Tag: magic

Hall of Mirrors

On By ravonlockeIn Journal, ReveliaLeave a comment

A nap! Those crazy revelers took a nap amid all the chaos they’ve caused! A long one, too. Before heading back out into the fray. Chopping down a couple more of the clown thralls gone feral and confusing a couple cornslobs on their way back to the casino. Is this any time to be gambling? Really?

Too bad for them it’s all a mess in there. They try and break open a Handy Helper, but they don’t even stop to loot the machines. The Countess and Dirk are hiding upstairs, and the Dispara is in so much of a hurry, she agrees to help them escape when this is all over.

They the whole mess of them climb their way back up to Sophie’s Lab and murder her! To her credit, she takes a couple of them down with her. Honestly surprised it wasn’t more. I thought for sure her lightning would have taken more down. She should have kept a couple of the Candelbrauns with here, those flesh piles did her no good whatsoever. Then they looted the place clean, even the storage room and the cauldrons. Who knows what kind of alchemical mess those were. The hall of statues had a couple folks starting to stir, but they just stabbed poor Pinky straight in the forehead instead of helping her out. Sure, she’d gone feral, but maybe they could have helped her. Maybe.

Two laughtenants down and one pet – Heckna was mad enough to open the door, inviting them all into his home. And the fools just walked right in. Or well, got slurped in by the house’s tongue, but that doesn’t bear thinking about. Not to the Funhouse proper, no, first they have to navigate the Hall of Mirrors.

Doesn’t take them long to get through the antechamber, fortunately for them, all touching the same mirror. Well, almost all, but we’ll get to that later. And on into the Distortion Room. Where three poor clowns had gotten trapped and gone feral since the red moon’s rising. Put them right down, but got all stretched out in the process. Does a body good to get a little stretched now and then. Then on to the Mirror Image room.

Where they must fight themselves. A classic! With the blood moon, though, things are a little more desperate. The images wanting escape and wreck havoc even more than usual. Kentaro and Tormirr put theirs down fast. Poor Elian is still dead over Tormirr’s shoulder, so his duplicate is dead the instant it entered the room. Sweet Valara charmed the fight right out of her duplicate. Zephram just kept trying to mop his alter away, and he him. Eventually they wore each other down, but it really is hard to tell the difference. Dispara took her dupe’s weapons right away, but still nearly lost her fight. Tazrin needed Kentaro’s help to hold his nimblybimbly duplicate so he could get a few well-placed shots in. It was quite a mess in there, but Zephram’s already cleaning up after everyone so they can take a breather.

Players Beware

Into the start of the dungeon of this section of the campaign. Hall of mirrors and then the Fun House proper. I’m glad they got to the duplicate room. You have to meet expectations sometimes. And it was great to not have to run a fight other than the initiative. I had time to calculate experience for the night. They’re leveling quite fast right now with everything going on. The rest of the Hall of Mirrors don’t have to be fights though, so it might settle down again for a bit. Then the Fun House which has a good mix, as well. I might change up the fights a little. Want them to play with all the toys. I don’t think we’ll get through to Heckna tonight, but the group likes to surprise me. Lots to do, though.

Really have to get my brain into Ravenloft and the next half of the campaign. The guys have offered me resources, but I don’t know which ones to ask for other than “everything?” But at least once we get there, it will be all 2nd ed monsters to play with instead of all the silly circus folks and translated stats. So much to read and create.

Report 27: Research Complete

On By ravonlockeIn Journal, SvalaLeave a comment

My thesis is done!

  • I have taken ROK’s advice to heart – it isn’t about learning everything there is to know about magic, but rather understanding the Weave.
  • Understanding that all power comes from one font in the Universe.
  • And that Divine Power, and thus Divine Magic is the most reliable and powerful way to access it.
  • There’s also a rod of Universal Travel that could get me home for a visit, past the barrier of this Wheel.
  • I defend my these to The Keeper of Tomes, and while he disagrees, I have finally become an Avowed of the Library!

Druid Grove Blight

  • Ms. Rosewood finally tells the group what is wrong – her grove has been blighted, like many before it.
  • We go to investigate previous sites – this seems to happen every fifty years somewhere in Faerûn.
  • The most recent past blighted grove is beginning to grow again, but the land is scarred – the townsfolk said the blight ended after all the druids were dead or gone.
  • The oldest site, 250 year ago, contains no signs of the blight, but many trees and much life.
  • Ms. Rosewood senses the power of a current Grove nearby and leads us there, but she is the only one invited to enter their circle.
  • They return to the group and we Windwalk to the nearest leftover blighted section – a cave with petrified remains and strangely empty spaces.
  • Ms. Rosewood tells us she spoke of the blight coming on the backs of beasts in the night, encircling and destroying everything.
  • At the third site, 200 years old, we find a group of goliaths and other small giantkin – we offer to help with their crops and a potion of longevity to their elder and they agree to speak with us.
  • This man invites us all in for a feast and celebration, during which he explains a period of death and destruction of a druid grove at the base of the mountain.
  • They tried to help, but found the only way to stop the blight was to destroy that which was blighted, and even those druids who left the grove to join their tribe died of a rotting sickness.
  • The other sites we visit have no more information to add, one has not recovered at all, the other has some elves who live nearby now.

Candlekeep Resources

  • Great Reader Nyantani investigates the samples of the blighted groves that we were able to bring back.
    • All of the samples are natural materials corrupted by the necrotic energies of the Shadowfell.
    • Planar incursions this severe are rare outside a Spellplague.
    • Something is doing this in a targeted way, needing to destroy these areas and the druids who maintain them.
    • That being could still be nearby or could have set it in motion and gone away, but the power is still going somewhere, to something.
    • He recommends speaking to the remaining life there, communing with Ms. Rosewood’s grove.
  • Great Reader Savikas reads through Ysayle’s notes on the incursion and looks over our samples.
    • She also believes it is targeted and intentional, but not the work of the Raven Queen herself.
    • An object of power somewhere in the area is allowing the one responsible to do this, a very powerful artifact.
    • She recommends looking for beetles closer to the inception of the events to lead us to it.
    • It must be located and stopped before the lands can be fixed.
    • She also tells me that she once researched the Rod of Universal Travel, and that we should look for information in a Netheril Tomb or in the shadow of it, suggesting Myth Dranor as one possibility.
  • Great Reader V’ziir-Ag eats one of the corrupted beetles we brought back.
    • He says they are ingeniously designed, and certainly blighted.
    • Confirms the Shadowfell as the source of their corruption and suggests radiant energy to drive them back.
    • He believes a powerful necromancer could wield such corruptive power.

Report 20: The High Mythal of Candlekeep

On By ravonlockeIn Journal, SvalaLeave a comment

The Library of the Mythal

  • The crescent room is lined with bookshelves which are full of lore and history of the High Mythal seen through the viewing wall.
  • A central dais in the room holds the symbol of Candlekeep and the names of the mages who worked to harness the Mythal’s power.
  • The Mythal itself stands below, occasionally sending sparks of power out to metal and stone slates rotating in the air around it.
  • These slates covered in magical runes and spell work, I immediately set ROK to copying down what he can see.
  • The others investigate the books, while I study the spells.
  • Ms. Lendiel tells us that it is called “Eternal Knowledge Through Which Time Holds No Command.”
    • She says it used to be bigger, more chaotic, and colorful.
    • They harnessed it, causing it to shrink and come under control.
    • I don’t know that it likes being controlled, the green looks sad somehow.
    • I cross check with the books she has found, to pinpoint how long ago the vision in my dream was and start writing down names
    • None of them sound familiar, and there is no record of his accident.
  • I want to get closer to the Mythal, we’ve gotten this far, and we weren’t told Not to get close, just that we should be Able to, and to be careful if we do somehow manage it.
  • I’m not the only one, but there are several objections, so we decide to sleep on it.

Entering The Mythal Room

  • He is there, in my dreams, older, sadder, alone – Who Are You? What do you want?
  • Sleeping has only made Mr. Darkfoot, Shohei, and Ms. Lendiel more interested in getting past the viewing wall.
  • Questdrone and Ms. Rosewood enter a Rope Trick, wanting nothing to do with the Mythal.
  • The rest of us study the magic protecting it, these are high level protections.
    • But we can see a way to interact; it will be extremely dangerous, but possible.
    • My first attempt is nearly catastrophic, causing the light in the room to flash and dim.
    • With a little more care, and assistance, I crack the first level of protections, bringing the door itself into reality.
    • Mr. Darkfoot, Shohei, and Mr. Trisfir manage to sidestep the traps on the door together.
  • The window becomes solid, and a wooden door is available to be opened – disappearing when it does.
  • The resonant hum of the Mythal washes over us, almost like a song, welcoming us to come closer.
  • Ropes are tied together and Shohei lowers us down – Me, Ms. Lendiel, Mr. Darkfoot, and then climbs down himself, with Mr. Trisfir managing the rope from above.

The High Mythal of Candlekeep

  • I sit down against the wall, recording every bit of spellwork I can see.
    • The hum is uncomfortable down here, but I start up a Detect Magic ritual to better examine everything. This causes a very strange smell to float around me.
    • A ring of crystals around it states the name Ms. Lendiel found above, and is inscribe with the Rules of the Library.
    • The slates are each emanating a single school of magic, and also contain the Rules of Candlekeep.
    • The Mythal itself is an absence of these schools, rather pouring out raw magic, it appears a bright void to the detect spell.
    • The other three begin to approach the Mythal, I caution them, and wish I could, as well, but touching it is not being careful.
    • Mr. Darkfoot is thrown from his feet, and I hurry to stabilize him.
    • The other two slump, but look satisfied with whatever happened.
    • Mr. Darkfoot wants to try again, so I cast Deathward on him, and hand him my amulet of health to borrow for the duration.
    • He has more success this time, but none of them will tell me what happened.
    • I must not touch it without permission, no matter how much I wish to, the Tome Keeper said he would get me access to other mythals. Perhaps when I know more.

Green Goddess

On By ravonlockeIn Journal, TristiaLeave a comment

I don’t even know what’s happening anymore. My ears are buzzing as the guys talk about what to do with the body. I can’t look at any of them. There’s shouting for a moment about the body rising, but a few bursts of magic and it is down again. Dalish animates it, to keep the shadow from doing it again. I can’t look at any of them. What are we doing?

A couple of them start talking to the air, and Klyce materializes out of the mists. The others explain what has been happening, and we move on. The haze is thickening as we go down. Too much for a normal mana mine. It feels weird, like static in the air. The shadowman follows us, ranting. Easier to focus on his madness instead of my own.

He caught them scheming against the king, but he wasn’t fast enough. They enfeebled him and send him down to the mines. Him, Arnis Lysander. It took him months to regain his mind, but the mana degrades and warps. It erased his ability to cast spells. He lost track of time between escape attempts. They took bits of him every time, until his mind was gone. Then She came. She restored his mind and his magic. She promised to restore his body. If only he would break the Bones. He will gladly repay her, gladly kill a thousand people. One small family means nothing to him. He wants to finish this.

We arrive in a chamber, much like the one that led us to the gods the first time we were ever here. This one, however, has four of the mutant prisoners and one horribly distended, bloated, purple body. They posture at each other, and bring up Rictus one last time. He laughs about Rictus’ clone factory, and says that should we find Rictus’ own clone, only then would we have a chance of ever defeating him. He says that those clones won’t work for us, we’re blocked down here, from that magic. Too much mana, too much static down here.

The fight begins and Klyce, in scorpian body, starts attacking Nat. Klyce gets controlled too easily, I levitate him up to the ceiling until he calms down, edging my way into the room. When I let him down again, he starts attacking me, until Gerhardt dispells the mind control. Lysander put up a barrier to block our spells, so they group focuses on the mutants, while I work my way around the room. I got too close though, and everything turn to blackness.

There is darkness. And a green hill. And something Very Important. Nothing. Red smoke. “Revenge is my purview, witch!” Blackness.

I wake up in bed with Marybeth beside me and Nat curled up near our feet. Everything hurts! Remy knocks on the door, but we make him wait a moment. What happened, is he dead? I don’t know if he’s dead. What? It’s too much and we let Remy come in to change my bandages.

They tell me that I died. But then a glowing green figure with six arms rose in my place with a blinding flash. They say this figure called down lightning right through the earth, ripping the mine wide open. They say that when Lysander tried to get away, the figured ripped open a five hundred foot crevice through the mine to get at him and destroy him. They say it called such a horrible storm down. But then it was suddenly gone, and they found me, badly burned where it had been.

We gather up with all the others, and I tell them about the red smoke and what it said. Afraid for a moment that it was Lysander, but the others remind me he was black shadow, and Nat assures me he is gone. The others think maybe it was the Wandering Vengeance. Klyce admits that he sees red auras around people who hurt him when he fights, and tells us about how his father died. Maybe he opened the door in his anger to this god.

We take stock. Nat’s dad is still unconscious. The town seems safe, the prisoners are no longer running amok. There are, however, strange things still happening in the castle. We have to find Vlad Tepish and the other invader and stop them. First, though, we get all the townspeople safely back out of the castle and to their homes.

Hard Times and Assassination

On By ravonlockeIn Journal, TristiaLeave a comment

Hardin Klein explains that his mission is to figure out how to use mana without having to dig it up and refine it. The cost of doing so is growing too great. He asked them to find someone like Xin Yue for him to study, and the picked me. I’m furious, but there’s nothing to be done about it. He’s not planning any of the ridiculous experiments his underlings had been doing.

I try to explain my magic to him, but since most of it suddenly appeared one day, I don’t think it will help any.

Some comes from the earth, like Xin Yue. Some comes from the old goddess, the Dawnmother. Some may come from the evil eye of the dead fae god, Balor, but I haven’t tested that yet. The rest… Well, a hag in the woods said it came from murder, but I didn’t kill anyone when I got my magic. Honestly. I think she was referring to the Old War.

Poor Mr. Klein spent hours asking me questions and I spent hours explaining that I had no clue how I did it. I showed him what I could do, and talked about how I made the elements do what I wanted. I told him all about the Dawnmother and my prayers to her. I even explained Balor and the horrible, awesome power as we destroyed his eye. This went on for months.

Then, one morning, I woke up and something was wrong. Mr Klein hadn’t seen me for several days, and I had no memory of that time. He looked into my head and noticed my memory had been modified. I begged him to fix it and he did, though it took some doing.

Rictus had taken me away from the facility. He made me do things. But it wasn’t me! I didn’t have control! I can see in my memory, watching my body kill people. It’s foggy, but I think there were six of them over those days. Then he wiped my memory!

I think I had a bit of a screaming fit after I realized what happened. Some of it in Sendings to Dalish, some to my other friends. I’m not sure I was coherent at all, but they all agreed it was horrible. Klyce, as usual, was the most reasonable of the group.

He suggested I tell people about what was happening. Put pressure on Rictus to get him to stop wiping my mind at least. I wouldn’t be able to stop being his instrument of death, but at maybe he would stop messing with my head.

Mr. Klein looked terrified at the idea of going against Rictus. Aleria replied to my plea saying that Primes are above the law, and short of a Certimum, there’s nothing to be done. I asked Dalish to ask Rictus if he would meet with me, and if not, would he at least stop wiping my mind, I’d do what he wanted. Dalish passed the message along, then told me Rictus said it was better if I didn’t know what my body was being used for! That just made it ten times worse!

Next, Klyce suggested I try and gather political power to put pressure on Rictus. I asked Dalish if his party could do anything, and he apparently caused a scene at a meeting. One of the members did come talk to me, though. He said that I needed to get more political allies, and change the law which put Primes out of legal danger. He also talked to people on my behalf so I wasn’t stuck inside the facility all day every day. I got to go into the city on weekends.

It happened again. I lost a few days again. Mr. Klein wouldn’t help this time. He didn’t seem to understand what I was asking. I think Rictus might have broken his mind a little bit, too. I sent to Remy, asking if his party could help. They want to limit magical use and abuse. He got a representative to come talk to me. He insisted I join their party if I wanted their support, it would help with lobbying the other parties if I was a member and not just an independant. So, I agreed and the following weekend, I signed up with the Magical Regulation League.

But nothing happened. No one could figure out who it was I had killed even. I was still stuck trying to explain my magic to Mr. Klein. He continued to grow more and more despondant as it lead him nowhere. I didn’t lose any more days, though, before it was time for our Harvest Festival shore leave. I was so grateful when the day finally arrived.