Seenar.com

The Roleplaying Diaries of Bryan Stephens

User Tools

Site Tools

You are here: home » game_systems » pathfinder » runlords » adventure_journal
game_systems:pathfinder:runlords:adventure_journal

Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

Link to this comparison view

Both sides previous revisionPrevious revision
Next revision		Previous revision
game_systems:pathfinder:runlords:adventure_journal [2025/05/03 11:43] – [Misgivings] Bryan Stephensgame_systems:pathfinder:runlords:adventure_journal [2025/06/28 10:12] (current) – [End Game] Bryan Stephens
Line 727: Line 727:
  
 They enter a side door and immediately stumble into a haunt. This is the Dancing Parlor. The oak-paneled chamber must have once been breathtaking, but is a sad sight now-the floorboards are warped with moisture and the paneling scratched and spotted with mold. A grand piano, its surface splotchy and keys warped, leans tiredly in the southeast corner. When they enter the room the search it and as soon as the piano is touched the instrument explodes into music, playing a catchy but discordant Varisian song. Grymar is caught up by the spirit of vengeance. He sees Iesha, Aldern’s wife, and immediately begins a dance with her, in all her vibrant beauty, but with each swing, her neck darkens into angry blue-and-black bruises as if she is being strangled. Grymar dances franticly, widely, straining muscles. El tackles him to stop him, causing the haunt of Iesah to shriek, something they call can hear. Grymar finds that pierces his soul. With that the music stops, and Grymar uses his //lessor restoration// form his //Scale// to heal himself.  They enter a side door and immediately stumble into a haunt. This is the Dancing Parlor. The oak-paneled chamber must have once been breathtaking, but is a sad sight now-the floorboards are warped with moisture and the paneling scratched and spotted with mold. A grand piano, its surface splotchy and keys warped, leans tiredly in the southeast corner. When they enter the room the search it and as soon as the piano is touched the instrument explodes into music, playing a catchy but discordant Varisian song. Grymar is caught up by the spirit of vengeance. He sees Iesha, Aldern’s wife, and immediately begins a dance with her, in all her vibrant beauty, but with each swing, her neck darkens into angry blue-and-black bruises as if she is being strangled. Grymar dances franticly, widely, straining muscles. El tackles him to stop him, causing the haunt of Iesah to shriek, something they call can hear. Grymar finds that pierces his soul. With that the music stops, and Grymar uses his //lessor restoration// form his //Scale// to heal himself. 
 +
 +{{ :game_systems:pathfinder:runlords:rat.jpg?200|}}
  
 Not wanting to spend time looting, the group heads into a hall way and splits up. One room has a diseased rat and it misses Azaela who smashes it and retreats out of the room. They head south into the main entrance hall. The sound of the house straining and creaking gives this long, high-ceilinged room an additional sense ofage and decay. The place smells damp, the unpleasant tinge of mold lacing the air , as surely as it stains the wooden floor, walls, and furniture. in pallid patches. Moldering trophies hang on the wall to the northeast: a boar, a bear, a firepelt cougar, and a stag, yet they pale in comparison to the monster on display in the center of the room. Here crouches the taxidermy of a twelve-foot-long creature with the body of a lion, a scorpion's tail fitted with dozens of razor barbs, huge batlike wings, and a deformed humanoid face. A manticore. The group hears what seems like sobs coming from upstairs. El catches the smell of burning hair and flesh but nothing else. They group heads towards the stairs up, avoiding a spiral stain on the floor. The stain under the rug is about 10 feet across, a swirling pattern of dark blue, sickly green, and black mold that grows in a spiral It looks almost like a bird's eye view of a spiraling staircase descending downward, with each step littered with skulls and bones. Not wanting to spend time looting, the group heads into a hall way and splits up. One room has a diseased rat and it misses Azaela who smashes it and retreats out of the room. They head south into the main entrance hall. The sound of the house straining and creaking gives this long, high-ceilinged room an additional sense ofage and decay. The place smells damp, the unpleasant tinge of mold lacing the air , as surely as it stains the wooden floor, walls, and furniture. in pallid patches. Moldering trophies hang on the wall to the northeast: a boar, a bear, a firepelt cougar, and a stag, yet they pale in comparison to the monster on display in the center of the room. Here crouches the taxidermy of a twelve-foot-long creature with the body of a lion, a scorpion's tail fitted with dozens of razor barbs, huge batlike wings, and a deformed humanoid face. A manticore. The group hears what seems like sobs coming from upstairs. El catches the smell of burning hair and flesh but nothing else. They group heads towards the stairs up, avoiding a spiral stain on the floor. The stain under the rug is about 10 feet across, a swirling pattern of dark blue, sickly green, and black mold that grows in a spiral It looks almost like a bird's eye view of a spiraling staircase descending downward, with each step littered with skulls and bones.
Line 735: Line 737:
  
 Further searching results in little to be found. Grymar does not resonate with the haunt of a child in what is an empty beadroom. The group’s fighter is not so lucky. Entering the guest room, Azaela hears a voice say “What’s on your face, mommy?” and laws desperately at the flesh of her own face, trying to remove the plage upon her. She leaps out the window to protect her friends and lands without damage, her face marred with deep wounds of her own making. Outside, she is free of the effect from Vorel’s wife, Kasanda, who died of the disease here with her daughter.  Further searching results in little to be found. Grymar does not resonate with the haunt of a child in what is an empty beadroom. The group’s fighter is not so lucky. Entering the guest room, Azaela hears a voice say “What’s on your face, mommy?” and laws desperately at the flesh of her own face, trying to remove the plage upon her. She leaps out the window to protect her friends and lands without damage, her face marred with deep wounds of her own making. Outside, she is free of the effect from Vorel’s wife, Kasanda, who died of the disease here with her daughter. 
 +
 +{{:game_systems:pathfinder:runlords:iesha.jpg?500 |}}
  
 They wait for Azaela to trace her path back to them, as she makes no diversions. The look in the second floor room. The musician’s gallery, with another set of stained glass windows. This large room features two padded chairs and a long couch facing a wide alcove lined with stained glass windows. These windows depict a diverse array of animals and plants-from north to south are a large pale and ghostly scorpion, a gaunt man holding out his arms as a dozen bats hang from him, a moth with a strange skull-like pattern on its wings, a tangle of dull green plants with bell shaped flowers, and a young maiden sitting astride a well in a forest while a spindly spider the size of a dog descends along a string of webbing above her. Grymar notes these five of the subjects in the windows as classic spell components for necromancy magic (scorpion venom, vampire's breath, the tongues of deathwing moths, belladonna, and the heart of a maiden slain by poison). What is worse, those spell components have ties to several known lich apotheosis formulae. They wait for Azaela to trace her path back to them, as she makes no diversions. The look in the second floor room. The musician’s gallery, with another set of stained glass windows. This large room features two padded chairs and a long couch facing a wide alcove lined with stained glass windows. These windows depict a diverse array of animals and plants-from north to south are a large pale and ghostly scorpion, a gaunt man holding out his arms as a dozen bats hang from him, a moth with a strange skull-like pattern on its wings, a tangle of dull green plants with bell shaped flowers, and a young maiden sitting astride a well in a forest while a spindly spider the size of a dog descends along a string of webbing above her. Grymar notes these five of the subjects in the windows as classic spell components for necromancy magic (scorpion venom, vampire's breath, the tongues of deathwing moths, belladonna, and the heart of a maiden slain by poison). What is worse, those spell components have ties to several known lich apotheosis formulae.
Line 741: Line 745:
  
 The group continues up, the strange weeping still above them. The top floor has mundane stores and bedrooms. It seems little of consequence happens in the storage area. However, El, perhaps too much at ease with the past few rooms, enters the observatory. A desk and a chair sit in the middle of this drafty room. Chimneys rise to the west, while to the east, two intricate stained-glass windows are set into the wall. The northern window depicts a dark-haired woman with pale skin, large green eyes, and a black-and-red gown; with both hands she wields a jagged iron staff. The southern window's lower half has been broken and patched with canvas; what remains of its upper half depicts a handsome man dressed in regal finery and a crown ofivory and jade. Small scorch marks mar the wood near the broken window. A battered and ruined telescope lies on its side near the desk and a large trap door in the roof has been tied shut by several lengths of rope. The group continues up, the strange weeping still above them. The top floor has mundane stores and bedrooms. It seems little of consequence happens in the storage area. However, El, perhaps too much at ease with the past few rooms, enters the observatory. A desk and a chair sit in the middle of this drafty room. Chimneys rise to the west, while to the east, two intricate stained-glass windows are set into the wall. The northern window depicts a dark-haired woman with pale skin, large green eyes, and a black-and-red gown; with both hands she wields a jagged iron staff. The southern window's lower half has been broken and patched with canvas; what remains of its upper half depicts a handsome man dressed in regal finery and a crown ofivory and jade. Small scorch marks mar the wood near the broken window. A battered and ruined telescope lies on its side near the desk and a large trap door in the roof has been tied shut by several lengths of rope.
 +
 +
  
 This is the top floor of the stained-glass windows. Grymar sees they depict two forms of Arazni, not as Herald of Aroden, but as the Harlot Queen of Geb, while the southern one depicts Socorro, the Butcher of Carrion Hill. They don’t have time to look, however, because the spirit of Cyralie, Traver’s wife, was both burned and fell from this very room. El feels a compulsion she just manages to avoid, to throw herself through the unbroken window of Arazni. Shuddering she staggers back out of the room.  This is the top floor of the stained-glass windows. Grymar sees they depict two forms of Arazni, not as Herald of Aroden, but as the Harlot Queen of Geb, while the southern one depicts Socorro, the Butcher of Carrion Hill. They don’t have time to look, however, because the spirit of Cyralie, Traver’s wife, was both burned and fell from this very room. El feels a compulsion she just manages to avoid, to throw herself through the unbroken window of Arazni. Shuddering she staggers back out of the room. 
Line 755: Line 761:
 Al hustles the party back into the study to let her pass. She immediately starts to work her way downstairs. The party quietly follows.  Al hustles the party back into the study to let her pass. She immediately starts to work her way downstairs. The party quietly follows. 
  
 +==== End Game ====
 +
 +|Game Date|04/26/2025|
 +|Campaign Dates | Neth 13 4707|
 +
 +{{ :game_systems:pathfinder:runelords:skinsawman.png?300|}}
 +
 +
 +
 +The heroes stand and allow Iesha to pass uncontested. The revenant works her way downstairs to the basement, taking the most direct route. As an undead, she is immune to the effects of the haunts and she simply ignores and passes by. When she reaches the ground floor, she pauses over the moldy stain for several moments, staring transfixed at the spiral stain. After a few minutes, as the four catch up to her, she unleashes a baleful shriek and begins smashing and clawing at the stained floorboards with her claws-it takes her only about a minute to smash through the floor with her savage claws, at which point she clambers through the hole and drops down into area below. 
 +
 +There is a spiral staircase that heads down into the secret caverns below the manor house. Iesah does not hesitate in her flight, descending the stairs and moving with unerring obsession through the caverns. 
 +
 +Sensing her supernatural rage at their undead master, the other undead in the caverns do not contest Iesha's passage through the caverns and she does not stop to attack them-the same cannot be said of the living. As the four head forward, they see the other undead ahead of them. Three ghouls before them fall in mere seconds to the power of the party. 
 +
 +Al and Azaela spy Iesha headed around a curve and move after her. There, despite his best efforts, four ghouls in an adjacent cave sense them and move forward. One goes around the caves, alerting something the party thought they were done with: Thistletop Goblins. 
 +
 +But these goblins are no longer among the living: They are all ghasts. The group has mere moments to deal with the charging ghouls before the more powerful perversions of their former foes are upon them. However, the ghouls are all but unable to lay a claw or bite upon the heroes. Only Azalea is even struck, and she shrugs off the blows. Even as the ghasts come down, the group uses the narrow passage to hold them at bay. Grymar casts //grease// and all four slide into the rocks. This gives the party precious moments to deal with the ghouls. 
 +
 +One ghast does stand, but it cut down swiftly by Azaela. The fight is going totally for the heroes until Azalea overconfidently steps into the grease. Even taking care, she falls, even as another ghast manages to stand. Grymar uses his //magic missiles// to cover his foolish friend, and one by one all the undead are killed. Al notes 
 +
 +//”I hope you learned a lesson, there”//
 +
 +Azaela looks contrite as she stands up and they all face Iesha, who is fruitlessly clawing at a locked stone door. The fighter has a chance at redemption! She takes her adamantine sword and cleanly slices through the door hinges and lock, slamming it down. 
 +
 +The air in this damp cavern reeks of a horrific stench-a foul combination of decay, brine, and mold. The cave contains a rickety table, its damp surface cluttered with all manner of what appears to be garbage: empty bottles, bits of clothing, crumpled bits of paper, and more, lying in neatly organized rows. A painting leans against the far side of the table, facing a large leather chair that sits nearby. This chair's high back and cushion are horribly stained by smears of rotten meat and its arms are sticky with blood. 
 +
 +A smaller table sits against the southern wall, its surface heaped with plates and platters of rotten, maggot-infested meat. The horrific stench of the room seems strongest to the west, where the cave's wall has been overtaken by a horrific growth of dark green mold and dripping fungi. 
 +
 +In the center of the cave is clearly a magic circle. Inside is a patch of greenish black tumescent fungus grows, its horny ridges and tumorlike bulbs forming what could almost be taken to be a humanoid outline. What appears to have once been an exquisite puzzle box the size of a man's fist lies smashed on the ground within the circle. 
 +
 +Aldern Foxglove, once a handsome and cultured nobleman who had a way with the ladies, is now condemned to an unlife of unending hunger, driven to eat the flesh of those he once might have called friends or lovers. Aldern sits in his chair as they burst in. His Lordship in control for a few moments. When he sees Azaela, he staggers to his feet. 
 +
 +//"You! You've come to me! I knew my letters would sway your heart, my love! Let us consummate our. . . our. . . hunger!"//
 +
 +Ieasha moves forward and Aldern drops to his knees, sobs, to beg forgiveness from his murdered wife. For a brief moment, as Iesha caresses Aldern's sallow cheek, it may appear that she may be willing to forgive-yet a moment later, she shrieks in rage and attempts to destroy him. The heroes stand back and allow this to play out. Grymar spends the time studying the magic in the area, while Al has his bow ready. At key moments in the fight, Azaela, who has had enough assists Ieasha.
 +
 +//”Consummate this!”// she growls as her sword cuts deeply into the ghast, allowing his former wife to rip his head off. 
 +
 +With that act, Ieasha is free. She thanks the party and then her form slumps to the ground – her soul is free to pass on. 
 +
 +
 +
 +Grymar takes this opportunity to study the magic circle and as he moves forward, the fungus on the walls pulls free, taking on five forms that are gray mockeries of the party. Al has had enough. 
 +
 +//”Oh, Hell no!”// and he tosses his alchemical fire onto the fungal form of the body in the center of the circle. The fungus creatures shudder and stop as the flames burn the central mound. Grymar watches the magic shift. He back ups,
 +
 +//”Vorrel was trying to be a lich. That puzzle box was going to be his phylactery. Now the whole house is! Nothing short of a //Hallow// Is going to fix this”//. 
 +
 +He studies a bit more,
 +
 +“//However, that fire should have suppressed the haunts for today at least. I suppose we can … loot?”//
 +
 +//”Now that is my specialty”// Al says with a head cock that his friends know is Tengu humor. 
 +
 +While there are still undead to be delt with, including an undead bat called a skavling. However, that is easy compared to the haunts. They find a strange note as part of their searching. It appears that Foxglove was under some sort of orders to place the Sihedron rune on key individuals and kill them to aid her master. This is bigger than just a man become a ghast. Something in Magnimar has reached out and touched sandpoint. Azaela comments this has something to do with the greed. 
 +
 +{{:game_systems:pathfinder:runelords:skavling.png?300 |}}
 +
 +After several hours, the group emerges from the home. The undead crows are strangely unmoving. Grymar worries whomever comes back will have to face them to get in. They make their way back to town, with citizens horrified at the damage Azalea did to her face. El assures her she can magically repair the damage without scars. Al and Grymar brief Hemlock about the home and then all return to the comfort of their guardhouse. 
 +
 +While defeating Aldern Foxglove puts an end to the murders in Sandpoint, the the heroes found numerous clues in the Misgivings that indicate Foxglove was not acting alone-that he had allies and even a superior of some sort in Magnimar: //Zanesha, Mistress of the Seven//. 
 +
 +As the group is brooding on this, a messenger arrives with a letter to Grymar. It is from a relative in Magnimar. 
  
  
game_systems/pathfinder/runlords/adventure_journal.1746287030.txt.gz · Last modified: by Bryan Stephens

Page Tools

Donate Powered by PHP Valid HTML5 Valid CSS Driven by DokuWiki