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***** * The 8 player characters contained in these writings are copyright * 1992 by Thomas Miller. Any resemblance to persons or characters * either real or fictional is utterly coincidental. Copying and/or * distribution of these stories is permissible only under the one * condition that no part of them will be used or sold for profit. * In that case, I hope you enjoy them. ***** ------------------------------------------------------------------ THE PARTY (temporarily split up; this is the "sea" group): Belphanior, 6th/6th/7th level high elf fighter/mage/thief (CN) Ged, 7th/7th level grey elf priest/mage of Boccob (NG) Mongo Thunderhead, 8th level dwarf fighter (CG) Rillen, 8th level human fighter (N) ------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: 1/7/571 C.Y. (Common Year) Time: evening Place: a lost city buried beneath part of the Suss Forest ------------------------------------------------------------------ LX. Greyhawk The party is in a huge room, facing an ancient stone juggernaut which just ran over Mongo... Rillen: That thing is on a roll! Juggernaut: (changes course, headed for Rillen, now the nearest intruder in the area) Rillen: Yie! (turns and dashes for a wall) Juggernaut: (pursues, picking up speed once again) Belphanior: (pointing his wand at the construct, which is about a hundred feet distant) I'll blast it! Ged: No! You might hit Rillen! (begins spellcasting) Belphanior: Damn. Rillen: (backed against a wall by the thing) Uh-oh. Juggernaut: (bears down on the warrior) There was a tremendous CRACK! as the juggernaut slammed into the wall of the room. Against all odds, Rillen leaped out of harm's way, running "up" the wall and then executing a reverse flip to land on top of his attacker as it hit the wall. About five feet of wall was now crushed into powder, and the juggernaut backed up slowly, ripping stones loose as it pulled free, Rillen dancing atop it like some insane puppet. Rillen: (whacking the thing with his staff, chips away small bits of stone) Take that! And that! Juggernaut: (lurches forward and backward, trying to dislodge the annoying human) Rillen: You will not be rid of me that easily. (hits it again) Ged: This should help. (fires four magic missiles across the vast room) Juggernaut: (ignores the missiles, as they plow small furrows in its armored shell) Ged: Hmph. Well, that was my last mage spell. I hope you have better luck. Belphanior: (sticks his wand through his belt and walks slowly toward the battle, preparing a spell) Me too. Ged: (wondering if he can reach Mongo's location to view the remains) Hmm. Rillen: (hits the juggernaut again) Think of this as a pat on the back. Juggernaut: (heads for the nearby wall) Rillen: Eh? (looks up) Aaa! Juggernaut: (slams into the wall, hard) Rillen: (hits the wall and bounces off to one side) Juggernaut: (tears out of the wall, leaving another sizable hole) Belphanior: (running now) You! Juggernaut: (ignoring the onrushing elf) Belphanior: Don't ignore _me_, you fucker! (casts a Grease spell on the ground in front of the thing, which is moving toward the prone Rillen now, gaining momentum) Juggernaut: (hits the slippery area and skids sideways) Rillen: Ugh. (sits up) Aaa! Ged: (heads toward the last known location of Mongo, griping something about not having enough spells) Juggernaut: (still sliding a bit, now facing a random direction) Rillen: Slick. Belphanior: (wand in hand again) Hah! Watch this. Hey, you! (points the wand at the juggernaut and fires a lightning bolt right at it) Juggernaut: <CRACK> (hit by the energy, slides away into a distant wall) Rillen: (standing up) What do we do now? Belphanior: (looking around) Run! Run for the archway! (they do) Ged: (finds Mongo, who has been trampled right down into the soft, muddy clay floor of this chamber) Holy Boccob! (grabs the dwarf and tries to carry him away) Oof. Rillen: (arriving) Let me help you with him. (they manage to drag Mongo's body away slowly) Belphanior: (looking back at the juggernaut) Shit. Juggernaut: (moving toward the party again) Belphanior: (fires another bolt at the thing) Stop, damn you! Juggernaut: <CRACK> (hit, veers a slight bit, but regains its control momentarily) Ged: (he and Rillen have reached the archway, and pull Mongo in after them) Come on, run! Belphanior: (high-tailing it into the archway just fifty feet ahead of the huge stone juggernaut) Move back! It may try to break through the arch! Sure enough, it did, ramming the arch four times and knocking it to bits. The opening was still only ten feet wide, though, and the thing finally gave up, and parked itself right outside the arch's rubble. Belphanior: Whew! Rillen: (watching the juggernaut) I do not think he is going to go away anytime soon. Ged: Who cares? We're safe, for now. (examines Mongo) Ged: What's back here, in this passage, anyway? Belphanior: Looks like some kind of side tunnel. I see an open area up ahead. Ged: (casts several curative spells on Mongo) I think he'll live! Rillen: (looks amazed) How?!? Ged: Well, that muddy floor just gave way when he got rolled over. He sunk right in...he's unconscious, but that ring of his kept him alive. And my spells, of course. My priestly spells, that is. Belphanior: That's good. (they prop the dwarf against one side of the passage) Let's check this open area ahead. The short passage led about thirty feet, winding to the right, and ended in a small cavelike room. They quickly relocated to this place, and brought Mongo too, in case the juggernaut tried to ram through again. One could never be too sure, after all. The room contained a chest and a number of items piled loosely around it. There was a foot-thick nugget of solid gold, most prominent among the chamber's contents. Piles of platinum coins surrounded the chest; buried within them were a cloak, an old bronze horn, and a folded piece of black cloth. A long wooden staff was jutting up from the coins, too. Belphanior found two needle traps on the chest, but disarmed both within moments. Inside were a few items: a slender adamantine wand, a scroll tube, a small diamond cube, a silver helm, and a dull grey torus of some strange metal, mithril perhaps. A silken sack contained yet more: a pair of fine, but ancient bracers; an expensive-looking purse; and a set of two small figurines. The party rejoiced with glee at the finding of these great treasures. Then they realized that the juggernaut was still out there, waiting... They decided to rest here, since it seemed safe and peaceful as well as the only option at this time. Ged regained his mage spells, and Mongo returned to consciousness, though weak from his brush with death. Rillen was playing with the folded cloth when he found that it was actually the opening to some kind of large extradimensional hole. The warrior didn't understand what he had found until Belphanior started tossing coins down into the hole, where they hit bottom perhaps ten feet below. Better yet, the thing could be folded up and then carried away to another location, to then be unfolded and opened again, if desired. A portable hole! Quickly, all items were stashed inside the hole, and Mongo folded it up and put it in his pouch for safekeeping. After re-memorizing their spells, Ged and Belphanior spent many hours formulating plans to beat the juggernaut and/or escape. None seemed feasible, until Ged pointed out that he could use his Dig spell to bore a tunnel up through the treasure room's roof and into the forest above. With the help of several ropes, Rillen's steel-hard quarterstaff, and Ged's light shield (to keep dirt out of his face), the party managed to drill and excavate a vertical shaft leading out of the room they were trapped in. Some distance up, they broke through into the main dungeon, and Ged quickly secured the ropes for the others to use. The huge golden nugget was no problem, thanks to the portable hole. The group searched the complex another time for secret doors or unfound exits, but every viable exit seemed to have collapsed long ago. Belphanior: Let's leave. We need to get to civilized lands and have this loot appraised. Ged: Perhaps. Or perhaps I could appraise it myself, if we weren't in the middle of the wilderness. Remember, that "Identify" spell drains all my strength away. Mongo: Let's just get the hell out of here. I'll come back some other time and beat that thing. Sometime when I'm feeling better, that is. Rillen: I agree. Enough dead opponents and stone rollers for one place. We should move on. Ged: (looking around) Ahh. Someday, I shall return to this place, and find its other lost treasures. Mongo: I think we got enough stuff from here, as it is. (thinking about that big gold nugget) Ahh... And so, they departed the section of lost Sueloise city, for now anyway. Emerging into the Suss Forest, they covered the stairway down with some brush and dead tree limbs. Due to their time in the buried dungeon, they had forgotten that it was winter. The chilling winds and frozen forest quickly served to remind them, though, and Rillen had to put on more robes to avoid frostbite. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: 1/8/571 C.Y. (Common Year) Time: afternoon Place: somewhere in the Suss Forest ------------------------------------------------------------------ The party found that their horses were all gone, much to their dismay. Rillen was especially upset at the loss of his magnificent black horse. They traveled northward on foot, much too weary for this kind of crap. A few encounters happened along the way, the most noteworthy being a band of eight ogres, who didn't last long. These humanoids had a few finely-crafted weapons, which were taken in case of magical properties. Four giant spiders also menaced the adventurers before they emerged from the Suss, but these, too, were beaten. Three days after escaping the lost ruins, they found that the forest thinned out. Walking next through plains, they were challenged by a band of gnolls, who were driven away after half their number were slain. The next day, they entered the city of Elredd, and stayed there for a day before moving northward, in the direction of Greyhawk. Yet another day later, they were able to purchase a large warship, from some merchant and woodsman who called himself "Lotus of Fax" and carried a bow that was strung at all times, with an arrow always at the ready. Rillen wondered aloud about the sanity of this man, but his ship was of stout make, so they took it. Since no slaves were available, a crew of twenty men was hired to man the oars. The party ventured out into the cold waters of the Woolly Bay, and five uneventful days later they entered the mouth of the Selintan River, which led eventually to their destination. To make a long story short, this area of the Selintan was populated by numerous traders and river people. Many sought to bargain with the adventurers, and the party gained some rare foods in return for a small portion of their loot. They ate like kings as they sailed northward along the bustling, busy river. Seven days later, a huge, sprawling city could be seen ahead - the Free City of Greyhawk! Rillen: (astonished) Wow. Belphanior: This is gonna be a _lot_ of fun... Mongo: Hey, let's tie the ship up at the docks and get into that city! (jumping up and down on deck with his impatience) Ged: No, no, no. They have to pull us into dock. This ship is too big to maneuver with oars. (orders the men to pull in the oars) The tugs will take care of docking us. Mongo: Oh. Well, bah. Soon, the ship was docked, and Ged paid the docking fees to keep it tied in one of the many docks. The group made their way into the city, registering as visitors at the gate they entered by. Greyhawk seemed much more carefully run than the other cities they had been to, that was for sure. After a few minutes of fruitless wandering, they found a fine-looking inn and prepared to settle down for a while. Much to their surprise, though, the proprietor refused to take their coins, informing them that they had to change them in for official city currency at the moneychanger's shop. Irritated, tired, and downright grumpy, Mongo dashed away to this place while the others waited (it was close to the inn they had chosen). Soon, the dwarf returned, and tossed a sizable pouch of gold at the innkeeper. The party secured a four-bedroom suite on the fourth floor, for a period of two weeks. They went to their rooms and retired early, planning to begin item division and identification on the morrow, followed by any training necessary. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: 1/26/571 C.Y. (Common Year) Time: late morning Place: the free city of Greyhawk ------------------------------------------------------------------ They woke up late the next morning, and spread their loot out on a table for examination. By far the most valuable of the monetary treasures was the huge, foot-thick gold nugget. Mongo continually drooled over this prize, but the adventurers decided to keep it in the portable hole as a "party treasure" for the time being. The coinage and gems were split evenly. The scrolls written in ancient Sueloise were kept by Ged for later deciphering and perusal. As for the large pile of (possibly) magical items... Belphanior cast a Detect Magic spell on the lot, and the following things were determined to be magical. Straws decided the choosing order, and the items were divided as follows: (ITEM-CHOOSING ORDER : Mongo, Ged, Rillen, Belphanior; then repeat until done...) small wooden cube - Mongo 3rd box of sling stones - Rillen 5th iron wand - Ged 3rd potion - Mongo 5th potion - Belphanior 5th | potion - Belphanior 5th | 11 crossbow bolts - Mongo 4th silver ring from pool - Rillen 1st cloak - Rillen 4th staff - Belphanior 1st portable hole - Mongo 1st bronze horn - Rillen 3rd adamantite wand - Ged 1st mage scroll - Ged 2nd diamond cube - Belphanior 2nd silver helm - Mongo 2nd torus - Ged 5th two-handed sword - Belphanior 3rd bracers - Rillen 2nd purse - Belphanior 4th golden lion figurines - Ged 4th Ged's identify spell could only help with up to seven of the items, and besides it weakened him for a whole day, so he decided not to use it. Each of the four adventurers was left to identify items and train on his own. Summaries of their activities follow: BELPHANIOR really cashed in on this adventure, training for all three classes. He scoped out the Thieves' Guild while exploring the city, but decided not to register himself with them, for the time being at least. He paid good money (and Greyhawk coinage at that!) to learn that his diamond cube could generate various protective fields. The purse had a few coins inside, and always seemed to have a few more when opened again. His potions were of deadly poison and speed, both useful in some way to the elf. Best of all, his new staff was every mage's dream - a portable arsenal of spells and magical effects! Belphanior strove to learn its various powers for future reference. "A staff of power! Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy! People had better not fuck with me _now_ !!" GED paid the fees to join the Mages' and Priests' Guilds, and spent quite a bit of time at each. He also took an entire week to read his mystical Book of Exalted Deeds, gaining much wisdom and experience in the process. He also copied his new scroll's seven spells into his spellbook, relishing every moment of the transcription. The temple of Boccob told him that his torus was a talisman of great power, to be used only in dire straits. Ged also learned the use of his figurines, which could summon two huge lions to obey simple commands. He quickly became enamored of his new pets, finding that he loved cats of all types. Both of his wands were powerful, but required further study. The runes on the adamantite one seemed to provide a clue to its functions. "Nice kitties..." MONGO spent a short time practicing with his hammer, against moving stone targets, perhaps for the next juggernaut he encountered. The dwarf needed no formal training, though, and was able to devote his time to his new magical items. His crossbow bolts were simple, magical missiles, and his potion was one of resistance to fire. His cube was utterly unfathomable (no one had ever seen anything like it), but as long as Mongo kept it on his person, he felt good, so the cube made its way into a pocket. The portable hole was quickly loaded with much treasure and equipment, but was still nowhere near full. Certainly it would come in handy from now on; Mongo was used to carrying most of the heavy loot, and the hole would change everything. His helm was a banded, silver-coated thing, with a few strange runes carved on it, but it was fairly well-built and sturdy, and he decided to wear it for a while and see if anything happened. "Ah, my days of being the party crap-lugger are OVER!" RILLEN had no need to train. He spent a lot of his time in the city, looking for fighting contests and tournaments. He spoke with a sage about his items, and learned that the silver ring could summon a powerful being from another world, if rubbed deliberately. His horn had a similar function, for it could bring forth several skilled warriors to aid its blower. His new bracers were magically enchanted to help ward against attacks. His cloak would allow him to climb walls like a spider. The four sling stones were said to have spell-like effects of great power, if they hit a target. "Like a spider? I guess this means I should stick around for a while." The party took their time posting notices for the land- based group to find. After all, who knew how long it would take those four to arrive in Greyhawk? ------------------------------------------------------------------ THE PARTY (temporarily split up; this is the "sea" group): Belphanior, 7th/7th/8th level high elf fighter/mage/thief (CN) Ged, 9th/8th level grey elf priest/mage of Boccob (NG) Mongo Thunderhead, 8th level dwarf fighter (CG) Rillen, 8th level human fighter (N) ------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: 3/12/571 C.Y. (Common Year) Time: mid-afternoon Place: the Free City of Greyhawk ------------------------------------------------------------------ next time: The land group begins their odyssey FTP SITE: tybalt.caltech.edu (in pub/adnd/fluff/adventurers) ******************************************************************** NOTES: The juggernaut was of my own invention, based on something I saw in an Expert set module, X2 I think. Basically, mine was about ac -5, hd 18, hp 144, thaco 3, dam 10-100, immune to fire, cold...one tough customer, any way you look at it. A folly of the AD&D system allows a character who just got steamrolled to live, if he has the hit points; this was Mongo's case (he went to -7 or so but his ring got him back to 0 hp pretty quick, also Ged helped his good friend back to health with spells). You may be wondering this: why put a juggernaut in place if it's so easy to just run by the thing? Well, here's the way I see it. First, it was put there when a number of guards and such were present, and the juggernaut wasn't by any means the first line of defense for the treasure room. Over the millenia, only a few things survived - a smattering of undead, the ooze, the iron golem, the juggernaut. Everything else had long since rotted away, including the numerous city defenders who would have backed up the juggernaut in happier times. Second, the thing was old and half-broken down, thus it was slower and less maneuverable than it was in its prime. Had it been up to its original full power, the six side rams would have worked too, and it would have caught Belphanior before he reached safety. About Greyhawk: I meant to have the specific tavern names in Greyhawk, along with all NPCs dealt with. BUT...my Greyhawk City boxed set is in that infamous other city, and I don't plan to go back there for two weeks. So, in the interest of continuing frequent postings, everything has been left generic. For now. One final swipe: Yes, the sea group _did_ beat the land-based bunch. By 17 days or so, I think. Ged got the last laugh over Halbarad. ********************************************************************