Gladiator Campaign

[Style]

We played Monday night. I started off by "box texting" their journey from Messantia to Shadizar, following Hadramas' trail. This box text included scroll-inspired dreams for Jyn. This included the characters periodically feeling like they were being watched at camp at night. When they would scout their camp perimeter, they would never find anyone, nor any tracks.

What was going on (which they were not aware of) is they were being scried by Hadramas. He had stolen the entire wardrobes of the whole party back when they were in Messantia, so he's got plenty of magic links. (They mistakenly assumed the Vendhyan priest was the clothes thief.)

They followed his trail all the way into Shadizar. From there, they'd heard that Hadramas was seen in the Maul, and that Abuletes was a great source of information within. At this point, I actually read text out of the Shadizar box, rather than making up my own box text as I had up to now.

(Mods, if this is not ok to paste this Mongoose material here, let me know and I will delete it or you can delete it if you like.)

Your Characters have arrived in Shadizar and have
found themselves in one of the main attractions of the
City of Wickedness: the maul. The maul of Shadizar is
known as the Desert. It is not called that because it is
sandy and hot, but because nothing worthwhile comes
from there. The sharp smells of damp sewage, the
reeking odours of unwashed masses, the gamey stench
of animal pens and the overpowering tangs of food and
alcohol all compete for attention as one walks down the
winding mazes of the Desert’s alleys and streets. Death
and disease are evident wherever one looks. Rotting
beggars, stricken with venereal diseases and worse, sit
beside murdered corpses, oblivious to their neighbours’
fate. Pigs, chickens, dogs and cats run underfoot, as
do the ragged youth of the district. The air is thick
with the fumes of cooking fi res and chimneys. Noise is
constant. Screaming, singing, carousing and laughing
all vie against the omnipresent bell ringing from the
prophets and temples as well as the noisy beat of the
craftsmens’ hammers.

...

In the heart of the Desert, located
deep in the narrow twisting streets and garbage strewn
alleys, the tavern of Abuletes is said to be one of the
best in Shadizar. Here the dancers perform naked and
the thieves barter openly. . It was deemed
a dull evening here when at least one
customer was not stabbed in a brawl.

Within, Korela (the Red Hawk) was masquerading as a fortune teller, Inessa. Oleksandr asked for his fortune, He was given a cryptic and dark fortune, where a great decision loomed for him, but either path would end badly.

The other characters were talking to Abuletes, slid him some silver, and found out that Hadramas had been seen going to Ninochka’s Bordello. Now, going to a whore house in the Maul is noting out of the ordinary, as they're on practically every corner, but this was at least a little out of the ordinary. He went to the whore house specifically asking for Vilena, who was "just another whore". She was not the youngest, not the prettiest, not known for providing "special services", just another mare in the stable.

What the characters didn't know is that Hadramas found out about the Holy Text of Derketo, and that Vilena was a devoted follower of it's current owner, Lady Nehira. Hadramas went to Ninochka’s seeking information.

Meanwhile, some Iranistani started demanding that Korella sell more than just a fortune. A fight broke out between the PCs who stepped in to help her, but during the fight she slipped out, and kneed Oleksandr below the belt when he tried to get in her way. (She's arrogant and hot headed, and got pissed that some dumb ruffians thought she was just a helpless woman that needed them to save her. She decided not to stick around to show how much she "appreciated" their help.)

Next, they went to Ninochka’s Bordello. Abaddon, the shemite mercenary, talked to Vilena, and got her to tell him about Lady Nehira, Hadramas, and that Hadramas was very interested in Lady Nehira. He actually gained an ally in Vilena when he told her he was out to bring Hadramas to justice. She hates Hadramas, for he got too rough with her during his "visit", crossed the line, and knocked out some of her teeth, ruining her smile.

Then Harasym and his crew burst in, masquerading as the city watch, and ordering their arrest. Jyn actually submitted to arrest, saying "That's fine. Take me to a magistrate. We can work this out." The rest of the party managed to slip out and get away.

Note that unlike Dark Dens of Iniquity, Harasym was coming after the PCs b/c he owed a debt to Hadramas.

Those that slipped away met back up at Abuletes Tavern, and investigated Harasym. (They heard the "watch men" address him as such.) They found out he is a crime lord, not a captain in the watch.

Meanwhile, Jyn was taken to one of Harasym's safe houses, a warehouse on the outside, an obvious den of rogues on the inside. His weapons were taken, but that was it. He overheard them saying "Remember, we're not to touch any of his stuff, other than removing his weapons." (This was b/c Hadramas wants the scrolls for himself, undamaged.) He was roughed up, tied up, and thrown in a room. He then discovered that his bonds were loose, and escaped.

That is what the player was told. In actuallity, the ancient sorcerer possessing him took over at some point, and used hypnotism to get Harasym's men to release him. At some later time, I plan to have them hear rumors of Jyn's magic aided escape, which will contradict his fabricated memories.

So they reconvened at Abuletes and discussed what was going on, what each character knew. Here are the conclusions they drew:

1) Hadramas set a trap for them in Shadizar. Anyone looking for Hadramas was to be sent to Ninochka’s Bordello.2) Harasym was paid to just "mess with" them, not do any real harm. Otherwise, why didn't he take their stuff, and why did he clearly allow Jyn to escape?
3) Abuletes must have ratted them out, when they left to go to Ninochka’s. Otherwise, how did Harasym find them their so quickly?

None of the above conclusions are accurate.

For 1, I'm tempted to change my story and use this. I like the idea of a sorcerer, who clearly knows he's being followed, to lay a trap like that in Shadizar. Originally I was thinking Hadramas was simply looking for more scrolls, and was investigating the text Nehira has in her possession. I'll have to think about it...

For 2, it will be interesting to find out their thoughts when they hear conflicting rumors about Jyn's escape.

For 3, Harasym is a crime lord with a fair number of rogues about about the city. The PCs had been in the city for a couple days by the time they entered Ninochka’s Bordello. Harasym had been closing in on them for a while, and Ninochka’s Bordello was simply the point he caught up to them. I would like for Abuletes to be a recurring character, when they need some information his tavern is a place they can go. So I'm hoping they figure out their conclusion was wrong, but if not so be it.

After that, they went to Lady Nehira's estate in the Wealthy Quarter. The session ended with the Kushite guard Nabud admitting them through the gates to her estate, after convincing him that Jyn, a foreign noble himself, was a potential suitor.

 

[Style]

The guy playing Jyn, the Argossean noble, cultist of Mata'Cima, has left the group. Now I'm considering what to do with the story line.

One option is to kill off Jyn, but have the party keep possession of the scrolls, and then have the scrolls take possession of some one else in the party. This would just be continuing my original plans, with a different PC instead of Jyn.

Another option is to scrap the long drawn out quest for the scrolls, and have the scrolls take full possession of Jyn. He would become a major NPC, most likely a villain.

Part of me says the first option is the way to go. It requires no retooling, which is attactive. Another part of me says "But what if no one takes the bait with the scrolls? You will have missed a great opportunity to use Jyn as a major NPC!"

Of course, I don't have to kill off Jyn. I could attempt have some one else take his place in the story, and if it doesn't take, bring Jyn back in the major NPC role. This one seems a bit more difficult to pull off. First, I need to concoct a reason for Jyn to be put on the side and give up the scrolls, giving someone else the opportunity to step into his shoes in the story. And then if it doesn't take, figure out how to bring him back into the puzzle. Not impossible, I'm sure, but at the moment I'm not sure how I would do it.

Another thing I'm considering is switching from serial to episodic gaming. In which case, I would definitely have the scrolls take possession of Jyn, using that as a climactic end to the scrolls story line I had going, just a bit sooner than I was originally planning. I could still run the other adventures I had in mind (Conan the Invincible, HD3, Tower of the Elephant), but they wouldn't be linked by the scrolls story arc.

I polled my group to see what their opinion is of episodic gaming. I'll know soon.

 

[Style]

We played again last week. It started with the characters being led into the estate of Lady Nehira by her "Seneschal", Kilya of Rinjaruin. They had ample opportunity to mix with him, but more or less dismissed him as just a servant, beneath their notice. When the Guard arrived, Kilya led them to the tunnels below, gave them the talisman, and the clues about the ravens and being silent.

They made their way through the tunnels, the secret temple of Kara Prama. They shared visions, psychic flashbacks, of bizarre ritual orgies. With pursuit following close behind, they enter the secret hall of the temple, with all the old scrolls and tomes. These writings were another great opportunity to learn what was really going on, but the characters passed through while hardly touching anything. "Books are for scholars." The player playing Abaddon, the shemite mercenary, actually said that.

So after completely disregarding both a treasure trove of informative texts and a powerful potential ally (who also knew a great deal of what was going on), the characters entered the undertakers and funerary merchants guild hall and began thoroughly questioning Mykhailo and Jakiv, who knew relatively little. They gained very little information there, and left behind a very suspicious Jakiv.

Note that afterward I was talking to one of the players, and he said that he wondered what the point of the adventure was. Looking back on it, I see why he felt that way. They didn't have a clear picture of what was going on, having passed on all the best opportunities to learn.

Next, they purchased disguises to try and throw off the pursuit, and went on to the Temple of Bel. They used the talisman Kilya gave them to get through the garden maze and enter the temple. Inside, they witnessed Lady Nehira straddling a young man on the alter, surrounded by nude, chanting cultists writhing obscenely as they look on. As the ritual reaches its climax (among other things), Lady Nehira plunges the dagger into the chest of the young man, and his blood spills forth. Instead of being restored to youth and beauty, Lady Nehira quickly ages to a withered crone. ‘Heretics! You and your foul presence have corrupted these sacred rites. Infidels and unbelievers! Cower before my thralls and DIE!’ She then cast a spell to close and the temple doors and seal them with a thick layer of ice.

A battle ensued, with some of the cultists entering melee with their daggers, while the rest, along with Lady Nehira, stayed back and hurled spells. This went on for a few rounds, until the alter splits in half.

"From the broken alter pours forth a dark, impenetrable mist. It rolls quickly across the floor, covering much of the temple floor in a matter of seconds. The mist clings to the floor, and rises from first ankle height, to knee, to a height a couple feet taller than a man. Gazing into the swirling mist, you begin to see glimpses of erotic images: a hand on a breast here, a mouth opening sensually there, gesturing limbs, and so on."

I asked for a will save. Those who failed were aroused, and willingly moved into the mist to receive its "embrace." This included Ramas, the Cimmerian barbarian, and all the remaining cultists. Those who made their saves were repulsed, and made fear checks. I believe everyone made their fear checks.

The characters saw Ramas and the cultists walk toward the mist, and then saw it begin to envelop them. I described it to Ramas "You feel a lovers hands grasp your head firmly, and pull you forward for a passionate kiss." I then had him make fortitude saves each round, or gain a point of fatigue, simulating the demon draining his life force. If you gain four fatigue points in Savage Worlds then you're killed.

The other players ran up, grabbed Ramas, and begin trying to pull him free. (Grapple checks vs a giant sized, strong demon. Not fun.) They had no weapons that could harm the fiend. A different kind of battle ensued, one of escape and survival, with them managing to get one character free, but then one or two more would get grappled, and forcibly given "the embrace" (since they made their will saves and were not charmed). This was as they made their way to the door, which needed to be bashed down, as they were magically sealed by Nehira during the earlier fight. Before it was all said and done, every member of the party had gained fatigue points in this manner.

At one point Jyn, the Argossean noble, was completely separated from the rest of the group. He was trapped in the Pulpit, with the sexual mist demon filling the area between him and the door, and the rest of the party in the vestibule or just outside the doors (having bashed through them). Oleksandr and Ramas were grappled in the vestibule area, and both had 3 fatigue points (just one away from death). All of a sudden, everyone hears a painfully intense psychic scream in their heads, and the mist receded, filling a much smaller area around the alter. Oleksandr took a second before running to peak around the door, where he saw jyn gesturing wildly and speaking in a tongue they didn't recognize.

(With Jyn in dire straights, the ancient sorcerer possessing him from the scrolls was able to seize the moment and come forward completely. He casts some wards, hurting the demon.)

They all run outside, including Jyn, but then Ramas had a "brilliant" idea. He was going to attempt to burn down the temple of Bel. He ran in, grabbing some candles from the vestibule, entered the pulpit, and began attempting to light the drapes. Kara Prama, recovered from Jyn's magics, surrounded Ramas, and gave him one last kiss.

That is where the session ended. Afterward, I sent the following email to the players:

You flee the temple of Bel, aghast at the horrors you witnessed, and grieving the loss of your comrade. You find shelter in a Shadizar inn on the other side of town. Jyn seems very shaken, and doesn't want to talk about anything that happened. When you get up in the morning, Jyn is gone with out a trace, taking all his things, including the scrolls.

In the coming days, you continue your search for Hadramas in Shadizar. You see why it has the reputation of being the most wicked city in the world. Filth, corruption, debauchery, treachery, all are in abundance. Garbage, and even corpses, line the streets in the Desert, where impoverished children play along side diseased beggars. Whores are everywhere, peddling disturbing perversions undreamed of in the west. Sacred prostitutes try to convert you to bizarre demon cults. Slave markets are everywhere, supplied by Turanian slave caravans, where you can purchase slaves of any race, appearance, or skill. Your search leads you into drug dens where addicts waste away on opium, black lotus, mixed lotus, Black draught, and more. The resident of Shadizar who doesn't gamble is in the minority. Gambling halls and clubs abound, catering to various games, but all taverns have gambling. For that matter, gambling can be found anywhere, over the outcome of a street fight in a bizarre, the selling price of a slave on the block, or any other random event people can find. Child brokers are common, with parents selling their children into slavery or brothels in order to pay off gambling debts or to fund their vices.

Your search puts you in contact with rogues of all flavors: burglars, robbers and muggers, Pick pockets and cut purses, embezzlers and forgers, con men, drug dealers and drug lords, murderers and assassins, and so many kidnappers that they actually specialize, depending on the type of quarry desired. Your dealings, near misses, and escapes with these shady characters would make an interesting tale in itself. There is no further pursuit from Harasym's gang or the city watch.

Rumors abound of robbery, murder, and any other possible crime, of spies and uprisings, of betrayals and infidelities, and of dark magics, evil sorcerers, and corrupt priests. One such rumor which you hear a few times, making you shudder, is of a darkness that haunts the streets of the temple district. You also hear rumors that once captured, Jyn ensorcereld Harasym's guards, using magics to get free. While investigating these rumors, you don't hear anything that confirms what Jyn said, that Harasym had just let him go.

A few days later, the town is in an uproar over a robbery at King Tiridates' palace. Tiridates had recently signed a trade alliance with ruler of Turan, King Yildiz. In order to cement the trade treaty, Yildiz gave the King of Zamora 5 of his best dancing girls, a bejeweled golden casket containing 5 pendants, each with a stone the likes of which no man has ever seen before. Well this morning, the gifts are all gone: the pendants, the casket, even the dancing girls! Twenty guards were found dead. No one knows who would attempt such a daring robbery, and the drunken king is in a fury.

After many dead ends and false leads, on the day after the robbery at the palace, Hadramas' trail leads you to an opium den, where you speak with an intoxicated Zamorian named Ruslan. He is small, with long mustaches, a book broker known for being able to obtain rare tomes. You find him laying on his side, holding a pipe over a lamp, enjoying the drug, while a naked couple across the room enjoy each other for all to see with no shame. After some "persuasion", you're able to clear the glaze from his eyes and extract the information you were looking for. Hadramas had come to him weeks earlier, asking if he’d seen anything rare (but giving him no inclination what he was looking for specifically). He was also aware that Hadramas had been in talks with Lady Nehira about buying an ancient tome in her possession, but after meeting with her and getting a look at the book, it was not what he was looking for and they parted ways. Since then, Ruslan learned that Hadramas had apparently found religion. He joined with a group of pilgrims traveling from Argos to Vendhya, and left with them the previous night.

Investigating the pilgrims a bit before setting off, you learn that they came into Shadazir just the day prior. They wore hooded robes, and no one got a good look at their faces; however, one guard did notice a leather boot worked with a serpent design when the robe of one got caught as he mounted a horse. They had 5 casks on 5 horses, who they said were comrades who had fallen along the way. They had made an oath to each other that any one who started the pilgrimage would be brought with them to the end of it, even if no longer living. One oddity is that they left to the north, out the Gate of Three Swords, when Vendhya is to the south, out the gate of the Black Throne. Another oddity is they left in the night, even when advised that it was safer to wait until day break to leave the city walls.

You leave that night out the Gate of Three Swords. This impressive gate of alabaster and jewels leads to the North east, the direction Hadramas the pilgrims were last seen. As you're leaving Shadizar, Oleksandr is spotted by an old friend, Myko, who is entering the City of the Wicked. Myko embraces Oleksandr, and then gives him grim news. Oleksandr's sister, Svetlana, has been taken by the priests of Zath, to be sacrificed to the great spider god. She had not yet been killed when he left, but Myko believes she will not live past the Festival of Falling Stars, which will occur with in the week. Myko tells that he has come to Shadizar to start a new life, having left behind Yezud, the City of the Spider God, for good. The priests of Zath had of late become too zealous, and something else is not right. They've hired a company of Brythunian mercenaries as guards, and will not trust any Zamorians but those in the priesthood. It was time for Myko to get out.

You say farewell to Myko, and continue on the north road. You reach a fork in the road. The road to the northwest goes to Yezud. Having asked other travelers, you know the pilgrims took the other fork, to the north east. It is here you must decide if you're to travel to Yezud and attempt to save Svetlana, or follow follow the pilgrims and continue your quest to bring Hadramas to justice.

Which path do you choose?

Next week, we play again, and we'll pick it up there. I'm going to have Abaddon and Oleksandr make sanity checks, or gain a minor insanity. A little left over baggage from receiving "the embrace" of a demon. Fun stuff.

Also, the guy who was playing Ramas said he's going to play a sorcerer this time, so I'll have to find a way to work his PC in. I'm actually thinking I'll just put it on the players. Have them come up with a plausible reason for his character joining on with them and being a trusted party member.

 

[Clovenhoof]

Ah, another character suicide. Really a pity when that happens, but as your sig says: one golden bridge at a time.

As for introducing the new character:

"Oh, you seem trustworthy. Would you like to join us in our noble quest?"

 

[Style]

Ah, another character suicide. Really a pity when that happens, but as your sig says: one golden bridge at a time.

Yeah, this guy's last pc was the one who charged into 100 mounted, armed knights in heavy armor, who had him surrounded and were asking for his surrender.

He told me after the game that I'd killed more of his characters than anyone else. Thinking back on it, this makes 4 PC deaths for him in 3 campaigns. 3 of the 4 were from him doing something stupid, with just 1 occurring because he came out on the wrong end of a tough battle.

As for introducing the new character:

"Oh, you seem trustworthy. Would you like to join us in our noble quest?"

LOL.

 

[Krushnak]

A few days later, the town is in an uproar over a robbery at King Tiridates' palace. Tiridates had recently signed a trade alliance with ruler of Turan, King Yildiz. In order to cement the trade treaty, Yildiz gave the King of Zamora 5 of his best dancing girls, a bejeweled golden casket containing 5 pendants, each with a stone the likes of which no man has ever seen before. Well this morning, the gifts are all gone: the pendants, the casket, even the dancing girls! Twenty guards were found dead. No one knows who would attempt such a daring robbery, and the drunken king is in a fury.

heheh good ol Conan, thats from one of the Robert Jordan pastiches isnt it?

 

[Style]

A few days later, the town is in an uproar over a robbery at King Tiridates' palace. Tiridates had recently signed a trade alliance with ruler of Turan, King Yildiz. In order to cement the trade treaty, Yildiz gave the King of Zamora 5 of his best dancing girls, a bejeweled golden casket containing 5 pendants, each with a stone the likes of which no man has ever seen before. Well this morning, the gifts are all gone: the pendants, the casket, even the dancing girls! Twenty guards were found dead. No one knows who would attempt such a daring robbery, and the drunken king is in a fury.

heheh good ol Conan, thats from one of the Robert Jordan pastiches isnt it?

Yeah, Conan the Invincible; however, the above was actually performed by Amanar's saurian warriors, not Conan. Conan was only responsible for the death of one of those 20 guards and none of the thefts.

Great read, btw.

 

[Sting52jb]

Ah it seems like this once mighty group of Gladiators has been brought low, with only 2 of the original group remaining. While it is always a bummer to lose gamers to the real world, it is just a shame that you lose PC's to stupidity. Any Ways the constant deaths make this campaign seem more human, and fits in the Conan world as not everyone has what it takes to be a hero even if they are only a reluctant hero.

Can't wait to see your next adventure and the new character being introduced. Also I'm beginning to wonder if the PC's are not wondering if the chase for Hadramas might be just a little too much for them to handle

Keep up the good work it seems as your campaigns is on the role.

 

[Style]

Can't wait to see your next adventure and the new character being introduced. Also I'm beginning to wonder if the PC's are not wondering if the chase for Hadramas might be just a little too much for them to handle

They decided they're heading to Yezud to save Oleksandr's sister, so they're letting Hadramas get away actually. Now I need to figure out some things to throw at them in Yezud, other than the obvious (rescuing Svetlana from the temple, fighting Zath, etc). I need to put at least one twist in there. I better figure something out quick, as we play next Wednesday.

As you know already, I'll be using these tiles, so my table will at least look good: http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=3228&it=1&filters=400_0_0&manufacturers_id=80

Keep up the good work it seems as your campaigns is on the role.

My campaigns are always on a role. :lol: Pun intentional?

 

[Style]

We gamed Thursday night.

First, we had a new party member. The characters had asked for aid from the Argossean merchants in Shadizar, showing them their papers as members of the King's hand. In addition to monetary aid, they introduced the PCs to a stygian dealer in antiquities who Hadramas had ripped off. When the Stygian, named Plato, learned they were out to bring Hadramas to justice, he offered to travel with them to exact some revenge.

GM's note: I asked the players to come up with a reason for the new PC to join the party and be trusted implicitly by the party. I wasn't overly thrilled with what they came up with, as there was basically no reason to trust each other with this back story; however, I let them play with it.

As previously mentioned, on their way out the gates of Sharizar, they learn that Oleksandr's sister Svetlana is to be a sacrifice to Zath in Yezud. They only have a few days to get there before she will be killed. They leave the trail of Hadramas and head off to save the sister.

GM's note: Already the motive for the new guy to be in the group has fallen apart. **sigh**

On the road to Yezud, they come across an angry mob outside a village. The mob has an old woman tied to a stake and are about to toss a torch on her pyre. The PCs ride their horses to the edge of the mob, and ask one of the locals what's going on. He gladly tells them how the woman to be burned was the village Wisdom. They thought she was a practitioner of white magic, as she had aided them at times in the past. However, all of that changed a couple months ago when one of thier children fell ill and died. Then another, and another. They asked her for aid, but she did nothing. Clearly she is a dealer in the black arts who has brought this curse upon them. Plato doesn't like the sound of this, and rides his horse through the crowd to the witch. He hops off his horse, and tells the people that he will hear their case and judge fairly. A botched persuasion roll later, and cries from the mob rise up "Burn the witch lover!" They grab him, begin tying him up, and calling for another stake to put him on. Abaddon, the Shemite mercenary, says "I don't know this guy from Adam." and begins to ride his horse at a casual pace down the road. The other two party members hang around to see what happens, but don't jump to his aid.

GM's note: At this point, the players were laughing about how this was going to set a record for the shortest lived character ever. :twisted:

Plato then attempted an elemental manipulation roll to have some flames leap from the witch's pyre to his assailants, and even with a stiff penalty for being grappled he made his sorcery roll. They let go of him, he hoped on his horse, rode it into the fire (it was not yet a roaring inferno, still small), grabbed the witch, and yanked her off the pyre, post and all. He rode off like a mad man with the witch over his lap, a stake still tied to her back. She directs him to her hide out cave. Meanwhile, the villagers quickly recovered from their shock, got on their horses, and pursued. When they passed Abaddon, he said "They went that way." and of course pointed the opposite direction. When the party reunited later, he told Plato that this was his plan all along.

In the cave, the old croon, Nyssa, tells him how an epidemic had fallen upon the village. She did what she could to heal them, as she always did, but the illness was beyond her skill to cure. The villagers, in their grief, became angry, and focused that anger on her. She thanks Plato, and gives him a magic dust. "A pinch of this in the face of those who oppose you and they will forget the last few moments."He tells her that he's on his way to Yezud for a religious festival, and she tells him to watch out for the priest of Zath, as they are masters of mesmerism.

After days traveling across the arid Zamorian country side, they make their way up the winding mountain pass to Khesron. Where the path opens up into the plane upon which Kherson and Yezud lie, a fortified tower stands. Brythunia guards in heavy armor man it. The officer of the group, one Lieutenant Santino, rides the PCs very hard, openly questioning their manhood and mocking them. The other guards laugh at them. The PCs take this in stride, pay a toll, and pass the tower into Khesron.

First, they stopped at Bartakes Inn. Several off duty guards are there, along with many travelers, as the festival of the Blood Moon has brought them from across Zamora to worship Zath. During this festival of harvest, foreigners and non-Zathites are welcome, so Yezud has an unusually large non-Zamorian population for a few days. A young whore approaches them, selling her wares, when Oleksandr recognizes her as old man Bartake's daughter Mandala. She was around 14 when last he saw her, and she's "grown up" considerably since then. While flirting with them, one guard who was passed out face first on a table in the middle of the room when they entered, rises, comes to them, and begins to pick a fight. "Hey, she's mine, get your hands off her!" Abaddon stands up to him, even though he sees he has several chords of rank on his cloak. The drunken officer wastes no time in pulling his broadsword on the insolent shemite. Abaddon, not wanting to kill an officer, disarms him. It then becomes a fist fight. While the two men fight, Plato notices a small, hooded figure sneaking up on the officer from behind, pulling out a knife. "Look out behind you, he's got a knife!" He then used elemental manipulation to have flame from a nearby lamp leap into the would be assassin's hair. Abaddon managed to slip out in the confusion, as the other guards then also saw the assassin. Spurred by magics, the flames in his hair quickly spread, and he takes off running and screaming. The guards chase him down, dose his head in a horse trough, and take him into custody to be put to the question. Meanwhile, the officer, who is starting to sober a bit, comes back and introduces himself as Captain Cadogan. He thanks Plato, and asks if he saw what happened to the other assassin. "You know, the Shemite? I think those two were working together." Plato says he does not know what happened to the other assassin, but that he'll keep an eye out for him.

The party regroups, and makes its way to the farm lands of the noble house Strayana. Like most of the common folk of Khesron, Oleksandr's family were indentured servants to a noble house, working the lands for rent. Their lords were house Stayana. Oleksandr's father is happy to see his son, and welcomes them into his cottage, but his heart is heavy. He tells his sad tale. The Zathite priest Amilian had an eye for his young daughter Svetlana, and came to "ask" that she become a Bride of Zath. "I could see the lust in his eyes, and did not trust the priest. God of purity, bah! When I refused, I believe he tried some trick of mesmerism on me, but some how I resisted. He left very angry, saying our family would be cursed for this affront to Zath. The gods did not take kindly to those who didn't answer when they called." He went on to say how that is when members of the family began to die. Mostly by deadly spider bites, but some by other accidents. "I didn't believe Amilian, that Zath had chosen Svetlana to be one of his temple dancers. I thought he was merely a dirty lecher, a hypocrite, how wanted to take my Svetlana from me, but then how can I explain the misfortune that kept befalling my kin? Finally, I took her to the temple, told them that her virtue was still unmarred, and that I would be honored for her to serve the great spider god. Amilian took her away, and I've not been allowed to see her since, other than when everyone else does, as she dances before Zath in the temple during service. She will not even look my way at those times. She has a vacant look in her eyes, as if she's not seeing anything. Alas, things were ok for a time. No more spider bites. No more accidental deaths. Then I found out she was to be Zath's 'Chosen' bride for the Blood Moon ceremony." Breaking into sobs "My Svetlana, my little girl."

Oleksandr would later tell the others that normally criminals were sacrificed to Zath, and when none available then cattle. However, during the harvest, during the "Blood Moon" rites, Zath would choose one of his brides who he loved most dearly, the most beautiful, the most pure, to take into his "embrace."

Oleksandr went on to say that the walled city of Yezud was a place where the priests of Zath rule unquestioned. It was open during the day for anyone who wished to come there on business, but only priests of Zath, or those who worked for the church, were allowed to stay the night within its walls. At all hours, alcohol and drugs were forbidden within, as were fornication and gambling. A mountain river runs along side the city. The other side of the river is walled by a sheer cliff face, going up 40 ft. At the top is where the great Temple of Zath was built, with a bridge going from the Yezud across the river to the temple.

GM's note: I altered the map in Thulsa's HD3 a bit. First, there is just one temple, and it resides on the other side of the bridge. Second, I moved all of the noble house estates from their location 10-17, to instead be palaces and Manor houses built among their farmsteads, location 6.

Oleksandr's father later recovered, and told how tomorrow afternoon there was an open ceremony at the temple, which he planned to attend, being one of the last chances he'd have to see his precious Svetlana. The pc's likewise made plans to attend.

The next morning, they decided to go into Yezud to buy ceremonial robes, to help blend in at the festival. While going down the street, Oleksandr runs into a blast from his past, his childhood sweetheart, the beautiful Nadya. She asks why he left her. He tells her that he had to leave, to try and out run the curse on his family. He feared bringing her with him, for the curse might take her as well. She then asks if he has come back for good, and when he says no, that he's leaving in a few days, she begs him to take her with him. "I've grown to dread each day, as I've been betrothed to Basil Strayana. The arrogant and cruel boy noble you knew has grown even more cruel and intolerable as a man. You must take me with you!" Before Oleksandr can answer, Basil rides up on a fine Balkhana warhorse, gold rings on each finger, a jewel-hilted sword on his side. He has with him a retinue of bodyguards, servants, and toadies, also mounted. He rides his horse up, knocking Oleksandr to one side, with his fiance the other. He belittles and jeers Oleksandr, and then grabs Nadya's arm and roughly pulls her up behind him. He mocks Oleksandr as he rides away.

After buying the robes, Plato heads off to find Captain Cadogan. They have a few drinks together at Bartakes, becoming fast friends. Cadogan tells him tales of glory, leading his mercenary band to many spoils. He then brings him up to his current situation, working guard duty for the Zathites. "It's not quite as glorious, but the pay is good and the work is very easy." The captain asks Plato if he's seen the Shemite assassin around, and curses his luck that of all times for a foreign assassin to be in town, it was this time of festival with many foreigners in town. He goes on to tell Plato how the Zamorian assassin that they captured the previous day was murdered in his cell before they even had a chance to interrogate him. Cadogan is clearly worried, as this is the second attempt on his life, and now with the latest assassin being murdered in his own jail house, he's wondering who he can trust.

GM's note: Lieutenant Santino, with his eyes set on rule of the mercenary band, is the one who's paying for hits on Cadogan.

Later that day, the party attended the ceremony at the Temple of Zath. At this point, I read the following text more or less straight out of the book:

The sanctuary of Zath’s temple has two doors on
either side of an altar. From the left-hand door walk a
procession of stately priests, a dozen of them in turbans of
coloured silk and embroidered, brocaded robes of varied
colours. They carry jewelled ritual staves topped by either
gold or silver, depending on rank. In the lead is the High
Priest, who wears white robes and a black turban. One
of the priests then leads the congregation in a weird song
that proclaims Zath’s purity. Four of the priests then
ritually move to an ever-burning flame kept in the
temple and perform complex rites involving a silver
chalice, a bronzed mirror, a jewelled dagger and
a key of gold, passing each item through
the smoke of that eternal fire.

After that complex and largely incomprehensible ritual,
the priests line up on either side of the sanctum and the
eight dancing girls, prised for their virtue and flexibility,
walk impressively and solemnly through the right-hand
door. One of the priests plays eerie music through a
flute and the girls begin a lascivious dance that ends with
each prone on the floor, touching one of the legs of the
mammoth statue of monstrous Zath. Hand in hand,
the dancing girls leave and the high priest addresses the
congregation with his sermon. The dancing girls return,
dressed more conservatively in rainbow-hued gowns and
sing hymns as donations are collected. Afterward, another
song is sung by the congregation and the ritual ends.

I added two points to the above. One, the PCs get their first look at Oleksandr's sister. Their jaws drop, as the voluptuous, young Svetlana is the embodiment of sexual attraction. Two, at one point Oleksandr feels eyes on his back. When he turns to look, he sees Nadya, attending the ceremony at the side of her fiance, the lord Basil Strayana. She quickly turns her head, but not so quick that he didn't see the shiner forming on her eye. Oleksandr wisely checks his anger, knowing that the temple of Zath, in the middle of a packed ceremony, with several priest and guards about, is no place for him to extract justice on a noble.

The session ended with the characters considering if they should attempt to hide in the temple before they're forced to leave with the masses filing out.

 

[Style]

The month of December was a slow month for Conan role-playing at my table, but we played this week, and had a new player! He chose to play a mute female Hyrkanian Nomad.

We started the session with the players leaving the Temple of Zath, having witnessed a strange ritual where the brides of Zath danced before a great stone idol of the spider god, wearing only black beads, fashioned to look like a web. They were walking back to Oleksandr's father's cottage, when a hyrkanian woman came down the road, half alive, dangling from the stirrups of a fine Balkhana war horse. Plato, the stygian "antiquities dealer", said "I know her. Her name is Khenbish. She once worked as a guard on a caravan I traveled with, crossing the Hyrkanian steppes to Khitai. She saved my life then. Now, perhaps I can return the favor." They took her to the cottage, and treated her wounds. She had a slash across her throat and face. Although she was pretty, that wound would leave a nasty scar, for certain. They revived her, and quickly discovered that she could no longer speak. The slash she'd received had apparently damaged her voice box. Fortunately, she was literate, and was able to write a message to Plato. "I enslaved. Sold to Marko Tanin. Escaped, stole horse. Pursuit likely." Reading the message, the PCs heard riders quickly approaching, around a near bend. Plato, realizing there was no where to hide the horse, which was too big for the small cottage, had both Khenbish and the warhorse lay on the ground, under a blanket. He then cast a glamor on them, to make them appear as boulders, just as a group of armed men approached. They stated that they were looking for an escaped female Hyrkanian slave. Plato said he had seen no Hyrkanians. They said to send word to House Tanin if she was spotted. There was a reward for information leading to her capture.

When the sun set and the riders left this area of Khesron, the estate of House Strayana, the lord of Oleksandr's family, they spirited Khenbish into the cottage. The group then made plans to get Oleksandr's sister out of the temple, and Khenbish agreed to help. That very night, they would steal enough horses for the whole group to ride out of town, and then steal into the temple.

So Khenbish and Oleksandr went to steal horses from House Strayana. No one was on watch, and things were going well, until one of the horses let out a loud neigh. The PCs noticed the horse keeper peering out his window into the pasture, and a few moments later attempting to steal off into the night. Before Oleksandr could get a protest out of his mouth, Khenbish had dropped the horse keeper, with an arrow deep in his back. They managed to get out of there with the horses they needed.

At this point I should note that I'm using the map from Thulsa's fine HD3 conversion, but with a few modifications. The lands of the nobles, sections 10-17 do not exist. Instead, the nobles live in manor houses/palaces on their farmsteads/estates, section 6. There is just one great temple of Zath, and it is placed right across the bridge, on the other side of the river from the walled city of Yezud. For the temple itself, the main chambers, I'm using the tiles from Temple of the Spider Queen; however, the temple is larger than just what comes in the tiles, having wings the extend off for living quarters for the priests and the like.

So they go over to the river. Oleksandr's father is to wait with the horses while they rescue Svetlana. They cross the river in a raft, and Plato uses telekinesis to firmly attach a grappling hope (with rope connected) to the top of the cliff. The best climbers go up first, and then they simply haul up the rest, with the rope tied around them.

At the top of the cliff, Plato excuses himself, and steps away for a bit. He casts demonic pact, and tells the demon what they are about to attempt. The demon asks if he wants help. Plato says yes. "The woman you are attempting to save is with child." Plato responds "But I thought she was a maiden?" "She is with child. I want her child. I will help you save her, but you must give the child to me after birth." Plato agreed. The demon then told him that there was just one guard outside the temple. They were to use caution, as he was surprisingly alert at his post. With in the temple, they were to avoid the priests, and if not possible, ensure that the priest did not raise the alarm. If the full fury of the church of Zath was brought upon them, they were surely doomed. Last but not least, Svetlana was located in the caverns beneath the temple.

Plato returned to the group, told them that he had consulted the stars, and relayed the information the demon had told him. Oleksandr and Khenbish decided they would sneak ahead and take care of the guard at the temple doors. As Khenbish approached, she kicked a small stone, and saw the guard turn toward her. As his mouth opened to raise the alarm, while she reached frantically for her bow, she saw two sword points emerge from the chest of the guard. Patches of dark blood quickly followed. The guard dropped to the ground, and Oleksandr stood behind him.

The group entered the temple together. Soon they heard voices getting louder, coming nearer, and saw light emerging from the stairs that lead below the temple. They quickly hid, and listened as best they could. Two men were talking:

The first: "I do not like it."
The second: "You don't have to."
The first: "But what will the people think? Tomorrow is to be the pinnacle of the Festival of the Blood Moon?"
The second, getting a little angry: "The people will think what we tell them to think, as they always have! She is the chosen of Zath. Have faith. I have seen what is to pass, and we are doing the right thing. Power and glory shall be ours."

The voices, foot falls, and lamp light faded away.

Note that the first was Amilian, corrupt priest of Zath, who lusted for Svetlana and ensured she was selected to be a bride of Zath. The second was Cyrus, high priest of Zath, who is actually quite pious in his faith, a zealot who has dreams of glory and conquest for the church. The PCs do not know the identities of these men, and more importantly, they do not know that Amilian spotted something out of place. (He made his notice check.) Perhaps a telling muddy foot print? What ever it is, he does not raise the alarm, or even tell Cyrus, but he comes back later to investigate, discovering the PCs entering the caverns below. He sees them, but they do not see him.

The PCs then descend into the caverns beneath the temple. They find that the level of the caverns the stairs lead them to is one raised above the bottom. There are natural stone balconies, plateaus, terraces, etc, with a steep drop off into blackness between them. They are connected by strands of giant spider webs. One PC drops a torch off the edge, and it lands about 40 feet below in a web filled cavern. Black shapes quickly scurry away from the torch, retreating into the surrounding darkness. They test the spider webs, and find that they can hold the weight of men, and begin to carefully make their way into the cavern, traveling from plateau to balcony to plateau, via spider web.

In one corner of the cavern, they find what appears to be a nest. Spider webs are spun into soft silk, supported by the bones of past meals, forming a macabre set of furniture. On this gruesome bed lies a sleeping Svetlana. As the PCs approach, they are engulfed in webs, and turn to see a spider standing 5 feet tall, ascending from below into their lamp light. Then, the spider quickly turns to those who had stayed back from Svetlana, and webs them as well.

While this is going on, Crucio, the assassin from Ophir who was not spotted by the spider, moved in to gather Svetlana. Assuming she was drugged and would not be cooperative, he began tying her up. When she resisted, he knocked her unconscious with a strong forearm to the head. The spider then moved in to inject poison into its webbed victims, but Plato was able get a hand free just enough to cast a spell, causing the flames in the lamp to leap out onto the giant spider. The frightened creature of darkness immediately retreated, descending into the darkness.

As the adventurers tried to regroup, an eerie silence fell across the cavern. The hair on the backs of their necks stood, and primitive instincts caused them to peer over the edge of the plateau. Eight large, glowing red eyes were racing straight up toward them. As the hulking nightmare shape became visible, moving into the light, they saw not a spider the size of a man, but one larger than an elephant. Zath! :shock:

That is were the session ended.

The party is in one heck of a pickle. I didn't do them any favors by not giving them time to free themselves from the webs before sending in Zath. I didn't want to wait though, as we were getting kicked out of the store as the man sized spider was retreating. So the session had to end, but I like to end each session with a cliff hanger. What better cliff hanger than you're caught in webs and the spider god is bearing down on you? :twisted:

In a straight up fight, Zath is very beatable. There is a good chance that one or more of the adventurers would be killed, but I think the overall chance of Zath surviving would be small. That is if they don't flee. As it stands, they don't have the option of fleeing, being webbed. And with them being disadvantaged, all webbed up, the odds are not so good.

Here is the list of all the factors working against them:

* 3 of the 5 party members are currently entangled in webs. (Plato, Abaddon, and Khenbish, with Oleksandr and Crucio not in webs.) This provides a -4 penalty to all physical actions, including cutting through the webs to get free.
* One of the party members not entangled, Crucio, is encumbered and effectively one armed, with an unconscious Svetlana held over one shoulder.
* The other party member not entangled, Oleksandr, has a phobia vs spiders. He's in the layer of the spider god, so his phobia is in full effect. Mechanically this means a -1 to ALL rolls. Note that a -1 in Savage Worlds is tremendously more significant than a -1 in D20.
* Plato is fatigued from spell backlash. This causes a -1 to ALL rolls. Note that a -1 in Savage Worlds is tremendously more significant than a -1 in D20.
* Terrain - They're currently in the lair of the spiders. They're on stone plateaus and ledges, linked by webs. To cross the webs they have to make an agility check or fall. Failure means they fall into the web and are stuck. Critical failure means they go over the side, plunging to the lower caverns. In addition, they take a penalty to these agility checks if they don't move at half speed when crossing. Now let's think about their arachnid opponent. He takes no penalty to move full speed across the web. He can climb up and down the vertical services that abound in this place, also at no penalty. Last but not least, webs or no, Zath's speed is nearly TWICE that of the adventurers! That's a lot of advantages for Zath!
* Terror. When Zath enters the battle, they're all going to have to make fear checks. Some bad rolls here could turn this into a tpk quick.

They are up to their necks, and things look grim. One thing I'm thinking I will do to help them is to give them one free round to act before Zath enters the fray. This will give them a chance to get un-webbed. Hopefully at least one or two of them will get free.

Likewise, Crucio is an NPC. He also happens to have his hands all over a Bride of Zath. I could care less if he's killed off. With that in mind, Zath is going straight for Crucio until he's either dead, paralyzed (from the poison), or no longer a logical target. This effectively gives the PCs at least one more round to regroup, although at the cost of one of their (unwebbed) allies.

Also, Plato has a pouch of "Dust of Forgetfulness", a gift from the witch Nyssa. I'm willing to bet that the player has completely forgotten about this, but his character may not have. Per the witch: "A pinch of this in the face of those who oppose you and they will forget the last few moments." This is straight out of Conan and the Spider God. In that tale, the whole bag of dust is tossed in the face of a priest of Zath, and his memory is so damaged he is effectively an imbecile. What effect would such a concoction have on a giant spider? Basically, what ever I want it to have. This is an ace up my sleeve. The only thing that could go wrong here is that no one else knows Plato has it but Plato himself. What if he fails his terror check or falls off the side of a web? Or what if he missed, tossing the dust in Zath's face?

Last but not least, there is the matter of the demonic pact. The demon agreed to help Plato rescue Svetlana, and that spell/agreement does not end until they're out of there. This is another ace up my sleeve, for the demon can help in ways only limited by my imagination. One problem here is I absolutely do not want this to appear to be a deus ex machina, if at all possible. Keep in mind that no one has any idea of the demon but Plato. Ideally, I would like for the adventurers to save there own bacon, with only some assistance from the demon, as opposed to a full scale bail out. I could really use some help with this one, coming up with clever ways for the demon to help them out, appear mysterious, not be a deus ex machina, and not steal the show. Your thoughts?

After all of this, there is still the matter of Amilian, priest of Zath. He knows the adventurers are in the basement. What does he do with that knowledge? I think the most logical course of action would be to raise the alarm. Now, the priests might not go into the caverns, instead trusting that their god will take care of the intruders and gain a nice meal, but just in case they'd be waiting at the top of the stairs with an ambush. This would be a death trap that I don't see how the PCs could win. This could be another opportunity for the demon to hold up his end of the bargain. At the very least, he could whisper to Plato that the way they planned to leave is now blocked. Their only alternative is to go deeper into the caverns and find a way out that way. But that is just one option for him to help. I don't see the demon taking out the whole church of Zath single handed, but perhaps he could provide a distraction? Maybe he animates the idol of Zath? I imagine that would freak out the clergy. What other things could the demon do in this to help the adventurers with the priests?

Likewise, what other actions might Amilion take besides raising the alarm?

Any help you could give will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Style]

More details:

Most priests of Zath, like most priests of the Hyborian age, are corrupt. They chose their profession for higher station and power, not religious zeal. However, Cyrus, high priest of Zath, is actually quite pious, a zealot for the god of purity. He has performed a ritual to implant the seed of Zath in Svetlana. Now, Zath is not truly divine, being just an over sized animal, but Cyrus truly believes in his god. He believes the off spring of Zath and Svetlana will be the messiah, leading his church to world domination. He envisions the messiah cleansing the earth of its impurity, bringing all who remain to their knees before the true god.

Thus Svetlana's child would not truly be divine, but Cyrus would think it was, and it would be a unique magical creature with certain gifts. I'm envisioning a shape changer, loosely based on Mordred from Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

With that in mind, what interest would the demon have in this child?

Again, thanks for your feedback.

 

[Raven Blackwell]

I thought you said this would be difficult, Style. ;>

So...

The party is in one heck of a pickle. I didn't do them any favors by not giving them time to free themselves from the webs before sending in Zath. I didn't want to wait though, as we were getting kicked out of the store as the man sized spider was retreating. So the session had to end, but I like to end each session with a cliff hanger. What better cliff hanger than you're caught in webs and the spider god is bearing down on you? :twisted:

A very nice serendipitous ending indeed....

To recap:

The PCs then descend into the caverns beneath the temple. They find that the level of the caverns the stairs lead them to is one raised above the bottom. There are natural stone balconies, plateaus, terraces, etc, with a steep drop off into blackness between them. They are connected by strands of giant spider webs. One PC drops a torch off the edge, and it lands about 40 feet below in a web filled cavern. Black shapes quickly scurry away from the torch, retreating into the surrounding darkness. They test the spider webs, and find that they can hold the weight of men

Somewhat of a no brainer as RL spider silk is 8 times stronger than steel cable of the same diameter. Those webs could be used to hold up a suspension bridge....

and begin to carefully make their way into the cavern, traveling from plateau to balcony to plateau, via spider web.

Which brings me to another point about spider webs. They are noted for being well, sticky. Why didn't the players adhere to them? However another property of webs may come to help them later.....

In one corner of the cavern, they find what appears to be a nest. Spider webs are spun into soft silk, supported by the bones of past meals, forming a macabre set of furniture. On this gruesome bed lies a sleeping Svetlana.

Ooooo I like this image....

As the PCs approach, they are engulfed in webs, and turn to see a spider standing 5 feet tall, ascending from below into their lamp light. Then, the spider quickly turns to those who had stayed back from Svetlana, and webs them as well.

While this is going on, Crucio, the assassin from Ophir who was not spotted by the spider, moved in to gather Svetlana. Assuming she was drugged and would not be cooperative, he began tying her up. When she resisted, he knocked her unconscious with a strong forearm to the head. The spider then moved in to inject poison into its webbed victims, but Plato was able get a hand free just enough to cast a spell, causing the flames in the lamp to leap out onto the giant spider. The frightened creature of darkness immediately retreated, descending into the darkness.

<snip>

* 3 of the 5 party members are currently entangled in webs. (Plato, Abaddon, and Khenbish, with Oleksandr and Crucio not in webs.) This provides a -4 penalty to all physical actions, including cutting through the webs to get free.

They certainly aren't going to be able to snap with sheer strength as they are effectively bound with several inch thick carbon reinforced steel cables.

Recall that feature of webs I mentioned that might help them? Webs are flammable. That's right, the old school way to rid a party of a web spell is to set it on fire. The webs went up in a few rounds. Of course everything in them got a little crispy- party members and spiders alike- but it's a small price to pay. Usually.

So thus when Plato caused that flare of fire to scare away the giant spider, it must have licked along the webs in the near vicinity. Now given a few rounds those smoldering filaments should start burning very shortly. Since the web system in the cavern is nicely interconnected that fire should start sweeping along it relatively soon. Players unable to get free by then will get a 'get out of bondage' free card at that point- at the cost of hit points lost to second degree burns- but it beats getting your internal organs liquefied and becoming the beverage of choice of arachnid happy hour. This will also take care of another problem....

They are up to their necks, and things look grim. One thing I'm thinking I will do to help them is to give them one free round to act before Zath enters the fray.

Spiders are afraid of fire. When the fires build up they will retreat. Of course how the players are going to get out of a fire filled cavern with with an unconscious hostage, no webs to traverse and rapidly filling with smoke. (yup- fresh air is at the bottom in a fire people, thus the smoke will be near the top displacing the oxygen. Time for holding breath and Endurance feat people) Of course Zath might have plenty of time to eat the assassin before the fire gets that bad. Don't make it too easy on them...

In addition having Zath be driven away by the flames rather than killed allows the party to succeed and keep the spider god alive for furthering the plot later....

One of the party members not entangled, Crucio, is encumbered and effectively one armed, with an unconscious Svetlana held over one shoulder.

Free Action- drop object. Assuming that Crucio has enough foresight to drop her on the ledge and not the 40' to the cavern floor, that should be easy enough on her. And if he doesn't- well maybe she can land on a nice cushy hanging web. Or have enough hp to take 4d6 without (probably) dying. Or for that matter having them fail to save her but get out with (most of) their skins is a very Howard ending.

Likewise, Crucio is an NPC. He also happens to have his hands all over a Bride of Zath. I could care less if he's killed off. With that in mind, Zath is going straight for Crucio until he's either dead, paralyzed (from the poison), or no longer a logical target. This effectively gives the PCs at least one more round to regroup, although at the cost of one of their (unwebbed) allies.

A good idea and very genre. Letting them see Crucio die horribly from the spider god ought to correctly set the mood of this battle and buy the players time. Of course. Crucio might be slippery to survive until rescued. Let the dice fall where they may.

Also, Plato has a pouch of "Dust of Forgetfulness", a gift from the witch Nyssa. I'm willing to bet that the player has completely forgotten about this, but his character may not have.

If the player is bright enough to use the quest item he was specifically given for the quest let him learn why it’s a good thing to pay attention to things…

Per the witch: "A pinch of this in the face of those who oppose you and they will forget the last few moments." This is straight out of Conan and the Spider God. In that tale, the whole bag of dust is tossed in the face of a priest of Zath, and his memory is so damaged he is effectively an imbecile. What effect would such a concoction have on a giant spider?

Vermin in d20 are immune to mental effects I fear. Not enough of a mind to affect. What your system does however I don't know. Of course spiders do still breathe- and even ordinary dust can be irritating. Having the Lord of Spiders incapacitated for a round or two choking on dust is beautiful black comedy gold…;>

Basically, what ever I want it to have. This is an ace up my sleeve. The only thing that could go wrong here is that no one else knows Plato has it but Plato himself. What if he fails his terror check or falls off the side of a web? Or what if he missed tossing the dust in Zath's face?

Sux to be him?

* The other party member not entangled, Oleksandr, has a phobia vs spiders. He's in the layer of the spider god, so his phobia is in full effect. Mechanically this means a -1 to ALL rolls. Note that a -1 in Savage Worlds is tremendously more significant than a -1 in D20.

This guy is just fuxored. Teach him to pick a flaw easily exploitable by a GM . Why didn't he just pick snakes too? ;>

* Plato is fatigued from spell backlash. This causes a -1 to ALL rolls. Note that a -1 in Savage Worlds is tremendously more significant than a -1 in D20.

Don't know enough about the system to help you here.

* Terror. When Zath enters the battle, they're all going to have to make fear checks. Some bad rolls here could turn this into a tpk quick.

You can borrow an old stand by from the The Call of Cthulhu RPG- which is genre because the Hyborian Age is in fact part of the Lovecraftian mythos (see the CoC RPG base rule book's timeline and this forum's "Conan and Cthulhu" thread) and Terror checks are quite clearly a watered down version of Sanity checks- that you only have to make a Sanity/Terror check if you can clearly see the object of your fear. Recall that torches and lamps only shed a radius of good light and a larger radius of shadow light and beyond that- nothing. Thus the darkness works in favor of those not near to have Zath within that zone of clear light at the moment. He's a really big shadow moving among the darkness with suggestion of horribleness- which is disturbing enough- but since the human mind defends itself from the unknowable truths by clouding its own perceptions. (This is in fact the result of a successful CoC
sanity check) As for those too close for comfort take a page from the old school D&D medusa- give them the option to look away before they glimpse it too well. These options are however a double edged sword as this gives Zath the advantage of concealment. Enough darkness to prevent the Terror check is likely to give him 50% concealment and thus all attacks have a 25% miss rate. Looking away gives him a 100% concealment check which is a 50% miss rate right off the bat- and makes it impossible to target him with spells and such. Only area effects- which target the area and not the spider god- or touching him which would allow a magician to 'lock onto' him for a spell. So I guess it a choice of perils for your players.

If you go with 'not so clear in the shadows options' then recall that any attack method that creates light- burning light, lighting bolts or fireballs- will full illuminate Zath with all the normal downsides involved. Also if you go with that burning webs options that cavern will shortly be very well illuminated in a few turns as the fire spreads.

Amilian, corrupt priest of Zath, who lusted for Svetlana and ensured she was selected to be a bride of Zath. Cyrus, high priest of Zath, is actually quite pious in his faith, a zealot who has dreams of glory and conquest for the church. The PCs do not know the identities of these men, and more importantly, they do not know that Amilian spotted something out of place. (He made his notice check.) Perhaps a telling muddy foot print? What ever it is, he does not raise the alarm, or even tell Cyrus, but he comes back later to investigate, discovering the PCs entering the caverns below. He sees them, but they do not see him.

<snip>

After all of this, there is still the matter of Amilian, priest of Zath. He knows the adventurers are in the basement. What does he do with that knowledge? I think the most logical course of action would be to raise the alarm. What other actions might Amilion take besides raising the alarm?

Tsk tsk. What kind of corrupt priest would that be? Why play by the rules when you can secretly inform the high priest that something is wrong, lure him down alone near to the chamber where the PCs are, kill him unseen when he is distracted with the spectacle of the PCs of their aftermath, blame the players later, assume command and order the full temple resources to pursue them? Yeah he might lose the girl is the PCs escape, but he'll be the high priest baby and the high priest gets what the high priest wants and there are other girls in the world...

Even if for whatever reason that plan fails and he doesn't get the chance to kill the high priest he can still score brownie points with Cyrus for being a 'devoted disciple' and bide his time for later chances to betray Cyrus's greater trust in him. It's win-win for the average Machiavellian Hyborian schemer....and it also gives the PCs a window of opportunity while Amilian delays warning the guard in his attempt to gain a promotion. Plus Amilian will want them dead to tie up loose ends and possibly get the girl back so they have a new enemy to exploit to boot! Woot! B-)

Last but not least, there is the matter of the demonic pact. The demon agreed to help Plato rescue Svetlana, and that spell/agreement does not end until they're out of there. This is another ace up my sleeve, for the demon can help in ways only limited by my imagination. One problem here is I absolutely do not want this to appear to be a deus ex machina, if at all possible. Keep in mind that no one has any idea of the demon but Plato. Ideally, I would like for the adventurers to save there own bacon, with only some assistance from the demon, as opposed to a full scale bail out. I could really use some help with this one, coming up with clever ways for the demon to help them out, appear mysterious, not be a deus ex machina, and not steal the show. Your thoughts?

Assuming you go with the flaming web holocaust option then save the demon for evading pursuit. Having it create a few glamours to distract and misdirect guards- or driving them mad with terror depending on how hardcore you wanna get- to buy the PCs time is fulfilling the contract with minimal effort- always a plus for the average demon.

As an aside....

So Khenbish and Oleksandr went to steal horses from House Strayana. No one was on watch, and things were going well, until one of the horses let out a loud neigh. The PCs noticed the horse keeper peering out his window into the pasture, and a few moments later attempting to steal off into the night. Before Oleksandr could get a protest out of his mouth, Khenbish had dropped the horse keeper, with an arrow deep in his back. They managed to get out of there with the horses they needed.

Here the PCs have handed you a golden plot thread to hang them with later- especially if the family is powerful and they can ID the players as culprits- but that is for later. (can you say 'price on their heads'? Or for that matter 'cursed by black magic and/or demon summoned to take revenge'? Good I knew you could)

Of course I have to ask- could the guy who wants his daughter back just have bought the horses as part of the reward instead? Sometimes the simplest way is the better....8)

Raven

 

[Raven Blackwell]

More details:

Most priests of Zath, like most priests of the Hyborian age, are corrupt. They chose their profession for higher station and power, not religious zeal. However, Cyrus, high priest of Zath, is actually quite pious, a zealot for the god of purity. He has performed a ritual to implant the seed of Zath in Svetlana. Now, Zath is not truly divine, being just an over sized animal, but Cyrus truly believes in his god. He believes the off spring of Zath and Svetlana will be the messiah, leading his church to world domination. He envisions the messiah cleansing the earth of its impurity, bringing all who remain to their knees before the true god.

Thus Svetlana's child would not truly be divine, but Cyrus would think it was, and it would be a unique magical creature with certain gifts. I'm envisioning a shape changer, loosely based on Mordred from Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

With that in mind, what interest would the demon have in this child?

Quite a bit

(And in case any of your players read this forum...stop reading you cheating bastards....8))

Though Zath is not an actual god, demons tend to like to throw monkey wrenches into the plans of non-demon worshiping religions and other social institutions that promote social unity. Lacking their messiah and if the demon wants to cut a deal with Amilian to kill Cyrus and be set up as high priest (if Amilian hasn't already done it himself) in return to corrupting the cult to secretly worshiping demons to demon and dominating the nearby landscape with an unholy tyranny? (See Howard's A Witch is Born for an example of a similar scheme) Heck, if demon raises the child in Hell to obey him and then have future high priest Amilian present the it at a later date to endorse the dogma of demonic worship being added to the cult? Immortal demons are long term schemers after all. And with all of this you have one hell of a bonus- your eventual high level campaign big bads- the higher level Amilian and the flunkies of the temple, the demon patron of the PCs and the now infernal tainted spider messiah and all the now demonically possessed/tainted army of giant spiders- which were helped into the power by the PCs actions! Since the demon has a pact with one of the PCs it can use this to monitor them- and to screw with the PC if he turns against him later. After all the penalties given in the sorcery Rule of the Master for a apprentice to resist a master should apply to the PC in regard to the demon. Heck, the demon can try to slowly corrupt the PC himself to add to the bid bad list or at least keep tabs on him and kill him when he is no longer useful. All of this should be a excellent example of why dealing with corrupt entities is usually never a good thing and the consequences of past hasty actions. All while they are being pursued for being horse thieves and murderers of former high priests too.....

Perhaps you can now understand why my players hate and love me.....MUHAHAHAHAHA! 8)

 

[Style]

Raven, thanks for the detailed response.

They test the spider webs, and find that they can hold the weight of men

Somewhat of a no brainer as RL spider silk is 8 times stronger than steel cable of the same diameter. Those webs could be used to hold up a suspension bridge....

Perhaps one of the players knew that, but there is no way their characters would have. I felt it was legitimate, and at any rate, a little caution is rarely a bad thing.

Which brings me to another point about spider webs. They are noted for being well, sticky. Why didn't the players adhere to them?

Sure, the webs are sticky. It's a matter of surface area exposure to the adhesive. The bottoms of their feet will stick, but with a small effort they can pull them free. Now if they fall in the webs or are encased in them, the amount of surface area exposed is several times greater, and thus the required effort to get free is several times greater.

They certainly aren't going to be able to snap with sheer strength as they are effectively bound with several inch thick carbon reinforced steel cables.

Right, they will be unable to burst free with sheer strength, but unlike being bound in steel cables, they will be able to cut through their bonds.

I'm not really having an issue with how they will get out of the webs. There are rules clearly defining what it takes to do this. It's more a matter of how they will get out of the webs before Zath poisons/kills all of them. If there was no big bad monster breathing down their necks, this would not even require a roll.

Webs are flammable. That's right, the old school way to rid a party of a web spell is to set it on fire. The webs went up in a few rounds. Of course everything in them got a little crispy- party members and spiders alike- but it's a small price to pay. Usually.

It was my understanding that the combustability of spider webs was an urban myth generated in roleplaying games?!?!? Sure, they burn, but they do not go up like kindling. Hold a match to a spider web, and it will burn away in about a 1 inch radius from the flame, but it stops there. The whole web doesn't go up. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I could swear that I performed this test a few years back. And the whole web most certainly did not burn. With that in mind, players could use fire to get free, sure, but they would be in no danger of the whole place going up, as the webs would not burn away more than a foot or two from their torches.

Spiders are afraid of fire.

I have been playing the spiders as being afraid of fire, but Zath is the king of spiders, more or less a god. I'm not going to play him as being afraid of anything short of a raging inferno.

In addition having Zath be driven away by the flames rather than killed allows the party to succeed and keep the spider god alive for furthering the plot later....

It has no effect on the long term plot if Zath lives or dies, unless I want it to. Zath isn't really a god, he's just a dumb animal being worshipped as a god. If he is killed and I want him to stick around, quite simply a new giant spider moves into his place.

One of the party members not entangled, Crucio, is encumbered and effectively one armed, with an unconscious Svetlana held over one shoulder.

Free Action- drop object.

Right; however, any kind of retreat that invloves bringing Svetlana will mean that some one is encumbered and one armed. And if he does drop her, only to have to pick her up again later, that will not be a free action. If other words, it's not insignificant that they have a body of dead weight to be concerned about transporing under duress.

At any rate, I'm not looking for help for the players with this thread. I'm looking for help for me. The items I bolded are those that I'm concerned with. I was just detaling all the players woes to give the complete picture.

Of course. Crucio might be slippery to survive until rescued. Let the dice fall where they may.

Of course.

Also, Plato has a pouch of "Dust of Forgetfulness", a gift from the witch Nyssa. I'm willing to bet that the player has completely forgotten about this, but his character may not have.

If the player is bright enough to use the quest item he was specifically given for the quest let him learn why it’s a good thing to pay attention to things…

Normally I would agree, but Plato does have a lazy demon who is on the hook to get them out of this scrape. I can't think of much easier help than having him whisper "Ummm, dumb ass, you are forgetting the magic item in your pocket."

Vermin in d20 are immune to mental effects I fear. Not enough of a mind to affect. What your system does however I don't know.

Giant Spiders have below average animal intelligence in Savage Worlds, with no immunity to mind effects. However, I'm the gm, so it can have what ever effect I want it to have.

Basically, what ever I want it to have. This is an ace up my sleeve. The only thing that could go wrong here is that no one else knows Plato has it but Plato himself. What if he fails his terror check or falls off the side of a web? Or what if he missed tossing the dust in Zath's face?

Sux to be him?

Right. This was rhetorical.

* The other party member not entangled, Oleksandr, has a phobia vs spiders. He's in the layer of the spider god, so his phobia is in full effect. Mechanically this means a -1 to ALL rolls. Note that a -1 in Savage Worlds is tremendously more significant than a -1 in D20.

This guy is just fuxored. Teach him to pick a flaw easily exploitable by a GM . Why didn't he just pick snakes too? ;>

Then I would have made Zath a giant spider snake.

In all seriousness, a hindrance isn't a hindrance unless it's hindering. With that in mind, no matter what hindrance he would have selected, I'd have found a way to make it uncomfortable for him. It's my job.

* Plato is fatigued from spell backlash. This causes a -1 to ALL rolls. Note that a -1 in Savage Worlds is tremendously more significant than a -1 in D20.

Don't know enough about the system to help you here.

* Terror. When Zath enters the battle, they're all going to have to make fear checks. Some bad rolls here could turn this into a tpk quick.

You can borrow an old stand by from the The Call of Cthulhu RPG- which is genre because the Hyborian Age is in fact part of the Lovecraftian mythos (see the CoC RPG base rule book's timeline and this forum's "Conan and Cthulhu" thread) and Terror checks are quite clearly a watered down version of Sanity checks- that you only have to make a Sanity/Terror check if you can clearly see the object of your fear. Recall that torches and lamps only shed a radius of good light and a larger radius of shadow light and beyond that- nothing. Thus the darkness works in favor of those not near to have Zath within that zone of clear light at the moment. He's a really big shadow moving among the darkness with suggestion of horribleness- which is disturbing enough- but since the human mind defends itself from the unknowable truths by clouding its own perceptions. (This is in fact the result of a successful CoC
sanity check) As for those too close for comfort take a page from the old school D&D medusa- give them the option to look away before they glimpse it too well. These options are however a double edged sword as this gives Zath the advantage of concealment. Enough darkness to prevent the Terror check is likely to give him 50% concealment and thus all attacks have a 25% miss rate. Looking away gives him a 100% concealment check which is a 50% miss rate right off the bat- and makes it impossible to target him with spells and such. Only area effects- which target the area and not the spider god- or touching him which would allow a magician to 'lock onto' him for a spell. So I guess it a choice of perils for your players.

Again, not really looking for help for my players. If they all fail their terror checks, then I'll probably just have them end up as spider god snack cakes. I've had worse endings to campaigns.

FWIW, I don't buy that a giant spider god charging you half in shadows is any less terrifying than one in full light. If anything, the shadows make it more scary.

Tsk tsk. What kind of corrupt priest would that be? Why play by the rules when you can secretly inform the high priest that something is wrong, lure him down alone near to the chamber where the PCs are, kill him unseen when he is distracted with the spectacle of the PCs of their aftermath, blame the players later, assume command and order the full temple resources to pursue them? Yeah he might lose the girl is the PCs escape, but he'll be the high priest baby and the high priest gets what the high priest wants and there are other girls in the world...

Even if for whatever reason that plan fails and he doesn't get the chance to kill the high priest he can still score brownie points with Cyrus for being a 'devoted disciple' and bide his time for later chances to betray Cyrus's greater trust in him. It's win-win for the average Machiavellian Hyborian schemer....and it also gives the PCs a window of opportunity while Amilian delays warning the guard in his attempt to gain a promotion. Plus Amilian will want them dead to tie up loose ends and possibly get the girl back so they have a new enemy to exploit to boot! Woot! B-)

That's pretty good. I'll have to turn this one over in my brain for a few days.

Here the PCs have handed you a golden plot thread to hang them with later- especially if the family is powerful and they can ID the players as culprits- but that is for later. (can you say 'price on their heads'? Or for that matter 'cursed by black magic and/or demon summoned to take revenge'? Good I knew you could)

Yep. We have an escaped slave from one Yezud noble house, who stole a prized war horse and killed some people on the way out the door. Then from another Yezud noble house, they murder one of the peons and steal a bunch of horses. Finally, they only steal the messiah of the local religion. Did I mention that Yezud is a theocracy?

Of course I have to ask- could the guy who wants his daughter back just have bought the horses as part of the reward instead? Sometimes the simplest way is the better....8)

The father is fleeing town with his son and daughter (Oleksandr and Svetlana). They discussed buying horses, but determined they needed 6 more (in addition to the stolen warhorse), to accommodate the 5 adventurers, Svetlana, and Dad. They only had enough coin for one or two horses.

With that in mind, what interest would the demon have in this child?

Quite a bit

...

Though Zath is not an actual god, demons tend to like to throw monkey wrenches into the plans of non-demon worshiping religions and other social institutions that promote social unity. Lacking their messiah and if the demon wants to cut a deal with Amilian to kill Cyrus and be set up as high priest (if Amilian hasn't already done it himself) in return to corrupting the cult to secretly worshiping demons to demon and dominating the nearby landscape with an unholy tyranny? (See Howard's A Witch is Born for an example of a similar scheme) Heck, if demon raises the child in Hell to obey him and then have future high priest Amilian present the it at a later date to endorse the dogma of demonic worship being added to the cult?

Nice. I was tossing around the idea of having the demon target baby Mordred as a good host for the demon himself, displacing the baby's soul and mind with its own, not unlike Lasher in the Witching Hour, and then leading the Zathites to further his own cause, but I think I prefer the idea that the demon does not take on this mortal form, instead corrupting it to lead the masses of Zathites to worship him, not Zath. :twisted:

 

[Raven Blackwell]

Webs are flammable. That's right, the old school way to rid a party of a web spell is to set it on fire. The webs went up in a few rounds. Of course everything in them got a little crispy- party members and spiders alike- but it's a small price to pay. Usually.

It was my understanding that the combustability of spider webs was an urban myth generated in roleplaying games?!?!? Sure, they burn, but they do not go up like kindling. Hold a match to a spider web, and it will burn away in about a 1 inch radius from the flame, but it stops there. The whole web doesn't go up. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I could swear that I performed this test a few years back. And the whole web most certainly did not burn. With that in mind, players could use fire to get free, sure, but they would be in no danger of the whole place going up, as the webs would not burn away more than a foot or two from their torches.

This may be more a matter of the size of the webs. RL spiderwebs are so thin that they can't hold the flame- the relative heat to the volume of the strand's diameter is so great the damn thing melts away before combusting. However given a web that's several inches in diameter it may be possible that is can sustain a flame before it melts. The infeasibility of testing this in RL makes this one up in the air. Me- I like fire. BURN BABY BURN! 8)

 

[Style]

Last but not least, there is the matter of the demonic pact. The demon agreed to help Plato rescue Svetlana, and that spell/agreement does not end until they're out of there. This is another ace up my sleeve, for the demon can help in ways only limited by my imagination. One problem here is I absolutely do not want this to appear to be a deus ex machina, if at all possible. Keep in mind that no one has any idea of the demon but Plato. Ideally, I would like for the adventurers to save there own bacon, with only some assistance from the demon, as opposed to a full scale bail out. I could really use some help with this one, coming up with clever ways for the demon to help them out, appear mysterious, not be a deus ex machina, and not steal the show. Your thoughts?

After all of this, there is still the matter of Amilian, priest of Zath. He knows the adventurers are in the basement. What does he do with that knowledge? I think the most logical course of action would be to raise the alarm. Now, the priests might not go into the caverns, instead trusting that their god will take care of the intruders and gain a nice meal, but just in case they'd be waiting at the top of the stairs with an ambush. This would be a death trap that I don't see how the PCs could win. This could be another opportunity for the demon to hold up his end of the bargain. At the very least, he could whisper to Plato that the way they planned to leave is now blocked. Their only alternative is to go deeper into the caverns and find a way out that way. But that is just one option for him to help. I don't see the demon taking out the whole church of Zath single handed, but perhaps he could provide a distraction? Maybe he animates the idol of Zath? I imagine that would freak out the clergy. What other things could the demon do in this to help the adventurers with the priests?

Likewise, what other actions might Amilion take besides raising the alarm?

Any help you could give will be greatly appreciated!

Is Raven the only one who has ideas for me? We play Monday, so don't be shy! Thanks.

 

[Style]

We played earlier this week. I gave the adventurers 1 round to act before Zath was upon them, and then the following round Zath's initiative was last, so effectively they had two rounds to act. In this time, all were able to get free from the webs but Plato, and all but Plato and Crucio took off running. Zath attacked Crucio, who was carrying an unconscious Svetlana over his shoulder. He delivered two devastating blows, and Crucio crumpled to the ground. He then went to attack Plato, looming menacingly over him, but the demon, who had an agreement with Plato to assist him in rescuing Svetlana, told him that it would be a good idea to use the dust of forgetfulness. Plato tossed the dust in Zath's face. Zath paused, and the cavern became oddly quiet as a moment seemed to stretch on. Then Zath began "screaming". An alien, ear splitting wail filled the cavern, reverberating off the stone walls, as Zath started flailing his giant, bulbous body around (smacking Plato pretty good in the process), and then he rampaged off into the darkness.

GM's note: The dust had a different effect on the mind of giant arachnid. Effectively it drove him mad.

Also, I'd hoped to have the battle with Zath last a bit longer, and be a bit scarier. I thought it would be ideal if Crucio died, and at least one or two of the other adventurers were "in trouble", being badly damaged, unconscious and dying, etc. After all, they were tangling with the God of Yezud in his lair! Well, Crucio lived. Both blows by Zath were enough to be death blows. If you're familiar with the rules of Savage Worlds then you know that even if you're at full health, 4 wounds is enough to kill you. If you receive 4 or more wounds, you're unconscious and rolling for your life on the death table. The first blow dealt 5 wounds, the second 4. Ouch! That was some heavy hitting by Zath. Then how did Crucio live? Well, Savage Worlds also has a rule where you can soak damage. If you spend a benny, you can make a vigor (constitution) check to erase some of the wounds received. After the first blow, Crucio was able to "erase" two of the wounds, leaving him with 3 wounds: badly hurt, but still standing. The second blow brought him down, but then he made his save on the death table. (He rolled really, really well.) So even though he took two devastating blows, he lived.

One of the ways I planned on having the battle extended was to have Zath not go after Plato right away. However, everyone else had ran away. Plato was right in front of Zath. Since the demon was on the hook to help Plato rescue Svetlana, who at this point was lying on the ground unconscious next to the fallen Crucio, now was the time to give Plato the hint about the dust. In retrospect, I could have used logic that Zath might skip over the webbed Plato to go after non-webbed violators of his abode, but I didn't.

Back to the adventure. So the players are fleeing Zath, returning to the stairs leading up into the temple. At this same time, Amillian, the priest who'd spotted the party earlier, was leading Cyrus, the high priest, into the caverns. Amillian was going to set up the high priest to be killed, and then put the blame on the invading adventurers. Amillian gets out of the way and calls for help as Cyrus fights the PCs. Cyrus hurls a few spells their way, they launch a few arrows and sword strikes his way. The high priest decides he's taken enough arrows, that waiting for reinforcements might be a good idea, and begins to ascend the stairs. He's met on the stairs by Amillian, who buries his dagger in him. Cyrus falls to the bottom of the stairs, and Amillian sheaths his blade, just before the reinforcements arrive. Around this same time, the demon had been telling Plato that it is suicide to battle the roused temple of Zath, but that escape may be had by going deeper into the caverns. Plato calls for a retreat. The adventurers are fleeing at the same time that Cyrus is ascending the stairs, and they do not witness Amillian's treachery.

The adventurers go deeper into the caves. Thousands of red eyes reflect their torch light, but the denizens of the cave stay otherwise just out of reach of the light. Strangely, Plato traverses the labyrinth of caverns unerringly.

They enter a passage where they are no longer watched and followed by spiders. Instead, they see the bodies of recently killed giant spiders strewn about. After an examination of the bodies, they believe the death was dealt by a larger spider, presumably Zath. They continue forward, but try to avoid Zath when they hear more "screaming" coming from one path. They go another way, and come across three human corpses, with spiders crawling all over them. When they move in to examine closer, the corpses rise, and a battle ensues with the ghouls of yezud (see Thulsa's hd3 p. 36). They beat the undead, but several party members take spider venom in the battle. Plato takes enough that he falls unconscious and is dying.

At this point, three of the group are unconscious, three are conscious. They press on, but the going is slow traversing a dark cavern encumbered as such. They come into a cavern colossal in size. They do not see the walls or ceiling with their torch light. Spider webs and giant eggs, at least 5 feet tall, fill the cave. Rather than walking through the middle, they stay against one wall and make their way around the room. The sound of a "wet ripping" can be heard from within the cave. First one rip, then many!!! Are the eggs hatching?!?! The adventurers quicken their step, and make it out of the room. They continue on, until they hear running water and see light ahead. They finally exit the cave, and are right by a mountain stream. The sun has been up for a few hours, and they have a beautiful vista in front of them. They are high in the Karpash mountains, but in the distance instead of the arid Zamorian landscape they view forests and green hills!

They take some time to dress their wounds, and Khenbish is amazingly able to find the roots she needs to prepare an antidote for the spider venom (she rolled well). Everyone in the group is revived. Crucio has permanently lost the use of his right arm. Svetlana is very scared, and her brother does his best to comfort her. He asks what happened to her back there, but she doesn't want to talk about it. The adventurers assume the stolen horses and supplies they had waiting for their escape in Yezud have since been spotted in the light of day, and Oleksandr is sickened by thoughts of the fate of his father waiting with those horses. The session ended with the PCs discussing descending the mountain, finding the nearest settlements, and buying supplies and horses.

Even though Zath didn't put as much fear into them as I'd of liked, it still worked out well and was a good session. Everyone said they had a great deal of fun. Next session I plan to run a short adventure in Corinthia, and then it will be back on the trail of Hadramas. This will lead them to the Kezankian Mountains, where Hadramas has returned to his master, Amanar's black fortress (Conan the Invincible).

 

[kintire]

Also, I'd hoped to have the battle with Zath last a bit longer, and be a bit scarier. I thought it would be ideal if Crucio died, and at least one or two of the other adventurers were "in trouble", being badly damaged, unconscious and dying, etc.

I wouldn't worry too much about this. My experience has been that fights against enemies like this tend to be short: either the PCs win before the demon gets to do much, or they lose. Short but intense is also good!

I am glad to see that your players have the right attitude in these situations as well. Some of mine have a tendency to stand and fight, and expect me to bail them out...

 

[Style]

Also, I'd hoped to have the battle with Zath last a bit longer, and be a bit scarier. I thought it would be ideal if Crucio died, and at least one or two of the other adventurers were "in trouble", being badly damaged, unconscious and dying, etc.

I am glad to see that your players have the right attitude in these situations as well. Some of mine have a tendency to stand and fight, and expect me to bail them out...

Yeah, I've been in many games where the players would have said "A giant, monstrous god? I charge." Outside of a game, there are very few people who wouldn't run in that scenario.