Dwimmermount Session 2: In Which They Meet Dwarves, Skeletons, And a Magic Beetle

May 2nd, 914
Verrick of Tyche wakes to the sound of disembodied female voice saying “When you find the books, burn them.” Is it a prophecy sent by the goddess? The dervish keeps this revelation to himself, for now.

The party wakes early and heads to Dwimmermount. As they march along the trade road, a green dragon swoops by overhead. The beast seems uninterested in the party, but Jasper boldly fires an arrow at it anyway. Fortunately, his missile comes nowhere near the dragon, which flies off into the mountains to the east.

The party passes the stairs which lead up to the Red Doors, but decides to press on in search of the rumored secret back entrance to the dungeon. They spend the day hiking and searching around the north face of the mountain, but find nothing but a herd of deer. Verrick thanks Tyche for the luck, and tries to fell one of the deer, but his arrow misses the mark and they flee into the forest. As night falls, the despondent adventurers force march back to Muntburg Village.

Dwimmermount Session 1: In Which a Wizard Is Mugged

My lovely wife asked me to run a game for some of her friends from work, so I decided to run ACKS Dwimmermount. Most of this first session was taken up by character creation. The campaign background I sent the players is repeated below, followed by the first session actual play report.

Background:

All your life, you have lived in the shadow of Dwimmermount. Carved into this great peak which towers over your homeland is a vast, ancient, magical, subterranean fortress, which is also called Dwimmermount. For hundreds—perhaps thousands—of years, Dwimmermount served as a center for magical research, and as a stronghold for the succession of empires which rose and fell in this region. Dwimmermount fell two centuries ago, when a rebel uprising culminated in a mysterious cataclysm that sealed the dungeon off from the outside world.

Session 14: In Which the Legion Explores the Zargonian Stronghold, the Eye of Zargon, and the Galleries

Tuesday, 28th day; 9th month (Horse); year 734

Retcon: Realizing that the month is just about over, the Legion decides against releasing the refugees who are staying in the Temple until after Zargon’s reaction to another month without sacrifices is dealt with.

Wednesday, 29th day; 9th month (Horse); year 734

After recovering from the battle against Thrak-Sha’s army, Thjolstoff orders his mercenaries to continue rounding up Cynidicean families and forcing them to take shelter in the Temple. He also has them start conscripting as many recruits as they can from among the people of the city. The conscripts will have all mustered within a week.

Session 13: In Which the Legion Drives the Zargonians From Cynidicea

Saturday, 25th day; 9th month (Horse); year 734

The Legion continues making preparations for the rumored upcoming battle with Thrak-Sha’s zargonians. They move their ballista up onto the roof of the Temple, and move as many refugees as possible into the Halls of Pleasure. They find Pablo, their young ex-henchman, among the refugees hand assign him to watch the iron door that leads from the Halls of Pleasure into the Pyramid. They position three scout teams – each consisting of one of the Telkaynie and one of the lowest-ranking members of the Eyes – at strategic points along the shore of Sabban-Ka’s Reservoir. Alas, the shore proves too large for their small force to watch effectively in the dark. The first the scouts know of the arrival of the zargonians is when the team positioned furthest east is ambushed by a small squad of them. Fortunately, the Legion’s scouts are able to escape to the Temple to tell their tale. The Legion responds by sounding the horn that signals their scouts and other forces to retreat into the Temple.

Session 12: In Which The Legion Finally Conquers Cynidicea

Wednesday, 22nd day; 9th month (Horse); year 734

Upon returning from the Isle of the Dead and hearing of the impending Zargonian invasion, Amalaith decides that the Spearmaidens can no longer afford to cower behind the walls of their Tower. Taking her Spearmaiden henchmen and the Staff of Healing with her (despite the Legion’s reluctance to send another powerful magic item off with one of her players’ characters after the loss of the helm of telepathy and ring of x-ray vision), she heads to the Tower of Madarua to confront the High Spearmaiden Dalyaa-Nush. Calling together all of her sisters, Amalaith gives a fiery speech. Invoking her trials on the Isle of Death, where Madarua’s grace was all that stood between her and certain death, she demands that the Spearmaidens follow her as she joins forces with the Legion of the Gods Above to finally free Cynidicea from Zargon and his beastmen.

Session 11: In Which the Legion Spins the Wheel

Tuesday, 21st day; 9th month (Horse); year 734

The Legion undertakes another expedition into the Pyramid of Sabban-Ka, intending this time to find Ulzain’s tomb. They take only a dozen of their best henchman, hoping that they will fare better with a less cumbersome party. On their way in, Thirleiro finds another secret door in the corridor that connects the Halls of Pleasure to the rest of the 5th tier. The secret door leads to a corridor, at the end of which is an archway obscured by a strange, shimmering field. Hovering in mid-air just beyond the field is a copper-plated staff carved in the shape of a pair of entwined snakes.

Session 10: In Which the Legion Loots the Tomb of Sabban-Ka

Sunday, 12th day; 9th month (Horse); year 734

On the day after the Legion returns from their foray into the Pyramid to rescue the templars, Spinello hosts a feast for the henchmen in the tavern wing of their stronghold. He attempts to arrange things in the Fortenzan style. The Cynidicean servants do their best to follow his instructions – which call for foods, beverages, and musical instruments alien to their civilization. The results are…interesting…but entertaining enough to keep spirits up among the battered members of the party.

Session 9: In Which the Legion Holds A Recruiting Drive In the Pyramid of Sabban-Ka

Saturday, 11th day; 9th month (Horse); year 734

The PCs, who have taken to calling themselves the Legion of the Gods Above, awaken to find that their assassin, Mercedes, has left in the night along with her sister, Eva. Aisha is livid that they did not ask her to go with them, as she would do anything to get out of this wretched place. The rest of the Legion is livid that they took the helm of telepathy and the ring of x-ray vision with them.

Session 8: In Which Zargon Takes Seven Times Seven

Thursday, 9th day; 9th month (Horse); year 734

On the day after they exterminated the ssarmesk lizard-men who were camped in the Pyramid of Sabban-Ka, the party spends the morning in the old High Priest’s apartments discussing their next move. Some want to attack Thrak-Sha’s stronghold before he attacks them. Others would rather wait for Thrak-Sha to attack so they can take advantage of having a stronghold of their own. The breakfast meeting is interrupted by a servant bearing a message addressed to Aisha and Milnos from one Osero-Gep. This mysterious stranger is asking them to meet him at the Stronghold of Usamigaras, as he has information that “practitioners of the Art” should find interesting.

The party decides to spend the day seeing what is going on at the Fortress of Gorm and Stronghold of Usamigaras in the wake of the destruction of those cults. But first, they want to investigate the mysterious library in their own stronghold. Mercedes’ ring of x-ray vision reveals that the books in the library are covered in a strange yellow mold. The party decides that it would be best to keep the library locked at this time.

Milnos, Mercedes, Aisha, and Spinello head to the Fortress of Gorm, while Thjolstoff remains at the Temple to convalesce in Eva’s care. Most of the other henchmen remain at the Temple, as well. At the Fortress, the party meets with Hestmon-Zo, the gruff, middle-aged drill sergeant in rhino mask and blue dragonbone plate armor who has assumed leadership of the remaining Penitents of Gorm since the destruction of the Brothers of Gorm who ministered to their congregation. They discover that Hestmon has taken on a henchman: Brother Aubrey, the surfacer priest who used to travel with the PCs. Aubrey is trying to induct the cult of Gorm into the Aedis of the Gods Above – the religious organization that dominates the PCs’ homeland, which teaches that all Lawful deities are part of a unified whole – and the Gormites seem receptive to his teaching.

Session 7: In Which a Threat Is Discovered and Eliminated

Wednesday, 1st day; 9th month (Horse); year 734 (cont.)

Following the unfortunately Tarantino-esque conclusion to their assault on the Temple of Zargon, the PCs rush to repair their relationship with the Spearmaidens of Madarua. They send a small delegation – led by Spinello and specifically excluding the frightful barbarian who drove them out of the Temple – to entreat with the Spearmaidens.

The delegation emerges onto a town square that is unnaturally empty and ominously quiet. Even the ‘shroom-addled denizens of Cynidicea realize that the balance of power has been upset, and anything could happen now. The frightened citizens eye the PCs silently from windows and shops as they make their way to the Tower of Madarua.

They find the gates of the Tower compound shut tight. Spinello hails the Spearmaidens, and one of them appears on the battlements. She demands that they leave, and reminds them that their henchmen (Odgrim and Simbra-Nar) and their friend Bozev, the Telkaynie tavern keeper, are still in the Tower, convalescing. If the PCs are foolish enough to attack, their guards have orders to kill the hostages. Hoping to find a more sympathetic ear, Spinello asks if he can speak to Ilaliya, the Spearmaiden who guided them out of the Pyramid, and who Spinello had been trying unsuccessfully to woo ever since. The Spearmaiden, obviously upset by the bard’s insensitivity, informs him that Ilaliya did not survive the battle in the Temple.