Yuku free message boards

We had a small lunch break.

Littlebrothermoose's thief/m-u returned to the Temple of the Eternal Sun after this fight.  Since it was late into the evening, the temple had closed for the night.  Mouse had to bribe the guard to get an audience with Karranis, the under-priest the full party had spoken to earlier.  Two gold pieces exchanged hands and the PC was let into the temple.  The bribed guard promised to go and wake Karranis.  When the under-priest appeared Littebrothermoose explained his PC told the priest all that had occurred since the full party had left to investigate the Smiling Sultan.  He said Mouse asked if Karranis could explain what the Morass was and if he had any ideas who H. H. might be.  I told Littlebrothermoose a little background about the Morass and said that the priest had no idea about the identification of who received a silver chalice from the Snake Mother.  Karranis was hopeful that Mouse might be on the right track and encouraged him to continue to pursue this venue.  He healed the PC and Mouse left the temple. 

Littlebrothermoose had his character spend a couple of hours moving about the night scene attempting to gain more information about the Morass.  At the end of his information gathering session, I told him Mouse understood the Morass came about several years ago.  It has become a haven for beggars and they had gone so far as to build a shanty town.  No guards patrol the region.  And further, this subsistence of earth that created the dismal, mucky swamp hole also opened an entrance to the Old City that had been build over hundreds of years ago.  This entrance so interested the powers in the city, an expedition was sent to perform crude archaeological studies and a building was erected by the Town Engineer to act as a headquarters for the team appointed by the engineer.

Mouse arrives at the Morass and has several encounters with the beggars.  Mouse had appropriated beggar's clothes prior to arriving and was able to get by most of the beggars without any problems.  He had one persistent beggar that he quickly talked his way out of and moved on to the engineer building.  I explained the wooden building had no windows and the door was pad-locked.  He snooped about further and found the tarp-covered entrance to the Old City.  Littlebrothermoose opted to focus upon the tunnel and left the building behind so his PC moved quietly along the dark and dank tunnel.  He found the two doors with men behind them playing dice or passing time.  He was being very quiet, not using a light source, so was able to peer into both rooms to see what appeared to be some sort of thug-like guards.  Without disturbing either group, he continued to move silently along the corridor and approached a torch-light room at the end of the corridor.

Within, Mouse saw a single thug passing time by carving on one of the numerous benches with his knife.  My looking closely, Mouse noticed a ring on his finger that identified the thug as one of the Ophidian Hands  Littlebrothermoose had his character attempt to move silently and hide in the shadows.  In doing so he was wanting to have Mouse move towards the western door.  Sadly, Mouse did not remain quiet.  The thug spied Mouse and demanded what he was doing.  Mouse replied he was the first to actually notice him and congratulated the thug for being observant.  He than flashed the Ophidian Hand ring he had on and attempted to pass himself off as one of them.  The thug asked Mouse if he was trying to win favor with Imin to which Littlebrothermoose looked a bit nervous.  He had his PC say of course he was trying to climb the ladder like everyone else.  The thug said that not all seemed to be as straightforward as that and implied that something about the Ophidian Hand unnerved this man.  He told Mouse to go about his business.  Littlebrothermoose looked relieved and had Mouse head on over to the western door, as if he were going to enter it.  It was this move that blew his cover.  The western door was "fastened with a rudimentary lock with a warning engraved on its face, 'Stay out, lest we hook you next.'"  The thug became very suspicous and marched over to Mouse, his club out and ready to attack.  He asked the little man what he was doing.  The PC responded that he was just looking around.  The thug said that, come to think of it, he had never seen Mouse before and something wasn't right. [Is that about how it went down Paul?] 

Mouse pulled his rapier and the fight was on.  Mouse was able to avoid the thug's blows for three rounds while he was unable to penetrate the studded leather of his opponent.  On the fourth round, I rolled a "1" and, after a %-roll determined the thug lost his grip on the club sending it hurling harmlessly across the room.  He then pulled his short sword, but not before Mouse scored a good hit, leaving the thug with 1 hp.  On round five, I was able to land my first hit dropping Mouse's hit points to 2.  Round six was the end of the line for the thug.  Mouse had the initiative and the dice favored Littlebrothermoose.  However, his PCs hoped for secret scouting of this place was at an end.  Mouse was dangerously low on hit points and he now had a dead body in what seemed to be a central gathering place.  He had to get out, but not before he searched the body.  He found 20 gp, far more money that such a thug should carry and he failed his saving throw, making the PC now infected with the Crimson Curse.  The quest to find the chalice was now very personal.  He returned to the dark corridor that lead him into the Old City and successfully moved silently back down the hallway, avoiding being noticed by the guards in the two side rooms.

Littlebrothermoose is concerned, or he should be, that it won't be long before those in the Ophidian Hand will know someone has been poking around in the Old City.  Mouse is going to have to act quickly if he wants to keep up the clandestine approach viable.

Littlebrothermoose (LBM for short) had his PC retreat back to the Temple of the Eternal Sun and sought out Karranis again.  He had Mouse explain what he had uncovered thus far, after Karranis took Mouse to a private room for secrecy. 

It was here that another co-worker of my, from a different department, joined us and I had Karranis introduce the first level elven ranger Sayid, played by Chris, to the rogue/magic-user.  As a quick back story I told Chris that Sayid had also contracted the Crimson Curse by aiding a man dying of it and as a result the elf had traveled to the major city of Majoor/Punjar to seek a cure.  Karranis felt that the elven ranger would be of great aid to Mouse.  The under-priest cured Mouse’s wounds, gifted the two PCs a few potions of cure light wounds and sent them out of the temple with his blessing.

 He also urged Mouse to return to him if he is able to unravel more concerning the theft of the Chalice of Aldren and the “guild of thieves and assassins known as the Ophidian Hand.”

 The two characters snuck back into the Morass, with the elf also dressed up as a beggar and with a ring of the Ophidian Hand on his finger as well, given to him by Mouse.  LBM and Chris wanted to explore the town engineer’s building and, thanks to a bit of breaking and entering, they got into the facility.  The looked over the office and found it to be the office of the engineering team, a man by the name of Harles Hamweather.  “His files contain very vague references to the architectural style of the Old City and possible structural damage beneath Majoor. . . .”  What was odd was the fact that no maps or specifics were to be found.  If this excavation had just begun, this lack of information would have been understandable, but according to what Mouse was able to find out earlier, the Town Engineer’s department had this operation going for many months now.

Perhaps the most interesting discovery was the letter in Hamweather’s desk drawer which was addressed to him:

“You shall acquire for me a sliver goblet from the young thief known as Black Leaf.  When you receive it, send word for Imin—he can deliver it to me.  Do not fail me in this.  My success depends on this item.  The Temple priests would shudder if they knew what dark power dwells beneath their feet.  Soon, I will show them.”

 The letter was signed by one Khaibet.

With this information, both players wondered where these four individuals were.  Mouse had an earlier encounter with a female assassin that he figures was Black Leaf.  Imin’s name was mentioned by the thug he was forced to slay earlier in the evening.  But both Hamweather and Khaibet were unknowns to the PCs.

LBM and Chris had their PCs return to the tunnel, slipping under the tarp and both wanted their characters to sneak by the two guard rooms.  I rolled to see if both remained quiet and in the shadows.  It was a tense moment for the players, but both were able to get by and return to the large room with benches and stools.  To LBM’s amazement, I told him the body of the thug remained undisturbed.  They both took this as a good sign and, after looking around the room again, opened the eastern door, but not before Mouse heard voices behind the door.  The rogue opened the door and the ranger had his arrow at ready.

Behind the door was a very large room, light by torches, which was easily identified as an appraisal room for goods acquired by the Ophidian Hand, probably material that had been recorded in the ledger found in the room of the dead Snake-Mother back at the Smiling Sultan.

Before they could check any of that out, they had to deal with a thug and a woman dressed as a cultist to the god Set.  The fight did not go well for the heroes at first.  Their big mistake was to focus on the thug instead of the spellcaster.  Add to that their rolls were, shall we say, less than adequate for the first two rounds!

The Set worshipper was able to cast sleep.  I don’t recall how dangerous that spell is in 3.X rules any longer, but in C&C, sleep does not allow for a save and will affect opponents up to 5 HD, and a combined total of 2-12 hit dice worth of opponents.  Elves are not immune to this spell, but they do get a save against it with a +10 bonus.  So while I’m working out the details of the spell, I’m going over in my mind’s eye how to continue this adventure if both PCs are captured.  The combined total of the PCs levels is three.  All I need to roll on my 2-six-sided dice is a three or better and things are looking grim.  Well, I roll snake-eyes (which I find ironic since the caster is a worshiper of Set) and only Mouse is put to sleep.  Single-handedly, the elf is able to get up, from a previous fumble, kill the thug with his short sword and move in to harry the cultist which fizzled her remaining spell.  In the last two rounds of combat, the ranger kicks Mouse hard to awaking him, the spellcaster uses her wand to drop the elven ranger into negative hit points and Mouse fires his bow on the following round, slaying the evil woman. 

It was a fun, fun combat!

This session ended with the party searching the bodies, dragging the body of the thug from the previous room into this room and walking to the far end of the room to examine the loading dock.  At that we broke up and went back to work.

Doh, you're right.

Now that you mention it, I remember thinking, "there's no way Chris can miss that saving throw with a +10 bonus." The chances of him failing were slim, yet he was able to roll a low enough number he failed the save.

Howdy Geleg, I'm glad you've reading & enjoying our run through this module. I'm right there with you with this being among the cream of the NG modules.

Regarding converting, the only difficulty I encounter is the spell-casters. They need a few moments of prep time to make them easy to use in combat. As you can see from the above, the sleep spell caught me unawares. Castles and Crusades is truly the best RPG system for me. It allows me to easily use modules from AD&D, OD&D, the old Basic & Expert modules, 3.X, and the various Old School materials. I even used one of Goodman Games 4th edition modules, but it was a bit more difficult to adjust to since the hit points were insanly high and I was left to ponder just how tough the opponet was intended to be.

One of the Troll Lords started calling their system the Rosetta Stone of RPG and I think it is apt.

The players had their PCs explore the five "rogues' chambers" that were to the south of the main "goods" room and they began to tally in their heads just how many beds were there for this mysterious Ophidian Hand group.  They did not perform any real search in these rooms, but made a quick once-over before returning to the lounge where Mouse killed the thug earlier in the evening.  Both LBM and Chris were interested in the door that had a lock ( and had "Stay out, lest we hook you next" written on the door).  Both had their PCs listen to the door & one was rewarded with the faint sounds of someone gnawing on a, as I described it, "turkey leg."  Both fellows decided whatever was behind that door should remain there and they quickly moved to the north door and into the main hall beyond.  While the main hall was empty but had four doors leading off from the hall and an opening to the north with the light of a lamp shining in from what appears to be a ledge and a rope bridge.

They found two more rooms with numerous cots, again raising the totals of how many could sleep here, a restroom with several open holes, and a kitchen.  When they entered the kitchen they were confronted by the cook who mistook both characters, still dressed in beggars robes, as members of the Ophidian Hand who were there to get a midnight snack.  The cook had been peeling potatoes in preparation of a breakfast of hash browns.  Mouse noticed the cook did not have one of the Ophidian Hand rings on his finger, nor was a ring placed anywhere on the counter-tops.  The players guessed the cook was either a slave or simply an employee with no real knowledge of what was going on.  I had the cook yell at the players, telling them to go sleep it off, for both Chris and LBM had their PCs act drunk.  In the end, one of the guys had their PC ask the cook for a potato since "they were hungry" to which the cook tossed them both peeled potatoes and then shooed them out of the kitchen.

The PCs then went to investigate the ledge and the rope bridge, all the while remaining in the shadows.  They found the bridge crossed the subterranean river, which Chris has a deathly fear of and made sure LBM had no intentions of getting near it.  They also noticed the silhouettes of two guards on the other end of the bridge.  These guards are on the second story of an ancient building and the elf can see outlines of other buildings in the gloom across the river.  They have truly found the Old City.  But how to get across the bridge?  It was both dangerous looking and was only able to have people cross single file.  The two put their heads together and decide to use a spell that Mouse can cast.

Mouse casts "dancing lights" and has it appear as though a group of torches, held aloft, were floating down the river past and under the guard's position.  He is attempting to make it appear that a silent boat with several torch holding occupants have come forth from further upstream.  They hope this will draw out both guards, moving them away from their positions near and behind pillars to make them easier targets.  The spell works, the guards not only leave their posistions to look down over the ledge, they have fear in their voices as they call out for the occupants of the "boat" to identify themselves.  Both PCs get off one round of arrows in surprise.  After this, a fire fight erupts with both side shooting at the other.  After several rounds, the villains are killed and the characters move across the bridge.  LBM and Chris spend some time discussing what to do next.  The thugs again had quit a bit of money plus the gang's ring.  What was down in the river below and why did the spell case so much fear in these guards?  They toss the bodies of the dead guards over the ledge to have them land near the river to the south of the building they were now in.  Nothing happened.  Chris was very sure something might happen.  Now they have to decide, do they take the door at the back of the ledge or tie ropes to the pillar and slide down into the cobbled streets of the Old City.  It was fun watching these two struggle with what to do.  What was behind the door?  Could their two low-level characters take on what was behind the door?  Was Imin, Khaibet, or Hamweather behind the door?  Maybe just more guards.  The cultist of Set they ran into last gaming session played a role in firing their imagination too. 

Finally, they opted to open the door & I called an end to the session since our hour was almost up.  I relished the idea that for an entire week LBM and Chris fretted about what was behind the door!

The players opt to investigate the two buildings their PCs passed prior to arriving at the portcullis.  The first building was apparantly an old blacksmith's shop.

Inside they peered about from the doorway, both LBM and Chris were apprehensive about sending their PCs inside.  The lamp light revealed a table of tools and such on the south wall, a rack of weapons on the north wall, and a large rug in the center of the room.  The elven ranger had a feeling of something magical about, but nothing out of the ordinary was to be found.

Both players zeroed in on the rug as something to avoid.  They had Mouse ease his way along the wall to examine the tools, and the elven ranger move along the wall to the rack of weapons.  Both made it clear they wanted to keep as far away from the center of the room as possible.  That rug just bothered them!

The theif/m-u found nothing of interest, but the ranger found an expertly crafted long sword and a loose stone in the northern wall.  After some debate about what to do, the stone was carefully removed and a leather pouch with 50 gold coins was revealed.  Both celebrated in the discovery of an expert long blade and the loot.  Both had their PCs carefully inch their way back out of the smithy while staying as far as possible away from the rug.

They then approached the second building.

Thanks Sen.

littlebrothermoose wrote:

---

Then what happens is a big ugly sludge monster decides Mouse would make a tasty hors d'oeuvre.

It was up to Chris to decide if he was going to attempt to interrupt the meal!  And his PC only has 7 hit points! 

By this point this thing, a sludge monster as you call it LBM, had taken what?  Between four and six arrows and was leaking black blood steadily.

Chris, wasn't this a fun week of waiting to see what would happen?  I recall you saying later that day that you were going to test your new long sword and go in swinging.  (Or something like that.)