The Castle @ Neshfal

[venger]

: )

[Ginger]

I guess we know what Antonus does with the time he would spend casting spells. How tall are the ceilings in each room? It would be nice to get an estimate for how many floors are in the building.

[Dead Greyhawk]

This rocks!

[venger]

arrowguy said:

I guess we know what Antonus does with the time he would spend casting spells. How tall are the ceilings in each room? It would be nice to get an estimate for how many floors are in the building.

Had to step it up with the 3D map.

Ceilings 20-30 feet. The building appeared to be 150 feet tall from the outside.

An estimated 5-7 levels.

[venger]

admin said:

This rocks!

: )

I'm thinking of adding the cityscape behind it, with a ruined smoking gate off to one side. That'll be for the completed version.

[Ginger]

Well, there were windows on the levels that are above the 100 foot mark. Theoretically, the vampire should be vulnerable to the sunlight coming through, no?

[Dell]

arrowguy said:

Well, there were windows on the levels that are above the 100 foot mark. Theoretically, the vampire should be vulnerable to the sunlight coming through, no?

The sun was setting when we came in.

[venger]

arrowguy said:

Well, there were windows on the levels that are above the 100 foot mark. Theoretically, the vampire should be vulnerable to the sunlight coming through, no?

admin said:

Raven gains access to the Book of Iormad and reads excerpts from it. The Book of Iormad is written in a number of different handwritings and seems to have a drift in style and wording as it goes through it.

...

The darkness overhead seems to be a solid barrier, one that blocks out the sky, the stars, the moon, and sun. None of the efforts to breach it are of any success, and it appears that it is impassible to all. The barrier is made of power beyond the ken of even Iormad, who struggles over and over to comprehend the barrier and crack it like an egg.

After months of despair, Iormad's followers sacrificed him in a great ritual on an open rock atop the plateau of Neshfal. The rock was bathed in his blood as the remaining mages' power pumped energy into his failing body. The ritual was of some success, as ever since then, the environment on the plateau has changed. Enough light ekes through to illuminate the plateau to a clouded level, strong enough to grow crops. The ritual failed to reach through to the missing godheads, and the priestly powers never rose again.

[/i][/quote]

There isn't enough daylight to kill a vampire?

[Ginger]

Inside this dome of magic resistance it's as bright as normal day. Although according to James the sun was setting when we came in. If we get a chance someone remind me that Adler should peek out to see if he recognizes the constellations.

[venger]

arrowguy said:

Inside this dome of magic resistance it's as bright as normal day. Although according to James the sun was setting when we came in. If we get a chance someone remind me that Adler should peek out to see if he recognizes the constellations.

I remember the sky was red... was it really bright daylight too?

[Mr. Trommer]

So sad :( The link is block by the ARC interent cops.

[Ginger]

I remember bright daylight. It was definitely much brighter in here and you could see a sun. That led to my hunch that you could connect with the Good deities from here.

[Dell]

I remember the red sky, and recall thinking it was a sunsetty red, although it could just as well have been a sunrisey red. But since we're not even on Oerth, it could be a red sun red. The red sun would explain why we don't have our superpowers.

[Ginger]

I thought it was more that the sky was red instead of blue, just like the trees are purple.

[venger]

MAP EDIT***

I added the more traditional map to the upper left corner.

[Ginger]

So we have not entered the room labeled "Vampire," correct?

[venger]

arrowguy said:

So we have not entered the room labeled "Vampire," correct?

Correct. But we definitely know there's at least one vampire in there.

Maybe I should add an "(s)" to the end of the vampire label.

[sam]

It was much brighter on one side of the sky then the other as if the "sun" was setting or rising. I dont think that it was as bright as daylight, but it was brighter in here than it is outside the wierd "bubble".

[venger]

Wooden boards were gathered from below and passed up the stairs to clear a path through the broken glass and poisoned caltrops.

A new marching order- Grizela, Perrin, Florin, Al, Adrienne and Adler- formed single file in front of the door. Everyone else waited downstairs. Raven was bound with rope. Florin got Foebiter and drank the potion of super-heroism. Grizela opened the door on her second attempt and we were surprised! The room contained three sepulchers (coffins) and a large throne. The opposite wall was not a wall, but instead a reddish plateau underneath a stormy sky. Lightning crashed in the distance, and one bolt formed into a ball and flew into the room, hitting Grizela and knocking her unconscious. Two vampires are visible in the room.

Perrin, Al, Florin, Clift and Adrienne run in- the clerics attempting to turn, the fighters attacking one vampire. Two more vampires pop up from behind the sepulchers and attack. After some combat we realize there was something not right about them and began to disbelieve. Successfully. Perrin ran up to the far wall and found it to be a wall, a transparent wall, but a wall. A large bug-eyed, gape-mawed monster came out from behind the throne and attacked him (claw, claw, bite - 2d4+2, 2d4+2, 2d8 - ouch!) Ignoring the vampires everyone ran to the monster but it too turned out to be an illusion. It summoned a flamestrike, decimating the oblivious Clift- everyone else disbelieved. Turns out one vampire was real and it attacked Adrienne, she didn't get energy drained.

Cedrus, fearing the worst, enters the room. Hugh follows shortly after. Everyone runs to attack the real vampire and another bug-eyed, gape-jawed came out from the plateau. Florin disbelieves and is mauled for 24 damage. Not sure what to do he retreats to Cedrus while everyone else gangs up on the vampire. Cedrus turns undead, but not before the vampire is able to charm Adler. The REAL bug-eyed monster then dropped a flamestrike on Florin and Cedrus - Florin goes down. The bug-eyed monster then draws Symbols of Pain and Fear in successive rounds. Everyone is racked by pain and many flee. All the illusions disappear- the landscape, two sepulchers, three vampires and the other bug-eyed monster. Hugh fails his save and takes Foebiter and runs down the stairs. Al fails his save and runs, Cedrus fails his save and runs (after healing Florin). Florin stands up and fails his saves and runs. Dell heads up into the room and makes both saves. The creature blasts Adrienne with a ball of lightning, destroying a +3 halberd, one spellbook of Dell's and two scrolls. Then it mauls her to unconsciousness. Perrin and Grizela, despite Adler trying to grapple them, finish off the vampire which turns to gas and retreats to its coffin. The monster flamestrikes the bunch of them but only Adler is hit. He goes down. Everyone gangs up on the monster and miraculously saves vs. spell. Things aren't going well for Dell- so he uses the crazy magical amulet that you found years ago that was suspended in fluid which turned out to be a slime. It stuns the creature for three rounds and everyone takes turns finishing it off.

Downstairs Raven begs to be untied when everyone starts fleeing past him. Attempts are made to grapple, but eventually the scared people get away. Antonus goes upstairs but not into the room - Winthrop starts to untie Raven. Then thinks better of it and leaves him. He goes up the stairs, then back down the stairs for some reason. Raven has freed himself and puts arrows into Winthrop. Winthrops runs back upstairs. Antonus runs into the room and closes the door behind him- only to open it and run away from the Symbol of Fear. Raven comes up stairs and shoots Adrienne a couple times - Perrin healed her and she was trying to Remove Fear on people. Raven eventually enters the room and is feared himself. He runs away.

Meanwhile everyone else is dumping vial after vial of holy water into the coffin until the vampire expires.

The terrified party members are found on the bottom floor, hiding in the corners. We regroup, rest and go up levels. The room contains trophy cases and strange scrolls. Magic is detected and many items are found! Huzzah! The roof is accessible through a hatch, it's an empty roof. The forcefield extends over the entire castle.

The gate changes color periodically.

That's where we left off.

[Dead Greyhawk]

The bone statuette of war also was destroyed in the ball lightning.

The wall that was hidden by the illusion of the plateau has strange angled shelving in it on which dangle curled shreds of skin weighted with platinum geegaws. Twenty five of them are collected (each worth 100 GP).

Among the assorted bric-a-brac on the shelves are a number of items that radiate magic. They are:

Two large bowling-ball sized agates (one grey and white and the other red and white).
A large bottle filled with silver flecks. A nonmagical funnel is next to it.
A brooch made of small bones shaped like a skeletal lizardman.
A silver-dipped oak leaf. The leaf is definitely from an oak tree.
A large petrified purple-tree (as in from outside) leaf on a long, curved metal tine.
A set of large manacles.
An over-sized brass candle-snuffer.

The bug-eyed, gape mawed creature also had two magical items on him. One is a large gold-plated, iron nose-ring. The other is a pair of clawed boots.

The Company poured 16 vials of holy water on the vampire before it died.

The interior of the gate down below also seems to change colors, having turned white and three shades of blue in the few hours you were waiting for the symbols to disappear.

[Dead Greyhawk]

Oh, the amulet was a one-shot item. No writing exists on the back of the amulet anymore.

[venger]

I wonder if we can signal Otto somehow.

Maybe construct a banner? Yeomanry colors?

Put up a continual light beacon on the roof?

Smoke signals from the ever-smoking bottle?

[Mr. Trommer]

Otto knows where we went since we left him wait for Pfiffwin. It just depends on how long "Chapter 287 of the Adventures of Otto - Where is Pfiffwin" takes. I expect we have at least two days of resting and healing.

[venger]

admin said:

The wall that was hidden by the illusion of the plateau has strange angled shelving in it on which dangle curled shreds of skin weighted with platinum geegaws. Twenty five of them are collected (each worth 100 GP).

Was anything written on any of that stuff we found?

[Wolfgar]

What an odd set of magic items. Probably created by lizardfolk.

I still wonder what happened to all of the Guild members (and their stuff) that supposedly died here.

Any sign of the amulet that was in the bottom of the chest on the third floor?

Are magic users able to cast spells again? Is the plan to rest and let the clerics get a full compliment of spells before attempting to leave the castle?

[venger]

otto said:

What an odd set of magic items. Probably created by lizardfolk.

I still wonder what happened to all of the Guild members (and their stuff) that supposedly died here.

Any sign of the amulet that was in the bottom of the chest on the third floor?

Are magic users able to cast spells again? Is the plan to rest and let the clerics get a full compliment of spells before attempting to leave the castle?

Some of the magic items might have been from the Guild. Some from the old inhabitants of the castle. There were tons of bones and the tracks of the big monster went all through the castle. It was clearly intelligent. Maybe it tossed all their junk through the gate after detecting magic, or fed them whole to the purple worms.

No sign of any obvious amulet. I wondered if any of the items were shaped like the impression in the box.

The magical forcefield is still up and there's purple worms in the courtyard. We can't leave the castle except through the magical color-changing portal. Which presumably takes us different places based on the different colors.

We could leave a note for Otto - "take the portal when it's light blue. careful there's also a medium blue and a dark blue."

[Mr. Trommer]

I assume our search included looking for secret compartments on the throne and sepulture?

[Mr. Trommer]

apprentice said:

Raven eventually enters the room and is feared himself. He runs away.

We should add the part where Dell got in a very nice backstab on Raven after he turned to run away.

[Ginger]

Yeah, we should definitely search everywhere and look for any bit of writing we can find. Detect magic everywhere. We should post a watch at the windows to shout to anyone who comes in looking for us to hurry into the castle. Also, Adler will head up to the roof and look for familiar constellations when it gets darker.

[Dead Greyhawk]

The mages still are unable to get spells to work. Antonus regularly tries to use cantrips to clean and polish his clothing, but to no avail. The coils of skin appear to have faded writing, or at least marks, on them, but no one has tried to read or look at them, for fear of triggering some strange curse or trap. None of the coils of skin appear to be magical.

In the wall with the angled shelving, facing where the throne sits, is a large window. The window appears to view out onto some far away land. The sky is an ominous, roiling red with black and grey clouds constantly streaming across it. Great bolts of blue lightning shiver the air and smash into a flat brown plain. No city or vegetation is visible, and nothing living stirs. The window radiates magic, as does the throne.

While you saw a window in the tower, about a hundred feet up from the door, you have not found a window that peers out over the city. Through careful measurement and dead reckoning, you estimate that the window you saw must be above and behind the glowing gate, though the wall is unbroken there.

From the roof, Adler finds that the sky is a hazed red color from the last rays of a setting sun. The sun appears low on the horizon over the roofs of the city that surround you. The sun appears large, larger than it should be, as it settles over the horizon. As the stars come out, Adler is filled with wonder as the nightsky glows with thousands of stars stretching overhead in two great bands. The starscape looks nothing like anything he has ever seen before.