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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 8379781" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 40: BETWEEN DARKNESS AND A SHADOW</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Cramer Appleknocker, gnome cleric 13</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Jhasspok, lizardman 3/barbarian 3/fighter 7</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Khari Hammerslammer, dwarf fighter 13</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Marlo Pendragon, human sorcerer 13</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Utred "Buckets" Butterflinger, dwarf barbarian 13</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 18 August 2021</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>The five heroes from Overreach had made it to Brunniir and the dwarven elders explained the history of the Golden City. Five centuries ago the city had been shunted to the Plane of Shadows so they could try to find a way to stop the Dying One without being found out by his cultists. The undead currently surrounding the Golden City hadn't really been an issue until 93 years ago. Fortunately, when the city had been built, the stones had incorporated a magical protection from burrowing creatures (like the purple worm the heroes had fought on their way to Brunniir): a force effect woven into each stone - which incidentally gave them the golden color responsible for the city's nickname - kept them at bay and also came in very handy in keeping incorporeal creatures from breaching the city's walls. Things went well for the next four centuries and then, some 93 years ago, the incorporeal undead on the plane started attacking the Golden City in earnest. Nobody knew who was organizing them into a unified force, but about a decade ago they started making some small progress. Still unable to breach the city, they somehow found a way to manipulate the shadowstuff of the plane itself, causing small chunks of the city's outskirts to cleave off, one building at a time. Fortunately, these attacks were sporadic, with often a span of months passing between each such occurrence. But the calved-off buildings would be drawn away from the rest of the city as the space between them was somehow increased.</p><p></p><p><strong>Dolthran Greyale</strong>, the city's greatest blacksmith, had been in charge of working on a weapon to destroy the Writhing Gates. He died years ago, sealing his forge until his heir arrived to open it. Unfortunately, his forge had been cleaved off in the last attack - which prompted the Elders to send for the heroes in Greenvale.</p><p></p><p>"What can you tell us about this weapon?" asked Utred. "Did he finish it in time? Is it still there in his forge? What are its properties?"</p><p></p><p>"If'n 'e finished it before 'is death, it'll be locked away there in 'is vault. We c'n only hope 'e completed its construction before 'is death. As fer its nature, we c'n only tell ye a story of an incident that happened while he were still workin' on it. Somehow, Dolthran 'ad unleashed a shadowy creature upon th' city which killed dozens o' our best armed warriors before th' fool thing was finally killed - by all accounts - by a pair of two simple farmers wieldin' pitchforks. Whatever th' shadowy thing were, it seemed t' be a vital ingredient in th' weapon somehow."</p><p></p><p>"So you need us to go fetch this weapon," Cramer surmised. "How will we know where to find the forge's current location?"</p><p></p><p>"One o' our clerics'll cast a <em>find th' path</em> spell on ye, which'll take ye right to it, wherever it might be," the elder explained. "But that'd be but th' first task before ye: first, fetch th' weapon; second, find whatever's leadin' these undead armies an' put a stop t' them taking apart our city, one buildin' at a time ev'ry coupla months."</p><p></p><p>"You have a plan to lead us to the first part of that plan," pointed out Marlo. "Do you have any suggestions about how we might accomplish the second task?"</p><p></p><p>"As t' that, we've no ideas," admitted the elder. "But keep it in mind, while ye're out there - if ye find the leader o' these undead forces, we'd appreciate it greatly if'n ye could find a way t' take 'im out, once an' fer all. T' aid ye in yer tasks, though, we've four vials of <em>ectoplasmic oil</em> ye c'n apply t' some o' yer weapons." He explained this was in effect a means by which the weapons so treated would be able to affect incorporeal undead without any chances they'd simply pass through their insubstantial bodies. Cramer caught on at once: "A <em>ghost touch</em> effect," he explained to the others.</p><p></p><p>"Best ye rest up, now," suggested the elder, leading them to rooms where they could spend the evening. "Ye c'n set out in th' mornin', when ye're refreshed an' ready t' be about yer business."</p><p></p><p>The next morning, as promised, four vials of <em>ectoplasmic oil</em> were passed over to the group. Marlo agreed it made more sense for the four of them most likely to use melee weapons to get the advantages the oil brought them, as she intended to rely solely upon her spells in any combats they might face. An elderly dwarven cleric and an equally ancient-looking dwarven wizard approached the group. "Ye'd do best not broadcastin' yer locations with any illumination," the wizard advised. "This spell'll grant ye three th' vision o' a dwarf." He then cast a <em>darkvision</em> spell upon Marlo, Cramer, and Jhasspok.</p><p></p><p>"No <em>slave-light cloak</em> flames, Jhasspok," Cramer reiterated, wanting to make sure their lizardfolk companion understood the importance of keeping their illusory flames darkened while they traveled - it was obvious to the gnome but he realized it wasn't necessarily going to be obvious to the simple-minded reptile.</p><p></p><p>"Got it," Jhasspok replied. Then, looking up above the city, he asked, "Why is there a sky?" Sure enough, there was a dark sky above them with streaks of half-hearted clouds floating in the near-total darkness. "It wasn't there yesterday." The puzzled lizardfolk was pretty sure the "sky" - the big, waterless ocean which held the <em>fireball sun</em> in the daytime and the Really Big Pearl at night - was a surface-world thing. The Plane of Shadow had seemed to be more like the Underdark which had been his home for the vast majority of his five and a half years.</p><p></p><p>"Th' Plane o' Shadows is highly morphic in nature," the dwarven wizard replied. "At times the cavern ceilin' is dissolved into th' surroundin' stone, leavin' a visual path straight t' the surface world above. Recall, th' Plane o' Shadows is both coterminous an' coexistent with th' Material Plane."</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok looked to Utred and the dwarven barbarian translated for him. "The sky is only there sometimes," he said. Jhasspok nodded wisely. Utred was so smart!</p><p></p><p>Cramer cast his customary <em>longstrider</em> spell, while Marlo set the group up with a <em>Rary's telepathic bond</em> spell. "I'm going to talk in your head now," she told Jhasspok. Thus warned, he didn't yelp out in surprise when Marlo's voice suddenly appeared in his head. <Can everyone hear me okay?> she asked. The four males each replied in the affirmative. <Let's keep all talking over the mental link once we get outside the city,> she suggested. <We don't want to attract any unwanted attention. I'm going to cast a <em>mage armor</em> on each of us,> she said over the link - she'd found it was best to get Jhasspok used to the idea of using the telepathic communication mode whenever possible, because he often forgot it was active - and started to do just that.</p><p></p><p><Don't need it,> Utred complained. <Already got plenty of armor.></p><p></p><p><And shadows and wraiths can pass right through it,> Marlo explained. <<em>Mage armor</em> is a force effect - it'll be as real to them as your normal armor.></p><p></p><p><Okay then, fine. Whatever.></p><p></p><p>Cramer cast a <em>hide from undead</em> spell on the whole group, explaining it would keep them from being noticed by mindless undead like skeletons and zombies. <It might still work on the kinds of undead we fought before entering the Plane of Shadows yesterday, but if any one of us attacks an undead creature the spell will instantly switch off for all of us. You got that, Jhasspok? Don't attack any undead unless we're sure they can already see us.></p><p></p><p><Okay.></p><p></p><p>Marlo and Cramer each finished up by casting a <em>magic circle against evil</em> spell upon themselves, then the <em>ectoplasmic oil</em> was applied to Utred's <em>flaming greataxe</em>, Khari's <em>earthglide warhammer</em>, Jhasspok's magical battleaxe, and Cramer's <em>Elderwood flaming heavy mace</em>. "Okay, we're ready," Cramer told the elderly dwarven spellcasters.</p><p></p><p>The dwarven cleric then cast a <em>find the path</em> spell on Utred and the wizard cast a <em>teleport</em> spell sending the five heroes far away from the immediate vicinity of the city - far enough away they'd hopefully not be visible by the hordes of undead swarming Brunniir. They ended up at the edge of the canyon in which Brunniir sat - and directly facing a pair of undead creatures.</p><p></p><p>These undead creatures were both apparently intelligent enough to ignore Cramer's <em>hide from undead</em> spell, for they both turned to face the quintet of heroes. The largest of the two was easily recognizable as a dread wraith; they'd just fought off two of these creatures yesterday in the Underdark cavern where Brunniir used to sit, some five centuries long past. The other one, though, seemed like it was just a simple skeleton, although one wearing tattered robes.</p><p></p><p><I think they see us,> Jhasspok observed, proud that he'd remembered to use his thinking-in-his-head voice instead of his speaking-out-loud voice. <Does that mean--?></p><p></p><p><Yes, attack them!> Cramer answered irritably, for the dread wraith had immediately lunged for Khari Hammerslammer, passing his clawed hand inside the dwarf's body where it wasn't covered by Marlo's <em>mage armor</em> spell. The dwarven fighter felt an unwelcomingly familiar cold sensation pass throughout his body as a portion of his very vitality was drained away. But Utred was there by his fellow dwarf's side in a moment, swinging his magic greataxe at the ghostly figure nearly twice his own size. At the same time, an <em>empowered magic missile</em> crashed into the dread wraith's insubstantial form as Marlo immediately assessed the situation and confirmed it was safe to attack. Khari brought his warhammer up and smashed its head into the dread wraith, actually causing it to fall back a pace or two.</p><p></p><p>Cramer cast a <em>death ward</em> on himself, unsure about the skeletal being standing beside the dread wraith; if it had seen him through his <em>hide from undead</em> spell it was no simple mindless skeleton, which meant it could very well be a lich - and there was no telling what sort of foul necromantics such a being might have at hand. Far better, in the gnome's estimation, to be safe from a magical attack that might slay him instantly than to deprive his companions of their most powerful source of healing energy.</p><p></p><p>Before Jhasspok could belatedly attack either of the undead pair, the skeletal creature - no lich, but very close: a huecuva - cast an <em>unholy blight</em> spell on the entire group, who were still relatively huddled up in a tight group immediately after having been teleported. As far as first salvoes went it was remarkably ineffective, with the heroes easily shrugging off the worst of the effects. Of course, it didn't help the huecuva that the spell was most effective against those with a truly good-hearted nature and of its five foes only Khari met that description.</p><p></p><p>Jhasspok barely noticed the spell's effect as he leaped forward to join in attacking the dread wraith - the bigger of the two and therefore most likely the most powerful and the one that needed to be taken down the quickest, by his reasoning. His blade, coated in the magical oil, cut through the incorporeal foe as if its body had been fully solid. The dread wraith flinched as if in pain but made no sound; it reached out to attack Utred but the barbarian easily avoided its claws. (Cramer noted again that these Shadow Plane undead seemed to have a particular hatred for dwarves, but guessed they might have been trained to focus on dwarves as they were the ones responsible for the creation of the weapon they were trying to locate.)</p><p></p><p>Marlo cast another <em>empowered magic missile</em> at the dread wraith as Utred and Khari continued pummeling it with their weapons. Khari's final blow was the one that took the creature out and its incorporeal body dissipated like a fine mist. Cramer stepped up behind the dwarven fighter and cast a <em>death ward</em> spell on him as well, thinking it might not be a bad idea to have each of the heroes thus protected against a foe with unknown spellcasting powers.</p><p></p><p>The huecuva cast a <em>flame strike</em> spell on the group, the fiery blast coming down from above to encompass all five heroes. Oddly, the spell had a two-layered effect this time; whereas in the past, when the group had been under the effects of the spell, the unholy flames came blasting down at them in one rush of unholy energy and then that was it, but this time there was the initial blast and then a much more powerful blast that went exploding out sideways in all directions, this second blast even encompassing the huecuva. All six combatants were rocked and jostled by the power of the explosion.</p><p></p><p><Sorry, guys,> said Utred over the mental link. <One of my <em>necklaces of fireballs</em> just got taken out. The other one's fine, though.></p><p></p><p><That was <em>you</em>--?></p><p></p><p><<em>Other</em> one? What in the world are you doing with <em>two</em> --?></p><p></p><p><Are you <em>crazy</em>? You could easily have--></p><p></p><p>Jhasspok ignored the simultaneous mental chiding the others were giving Utred and charged at the skeleton who had caused them so much pain, swinging his battleaxe with all his might. A bladed weapon wasn't the optimal choice in taking on a creature made of animated bone, but with enough strength behind the blow it could deal quite a punch. As the huecuva staggered backwards from the power of the attack, Marlo finished it off with a <em>magic missile</em> spell, judging it not worth the extra spellpower to <em>empower</em> it. And in that she was correct, for the creature collapsed into a pile of bones mixed in with the rotting remnants of the robe it had worn.</p><p></p><p>Cramer pulled out his <em>staff of healing</em> and ordered everyone to line up. <I'd better heal us all up from the damage caused by Utred's fashion accessories,> he grumbled, casting not only healing spells from his staff but also <em>death ward</em> spells on the other three so that each would be thus protected. Once that was done to his satisfaction, he had Utred lead them on. <The <em>find the path</em> spell's still intact, I hope?> he asked.</p><p></p><p><Yep,> replied Utred. <It's this way. Let's go!></p><p></p><p>Utred led them through several winding tunnels until they found the structure parked within a small cavern. The stone blocks of its construction glowed with the same golden light as the rest of the city of Brunniir. <The <em>find the path</em> spell leads right up the doors and then stops,> Utred told the others.</p><p></p><p>Marlo stepped up to the doors and cast a <em>detect magic</em> spell; lacking anyone in the group with any lockpicking skills or experience with mundane traps, it was the best they could do. <I'm detecting several layers of abjuration,> she said and Jhasspok didn't even bother asking what that even meant - some type of magic that was somehow different from other types of magic, he assumed, although he failed to see the necessity of breaking magic up into separate chunks. <The stones have that force effect woven into their structure, but there's also something here that probably shields the interior from being breached by <em>teleport</em> spells and the like.></p><p></p><p><Makes sense,> Cramer agreed. <Old Greyale didn't want anybody getting in to steal his superweapon.></p><p></p><p><There's more,> Marlo added. <It looks like someone's added an <em>alarm</em> spell on the door. Much more recently than the rest of the magic in the stone.></p><p></p><p>Cramer cast a <em>detect undead</em> and scanned the general area, seeing nothing untoward. Jhasspok circled the entire building, making sure there was nobody hiding behind the structure. Khari went with him, examining the building for any alternate ways inside. There were none. <What do we do?> Khari asked. <We can't get into the building without triggering the <em>alarm</em> spell.></p><p></p><p><Then we trigger the <em>alarm</em> spell,> reasoned Utred. <We need to get that weapon.> He reached out for the pair of stone doors and they slid open sideways at his touch. Utred wasn't sure if it was because they somehow detected his bloodline or what, but it seemed like a reasonable assumption. The dwarves of Brunniir had made a big deal about his grandfather having sealed up the forge for someone of his own lineage to open.</p><p></p><p>With the doors open, everyone standing at the entrance could see inside, given their <em>darkvision</em>-enhanced eyesight. There was a massive anvil at the rear of the structure, and Marlo noticed something odd about it right away. <There's something on the anvil blocking the auras of magic behind it,> she told the others. <I've still got my <em>detect magic</em> spell up and for some reason the top of the anvil is messing up the detection.></p><p></p><p><That's gotta be the weapon!> Utred said, stepping forward into his grandfather's forge.</p><p></p><p><I'll stay out here and wait for whoever cast the <em>alarm</em> spell to show up,> Jhasspok said. It was a remarkable feat of reasoning for the lizardfolk, who still didn't really understand the whole workings of magic. But if someone put an alarm on a door, that meant they wanted to be notified when somebody opened the door. He hefted his magic battleaxe and turned his back on the forge, looking outwards for danger.</p><p></p><p>The others stepped into the building behind Utred. As he approached the anvil, he saw off to his left a shadowy figure with arms raised and waving about; he almost attacked the creature - who looked rather like an undead shadow - until he noticed it was imprisoned inside a glass cylinder that reached from floor to ceiling and appeared only to be trying to find a way out of its prison. Convinced it couldn't hurt them - at least not yet - Utred let his greataxe hang in his grip at his side as he approached the cylinder. There were dwarven runes carved on the floor around the cylinder, inscribing a warning not to release the creature.</p><p></p><p><That's odd,> remarked Cramer. <It's not undead.> His <em>detect undead</em> spell was likewise still operating and the creature's aura did not register on his magical senses. Whatever this willowy creature was, it was apparently a living being.</p><p></p><p>And then another shadowy figure appeared, this one most definitely undead, for Utred was able to see entirely through its transparent body. The dwarven barbarian flinched and raised his axe, causing Marlo to ask what was up; she apparently did not see the figure Utred saw. But Utred saw the figure just fine: it was a dwarf, with thinning hair and a beard the color of gray slate, wearing a leather apron over his clothes. The figure spoke aloud, although only Utred was able to hear the message the ghost had only for him.</p><p></p><p><What's going on?> Cramer demanded. He'd moved over to Utred's side and now that the barbarian wasn't blocking his view he was picking up the aura of an undead creature beside the anvil, although he saw nothing.</p><p></p><p><It's my grandfather,> Utred said, relaying the ghost's message. <He says this is the <em>Null Axe</em> and it's completed and ready for use. Only he says we have to destroy <em>all</em> of the Writhing Gates, not just the three we thought would make it impossible for the Dying One to return.></p><p></p><p><What? Why all ten?></p><p></p><p><I don't know - that's just what he said, okay?></p><p></p><p><Somebody's here,> came another voice over the telepathic link; it took the others a moment to realize it was Jhasspok, who normally avoided "talking" with his mind whenever possible, as he was somewhat freaked out when sudden voices sounded in his head. As a case in point, he flinched with an audible gasp from outside the dwarven forge when a sixth voice entered the telepathic conversation. <I will be needing that weapon,> the voice said. <Surrender it to me and you may live.></p><p></p><p>Utred was having none of that nonsense. He grabbed up the <em>Null Axe</em> - which was wrapped in some silvery fabric and tied down such that the fabric wouldn't slip off the weapon - and stuffed it inside Marlo's <em>bag of holding</em>, reasoning if the weapon was in an extradimensional space the unknown enemy might have a harder time finding it, and possibly even sensing it. Then, on the off chance the enemy did know it was inside the bag, Utred figured it would be best if he held onto it rather than Marlo - better to make him the primary target than the slight human woman.</p><p></p><p>The others stepped back to the doorway and saw what Jhasspok was facing down: it was a mind flayer, but one unlike any of the others they had ever seen before. This one had the typical four standard tentacles hanging down from its face, but these were emaciated and barely half the thickness of a normal illithid's appendages. For that matter, the rest of its skin was stretched tight to the bone, giving the creature a withered appearance. It was only when Cramer stepped to the side and got a straight line of sight with the creature that he was able to sense its blazing aura of undeath.</p><p></p><p>Marlo replied for the group at large in the form of a <em>disintegrate</em> spell she sent blasting at the alhoon - an undead mind flayer lich, extending its life after death indefinitely that it might continue its endeavors long after the end of its own natural lifespan. However, while the beam of energy struck the illithilich without fail, it didn't manage to overcome the creature's innate resistance to spells and the <em>disintegrate</em> spell fizzled away without any discernible effect.</p><p></p><p>Khari was the closest of the melee combatants to the doorway and was thus the first to reach the alhoon, swinging his warhammer in an arc that went crashing into the side of the undead illithid. There was a crunching sound as the weapon hit that Khari hoped was the crushing of bones, but then there was a blur above him and there was Jhasspok, leaping over the short dwarven fighter to go crashing into the illithilich. The lizardfolk had dropped his battleaxe on the ground before leaping at the undead foe and crashed into him with arms outspread wide. As they both collapsed to the ground, Jhasspok was sure to land with his arms pinning the alhoon tightly to his body in a bear hug from which the undead thing was unable to escape, struggle as he might. The alhoon had held a jet-black staff at his side but it fell from his grasp as Jhasspok barreled into him. Pinned as he was, he had only one way to strike back at his hulking foe - and Jhasspok didn't even notice the creature's foul, necromantic touch failing to get past his <em>death ward</em> spell.</p><p></p><p><Fool! Release me!> demanded the alhoon but Jhasspok paid him no heed. The illithilich wriggled back and forth and struggled to escape the lizardfolk's grasp, but it was no use - he simply did not have the physical strength to do so.</p><p></p><p>"Hold on to him tight!" Cramer called out loud, afraid of scaring the lizardfolk even momentarily by "talking" inside his head. But Jhasspok didn't let his grip on the alhoon waver and the powerful undead - with dozens of spells prepared in his undead skull just waiting to be released - was unable to cast any of them with his arms pinned to his sides. What followed was a fun-filled episode of the two dwarves carefully lining up their blows, afraid to hit the lizardfolk as the undead illithid did his best to wrest free and Jhasspok held him as firmly in place as he could, while Marlo and Cramer took turns blasting single-target spells at the alhoon and hoping to penetrate past his magical defenses. Marlo, at least, knew her <em>empowered magic missile</em> spells had no chance of accidentally hitting Jhasspok if the undead mind flayer moved in the wrong way. But Jhasspok held firm and avoided getting hit with friendly fire, magical or otherwise, and eventually it was a blow from a magical maul Utred had picked up somewhere along his travels that crushed in the alhoon's skull.</p><p></p><p>"You can let go of him now, Jhasspok," Cramer said once it was apparent the unholy life had departed the parchment-skinned corpse of the illithid spellcaster. "And good work." Jhasspok went back and retrieved his battleaxe while Marlo gave the thing's corpse a once-over with her <em>detect magic</em> spell. The staff it had dropped was a <em>staff of shadows</em>, and freshly made by the looks of it, which she confirmed by holding it in her hands and feeling its power coursing through the warped ebony wood. The creature also, somewhat foolishly, had a device inside a pocket of its robes that Cramer identified as likely being its phylactery, explaining that liches always had some such device capable of storing its life energy upon its apparent destruction.</p><p></p><p>"But why would it carry it around with it?" Marlo asked. "Wouldn't it make more sense to keep it hidden somewhere?"</p><p></p><p>"You never know with undead," Cramer answered. "It might have worried someone would discover its phylactery if it was hidden away. By keeping it nearby, it always knew it was safe and there was always the chance if anyone did manage to destroy it they'd simply take the phylactery thinking it was a magic necklace or something." But the gnome was taking no chances, and after several blows from Khari's warhammer and Utred's maul the metal phylactery was in several pieces.</p><p></p><p>"So now what?" asked Jhasspok, glad they were back to speaking aloud.</p><p></p><p>"No reason we can't <em>teleport</em> back to Brunniir," Cramer replied, motioning for everyone to bunch up together so he could cast the spell after Utred had closed his grandfather's forge back up. Once back at the Golden City, the spellcasting elder dwarves examined the alhoon's <em>staff of shadows</em>. "Upon th' Plane of Shadows," the dwarven wizard explained, "the spells <em>shadow conjuration</em> an' <em>shadow evocation</em> - both o' which're present in th' staff - are powerful enough t' shape the very plane itself. It were no doubt th' mind flayer lich, usin' a staff like this, which was th' cause of th' buildin's bein' caved off o' th' city."</p><p></p><p>"Then the alhoon was the one coordinating the attacks by the other undead?" hazarded Marlo.</p><p></p><p>"Very likely yes, lass. In fact, that makes perfect sense: th' lich would use up th' spells in th' staff t' steal away a buildin' from th' city, then take months to craft up a new staff. That'd explain the months-long gaps between th' attacks."</p><p></p><p>"It all fits," agreed the elder dwarven cleric.</p><p></p><p>"Then you'll probably want to hold on to this," Marlo suggested, passing over the <em>staff of shadows</em>. "You might be able to use it to try to re-warp the Plane of Shadows back the way it was and get some of your buildings back." The dwarven wizard thanked her and sent an aide to go fetch a suitable reward for the staff and the slaying of the alhoon. Indeed, since the illithilich had been slain the hordes of incorporeal undead surrounding the city had started wandering away. It would take some time for all of them to leave, for trying to force their way into Brunniir had likely become a force of habit by now, but eventually the city clerics would manage to drive them away and the Golden City could once again enjoy not being under constant siege.</p><p></p><p>"Well then," said Utred. "We've got the <em>Null Axe</em>, now all we need is the location of the other Writhing Gates and we'll be good to go!" He was ready to return to Overreach and take out the one Writhing Gate they already knew about, but Cramer cautioned him to patience. "Let's wait to hear back from C'thorlumbrox," he said. "Once we start attacking Writhing Gates, the cultists might learn what we're doing and start beefing up the defenses around the others. It might be best to wait until we know the locations of them all and make our plans then."</p><p></p><p>"Hrrmph," snorted Utred. It made sense, but patience was definitely not his strong suit. "Hey," he said suddenly, recalling his grandfather's surname. "Is 'Greyale' an actual type of ale?"</p><p></p><p>"It is," replied one of the wizard's aides. "Would ye like me t' bring ye a mug o' it?"</p><p></p><p>"A mug's a good start," Utred agreed.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>So per Logan, the <em>Null Axe</em> functions as a masterwork greataxe except as follows: when wielded it ignores all magical defenses of the target that affects Armor Class or Damage Reduction. This includes enchanted armor, rings, etc. as well as all spells, spell-like effects and/or supernatural effects. However, the wielder has all magical effects upon their person suppressed as well. Spellcasters cannot cast spells while wielding the axe. The antimagic properties are not strong enough to prevent instantaneous effects (like a <em>fireball</em> spell) from affecting the wielder. Despite its antimagic nature it is treated as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction that comes from extraordinary abilities.</p><p></p><p>Logan statted up the alhoon as not just a wizard, but a shadowcaster from the <em>Tome of Magic</em>, thinking he'd throw some new stuff at us we'd never seen before in this campaign or any of our previous other campaigns. Of course, all of those plans went up in smoke when Jhasspok successfully grappled him and prevented him from doing anything at all as the rest of the PCs whittled him down to death. Jhasspok might not be anywhere near as powerful as some of his companions, but I do enjoy playing him and he does occasionally have his moments - and this was definitely one of them.</p><p></p><p>And, in no small part due to the fact that alhoon was a CR 18 encounter, we leveled up to 14th at the end of this adventure. Marlo, Cramer, and Utred added a level of their sole classes, Jhasspok took another level of fighter, and Khari took one level of psychic warrior, the only level he intends on taking, but this gives him a +2 to damage that stacks with his Weapon Specialization and Greater Weapon Specialization, which will be nice considering he can do that three times per day for a full minute each time, which in this campaign (with sessions lasting 2-3 hours on Wednesday nights), practically guarantees "for every battle from now on." Harry's pleased with the tradeoff, even though it cost him a Base Attack Bonus that will be one number lower than his total Hit Dice for the rest of the campaign. (Welcome to my world, Khari: Jhasspok's first three levels as a lizardfolk gained him an overall +1 BAB, so I'm perpetually two numbers lower than a combat-oriented PC of my Hit Dice would be.)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 8379781, member: 508"] [B]ADVENTURE 40: BETWEEN DARKNESS AND A SHADOW[/B] PC Roster: [INDENT]Cramer Appleknocker, gnome cleric 13[/INDENT] [INDENT] Jhasspok, lizardman 3/barbarian 3/fighter 7[/INDENT] [INDENT] Khari Hammerslammer, dwarf fighter 13[/INDENT] [INDENT] Marlo Pendragon, human sorcerer 13[/INDENT] [INDENT] Utred "Buckets" Butterflinger, dwarf barbarian 13[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 18 August 2021 - - - The five heroes from Overreach had made it to Brunniir and the dwarven elders explained the history of the Golden City. Five centuries ago the city had been shunted to the Plane of Shadows so they could try to find a way to stop the Dying One without being found out by his cultists. The undead currently surrounding the Golden City hadn't really been an issue until 93 years ago. Fortunately, when the city had been built, the stones had incorporated a magical protection from burrowing creatures (like the purple worm the heroes had fought on their way to Brunniir): a force effect woven into each stone - which incidentally gave them the golden color responsible for the city's nickname - kept them at bay and also came in very handy in keeping incorporeal creatures from breaching the city's walls. Things went well for the next four centuries and then, some 93 years ago, the incorporeal undead on the plane started attacking the Golden City in earnest. Nobody knew who was organizing them into a unified force, but about a decade ago they started making some small progress. Still unable to breach the city, they somehow found a way to manipulate the shadowstuff of the plane itself, causing small chunks of the city's outskirts to cleave off, one building at a time. Fortunately, these attacks were sporadic, with often a span of months passing between each such occurrence. But the calved-off buildings would be drawn away from the rest of the city as the space between them was somehow increased. [B]Dolthran Greyale[/B], the city's greatest blacksmith, had been in charge of working on a weapon to destroy the Writhing Gates. He died years ago, sealing his forge until his heir arrived to open it. Unfortunately, his forge had been cleaved off in the last attack - which prompted the Elders to send for the heroes in Greenvale. "What can you tell us about this weapon?" asked Utred. "Did he finish it in time? Is it still there in his forge? What are its properties?" "If'n 'e finished it before 'is death, it'll be locked away there in 'is vault. We c'n only hope 'e completed its construction before 'is death. As fer its nature, we c'n only tell ye a story of an incident that happened while he were still workin' on it. Somehow, Dolthran 'ad unleashed a shadowy creature upon th' city which killed dozens o' our best armed warriors before th' fool thing was finally killed - by all accounts - by a pair of two simple farmers wieldin' pitchforks. Whatever th' shadowy thing were, it seemed t' be a vital ingredient in th' weapon somehow." "So you need us to go fetch this weapon," Cramer surmised. "How will we know where to find the forge's current location?" "One o' our clerics'll cast a [I]find th' path[/I] spell on ye, which'll take ye right to it, wherever it might be," the elder explained. "But that'd be but th' first task before ye: first, fetch th' weapon; second, find whatever's leadin' these undead armies an' put a stop t' them taking apart our city, one buildin' at a time ev'ry coupla months." "You have a plan to lead us to the first part of that plan," pointed out Marlo. "Do you have any suggestions about how we might accomplish the second task?" "As t' that, we've no ideas," admitted the elder. "But keep it in mind, while ye're out there - if ye find the leader o' these undead forces, we'd appreciate it greatly if'n ye could find a way t' take 'im out, once an' fer all. T' aid ye in yer tasks, though, we've four vials of [I]ectoplasmic oil[/I] ye c'n apply t' some o' yer weapons." He explained this was in effect a means by which the weapons so treated would be able to affect incorporeal undead without any chances they'd simply pass through their insubstantial bodies. Cramer caught on at once: "A [I]ghost touch[/I] effect," he explained to the others. "Best ye rest up, now," suggested the elder, leading them to rooms where they could spend the evening. "Ye c'n set out in th' mornin', when ye're refreshed an' ready t' be about yer business." The next morning, as promised, four vials of [I]ectoplasmic oil[/I] were passed over to the group. Marlo agreed it made more sense for the four of them most likely to use melee weapons to get the advantages the oil brought them, as she intended to rely solely upon her spells in any combats they might face. An elderly dwarven cleric and an equally ancient-looking dwarven wizard approached the group. "Ye'd do best not broadcastin' yer locations with any illumination," the wizard advised. "This spell'll grant ye three th' vision o' a dwarf." He then cast a [I]darkvision[/I] spell upon Marlo, Cramer, and Jhasspok. "No [I]slave-light cloak[/I] flames, Jhasspok," Cramer reiterated, wanting to make sure their lizardfolk companion understood the importance of keeping their illusory flames darkened while they traveled - it was obvious to the gnome but he realized it wasn't necessarily going to be obvious to the simple-minded reptile. "Got it," Jhasspok replied. Then, looking up above the city, he asked, "Why is there a sky?" Sure enough, there was a dark sky above them with streaks of half-hearted clouds floating in the near-total darkness. "It wasn't there yesterday." The puzzled lizardfolk was pretty sure the "sky" - the big, waterless ocean which held the [I]fireball sun[/I] in the daytime and the Really Big Pearl at night - was a surface-world thing. The Plane of Shadow had seemed to be more like the Underdark which had been his home for the vast majority of his five and a half years. "Th' Plane o' Shadows is highly morphic in nature," the dwarven wizard replied. "At times the cavern ceilin' is dissolved into th' surroundin' stone, leavin' a visual path straight t' the surface world above. Recall, th' Plane o' Shadows is both coterminous an' coexistent with th' Material Plane." Jhasspok looked to Utred and the dwarven barbarian translated for him. "The sky is only there sometimes," he said. Jhasspok nodded wisely. Utred was so smart! Cramer cast his customary [I]longstrider[/I] spell, while Marlo set the group up with a [I]Rary's telepathic bond[/I] spell. "I'm going to talk in your head now," she told Jhasspok. Thus warned, he didn't yelp out in surprise when Marlo's voice suddenly appeared in his head. <Can everyone hear me okay?> she asked. The four males each replied in the affirmative. <Let's keep all talking over the mental link once we get outside the city,> she suggested. <We don't want to attract any unwanted attention. I'm going to cast a [I]mage armor[/I] on each of us,> she said over the link - she'd found it was best to get Jhasspok used to the idea of using the telepathic communication mode whenever possible, because he often forgot it was active - and started to do just that. <Don't need it,> Utred complained. <Already got plenty of armor.> <And shadows and wraiths can pass right through it,> Marlo explained. <[I]Mage armor[/I] is a force effect - it'll be as real to them as your normal armor.> <Okay then, fine. Whatever.> Cramer cast a [I]hide from undead[/I] spell on the whole group, explaining it would keep them from being noticed by mindless undead like skeletons and zombies. <It might still work on the kinds of undead we fought before entering the Plane of Shadows yesterday, but if any one of us attacks an undead creature the spell will instantly switch off for all of us. You got that, Jhasspok? Don't attack any undead unless we're sure they can already see us.> <Okay.> Marlo and Cramer each finished up by casting a [I]magic circle against evil[/I] spell upon themselves, then the [I]ectoplasmic oil[/I] was applied to Utred's [I]flaming greataxe[/I], Khari's [I]earthglide warhammer[/I], Jhasspok's magical battleaxe, and Cramer's [I]Elderwood flaming heavy mace[/I]. "Okay, we're ready," Cramer told the elderly dwarven spellcasters. The dwarven cleric then cast a [I]find the path[/I] spell on Utred and the wizard cast a [I]teleport[/I] spell sending the five heroes far away from the immediate vicinity of the city - far enough away they'd hopefully not be visible by the hordes of undead swarming Brunniir. They ended up at the edge of the canyon in which Brunniir sat - and directly facing a pair of undead creatures. These undead creatures were both apparently intelligent enough to ignore Cramer's [I]hide from undead[/I] spell, for they both turned to face the quintet of heroes. The largest of the two was easily recognizable as a dread wraith; they'd just fought off two of these creatures yesterday in the Underdark cavern where Brunniir used to sit, some five centuries long past. The other one, though, seemed like it was just a simple skeleton, although one wearing tattered robes. <I think they see us,> Jhasspok observed, proud that he'd remembered to use his thinking-in-his-head voice instead of his speaking-out-loud voice. <Does that mean--?> <Yes, attack them!> Cramer answered irritably, for the dread wraith had immediately lunged for Khari Hammerslammer, passing his clawed hand inside the dwarf's body where it wasn't covered by Marlo's [I]mage armor[/I] spell. The dwarven fighter felt an unwelcomingly familiar cold sensation pass throughout his body as a portion of his very vitality was drained away. But Utred was there by his fellow dwarf's side in a moment, swinging his magic greataxe at the ghostly figure nearly twice his own size. At the same time, an [I]empowered magic missile[/I] crashed into the dread wraith's insubstantial form as Marlo immediately assessed the situation and confirmed it was safe to attack. Khari brought his warhammer up and smashed its head into the dread wraith, actually causing it to fall back a pace or two. Cramer cast a [I]death ward[/I] on himself, unsure about the skeletal being standing beside the dread wraith; if it had seen him through his [I]hide from undead[/I] spell it was no simple mindless skeleton, which meant it could very well be a lich - and there was no telling what sort of foul necromantics such a being might have at hand. Far better, in the gnome's estimation, to be safe from a magical attack that might slay him instantly than to deprive his companions of their most powerful source of healing energy. Before Jhasspok could belatedly attack either of the undead pair, the skeletal creature - no lich, but very close: a huecuva - cast an [I]unholy blight[/I] spell on the entire group, who were still relatively huddled up in a tight group immediately after having been teleported. As far as first salvoes went it was remarkably ineffective, with the heroes easily shrugging off the worst of the effects. Of course, it didn't help the huecuva that the spell was most effective against those with a truly good-hearted nature and of its five foes only Khari met that description. Jhasspok barely noticed the spell's effect as he leaped forward to join in attacking the dread wraith - the bigger of the two and therefore most likely the most powerful and the one that needed to be taken down the quickest, by his reasoning. His blade, coated in the magical oil, cut through the incorporeal foe as if its body had been fully solid. The dread wraith flinched as if in pain but made no sound; it reached out to attack Utred but the barbarian easily avoided its claws. (Cramer noted again that these Shadow Plane undead seemed to have a particular hatred for dwarves, but guessed they might have been trained to focus on dwarves as they were the ones responsible for the creation of the weapon they were trying to locate.) Marlo cast another [I]empowered magic missile[/I] at the dread wraith as Utred and Khari continued pummeling it with their weapons. Khari's final blow was the one that took the creature out and its incorporeal body dissipated like a fine mist. Cramer stepped up behind the dwarven fighter and cast a [I]death ward[/I] spell on him as well, thinking it might not be a bad idea to have each of the heroes thus protected against a foe with unknown spellcasting powers. The huecuva cast a [I]flame strike[/I] spell on the group, the fiery blast coming down from above to encompass all five heroes. Oddly, the spell had a two-layered effect this time; whereas in the past, when the group had been under the effects of the spell, the unholy flames came blasting down at them in one rush of unholy energy and then that was it, but this time there was the initial blast and then a much more powerful blast that went exploding out sideways in all directions, this second blast even encompassing the huecuva. All six combatants were rocked and jostled by the power of the explosion. <Sorry, guys,> said Utred over the mental link. <One of my [I]necklaces of fireballs[/I] just got taken out. The other one's fine, though.> <That was [I]you[/I]--?> <[I]Other[/I] one? What in the world are you doing with [I]two[/I] --?> <Are you [I]crazy[/I]? You could easily have--> Jhasspok ignored the simultaneous mental chiding the others were giving Utred and charged at the skeleton who had caused them so much pain, swinging his battleaxe with all his might. A bladed weapon wasn't the optimal choice in taking on a creature made of animated bone, but with enough strength behind the blow it could deal quite a punch. As the huecuva staggered backwards from the power of the attack, Marlo finished it off with a [I]magic missile[/I] spell, judging it not worth the extra spellpower to [I]empower[/I] it. And in that she was correct, for the creature collapsed into a pile of bones mixed in with the rotting remnants of the robe it had worn. Cramer pulled out his [I]staff of healing[/I] and ordered everyone to line up. <I'd better heal us all up from the damage caused by Utred's fashion accessories,> he grumbled, casting not only healing spells from his staff but also [I]death ward[/I] spells on the other three so that each would be thus protected. Once that was done to his satisfaction, he had Utred lead them on. <The [I]find the path[/I] spell's still intact, I hope?> he asked. <Yep,> replied Utred. <It's this way. Let's go!> Utred led them through several winding tunnels until they found the structure parked within a small cavern. The stone blocks of its construction glowed with the same golden light as the rest of the city of Brunniir. <The [I]find the path[/I] spell leads right up the doors and then stops,> Utred told the others. Marlo stepped up to the doors and cast a [I]detect magic[/I] spell; lacking anyone in the group with any lockpicking skills or experience with mundane traps, it was the best they could do. <I'm detecting several layers of abjuration,> she said and Jhasspok didn't even bother asking what that even meant - some type of magic that was somehow different from other types of magic, he assumed, although he failed to see the necessity of breaking magic up into separate chunks. <The stones have that force effect woven into their structure, but there's also something here that probably shields the interior from being breached by [I]teleport[/I] spells and the like.> <Makes sense,> Cramer agreed. <Old Greyale didn't want anybody getting in to steal his superweapon.> <There's more,> Marlo added. <It looks like someone's added an [I]alarm[/I] spell on the door. Much more recently than the rest of the magic in the stone.> Cramer cast a [I]detect undead[/I] and scanned the general area, seeing nothing untoward. Jhasspok circled the entire building, making sure there was nobody hiding behind the structure. Khari went with him, examining the building for any alternate ways inside. There were none. <What do we do?> Khari asked. <We can't get into the building without triggering the [I]alarm[/I] spell.> <Then we trigger the [I]alarm[/I] spell,> reasoned Utred. <We need to get that weapon.> He reached out for the pair of stone doors and they slid open sideways at his touch. Utred wasn't sure if it was because they somehow detected his bloodline or what, but it seemed like a reasonable assumption. The dwarves of Brunniir had made a big deal about his grandfather having sealed up the forge for someone of his own lineage to open. With the doors open, everyone standing at the entrance could see inside, given their [I]darkvision[/I]-enhanced eyesight. There was a massive anvil at the rear of the structure, and Marlo noticed something odd about it right away. <There's something on the anvil blocking the auras of magic behind it,> she told the others. <I've still got my [I]detect magic[/I] spell up and for some reason the top of the anvil is messing up the detection.> <That's gotta be the weapon!> Utred said, stepping forward into his grandfather's forge. <I'll stay out here and wait for whoever cast the [I]alarm[/I] spell to show up,> Jhasspok said. It was a remarkable feat of reasoning for the lizardfolk, who still didn't really understand the whole workings of magic. But if someone put an alarm on a door, that meant they wanted to be notified when somebody opened the door. He hefted his magic battleaxe and turned his back on the forge, looking outwards for danger. The others stepped into the building behind Utred. As he approached the anvil, he saw off to his left a shadowy figure with arms raised and waving about; he almost attacked the creature - who looked rather like an undead shadow - until he noticed it was imprisoned inside a glass cylinder that reached from floor to ceiling and appeared only to be trying to find a way out of its prison. Convinced it couldn't hurt them - at least not yet - Utred let his greataxe hang in his grip at his side as he approached the cylinder. There were dwarven runes carved on the floor around the cylinder, inscribing a warning not to release the creature. <That's odd,> remarked Cramer. <It's not undead.> His [I]detect undead[/I] spell was likewise still operating and the creature's aura did not register on his magical senses. Whatever this willowy creature was, it was apparently a living being. And then another shadowy figure appeared, this one most definitely undead, for Utred was able to see entirely through its transparent body. The dwarven barbarian flinched and raised his axe, causing Marlo to ask what was up; she apparently did not see the figure Utred saw. But Utred saw the figure just fine: it was a dwarf, with thinning hair and a beard the color of gray slate, wearing a leather apron over his clothes. The figure spoke aloud, although only Utred was able to hear the message the ghost had only for him. <What's going on?> Cramer demanded. He'd moved over to Utred's side and now that the barbarian wasn't blocking his view he was picking up the aura of an undead creature beside the anvil, although he saw nothing. <It's my grandfather,> Utred said, relaying the ghost's message. <He says this is the [I]Null Axe[/I] and it's completed and ready for use. Only he says we have to destroy [I]all[/I] of the Writhing Gates, not just the three we thought would make it impossible for the Dying One to return.> <What? Why all ten?> <I don't know - that's just what he said, okay?> <Somebody's here,> came another voice over the telepathic link; it took the others a moment to realize it was Jhasspok, who normally avoided "talking" with his mind whenever possible, as he was somewhat freaked out when sudden voices sounded in his head. As a case in point, he flinched with an audible gasp from outside the dwarven forge when a sixth voice entered the telepathic conversation. <I will be needing that weapon,> the voice said. <Surrender it to me and you may live.> Utred was having none of that nonsense. He grabbed up the [I]Null Axe[/I] - which was wrapped in some silvery fabric and tied down such that the fabric wouldn't slip off the weapon - and stuffed it inside Marlo's [I]bag of holding[/I], reasoning if the weapon was in an extradimensional space the unknown enemy might have a harder time finding it, and possibly even sensing it. Then, on the off chance the enemy did know it was inside the bag, Utred figured it would be best if he held onto it rather than Marlo - better to make him the primary target than the slight human woman. The others stepped back to the doorway and saw what Jhasspok was facing down: it was a mind flayer, but one unlike any of the others they had ever seen before. This one had the typical four standard tentacles hanging down from its face, but these were emaciated and barely half the thickness of a normal illithid's appendages. For that matter, the rest of its skin was stretched tight to the bone, giving the creature a withered appearance. It was only when Cramer stepped to the side and got a straight line of sight with the creature that he was able to sense its blazing aura of undeath. Marlo replied for the group at large in the form of a [I]disintegrate[/I] spell she sent blasting at the alhoon - an undead mind flayer lich, extending its life after death indefinitely that it might continue its endeavors long after the end of its own natural lifespan. However, while the beam of energy struck the illithilich without fail, it didn't manage to overcome the creature's innate resistance to spells and the [I]disintegrate[/I] spell fizzled away without any discernible effect. Khari was the closest of the melee combatants to the doorway and was thus the first to reach the alhoon, swinging his warhammer in an arc that went crashing into the side of the undead illithid. There was a crunching sound as the weapon hit that Khari hoped was the crushing of bones, but then there was a blur above him and there was Jhasspok, leaping over the short dwarven fighter to go crashing into the illithilich. The lizardfolk had dropped his battleaxe on the ground before leaping at the undead foe and crashed into him with arms outspread wide. As they both collapsed to the ground, Jhasspok was sure to land with his arms pinning the alhoon tightly to his body in a bear hug from which the undead thing was unable to escape, struggle as he might. The alhoon had held a jet-black staff at his side but it fell from his grasp as Jhasspok barreled into him. Pinned as he was, he had only one way to strike back at his hulking foe - and Jhasspok didn't even notice the creature's foul, necromantic touch failing to get past his [I]death ward[/I] spell. <Fool! Release me!> demanded the alhoon but Jhasspok paid him no heed. The illithilich wriggled back and forth and struggled to escape the lizardfolk's grasp, but it was no use - he simply did not have the physical strength to do so. "Hold on to him tight!" Cramer called out loud, afraid of scaring the lizardfolk even momentarily by "talking" inside his head. But Jhasspok didn't let his grip on the alhoon waver and the powerful undead - with dozens of spells prepared in his undead skull just waiting to be released - was unable to cast any of them with his arms pinned to his sides. What followed was a fun-filled episode of the two dwarves carefully lining up their blows, afraid to hit the lizardfolk as the undead illithid did his best to wrest free and Jhasspok held him as firmly in place as he could, while Marlo and Cramer took turns blasting single-target spells at the alhoon and hoping to penetrate past his magical defenses. Marlo, at least, knew her [I]empowered magic missile[/I] spells had no chance of accidentally hitting Jhasspok if the undead mind flayer moved in the wrong way. But Jhasspok held firm and avoided getting hit with friendly fire, magical or otherwise, and eventually it was a blow from a magical maul Utred had picked up somewhere along his travels that crushed in the alhoon's skull. "You can let go of him now, Jhasspok," Cramer said once it was apparent the unholy life had departed the parchment-skinned corpse of the illithid spellcaster. "And good work." Jhasspok went back and retrieved his battleaxe while Marlo gave the thing's corpse a once-over with her [I]detect magic[/I] spell. The staff it had dropped was a [I]staff of shadows[/I], and freshly made by the looks of it, which she confirmed by holding it in her hands and feeling its power coursing through the warped ebony wood. The creature also, somewhat foolishly, had a device inside a pocket of its robes that Cramer identified as likely being its phylactery, explaining that liches always had some such device capable of storing its life energy upon its apparent destruction. "But why would it carry it around with it?" Marlo asked. "Wouldn't it make more sense to keep it hidden somewhere?" "You never know with undead," Cramer answered. "It might have worried someone would discover its phylactery if it was hidden away. By keeping it nearby, it always knew it was safe and there was always the chance if anyone did manage to destroy it they'd simply take the phylactery thinking it was a magic necklace or something." But the gnome was taking no chances, and after several blows from Khari's warhammer and Utred's maul the metal phylactery was in several pieces. "So now what?" asked Jhasspok, glad they were back to speaking aloud. "No reason we can't [I]teleport[/I] back to Brunniir," Cramer replied, motioning for everyone to bunch up together so he could cast the spell after Utred had closed his grandfather's forge back up. Once back at the Golden City, the spellcasting elder dwarves examined the alhoon's [I]staff of shadows[/I]. "Upon th' Plane of Shadows," the dwarven wizard explained, "the spells [I]shadow conjuration[/I] an' [I]shadow evocation[/I] - both o' which're present in th' staff - are powerful enough t' shape the very plane itself. It were no doubt th' mind flayer lich, usin' a staff like this, which was th' cause of th' buildin's bein' caved off o' th' city." "Then the alhoon was the one coordinating the attacks by the other undead?" hazarded Marlo. "Very likely yes, lass. In fact, that makes perfect sense: th' lich would use up th' spells in th' staff t' steal away a buildin' from th' city, then take months to craft up a new staff. That'd explain the months-long gaps between th' attacks." "It all fits," agreed the elder dwarven cleric. "Then you'll probably want to hold on to this," Marlo suggested, passing over the [I]staff of shadows[/I]. "You might be able to use it to try to re-warp the Plane of Shadows back the way it was and get some of your buildings back." The dwarven wizard thanked her and sent an aide to go fetch a suitable reward for the staff and the slaying of the alhoon. Indeed, since the illithilich had been slain the hordes of incorporeal undead surrounding the city had started wandering away. It would take some time for all of them to leave, for trying to force their way into Brunniir had likely become a force of habit by now, but eventually the city clerics would manage to drive them away and the Golden City could once again enjoy not being under constant siege. "Well then," said Utred. "We've got the [I]Null Axe[/I], now all we need is the location of the other Writhing Gates and we'll be good to go!" He was ready to return to Overreach and take out the one Writhing Gate they already knew about, but Cramer cautioned him to patience. "Let's wait to hear back from C'thorlumbrox," he said. "Once we start attacking Writhing Gates, the cultists might learn what we're doing and start beefing up the defenses around the others. It might be best to wait until we know the locations of them all and make our plans then." "Hrrmph," snorted Utred. It made sense, but patience was definitely not his strong suit. "Hey," he said suddenly, recalling his grandfather's surname. "Is 'Greyale' an actual type of ale?" "It is," replied one of the wizard's aides. "Would ye like me t' bring ye a mug o' it?" "A mug's a good start," Utred agreed. - - - So per Logan, the [I]Null Axe[/I] functions as a masterwork greataxe except as follows: when wielded it ignores all magical defenses of the target that affects Armor Class or Damage Reduction. This includes enchanted armor, rings, etc. as well as all spells, spell-like effects and/or supernatural effects. However, the wielder has all magical effects upon their person suppressed as well. Spellcasters cannot cast spells while wielding the axe. The antimagic properties are not strong enough to prevent instantaneous effects (like a [I]fireball[/I] spell) from affecting the wielder. Despite its antimagic nature it is treated as magic for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction that comes from extraordinary abilities. Logan statted up the alhoon as not just a wizard, but a shadowcaster from the [I]Tome of Magic[/I], thinking he'd throw some new stuff at us we'd never seen before in this campaign or any of our previous other campaigns. Of course, all of those plans went up in smoke when Jhasspok successfully grappled him and prevented him from doing anything at all as the rest of the PCs whittled him down to death. Jhasspok might not be anywhere near as powerful as some of his companions, but I do enjoy playing him and he does occasionally have his moments - and this was definitely one of them. And, in no small part due to the fact that alhoon was a CR 18 encounter, we leveled up to 14th at the end of this adventure. Marlo, Cramer, and Utred added a level of their sole classes, Jhasspok took another level of fighter, and Khari took one level of psychic warrior, the only level he intends on taking, but this gives him a +2 to damage that stacks with his Weapon Specialization and Greater Weapon Specialization, which will be nice considering he can do that three times per day for a full minute each time, which in this campaign (with sessions lasting 2-3 hours on Wednesday nights), practically guarantees "for every battle from now on." Harry's pleased with the tradeoff, even though it cost him a Base Attack Bonus that will be one number lower than his total Hit Dice for the rest of the campaign. (Welcome to my world, Khari: Jhasspok's first three levels as a lizardfolk gained him an overall +1 BAB, so I'm perpetually two numbers lower than a combat-oriented PC of my Hit Dice would be.) [/QUOTE]
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