Run Date: December 6th, 2022
PCs
TAG: Lv1 Rogue
Willow: Lv2 Cultist (Laurenia)
Red Water Dreams
We were down a player today so the others went over their free characters and some of the older hooks: Ants were right out, the graveyard is "reserved" for their other characters, and the Crossroad Cavalry didn't catch their attention. This left the Red Water Sanctum. The Gold Digger's Guild had recently posted a bounty for information regarding assets stolen from their claim. They were also hiring adventurers for a foray into the Sanctum so the guild could continue their investigation into its value.
With TAG and Willow chosen, the pair headed over to the GDG to offer their services. They asked about the theft and what to watch for before taking on the foray job. Before leaving Riversmeet, TAG hit up her favorite contact and discovered that not only were the stolen items large sales, it seemed like the sales were being funded by a singular entity.
Navigation was on point today, and the weather had mellowed out after our random blizzard. The temps had come up to 50f with a variable mist and fog (I use the IRL weather as a baseline). On top of all of this, the party had lucky rolls. On day 2, they broke from the thin mist to a hilltop with a beautiful vista. It revealed a large swathe of valley below, alongside several small ponds and streams. Even luckier, the place was being used by a herd of deer that hadn't detected the PC's presence. TAG took the opportunity to harvest a 5 pointer and they spent the next couple of hours cleaning and cutting. After that, they marched until nightfall, set up camp, and enjoyed a fresh meal.
The pair arrived at the Sanctum at evening on the 3rd day. The site was coming together as a proper camp at this point; complete with a small palisade and several spearmen. The PCs introduced themselves and informed the guards they were looking for Marty, the Foreman. Afterward, they were let inside and lead to the man himself who had been finishing a talk with the supply wagoner.
Introductions went by and Marty lead the group into his office to fill out the contract and answer any questions they had. He explained that the thefts were of the Sanctum's onyx, and that there was a tunnel leading from the back of the Sanctum into a strange underground complex. He noted losing two miners sent to investigate: one was killed by animated cookware and the other came back with pustules on his face and neck. The latter died a horrible death a day later. It's worth noting that Willow's player was part of the party that made the initial foray (and theft) into the Sanctum, a month or so before the GDG got settled and set up. This leads to the question of "What's changed?" which I'll go more into after.
With the contract signed (10% cut of potential treasures, flat fee for completion), the party descended into the tunnel. The first landing was the safest place; a small room with a door to their right and front. The PCs knew the right was where the pustule man went and that forward was the evil dining room. They favored evil dining room. As the door creaked open and the torchlight washed the room, they noticed a full dining set; plats, covers, goblets, and cutlery. The room appeared to be a proper hall. The first two things they noticed upon further inspection was a lack of a body and oddly appetizing cuts of meat on the plates. Neither of them wanted to go anywhere near the table so they skirted the edge of the room until they found a door leading out.
The door, set behind the Lord's chair, lead into a long hallway. Willow took the lead as they slowly navigated down it and into an open chamber. They both spotted some strange inky creatures the size of children scatter as the torchlight touched them. The creatures were numerous, and luckily non-aggressive at the moment (RR: Neutral). Willow and TAG hesitated to go further until they experimented with the light a bit. They discovered the creatures were merely moving to darker corners, but weren't necessarily afraid and certainly not fleeing. With that in mind, Willow harnessed the power of Laurenia to cast Enduring Radiance on her torch. This sunlight was much more effective at chasing off the creatures, and the pair entered the room proper.
The chamber held 4 exits, two open doorways to their left, one forward, and one right. The doorways to their left were covered in a brown moss that gave off a chill and put out a mist a few inches above their line. There was also a mound further into the room and a smattering of worn adventurer's gear (leftovers from the previous foray). TAG took some time going through bags; finding a few oddities and some coin. Afterward, both PCs picked up an old shield to use as mobile cover.
The path to the front was chosen as the exit point and lead into a T shaped hallway. The ink creatures continued to flee away from Willow's sunlit torch and down into the left path. Willow watched as the creatures ran past another path or archway and into the moss. She then decided to head right and away from the creatures, finding another door at the end.
As the door opened to this new room, the light revealed a deep pit with a golden glitter. At the opposite wall, roiling in a ball in the corner, was a pile of dull, slow-pulsing orange lights. TAG slowly moved into the room, trying not to disturb the strange ball, and set her grappling hook to check the pit. While down there, she found several solid veins of gold. She tried her luck at finding a hefty chunk as a sample (Luck: Fail), but only left with a rock and some specks. Meanwhile, Willow explored the room to find two more exits.
While avoiding the roiling ball, the pair checked the new doors. One lead to a hall with an acrid smell and TAG slammed it shut. The other lead to what appeared to be a small burial chamber with niches in the walls. There was nothing of value in the room (having been raided last time).
At this point, the pair had reached a comfortable "dead end" and weighed whether or not they wanted to press further. They didn't want to deal with the weird moss and could turn in the gold sample as proof of site value. As they were heading back down the T, they again saw the little side arch and figured "Why not?"
As the pair turned the corner, they discovered that the arch wasn't a doorway but connected to a large room; and at the back of it was another tunnel and a pair of strange creatures. So it begins again (RR: Positive, Mildly Helpful). The creatures peaked around their little guard post; small, bipedal reptilians with simple spears and bronze masks/helmets. TAG stepped forward to attempt to communicate with them, and upon realizing there was no shared language, began miming. Part of the miming involved the rock with gold in it which caught their attention.
The players hesitated while they heard the patter of footsteps leaving. They knew that the creatures were sending for more, and became increasingly worried they'd need to mount a quick escape. As more footsteps returned, a creature with a heavy bronze helmet with horns and ruby eyes stepped around the corner. It was obviously an elder of some sort, and it began to speak to the PCs.
After a bit more miming back and forth, the elder tossed some silver dust into the air and chanted a spell. This nearly triggered the players into an attack, but they made it this far so why ruin it now? As the dust settled, the chirps and barks of the creatures became legible. The pair introduced themselves and explained where they came from, resulting in the elder giving them the title Sunwalker. He also brought up tribute, and TAG realized that the gold chunk she had pointed to during her miming was expected. She turned it over with no fuss, and the elder welcomed the PCs past the guards.
The creature lead the pair through the entrance tunnel and into the first chamber of a, as of yet undiscovered, complex. Within the room was a cistern of fresh water and the elder bade them drink. After accepting, they all sat down to discuss the tribute and learn about each other.
Over the course of the conversation, the characters learned that the Baranklaw were creatures of the earth. They could tell by observation that these Baranklaw were capable miners, tunnelers, and crafters as they carried small bronze picks with them and the helmets they wore were hammered to fit. The elder also explained that the Coldwalkers were enemies. TAG and Willow took this opportunity to try and garner an alliance of the "tribes," with fair share of spoils. The elder appreciated the gesture and celebrated it by gifting each PCs with a claw necklace. They discussed a few other minor subjects then set off to inform Marty of the situation.
Topside, a couple hours had passed and Marty was working on ledgers. The pair explained the results of their foray, showed the treasures they'd found, and informed him of the alliance. Marty strictly reminded them that he was the foreman and they were not representatives of the Gold Digger's Guild. However, after Willow and TAG broke down their potential value as miners, Marty considered the alliance. He began drafting a letter to the GDG to inform them of the current situation and asked if the PCs would continue to act as liaisons. The two agreed.
Since there was still plenty of time left (both in the day and in session), the two decided to work on their contractual obligation. After all, just because they avoided the evil dinnerware doesn't mean it makes for effective exploration nor a job complete. I forgot to mention this earlier, but the Red Water Sanctum is called such because of a large basin at its center. The water within is not only red, but dissolves metals put within it. TAG and Willow decided to use this information to create "acid bombs" with some of their empty bottles.
Down they went back to the evil dining room. The plan, as always, was simple: crack the door, toss a bottle to see what happens, then lob the rest and slam the door shut. TAG launched the first "bomb" and hit the table's center. As a cover dissolved it revealed the remnants of a carved skull and the dinnerware started rattling into a maelstrom of angry metal. The two launched everything they could as the torrent battered against them. A few rolls and some math later, the water had hit enough of the objects to render them inert. Unfortunately, both TAG and Willow suffered injuries (Nat 19s). Before heading topside, they picked some of the lapis from a dissolved goblet.
Marty was happy that his former crewman had been avenged, and kept one of the lapis as tax. After that, the PCs examined their injuries: TAG suffered a solid blow to the head by a goblet which rattled her brain. Willow, however, was pierced by a piece of the dissolving shrapnel and the wound festered quickly. Over the next few days, despite professional medical work, Willow's condition worsened until her soul returned to the bosom of Laurenia. Willow received a proper burial alongside the other fallen miners, and the crewman offered their prayers alongside TAG.
Rewards
3 XP
2 Lapis Lazuli (25gp/ea)
Smattering of silver I don't recall
Afterword
I paused at some point during this session to apologize to the players for taking up time rolling on random tables. It was at this point that I realized something. Not only do I prefer the randomization because it keeps things fun for me, the players enjoy the surprise just as much. Like other skills, I think the time I'm using now is just a result of a lack of familiarity. Not to overstate it, of course, the time used isn't more than say 5 or so minutes pending how much needs to be done. In this session, for example: The vista and deer during travel, the items found while TAG looted leftovers from the previous foray, the value/gems in the evil dining room, and the entirety of the Baranklaw.
To this end, I've come to enjoy mixing up LFG Deluxe's random tables with others from Axioms, ACKS, AD&D, etc. Bouncing around the pages (I print the pages I need when I can) takes a bit of time but LFG sits in that perfect point of flexibility where I can throw almost anything in and not break things. That said, I still need to hash out the rewards since LFG's gold output is different than the others. For simplicity, I just hack off the last zero and use LFG's tables if something is "too common" (5000gp becomes 500gp, +2 sword gets a roll on the magic item table in Deluxe, etc). It's not perfect by any means, and I will have to iron out the methodology or suck it up should the game ever expand beyond my own table and myself as the GM.
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