, flask of holy water (x4), flask of oil (x3), potion of cure moderate wounds, potion of flying, smokestick (x3), sunrod (x3), tanglefoot bag (x3), thunderstone (x2), climbing kit, pitons (x9), chalk (x10), fish hooks (x3), fishing net, flare stones (x3), sling, magnet, money pouch (350 gp), masterwork thieves' tools, signal whistle, small steel mirror, snorkel, soap (x2), torches (x10), flint and steel, block and tackle, iron pot, portable winch, silk rope (100'), trail rations (x10), waterskin, wine and cheese (x3), winter blanket

On Heavy Horse: bit and bridle, courtier's outfit, entertainer's outfit, feed (x10), riding saddle, saddlebags

Honoring Some Dead PCs

Let's face it – no matter how tough of a player you claim to be, it blows when your character bites the dust. The pain increases exponentially based on the character's longevity. My next few posts will detail a few of the veteran characters from my Rappan Athuk campaign that recently went to their final rest. These adventurers lasted for years, and that is saying something (just ask my players ).

I know not everyone will find the stats interesting or useful (though these would make some sweet NPCs if you do play D&D 3.5), so I’ll be including a list of some of their career highlights as well.

The Aftermath (our group's tribute to Gygax)

Justification for a Running a Hard-Ass Game

One of my players recently paid me this compliment: 

"When I talk with my other gaming friends,  I'm constantly surprised at how... well... candy-ass their games are.  Honest to God, I have no interest playing a winged, 27th level paladin and killing 300 orcs."

I must be doing something right.

If you guessed that guy in the middle is a PC, you win the stuffed Orcus.

The Skull Survival Trophy Passes Hands... Twice in One Night.

As I mentioned in my last post, our last session was particularly deadly.  Three characters dropped, two of which had been around for almost the entirety of the campaign. 

My group has a tradition: the player whose character has been around the longest gets to possess the Skull.  Sam originally inherited the Skull way back at the start of the campaign when we had a TPK. Well, a near TPK. Sam missed that evening and his PC survived by default (our house rule is if you're not there, neither is your PC).  Ipso facto, he got the Skull.  When Sam's paladin was brought down by spectres in another near TPK, Grim Jim and his ranger, Jocelyn Dawnseeker, inherited the Skull.  Dave the Knave was next in line and has been jonsesing for it for years now.

Well, although Dave's rogue/monk, Plum Blossom (illustrated here: link), was brought to negative HP during the battle with iron golems, she didn't actually die.  She lay incapacitated on the battle field.  Jim's ranger, however, suffered too many full attacks at the hands of said golems and when he dropped, he dropped but good (i.e., way below -10). 

Grim Jim says good-bye to the Skull.

 At that moment, incapacitated or not, Dave seized control of the Skull.   

Dave the Knave finally gets the Skull... but wait....

Unfortunately for him, Plum was left to rot when the rest of the party beat feet out of the death trap.  Sam's wizard, Derbish, was next in line and he now possesses the Skull once again. What a night.

The Skull returns to Sam... they look eerily similar

A Rough Night in Rappan Athuk

Rappan Athuk brought down three more PCs tonight.  We just finished playing a half-hour or so ago.  It was a rough one.  The PCs went down the well, which was warned against from the start.  That being said, come on, when you tell anyone "don't do that" it only entices them more. I'm amazed they held out this long.

What is particularly rough about tonight's game is that two of the three PCs to drop had been around for a while.  Plum Blossom (Dave the Knave's monk/rogue) and Jocelyn (Jim's ranger) had been kicking around in the game for three years or more.  The third, Bonnie's cleric/fighter/hunter of the dead, had been around for quite some time as well.

Despite this, it was a hell of a night of play.  The party put up a valiant fight and did what they could.  They cut their losses and bailed, but only at the last moment. More than that, it was a fun night. As bloody as it was, the players were laughing and carrying on just like any other session. The usual dick and fart jokes abounded.

I commend my players. I know this loss stung.  Jim, Dave, and Bonnie put in a lot of hours in getting those PCs to their current levels.  But did they gripe and moan?  Nope. My group is awesome. They really are.

Videos from the Showdown in the Upper Temple of Orcus

I've been really slacking on posting campaign updates. I hope to do so in depth at some point, but just to catch you up to speed: the party finally finished the Showdown in the Upper Temple of Orcus, explored the dungeon a bit more, and, yes, decided to go down the infamous well (they are still exploring down there).

Back when we first started the Showdown, Rob took a view videos.  I figured I might as well share them.  They aren't the most action packed, and dear lord, do I sound like a tool, but, hey, what the hell?  The party had just entered the temple via a magical secret backdoor.  Dave's Roxxxor the Chaotic Awesome half-orge barbarian was still alive and had taken the platform above the lava.  You can hear his theme music in the background.  For those of you playing along at home, he bit it in the next session, being pushed into said lava. 

The videos start with the party wizard, played by Sam, fireballing some priests of Orcus and their thug guards.  I'm rolling their saves, saying "ash" for those that were incinerated.  I think Sam is the one simulating the screams of the burning priests.  Oh, and you can hear me bemoaning the players working the neutral alignment loophole to the bone (i.e., they avoid a lot of penalties in Rappan Athuk because they aren't goodly aligned). Yeah, hot D&D action at its finest.  Suffice it to say, D&D is much more fun to play than watch.

Oh, I tend to swear a lot when I DM, so be warned.

Rolling the Dice in '11

Tonight, my group has its first session of 2011 and I'm stoked.  Last session, the party decided to go down the well.  Those of you familiar with Rappan Athuk know that this will be a hell of a way to kick off 2010... perhaps with a new bunch of characters.... [evil DM laughter]

My Players are Awesome



Ha freakin' ha.



We had our last session for 2010 last Friday and my players surprised me with a bucket load of Christmas gifts.

• Dungeon Master For Dummies (Smart-asses. Yes, that is the correct title; I'm not sure why it's not Dungeon Mastering for Dummies)
• A LEGO Jester (I use a Red Jester from the Tome of Horrors II as a reoccuring character in the campaign.)
• An Orcus and his followers mini gift pack (an Aspect of Orcus as well as a ton of Orcus priest minis)
• AND Oh-hell-no-you-didn't-fuck-yeah-you-did!:

1 GARGANTUAN ORCUS MINIATURE!



Orcus impresses Snow White and Sleeping Beauty with his "wand."



My Kind of Friday Night…

  Two growlers of Yuengling in the mini-fridge.   My motley crew chomping at the bit to roll  dice.  New sections of Rappan Athuk to explore.  It’s my kind of Friday night.

Blatantly-Not-Fantasy-Related-Metal-Oh-Hell-Yeah-It’s-Game-Night Post

We have not played D&D since April 23, 2010.  It’s f@#kin’ Friday.  It’s f@#kin’ Rappan Athuk.  It’s the f@#kin’ last battle in the Upper Temple of Orcus.

Showdown in the Upper Temple of Orcus – An Overdue Update

[general Rappan Athuk spoiler warning]

[Update: 9/9/10 12:15 PM] After checking my notes again and conferring with my players, I realized I had a few things wrong. I've noted as such below]

[photos compliments of Dave the Knave]

It has been a long time since I mentioned the ol’ Showdown in the Upper Temple of Orcus scenario going on in my Rappan Athuk campaign. The campaign has been on hiatus for a couple months now, but we are firing it up again tomorrow.  Dice will roll.  Lionshead will be swilled.

Anyhow, here is the second update I promised… back in April. 

So after whipping the cadaver collector’s highly-susceptible-to-rust ass, the party added insult to injury, and used it to block one of the doors to the lower-level, hoping to blockade the seemingly unending freight elevator of death.  The party had previously used stone shape to blockade the other door, so both were corked at this point.  My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I believe the party then healed up, cast buffing spells, and generally prepared for the next wave of baddies.

The party had routed a vampire would-be bad ass last time and he came back with some friends for payback.  Here was the hit list:

• Mr. Vampire Wanna-be Bad Ass,
• his vampire spawn,
• two nightmares serving as their mounts. and
• a Phantasm (from the Tome of Horrors II)

You’ll note that these dudes all could become incorporeal, gaseous, or ethereal, and as such, were able to pass through the party’s blockades.

The battle was a lot of fun to DM, with the vampires harrying the party from the skies, the fumes of the nightmares thwarting various heroics, and such.  However, the Phantasm was a bust. It has this cool magic jar-like ability, allowing it to possess people.  But damned if that freaking NPC dwarf fighter, Lady Bombis (known to the group as Lady Marmalade) didn’t make every save to resist it.

I can’t remember too many specifics at this point, but the party eventually brought down the  vampires and their mounts (although one or both of the vampires might have escaped). [The vampire spawn couldn't breach the antipathy zone, so he was kind of screwed from the get-go. His mount had no problem, though. It's been confirmed both vampires lived to fight another day. Reoccuring villians, anyone?] I believe Bonnie’s Hunter of the Dead was lighting up the undead with her Radiant Sphere (from the Magic Item Compendium).  I had a lot of fun, especially with the nightmares. I can’t recall the last time I used that creature in play and I don’t think I ever have in 3rd edition.

There was a rather funny rules debate at one point when Sam tried to make a case for an AC bonus for being prone.  Ha, but his wizard was prone under the flying vampire who was about to toss a shortspear at him, so  technically he could have received a +4 versus missile attacks.  Suffice it to say, DM logic over-ruled by-the-book accuracy at that point. I’m not sure how being spread-eagle beneath a flying opponent warrants an AC bonus. (To clarify, this wasn’t a heated argument, rather Sam tossing out a rule and hoping the DM would go for it. I did not.)

Eventually one of the divine spell-casters, likely Rob’s Shaman, turned the Phantasm, the nightmares were brought down, and the vampires were slain or routed.

Shortly thereafter, a pair of carcasses (from the Creature Collection III) laid siege to both blocked entrances and finally removed the physical barriers to the room.  These things are basically undead transports, being hollowed out giants that carry undead within them.  They sound cooler than they are and are kind of a one-trick pony. It was pretty fun to surprise the players and launch black skeletons out of their bellies, though.  The carcasses did make attempts to envelope some of the PCs but to no avail.  The party made fairly quick work of this assault. [This combat actually just started at the end of the last session, so we'll be picking up with it tomorrow.]

So, there you have it.  This Friday we pick up here.  This whole showdown has been fun, but I’ve vowed to the group that the next session will be the last encounter.  I’ve something special planned for it and have little doubt it will make it a memorable session.  I’m pulling out the stops for this one. 

Damn,  I love this game.

Garhelm - The Map

This is Garhelm:

If you want a better look, trying downloading the PDF: link

Yep, as you can tell from the scan, I banged it out on some old notebook paper.  I make no claims to be a cartographer, so I have no clue if such a landmass is even feasible.  I think it looks pretty cool, though, so I don't really care.  There is no scale as I wasn't really sure what I wanted it to be and figured I'd tackle that as needed.  I just wanted a rough idea of the campaign world so I could place important locations, namely cities and dungeons.  You'll note names from the standard Necromancer Games (NG) heavy hitters (the Stoneheart Mountains from Tomb of Abysthor, Fairhill from the Crucible of Freya, Bard's Gate, the Vault of Larin Karr, and, of course, Rappan Athuk) as well as The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth coming out of retirement. Yep, that is Green Ronin's Freeport way to the south. 

I had big plans for the campaign, but they weren't realized after the deaths in the Vault of Larin Karr.  My general plan was for a sandbox campaign once the party had finished up there. I planned to include a world map with the loot at some point and then let the players have at it. Since I had never shown the map before, I was hoping that would be kind of a neat surprise (i.e., the idea being that few people in Garhelm have much sense of what their world actually looked like). 

I started the face-to-face campaign in Fairhill, which is the setting of NG's The Crucible of Freya.  I don't own that module (although I did play it as a player under Sam's DMing), but I used the free maps from NG's site [link (you’ll need to scroll down a bit)] and added my own NPCs and descriptions.  That worked out quite well and allowed me to impart the flavor of Garhelm right from the start.  I might write those up if I have a chance (unfortunately, I don't have those as electronic files, so no easy cutting and pasting).  I don't think I used Fairhill for the online campaign, likely because Sam was playing as a character.

Anyhow, here is a key of sorts to help you decipher things (I left off anything I thought was self-explanatory):

• Barbegazi lands: Barbegazi are a neat, semi-evil race ice gnomes from the Tome of Horrors II (and, I just realized, actual Swiss mythology: link).  You can check them out in the ToH II free sample: link
• ToA: Tomb of Abysthor
• Volk: Vault of Larin Karr
• The Pass of Dulane-Far: An underground, underwater tunnel connecting the mainland to a severed peninsula. Tunnels also connected this island to other nearby islands.  I believe I envisioned this pass having been closed off to contain the horrors of the island and the tunnels, but I’m not sure.  I do think it is one of the cooler things on the map.

So, there you have it.  Garhlem.  Some time in the future, I’ll put up my version of Fairhill and perhaps some of the home brew adventures I had for this campaign.

Showdown in the Temple of Orcus – Update 1

Two sessions have passed since my last campaign update.  This is an update of the first of those two sessions. I can be a bit lazy with campaign posts simply because they are more time-consuming than other posts and, quite frankly, I always wonder if folks really read them.

The grinding continues. After the battle with the hezrou demon and his dretch minions, the party was left without the majority of its NPC fodder. The hezrou’s blasphemy spell had wiped out all but two of them.  I had to ret-con that due to some poor math on my part at the end of that session. I had told the party that those 3rd level NPCs were paralyzed, but when I was calculating XP between sessions, I realized that they were flat-out dead. Since that did not change the outcome of the immediate situation, I thought it fair to enforce the ruling.  I tend to let “ties go to the runner… er… player,” and if I mess up a ruling in favor of the players, I usually let it ride. However, considering the power of the hezrou, I thought it best to play this one by the book.  So, apart from some secondary PCs, the party was now down to two NPC dwarf fighters.

Ok, blah blah blah, here are the highlights in more or less chronological order.

• The PCs gathered up their dead, eight total (sans Roxxxor, who had been consumed by the lava), and used a gemgate (a magic item from Relics & Rituals that opens a temporary, teleportation portal. Think those magic red portals from the He-Man cartoon) to take the bodies back to a dwarven temple in Bard’s Gate. It was sort of a weird pop-in “Here are some dead guys!” pop-out move.  The players were mainly concerned that the unholy magic of the Orcus temple might cause the dead to rise.  Their initial plan was to throw the bodies into the lava pit, but after seeing the NPC dwarves weeping and performing last rites, it dawned on the players “oh yeah, we might want to at least role-play some respect for the fodder.”

• Snaggletooth, the party’s resident fairie dragon, cast stone shape to form a wall in front of each door (although, notably, the party forgot about the magic backdoor they themselves used to enter the temple)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• A spectre (who I described as looking like me) started peeking through the blocked doors and, after a magic arrow to his face, battle was commenced.

• A Vampire Warrior that appeared badass entered through the magic backdoor (so badass that I broke out my Warduke miniature for him), the spectre came through one of the regular doors, and a loud pounding was heard at the other door.

• The spectre was dispatched fairly quickly and the “oh, I’m a big, bad Vampire Warrior” was put in his place almost immediately by a turn check (unfortunately for him, he had arrived in a consecrated area and, well, the DM forgot his inherent turn resistance.  As I said, if I botch things, I tend to let them slide).

• The pounding continued and eventually the door and wall blocking the one entrance gave way to reveal a cadaver collector.

• The party was rather concerned at this point: the vampire, while not doing squat, was still there.  The cadaver collector was trampling the party again… and again… again. (Yeah, he has other attacks, but was being pretty effective just rolling over the PCs).

• Then the party said, “hmm, the collector is made out of a lot of metal, right?” and broke out two freakin’ magic items, both of which they had acquired in Rappan Athuk itself:
• a gauntlet of rust
• a shield covered with rust monster scales

• Both of these items work via touch attacks (I had to make this ruling for the shield since it wasn’t detailed in the RA material, but I figured as long as the PC wasn’t trying to actually bash with it, the rules for the gauntlet should apply to it as well).

• Before long, the already ineffective Vampire Warrior was without armor (bye bye +3 chain shirt) and fled.

• Although the cadaver collector was putting the hurt on the PCs, before long, he was a pile of rust.  Yeah, an AC of 29 is great… but not so great when your touch AC is frickin’ 9.

• Suffice it to say, the players found the Achilles' heel and worked it like a $2 whore.

• After combat was over, the wizard successfully cast antipathy versus Chaotic Evil off a caster level 16 scroll and the cleric began his hallow spell.

• Well-played.  

The Skull Trophy Abides

Necromancer Games is Back ... in Frog Form

It is official, Necromancer Games is back in the game, but now in Demon Frog God form.  Bill “Tsathogga” Webb has announced that the long delayed Slumber Tsar series will be released! The module will be released under the Pathfinder RPG rule set via a subscription basis.  Of the various Necro modules that were frozen in carbonite after the announcement of D&D 4th Edition, this is the one I've really wanted.  The author, Greg A. Vaughan, based it on the original Rappan Athuk back story.

What I find very interesting is that the release is being handled by a new entity, Frog God Games, rather than Necromancer Games itself.


Here is Bill's post on ENWorld:
OK guys--website will be live in a few days froggodgames.com. Greg and I are a go. A few details to still work out---but here is the plan. I have to make it a non-Necro release for various reasons..but Clark has passed me his infernal blessings, so here we go.

The Sleeper Awakes!
At last, after languishing in its crypt for an age, the secrets of the slumbering city of Tsar burst forth in all their macabre glory. Poured forth from the eldritch furnaces and crucibles of the Necromancer and Orcus himself comes Frog God Games bringing you at long last The Slumbering Tsar Saga™.

Something Stirs in the City of Evil
Over the distant northern hills, beyond The Camp, and past the Desolation stand the pitted walls of Tsar. A hundred armies have crushed themselves against this bulwark in futile attempts to breach the city. Even the combined might of the Heavens and Earth were unable to break through in the final battle of Tsar. So why was the city suddenly abandoned on the verge of victory, and what waits for those foolish enough to enter the Temple-City of Orcus?

The Black Gates Await
Only the bravest and most powerful of heroes dare the depths of the Desolation and live to tell of it. But what happens when they penetrate that blasted landscape and look upon the gates of the very center of evil on the earth. Can even heroes of such renown breach the Walls of Death and live?

The Slumbering Tsar Saga™ began its journey years ago as a single mega-adventure for the masters of Third Edition rules and First Edition feel, then became a trilogy of adventures, then a trilogy of mega-adventures, and now finally comes to you as a monthly series culminating in a massive book with over a half million words of pure First Edition-style adventure. Updated to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game to accommodate today’s audience of the classic fantasy roleplaying game, The Slumbering Tsar Saga™ brings you 14 chapters, released monthly in electronic format, each chapter the size of a full adventure in its own right (30-50 pages) . Then when the final chapter has been released, the whole will be available in a classic edition, hardcover adventure book.

The Slumbering Tsar Saga™ will begin its run with the release of its first chapter, Slumbering Tsar: The Desolation, Part 1 —The Edge of Oblivion. Then each month will follow a new chapter in the saga:
Slumbering Tsar: The Desolation, Part 2 —The Ghosts of Victory
Slumbering Tsar: The Desolation, Part 3—The Western Front
Slumbering Tsar: Temple-City of Orcus, Part 1 —The Tower of Weeping Sores
Slumbering Tsar: Temple-City of Orcus, Part 2 —The Lower City
Slumbering Tsar: Temple-City of Orcus, Part 3 —The Harrow Lanes
Slumbering Tsar: Temple-City of Orcus, Part 4 —The Crooked Tower
Slumbering Tsar: Temple-City of Orcus, Part 5 —Foundations of Infamy
Slumbering Tsar: The Hidden Citadel, Part 1 —At the Feet of Orcus
Slumbering Tsar: The Hidden Citadel, Part 2 —Echoes of Despair
Slumbering Tsar: The Hidden Citadel, Part 3 —The Throne of the Demon Prince
Slumbering Tsar: The Hidden Citadel, Part 4 —In the Belly of the Beast
Slumbering Tsar: The Hidden Citadel, Part 5 —The Mind of Chaos
Slumbering Tsar: The Hidden Citadel, Part 6 —Caverns of the Barrier


COMING SOON
Coming May 15th to Frog God Games Slumbering Tsar: The Desolation, Part 1 —The Edge of Oblivion in pdf format for the introductory price of $2.00.


Each month following, the next chapter of The Slumbering Tsar Saga™ will be released for the low price of $9.99. A subscription option is available to ensure that you don’t miss a single installment. Upon the release of the final chapter, the whole will be available as a hardcover print adventure and is included as part of the purchase price for those how purchase all 14 installments of the series or for a one-time purchase price of $120.00 (includes hardcover). Non subscription hardcover books will be available for $150.00 (when we are all done) at Drive Through RPG (DriveThruRPG.com - The Largest RPG Download Store!) . As soon as Slumbering Tsar Saga™ is complete, look for our next release!


Don’t miss out

You have waited long enough for The Slumbering Tsar Saga™. Now it is waiting for you.