Playing D&D 5e in the Majestic Wilderlands

My blog posts have been less frequent, as I have had to focus on real life stuff. My gaming has been a bit inconsistent as well, although I am playing a human fighter, Aevin Steelhand, in +Rob Conley's (Bat in the Attic) Majestic Wilderlands setting. In our current campaign, we are using D&D 5e. I have also been playing Ben Monday, a history teacher turned supernatural sleuth, in +Tim Shorts' (Gothridge Manor) Wednesday night game, using The Esoterrorists as our rule set.

+Douglas Cole (Gaming Ballistic) has an excellent blog post, Majestic Wilderlands--Do You Hear People Sing?, summarizing our last session. Rob has some interesting posts about his use of feudalism in his setting. As a player, you have to know your station and who you are talking to. It is one my favorite aspects of playing in Rob's setting. Here are links to Rob's posts:

• Of Overlords, Kings, and Barons, Building a Feudal Setting Part I
• Of Overlords, Kings, and Barons, Building a Feudal Setting Part II
• Of Overlords, Kings, and Barons, Building a Feudal Setting Part III
• Of Overlords, Kings, and Barons, Building a Feudal Setting Part IV

The Esoterrorists and GUMSHOE: After Three Sessions

I have now played three sessions of The Esoterrorists, with +Tim Shorts (Gothridge Manor) as GM. Tim wrote a blog post about our third session, so I am not going to attempt to recreate the session here.

I am really enjoying the game and the GUMSHOE system. Once the GUMSHOE premise clicked with me, the rules really faded into the background and it has felt like we are investigating paranormal activity. Tim has done a great job of mixing a very real small town, with some actual horrifying events, with a series of paranormal events. The system and style of play are well-matched with Tim's approach to GMing and his ability to weave open-ended narrative.

As I noted above, a key to this is accepting the premise of the GUMSHOE system. Wikipedia has a nice summary: The premise is that investigative games are not about finding clues, they are about interpreting the clues that are found. So, instead of searching for clues, we are trying to understand the importance of the clues we have and their relationships to each other. Even so, we have investigate and interrogate, in order to have the clues at our disposal. The system comes into play when we can use our skills to help us understand the importance of the clues we have found.

While we are getting close to discovering the most important clues (and thus making sense of the pages of color-coded notes I have taken), our last session ended in a bedroom with twenty or so Ouija boards madly carved into the floor. We look up at the closet door, only to see it slowly open...

Team GMing

So our gaming group has had a few end-of-session conversations about doing some sort of team or collaborative GMing. I remembering trying a variation on the theme back in high school, with a common set of characters flitting from GM setting to GM setting. Each session featured a different GM, using the GM's own setting, but the characters had the (unexplained) ability to move from world to world. I also played in a session in college where the GM tasks rotated from moment to moment during a single session--it was one of the better gaming sessions I have played in, but it was also the only one for me that involved a significant amount of alcohol.

It turns out that Wikipedia, the final arbiter of knowledge in our current age, has an article on this, calling it the Troupe System. Wikipedia summarizes the Troupe System this way: A Troupe system is a way of playing role-playing games which spreads the game master's responsibilities among each of the players. The term was coined in Ars Magica. It is also known as collaborative role-playing, a term used by other games with a similar mechanism.

Thanks to +Chris C. (The Clash of Spear on Shield) for sharing the Wikipedia link with me, as well as a few other links. Here are some other links:

Troupe System (Wikipedia)

Troupe Style GMing and the Gaming Charter (Gnome Stew)

Troupe Style (Project Redcap)

Starting To Collaborate (Collaborative Roleplay)

And my own blog post from yesterday was a lead-in to this post: Microscope and the Books of Bardo

Montporte Dungeon Campaign Session 45 Notes

Peter D (Dungeon Fantastic) had a nice summary of this session in his blog post, 5e D&D - Montporte Megadungeon - 1/19 Summary of Play.

Cast of Characters
Adzeer Mattiu, Hunter of the Second Circle (Half Orc, Hunter): Tim (Gothridge Manor)
Breena Honey-Badger Warrick (Gnome, Barbarian): Joshua (Tales of the Rambling Bumblers)
Dante Rathburn (Human, Warlock): Chris (The Clash of Spear on Shield)
Luven Lightfinger (Human, Rogue): Rob (Bat in the Attic)
Nosphryc Azurecoat (Human, Fighter): Douglas (Gaming Ballistic) [Played this session by Peter D (Dungeon Fantastic)]
Duncan Kern (Gnome, Rogue): Dan
Marcus Aurelius (Magic sword): NPC
Benn (Human): NPC
Lucky (One eyed, three legged blink dog): NPC
13 Rescued Gnomes (Abel; Dilrod; Dwemmon; Ernst; Evinrude; Fern; Fernando; Gemflower; Happenstance; Homer; Priscilla; Rosepetal; Zelma Lynn): NPCs
Abakarkabasharaba (5 Githzerai): NPCs

Map A (1 square = 5 feet)

The Session
The last session ended with the brave adventurers taking a long rest in Room 1 (Map A above). They heard a scream in the distance in the middle of the rest but it was otherwise uneventful. The player characters were at least 28 miles below the world's surface, although the distance was only an estimate as their exact location was a mystery (thanks to a teleport in Session 37).

After the long rest, the party moved north to Area 2 (Map A above). Here they found two eviscerated hobgoblins, with a trail of blood and guts leading east up the steps (Area 3 on Map A). The party had a brief conversation as to whether they should follow the trail of blood east (Area 3), explore Area 5, or head west down the stairs (Area 4).

They opted to head west and down, using the stairs in Area 4. They wanted to to complete their quest and deliver the rescued gnomes back to their homeland (which they believed was west).

The party descended west down the stairs. This proved to be another long descent. After descending 7 vertical miles (and heading west 7 horizontal miles). The party met five humanoids, who spoke strangely, but were not unfriendly. They turned out to be 5 githzerai (3 monks and 2 zerth), who went by the name of Abakarkabasharaba. They asked about Allindrihl, the elf mushroom farmer living on Level 2 of the Montporte Dungeon, and the player characters let them know where he lived. In turn, the githzerai let the adventurers know that they were on the right path to the gnomes' homeland. At the bottom of the stairs, the adventurers were told they would find Benn and he would be of help to them. The player characters and the githzerai each said their farewells and moved on.

The party descended another 7 vertical miles and found that when they reached the bottom of the steps, they were also entering a large cave. The party noticed that they had entered a mushroom forest of some kind. They followed a path that led them to Benn (a 7' tall human), Benn's blink dogs, and two small sturdy cottages with a larger house in the distance. Benn was friendly rustic type who complained about trolls and hobgoblins. Some of the gnomes knew him, which convinced the wary adventurers that he could be trusted.

Map B--Benn's House

He invited them to stay in his two cottages and brought a pork & mushroom dinner to them, prepared by his wife (who, according to Benn, was in the big house).

The two cottages each had a very sturdy door, lots of garlic, and an ample supply of wooden stakes. He warned them not to invite anyone into the cottages and then bid them a good night.

The party had another uneventful long rest and were furnished with a tasty breakfast. Benn told them that they would need to pass through a mushroom forest, inhabited by stone giants, to get to the gnomes' home to the west. They should stay on the path, only fight if attacked, stay away from the sticky black cave moss, and the green slime. The stone giants would let them pass so long as the party followed these rules. As a dubious bonus, the party (Duncan, actually) acquired a one-eyed three-legged blink dog, named Lucky, from Benn.

Map C--The Mushroom Forest (1 hex = 1 mile)

The party then set out into the dark, subterranean forest. They traveled quite a distance from Benn's house (Area 6 on Map C above) to Area 7, where they encountered several giant glowing (red) boars. Some of the boars moved towards the party in a slow aggressive manor. The rest of the boars stayed back, nervously watching the encounter unfold.

Map D--The Boar War (1 hex = 5 feet)

Eventually, a few of the boars moved close enough to the party to charge. Luven darted south and led a group of boars on a long chase south and west. The rest of the party closed ranks as a few more boars that moved towards them.

The boars chasing Luven were, for the most part, unable to get close enough to attack. One boar managed a fire breath attack that did considerable damage to Luven. This also betrayed something of the boars' true nature (they were giant fire boars). Luven had 5 giant fire boars chasing him while another 2 boars eventually attacked the main body of the party. A remaining giant fire boar fled slowly to the north.

Luven led the boars chasing him into a patch of black dungeon moss, where 3 of them became mired. The remaining 2 fled north. In the meantime, the rest of the party dispatched the 2 other giant fire boars, although the player characters were wounded in the process. The 2 dead giant fire boars immediately cooked themselves and each had an apple appear in its mouth.

The party hustled quickly to the west as the 3 giant fire boars trapped in the moss slowly extricated themselves. The 3 other giant fire boars continued to move north out of sight.

The party moved to Area 8, where they found their westward path intersecting a path from the north. Here the party opted to take a long rest and we ended the session.

The Dungeon So Far

Level 1 (1 square = 5 feet)

Level 2 (1 square = 5 feet)

Level 3 (1 square = 5 feet)

Mystery Level A (1 square = 5 feet)

Mystery Level B (1 square = 5 feet)

21 Miles Down A (1 square = 5 feet)

21 Miles Down B (1 square = 5 feet)

28 Miles Down (1 square = 5 feet)

42 Miles Down (1 hex = 1 mile)

First Glimpse of the Montporte Deep Dark

The brave adventurers descended 42 vertical miles or so from the Montporte Dungeon deeper into the earth. They found themselves in a forest of pink and orange mushrooms, with black sticky dungeon moss and lots of green slime. It turned into an old fashioned hex crawl, except that it was dark. Here is the players' hex map. It looks a bit like a caterpillar black light poster. Each hex is one mile.

Montporte Dungeon Campaign Session 44 Notes

Douglas Cole (Gaming Ballistic) has an excellent summary of this session in Montporte 44 - Attunement and Grimlocks.

The Cast of Characters
Adzeer Mattiu, Hunter of the Second Circle (Half Orc, Hunter): Tim (Gothridge Manor)
Breena Honey-Badger Warrick (Gnome, Barbarian): Joshua (Tales of the Rambling Bumblers)
Dante Rathburn (Human, Warlock): Chris (The Clash of Spear on Shield)
Luven Lightfinger (Human, Rogue): Rob (Bat in the Attic)
Nosphryc Azurecoat (Human, Fighter): Douglas (Gaming Ballistic)
13 Rescued Gnomes (Abel; Dilrod; Dwemmon; Ernst; Evinrude; Fern; Fernando; Gemflower; Happenstance; Homer; Priscilla; Rosepetal; Zelma Lynn)

Map A (1 square = 5 feet)

The Session
At the end of the last session, the brave adventurers were counting the contents of the piles of gold and silver bars they had obtained after defeating two of four hobgoblins and two trolls. Two of the hobgoblins had managed to teleport away, but the party still came away with a lot of gold and silver [solidifying the reputation of hobgoblins as the ATM machines of the Montporte Dungeon].

The party decided to further explore this level, which was at least 28 miles below the earth's surface. They were not sure of this as there was a teleport involved in Session 37. Since teleporting, the party is not actually sure of where they are or how to return to the known area of the Montporte Dungeon and the earth's surface.

Starting in Area 1 (Map A above) the party moved south and into Room 2. Here they found a shallow pool of very clear water. Using the Lens of Melnar, they determined that the water was not magical, but the stone forming the pool basin was enchanted. The stone had the ability to purify water, so the party used the opportunity to fill up on drinking water.

The party continued to move south into Room 3 (Map A above). This room had 6 rusty eye bolts built into the walls, about 3 feet above the floor. There were three bolts on the west wall and three bolts on the east wall. While investigating the bolts and looking for secret doors, the party noticed that the floor was quite worn underneath each eye bolt. They finally determined that this room was used as a stable for mounts and pack animals of some kind.

The party then moved back north to Area 1 (Map A above) then west to Room 4. This room was thick with dust and cobwebs, but there was a clearly identifiable foot path through it from Area 1 to Room 5, with the appearance of a lesser amount of traffic towards Area 13.

The party moved through Room 5 to Room 6 then south into Room 7. They could still see evidence of considerable foot traffic heading into all the corridors and rooms they encountered. The party moved into Room 8, where they were attacked by eleven grimlocks. The grimlocks had a well-conceived, but poorly executed, ambush waiting for the party. Grimlocks have lots of stealth but little smarts.

As melee ensued in Room 8, with the grimlocks being overmatched (despite their numerical superiority), a second wave of ten grimlocks swarmed towards the rear of the party from Area 9 through Room 7 (Map A above). The party was surrounded but this worked to their advantage, as it allowed all the party members to unleash their attacks on a larger number of foe. Had the grimlocks individually been tougher, the brave adventurers would have been in real trouble. Instead, the two front battle just sped up the process of dispatching grimlocks.

At the end of the battle, the remaining four grimlocks tried to flee, triggering some attacks of opportunity. Two more grimlocks went down, but two fled the scene. Luven was able to track down the final two in Area 10 (Map A above), with Nosphryc coming along behind him.

Besides a lot of small sacks of nasty meat, the grimlocks had a pink diamond (worth 5,000 gold pieces) and a mind flayer stuff doll of unknown use. The party couldn't figure out if it was a toy, a religious item, or something else.

The party continued into Room 11 (Map A above), which turned out to be a long irregular room with a vaulted ceiling. They guessed that this was the actual lair of the grimlocks, based on the amount of fecal matter along the east wall.

The party moved through Room 12, back into Room 8. Here they decided they would spend a long rest, with a pile of grimlock bodies serving as a partial barrier in the narrow corridor heading east out of the room. The long rest was uneventful, except for the distant scream heard during the second watch. The party had determined that, once the long rest was completed, they would explore Area 13, which appeared to be the only unexplored area on this level.

This is where the session ended.

The Dungeon So Far

Level 1 (1 square = 5 feet)

Level 2 (1 square = 5 feet)

Level 3 (1 square = 5 feet)

Mystery Level A (1 square = 5 feet)

Mystery Level B (1 square = 5 feet)

21 Miles Below A (1 square = 5 feet)

21 Miles Below B (1 square = 5 feet)

28 Miles Below (1 square = 5 feet)

D&D 5e Attunement: But Wait, There's More!

So Peter D (Dungeon Fantastic) had a thoughtful post on attunement. I read it and then reconsidered my thinking on attunement in my own Montporte Dungeon campaign, which we switched to D&D 5e five sessions ago. I read Peter D's post and thought, "Hmmm. Maybe I shouldn't ditch this rule" (see my earlier post about attunement).

So here is what I am thinking...and mind you, this could change by time we play on Monday night (or it could change by time I am writing the post)

Provisions of House Rule
All magic items require attunement. The two general exceptions are alchemy items (potions, powders, oils, bubble bath, body lotion, etc) and scrolls. Many gnome devices, clockwork or otherwise, do not require attunement. The finder's lens (purchased by the player characters in Session 9, it is actually an alchemy item) does not require attunement, nor does the transportation vehicle control amulet (found in Session 41, attunement is instant and automatic). However, the Chalice of Doluth (creates healing potions) does require attunement.

There is no limit to the number of items to which a character can be attuned.

Some items, particularly intelligent items, may have the power to unattune (detune?) other items in the character's possession (cue evil DM laugh). This would suck, but it makes it interesting for the DM. This is what matters to me.

Some items may only be attuned by a particular class or race. Or there may be limitations placed on its use when a particular class is using it.

Attunement to one item can be done during one short or one long rest. A few items may be created with the feature that it instantly attunes on contact or another condition.

Most items require a dice roll for attunement. The Difficulty Class for low power common items is 10 (easy). Characters add their Charisma modifier, plus their proficiency bonus, to the die roll. If the die roll succeeds, the character is attuned to the item. If the die roll fails, then the attunement fails...and, more importantly, the character can never attune to that item (short of a wish spell, divine intervention or DM whim).

Limitations on Magic Item Use
We will follow the AD&D 1e rules regarding limitations on number of items used at any one time: 2 rings, 1 set of armor, 1 magic cloak, 1 pair of boots, 1 pair of gloves, etc. This is not part of the attunement rule per se, but it is related to it as it applies to magic item use (thanks to Peter D for the reminder on this set of AD&D 1e guidelines).

Implementation of House Rule
We will assume that the player characters have successfully attuned to all of the items that they currently possess.

We won't worry about the current bags of holding and portable holes for now. I don't want to waste precious game session time on figuring this out. We will just hand wave it for now.

I can think of two items, the Chalice of Doluth and the Lens of Melnar, that we need to identify an owner for attunement.

Messing With Dungeon Maps

I did the map below in AutoREALM. Not really happy with the way it came out...coloring, perspective, etc all somewhat off.

My goal is to create a single map of the discovered portion of the Montporte Dungeon, with just enough detail so that the players can maintain their bearings as we move from map to map. The map below only contains the three levels that the players have down in terms of location. They have explored a lot more, but thanks to a teleport, they do not know where they are in relationship to the area displayed on the map below. They are in a whole other area of the dungeon.

It feels a little too small and plain. But it is a start...and maybe some of the Montporte players will find it helpful.

D&D 5e Attunement After Further Review: Nevermind

After spending some time reading more about attunement in D&D 5e, I decided that I like it in the abstract but not in practice, at least not for our current campaign in Montporte. I already feel like we are challenged to make progress during our sessions, which generally last about 3 to 3 1/2 hours (with about 2 1/2 hours of gaming). I don't want to slow us up any more.

I also would want to completely rewrite the attunement rules so that they would be to my liking and, after taking a few stabs at it, I realized that it would take more work and thought than I currently want to invest.

So the house rule for Montporte on attunement is that we will skip it, at least for now.

D&D 5e: The First Battle of Attunement

So we I have DMed four sessions of D&D 5e, using a my Montporte Dungeon...previously we had been using AD&D 1e and then Blood & Treasure. Additionally, +Rob Conley DMed The Mines of Phandelver for our gaming group. So we have some time with D&D 5e under our belt.

One of the rules we hadn't used--and it is a significant one--is Attunement. Attunement is buried in the Dungeon Master's Guide at the beginning of the magic item section on pages 136 and 138. Basically, most of the more powerful magic items and many of the lesser ones can only be used by characters who have "attuned" themselves to the item during a short rest. Characters can be attuned to a maximum of three magic items at a time.

So I decided to roll out the rule, with mixed reviews from the players. Some liked the idea. Others not so much. Honestly, I am ambivalent about it myself, but I wanted to see how it would play out in actual game play. So we tried it. I am still not sure, although I have done more reading and more research on it.

Here are two very thoughtful blog posts from a couple of the guys in our Monday gaming group:

• Taking 5e Attunement to the Wood Shed by +Tim Shorts (Gothridge Manor) 
• Attunement in D&D 5e by +Douglas Cole (Gaming Ballistic)

Montporte Dungeon Campaign Session 43 Notes

Douglas Cole (Gaming Ballistic) has a nice summary with more combat detail in his post, Montporte Session 43. Chris C. (The Clash of Spear on Shield) has captured the best/worst of our group play in his post, Adventure Sound Bites.

The Cast of Characters
Adzeer Mattiu, Hunter of the Second Circle (Half Orc, Hunter): Tim (Gothridge Manor)
Breena Honey-Badger Warrick (Gnome, Barbarian): Joshua (Tales of the Rambling Bumblers)
Dante Rathburn (Human, Warlock): Chris (The Clash of Spear on Shield)
Luven Lightfinger (Human, Rogue): Rob (Bat in the Attic)
Nosphryc Azurecoat (Human, Fighter): Douglas (Gaming Ballistic)
13 Rescued Gnomes (Abel; Dilrod; Dwemmon; Ernst; Evinrude; Fern; Fernando; Gemflower; Happenstance; Homer; Priscilla; Rosepetal; Zelma Lynn)

Map A (1 square = 5 feet)

The Session
The previous session had ended with the party having defeated a vampire spawn and her accompany guard of wights and zombies in Room 1 (Map A above). The brave adventurers were still on their way downward into the earth, seeking to deliver some deep living gnomes back to their homes. The gnomes had been rescued from captivity in Session 29 and Session 36.

The party continued south, with Luven moving quietly in the lead through a series of secret doors. They passed through an empty Room 2 (Map A) into Room 3. They found a small plain shrine in Room 3, with a simple black stone altar against the west wall and a heavy stone table against the east wall. The party did a lot of checking and determined, through careful examination, that the area had was a fake shrine. It was simply staged to look like an area of devotion. They broke the altar.

The party discovered a secret door behind the table on the east wall. The party moved into Room 4 (Map A above) and found a unadorned stone sarcophagus. Luven rushed to push the lid off, in a quick move for treasure. There was nothing in the sarcophagus except for a bucket's worth of topsoil which gave off a faint whiff of undead. The party did various things to the soil to de-undead it--which involved holy water and urine.

They examined the sarcophagus more carefully, looking for false compartments and secret doors. They did see that the lid of the sarcophagus had the name "Sebastian Baynard Finster" engraved on the lid. The party decided that Sebastian Baynard Finster is the SBF mentioned in two letters they found during the last session, both written by a Brother Kepler (here and here).

Finding nothing further, the party left the crypt area and moved west to Area 6 on  Map A [the DM realizing after the fact that Map A has no Area 5...oops]. The party was into to continue downward by using the descending stairs at Area 7. However, Luven (with his magically enhanced hearing) heard the sound of voices coming from the north of Area 6 (from Area 8). He moved stealthily north to Area 8, noted that they were coming from the east. He moved east and, looking north, saw a few hobgoblins and boreal trolls in Room 9 (Map A).

He quietly moved back to the party, waiting for him in Area 6. His hand motions conveyed to the party that there was something up that way, but each party member drew their own conclusion. The party moved back north and this time did not escape the notice of the hobgoblins.

Now in Montporte, hobgoblins are trash talking fey of the Winter Court who have some limited teleporting ability as well as being tougher in combat. Despite being mean-spirited slavers, hobgoblins prefer to leave the fighting to their hired muscle.

Melee ensued with two of the hobgoblins teleporting next to Luven. The party moved in to help, but not before Luven got knocked about. The party and the hobgoblins fought a confused swirling battle around the corridor intersection at Area 8. Two more hobgoblins teleported into the hallway between Area 8 and Room 10, adding to the confusion. In the meantime, the trolls in Room 9 made their way down the corridor and began to press the attack from the east.

The party was able to dispatch the first two hobgoblins and, when turning to the north to take on the second two, the second wave of hobgoblins teleported away to parts unknown.

This left the trolls, who knocked Luven around some more. Fortunately for the party, the 10' wide corridor limited the trolls. The second troll couldn't get to the party to attack. The party could focus their combined melee and magic attack on one troll at a time, which reduced the impact of the troll's regeneration.

The first troll was knocked down, but began regenerating. Lots of oil was applied to the prone troll while most of the party engaged the second troll that had moved up, standing and fighting over the top of his fallen comrade.

Lots of damage was dealt to the second troll and, in a final two for one deal, magical flame ignited the oil. This killed the prone troll outright and did just enough damage to the second troll to count as the final death blow.

The party discovered that there were 5 large sacks in the Room 9, where the hobgoblins and boreal trolls recently been hanging out. The sacks contained 5 unconscious, but very alive, gnomes. The party now had 13 rescued gnomes.

The party took a short rest and this is where the session ended.

The Dungeon So Far

Level 1 (1 square = 5 feet)

Level 2 (1 square = 5 feet)

Level 3 (1 square = 5 feet)

Mystery Level A (1 square = 5 feet)

Mystery Level B (1 square = 5 feet)

21 Miles Below A (1 square = 5 feet)

21 Miles Below B (1 square = 5 feet)

28 Miles Below (1 square = 5 feet)

Montporte Dungeon Campaign Session 42 Notes

Douglas Cole (Gaming Ballistic) has a detailed post on Montporte Session 42.

The Cast of Characters
Adzeer Mattiu, Hunter of the Second Circle (Half Orc, Hunter): Tim (Gothridge Manor)
Breena Honey-Badger Warrick (Gnome, Barbarian): Joshua (Tales of the Rambling Bumblers)
Dante Rathburn (Human, Warlock): Chris (The Clash of Spear on Shield)
Nosphryc Azurecoat (Human, Fighter): Douglas (Gaming Ballistic)
8 Rescued Gnomes (Abel; Dilrod; Dwemmon; Ernst; Gemflower; Happenstance; Rosepetal; Zelma Lynn)

Map A (1 square = 5 feet)

The Session
The brave adventurers continued where they left off in Session 41. They are seeking to return 8 rescued gnomes to their home deep below ground. This has led to the party trying to find a way down the Montporte dungeon proper. They are currently exploring a small level at the end of a staircase that has descended 21 miles.

The party started off this session in Room 1 (Map A above) and explored Rooms 2-4, which turned out to be dwarven dining and kitchen facilities. They knew that they needed to continue heading west, which they did. This led to the discovery of a set of stairs heading down (Area 5 on Map A).

The party walked down the steps, descending 5 vertical miles, when they came upon a freshly killed half elf. He had left a trail of blood behind him, heading down the steps. He had been mauled and eviscerated, which made his ascent up the steps nothing short of a miracle. He also had the signature bite mark of a vampire on his neck, and he also at the insignia of the Hunters of Adzeer on his tunic. The party searched his body and found a letter, among other things.

The letter, from a certain Brother Kepler, spoke of a mysterious "SBF," who had a lair underground near the town of Montporte. The letter hinted at SBF being a vampire, who was powerful enough to have a lich doing his bidding. The letter gave further information as to SBF's background and what might be done to kill him. SBF had, according to the letter, created and hidden multiple crypts for himself. SBF couldn't be destroyed until each of these crypts was destroyed.

There was a fair amount of debate among party members about descending further and running into a vampire and a lich, but, in the end, the party continued down the steps.

Map B (1 square = 5 feet)

The party descended vertically another 2 miles and arrived in Room 6 (Map B above). There was a lot of blood on the floor. There was also the body of a wight, with charred wound on its chest, likely from electrical damage. There were also two dead zombies in the room. The trail of blood led to the southwest corner of the room, where the party found a secret door (but did not open it).

There was also a small plaque on the south wall, written in goblin, which said: Arlonian Syndicate Waystation 452. The group was able to figure out that this had something to do with groups of goblins have exclusive trading rights to certain areas.

The did a quick check of Area 7 (Map B above), just to make sure they knew the area. They then decided to take a long rest in Room 6. They did hear some faint scratchy and shuffling from the secret door in the southeast corner of the room, but it was an otherwise uneventful resting period.

After the rest, the party entered the secret door and followed the narrow corridor. They did not enter Room 8, choosing to, instead, set themselves up in the 10' wide corridor. Facing them was a wight and about a half dozen zombies. After about 3 rounds of combat, the party had almost eliminated the undead threat. Just then, they heard a female voice from beyond their range of sight shouting, "Get them and kill them!"

Another wight and more zombies appeared, plus a female who looked suspiciously like a vampire. A well-placed fireball managed to catch most of the undead. Most were left standing, but were quite damaged. Using spells and arms, the party made surprisingly quick work of the remaining undead, killing the suspected vampire as she attempted to flee through a secret door to the south.

The party discovered that the female was a vampire spawn, not a true vampire. They also discovered a dead human in armor against one wall. He had a wooden stake shoved through his visor. He also had short note in a scroll case.

This note was also from Brother Kepler. It spoke of SBF and the location of several of SBF's crypts. According to the note, these locations are:

• A crypt is located 7 miles below a dwarven mining site, hidden near an abandoned trader way station. 
• A crypt is located just below groundin a giant ant colony.
• A crypt is located in the ruins of a dwarven city.
• A crypt is located far underground with the Bloody Spear orc tribe. 
• A crypt is located far below ground, in a foul cave, and is protected by a powerful demon.

This is where the session ended for the night.

The Dungeon So Far

Level 1 (1 square = 5 feet)

Level 2 (1 square = 5 feet)

Level 3 (1 square = 5 feet)

Mystery Level A (1 square = 5 feet)

Mystery Level B (1 square = 5 feet)

21 Miles Down A (1 square = 5 feet)

21 Miles Down B (1 square = 5 feet)

28 Miles Down (1 square = 5 feet)